Ernest Kilbourne, a Canadian, was the third North American founder of the Oriental Missionary Society (OMS).

(The other two North Americans were Lettie and Charles Cowman. The two Japanese founders were Juji Nakada and Tetsasubo Sassao.)

As the man who remained in the Far East for most of his missionary life, Kilbourne always struck me as the “unsung hero” of the OMS.

While Charles and Lettie Cowman traveled the world on deputation trips, Kilbourne remained at his desk in Tokyo.

While Juji Nakada went here, there, and everywhere preaching the Gospel, Kilbourne stayed in Japan.

He and Tetsusasuburo Sassao kept the Bible Training Institute and the OMS ministry on task in Tokyo.

He kept the Electric Telegraph Magazine going, did missionary work of his own, and raised children who shared the gospel for the rest of their lives.

Along with his wife, Julia, Ernest Kilbourne was the silent backbone in the beginning.

He also became the president when Charles Cowman died in 1925.

But who was Kilbourne to begin with?

Born into a religious family on March 13, 1865, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Kilbourne wanted to be a writer.

Like his colleague Charles Cowman, he became intrigued by the new communication technology of the age: telegraphy.

Quickly becoming a skilled operator as a teenager, he eventually left Canada to take a position with Western Union in the US.

But he really wanted to be a writer, and so in 1886, he decided to see the world and write about it. Ernest traveled around the globe, stopping in Europe, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and the Sandwich Islands (Hawai’i).

Then, just as Mark Twain did twenty years before, he went to California’s gold rush country. Finding a telegraphy job in Virginia City, Nevada, he stayed long enough to meet Julia Pittinger, fall in love, and get married.

Even in rough-and-tumble Virginia City, Kilbourne didn’t find enough excitement, so he transferred to Chicago.

And there his life changed forever.

Kilbourne and Cowman

Upon arriving in Chicago, Ernest took one of two jobs as a divisional chief at Western Union.

The other divisional chief was Charles Cowman.

Between them, they supervised nearly 1000 telegraph operators.

The job paid well, and the men worked hard.

Shortly thereafter, first Lettie, then Charles Cowman were saved by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The morning after Cowman’s conversion, he presented the gospel to Ernest Kilbourne. Ernest knew the story well–his parents were devout–but he needed to think about Charles’ words.

He did so all night.

The next morning, he told his fellow supervisor that he had accepted Jesus as Lord.

They immediately began praying together for the men in their office. Eventually, they rented a room where they could preach together to even more telegraph operators. They called the group “The Telegraphers’ Mission Band.”

(“Band” in the sense of gathering together, not playing musical instruments!)

Ernest and Julia Kilbourne began studying the Bible and attending Grace Methodist Episcopal Church with the Cowmans, which is where they met Juji Nakada.

A Mission in Japan?

Prayer was always at the heart of the Oriental Missionary Society, and it began there in Chicago. As the two couples and their Japanese friend talked and prayed about the need for evangelism in Japan, they began to dream of setting up a Bible school.

About this time, Kilbourne received a revelation of unusual clarity and signficance. He saw a great highway arching across the Pacific Ocean to Japan.

From Japan, a span of the bridge reached Korea, and from Korea, a third link touched China.

From China, the great highway seemed to extend directly to heaven.

No Guarantee But God, p. 50 by Edward and Esther Erny.

After his conversion, Kilbourne realized he needed to confess all his sins and make things right before God. As a result, he promised God he would pay off a debt–he had used a free pass.

It took him nearly a year to pay back the money he owed. Once it cleared, the entire family left for Japan. That included Julia and Ernest, and their two children, Ila and Edwin. (Their third child, Ester, was born in 1904 in Japan.)

Faith?

The four Kilbournes set off for Japan with great assurance that this was the right path. Before they boarded the ship, however, they received word that the church that had pledged to sponsor the family in Japan needed to cancel.

That meant the Kilbournes had no “sending church” to cover their expenses in Japan.

Disappointed by the news, Kilbourne turned to prayer. He saw traveling so far without funds as a challenge to his faith.

“I am so certain God wants us in Japan,” he told Julia, “I could start walking on water.” (No Guarantee But God, p 51.)

As the Ernys recounted, “This unshakable confidence in God was ever the hallmark of Ernest Kilbourne. ‘Faith grows amid storms,’ he later wrote.

The family sailed on the Nippon Maru, a Japanese ship.

Ernest spent the trip witnessing to the crew.

When the family arrived in Japan in August 1902, the Cowmans were on the dock waiting for them.

Part II: The Far East and Ernest Kilbourne will appear next week.

One Mission Society (nee The Oriental Missionary Society) will celebrate its 125th anniversary in June 2026 at their Greenwood, Indiana headquarters.

Praise God for 125 years of spreading the gospel throughout the world!

Interested in learning more about OMS’s beginnings?

Consider Lettie Cowman’s biography, Overflowing Faith.

The post Who was Ernest Kilbourne? appeared first on Michelle Ule, Author.

Can Highway 12 be a road of grace?

I asked myself that question from time to time.

I learn many lessons from driving on that four-lane, fast-paced highway.

Most of those lessons have to do with grace.

Too often, those lessons include my failures to be graceful.

What can Highway 12–or any road–teach us about spiritual life?

Many things.

I only feel safe driving 55 mph down this busy road (which has no divider) because I trust other drivers.

If others didn’t obey traffic laws, how could I know whether a stranger wouldn’t hit my car head-on?

Highway 12 is a road of grace–the grace of trusting, obeying the law myself, and faith.

Sometimes you have to trust that the roadway itself is smooth.

That’s not always true in California, so we watch for rough roads and generally slow down.

This particular Highway 12 — we lived on Route 12 in Connecticut once — is heavily traveled.

Both lanes are usually full, which means I get to practice patience.

Practicing.

Sometimes, even succeeding in not getting impatient!

Why are patience and grace needed for driving?

After one robust Bible study (I took Highway 12 to church), I returned home convicted about my attitude.

How often have I complained about other drivers?

(Too often, I realized the day my toddler yelled at a slow car. He sounded like me. And he wasn’t even driving!)

As I got older, I decided I didn’t need to compete with other drivers anymore. I’d slow down, pull to the right, and let them pass me.

Maybe they had a legitimate need?

Maybe a woman was in labor?

It didn’t really matter. Nothing was gained by my being nasty and not letting them by.

If it’s that big an issue for them, I wave them by.

Can you be too grace-filled on a highway?

Then there was the time while driving along the coast, when I let a frantic driver pass me.

I was driving the speed limit on the twisty California Highway 1, right above the ocean.

The car sped dramatically by, the driver practically shaking a fist at me.

The car hurried around one curve on that winding Highway 1.

It made it past another curve and hit a straightaway where it sped up.

I poked along behind the little BMW, shaking my head.

Until it didn’t slow down at the next curve and drove off the road.

My mouth dropped open in shock. Highway 1 curves along cliffs above the ocean.

That car drove off the road!

I slowed down very slowly when I got to the curve, almost afraid to look over the side.

He got lucky that day–two more curves would have taken him into the ocean.

That day, the driver’s fancy car ended up in a cow pasture. Several cars pulled over to help.

I’ve never been able to decide if, on that day, giving grace was such a good idea . . .

End result?

Highway 12 reminds me every day to bestow grace where I can.

And try not to need others to do the same to me!

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How would you have liked to be a student at Oswald Chambers’ correspondence school?

Between 1910 and 1914, it was entirely plausible.

3,000 students went through the classes — and received their essays back, stamped with “Oswald Chambers.”

How did Oswald Chambers’ correspondence school work?

Every week, his sister Gertrude (who was NOT Biddy) sent out his lesson.

The students worked through it, answered the questions, or wrote essays.

They then mailed the packet back.

Sometime, somewhere, I have no idea how, Oswald Chambers read the essays, graded them, and Gertrude sent them back.

For five years.

He was a very busy man!

Who could take the course?

Apparently, anyone who filled out the membership form.

Here’s what it looked like in an advertisement from God’s Revivalist Magazine, May 5, 1910.

(Note, this date was two weeks before Chambers married Gertrude Hobbs!)

(They went on a honeymoon to the United States right afterward!)

The application, addressed to “Rev. Oswald Chambers, Cincinnati, Ohio,” asked for their name, address, and answers to four questions.

Here were the questions:

• Are you a Christian worker?
• How long have you been a Christian?
• Have you any method of Bible Study?
• What time are you prepared to devote per day to the lessons?

This particular summer, Chambers and his bride were in the United States speaking at camp meetings.

He also dictated a book to his bride in the one week they spent alone in the Catskills!

The rest of the time, Chambers was busy grading papers, speaking, and visiting God’s Bible School.

Oh, and spending time with his new wife–right?

What was in the course?

This is what it says:

The fee for each student for the session from June to September will be one dollar.

This fee entitles the student to all the correspondence classes have to give. There is no further expense, no text books, etc. to be secured.

With the first lesson will be sent a sheet of hints, a demonstration lesson, and a “specimen” study.

No one needs to fear joining us; the utmost consideration will be given to each paper. The idea of these classes is an intensely practical one, without the least element of competition.

The questions on the application form are needed to classify the students. A week will be given for studying each subject, and a free week while it is being corrected. A new study will be sent every second week.

What is a “specimen study?”

I have no idea, unless it’s a passage from the Bible — which is what Chambers usually used!

Who took the class?

I don’t know. Chambers spent five months teaching at God’s Bible School in 1906, and he found many friends in America.

He often wrote for God’s Revivalist Magazine over the years, and the publishing group published his first two books. (Biddy, of course, arranged all that).

He used this course when the couple returned to London at the end of the 1910 summer.

There, he and Biddy opened the Bible Training College in Clapham Common. It ran from January 2011 until the summer of 1915, when Chambers became a YMCA chaplain during WWI.

Many of his students — his real descendants — went on to serve in missionary and pastoral positions.

When I interviewed many of their descendants in 2018, the majority were still in Christian service.

Chambers’ only child never married or had children.

It was his students who carried on his legacy.

Thanks be to God.

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Have you been asked to forgive someone?

As in, someone came to you and asked you to forgive them.

Has it ever happened?

Did you forgive them?

What changed in your heart?

What difference does it make if you’ve been asked to forgive?

I’m part of a prayer ministry. We often pray with people needing inner healing.

One of the main keys to inner healing is forgiveness.

A logical question is, “Do you forgive X?”

Some protest, “They don’t deserve it.”

Or, “You don’t know what X did to me.”

Both of those statements are true.

But, Jesus didn’t waffle about granting forgiveness.

Here’s a list of 30 times Jesus spoke about the need to forgive others in the Bible.

While he is sympathetic to the pain someone has caused, we still need to forgive.

Why is it important to forgive–“No matter what they did to you?”

Jesus told us to.

Here are reasons why forgiveness benefits both people.

“Because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” – James 1:20

“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” – Mark 11:25

“So watch yourselves. If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” – Luke 17:3-4

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” – Colossians 3:13

Anger as a result of no apology

Sure, we can forgive someone whether or not they ask for it.

We need to for our own soul’s sake.

But I’ve known too many people who say they have forgiven, but who don’t act like it.

“Of course I forgave him,” is tossed off immediately after someone asks the question.

But their shrug and blithe answer too often suggest that the act of forgiveness may not have touched their hearts.

However, when we run into people who have been deeply wounded, we try a different tactic.

On behalf of the person who sinned, we take their role.

Say, it’s the person’s mom–who often is dead, or may not be in a position to apologize.

“I’m going to take the role of your mother. On her behalf, I’m going to ask you to forgive me. Is that okay with you?”

I’ve never had anyone say no.

I then say, “I want you to know how sorry I am for the hurt I caused you. Will you forgive me?”

(My words/sentiments often are longer than that, but you get the idea.)

It’s surprising to me how emotional I get.

I’m just standing in for the person who hurt them — and then never asked for forgiveness.

(Maybe they had a cold heart; most often, they’re dead or don’t realize the pain held.)

The results of forgiveness?

For the recipient, there’s a person standing in front of them and apologizing.

They may never have heard that apology — the one they’ve sought for years.

I often feel their grief when I stand in for the individual and finally apologize.

I get tears in my eyes!

Does that help the “victim”?

Hearing the words–even if I don’t look like their mom–often causes a hurting dam to break.

Somehow, probably the Holy Spirit, it frees them to finally accept the apology they never got.

You can almost see the pain lifting off.

And Jesus moves in to console, to love, and to assure them that He knows their pain.

He forgives them, too.

Why can it be so hard to release forgiveness?

The post Have You Been Asked to Forgive? appeared first on Michelle Ule, Author.

So what does forgiveness really mean?

How can you tell if you’ve really forgiven someone?

What crept in to show your forgiveness was not as complete as you thought?

How does your heart change when you forgive?

What does forgiveness really mean–and why ask?

Forgiveness is at the heart of Christianity–anyone who claims to be a Christian knows that.

Jesus died to forgive our sins.

Period.

I’ve always enjoyed the image that when we are Christians–claiming Jesus’ death to forgive our sins–God looks at us through “Jesus-colored” glasses.

That means God sees Jesus, not us.

My sin–whatever I did–is forgiven.

Scriptures in abundance describe forgiveness and its benefits. Here are several from the New King James Version:

• Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven. Psalm 32:1
• To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. Daniel 9:9
• If you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. Mark 11:25
• God has exalted Him [Jesus] . . . to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. Acts 5:31
• In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Ephesians 1:7

The crux of the matter is HOW can we tell if we have–or have not–forgiven someone?

As in, how do our words and actions demonstrate we have given forgiveness, once and for all?

What does forgiveness mean to me?

It often means I have to work harder than saying, “You’re forgiven.”

Sure, I may have said those words, but what is my heart doing?

I’ve written before about Jim Wilson’s booklet How to be Free from Bitterness. (See blog post here. Clicking on the title link takes you to a free PDF version of the booklet.)

When I heard him speak 30 years ago, I bought the booklet, and it changed how I examined my heart. If I carried bitterness, or its attitude (particularly in words)–had I truly forgiven someone?

What I particularly appreciated was:

• If I kept talking about my indignation over something, I was bitter–and thus hadn’t forgiven whomever.
• If I kept reviewing what I said or didn’t say, I was not forgiving. Indeed, I was planting and nourishing a seed root of bitterness. (BibleHub explains the contrast well, here.)
• Forgiveness means recognition, but a deliberate choice to let it go in my words and expressed attitudes.
• If I keep complaining, I haven’t forgiven.

Frankly, it’s hard to keep hearing someone insist they’ve forgiven, but then keep bringing up the hurt.

I’m too often guilty of such an attitude myself. When I recognize it (usually when complaining), I confess my sin to God and ask for forgiveness.

God always forgives.

But isn’t forgiveness once and done?

Yes, of course.

Except when it isn’t.

What?

My favorite passage on this subject comes from 1 John 1:8-9:

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Confessing aloud makes you feel awful in the moment, especially if you’ve already confessed the sin.

James 5:16 tells us to “confess our sins to one another” that we might be healed.

Sometimes we need a friend to help us process what happened. We need a Christian to join us in our request for help and forgiveness.

But sometimes we simply need to hear the words aloud by another believer: “I have heard your confession. You’re forgiven.”

My prayer partner served that purpose for 18 years.

I’m grateful.

And I miss her.

Fortunately, I have other people in my life who love me well enough to say those words. But they also challenge me. “Are you sure you’ve forgiven that person?”

(I hate it when that happens).

But then I pray, confess, and resolve to turn away from that sin.

How to express and feel like you’ve granted forgiveness?

Psalm 139: 23-24 gives us the words:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.

Thanks be to God.

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What does repentance mean in everyday life?

The Greek word used in most translations is  metanoia, which, many learned in Sunday School, means “to turn around.”

But Jesus spoke Aramaic.

According to the Meaningful Spirits website, the Aramaic word is Tube.

If we look for the original Aramaic meaning of repent, we find the word Tube (root: tab). In Aramaic, this doesn’t mean feeling sorry for your sins. It literally means “to return” or “to come back to your original source.”

Jesus wasn’t demanding you grovel before an angry deity. He was issuing an invitation to come home. He was saying, “Return to your true nature.” It is a call to restoration, not punishment.

Meaningful Spirits: “The Homecoming of ‘repent.'”

It doesn’t sound so daunting in Aramaic, does it?

So what does repentance really mean?

Changing your way of life.

Coming home, like the Prodigal Son, to the God who loves you and died so you can be forgiven.

That means leaving behind actions, attitudes, and behaviors that are not part of “home.”

It means choosing not to sin anymore.

But when you do sin and want to repent:

• Confess whatever you did to God,
• Ask forgiveness of those whom you have wronged.
• Accept God’s forgiveness.

What is our eternal home?

Life with Christ, the Holy Spirit, and God the Father.

For those who believe, home is where the Godhead welcomes us.

It’s peace with God, ourselves, and others.

The best way to get home is:

• To admit and confess our wrongdoing to God.
• To ask those we’ve hurt or wronged to forgive us.
• To give our own pain and disappointment to God–and believe He forgives us.
• Recognizing Jesus loved us so much that He died for our sake, to forgive our sins and invite us home.

Yes, you’ve seen the same answer twice.

Repentance and the people we’ve wronged

People often get “hung up” on forgiveness, repentance, and what they mean — both to themselves and to others.

Maybe you’ve had a five-year-old who knows he has to ask a sibling for forgiveness?

The child will toss off a “sorry,” and expect the sibling to say, “You’re forgiven.”

A child I knew once responded, “No. I won’t forgive you. I don’t think you mean it.”

The first child then started crying because the sibling wouldn’t forgive.

What would you do?

Repentance, of course, means to genuinely regret what you did. You want to make it as if it never happened.

People can tell if you regret what you did. If they’re Christians, they know they are called to forgive.

“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

Too often, there’s nothing we can do about the past, about what we did.

It’s hard to apologize for something we cannot make right.

And yet, if we don’t apologize, the person we’ve wronged lives with a hurt that’s hard to forget.

How to “make it right” for the person you’ve harmed?

Swallow your pride and fear.

Go to the person you have wronged.

Tell them you’re sorry.

If possible, do something to reverse the pain.

For example, if you stole money, return it.

If you lied to others about them, go to those others and tell the truth. (Then apologize to the person you slandered.)

Too many people walk through life carrying a hurt that never stops aching.

Someone did something to them and never apologized to them.

You may be absolved of your guilt–Jesus forgives you.

But, if when you pray, the person you hurt keeps coming to mind–go to them and ask for forgiveness.

You’ll feel a lot better–but more importantly, so will they.

And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding

will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.

(Philippians 4:7)

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I took a spring walk in England recently.

Staying in the town of Stevenage, north of London, gave me a chance to stroll its avenues.

Birds sang, the green fields of England stood on each side, and vivid flowers popped up to say hello.

It was lovely!

I hadn’t heard birds singing with such abandon in a long time.

I felt charmed and paused just to take in the music!

How different, though, from my spring walk in northern California?

It felt more like a stroll than a hike.

Especially when I reached an ancient church!

St. Nicholas Church on a spring walk in England

St. Nicholas was Stevenage’s ancient parish church.

As the website explains:

The Saxon church on this site was replaced by a Norman one in about 1100 AD. The only remaining part of this is the great, thick-walled flint tower which houses a ring of eight bells. The church structure has been partially rebuilt so many times that it is a patchwork of nine centuries.

It feels that way inside, but also surprisingly modern against the ancient stones.

Coming out of The Avenue and seeing it made me feel outside of time.

I visited the church a few days after Easter Sunday, and a kind churchwoman invited me to come in.

It was beautiful inside, but also cleverly updated to meet today’s media needs.

I laughed at the contrasts!

Reflecting on the old

I sat before the altar and prayed for a few minutes.

It felt so rich to sit in a spot where people have prayed for at least 900 years.

The week after Easter, on a beautiful spring walk in England, gave me a chance to breathe deeply and relax.

Here, my fellow Christians had worshiped our God for a long time.

Eventually, I got a small tour.

And marveled at how the church community has flourished for many years.

A grave marker on the floor, the ancient pew stalls, and the baptismal font.

Then there was the belfry

I thought of Dorothy Sayers’ The Nine Tailors when I saw the belfry!

While I have read novels about bell ringers, I have never imagined what the ropes looked like.

They were hung high on that day, but obvious.

My tour guide happily described how they worked.

My attention, however, turned to the steps leading up!

They were very old.

I put my foot on the worn bottom step, but skipped the rest to simply admire their age.

Happy, many ringers had climbed them over the last 900 or so years?

Plenty.

Oh, and bats live up there, too.

The church visit included a stop to look at the graffiti.

Who knows how long ago someone scratched pictures into the ancient stones?

Finishing the spring walk in England?

I left that ancient church feeling contented.

It’s a busy, alive congregation — and they even have a book table!

(If only I’d brought a book with me!)

I ambled back down to The Avenue, and heard more bird song, spied squirrels, and colorful flowers.

I’d hoped to see a bunny or two, but they weren’t out at 10 in the morning that day!

The spring walk ended, as many do in rural England, at a memorial WWI cenotaph.

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We took a spring walk in California the other day.

My husband and I looked out the window at the sunny sky and thought, “Why not?”

We set off to hike a tall hill–a small mountain by some counts–near our home.

We hadn’t been up there in several years. Trails were overgrown, illegal new ones appeared, and it felt like a new hike.

We walked after a long stint of rain, and the creek was busy and wild.

The trails were soggy, and we either left our footprints or our shoes!

To our surprise, we also got lost.

But here’s what we saw!

Annadel State Park

We hiked up a rough trail to Lake Ilsanjo in Annadel State Park.

I brought a walking stick this year after remembering the challenges of the rocky path.

I only needed one pole, but with the stick mud, uneven path, and the incline, I needed it.

My husband, of course, also stopped to hold out his hand as needed!

The water was high, but it’s since dropped, and now we’re threatened with drought (again).

The lichen-covered trees are waiting for leaves.

The sound of a merry creek, at least in California, heralds spring!

A spring walk in California always includes flowers

And, if you’re near a lake, you get to hear calling birds! YouTube Video here.

On the way to see the above birds in Spring Lake, we passed more flowers!

Traveling to parks involves vineyards coming to life and other signs of spring!

The next week, we headed to Lake Sonoma, passing by awakening vineyards to take another spring walk in California’s beauty.

Other signs of spring stepped out that day, though not with their mother!

We hadn’t been to this part of Sonoma County in a long time. The park seemed empty, which surprised us on that sunny day.

After hiking in the hills, we wandered below the dam to the fish hatchery.

There, we learned about humans’ intervention to ensure there were fish in the Russian River!

The involved setup surprised me. Once the fish cleared the fish ladder, a hose sucked them into metal tanks.

There, workers hand-milked the fish for eggs, then fertilized (not the old-fashioned way!), and raised them in a jar.

We examined the new fish growing in their tanks!

1. Fish swim up the fish ladder. 2. Eggs fertilized in a jar 3. A few weeks later, baby fish!

Once the fish grow enough — usually in a year or two — workers release them into the Russian River.

From there, they swim to the Pacific Ocean.

Five years or so later, they return upstream, and the cycle begins again.

Sonoma County is beautiful any time of the year, but especially on a spring walk.

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Jesus’ brother James appears to be the man who led the Jerusalem church after Jesus’ death.

People have long argued about whether Jesus had siblings.

Jesus’ brothers are mentioned four times in the Gospels and Acts:

Matthew 12:46; Mark 3:31; Luke 8:19; and Acts 1:14.

(In Mark 10:29, Jesus refers to the difficulties in leaving behind parents and siblings for the sake of the Gospel. He, obviously, knew from personal experience.)

Jesus only had half-siblings, the children of Mary and Joseph.

(Half-siblings because Joseph was their father, not the Holy Spirit).

They would have been younger than Jesus.

(Unless, as in some traditions, Joseph was a widower with children before he married Mary. But Scripture doesn’t indicate that anywhere.)

Besides Jesus’ brother James, who else was in the family?

The only references Jesus makes in the Bible are to his mother and his brothers.

Many assume that for that reason, Jesus’ father, Joseph, was no longer living. The fact that Jesus was the eldest son may be why the family needed to talk to him!

Someone needed to run the family business, and it was usually the oldest son in Hebrew families at the time.

According to Mark 6:3 and Matthew 13:55, Jesus’ brothers were James, Joseph, Jude, and Simon.

The Mark passage also indicates Jesus had sisters, but they are not named.

The family, of course, grew up in Nazareth, where their father Joseph worked as a stone mason.

Wikipedia has a series of complicated family trees for possible relationships, here.

After Jesus’ Resurrection

Jesus’ brother James, his mother Mary, and probably the others waited in the upper room after Jesus’ resurrection.

They went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James. ¹⁴ These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

Acts 1:46-48 (NKJV)

One assumes James was on hand when Jesus went up into the clouds.

And then Jesus’ brother James became the head of the Jerusalem church.

Jesus’ brother James in Jerusalem

James did not return home to Nazareth and lived the rest of his life in Jerusalem.

The Apostle Peter refers to him as the leader of the Jerusalem Church in Acts 12:17.

(The Lutheran Study Bible, in discussing Jesus’ brothers, recognized several New Testament men named James. Jesus’ brother James should not be confused with John’s brother in Acts 12:2. Alphaeus’ son, James, is mentioned in Matthew 10:3 and Acts 1:13.)

The Apostle Paul presented himself to James in Jerusalem after his conversion.

James took his role in Jerusalem seriously. He led the Jerusalem Council in accepting Peter’s report about the Gentiles coming to faith.

Jesus’ brother James rejoiced as Jesus’ message went out to the Gentiles and into all the world.

James the Just? Or not?

Wikipedia states that James became known as “James the Just.”

Historians later claimed Jesus had “knees like the knees of a camel.” James apparently spent a lot of time in prayer!

Does it matter?

Yes and no.

We’ll just have to find out when we get to heaven and can ask him!

Christian History Magazine published an edition last year about What Happened to the Apostles?”

You can read it, for free, here.

The post Jesus’ Brother James and Faith appeared first on Michelle Ule, Author.

How high was Jesus’ crucifixion cross?

Traditional paintings, throughout the generations, have depicted him as lifted onto a high cross.

(There’s even an excellent hymn called “Lift High the Cross of Christ.”)

But was he really high up?

Conventional Thought

When we think of representations of Jesus’ death, the cross is usually depicted as very high off the ground.

Here’s one assessment:

The Christian Bible does not specify the actual dimensions of Jesus’ cross. The scriptures do give clues that allow an educated guess at the size and weight of the cross.

In Mark 15:36, the scripture reads that Jesus was offered a sponge with vinegar stuck to a hyssop reed. The average height of a male in that time period was approximately 5 feet. The reed of a hyssop averages 1 to 2 feet long.

These figures suggest the cross was approximately 7 to 9 feet tall. The “patibulum” [crosspiece] that Jesus’ arms were outstretched and nailed to was likely 5 to 6 feet long. The entire cross is estimated to have weighed well over 300 pounds.

Reference.com

Other questions have arisen about the above facts. During the first century AD, there was little excess wood in Judea.

As the first-century Jewish historian Josephus noted, wood was so scarce in Jerusalem during the first century A.D. that the Romans were forced to travel ten miles from Jerusalem to secure timber for their siege machinery.

Biblical Archaeology Daily

The article explained that while artists depict Jesus carrying a full cross, the condemned usually carried only the crossbar.

The math and Jesus’ crucifixion cross.

Let’s start with simple logic.

How much did Jesus weigh at the time of his death?

No idea.

Joan E. Taylor, in her book, What Did Jesus Look Like?, estimates Jesus probably stood about 5 feet, 5 inches.

That was the average height of a Jewish man in the first century.

As for Jesus’s body, I’ve consulted experts on ancient skeletons in Israel. What I have learned is that Judaeans of this time were closest biologically to Iraqi Jews of the contemporary world. In terms of a color palette then, think dark-brown to black hair, deep brown eyes, olive-brown skin. Jesus would have been a man of Middle Eastern appearance. In terms of height, an average man of this time stood 166 cm (5 ft 5 in) tall.

What did Jesus Look Like?

This chart suggests a healthy 5′ tall man would weigh between 97 and 123 pounds. Let’s take the average, 110 pounds.

So, we have a 110-pound man nailed to a 300-pound cross that’s eight feet tall. There’s a cross piece about 5 feet wide. (I’m averaging the numbers for computation purposes.)

What type of wood?

 In the Roman Empire of the 1st century, wood was the most common material used for crucifixion due to its availability and practicality (Samuelsson, 2013). The specific type of wood is not mentioned in the Gospels, and we should be cautious about speculating beyond what is known.

Olive wood or pine were commonly used in Palestine at the time; oak or cedar were also possibilities. The Romans often used whatever wood was locally available. The cross may have been roughly hewn, not the smooth, polished cross we often see in artistic depictions.

Jesus and the Cross

How hard would it be to set the cross into a hole in the ground?

I turned to my in-house engineer for this estimate.

Does this make sense to you?

We have a 110-pound man nailed to a 300-pound cross that’s eight feet tall. It includes a cross piece about 5 feet wide. (I’m averaging the numbers for computation purposes.)

A squad of Roman centurions is about ten strong men. Even six or eight could leverage the cross into place.

As they started lifting, half the weight was in the ground.

This is easier depending on the height of the cross.

How high was Jesus’ crucifixion cross?

Many sites estimate it at 7 to 9 feet high. That does not answer the question, though, of how deep the hole was.

The Romans tended to crucify criminals beside or near the main roads into town. This meant people walking by could look into the face of the crucified person without having to look very high.

For a modern fence, the recommendation is 1/4 to 1/3 of the pole length.

Thus, a 9-foot-tall pole would need to be buried in a hole a little over two feet deep.

Making it about 6.5-7 feet tall from the ground.

Remember, crucifixion was a warning to everyone else.

²⁹ And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, ³⁰ save Yourself, and come down from the cross!”

Mark 15:29-30 NKJV

This implies that those passing by were near enough to shout at Jesus and look him in the eye.

Wouldn’t the guards, who killed people this way all the time, like it to be simple and easy?

Rome designed crucifixion to humiliate the individual. Enabling him to hear people passing by suggests that Jesus’ cross may have been only six or seven feet high.

People walking by who could look him in the eye would be far less inclined to revolt against Rome.

His mother, waiting nearby, could have whispered words of encouragement and love as she prayed.

Remember, Jesus spoke to John, asking him to care for Mary.

Two older men, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, took Jesus off the cross that night.

Together, they carried Jesus’ body to a new tomb.

To have done that alone, the cross probably was no more than seven feet off the ground.

Does it matter?

No.

Jesus died.

He rose three days later.

That’s the real significance.

The post The Height of Jesus’ Crucifixion Cross appeared first on Michelle Ule, Author.