chapter four
In addition to giving James a role among the first witnesses, the
fragment also exhibits other concerns. Why is the appearance connected
to James’ oath of not eating bread before he has seen the Son of Man risen?
James the Just was known for his virtue and ascetic lifestyle (Eusebius,
Hist. eccl..).EusebiuspresentsalongquotationfromHegesippus’
Memoirswhere Hegesippus describes James’ virtues:
Hedranknowineorliquorandatenomeat.Norazorcamenearhis
head, he did not anoint himself with oil, and took no baths. He alone was
permitted to enter the sanctum, for he wore not wool but linen. He used
to enter the temple alone and was often found kneeling and imploring
forgiveness for the people, so that his knees became hard like a camel’s
from his continual kneeling in worship...
(Eusebius,Hist. Eccl. .; trans. Maier ).However, this type of ascetic fame does not explain the passage. The
point is not James’ ascetic lifestyle in general but a specific vow which
actually involves only a short-term abstinence. What could be the reason
for James’ quite limited asceticism in theGospel of the Hebrews?
Hans-Josef Klauck sees here an apologetic argument: if James, a just
man, deviates from his vow of not eating bread, the resurrection “has
indeed taken place and the risen Lord has encouraged his brother to
resume eating.”^54
I find it hard to see in the fragment the kind of apologetics for
resurrection that Klauck suggests. In my view, the apologetics seems
to be channeled more directly through the group of witnesses to the
resurrection. In theGospel of the Hebrews, there seem to have been
quite many of them: the servant of the priest to whom Jesus gives his
burial linen, James to whom he appears thereafter and some unnamed
persons, possibly disciples, whom Jesus tells to prepare the table and the
bread. However, Klauck may be on the right track when he notes that the
fragment makes a point of the fact that James resumes eating.
The fragment includes obvious traces of a Eucharistic setting: There
are some persons around who serve Jesus, and the table and the bread
are prepared according to Jesus’ instruction. After the preparations, Jesus
breaks the bread, blesses it and gives it to James the Just saying: “Eat your
bread since the Son of Man is risen from those who sleep.” Thus, it seems
that the fragment intends to combine James with the practice of fasting
that ends with the Eucharist, celebrated on the day of the resurrection.
(^54) Klauck , .