The Acts of the Apostles

122 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
to the scene of the Acts is brilliantly justified by St.
Paul. St. James, the fifth personality of this series,
occupies a peculiar position. It is presupposed that
the four others are unknown, while it is assumed that
he is known. The readers evidently knew—though
this is nowhere stated—that he was the Lord's brother,
and that he had become the head of the Primi-
tive Community after the Twelve had quite given
up the leadership, which had already been limited
by the appointment of the " Seven." We receive no
direct information concerning him, indeed in two of
the three passages where his name occurs extraordi-
narily little is said about him (xii. 17; xxi. iSff.).
In the second passage we at once lose sight of him as
an individual amid the body of presbyters at Jeru-
salem, and in the first passage one can only just
recognise that he is the head of " the brethren " in
Jerusalem.^ But in the third passage (xv. 13 y.), for
which xii. 17 is evidently intended to prepare, he
plays a part of the highest, indeed of decisive,
importance in the general plan of the book. As to
St. Stephen, so also to him a speech is assigned, and
it was this speech that settled the whole question
under discussion.
We can, moreover, distinguish in the book person-
ages of a third degree of importance, individuals
whom St. Luke thought it worth while or necessary
just to mention, without going into closer detail con-
cerning them, either because they were of no import-
1 This method of treatment of St. James in xii. 27 and xxi. 18/.
is of importance in connection with the question of the homogeneity
of the book. Chap. xxi. 18 belongs to the we-sections.