PREACHING FROM THE ROOFTOP :"What you have heard in private, you must announce from the housetops" (Matthew 10:27).

 

James looked down from where he stood, balanced carefully at the highest point of the temple in Jerusalem. Far below, he could see that the streets were filled with people. It was Passover, and Jews from all over the known world had come to the Holy City.  A hand grabbed his arm, pulling him off balance. "Get on with it!" a voice  threatened. Behind him, a safe distance from the dangerous ledge, stood the chief priest, scribes, and Pharisees. "Deny that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah! Before all those people, deny that Jesus was the Son of God and that He was resurrected from dead", they demanded.
James the Less was one of the 12 disciples chosen by Jesus. He was also one of Jesus' younger 'brothers', as was Jude. He was obviously known Jesus and walked with Him for many years; he had seen Jesus alive again after His crucifixion and resurection.

James risked another glance at the street below. Many of the people down there knew him. For years, he had been the bishop of the church at Jerusalem. During that time, he wrote a book of the Bible, the Epistole of James. He had openly preached Jesus as the Messiah and the resurected Son of God on almost every street corner. How could he deny what he had seen with his own eyes, heard with his own ears, and touched with his own hands: his risen Lord? Through his preaching, his prayers, and his example, James converted many people to Christ. He was on his bare knees so often, worshipping God and praying for forgiveness for the sins of the people, that his knees became numb and calloused, like the knees of a camel. This also earned him the nickname 'James the Just'. He was respected by everyone, even many who opposed what he taught and believed. Feeling threatened by the rapid growth of the church, the chief priest, scribes, and Pharisees came up with a plan. They would force his well-known church leader to deny his faith before the multitude. But James refused to cooperate.

From his place at the top of the temple, he preached with more boldness than ever. Every person in the crowd below looked up as he proclaimed: "Jesus is the promised Messiah! He is sitting at the right hand of God, and shall come again in the clouds of heaven, to judge the quick and the dead"!
When the crowd below saw his courage and heard his bold words,  they loudly praised God and magnified the name of Jesus. Enraged, two or three of the religious leaders jumped forward and pushed James off the temple roof.
Miraculously, James was not killed by the fall; only his legs were broken. Then the priests, scribes and Pharisees said 'Let's stone the 'just man". They picked up rocks to stone him to death. James, on his broken legs, prayed, "Lord, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (The voice of the martyrs).