That's how I see it. The same thing happened to Paul (though after Jesus' death), so why not to James? Did any of the disciples "get" Jesus in his lifetime? I would think my brother was crazy too if he talked like Jesus did. But if I was a believer in the OT and "saw the light" (i.e., saw the OT in a new light, i.e., one that persuaded me that it prophesized about my brother), then I can imagine I would change my mind about it.The mainstream solution to these problems, if such they are, is harmonistic: for example, James was not a believer during Jesus' ministry, but then he became one shortly thereafter ...
And I see the Damascus Document as at least offering a potential parallel (if it doesn't actually refer to James and Jesus). First it tells us that God "visited" the sect, then the sect were like blind men for twenty years until the rise of the Teacher of Righteousness.
... He visited them, and He caused a root of planting to spring from Israel and Aaron to inherit His Land and to prosper on the good things of His earth. And they perceived their iniquity and recognized that they were guilty men, yet for twenty years they were like blind men groping for the way. And God observed their deeds, that they sought Him with a whole heart, and He raised for them a Teacher of Righteousness to guide them in the way of His heart.