James – The Way of Christ Ministries

Survey of the Epistle of James

Survey of James

James is often referred to as the guide to practical Christian living. That is to say that it gives us a picture of how we should put in effect the things we have seen, and heard concerning Jesus Christ. James answers the questions concerning how a Christian should live out Grace in relation to the Law. James is one of the letters known as the General Epistles. The General Epistles are sometimes referred to as “Universal” or “Catholic” letters because they are not addressed to a specific church location. These letters include 1^st and 2^nd Peter, 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd John, the letter from Jude (the half-brother of Jesus), and of course James.

Authorship

The author of this epistle identifies himself as James (1:1) and only claims to be “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”. There are several men named James in the New Testament writings. We have a need to examine the information available, in these documents, concerning these men to determine the authorship of this jewel of church doctrine we refer to as the Epistle of James.

James: the son of Zebedee and Salome; who is the elder brother of the apostle John. This James was one of the twelve selected by Jesus to be his closest disciples and his apostles. He was a fisherman by trade and it appears that he was a partner with the apostle Peter (Matthew 20:20; 27:56). This James, along with John and Peter were a part of the inner circle of the apostles and was privy to events that most of the disciple would not have seen. He was allowed to see: the transfiguration of Christ (Matthew 17:1; Mark 9:2); the raising of Jairus’s daughter (Mark 5:37-43); and he was present with Jesus at the prayer and encouragement of Jesus in the garden of gethsemane (Mark 14:33-35). He was called to be an apostle (Matthew 4:21-22; 10:2; Mark 1:19-20; Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13) by Jesus Christ. This James and his younger brother John was also referred to as a son of thunder because if their unbridled passion for Jesus (Mark 3:17). As an apostle he would have been witness to many great things that Jesus had done in his ministry and of the resurrection. However, despite all of the great reasoning that this James might have been the author, there is one thing that excludes the possibility. The Apostle James was the first Apostle to be martyred in 44 A.D by King Herod (Acts 12:1-2). This letter is believed to have been written between 45-50 A.D. In addition, the council of Jerusalem concerning the argument of the circumcision of the Gentiles did not occur until Acts chapter 15. So the James mentioned in that passage was not the Apostle James.

There were a couple of other mentions of different men named James in the New Testament. These men were only mentioned once and then were lost to obscurity. It is unlikely that these were the one who wrote such powerful theological addresses as are found in this letter. No, there is one more James that was there from the beginning, but who was not an apostle. This James would have had all the knowledge of Jesus’ whole life, death, and resurrection. He would have been a Jew, and held the respect of the Apostles and the Jews. This was James the brother of Jesus (half-brother).

James the half-brother of Jesus, although he was present from before the start of Jesus’ public ministry, was not a believer in Jesus as the Son of God until after he was a witness of the resurrected Christ. In seeing the death of Jesus and then seeing him alive, James became a devout follower of Jesus. He was the head of the Jerusalem council and was a respected pillar of the church and of the Jewish community. He would have had the knowledge and understanding in seeing the whole earthly life of Jesus, listening to his teachings, and witnessing the miracles, and the resurrection. This put him in a unique position to be a teacher and evangelist to the Jews concerning the Hebrew scriptures and how Jesus fulfilled the Law and the prophets. Even his initial criticisms of Jesus would have been a great witness to the hard-hearted Israelite of the love of God towards them that was revealed in Jesus Christ the Son of God.

Historical Settings

At the time of this writing the church was still distinctively Jewish in nature because most of it’s members came from Jewish backgrounds and traditions. The letter suggests a simpler form of hierarchy in the local church. The church leaders are referred to as elders (5:14) and teachers (3:1). There is no mention of the soon to develop strife over Gentile circumcision. The Greek term for synagogue is used to designate the gathering place of the church. Many believe that this letter and the letter to the Galatians are the earliest recovered letters in the New Testament.

The Jews in Jerusalem were scorned and driven out by persecutions, not from Rome, but from their own kinsman. Many Jewish believers in Christ would have lost their social status, homes, family ties, access to the temple and suffered economic loss and hardships that come with the inability to make a living because of their persecution. Many left Jerusalem in order to make a living elsewhere and to escape the persecution.

Major Themes

The letter is written to these Jews who had scattered abroad (1:1). They were under severe persecutions and distress. James writes to encourage them. He tells them that the trials in which the find themselves in are expected and that they are for their betterment. James tells them that these trials are being used to mature their faith. They bring patients in the waiting of the fulfilment of their hope. He encourages them to seek wisdom from God and that God has not abandoned them. This is important because they had been ostracized from the religion of their youth and they needed to know that they had not erred. He shows them in this letter that they have not abandoned God either, instead they have grown closer to God then they could ever imagine. He also instructs them on how to live in the freedom that God has given them in Jesus Christ and how they should treat one another in order to be pleasing servants of God and his Messiah.

Key Verse: But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves (James 1:22)

Doctrine

James deals with a lot of controversial doctrines. Even Martin Luther argued as to whether the Epistle of James should be in the Canon of the Bible because of the doctrinal approach that James appears to take. It is important when we read through the scriptures that we understand that not all scripture is written to everyone. That is we must pay attention to who the author is addressing his letter to and see what issues they are dealing with. As in this case James is writing to Jews who have believed on Jesus Christ and are still in the process of dealing with this new way of life. They came from a rigid system of rituals and prayers that had added to what God actually said and excessively burdened the seeker of God. Remember Christianity was not a religion, the religion was still Judaism. In this James unpacks the differences between the works oriented Jewish religion to the works resultant way of Christ. Many Christians these days would do good to study this book and see how we are to live in obedience, now that we have been freely saved by God in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

The Doctrines that James deals with are a living in Christ once you have believed and received this forgiveness, not an earning of salvation through works. James starts with the doctrine of persecution and it expectancy and the resultant spiritual growth. Then he moves into how to live a sanctified life. This includes patience, slow to wrath, not rushing to judgement. James presents the doctrine of humility by not judging other believers by appearance, money, reputation, or prestige. The secret to this is that we are all servants who serve the same master. Then James begins a discussion of the doctrine of Works by Faith. Many confuse this portion to think that James is saying that to have faith you must do these things. James is not saying that at all, he says that faith has certain works that accompany it as a byproduct. Without works in faith, you do not possess faith. Because if you believed then you would act a certain way and be obedient to the will of the LORD.

Then he discusses by example the use of the tongue, the truth of pride and wisdom. James then tells them that if they were walking in the spirit (faith) then they would not have quarrels amongst the brethren. So, peace and love in the church is a result of waking by faith. James’s doctrine for walking in faith is to (1) Submit to God, (2) Resist the devil, (3) Draw close to God and let God draw close to you, (4) Be sincere in your repentance, and (5) Put away pride. James also sets the doctrine of laying on of hands. James urges his readers in the same manner that the author of Hebrews does, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.” (Hebrews 6:1-2)

Outline

Greetings and Encouragement 1:1
Trials 1:2-18
1. Purpose of Trials 1:2-12
2. Pedigree of Trials 1:13-15
3. Purpose of God in Trials 1:16-18
The Word 1:19-27
Christian Conduct 2-5
1. Partiality 2:1-13
2. Actions of Faith 2:14-26
3. The Fire in Tongue 3:1-12
4. Real Wisdom 3:13-18
5. Worldliness 4:1-17
6. Proper Views 5:1-12
7. Prayer 5:13-18
8. Conversion of the Erring 5:19-20

Look at James and Hebrews

James talked about enduring trials, but what kinds of trials was James talking about? I found this in Hebrews and thought that it was applicable to what we are discussing. It is important for us to understand that faith results in actions. Sometimes these actions are quite sever. However, going through these trials build us up in Christ and gives us the endurance needed to run our race well. Below is a table that shows some people in the Old Testament who were tested.

Two things of note. First, in Hebrews 11:29 the author briefly mentions when Israel crossed the Red Sea. Now something that may be overlooked in the casual reading of this little verse… each individual had to make a decision to trust God and pass through the waters. Any one who would have stayed behind, even though they would be “elect” of God would have died at the hands of Egypt (the World system). Those who truly believed God and used that faith to move forward were spared death. Without faith in God they would have never moved.

Second is the entirety of Hebrews 11:35-40 shows the trials that others before us have had to go through. These things they endured not only demonstrated their faith, but; gave a benefit for us. Without these martyrs we would not have examples of what faith looks like in action. We would not have the benefit of being able to trust in the Lord without seeing the faithfulness of God in their sufferings. We could even go so far as to say that without the trials of the faithful who have gone before us, we would not know God. Why then do we go through trials.

Hebrews 11:17-33

Faith	Who	Action
By Faith	Abraham	Offered Isaac in obedience of faith and trust in God
By Faith	Isaac	Blessed Jacob and Esau’s future trusting the promise of God
By Faith	Jacob	When dying Blessed his sons future trusting the promise of God
By Faith	Joseph	Commanded his bones be brought out of Egypt; believing God
By Faith	Moses’ Parents	Hid him 3 months without fear
By Faith	Moses	Refused to be a son of the Pharaoh’s daughter
By Faith	Moses	Forsook Egypt
Through Faith	Moses	Kept the Passover in obedience through faith
By Faith	Moses and Israel	Passed through the Red Sea in obedience through faith
By Faith	Joshua and Israel	Fell the Walls of Jericho by obedience to the Lord
By Faith	Rehab	Received mercy salvation
Through Faith	Various Judges	Subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, etc… all through obedience in faith

Take some time this week to search out these examples and see what these saints did because of their faith. If we believe that Jesus is the Lord and stand in that faith, then we will receive trials. Trials are a good thing. Trials help us to grow and mature in our faith. Trials help us to trust more on the Lord and his promises. Trials help others to trust in the Lord and give an opportunity for others to learn how to respond in trials, and to encourage their own faith and endurance.

Death of James

Brother of Jesus, Leader of the Church of Jerusalem

James the brother of Jesus was not a believer of Jesus as the Son of God until after Jesus was resurrected. James was a devout man who was also known as James the Just. Clement of Alexandria and Hegsippus both wrote epithets that refer to James as the Just. He was a devout man who demanded the respect of both Christian and Jewish leaders.

Once converted, James is believed to have worked, in the early church at Jerusalem, with the Apostle Peter (Cephas). The Encyclopedia Britannica explains the James the brother of Jesus may have been a natural fill-in for the martyr James of the son of Zebedee (Acts 12:2). James appears in the book of the Acts of the Apostles to have been an influential member of the church Council in Jerusalem. Paul the Apostle received council from James when he returned to Jerusalem. Paul lists James and Cephas at pillars of the church in Jerusalem. Peter also when he had been released from Prison in Acts 12 told them to go and tell James. Peter’s singling out of James puts an emphases of the importance of James to the church in Jerusalem.

James died around 62 A.D. Christian Historians put his death in Jerusalem where he was martyred for his faith in Jesus as the Son of God. Eusebius, a 4^th Century Christian and historian chronicles 3 different sources of the death of James. Clement of Alexandria, Hegesippus, and Josephus all have a different version of the martyrdom of James. Hegesippus’ version is the one Eusebius judges as most correct.

AND now Caesar, upon hearing the death of Festus, sent Albinus into Judea, as procurator. But the king deprived Joseph of the high priesthood, and bestowed the succession to that dignity on the son of Ananus, who was also himself called Ananus. Now the report goes that this eldest Ananus proved a most fortunate man; for he had five sons who had all performed the office of a high priest to God, and who had himself enjoyed that dignity a long time formerly, which had never happened to any other of our high priests. But this younger Ananus, who, as we have told you already, took the high priesthood, was a bold man in his temper, and very insolent; he was also of the sect of the Sadducees, who are very rigid in judging offenders, above all the rest of the Jews, as we have already observed; when, therefore, Ananus was of this disposition, he thought he had now a proper opportunity [to exercise his authority]. Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, [or, some of his companions]; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned: but as for those who seemed the most equitable of the citizens, and such as were the most uneasy at the breach of the laws, they disliked what was done; they also sent to the king [Agrippa], desiring him to send to Ananus that he should act so no more, for that what he had already done was not to be justified; nay, some of them went also to meet Albinus, as he was upon his journey from Alexandria, and informed him that it was not lawful for Ananus to assemble a sanhedrin without his consent. (24) Whereupon Albinus complied with what they said, and wrote in anger to Ananus, and threatened that he would bring him to punishment for what he had done; on which king Agrippa took the high priesthood from him, when he had ruled but three months, and made Jesus, the son of Damneus, high priest. [i]

Tradition holds that James was brought to the temple and confronted on whether he believed that Jesus was the messiah. James’ stance of belief that Jesus was indeed the Son of God infuriated the Sanhedrin and James was pushed of a high place of the Synagogue and then stoned. It is reported that James prayed for his attackers in the same way that Jesus did, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.” Then his head was caved in by a club.

James the brother of Jesus had once doubted Jesus as the messiah. He probably felt at one time that he was crazy and was ashamed to call him his brother. This James who believed and followed the Law of Moses to the last dash and the last dot of ink had given his life for his belief. A belief that Jesus is indeed the Son of God who takes away the sins of the world.

[i] “Josephus on James.” Dr. Beth Elise Whitaker, 11 Apr. 2013, pages.uncc.edu/james-tabor/ancient-judaism/josephus-james/.