A STUDY OF THE BOOK OF JAMES

BACKGROUND - LESSON ONE

Background:

There are four people referred to in the New Testament that were called James, - the Gentile name for the Hebrew name “Jacob”, although that was a common name during the period of the early church. There was James, the father of Judas (not Iscariot) who is mentioned in Lk 6:16 and Acts 1:13 as the father of one of the twelve disciples; James, the son of Alphaeus mentioned in Mt 10:13 as one of the twelve who was known as James, the Less; James, mentioned in Mt 4:21, one of the sons of Zebedee (along with his brother John); and James, mentioned in Mt 13:55; Mk 6:3; Gal 1:19, who was a half brother to Jesus. There are evidences enough to show that the first two men mentioned could not have been the author of the epistle, and there are too many contradictions between James, the son of Zebedee and James, the brother of Jesus, for evidence that the son of Zebedee was not the author of the book. So when compiling all the information, as well as checking the date of the epistle and the style of writing, we can be certain that the epistle was written by James, the brother of Jesus.

The Book of James is a letter that was written between A.D. 45-49 to the Jewish Christians living outside of the Holy Land. James, the son of Zebedee and brother of John, was the first disciple to be martyred, which took place in A.D. 44 - one year before the earliest date given to this book, therefore that is one of the great evidences that he did not write the book, not to mention that he is only referred to as a disciple, and he was not anxious to gain much fame. Mt 13:55 and Mk 6:3 both list the names of the four half brothers that Jesus had. There are some people who thought that Joseph may have been married before he was wed to Mary, and that he had sons already, which according to Jewish law- would mean that his eldest son who was entitled to the throne of David would not have been Jesus, if He was not the firstborn of Joseph. There are some people (stemming from the Catholic teaching) that believe Mary was a virgin all her life and that she never had any more children - but Mt 1:25 and Lk 2:7 mention Jesus as being her firstborn son - meaning that she had other children - at least four other sons which have been named in scripture, and at least three daughters -Mt 13:55-56 and Mk 6:3. These individuals believe that the people listed as siblings to Jesus were only cousins - but we need to believe what the Word of God says, even concerning the smallest detail.

It is believed by most scholars that the Book was written between A.D. 45-49. Some of the reasons for that conclusion are as follows: (1) the Gentiles were not referred to in this letter, which would make sense because at this early stage, the Gospel had not yet spread to many Gentiles. Peter had his vision in A.D. 41 of the sheet being let down from heaven - showing him that he needed to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. (2) James did not mention the controversy about the rite of circumcision which was discussed at great length at the Jerusalem Council - recorded in Acts 15. Since James was very strict when it came to the Jewish law, it seems certain that he would have mentioned the controversy. (3) There are no references to slavery or idolatry in this Epistle. (4) Although there are references to the person of Christ, there is hardly any distinctive theology, suggesting that the Book was written at an early date when Christianity was viewed in terms of Messianic Judaism. (5) There is very little, if any, reference to anything in the Synoptic Gospels, meaning that the Book was most likely written before them. (6) There is much evidence showing that this was most likely the first book written as part of the New Testament. (7) James uses the word “synagogue” when referring to the place of worship for the Gentiles - which is the word used as the name of the meeting place for the Jews. (8) James suffered martyrdom in A.D. 62 by the Scribes and Pharisees who hurled him off the pinnacle of the temple. Since he did not die from the fall, his enemies stoned him then assured his death by hitting him with a club.

There are several similarities that can be used as evidence of James’ authorship which we can look at. The language of the letter is one of the parallels to the letter in Acts 15:23-29 written by James to the churches - concerning the practice of circumcision. James was writing to the Jewish Christians, and he upheld the Jewish law, so he was addressing the idea of circumcision as being a means of salvation. James refers indirectly fifteen times to the Sermon on the Mount. Although James says very little about Christ in a direct manner, he does allude to the teachings of Christ often. This is very interesting when you consider that James grew up in the same household as Jesus Christ. He surely knew that Jesus was different in many ways from him and his other siblings, Jesus was a picture of “perfection” - but it is in the sense of “humility” rather than haughtiness. We can assume that the perfection of Jesus would have caused some problems among the children who would not have understood everything about the mission of Jesus.

James refers to himself as a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ - rather than a brother of Jesus. Paul gives reference in I Cor 15:7 of the Lord appearing to James. Before the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, no one in His family, with the exception of His mother, Mary, believed on Him. So it is important to note that James had to be shown proof that Jesus was who He claimed to be. Therefore, when he wrote this Epistle, which was the first letter to be written to any of the churches, that became a part of the New Testament, James referred several times to the teachings of Jesus although he did not mention the name of Jesus more than a few times.

The purpose of the letter is practical, rather than doctrinal or apologetic. The apologetic approach means that he would be defending the faith, which he wasn’t doing as much as being practical in challenging the readers to examine their lives. He was encouraging the Jewish believers who were suffering trials that were testing their faith. He was also attempting to correct the wrong ideas that some had about the nature of saving faith.

The theory that many scholars have about the believers who James addressed are that they are the ones who were forced out of Jerusalem after the death of Stephen - and who went to Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1) and even as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Syrian Antioch (Acts 11:9). James was considered the spiritual leader of the church in Jerusalem and would have felt responsible for the believers who had to leave the area - especially if they were new believers. (Tradition says that James was appointed as the Pastor or Bishop of the church at Jerusalem by Jesus Himself but scripture isn’t clear about how he attained the position).

It seems that after Jesus appeared to James, James became a devoted follower of Jesus and was appointed or placed in the position as head of the church which was made up of mostly Jews, but with some Gentile proselytes - with a total of between 20,000-40,000. When Jesus appeared to the many individuals after His ascension, He told them they were to preach the Gospel until He returned, but it seems likely that many of them did not truly understand or believe that they were to be that serious in spreading the Gospel - for they all lived as though the Lord would return very soon. They did not realize that it would be more than 2000 years that the Gospel would need to be preached.

When we look at what James was writing about, we can see that this letter was written a few years before Paul had received the message of the Cross - the New Covenant. Paul was saved about A.D. 35, but his work was not recorded till about A.D. 44 as he began his first missionary journey. So James really didn’t have Paul’s writings to refer to concerning the New Covenant or any other doctrine. James did not contradict Paul on any subject, but he did not have a full understanding of the Cross or the doctrine of grace as Paul had. Paul taught and dwelt on the theme of justification by faith, while James dwelt on justification by works, but before confusion sets in, we need to realize that there was not a conflict in the teaching of the doctrine, as we will see when we get into the scriptures. At the Council of Jerusalem, where James was in charge, he made the decision that the Gentiles were not bound by the law of Moses as it regarded circumcision and other issues, but the Jews were still trying to abide by the law so much to the point that Paul did everything in his power to keep the church from splitting as it concerned law and grace. Of course, Paul taught that the believer is no longer under law, but is now under grace. But it was not easy for the Jews to change their traditional way of thinking, so that is one of the main reasons the Book of Hebrews was written, probably around A.D. 67-69. It is believed by a large number of scholars that Paul was the author of the Book of Hebrews.

God will allow His Gospel to be distorted and attacked only for so long before He will send judgment. In A.D. 70, God allowed the temple in Jerusalem to be completely destroyed by using Titus the Roman general, as His instrument. It was an insult to Christ to have the Jews still abiding by the law of Moses when He had already paid the price, so that they could live under grace. In other words, the same is true today: anything that takes the place of the Cross, in the believer’s daily life, is an insult to Christ and it frustrates the grace of God.

James was called “James the Just” because of his character and his strong devotion to the Lord. Some called him “James the Camel-kneed” because he spent so much time on his knees in prayer.

Some have called James the Amos of the New Testament because of his preaching against social injustice and inequity. His letter is very similar to the Proverbs in the terse, moralistic style of wisdom literature that he uses. It is somewhat difficult to give an outline of the epistle since he covers many subjects in just 108 verses, but it can be divided into three major sections with subtopics to follow. The first section concerns “The Test of Faith” - 1:1-18. This section develops the qualities of genuine faith concerning trials and temptations. He attempts to lead the believer into dependence on God when outward trials are sent our way which are meant to develop maturity and wisdom. The inward trials we suffer do not come from the one who bestows “every good gift”. The second section involves “The Characteristics of Faith” 1:19-5:6. James encourages us to be quick to hear and obey God’s Word. It means more than just listening - it also involves receiving and applying the Word of God to our lives.

Paul taught justification by faith and he used Abraham as the example, but James says Abraham was justified by works. There is not a contradiction here but instead there are two sides to the same coin. Paul writes about justification before God, while James writes about justification before men. A faith that does not produce change is not saving faith. A person who is living in faith will have control over the tongue because only the power of God that is applied by an active faith can tame the tongue.

The third section of the outline would be entitled “The Triumph of Faith” - 5:7-20. James encourages the believers to be patient and endure the sufferings that come while keeping in view the coming of the Lord. Remember that they truly felt like the Lord would return at any moment. They did not know or understand the complete scripture as we do now, and because they were going through terrible persecution, they thought the end was near. Jesus warned about the end times, and how so many would turn away from Him but also that many people would come to Him in the last days.

There were some who didn’t believe that the brother of Jesus would be the author of this Epistle because of his education and his occupation etc, but the Holy Spirit speaks through each of the writers in a way that is characteristic of them. He doesn’t use the authors beyond their knowledge, so this is why each book in the Bible is written in a different manner and each writer focuses on what the Holy Spirit has led them to say.