James - Introduction

Who wrote it:

Probably James, the half-brother of Jesus.
There were only three James in the N.T. writings.

• James, brother of John, son of Zebedee, one of the first called by Jesus Mt 4:21). This James was martyred very early in the life of the church, about 44 B.C., killed by Herod. (about 10-11 years after Pentecost) (Acts 12:2)
• James, son of Alpheus - one of the original twelve disciples; one time called ‘James the Less’, (Mk 15:40). James, called the Less (either younger, or physically diminutive, or not as ‘important’ as James, John’s brother.) Note: this James probably may have been Jesus' cousin, (Sister of Jesus’s mother Mary). There are no known writings from James the Less. Note: James the son of Alpheas may have become a leader in the Jerusalem church.
• James, Jesus’ half-brother, was a late comer to faith in the Messiah. He obviously grew in stature in the church rapidly. (<Acts 1:13,14) He originally is hostile about Jesus being the Messiah. (John 7:5) He also rose to prominence and leadership in the Jerusalem church. Paul notes the post-resurrection appearance to Jesus' brother. (1 Cor 15:7) 

So, most scholars believe, or assign the authorship to James, the half-brother of Jesus.

When was it written:

In the middle of the first century, between 44 and 62 A.D. If Jesus’ brother wrote it, then it most likely was written before 62 AD. This was probably one of the first letters written to the churches, some think perhaps the first letter (preceding Paul’s letters), maybe as early as 45 AD. That means it may have been written right after James, son of Zebedee, was murdered by Herod

To whom was it written:

Christians, especially those scattered from Israel proper, including the churches started by Paul, Barnabas, and other evangelists. I don’t think the ‘scattered’ reference has anything to do with the Jewish Diaspora caused by the Roman persecution. Note: Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans about 72-77 AD. From the time of the Assyrians plundering the Northern Kingdom (~ 750 BC), and the Babylonians the Southern kingdom (~500 BC) the Jews had experienced 'Diaspora', but nothing as wrenching as the Romans. They did not return to any great extent until 1948 AD, after WWII.

The letter may have been written to encourage Jewish Christians since the early church was mostly converted Jews. Paul and Barnabas were the first real attempt to reach out to Gentiles. Until Paul & Barnabas got confirmation from the other apostles, Gentiles were kind of an afterthought. Note: Paul and Barnabas made the defense of the Gentiles about 57 AD. (Acts 15:12,13)

Some call James’ letter a ‘general epistle’ because it was not written to any single church or group of churches.

The main message:

Ain’t no such thing as a passive faith.

Theme verses:

James 1:22 - But be doers of the word, and not only hearers of it, blinding yourselves with false ideas.
James 2:26 – For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
James 4:17 – So then, the person who does not do the good he knows he should do is guilty of sin.

The following idea needs to be fleshed out, to prove or disprove the premise: This letter is seen by many as a NT equivalent of ‘Proverbs’. Unlike most of the epistles which have a ‘theology’ section and a ‘application’ section, James seems to assume the reader is a believer and so there is no explicit gospel message.

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OUTLINE

Chapter 1

1:1 – Greeting
1:2-4 – Trials
1:5-8 – Ask for Wisdom
1:9-11 – Rich and Poor
1:12-16 – Temptations and Sin
1:17-18 – Good from Heaven
1:19-20 – Anger
1:21-25 – (True Religion) Be Doers of the Word
1:26-27 – Pure Religion

Chapter 2

2:1-8 – Avoid Favoritism, Partiality
2:9-14 - Breaking the Law/
2:14-20 – Faith in Action (with Works)
2:21-26 - Works Prove Faith

Chapter 3

3:1-12 – Self-Control - Danger of the tongue
3:13-18 – Wisdom (Jealousy destroys peace)

Chapter 4

4:1-5 – Sources of quarrels
4:6-10 – Draw near to God (Resist the Devil)
4:11-12 – Judging
4:13-17 – Planning the future

Chapter 5

5:1-6 – Rich vs. Poor
5:7-8 - Poor vs. Rich
5:9-11 – Be patient
5:12 - No Oaths
5:13-15 - Pray for the sick
5:16-18 – Pray for one another

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Examples of Faith Operating as per James

Faith in Testings - James 1:1
     Principles Involved
Faith at Work - Jam 1:19
     Practices for the present
Faith and the Future - Jam 4:13
     Prizes in the Future
Faith and Our Prayers and Actions - 5:13
     Constructive Conclusion

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Note 1: GNB = Good News Bible - Today’s English Version; American Bible Society; 1992. When I committed buy life to Jesus Christ at Explo ‘72, the ‘Good News for Modern Man’ was the Bible I had. And I started reading it. The books that affected me most were Colossians and James. At one point I had most of Colossians memorized, and some of James. Unfortunately, I no longer have them completely committed - old age has diminished my ability to memorize or to quickly call up that which I still retain. However, I still love to read Colossians and James in the GNB translation, even though it may not be the most accurate. When I come to a verse that is made more clear by a different translation, I will refer to it.

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Note 2: Oswald Chambers; “My Utmost for His Highest”; Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd.; 1992.

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