James 1:1: James, A Servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ
2024-04-27
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. (James 1:1)
Opening Remarks
The book of James is a very deep theological book with emphasis on sanctification truths and their application. Some have called it the Gospel in shoe leather. Some have even found it controversial. The Reformer Martin Luther said, “I will not have it in my Bible.” James “mangles the Scriptures and thus contradicts Paul and all of Scripture.” “St. James’ epistle is a real epistle of straw... for it has no evangelical way about it.” Since we believe the Scriptures, we know nothing in James contradicts the rest of the Scriptures.
Background: The Author
James’ Relation to Jesus
The name James is actually “Jacob.” Of the linguistic explanations I have read, I have no good reason how Jacob became James. Jacob is a good Jewish name, being the name of a patriarch of the entire nation of Israel.
James is the brother of the Lord Jesus Christ. Of Jesus, His countrymen said, “Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?” (Matthew 13:55). And again, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him” (Mark 6:3).
Flavius Josephus affirms that this James is the half-brother of Jesus. “So he assembled the sanhedrim of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus who was called Christ, whose name was James: and some others; And when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned” (Jewish Antiquities 20.9.1).
“What is commonly regarded as his defect is in reality one of his greatest merits as a witness: he was a Hebrew, and looks at the Church from the stand-point of ‘James the Lord’s brother.’” (Hegesippus).
When we say Jesus’ brother, we most likely mean His half-brother. After Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary had a normal marriage and had at least six children: the four brothers mentioned above, and a plural “sisters.” The plainest meaning of the text would suggest this. Joseph “knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS” (Matthew 1:25).
Some say that James and the others were stepbrothers. In this view, these were children of Joseph from a previous marriage. “I have sons, and I am an old man, but she is a girl: lest I became a laughing-stock to the children of Israel” (Gospel of James 9:2, translation by M. R. James). This apocryphal work is a second century resource.
James and Jesus
Whatever your interpretation, James grew up with Jesus and knew Him well. You will see that James references Jesus’ teachings in this epistle.
At first, growing up with Jesus as a brother, they appear to be a cohesive family. Jesus, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples were all together after the wedding in Cana. “This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days” (John 2:11-12).
However, James and the other brothers were not believers in Jesus in their younger years. Consider John 7:1-9. Jesus was already a wanted Man in Judea. His brothers knew this, and they tried to convince Him to go where He would be in danger. They wanted Him away from where they lived.
Moreover, consider Matthew 12:46-50. Jesus’ mother and brothers seem more on the periphery. This could be a serious snub to His family according to the flesh. His disciples were his real family, not His biological relatives.
Imagine growing up with a sibling that literally and in every sense never did anything wrong? Imagine always being in the shadow of someone perfect? Perhaps they were unjustly compared to the Lord. “Why can’t you be more like Jesus?” (Well, that is the question for all of us, isn’t it?) Whatever their reasons, they did not believe in Him immediately.
The Conversion of James
However, James later saw His brother risen from the dead. Consider 1 Corinthians 15:3-7. We see that Jesus was seen by many people, some of which are mentioned here. Cephas, or Peter, saw our Lord. Then all the 12 saw Him. Judas Iscariot was already dead, so this would include Matthias who replaced him. He was seen by more than 500 people after that. Then, we see that James saw His brother, then did all the apostles see Him. If James had not believed in Jesus Christ by then, He was surely convinced when he saw Him alive.
From there, James, the Lord’s brother, was a disciple and was with the apostles. “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren” (Acts 1:14). We know at a minimum that the Lord’s brother Judas, or Jude, was also there. Their relation is defined in Jude 1:1: “Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called” (Jude 1:1).
James as a Church Elder
From there, James became a prominent elder in the church in Jerusalem. James the son of Zebedee was killed in Acts 12:2. However, we see “James” in Acts 12:17. This is that James.
When Paul went up to Jerusalem, he spoke with James. “But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother” (Galatians 1:19). He was highly esteemed in the church by many, for the apostle wrote, “And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision” (Galatians 2:9).
James was a primary force in the Jerusalem Council. Paul and Barnabas had a great disagreement between certain men over whether circumcision was required for salvation. They went up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders to arbitrate the matter (Acts 15:1-2). Peter explained that the Gentiles were saved without any circumcision (Acts 15:7-11). The apostle was likely referring to Cornelius’ conversion. Moreover, Barnabas and Paul showed how many miracles were done among the Gentiles.
After this, James spoke to the multitude. Consider Acts 15:13-21. James first referred to Peter’s testimony to the crowd. Before we go further, see how the brother of the Lord referred to Peter: “Simeon.” We know that Simon Peter was called Peter or Cephas because the Lord Jesus called him that. Peter and Cephas, which is Greek and Hebrew for “rock” or “stone,” became his name. However, the apostle’s birthname is Simon. But Simon and Simeon are not exactly the same. Simeon is far closer to the Hebrew name, who was the son of Jacob, from which the tribe derives its name. James’ referral to Peter by a very Jewish name is significant, since he was an elder and servant to the Jews.
James continues with Peter’s testimony, backing it up with Hebrew Bible evidence (Amos 9:11-12). By testimony from Peter, Barnabas, Paul, and James, they established that Gentiles do not need to be circumcised to be saved. This silenced the crowd.
However, James knew that there were certain things that would cause Jews to stumble. Fornication, as we know, is sinful, but he also mentions abstaining from “pollutions of idols... things strangled, and from blood” (Acts 15:20). These are not legalistic commandments or requirements for salvation, but rather there is another purpose is in mind: “For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day” (Acts 15:21). James is concerned with Christian testimony. He does not want Jews to stumble because they see the Gentiles’ activities.
We will see this with James: he wants Jewish people to be saved and tries to ensure that every stumbling block is removed from before them. They carry a lot of baggage with them, as we saw in the Hebrews study, and the elder repeatedly tried to alleviate these barriers so that they would be saved.
There were sometimes that he went a little extreme in this endeavor, trying to overcorrect by appeasing the Jews so that they would be saved or grow in Christ. One was with the eating of Gentiles situation. Consider Galatians 2:11-13. There were people who associated with James that caused an uneasiness among the disciples. Peter and others felt the pressure from these people to separate themselves from the Gentiles, though the Gospel eliminated all division between Jews and Gentiles. Peter was wrong for fearing these people. Perhaps James was not even there. Surely, he could have helped fix this situation, but we do not see that he was involved in helping to change these Jews’ worldview concerning Gentiles.
Again, consider Acts 21:20-26. Paul was in Jerusalem, and we know that he was hated among the people there. To assuage the Jewish negative views of Paul, James’ advice is for Paul to purify himself with another four men and offer sacrifices in the Temple. You heard this correctly; James was having Paul offer post-crucifixion sacrifices in the Temple. Not only this, but James must also have been accustomed to Jewish people with a profession of Christ going to the Temple and making sacrifices. This compromises that Jesus’ sacrifice once for all was sufficient; this view says we need to continue making sacrifices and Nazarite vows and keep other customs. Maybe James wrote the following verse to do some damage control in that area: “But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation” (James 5:12).
James in James 1:1
“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ...”
Whatever we read of the brother of the Lord elsewhere, whether it be His compassionate nature to struggling Jews or his role as an elder in the church, James identified himself as “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” He would have always considered himself a servant of God, given that his parents were godly people who raised him in the teachings of the Scriptures. Now, he plainly says that he is a servant “of the Lord Jesus Christ.” He once may have had a little disdain for his brother, and He certainly did not believe in Him. Now James was a full-blown slave of the risen Christ.
According to Eusebius’ Church History, James was martyred for the faith, showing His devotion to the Lord. He “...was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple and was beaten to death with a club by a fuller” (Eusebius’ Church History, Book II, Chapter 1, Verse 4). Josephus, as we saw before, said he was stoned. Whatever happened, the tradition tells us that he died for the faith.
The Recipients
“...to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting”
We know James was an elder and missionary to the Jews. “And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision” (Galatians 2:9).
Given this, we should take the phrase “the twelve tribes” in a literal sense. He was writing to Jewish believers. Though there were still plenty of Jews in Judea at the time, there were synagogues and Israelites from every tribe scattered across the world. This letter was for them. But do not get too hung up on that; every book of the Bible is for every Christian from every age and nation.
These people were suffering from their own countrymen, as we saw in the epistle to the Hebrews. From this epistle of James, we see they had “divers temptations” and it seems like the rich were behind some of their hardships. There were divisions among them, some of which claimed to have faith but had no evidence of any mercy to others in their lives. Some were quick with their tongues to harm others. Others were devising plans without any thought of the Lord’s say in the matter. We can discern this much from themes that are evident in the book.
The author greets them and quickly gets into the encouragement and instruction at hand.