Introduction
As we begin our study of the book
of James, we need to understand whom the author of this book was, to whom he
spoke, when he spoke, and the content of his message. The study of this book
brings with it the question of its authorship. Scholars of the millennia
pondered and studied over this. A few possibilities arose. Greater still than
this question is what upon what James taught – faith.
Authorship
Over the centuries, Bible scholars
pondered and debated over who the author of this book was. In James 1:1, the
author identifies himself as James, yet there were several Christian men named
James during the first century identified in the Bible. Some scholars proposed
this James to be the son of Zebedee, Jesus’ disciple. Yet this James died by
sword (Acts 12:1-2) between 41 and 44 AD which was before anyone wrote New
Testament literature[1]. The
other disciple named James, the son of Alphaeus, of him little is known. Mark
mentioned him in Mark 15:40. Because biblical writers said so little about this
James, scholars consider it unlikely he wrote the letter of James. James, the
son of Alphaeus, would have felt the need to better identify himself with more
than what he wrote in 1:1 if he was the letter writer since people knew so little
about him.
The most likely candidate to be the
teacher/speaker of this letter was the brother of Jesus, James the Just. Though
he was not a follower of Jesus during His lifetime, he would have known Jesus
and His teachings well. Jesus appeared to James, His brother, and the other
apostles. Paul stated this in 1 Corinthians 15:7. From study of the Bible,
readers know James, Jesus’ brother, stayed in Jerusalem while the twelve
disciples traveled to tell the Gospel. This James became the leader of the Jerusalem
church, sent out delegates (Galatians 2:12), presided over the Jerusalem
council (Acts 15), and advised Paul about collections (Acts 21). He continued
to lead the Jerusalem church until after Paul’s arrest in 57AD. We know this
because the High Priest, Annas, arraigned James the Just on charges of breaking
the law in 62 AD. For this charge, the judicial committee condemned him and had
him stoned. Because of these facts, James the Just probably was the originator
of these teachings to the church.
Dating
Since the original teacher of the
book of James was just a carpenter’s son, he would not have received the
education necessary to write this letter in the eloquent Greek in which
scholars found it. He would have spoken Aramaic and Semitic Greek. Who then
compiled and wrote the book of James? Scholars suspect an editor collected
James’ teachings and improved the Greek to circulate it as a general letter[2]. The
need for this arose most likely during and after the Jewish Revolt of 66-70AD.
During the time of the Jewish Revolt, persecution occurred through Roman Rule -
Nero and other Roman leaders - and through the struggle for control by the high
priestly families. The Jewish Christians of Jerusalem and the Christians of the
diaspora needed to hear again James’ messages of hope, living out faith, and the
wicked do not inherit the kingdom of God. The original date of these
speeches/sermons/teachings by James appears to be the mid-40s when significant
economic need arose within Jerusalem. During that time severe famines occurred
and the people of Jerusalem, being non-farmers, suffered most. One other factor
attributes the dating of James’ sermons and teachings to pre-Pauline writings.
James does not mention the Jerusalem council in his speeches. What occurred at
the council was significant. If it had occurred before James’ teachings, he would
have included it in his writings. Paul felt the councils decisions were
significant and included them in his writings. Because of this, the dating of
James’ teachings was before Paul’s epistles.
Historical Background
We read above James was the head of
the church in Jerusalem. This church consisted of house churches, each led by
an elder over whom James led. The members of the church met to worship and take
part in the Lord’s Supper. Perhaps they continued to enjoy the Jewish
festivals, too. The deacons of the church collected contributions and gave them
to the poor.
Poor people comprised the members
of the church. Peter David said these church members came from five groups of
people – 1. People from outside Jerusalem who could not do their kind of work
in the city because they were farmers, fishermen, etc; 2. Pilgrims from outside
Jerusalem who did not return home; 3. People who went to Jerusalem to learn
about Christianity; 4. Older people who went to die in Jerusalem; 4. People
within Jerusalem who came upon difficult times due to the famines; and 5. Jewish
bosses fired their employees because they were Christians[3]. Because
the Jerusalem Christians were most often poor, James equated the poor as
righteous and the rich as non-believers in his teachings.
During this time, Roman procurators
were evil and took bribes. They despised Jews. Jewish zealots arose and
attacked Romans and Roman sympathizers. This created animosity between Romans
and Jews. Added to this, the high priestly families battled for control of
their office. The Jews felt they did not have legitimate power and just the descendants
of Zadok (descended from Aaron) should be high priests. While this occurred,
higher priests oppressed lower priests. Battles occurred within the Jewish
leadership and between them and the Romans. Besides these, the high priestly
families oppressed the poor. This means that the members of the Christian
church of Jerusalem experienced extreme hardship – food, safety, shelter,
government, and religious persecution. The people of the church expected Jesus
to return imminently and wondered why He had not yet returned. They might have
felt disheartened about that, too.
Theme
The above-mentioned circumstances
of the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem help us understand why James emphasized a
theology of suffering. The Christians of Jerusalem understood this emphasis
because as Jews they had suffered at the hands of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and
other nations. In their time, they suffered at the hands of Romans, zealot
Jews, and the wealthier Jews. Suffering was not new to them. What James taught
them consisted in how to live out a life of faith in action while suffering. James
considered the suffering/trials an opportunity for a Christian to grow in
virtue – endurance, patience, faith, and joy. He taught them to look to the
future for their eventual and eternal hope in Christ Jesus, what many within
society did not have because they were unbelievers. James, throughout his
teachings, dealt with faith, testing, wisdom, poverty, wealth, virtues,
actions, and words.
This book is set as short,
exhortatory teachings. James used many imperatives. Biblical scholars call them
paranetic teachings. The wisdom literature of the Old Testament, such as
Proverbs, is similar to James’ style. The book of James is a book of moral and
ethical teachings for those who trust in Jesus Christ. It balances life between
the spiritual and physical; one’s spiritual life should impact one’s physical
life through moral and ethical actions and words within society.
James spoke specifically to the
Jewish Christian. The editor of his teachings addressed the book to every
Christian of the diaspora. Upon reading and studying the book of James, one
realizes it truly is a book for every Christian of the world, not just for the
Jewish Christians of Jerusalem, James’ original audience.
James 1:1-11
Identification of Writer and Greetings.
With verse one, the book of James
introduced a broad greeting to Christians dispersed abroad. He said, “James, a
bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are
dispersed abroad: Greetings.” [NASB] James identified himself as a bondservant.
A bondservant was a person who chose to give up his or her will to another
person. A bondservant served at the whim of another person. In this introduction,
James gave up his rights to his will to serve Christ in advancing His cause –
the Gospel - to every person he encountered. Little did he know that his
greeting and serving Christ would reach people for almost 2000 years, people
spread across the whole world, not just the Roman Empire. James might not have
realized his teachings would reach people around the world, including
Christians scattered and living among Gentiles outside Israel. What foresight
the editor of James’ teachings had when he addressed this book to Christians of
the diaspora.
Wisdom and Faith.
James’ first teaching in this book
told Christians to “consider if all joy” when faced with trials (vs. 2). The
Christians of Jerusalem faced many trials as noted in the earlier sections.
They were poor, faced famine and hunger, and lived under the oppression of
Roman and Jewish rulers. The Christians of Jerusalem encountered these and
other trials yet James told them to consider all of it joy.
Why should the Christians count these
trials as joyful? With verses three and four, James explained the answer. He
said, “The testing of your faith produces endurance.” The Greek word used here
for “knowing” is similar to the Hebrew word for “know.” The Greek word is ginosko[4].
It means to learn to know, to get knowledge of perceiving. This tells
James’ listeners and readers that trials are not a once-off thing, but will
continue to be with them. Get used to them and learn from them. Do not let them
make you have a bad day and life. Instead, realize that this testing of your
faith can teach you and produce endurance within you. This testing will prove and
strengthen your faith. Luke also described endurance as “standing firm in
faith” (Luke 21:19). As you come to know trials and that they will come against
you, you become more prepared for them and they will not affect you as much. You
will grow and learn to rely upon the strength of Jesus Christ given through His
Holy Spirit. You can take heart from His example while He lived on earth. These
can make you strong and endure. They can make you constant and have unswerving
faith even in the greatest of trials. That is endurance, standing strong in the
faith with the strength of Jesus Christ so you grow to perfection to mirror
Christ.
James said this endurance would
have a perfect result, so aim to grow strong in your faith. What is that
perfect result? The perfect result is perfection and completion, lacking in
nothing. The word “perfect” in this verse comes from the Greek word teleios[5].
It means wanting nothing to be complete, full grown, and mature. To be a full-grown
Christian - a mature Christian, a person must go through trials and learn to
stand strong and endure them with the strength Jesus gives. When the trials of
life are over, God will find the person who stood strong to be perfect and complete
through Jesus Christ. That person will be perfect as the Father in heaven is
perfect (Matthew 5:48). Notice this maturity comes from applying one’s faith to
one’s actions and words in life. You will come to understand James spoke on this
theme of faith and defined it throughout his book. Faith requires action. Christians
must live out their faith in witness to their testimonies, each person's assent
to God that he or she is a believer. In that way, a person may be complete and
perfect, found without blemish or defect, faultless. The salvation Jesus bought
for each person, when lived out in the person’s life, will show his or her
righteousness and wholeness/completeness through Christ. That person will shown
no lack in anything. He or she will be sinless, blameless, and perfect/complete
because of Jesus’ saving blood and the person’s enacting of his or her faith in
daily life.
James continued this line of thought
with verses five through eight. He said,
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. [NASB]
James said that
each Christian has resources available to help stand up to trials and
temptations. He said each person who realizes they need help can ask for wisdom
and God will give it generously and without reproach. The Greek word for
“wisdom” is sophia[6].
It includes knowledge from intelligence, understanding, and logic. Later in
James 3:17, James described the wisdom from heaven as being pure, peace-loving,
considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.
With the wisdom from God, when a person knows he or she needs it to stand
strong against trials, that person can acquire endurance and be perfect and complete.
God does not leave His child to stand on his or her own, but offers His wisdom
and strength upon that person’s asking. James said God would give generously
and without reproach. He will not hold back anything, but give what is necessary
for His child to be strong. God will not criticize or admonish a person for
being weak. He will recognize that person’s admittance of weakness and reliance
upon Him, give the wisdom the person needs to stand firm – stand with
endurance, and grow into perfection and completion in Him. Jesus taught His
followers to ask from God. He said in Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask and it will be given
to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it will be opened to you. For
everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it
will be opened.” [NASB]
James said a person must ask in
faith (vs. 6). For James, faith must be lived out in one’s life. If a person
said they had faith, but it did not show in their actions and words, he questioned
whether faith truly existed in the person (James 2:14-26). If a person did not
ask with faith that meant the person did not trust God existed or that Jesus
was the Messiah through whom people have salvation into God’s kingdom. A person
with no faith would not receive wisdom because it requires faith in God to
receive wisdom from God. Something cannot come from nothing. If you do not acknowledge
God, then you cannot receive from God. If you are a true Christian, a person
who believes God exists, created and rules the world, and sent His Son, Jesus
Christ, to save us through His death, then your faith would trust when you
asked for wisdom from God. You would believe you received wisdom from Him and would
act upon the wisdom He gave. That is faith. It does not doubt. Doubting means
to be at variance within one’s self. The person would not trust him or herself to
believe truly in something or someone. That doubting of self could make one
hesitate and eventually drive one mad. Jesus taught about faith and doubt in
Mathew 21:21-22 when he spoke of the mountain and the fig tree. In this verse,
James said faith does not doubt. A person who doubts is tossed about like the
surf of the sea or the wind. When that happens, things are not peaceful and a
person does not receive peace. A person without faith is tossed about by every
idea or teaching not knowing which to believe and never trusting any. Yet when
he or she is faced with trials, he or she has nothing to draw on to combat the
trials and stand strong, to survive. Matthew gave an example of this when he
described Peter walking on the water to Jesus. Peter was okay until he saw the
winds whipping the water, then he was afraid and doubted. For Peter, this trial
helped him grow stronger in his faith in Jesus Christ. He became the rock upon
which Christ built His church. Peter became a martyr for his faith in Jesus
Christ. He could have failed with this trial and allowed his doubts to
overwhelm him and pull him under the waves. Instead, Peter allowed the trials
to make him stronger as he called out to Jesus and trusted in Him. Once again,
James’ theme of “faith requires action” played out here.
James said about the doubting man
in verse seven he should not expect he would receive anything from the Lord
because he did not have faith. Faith is a gift from God, but for it to be faith
for you, you must act upon the gift God gave you. Faith requires action. A
person without faith cannot receive what he or she asks from God or what God
promises to His children. James gave a final definition of a doubter in verse
eight when he called the doubter a double-minded man. “Double-minded” comes
from the Greek work dipsuchos[7]
and means wavering, uncertain, and divided. The person who is double-minded is
unstable, inconstant, and restless in all his ways, James said. The person’s actions
and words would show he or she doubted and did not believe. People would know
they could not trust what the person said. The doubter would be in inner turmoil
because he or she did not know what to believe or on whom to call when he or
she needed help. The surf of the sea and wind would toss the doubter. James
told the Jerusalem Christians to believe in God, endure with Him, ask for His
strength and do not doubt, then they would grow toward perfection and completion.
They would become more Christlike with each trial. Faith, true faith, must be
lived out in a person’s actions and words. It is not just a head knowledge, but
something one trusts in upon which to anchor his or her life. Other people will
see a person’s faith by the way he or she lives.
Poverty and Riches.
With James 1:9-11, another of
James’ themes occurs. James often contrasted the poor and rich. For him the
poor represented Christians (understandable since most Jerusalem Christians
were poor) and the rich were unbelievers (though he alluded to rich Christians
twice in his teachings in 2:2 and 4:13). James said in these verses,
But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation because like flowering grass he will pass away. For the sin rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away. [NASB]
In verses nine and ten, James described
two different groups of people. “Brother” of verse nine comes from the Greek
word adelphos[8],
which means fellow believer. “Rich man” of verse ten comes from the Greek word plousio[9]s
and is a metaphor used to refer to the wicked or unrighteous person. How do we know
James meant an unrighteous person in verse ten? We should consider other places
in his writings when he spoke of rich people. In James 1:10-11, 2:5-6, &
5:1, he used the word plousios for
rich man. Yet in 2:2 & 4:13, when he described wealthy people, he referred
to them as the wealthy church members. James realizes the Christian faith is
for wealthy and poor alike. Yet when he is comparing the believer to
unbeliever, he uses the term “rich man,” plousios,
to refer to unbelievers[10]. So the
“rich man” of verses ten and eleven are unbelievers. For the Jerusalem
Christians of the first century, this metaphor made sense because it was the
norm for their time – poor people were Christians and rich people were
unbelievers.
With the above understanding, we
can now understand these verses better. Verse nine said the poor man is to glory
in his high position. Most often a poor person did not hold a position of high
stature in society. Here James spoke of the person’s relationship with Jesus
Christ. Remember “poor man” refers to Christians. Though the poor person did not
have many possessions and little wealth that person could take pride and exult because
he or she had a relationship with Christ and would claim an inheritance with
Jesus Christ as a child of God. Though the person lived with diminished
physical means, hr or she had a greater wealth - salvation through Jesus - and
could proclaim it and hold on to it as their hope, comfort, and glory.
On the other side, the rich man,
James said, was to “glory in his humiliation.” Since “rich men” in James’
writing meant unbeliever, what did he mean by this statement? Peter Davids said
that the rich will glory in their stature and riches, but will find those
things and themselves humbled[11]. The
rich person will have nothing to save him or her from eternal death. In these
two verses, James meant the rich would be brought low and the poor exalted. Death
equalizes people. What a person acquires while alive cannot be taken to the
grave. Those things will rust, rot, or be used by another person. What the rich
person glories in while alive has no merit to help him or her after death. Verse
ten can be read as an irony, Harold Songer said[12]. The
rich then will be like flowering grass and will pass away. They will perish. One
Corinthians 7:31b and 1 Peter 1:24 agree with this thought. The first says,
“The form of this world is passing away.” The latter says, “For all flesh is like
grass and all its glory like the flower of the grass. The grass withers and the
flower falls off.” Peter quoted Isaiah 40:6ff in this verse. It was not an unknown
thought. The unbeliever would find at the end of his or her life that his or
her life was like flowers and grass. They flourished while alive, but would end
with eternal death. The unbeliever would die because he did not have a
relationship with God through belief in Jesus Christ and so did not gain
eternal life with Him. The possessions of the rich person could not give
eternal life, just gratification during physical life on earth.
James emphasized this with 1:11.
Even in the midst of his pursuits, the rich man would find he met with
scorching winds. His life would meet with trials and he would have no recourse
to ask for strength or wisdom. An unbeliever who sins can experience God’s
judgment during his or her earthly lifetime, as James expressed in verse eleven,
or after his or her life when he or she died in unbelief and did not get
eternal life in God’s kingdom. The rich person’s beauty and appearance, literally
his good appearance, shapeliness, beauty, countenance, and appearance presented
by one’s wealth and prosperity will wither and fall away. The rich person would
be destroyed – completely abolished – because he or she did not believe in
Jesus Christ and, by such, receive an inheritance in God’s kingdom with Him.
“The rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away,” James said. His
journey and purpose in life will fade away and become worth nothing because of
his unbelief. The only glory of which the rich person could boast or take pride
was in his or her earthly attainments. Yet they were ephemeral and did not give
the rich person life after death, unlike the poor man’s glory of eternal life
with Jesus Christ.
Recap
James dedicated his teachings to
encouraging and training the Christians of Jerusalem and later of the diaspora
to stand strong in their faith in Jesus Christ. He compared the life of a
believer with an unbeliever to encourage them to stand firm with endurance and
to convince hearers to become Christians. James taught that each trial brought
with it virtue and would lead to perfection and completeness in Christ. He
taught that the believer could stand strong and exult knowing that even in the
midst of trials he or she would win the victory of life in God’s kingdom as His
child. James encouraged Christians to stand strong and mature. To stand strong,
he told them they must put into action and words their faith in God. True faith
results in actions and words testifying to that faith. Those actions continue
to grow a person and make him or her stronger. By the time the person reaches
God’s kingdom, he or she will be perfect and complete, just as Christ is.
Conclusion
James’ emphasis in this lesson is
relevant today. Are we standing strong in the midst of our trials? Are we
making a stand that says we are born-again believers, children of God, shown to
people by our actions and words? Alternatively, are we unsure, doubting, and
tossed about by the wild surf of the sea of life just staying afloat with our
heads above water? If the latter describes you, you must ask yourself two
questions. What keeps you from trusting in the power of Jesus Christ to save
you in every part of your life? Or, why have you not given your life to Jesus
Christ as your Lord and Savior?
Today we each need to confront
ourselves with the reality of God and Jesus Christ. Do you believe in Him? Do
you want to believe in Him? God is ready to forgive all your sins and accept
you as His child. What do you have to do to be saved? Accept Jesus Christ is
the Son of God. Believe that He died on the cross as the complete sacrifice for
your sins. Confess your sins to God receiving His forgiveness.
What will you do today about faith?
James confronts us where we live.
[1]Peter
Davids, James: A Good News commentary. (Harper
and Row: San Francisco, 1983), p. xv.
[2]Davids,
p. xvii.
[3]Davids,
p. xxiii.
[4]Thayer
and Smith, The New American Standard New
Testament Greek Lexicon, 1999 (http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/ginosko.html).
[5]
Ibid. (http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/teleios.html).
[6]Ibid.
(http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/sophia.html).
[7]Ibid.
(http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/dipsuchos.html).
[8]Ibid.
(http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/adelphos.html).
[9]Ibid.
(http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/plousios.html).
[10]Davids,
pp. 22-23.
[11]Davids,
pp. 22-23.
[12]
Harold, Songer, “James,” The Broadman
Bible Commentary. (Broadman Press: Nashville, 1972), p. 109.
