James

Introduction

Overview

James offers practical advice for living out the Christian faith in everyday life. He is extremely concerned with three key themes: trials and temptations, wisdom (especially as it relates to speech), and riches and poverty.

Author

The writer of the letter identifies himself simply as “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1:1). Who is this James? Of the four men with this name mentioned in the NT, only two are significant enough to have identified themselves as simply as does the author of this letter: James the son of Zebedee, who was one of the twelve apostles (Mk 1:19), and James “the Lord’s brother” (Gl 1:19), who early on became the leader of the Jerusalem church (cf. Ac 15:13; 21:18; Gl 2:9). Although a few scholars have thought that the son of Zebedee could be the author, his early martyrdom (AD 44; cf. Ac 12:2) probably removes him from consideration. Still others think that the good, almost literary Greek of the letter, along with the way the author handles the topic of justification (2:14–26), makes it likely that someone toward the end of the first century wrote the letter and ascribed it to James. But this theory is unnecessary and calls into question the honesty of the writer. There is every reason to accept the widespread opinion of the early church that James the brother of the Lord wrote this letter.

Although this view is contested, it is probable that James was a younger brother of Jesus, born to Joseph and Mary after the birth of Jesus. Not a believer during Jesus’s earthly ministry (cf. Jn 7:5), James was probably converted as a result of a postresurrection appearance (1 Co 15:7). His wise leadership of the Jewish Christian church (see Ac 15:6–22), along with his piety and respect for ancestral traditions, earned him the title “the Just” in both Jewish and Christian history.

Audience, Date, and Occasion

James is classed among the General Epistles of the NT, those letters that are not addressed to specific churches (e.g., 1 Corinthians) or individuals (e.g., 1 Timothy). But this does not mean that James had no definite readers in mind as he wrote. The letter is addressed to “the twelve tribes dispersed abroad” (1:1). The phrase “twelve tribes” designated the nation of Israel in the OT. These “twelve tribes” have been “scattered” or “dispersed” among the nations. What is meant by this? In one sense, all God’s people, as aliens and exiles, living apart from our true heavenly home, have been “dispersed” in this world (cf. 1 Pt 1:1). But the word “scatter” and its noun form, “those scattered” or “dispersion,” was often used to designate Jews living outside Palestine. It may be that James uses the word with this more specific meaning. Suggestive here is the reference in Ac 11:19 to those early Jewish Christians in Jerusalem who were forced to flee the city because of persecution and were engaged in evangelism among Jews “as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch.” This could furnish a plausible background for the circumstances of the Letter of James. Forced to live away from their home church, these scattered parishioners would have required exhortation and advice on issues they were facing. What is more natural than that their spiritual guide send them a pastoral letter?

If this reconstruction of the circumstances of the letter is accepted, it would make James probably the earliest NT book to be written—sometime in the middle 40s of the first century. Also suggestive of an early date are the reference to the synagogue as the place of meeting (2:2) and the fact that the sharp debates over the place of the law in Christianity, so prevalent from the latter 40s on, are not reflected in the letter.

We understand James, then, to be a letter of pastoral encouragement and exhortation written to Jewish Christians living outside Palestine in the middle 40s of the first century.

Structure and Sources

As a pastoral letter, James reads like a sermon, or a series of sermonettes. The purpose of these homilies is almost always to command and exhort, more so than in any other NT book.

James has loosely structured his series of sermonic exhortations. The letter may be divided into five major sections (see the outline), but there is no clear logical progression from one section to another, and even within the sections James often jumps quickly and without explanation from one aspect of his topic to another. This manner of moving from topic to topic is reminiscent of the Wisdom books of the OT and Judaism (e.g., Proverbs, Sirach).

Another interesting feature of the letter is James’s habit of borrowing from other sources. Most prominent among these is the teaching of Jesus. Not only does James come close to quoting Jesus on one occasion (5:12; cf. Mt 5:34–37), he also infuses his letter with themes, images, and emphases characteristic of Jesus. Other writings with which James has much in common are 1 Peter in the NT; Proverbs in the OT; Sirach, the works of Philo, and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs among Jewish literature; and the early Christian books the Shepherd of Hermas and 1 Clement.

Theological Themes

The Letter of James, it is sometimes said, has no theology. If by this it is meant that James does not present a systematic exposition of the faith or that his main intention is not to teach theology, then the statement is true enough. But in another sense, it is misleading. James approaches the practical issues he deals with from a profound knowledge of who God is and what he has done in Christ—theology indeed! And James also makes an important contribution to our understanding of several theological issues. Among these is theology proper—the doctrine of God. James emphasizes God’s generous nature (1:5, 17), his total separation from evil (1:13), his jealousy (4:5), and his grace (4:6). Eschatology receives attention in 5:1–11, where James sounds the characteristic NT note of fulfillment without consummation: the “last days” have come, and we must now live in that knowledge (5:3, 5); however, we also wait for that day when our Savior and Judge will appear in glory (5:7–11). Also prominent in James is the problem of poverty and wealth. Most of James’s readers are poor, and they need to be encouraged to find solace in their spiritual wealth (1:9) and to be reminded that God will judge their wicked rich oppressors (5:1–6).

James draws heavily on the teachings of Jesus, especially those contained in his Sermon on the Mount.

Parallels between James and Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount

Of greatest interest theologically is James’s teaching on justification in 2:14–26—teaching that many think to be in conflict with Paul. Does not Paul stress that “a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law” (Rm 3:28)? How, then, can James assert that “a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (2:24)? A careful study of the ways in which James and Paul use the crucial word “justify” will show that the conflict is only apparent. James, criticizing Christians who were neglecting to live out their faith, reminds them that God does take works into account when we stand before him in the judgment.

It is, of course, this plea for working faith, for a belief that is so deep and vital that it has to spill over into all our lives, that characterizes the message of James. He encourages his readers, both in the first century and today, to live out their faith, to abandon any spiritual double-mindedness, and to press on to full Christian maturity.

Outline

1. Address and Greeting (1:1)

2. Trials and Temptation (1:2–18)

A. Overcoming Trials (1:2–12)

B. The Source of Temptation (1:13–18)

3. Putting the Word into Practice (1:19–2:26)

A. Anger and the Tongue (1:19–20)

B. “Be Doers of the Word” (1:21–27)

C. The Sin of Favoritism (2:1–13)

D. True Christian Faith Seen in Its Works (2:14–26)

4. Worldliness in the Church (3:1–4:12)

A. The Taming of the Tongue (3:1–12)

B. Peaceable Relations among Christians (3:13–4:3)

C. A Call for Repentance (4:4–10)

D. Arrogance and the Critical Tongue (4:11–12)

5. Looking at Life from a Christian Perspective (4:13–5:11)

A. Recognizing Who We Are before God (4:13–17)

B. The Dangers of Wealth (5:1–6)

C. Waiting on the Lord (5:7–11)

6. Concluding Exhortations (5:12–20)

A. Oaths (5:12)

B. Prayer (5:13–18)

C. Responsibility for Fellow Believers (5:19–20)