And James presents these subjects not as conflicting values, but as complementary. Historical – Theological Themes: The themes of faith and works surface repeatedly. which is the year believed to be the year of death for James. It is, however, useful to all Christians, as well as Jews. The letter is even addressed to the twelve tribes of Israel. The letter was actually written to Jewish Christians, which is still in character for this to be the half-brother of Jesus. He would have been perfect to lead the Jews who had accepted Jesus as their Savior. James would have been trained in the Jewish religion, because his parents were Hebrews. James was just ministering to Jewish Christians, and Paul was ministering to Gentiles. ![]() In truth, there was no difference at all. The primary difference was Paul preached justification by faith in Jesus Christ, and James taught that we will show good works in our daily walk, if we are saved. Paul looked at it from the mystical view, and James looked at it from the standpoint of the law. Paul and James had a different view of Christianity. He became the head of the church in Jerusalem, possibly because he was the brother of Jesus. James, the half-brother of Jesus was not known to Christianity, until after the resurrection of Jesus. Further, James contains more than 40 allusions to the Old Testament and more than 20 to the Sermon on the Mount (Matt chapters 5-7). For example, the Greek word translated “assembly” (2:2), is the word for “synagogue”. Not surprisingly, then, James is Jewish in its content. The author refers to his audience as “brethren” 15 times (1:2, 16, 19 2:1, 5, 14 3:1, 10, 12 4:11 5:7, 9, 10, 12, 19), which was a common epithet among the first century Jews. 31-34), but more likely due to the persecution under Herod Agrippa I (Acts chapter 12 ca. A date in the early forties is commonly accepted.īackground – Setting: The recipients of this book were Jewish believers who had been dispersed (1:1), possibly as a result of Stephen’s martyrdom (Acts chapter 7 A.D. (5) There is no hint of a Jew-Gentile controversy, so James was probably written before (A.D. The Greek word for synagogue is used for the assembling of the church (2:2) For example, bishops and deacons are not mentioned, only elders, who were part of the pre-church, Jewish structure. (4) The simple church structure described in James supports its probable antiquity. (3) Its emphasis on the Lord’s return (while omitting other doctrines concerning Christ), also implies an early date. (2) Its many allusions to Christ’s teachings, but independence from the Gospels, favor a very early date (1) Addressed to the 12 scattered tribes, it was written when the church was still primarily Jewish 62.Įverything about the Epistle of James suggests that it was one of the first New Testament books written: ![]() Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, records that James was martyred about A.D. 15:7), experienced Pentecost (Acts 1:14), and was a leader of the Jerusalem church throughout most of the history of Acts (15:13 21:18). But after the resurrection of Jesus, James received a special, post-resurrection appearance of Jesus (1 Cor. Like his brothers, he did not believe in Jesus as Lord until the end of Christ’s earthly ministry (John 7:1-5). 13:55), and later moved to Capernaum when Jesus began His public ministry (John 2:12). The Jews regard him as “ the James”.Īs a half-brother of Jesus, James grew up in a carpenter’s home in Nazareth (Matt. Third, as a leader of the Jerusalem church, this James was a prominent figure among the dispersed Jewish Christians. Second, the language of this epistle echoes the speech of this James in Acts 15. 1:19 with 2:9, 12 Acts 12:2 with 12:17 and see Acts 15:13 21:18 Jude 1), so was obviously well known to the scattered believers. First, he was the one James referred to by his name alone (compare Gal. James, the half-brother of Christ, possessed all the qualities of the author. ![]() Paul called him the Lord’s brother in Galatians 1:19 “But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.” James’ mother was Mary and his father was Joseph. I say half-brother, because Jesus’ mother was Mary and His Father was God. The Epistle of James was probably written by the half-brother of Jesus. James the son of Zebedee and brother of John, though better known, also lacked prominence in the early church and was martyred at the early date of A.D. Two that were insignificant in the early church were James the son of Alphaeus, called “the less” (Mark 3:18 15:40), and a virtually unknown James (Luke 6:16). Yet the evidence unquestionably favors one candidate. Title: James, like all of the general epistles except Hebrews, is named after its author (verse 1).Īuthorship: The author is identified only as James, and there are four men so named in the New Testament.
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