Greetings, Friends. I hope you enjoyed the study on Angels. It was a long lesson, so I gave you plenty of time to digest it. Now I'd like to begin at the beginning. One of the first New Testament letters written was the Book of James, penned by none other than the brother of Jesus. We'll begin by learning more about the man before we delve into his letter.
Jesus walked this earth and taught those He encountered, and then was crucified, but the only way anyone knew anything about His teachings were word of mouth and actual witnesses. The only Scriptures the churches had were those of the Old Testament.
After Jesus’ death and resurrection, two of His brothers, James and Jude, wrote letters to the churches concerning issues that had arisen among them, and the churches kept the letters for all to read. These letters, along with others written after this, became what we now know as our New Testament.
How do we know that it was James, the brother of Jesus, that wrote this letter we now refer to as the Book of James?
There are four men in the New Testament with the name James:
There was an apostle named James, Son of Zebedee and Salome, and the brother of John. This apostle could not have written this letter because this letter was written in 48 AD, or soon thereafter, and he died in 44 AD, four years earlier.
Another apostle was James the Less, Son of Alphaeus. As his name indicates, this apostle did not have the position in society to have the influence that the writer of this letter must have had.
The third James is the father of Judas the apostle, and nothing else is ever mentioned about him, so he probably was not well-known enough to speak with the authority indicated by the author.
And the other James mentioned in the New Testament is the brother of Jesus. This James was recognized as the leading Overseer of the Judean Church. He was very influential both among the Jews and within the Church.
The Book of James was written in excellent Greek, making it clear the writer was very well educated. Among the four listed above, the brother of Jesus would have been the only one that well educated in the Greek language.
Also, the author writes with an air of authority and refers to himself as ‘the Lord’s brother’.
Although the Greek term (adelphos) [ad el fos’] means ‘brother’, it can also mean ‘cousin’ or ‘kinsman'. But in this case it is believed to actually mean ‘brother’ or ‘sibling’. Usually when indicating ‘brotherhood’ or ‘brethren’, the Greek used the word adelphotes [ad el fot’ ace], not adelphos.
So how much do we know about Jesus’ brother, James? Let’s read some of the scriptures that tell us about him.
Mark 6:3 "'Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?' And they took offense at him."
This verse is referring to Jesus, mentioning his mother and his siblings. It is believed James is the oldest of the four brothers of Jesus because it was the custom at that time to list brothers from the oldest to the youngest. Since his name is first on the list, it is believed he was the oldest.
John 7:2-5 "But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus' brothers said to him, 'You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.' For even his own brothers did not believe in him."
These verses show his brothers mocking him. Before the resurrection, Jesus’ brothers did not believe Him to be God’s Son and didn’t understand His mission. They challenged Him concerning His mission.
I suppose it would be difficult to believe that your sibling is the Son of God. You tend to see your brothers and sisters as being equal to yourself, so imagine if one of them is claiming to be the Messiah! It had to be a fairly large pill for them to swallow.
1 Corinthians 15:7 "Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles"
James was among those to whom Christ appeared after his resurrection.
Acts 1:14 "They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers."
James was also present at the meeting of the disciples after the resurrection.
So when Jesus arose and appeared before him, that must have been very convincing! It’s hard to deny someone that has just risen from the dead.
Let’s look at how we know that James was well-known and respected.
We know Paul respected him, for he chose to consult him, and only him, soon after his conversion.
Galatians 1:19 "I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord's brother."
Paul visited James in Jerusalem soon after his conversion around 35 AD. Paul also referred to James as the ‘pillar’ of the church.
Galatians 2:9 "James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews."
Peter thought highly of him. Peter reported to him upon his release from prison around 44 AD.
Acts 12:17 "Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. 'Tell James and the brothers about this,' he said, and then he left for another place."
James was very influential both among the Jews and in the Church. He was a very strict Jew himself, but wrote this tolerant letter to converted Jewish Christians sometime between 48 AD and 55 AD. He was probably (although we cannot be certain) between 45 and 50 years old when he penned this letter. He endorsed Paul’s Gentile work, but was himself mainly concerned with Jews. His life work was to win Jews, and ‘smooth their passage to Christianity’
About a year later, James became chairman of the Council of the Church in Jerusalem. He was well respected by both Jews and Christians because he was very ‘politically correct’ for his time and was able to negotiate on both sides of the issue between Jews and Gentiles.
There was a strong party of Jews that opposed welcoming Gentiles because they did not observe the Laws of Moses.
Acts 15:12-29 "The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. When they finished, James spoke up: 'Brothers, listen to me. Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: "After this I will return and rebuild David's fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things that have been known for ages." It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath." The Council's Letter to Gentile Believers Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers. With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell."
So James ruled that Pagans who turned to God were to abstain from food offered to idols, from the meat of strangled animals, and also from fornication. No other rules were imposed on Gentiles, which made them happy. And Jews felt vindicated because the Gentiles were held to some of their Laws.
Paul sought his advice and respected him enough to follow that advice.
Acts 21:18-26 "The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: 'You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everybody will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.'
The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.
Luke 24:10 "It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles."
When Christ was crucified, notice how Mary was identified as the “mother of James” rather than the mother of Jesus. And in (Jude 1) Jude identified himself as ‘a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James’.
The fact that he called himself ‘a servant of Jesus Christ’ only goes to show that he was convinced that Jesus was God’s Son. He was not equal to Jesus, that’s why he did not say he was His brother.
The fact that Mary and Jude identified themselves with James, but not as relatives of Jesus, was a way of placing Christ above them rather than equal to them. But to better clarify who he was, Jude claimed James as his brother because James was so well-known.
Many scholars have tried to claim that James was actually from a former marriage of Joseph’s and wasn’t truly a brother of Jesus, but this verse, among many others, clearly states that Mary was the mother of James, putting their theory to rest.
1 Corinthians 9:5 "Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas?"
This verse indicates that James was probably married and had his wife accompany him on his travels.
So that’s what the Scriptures tell us about James.
Historians tell us that James became known by the Jews as ‘James the Just’ because of his strict observance of the law. He was known as an unusually good man who spent so much time on his knees in prayer that they became hard and callous like a camel’s knees.
In order to follow the next section, you should know who the players are.
The Sanhedrin were the high court of the Jewish laws. They were called on to settle disputes and make decisions.
The Scribes were writers of the laws.
The Pharisees were among the strongest religious organizations during the time of Christ. They were mostly middle class and were the ‘people’s party’.
By 62 AD Jews were embracing Christianity in large numbers. Ananus, the High Priest, and the Scribes (lawmakers) and Pharisees (strong religious political party), assembled the Sanhedrin (high court) and commanded James, “the brother of Jesus who was called Christ”, to proclaim from one of the galleries of the Temple that Jesus was not the Messiah. Instead, James cried out that Jesus was the Son of God and Judge of the World.
Then his enraged enemies hurled him to the ground and stoned him until one of them ended his sufferings with a club while he was on his knees praying, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” So history tells us that he died a martyr, killed by a mob in Jerusalem.
Shortly thereafter, about 70 AD, the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem.
So that tells us a little bit about the man who wrote this letter. Next, we’ll start reading the letter to see what this respected and wise man has to tell us.
No comments:
Post a Comment