James - Introduction

Introduction

This book was written by James the brother of Jesus (Matt 13:55). From the gospels we know that Jesus’ family were not exactly onboard with what He was doing (John 7:2-5), yet James came to believe and one of the features of the book is that James sees Jesus as his Lord. This James was also probably the leader of the Jerusalem council of Acts 15. James was one of the witnesses to the risen Christ (1 Cor 15:7). Paul met with him on his various visits to Jerusalem, both at the beginning (Gal 1:19) and at the end (Acts 21:18).

We are unsure of the date of the letter. Some date it as being written in the early AD 60’s. However, there are indications in the letter that it could even be the earliest of the New Testament epistles. It is very Jewish in nature, there is no reference to controversies like those surrounding circumcision (though that could be because it was written to a largely Jewish audience). The term synagogue is used to designate the meeting place of the church.

The opening of the letter says it was written to the “twelve tribes”. While this could be a way of referring to the church as a whole, drawing a parallel of the church with the tribes of Israel, it is more likely that it indicates it was written to largely Jewish Christians.

Martin Luther infamously called this a “right strawy epistle” and there are some who see its teaching as opposed to that of Paul. Such ideas are nothing more than idle notions. One cannot read Paul’s letters without seeing that Paul is utterly convinced that faith and works go together. This book is “down to earth” and intensely practical, with a directness that stands for no nonsense.