TOM · The Owner's Manual · New Testament

James 1

Before you read James: who, when, why

BOOK 59 OF 66 · NEW TESTAMENT · LETTER

Faith That Works

AUTHOR: James, the brother of Jesus and leader of the church in Jerusalem, 1:1 and Galatians 1:19. Many critical scholars think a later follower wrote in his name.
WRITTEN FROM: Jerusalem.
DATE WRITTEN: About AD 45 to 50, which may make it the first New Testament book written. Some say about AD 60, shortly before James was killed in AD 62.
WRITTEN TO: The twelve tribes scattered abroad, Jewish believers in Jesus living outside Israel, 1:1.
WHY HE WROTE: To show that real faith changes how you live, talk, spend and treat people.
KEY VERSE: James 2:17. Faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead.

An Early Copy of James

Papyrus 20, copied in the early 200s AD and found at Oxyrhynchus, Egypt. This side holds James 2:19 to 3:2. Near the top is the word for shudder, the demons believe and shudder, 2:19. Lower down the word for dead, nekron, shows up twice: faith without works is dead, 2:26. It is kept at Princeton University. Papyrus 23, also from the early 200s, has a few verses of James 1. Public domain.

The Setting

After Stephen was stoned, many believers ran from Jerusalem and scattered, Acts 8:1 and 11:19. Most were poor. Rich landowners cheated them, dragged them into court and paid their workers late or not at all. Inside the churches there were fights, favorites and loose tongues. James, the brother of Jesus, led the mother church in Jerusalem. He writes like a prophet and like Proverbs: short, sharp, practical. His letter has about 50 commands in just 108 verses, and it echoes the Sermon on the Mount again and again.

What Was Going Wrong

Doubting. Praying while doubting, like a wave tossed by the wind, 1:6 to 8.
Favoritism. The best seats for the rich, the floor for the poor, 2:1 to 9.
All Talk. Faith that says nice words but never helps anyone, 2:14 to 17.
The Tongue. Cursing, bragging and gossip, 3:1 to 12 and 4:11.
Fights. Quarrels driven by jealousy and wanting more, 4:1 to 3.
Rich Oppressors. Wages held back from the workers, 5:1 to 6.

Where to Find Jesus

James 1:1. James calls his own brother the Lord Jesus Christ, and himself His servant.
James 2:1. Our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
James 5:7 to 9. Be patient until the Lord's coming. The Judge is standing at the door.

Cool Stuff Most People Miss

Jesus' Brother. James did not believe at first, John 7:5. The risen Jesus appeared to him, 1 Corinthians 15:7, and he became a leader of the church.
Sermon On the Mount Echoes. Let your yes be yes, 5:12, sounds just like Matthew 5:37, and James echoes Jesus' teaching many more times.
James Is Jacob. In Greek his name is Iakobos, the same name as Jacob. English turned it into James.
Luther'S Straw. Martin Luther called it a right strawy letter in 1522. See The Big Question pages.

What Happened Next?

James stayed in Jerusalem and led the church there, Acts 15 and 21. In AD 62 the high priest had him stoned. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote it down; see What Josephus Wrote. Eight years later the Romans destroyed Jerusalem. James' brother Jude wrote one more short letter, Jude 1.

Chapter 1 in 30 seconds

James skips the small talk. Trials? Count it joy, they build endurance. Need wisdom? Ask God, He is not stingy. Temptation does not come from God; it grows from our own desires. And do not just nod along to the Bible like a bobblehead. Do what it says.

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In this chapterField Notes · ArchaeologyThe James Ossuary · after verse 27 The Big QuestionWhat Josephus Wrote · after verse 27

A Greeting from James// Jude 1:1–2

¹James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion:

Greetings.

JAS 1:1[ARCHAEOLOGY]A limestone bone box with the words James son of Joseph brother of Jesus, made public in 2002
JAS 1:1[NOTE]WHICH JAMES? Not James son of Zebedee, killed about AD 44, Acts 12:2, but James the brother of Jesus, Mark 6:3. He did not believe at first, John 7:5, but the risen Jesus appeared to him, 1 Corinthians 15:7. Most Protestants say he was a younger son of Mary and Joseph. The Orthodox say a son of Joseph from an earlier marriage. Catholics say a close relative, like a cousin. See What Josephus Wrote and The James Ossuary pages.

Rejoicing in Trials// Philippians 1:12–20

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

JAS 1:2[NOTABLE]Trials test faith and build endurance, so you grow up complete, lacking nothing.

⁵Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ⁶But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

JAS 1:5[NOTABLE]God does not scold you for asking. Ask in faith, without doubting.

⁹The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position. ¹⁰But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field. ¹¹For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

JAS 1:10[ALLUDES TO]Refers to ← IS 40:6-8

¹²Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

JAS 1:12[NOTABLE]The prize at the end of the race is the crown of life God promised to those who love Him.

Good and Perfect Gifts

¹³When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone. ¹⁴But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed. ¹⁵Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

¹⁶Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. ¹⁷Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow. ¹⁸He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.

JAS 1:17[NOTABLE]God is the Father of the lights, and unlike shadows that move, He never changes.

Hearing and Doing

¹⁹My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, ²⁰for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires. ²¹Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls.

JAS 1:19[NOTABLE]Three habits that would end most fights before they start.

²²Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves. ²³For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, ²⁴and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does.

JAS 1:22[HEART]Do not just listen to the word and fool yourselves. Do what it says.
JAS 1:22[NOTABLE]Hearing without doing is like looking in a mirror and forgetting your own face.

²⁶If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless. ²⁷Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

JAS 1:26[HEART]A religious man who cannot control his tongue deceives his own heart.
JAS 1:27[NOTABLE]James's definition of real religion: help the helpless and stay clean from the world.

Field Notes · Archaeology

The James Ossuary

James 1:1 · Galatians 1:19 · Mark 6:3

The James ossuary and a close up of its inscription. Photos Paradiso, attribution license.

WHAT IT IS: A limestone bone box, about 20 inches long. On one side, in Aramaic, are the words: Yaakov bar Yosef akhui di Yeshua, James son of Joseph brother of Jesus.
HOW OLD IT IS: Jews in Jerusalem used boxes like this from about 20 BC to AD 70. A year after a burial the family gathered the bones and put them in a bone box. The box is surely that old. The question is the writing.
THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: In October 2002 the French scholar Andre Lemaire announced it in Biblical Archaeology Review. It belonged to Oded Golan, an Israeli collector who said he bought it years before from a dealer. It was shown in Toronto, where it cracked on the way.
FORGERY OR NOT?: In 2003 a committee of the Israel Antiquities Authority called the inscription a fake, at least the words brother of Jesus. Golan was charged with forgery. After a trial that dragged on for years, the judge in March 2012 found him not guilty of forgery, but said that did not prove the inscription was real. Experts still disagree.
COMMON NAMES: James, Joseph and Jesus were all common names then. Scholars argue about how many men in Jerusalem could have had all three in their family, and about why a brother would be named at all.
WHY IT MATTERS HERE: If it is real, it may be the oldest object naming Jesus. The Bible itself already says James was the Lord's brother, Galatians 1:19 and Mark 6:3.
THE PATINA TESTS: Scientists studied the thin crust, called patina, inside the carved letters. Experts for the Israel Antiquities Authority said the patina in the words had been faked. Other experts, some called by the defense, said real ancient patina was in the letters and that cleaning had disturbed it.
THE TALPIOT TOMB IDEA: Some writers claimed the box came from a family tomb found at Talpiot in Jerusalem in 1980, which a 2007 TV film called the tomb of Jesus. Most archaeologists reject that tomb claim, and no one has proven the box came from there.
WHO JAMES WAS: James led the church in Jerusalem, Acts 15:13 and Galatians 2:9. Jesus appeared to him after rising from the dead, 1 Corinthians 15:7. Josephus says he was stoned to death about AD 62. See What Josephus Wrote in this book.
WHAT IT DOES NOT PROVE: Nobody knows where it was found. Even if every word is ancient, it might belong to a different James.

CONFIDENCE: MEDIUM · DEBATED

The Big Question

What Josephus Wrote

The Death of James, AD 62

Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 20.197 to 203 · Acts 15:13 · Galatians 2:9

WHO JOSEPHUS WAS: Josephus was a Jewish priest and general, born in AD 37. He fought the Romans, surrendered, and spent the rest of his life in Rome writing history. He finished his big book, Antiquities of the Jews, about AD 93. He was not a Christian.
WHAT HE WROTE: Here is the whole passage, Antiquities 20.197 to 203, in William Whiston's English translation of 1737. Words in square brackets were added by Whiston.
ANTIQUITIES 20.9.1: And now Caesar, upon hearing the death of Festus, sent Albinus into Judea, as procurator. But the king deprived Joseph of the high priesthood, and bestowed the succession to that dignity on the son of Ananus, who was also himself called Ananus. Now the report goes that this eldest Ananus proved a most fortunate man; for he had five sons who had all performed the office of a high priest to God, and who had himself enjoyed that dignity a long time formerly, which had never happened to any other of our high priests. But this younger Ananus, who, as we have told you already, took the high priesthood, was a bold man in his temper, and very insolent; he was also of the sect of the Sadducees, who are very rigid in judging offenders, above all the rest of the Jews, as we have already observed; when, therefore, Ananus was of this disposition, he thought he had now a proper opportunity [to exercise his authority]. Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the sanhedrim of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, [or, some of his companions]; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned: but as for those who seemed the most equitable of the citizens, and such as were the most uneasy at the breach of the laws, they disliked what was done; they also sent to the king [Agrippa], desiring him to send to Ananus that he should act so no more, for that what he had already done was not to be justified; nay, some of them went also to meet Albinus, as he was upon his journey from Alexandria, and informed him that it was not lawful for Ananus to assemble a sanhedrim without his consent. Whereupon Albinus complied with what they said, and wrote in anger to Ananus, and threatened that he would bring him to punishment for what he had done; on which king Agrippa took the high priesthood from him, when he had ruled but three months, and made Jesus, the son of Damneus, high priest.

What It Tells Us · James the Just

Acts 12:17 · Acts 15:13 to 21 · Galatians 2:9 · John 18:13

WHO JAMES WAS: After Peter left Jerusalem, James led the church there, Acts 12:17. He gave the final word at the Jerusalem council, Acts 15:13 to 21, and Paul called him one of the pillars, Galatians 2:9. Early Christians called him James the Just. Hegesippus says he prayed so much that his knees became hard like a camel's.
ONE FAMILY OF HIGH PRIESTS: Ananus was a son of Annas, and Caiaphas was Annas' son in law, John 18:13. So the same family that put Jesus on trial had His brother killed about 30 years later. Ananus himself was killed in AD 68 during the Jewish war with Rome, Josephus says.
WHAT HAPPENED: In AD 62 the Roman governor Festus, the one in Acts 25, died. Before the next governor arrived, the new high priest Ananus, son of the Annas of John 18:13, held a trial and had James stoned. Many Jews were angry, and King Agrippa II, the one in Acts 26, fired Ananus after three months.
IS IT REAL?: Almost all scholars, even skeptics, accept this passage. It is in every Greek copy, Origen knew it about AD 248, and the words who was called Christ sound like a Jewish writer, not a Christian. Josephus' longer passage about Jesus, Antiquities 18.63 to 64, is more debated; see Exhibit A.
ORIGEN'S MISSING LINE: Origen, about AD 248, said Josephus blamed the fall of Jerusalem on the killing of James the Just. No surviving copy of Josephus says that, so Origen may have mixed him up with another writer, or that line was lost.
THE LATER STORY: Hegesippus, a Christian writer about AD 170 quoted by Eusebius, tells it differently: James was thrown down from the temple, stoned, and finished off with a club, praying for his killers as Jesus did. The two stories do not fully agree.
WHY IT MATTERS: A writer who was not a Christian names Jesus, who was called Christ, and His brother James, and tells how James died, about 30 years after the cross.

James 1

An Early Copy of James

The Setting

What Was Going Wrong

Where to Find Jesus

Cool Stuff Most People Miss

What Happened Next?

A Greeting from James// Jude 1:1–2

Rejoicing in Trials// Philippians 1:12–20

Good and Perfect Gifts

Hearing and Doing

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