Listen to this message and respond to what the Lord says to you. May God bless his Word in your life.
James
1:1
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the
twelve tribes scattered among the nations:
Greetings.
Who is THIS James?
·
In the
New Testament, multiple “Jameses” from which we can choose. For example:
1. James the son
of Zebedee.
2. James the son
of Alphaeus.
3. James the
father of Judas (not Iscariot).
4. James, the
half-brother of Jesus
** Most agree…James
is brother of Jesus.
c.f.: This is
affirmed throughout Scripture…
·
Mark 6:3, Matthew 13:55 – Jesus had brothers.
·
Acts 1:14 – After resurrection, Mary and Jesus’
brothers were with disciples
·
Paul
affirms that James is Jesus brother (Galatians 1:19)…as
did Peter
·
And in Acts 21, James has clearly become the leader of the
believers (not “church”…but Jew and Gentiles alike) in Jerusalem
Note: Interestingly…later, the early Catholic
theologians interpreted the Biblical teaching of “Brother” as Cousin… to
perpetuate the virgin image of Mary.
** ALSO KNOW…that
James and the rest of the family thought Jesus, in the earthly ministry years,
was a bit off his rocker
Mark 3:20-21 – “Then Jesus entered a house, and again a
crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went
to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
Recap: So James…
…as the brother of
Jesus… we know he is a Jew who lived a devout life in humble beginnings of a
carpenter’s home (blue collar)…
…we know that James
did not understand that Jesus was Messiah…
…but we also know that,
later, James had some kind of conversion…
…after all, v. 1 – “James…a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus
Christ.”
** James… a
self-professed “Servant/Slave”:
…the idea of being a
servant/slave is loaded…
…connotes an -
1. Absolute Obedience
2. Absolute Humility
3. Absolute Loyalty
4. Absolute Security
Question: Why
would anyone go from Skeptic to Slave?
Answer: The Resurrection
** Because Jesus appeared to James (1 Corinthians 15:7, 8 - “Then he
appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me
also, as to one abnormally born.)
… James was transformed from Skeptic to Slave/Servant.
…Servant totally
committed to the will and ways of the Master.
APP: This is good news for us…
…we’ve all had
moments of unfaithfulness… not following Jesus… thinking God is crazy/unfair…
…yet in those moments
– HOW do we come back? Resurrected Jesus!! (Same Jesus – “Look
at hands…”)
Note: BTW… ONLY HERE does
one of the Biblical leaders call himself a servant to the “Lord Jesus Christ.”
** James: Shepherd
to the “12 Tribes Scattered”
James, a servant of God and of the Lord
Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations
** Here we see the
Shepherd’s heart of James… writing to the 12 Tribes
·
The 12
Tribes were either:
o
Ethnic
Jews who had been scattered for hundreds of years: Northern Tribes (10 – called
Israel) in 721BC. They became known as the “Lost Tribes of Israel”… and the
Southern Tribes (2 – called Judah) in 587BC.
o
…or…the
Messianic Jews and other believers (Gentiles) who were scattered as they had to
flee Jerusalem due to persecution. (MY OPINION)
** There is a sense
here, when reading rest of letter, James is writing to believers…not just
ethnic Jews.
Why this
opinion/conclusion?
1. No attempt to convert…no mention of the
Gospel, per se.
2. As if James is talking to those already
committed to The Way.
Note: BTW…this was
big hang up for some – like Luther…who didn’t want James in the Canon.
** Luther downgraded
importance of James’ letter because:
1.
no teaching on the “passion”
(suffering) and resurrection of Christ… which is key to relevance of any book.
Christ needs to be the focus or book is not apostolic
2.
Justification by works, not faith
alone (contrary to rest of Bible)
Luther’s conclusion:
“He (James) does violence to Scripture and so contradicts Paul and all
Scripture.”
Point: But if James is writing to believers, not to
ethnic Jews or other non-believing people/Gentiles, make sense that the “12
Tribes” are, at least, Messianic believers…or even Gentiles.
Point: As the “Bishop” of Jerusalem, James’ letter is an
encouragement to the Jews who confessed Jesus as Messiah and Lord.
James,
a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered
among the nations: Greetings.
** “Greetings”
… rooted in “Grace”
and “Joy”…
…sense of celebrating
regardless of circumstances
Note: Here, James
uses a secular (Greek) opening. Why?
·
Possibly
–
o
…the Jews
had been scattered so long, were losing native tongue
o
…a way of
introducing the Jews to the truth that God was opening the salvation door
to the Gentiles
Point: James is writing his letter to Messianic Jews on
the life-changing joy of living with Jesus as Messiah and Lord.
APP: So all of the
doctrinal/practical teachings to follow are given to help us celebrate the Joy
of the Lord Jesus in our lives.
Main Teachings:
·
How to
handle trials
·
What is
the relation of faith and works?
·
How to
gain and live in Wisdom
·
The
proper balance of managing wealth, especially when there is poverty all around
us.
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