The Book of James has been called “The Proverbs of the New Testament” because of its highly practical nature. Within it you will not find a detailed theological dealing with justification or God’s eternal purpose, but you will find an exposition of God’s will on a number of subjects and challenges which confront Christians the world over, on a daily basis. How do we handle trials? How do we control our tongues? How should we view wealth? How should we manage time? What about prejudice and praying for our brethren? These are the kinds of questions James addresses. As we begin a study of this book, a few matters of introduction are in order.
James, the brother of Jesus, is the author of the epistle. We are first introduced to him in Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3 along with his other brothers Joses, Judas, Simon and mention of His sisters. Though James would likely have been present when Jesus turned water into wine (John 2:12), and perhaps other miracles, John tells us that he did not believe in Jesus (John 7:5). That changed when Jesus appeared to him after His resurrection (1 Cor. 15:7). Galatians 2:9 reveals that James would become a “pillar” in the church at Jerusalem, and such is evidenced by his participation in the “Jerusalem council” recorded in Acts 15:1-29. Tradition assigns James a martyrs death in 62-68 AD. The book was likely written in the early 40s AD.
The question of audience, is an interesting one. James wrote to “the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad,” or, literally, the twelve tribes of the diaspora, or, dispersion. Which dispersion did James have in mind? The traditional usage of the term “diaspora” refers to the Jews who were scattered throughout the ancient world after Babylon. John uses the word in this way in John 7:35. But that usage would make no sense here since James is obviously a letter to the church. Some have suggested that James used the term in reference to all Christians – both Jew and Gentile – scattered throughout the ancient world. The church is “spiritual Israel” (Gal. 6:16). The distinction between Jew and Gentile was abolished at the Cross (Eph. 2:14-16) and thus “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor females for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:28-29). This view is certainly plausible. A second approach is that James had Jewish Christian’s in mind as his intended audience. This view makes the most sense of the evidence. Jewish Christians were scattered after Stephen’s death (Acts 8:1) and settled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Syrian Antioch (Acts 11:19). Additionally, the book is replete with Old Testament allusions and other characteristics which ethnic Jewish readers would have understood well.
What is the primary theme of the book? The purpose statement? Opinions on this vary. Perhaps 1:2-12 provides the thematic foundation of the letter–how Christians must handle trials, true wisdom, and a proper view of poverty and wealth. Johnny Ramsey suggested the following themes for each chapter: Pure religion (1), Faith and works (2), The use of the tongue (3), Sin (4) and Prayer (5). Frank Dunn suggested “Faith,” “Works,” and “doer” as the key words of the epistle with the key phrase as “Be doers of the word” (1:22). Another author outlined the contents around the subject of spiritual maturity with James 1:4 as the key verse and each chapter describing a different characteristic of the spiritually mature Christian. Whatever the case, James is an imminently practical book, pregnant with great truths and application which stand timeless. Christians everywhere would benefit greatly from careful reflection upon its content and the church, as a whole, would grow stronger. God help us to that end.