SERMON: “James, the Transformed Brother” (James 1:1)
“James, the Transformed Brother” (James
1:1)
Series: “James:
True Faith Works” #1 Text: James 1:1
By: Shaun
Marksbury Date: September 22,
2024
Venue: Living
Water Baptist Church Occasion: PM Service
I.
Introduction
After Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876,
he initially suggested using the term “Ahoy” as the standard greeting for answering
a call. However, Thomas Edison recommended
“hello” instead. Edison’s idea won out,
and “hello” became the dominant form of greeting for telephone communication. That usage soon spread to person-to-person
meetings.
This evening, we’re reading a written greeting that was
relatively normal for its time. However,
the letter doesn’t just start with what we translate here as “Greetings.” The writer wanted to communicate more to his
audience with his opening words. As we
consider the meaning of this greeting, we’re also considering what the divine Author
intends for us to see both here and in the rest of this book.
The Holy Spirit composed the Book of James through a man who
did not always believe in Jesus, and he wrote to some of the earliest
Christians. This book is often called a
“wisdom book,” paralleling books in the biblical canon like Proverbs. It shares practical instructions for godly
living. Yet, there is also a lot of
theology in this book which both the early church needed as much as we do. In doing so, this book is immanently
practical for our lives.
Let’s examine James 1:1 to gain insight into this
transformed brother and the lessons he provides for us. We’ll note two features of this opening. First, a transformed brother and slave writes
(James 1:1a). Second, he expects a
transformed but suffering people to read (James 1:1b). Let’s consider this first of these.
II.
A Transformed Brother and Slave Writes (James
1:1a)
James, a
bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
Now, this letter says it is written by a man named James,
but that sounds like a name we might hear in England. In the Greek language, the name sounds a bit
different, though. It’s “Ἰάκωβος” (Iakōbos), and that comes from the
similar sounding name in Hebrew ya‘ăqōb, or Jacob. When coming through the Latin into English,
the Hebrew “Y” sound often becomes a “J”, and we see this with names like Jacob,
Jesus, and Jerusalem. “Jacob” is a
better translation than “James,” but the history of the English language has how
now left us with this name instead.[1]
Now, which “James” are we talking about here? This is a somewhat-debated point, for there
are four people in the New Testament named James, including apostles. However, two of those candidates were most
likely not the author. For instance, we’re
most familiar with James, the son of Zebedee, John’s brother (Matt. 4:21), but he
was martyred early, back in Acts 12:1–3.
The next James was the father of Judas, not Iscariot (Luke 6:16; Acts
1:13), though he seems unlikely. Then
there was James “the less” (perhaps a reference to his stature), the son of
Alphaeus (Matt. 10:3; Mark 15:40; Acts 1:13), but he also isn’t a probable
candidate in the end.[2] That only leaves us with one other James — eldest
of the younger brothers of our Lord.
Now, we have a question; he was the half-brother of our
Lord, offspring of Mary and Joseph.
Though Roman Catholics teach the perpetual virginity of Mary, she was
only a virgin when Jesus was miraculously conceived. After His birth, there’s no biblical warrant for
the belief that she remained a virgin the rest of her life. Scripture records that Jesus had siblings,
the oldest of which after Jesus was James.
This James is an interesting choice. He was a skeptic of Jesus throughout the Gospels. Growing up with Jesus, James, along with his
other brothers, did not believe in Jesus as the Messiah (Mark 3:20–22; John
7:5). This is similar to the way, in the
Old Testament, Joseph’s brothers did not believe in or respect him (Genesis
37). James even mocked Jesus at one
point, suggesting He should publicly show Himself (John 7:3–5). At another time, James and the others
disrespected Jesus by trying to interrupt His teaching (Matt. 12:46–50). He and his brothers did not even attend Jesus’s
crucifixion, leaving Mary at the cross by herself (Mark 15:40; John 19:25).
Yet, James’s turning point came after the resurrection when
the risen Christ appeared to him personally (1 Cor. 15:7). This personal encounter radically transformed
James’s life. As such, he, Mary, and the
disciples were gathered in the upper room when the Holy Spirit came on
Pentecost in Acts 2. No longer just the
brother of Jesus, he was a believer, a leader in the Jerusalem church (Acts
15:13), and a man known for his righteousness, earning the name “James the
Just.” In Galatians 1:19, we read that James
was one of the first people Paul seeks out after his conversion, demonstrating
the prominence James had in the early church.
This is the best candidate for the letter. He’s alive at the right time and influential
in Jerusalem. We even read in Acts 15 a
letter he helps craft, and MacArthur notes the number of similarities between
this letter and that one.[3] And the author of this letter was certainly
familiar with the culture and climate of that time.[4] There is no real reason to doubt that he
wrote this letter.
The next question is when he might have done so. This may well have been the first book
written in the New Testament. The
debated date is anywhere between ad
40–62,[5]
though the late forties is highly probable.
Though this book talks about suffering and oppression, there’s no
mention of Roman persecution. The tumult
that claimed John’s brother James and spread out the church in Acts 12 occurred
in ad 44, and this letter makes no
mention of the decision reached at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 (ca. ad 49), so a date before ad 50 seems likely.[6] So, he was probably writing from Jerusalem to
the scattered brethren, as we’ll consider in a few minutes.
Consider now how James describes himself. He says he is “a bond-servant of God and of
the Lord Jesus Christ.” It’s fascinating
that James identifies himself not as “the brother of Jesus” but as a
“bond-servant,” or slave, of God and Christ. This humility reflects the deep transformation
that occurred in James’s life.
It is also interesting that James chooses to call his
brother Jesus “Lord;” in doing so, he places Jesus on the same level as God. Compare this to 1:5–7, where James also calls
God “Lord.” In 5:10, he likewise
references the Old Testament prophets “who spoke in the name of the Lord.” Thus, whether he fully understood it or not, he
demonstrates knowledge that his brother Jesus was not a mere man, but God in
flesh. Yet, he also affirms that God the
Father and God the Son are distinct.
In fact, we’ll note that James borrows quite a bit from his
brother’s teachings (as Doriani noted, p.11):
·
Love of neighbor is a great command (James 2:8
and Matt. 22:39)
·
Self-exaltation leads to humiliation (James
4:6–10 and Matt. 23:12; Lk 14:11; 18:9)
·
Take no oaths (James 5:12 and Matt. 5:33–37)
·
Do not judge (James 4:11–12 and Matt. 7:1–5)
·
Moth and rust destroy riches (James 5:2 and Matt.
6:19)
·
The Lord is coming; He is at the door (James
5:8–9 and Matt. 24:33)
He also has similar themes to Jesus in this book:
·
Believers must rejoice in trials (James 1:2 and Matt.
5:11–12)
·
The goal of the righteous is maturity (James 1:4
and Matt. 5:48)
·
We must ask God for good gifts (James 1:5 and Matt.
7:7).
·
We are doers, not just hearers, of the Word (James
1:22 and Matt. 7:24–27).
·
Disciples must keep the whole law (James 2:10
and Matt. 5:19).
·
We must act upon our profession of faith (James
2:14–26 and Matt. Matt. 7:21–23).
·
We are accountable for every word (James 3:2 and
Matt. 12:36–37).
·
Peacemakers are blessed (James 3:17–18 and Matt.
5:9)
·
We cannot serve two masters or friends (James
4:4 and Matt. 6:24).
So, James went from someone mocking his brother to someone
quoting Him! It shouldn’t surprise us,
then, that this man who literally grew up with the gospel extends a call to repentance
and faith is his letter. He says that God
saves those who turn from worldly ways and humble themselves (James 4:4–10),
who repent and draw near to Him. He
looks for those willing to submit to Him.
If you chafe at words like submit and slave under God, why? Do you not understand that He is a good and
gracious Father, one who loves His children and wants to see them mature? Do you not understand that the devil already
has you enslaved, and desires to destroy your life and kill you? Do you not understand that you have earned
much of the suffering in this life, and that you need to swallow your pride and
allow the tears to well up, to weep over your wretched states outside of
God? Do you not understand that God
gives grace to the humble?
James’s transformation in Christ challenges us to consider
whether we have allowed Christ to transform our own lives. He wrote to challenge Christians, as we see in
our next point. Let’s turn there next.
III.
A Transformed but Suffering People Read (James
1:1b)
To the twelve tribes who are dispersed
abroad: Greetings.
A we noted earlier, James was probably writing from
Jerusalem to the scattered brethren from the persecutions beginning with the
martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 8:1–4) and the persecution under Herod Agrippa I
(Acts 12). Yet, let’s consider the language
he uses here to get a better handle on that.
He addresses his letter to “the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad,”
and expression that most often refers to the Jewish people.
Historically, this phrase refers to the Jewish diaspora. A diaspora is a scattering, much like
seed on the ground, and we could translate this “dispersion” (LSB). In Israel’s past, it refers to what happened
to the Jews in and after the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles, and other
oppressions of the Gentiles (cf. John 7:35). Even today, we know that the Jewish people
remain scattered among the Gentile nations, including in our country. And we know that all twelve tribes will be
present in the kingdom (Luke 22:30).
Now, is national Israel all that James (or Jacob) meant
by this? Well, keep in mind that, for much
of the church’s history until that point, there had only been Jews coming to
believe in the Messiah. A few key
Gentiles were believing, starting in Acts 10, but it’s not until Acts 15 that
their inclusion is fully answered. As
such, even though prominent Jewish individuals were leading persecutions which
were scattering the church, the Christian faith at this time was still nearly
exclusively Jewish. James likely had no
qualms at the time considering the church in Jewish terms, even if it includes non-Jewish
Christians.
This gives us an important glimpse of the ecclesiology of
the early church. As Baptists with a
dispensational bent, we have heard teachers sometimes say that there are two
people of God in Scripture, the Jews in the Old Testament and the church in the
New Testament. However, we see that
there is more unity than that in the early church, where James sees believers
as the true continuation of the twelve tribes of Israel. While the kinsmen according to the flesh
still play a part in the end-times scenario as places like Romans 11 indicates,
we should not miss the fact there is a true Israel of the heart highlighted in
Scripture, a single people of the redeemed.
So, the audience to James’s letter likely included Jewish
Christians who had fled persecution and faced many trials. Now, despite their physical scattering, James
calls these Jewish Christians to remember their spiritual heritage. Like Israel in exile, they needed to hold onto
their identity as God’s chosen people. He
reminds them that trials and hardships are opportunities for growth in faith
(James 1:2–4).
He extends greetings to them because they need to know they
are not alone. He starts this letter
like how he started the letter to the churches from the Jerusalem council (Acts
15:23). The word in the original
language (chairein) can mean “rejoice”[7] and is similar to the word
for “joy” (charan). They need a
word of joy, considering the trials which has befallen them. So, he writes this letter to them so they
know how to endure trials while practicing the works arising from true faith.
So, he gives them practical teaching. He also helps them to see the points of
theology they need. This letter has Christology
(teaching on Christ); James 1:1 and 2:1 are hints as to the nature of the
author’s view of Christ as the Lord incarnate.
He also presents soteriology (teaching on salvation), presenting
us with the themes of sin (1:15; 2:9; 4:17; 5:15, 16, 20; also 4:8) and
deliverance (1:21; 2:14; 4:12; 5:15–20); it’s clear that even at this early
date, Christians were preaching the same gospel themes we do today! Perhaps the most prominent theological theme people
know James for is on suffering/testing; this starts with the second
verse and continues on throughout the book (cf. 1:2, 12, 13, 14) — and the
related theme of endurance appears throughout, particularly in 1:3, 4, 12, and
5:11.
That is the relationship between law, grace, and faith,
the very themes which would later be tested at the Jerusalem council. We see the Christian application of the law
in James 1:25; 2:8–12; and 4:11–12, in line with what Jesus had to say (Matt.
5:17–20). However, he sees salvation as
a work of God alone, not one of self-effort or lawkeeping (James 1:18, see also
1:3, 6; 2:1, 5, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 26, 5:15). The goal is Christian maturity, as we see in 1:4,
17, 25, and 3:2 (see also 1:4, 6-8; 2:4; 3:2, 8, 11–12, 16–17; 4:4–5, 8). Christians must know how to live their faith
in this world, and James gives dispersed believers practical tools fir that purpose.
As Christians, we too are dispersed in a world that is often
hostile to our faith. We must remember
that our true citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). Like James’s audience, we are called to
persevere through trials, knowing that God uses them to shape us and mature our
faith. As we look to God’s Word for wisdom,
we can also know how to walk as exiles in this world.
IV.
Conclusion
If you truly believe that you are a born-again Christian,
then this book has some words for you.
James warns us not to fall into a “earthly, natural, demonic” wisdom
(3:15). He writes, “But the wisdom from
above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good
fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And
the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace”
(vv. 17–18). So, which kind of wisdom
have you bought—earthly or heavenly? As James
says in 1:22, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers
who delude themselves.”
James is a man who grace has transformed. He is now in humble submission to God and
Christ, surrendered to his Brother’s lordship. And he writes to people transformed by the
same grace, calling them to the same, humble surrender.
As we go through the Book of
James, we will see how true faith works itself out in practical, everyday
living. May we be likewise transformed
by the risen Christ, embracing our identity as bond-servants, and even responding
to difficulties with joy. Let us, like
James, submit fully to Christ and walk in the wisdom and grace that comes from
above.
[1] One commentator erroneously asks, “Could it be that
King James desired to see his name in the English translation he authorized?” (J. Ronald Blue, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures,
1985, 2, 819). However, earlier
translations as far back as the Wycliffe Bible (1382–1395) use “James” instead
of Jacob. This may have been due to Old
French influences in the English language after the Normal Conquest (1066), as
the Old French form of the Latin Iacobus was James. Whatever the exact reason, “James” has become
a historical convention for these New Testament persons.
[2] Some accounts in church history say he went on to
preach the gospel in Persia/Iran and Syria and was martyred. MacArthur explains the arguments with each of
these individuals (John MacArthur Jr., Ed., The
MacArthur Study Bible, electronic ed., [Nashville, TN: Word Pub., 1997],
1924).
[3] He provides a chart on the same page (ibid.).
[4] Peter H. Davids, The
Epistle of James: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek
Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1982), 13–14.
[5] Ibid., 2.
[6] MacArthur, ibid.
Also, Ted Cabal, Chad Owen Brand, E. Ray Clendenen, Paul Copan, J. P.
Moreland, and Doug Powell, The
Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith,
(Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2007), 1841.
[7] John F. MacArthur Jr., James, MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (Chicago: Moody Press,
1998), 13.