{"id":46238,"date":"2019-09-27T11:04:25","date_gmt":"2019-09-27T18:04:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/?p=46238"},"modified":"2023-03-08T10:36:36","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T18:36:36","slug":"james-brief-character-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/james-brief-character-study\/","title":{"rendered":"James: A Brief Character Study"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

James is one of my favorite books in the Bible. I\u2019ve read through it many times, heard it preached, studied it verse-by-verse, wrote a devotional commentary on it, and more. There is so much to explore and learn in this short letter. So, I\u2019m excited that we\u2019re exploring James\u2019 epistle on the Olive Tree blog (See the other posts here<\/a>). Together, we\u2019re going to learn some fantastic insights from this letter with a character study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s get started.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bible Text<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The verse we\u2019re focusing on is the very first verse of the letter, which reads:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ: To the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. Greetings.<\/p>James 1:1 (Christian Standard Bible<\/a>)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

As with most New Testament epistles, the writer declares his authorship at the very beginning. The author of this letter is James, who calls himself \u201ca servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which James? A Character Study<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Well, James is a common name in the Bible. Which one is this? Let\u2019s see what we can find in the Olive Tree Bible App to help us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully, the Resource Guide<\/a> makes this work incredibly easy for us. If we scroll down to the \u201cPeople\u201d section we find a listing for James. Then, if we tap on that, the Resource Guide presents us a list of articles. This second article, titled “James, Letter of<\/em>“, from the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary<\/a><\/em> looks promising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"James<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what it says about the epistle\u2019s authorship:<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The author of the letter refers to himself as “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ (Jas. 1:1). The NT mentions five who bore the name of James. Tradition attributes the authorship of the letter to James the brother of the Lord, who was probably favored with a special appearance of the risen Christ (1 Cor. 15:7<\/a>) and who from a very early date occupied a leading position in the church at Jerusalem (Acts 12:17<\/a>; Gal 1:19<\/a>). Paul names him first among the three “pillars” (Gal 2:9<\/a>). In Acts 15<\/a> he is described as the leader and chief spokesman of the Apostolic Council.<\/p>

All that is known of him shows that he was highly esteemed not only by Christians but also by unbelieving Jews. According to Josephus, he was put to death by the high priest in the interregnum between the death of Festus and the arrival of his successor Albinus in A.D. 62.<\/p>

All the characteristics of the letter support the traditional attribution of it to James the brother of the Lord. The author speaks with the authority of one who knew he did not need to justify or defend his position. There is no more Jewish book in the NT than this letter; and this is to be expected from a man whom both tradition and the rest of the NT show was distinguished by his Jewish commitments. The whole of the letter, moreover, bears a striking resemblance to the Sermon on the Mount, both in the loftiness of its morality and in the simple grandeur of its expression.<\/p>Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

With this information, given the options available, it looks like James, the half-brother of Jesus is the most likely author of this epistle. But our character study is far from over…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James, the Half-Brother of Jesus<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Instead of turning to another dictionary, let\u2019s see what Scripture has to say about him. Again, the Resource Guide makes this easy for us. In the same section, past the articles, a section called \u201cWhat does the Bible say about\u201d appears. Tapping it provides a list of relevant Bible passages. If we look at the verses for \u201cBrother of Jesus\u201d we can learn more about him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"James<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Both Matthew (13:55<\/a>) and Mark (6:3<\/a>) connect him with Jesus alongside a list of his other siblings, including: Joseph, Simon, and Judas (Jude). In Galatians (1:19<\/a>; 2:9, 12<\/a>) Paul writes that this James is an apostle and leader of the church in Jerusalem. Paul also tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:7<\/a> that this James was a witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, in Acts (15:13-21<\/a>) we find James leading the church in response to how the Gentiles ought to live according to the gospel, as well as another encounter with Paul where he listens to reports of Paul\u2019s ministry to the Gentiles (Acts 21:18, 19<\/a>). We also learn from other places in Scripture, like John 7:3-5<\/a>, that Jesus\u2019 brothers, James included, were not believers during the time of his earthly ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All this information gives us a pretty solid picture of who James was as a person:<\/p>\n\n\n\n