Journey through James

James 1:1 - Introduction

This year we will take a journey through the book of James in our articles. There will be breaks throughout the year where we deal with other topics but will work through James’s letter to the early church during 2025.

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. — James 1:1

Who wrote the book of James? While we know his name, he does not clearly identify which James he is. There are 4 different men by this name mentioned in the New Testament. The two main candidates are James the Apostle and James the brother of Jesus. It is widely held that the author is James the brother of Jesus. The reason he is the most likely candidate is because James the Apostle was one of the first martyrs and likely died before this letter was written. Also, the tone of the letter matches closely with the tone of James’s message at the Jerusalem council in Acts 15. Why is it important to have an idea of who the author is? It helps give us context to understand what is written.

What do we know about James, the half brother of Jesus? He did not initially believe in the message Jesus was preaching. John tells us this: 

So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” For not even his brothers believed in him. — John 7:3-5

Jesus’ brothers did not believe He was who He said He was. They saw Him as their brother and possibly as someone who thought too much of Himself. They were probably wondering who Jesus thought He was, building up a following. Wasn’t he just supposed to be a carpenter like Joseph? James did not believe in his brother at this time as described in John 7. 

Having this brief context helps us have better perspective as we read the first verse of James. He was a skeptic, but now he calls himself a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. He now calls himself a servant of Jesus. His heart had changed; he went from a skeptic to a believer. He now recognized his brother as the Messiah. This had to be humbling for him. His oldest brother was not just an attention seeker; Jesus was and is Lord and Savior. 

James humbled his heart and accepted Jesus’ claims that He was and is the Son of God. Not only does James now believe, he is now an outspoken witness for Jesus. He is writing to the early Jewish Christians who were scattered because of the persecution we read about in Acts 8. James is willing to stand up for and suffer for the brother he once doubted.