Who wrote James, and when?
James, the brother of Jesus and leader of the Jerusalem church. About AD 45–50, possibly the earliest New Testament book.
The writer calls himself James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, and says nothing else about himself. Tradition identifies him as James the brother of Jesus, who did not believe during Jesus' ministry, met the risen Christ (see 1 Corinthians 15:7) and became the leading figure in the Jerusalem church (see Acts 15). That identification is the common view, though some scholars think a later writer used his name. If James wrote it, a date of about AD 45 to 50 is likely, which would make this the earliest book in the New Testament, since James was killed in the early 60s. Those who doubt his authorship place the letter near the end of the first century.
Who was James written to?
Jewish Christians scattered outside Palestine, “the twelve tribes in the Dispersion”.
James addresses the twelve tribes scattered abroad, an Old Testament way of naming God's people living outside their homeland. His readers were most likely Jewish Christians who had left Jerusalem and Judea and settled around the eastern Mediterranean. They met in gatherings he describes with the ordinary word for a synagogue (see James 2:2). Many of them were poor. Some were day labourers cheated of wages by landowners (see James 5:4), and the letter suggests that visitors with gold rings and fine clothes were getting the good seats while shabby people were left standing. Add the ordinary strain of trials, quarrels and loose talk, and the picture is of real congregations under pressure from outside and from within.
What was happening at the time?
James writes to believers facing trials, poverty and the temptation to favour the rich. His letter reads like Proverbs and the Sermon on the Mount: short, sharp sayings on enduring trials, hearing and doing the word, taming the tongue, true wisdom, worldliness, patience and prayer. He insists that real faith shows itself in action.
Why was James written?
To call believers to a faith that works itself out in obedience, wisdom and love.
James writes to close the gap between what people say they believe and how they actually live. Faith that produces nothing, he argues, is as dead as a body without breath (see James 2:14-26). That is not an attack on Paul's teaching about being put right with God through faith, since James describes what living faith looks like rather than how a person is saved, and the two writers use the word works in different senses. The letter wants readers to endure trials, ask God for wisdom, control the tongue, care for widows and orphans, refuse favouritism towards the rich and pray with confidence. It stands in the Bible's long line of wisdom writing, close in spirit to Proverbs and to the Sermon on the Mount.
How to read James today
James moves quickly from topic to topic, so do not look for a single argument running from start to finish. Read it as a string of short practical pieces, one chapter per sitting. James 1:2-5 is a good place to begin, since it sets the tone and invites the reader to ask God for wisdom. Watch for the many commands, and pick one to act on rather than trying to keep all of them at once. Do not let James 2:14-26 worry you into thinking that good behaviour earns God's acceptance, and read Ephesians 2:8-10 alongside it. While reading, pray for honesty about the distance between your words and your habits.
The key verse in James
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Passages worth knowing in James
- James 1:2-18
Trials and temptation
Count it all joy; ask for wisdom.
- James 2:1-13
No partiality
The royal law: love your neighbour.
- James 2:14-26
Faith and works
Faith without works is dead.
- James 3
The tongue and true wisdom
A small fire kindles a great forest.
- James 4
Humble yourselves
Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.
- James 5:13-20
The prayer of faith
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
The main themes of James
- Faith that works
- Trials
- Wisdom
- The tongue
- Rich and poor
- Prayer
An outline of James
| Section | Chapters |
|---|---|
| Trials, temptation and the word | 1 |
| Faith and works | 2 |
| Speech and wisdom | 3 |
| Worldliness, wealth and prayer | 4–5 |