The Epistle of James is commonly ignored, nevertheless it was written by one of the crucial necessary people within the New Testament. This is the story …
The name James
James is a quite common Christian name for boys within the English-speaking world and one of the crucial popular names within the UK, Australia and the US. The name comes into English from old French via the Latin form ‘Iacomus’. Forms of the name vary in several languages. In French it’s Jacques, in German Jakob, in Welsh and Spanish it’s Iago, and in Irish it becomes Seamus.
Kings of Scotland
The name James has been utilized in England for the reason that thirteenth century, though it became more common in Scotland. Scotland had many kings called James starting with James I in 1394, through to James VI of Scotland in 1566. It was James VI who became James I of England in 1603, and the primary king to rule each the Kingdoms of England and Scotland.
King James Bible
It was King James VI and I who commissioned the Bible published in 1611, and known in Britain because the Authorised Version (AV). He didn’t translate it himself, and in truth it was not likely a translation, but a revision of the Bishop’s Bible, nevertheless it is often called the King James Version (KJV) or the King James Bible (KJB).
Jacob or James?
In Greek the name Ἰάκωβος (Iakobos) is the shape of the Hebrew name Jacob. In English, Jacob and James are effectively two types of the identical name. Some Christians claim that ‘Jacob’ was replaced by the name ‘James’ within the Authorised Version of the Bible to please the King. However it is a myth, since the spelling ‘Iames’ is utilized in Tyndale’s New Testament from 1526, and before that by Wycliffe. It was then spelt ‘Iames’ as a substitute of ‘James’, since it was before the letter J got here into common use.
The grandson of King James VI was often called James VII in Scotland and James II in England. He was deposed in 1688, and his followers, and the followers of his descendants are often called the Jacobites, since the Latin type of James was Jacobus.
The two men called James
In the New Testament we discover some names borne by many individuals comparable to Joseph, Mary, and James. To distinguish the 2 men called James who’re each within the New Testament, the apostle James, son of Zebedee has been traditionally called James the Great, and James, brother of Jesus, has been traditionally called James the Just. Actually neither is actually called James in any respect. It is the enduring tradition in English Bibles, even in modern translations, to make use of the standard types of names, and in Hebrew they’re each the identical name which within the Old Testament is rendered Jacob.
James the Just
James the Just, is traditionally believed to be the writer of the Book of James. James was a son of Mary and Joseph, and thus a half-brother to Jesus. When Jesus’s blood-brothers are mentioned in Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3, it’s the name of James which at all times appears first, before Joseph (Joses), Judas and Simon, which suggests he was probably the eldest.
In the 4 Gospel accounts, James is simply mentioned a few times. He originally doesn’t appear to have been a believer (John 7:2-5). However, James became one among the earliest witnesses of his brother’s resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:7).
James within the Early Church
James then stays in Jerusalem, and joins a bunch who meet within the upper room (Acts 1:14). James was resident in Jerusalem when the newly converted Saul (later more commonly known by his Roman name of Paul) got here to fulfill with him and Peter (Galatians 1:19). When Peter escapes from prison, it’s to James that he reports concerning the escape (Acts 12:17). When the Council of Jerusalem meets it appears to be chaired by James (Acts 15:13–19). His desire was peace throughout the diverse Church. He was no legalist and emphasised grace over law, and gracious look after Gentile believers. St Paul mentions meeting James in Galatians 1:18-2:10, and calls him a ‘pillar’ of the Church (Galatians 2:9), together with Peter and John.
Martyrdom
It is believed that James was martyred, although there isn’t any biblical record of his death. However the death of James was recorded by the Jewish historian Josephus in his “Antiquities of the Jews”. Josephus calls James ‘the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ’ and records that he was stoned on the order of Ananus ben Ananus, the High Priest. This event is frequently dated to 62 AD, which also helps us date his letter.
The Epistle of James
James is frequently recognised because the writer of the Epistle of James. Assuming he was killed in AD 62, the letter was probably written somewhere between AD 50 and his AD 60. James identifies himself by name, and easily describes himself as ‘a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ’ (James 1:1). James seems to have been humble, and never used his position as Jesus’ brother as a basis for authority. His letter is a really practical right down to earth implementation of religion.
Martin Luther famously called the letter an ‘epistle of straw’ because he alleged it had ‘nothing of the character of the Gospel about it’. However James was no theologian like Paul. He was the leader of the Church concerned about behaviour and ethics. It was James who cut through the legalism and controversies to see the center of Jesus, and wrote, ‘Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is that this: to take care of orphans and widows of their distress and to maintain oneself from being polluted by the world’ (James 1:27 NIV).
Jesus never left anything written down, but when you knew that the eldest of his brothers who grew up with him had written a letter, would you not wish to read it?
