“1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ...”
Tonight we begin studying the book of James. Why? It does no good to say that we must hear something and that the book of James is as good as any other. If you have no better reason to study the book of James other than it is being offered, then you might just be listening out of habit. If that is the case, you might sit respectfully, leave respectfully, and leave unchanged.
Why have I chosen to spend this time in the book of James? I’m studying it throughout the week, but both you and I are spending time in it right now. I’m expecting you will study it a bit beforehand. That is why I include the upcoming week’s Scripture in the bulletin. Why have I chosen to spend your time in the book of James? If we are studying the book of James because I happen to like it, then where does that leave you if you happen to like the book of Jude?
Why study the book of James now? Is there any urgent need to hear from James? Is there anything about the times in which we live that call for this word?
Tonight we begin studying the book of James. I believe you urgently need to hear this book because of the times in which you live. You live in a very foolish age that proclaims it foolishness as never before.
The advances in communication over the past twenty years have brought doubtless advantages—online directions when we travel, seeing the faces of our loved ones who live far away, instant access to information. I have enjoyed those advantages as I imagine you have, but these same technologies also give this age a platform to proclaim foolishness. Twenty years ago, the world could whip itself into a frenzy over some issue and you didn’t receive moment by moment commentary. Twenty years ago, when children came home from school they didn’t take everyone from school home with them online. Home was a refuge from the outside world for parents and children. Twenty years ago, we had to deal with each other face to face or at the very least on the telephone. Now we can send off an email or a text message and think we have resolved a conflict. The world is training us to deal with each other in foolish ways. It is training us by proclaiming its foolishness in a way which we can hardly escape.
You live in a foolish age. You need wisdom to live in a foolish age. The book of James is about living wisely in a foolish age. Our study in Psalm 1 set us up for James. Psalm 1 is about the wise man in the midst of fools. “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” James tells us how to be wise in a foolish age.
James also tells us how to be humble in a prideful age. You live in a very prideful age. Men, women, and children are trained to think highly of themselves and to think often of themselves. We are trained to scorn any authority higher than ourselves. We are trained to think, ‘my opinion is as good as anyone else,’ even if my opinion has no reasonable basis.
You live in a prideful age that trains you in its ways. The book of James is about living humbly in the midst of pride. Our study in Psalm 2 set us up for James. Psalm 2 shows God laughing at human pride. Psalm 2 tells us there is an authority above us all. We must serve Him with fear. We would do well to rejoice with trembling to be allowed to serve someone so great. James tells us how to humbly serve rather than proudly expect.
Living wisely in a foolish age and living humbly in a proud age—that is the theme we will return to over and over again as we study James. You have no choice but to live in a foolish age. You can choose to live wisely. You have no choice but to live in a prideful age. You can choose to live humbly.
We begin our study by way of James himself. Who was he? Why should you trust what he has to say about wisdom? Why should you trust what he has to say about humility?
You should listen to James; he speaks for God. That is the claim of this sermon: you should listen to James; he speaks for God.
We will see this in three points. First: who is James? Second: a servant of God. Third: a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.
First: who is James? In classic Greco-Roman fashion, James began his letter by identifying himself. We Americans begin our letters by identifying the recipient, “Dear Senator Grassley…” and we close our letters by identifying ourselves, “Sincerely, Adam Eisenga.” In James’ culture, they began their letters by identifying themselves. “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
James wrote this letter, but which James? There were three notable men named James in the New Testament. Two of them were among the original twelve disciples. Don’t let that surprise you. James was a very common name in that day; it was the Hellenized version of the Jewish name Jacob. Many faithful Jewish parents named their boys James after the patriarch Jacob. The name was popular in that day. That is how names go. My sister Katie had at least four Katies in her kindergarten class.
Which of these three notable James wrote this letter? I have some sympathy for those who are thinking, ‘whoever wrote it, what matters to me is that it is Scripture. What matters to me is that the Holy Spirit inspired it.’ I have some sympathy for that view, but if you hold it, I think you are diminishing the Bible rather than exalting it. The Bible is a bit like Jesus. Jesus is fully human and fully divine by nature. The Bible is fully human and fully divine in authorship. It was totally written by humans and it was totally written by God.
It matters that Jeremiah wrote Jeremiah. The man behind the message matters to the message. His tears and patience in the face of rank unbelief matter to the message. It matters that John wrote the gospel of John. His friendship with Jesus matters. The fact that he was an eye-witness matters. The man behind the message matters to the message.
So, let us try to find the man behind this message. The first candidate for the author of James was James the son of Zebedee. He was one of the twelve. Jesus called him and his brother John ‘the sons of thunder.’ It was an appropriate nickname. They once asked Jesus if he wanted them to call down fire from heaven on those who opposed him. They also, in one of their more memorable moments, asked Jesus if they could have the best spots in Jesus’ kingdom. This James, along with John and Peter, was part of Jesus’ inner circle of three.
While it would be a gift to hear from this James, he is not the author. He was executed by Herod shortly after Pentecost in an attempt to please the Jews who conspired against Jesus. Herod saw that this execution was a crowd pleaser and so he also arrested Peter and planned to execute him. For whatever reason, God spared Peter’s life but took James the son of Zebedee to glory.
The second candidate for the author of James is James the son of Alpheaus. He may have been the brother of Matthew the disciple and gospel writer because they were both sons of Alpheaus; however, Alpheaus was a common name. We don’t really know much about this James, which may have led to his unenviable nickname of ‘James the lesser.’ The son of Zebedee had the more enviable nickname of ‘James the greater.’ Tradition tells us that James the lesser may have been crucified after preaching the gospel in Egypt. It would be fascinating to hear from this largely unknown disciple, but he is not the author.
The author has an even more interesting backstory. He grew up with Jesus in Nazareth. He grew up in the same home. He was Jesus’ half-brother—same mother, different father. They were both born of Mary but while James’ father was Joseph, Jesus’ father was God.
During the days of Jesus’ ministry, James and his brothers went with his mother Mary to try to convince Jesus to stop getting into trouble and to come home. “While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him… Jesus replied, ‘Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?’ Pointing to his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’ John 7 tells us that Jesus’ brothers – probably including James - scoffed at him. They didn’t believe he was who he said he was.
We don’t know when, but James came to believe that his older brother Jesus was God. Every conversion story is fascinating, but this is one I would love to hear. How do you come to terms with the fact that your big brother is God and that the Son of God is your big brother?
It would certainly be a humbling realization. You would certainly feel foolish for the way you treated him before you knew. James is well suited to train us about living wisely in a foolish age. He was foolish enough to mock the Son of God. James is well suited to train us about living humbly in a prideful age. He was arrogant enough to tell the Son of God to come to his senses and come home.
The James who wrote this letter became a pillar in the early church. He was the leader of the church in Jerusalem. His voice carried the day when Paul and Barnabas returned to Jerusalem for the contentious debate about how best to include the nations in to the church. This James became known as James the Just.
This is a letter written by a man who knew Jesus from the time he was born and still didn’t believe he was who he said he was until the Holy Spirit revealed his brother to him. The same Spirit speaks through James’ letter to show you Jesus.
You didn’t grow up in the same home as Jesus, but the power of his life, death, and resurrection is no less available to you than it is was to James. James received no special dispensation for being the brother of Jesus. The only qualification you need to come Jesus is your need of him. That’s how James came.
Despite being the brother of Jesus, James does not identify himself that way. He identified himself as a servant of God. That is our second point: a servant of God. “James, a servant of God.”
The phrase, “a servant of God,” is pregnant with meaning. James used it because it was used of Moses, the law-giver. Paul had used it for himself. Peter had used it for himself. This is a title of authority. It is also a title of humility.
Let’s see the humility first. James called himself a servant. A servant does not carry out his own will. He carries out the will of his master. We can hardly understand that in our democratic age. Only a few professions still use commands and orders. We can imagine surrendering our time for a paycheck, but very few of us can understand surrendering our will. We live in a libertarian age in which we warn others not to tread on us. The first thing James wanted this early church to know is that he had surrendered his will to God. He was a servant, or slave, of God. God was his master.
Can the same be said of you? Have you surrendered your will to God or have you surrendered something less? It is very possible for a woman to surrender some of her time on Sunday so that she won’t have to surrender all her time to God. It is very possible for a man to surrender some of his money to God so he won’t have to surrender something more precious to him—namely himself.
James may have had a particular call from God as the head of the church in Jerusalem but don’t think that he was called to less service than you. You are called to serve God with all you are with your own gifts. You are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. You are called to be a servant of God.
There is more, however, to the title than service. “Servant of God,” was also a title of authority. Moses is the background for this authority. The people were to listen to Moses the way they listened to God. Exodus 14:31, “when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in Him and in Moses his servant.”
As the servant of the Lord, Moses spoke not his own words but God’s word. Nehemiah 9:14, “You made known to them your holy Sabbath and gave them commands, decrees and laws through your servant Moses.”
This authority was so great that to speak against Moses was to invite the wrath of God. When Moses’ siblings Aaron and Miriam grumbled against Moses’ peculiar relationship with God, the Lord called them into His presence and asked, “Why… were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”
The servant of God spoke the words of God with the authority of God. James described himself as someone like Moses when called himself, “a servant of God.” This letter carries the authority of God. This letter doesn’t simply speak about God. It speaks for God.
There are many more people in this world who want to hear about God than there are people who want to hear from God. When you hear about God, you only need to give your interest. When you hear from God, you are called to give obedience. It doesn’t cost you much to be interested in a talk about God. It costs you yourself to hear from God.
What do you expect when you read the Bible—do you expect to hear about God or do you expect to hear from God? What do you expect when you hear God’s word preached—do you expect to hear about God or do you expect to hear from God?
Hearing about God will rarely cause controversy in a church. Hearing from God can. Hearing about God will never disturb you. Hearing from God will. Hearing about God will not change a man. Hearing from God will always change a man.
This letter from James is no less a letter from God. It is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. It divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of your heart. If you plan on listening to this word preached, I ask you to submit to it. Let it have its way with you.
If you think this letter does not carry divine authority, I must ask you why you believe that you are a Christian. If you don’t believe this word has authority, why should you believe what you want to believe in it? If you don’t believe what this word says about itself, why should you believe what it says about anything including you?
I want you and I to walk in the same direction, but I agree with Lloyd-Jones who said, “we have no fellowship with a man who does not submit himself as a little child to Scripture.” God told us who He esteems; “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.” You won’t tremble at this word if you believe it is only from James. You will only tremble if you are convinced that it comes from God.
If you do not hold to the inspiration of God’s word, I want you to keep listening, but not merely because there is something that might interest you. I want you to keep listening because you might become convinced that God is speaking to you this evening.
James was a servant of God. He was a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is our third point. “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
We often rush through such introductions in the Bible, but they reward our attention. James identified himself not only as a servant of God with all the significance that we just saw, but also as a servant of Jesus.
James put Jesus on par with God. ‘I am a servant of God. I am a servant of Jesus. Listen to what I say because this comes from God. Listen to what I say because this comes from Jesus.’ Don’t miss this exalted view of Jesus.
If you grew up in the church, you might take it for granted that Jesus is God. Don’t take it for granted. Take it with amazement. Take it the way GK Chesterton took it. ‘[I] should expect the grass to wither and the birds to drop dead out of the air, when a strolling carpenter’s apprentice said calmly and almost carelessly, like one looking over his shoulder: “before Abraham was, I AM.”’
Are you no longer amazed by Jesus? Are you no longer astonished to discover that Jesus is God? If so, it isn’t because he is any less startling than he used to be. You may have grown dull to what should startle you. Jesus is perpetually startling. The moment you think that you have Jesus figured out, you don’t. That shouldn’t surprise you because the same is true about God; he is perpetually startling.
James told this first century church that he was happy to serve Jesus in the same way he served God. He was willing to trust Jesus in the same way he trusted God. He was ready to put himself on the line for Jesus the same way he put himself on the line for God. I am not willing to give myself over to you that way. You shouldn’t be willing to give yourself over to me that way. Jesus is different from us. He deserves something more. He is God.
James is speaking on Jesus’ behalf in the letter. Now, we should expect to know James better by reading this letter, but if you read this letter with your heart in the right place you will know Jesus better. This letter comes from him. It was written by His servant.
If you read this letter with your heart in the right place, you will not simply know more about Jesus; you will know Jesus better. I hope you know the difference between those two. Not everyone who knows about Jesus knows Jesus, but everyone who knows Jesus knows about him. If you read this letter and allow this letter to read you—to inspect you—you will know Jesus. You will know what matters to him. You will know what he loves. You will know what he opposes. He will speak to you. This is a letter from Jesus as much as it is a letter from James. You meet him here.
Since our culture is increasingly Biblically illiterate and since many professing Christians spend too little time in their Bibles, Jesus has come to signify whatever people want him to signify. When we don’t listen to Jesus tell us about himself, we will think whatever we want to think about Jesus. Some might see him as a therapist who would never judge anything in anyone. Others will see him as an activist who was willing to die for his ideals. Others might seem him as a sage who always says the right thing at the right time. I’m afraid this tendency has grown over the years and now we are encouraged to ask each other strange things like, ‘what does Jesus mean to you?’
Jesus is not a piece of modern art to be interpreted in whatever way speaks to you. Jesus is a man. Do you like it when someone takes one aspect of you and says that is all you are? Do you like it when people aren’t willing to get to know you but instead make assumptions about you? Neither does Jesus. Jesus is as intricate as you and he deserves the time it takes for you to know him.
And, of course, Jesus is more intricate than you because he is also God. Woe to the man who finds one aspect of God that speaks to him and says, ‘this is God.’ That is what it means to make God in our own image.
Jesus is not my image. He is the image of God. He is capable of speaking for himself. The book of James is proof of this capability. Hearing Jesus speak will be worth your undivided attention. I urge you to give it. He will make you humble, like himself. He will make you wise, like himself. He came that you might become like Him. Amen.