John 7:1-5; 1 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. 3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in him.

Introduction

Today we begin a study of the Book of James.

1. The practical nature of the book of James makes it a favorite book with many people.

The book of James receives its name from its human author.

1. James 1:1; 1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.
2. As with many book of the bible, scholars argue over authorship.
3. I believe that the author of this book is one of Jesus’ younger brothers.
• Of course Christian’s believe that Jesus’ father was not Joseph in any biological sense.
• James and Jesus shared the same mother—Mary.

Mary and Joseph had several children after Jesus was born.

1. Matthew 13:55; “55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?”
2. Mark 6:3; “3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.”
3. Mary and Joseph raised 7 or more children!
• Jesus
• 4 other boys.
• Sisters (plural).
4. Jude 1 tells us that the author of that epistle was the brother of James.
• Jude 1; “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.”
• James and Jude grew up with Jesus as their older brother.

Growing Up in His Shadow

Speculation is that James was the 2nd child born to Mary.

What would growing up be like having Jesus as your older brother?

1. Sibling rivalry can be a problem.
2. Middle children often try to take a different direction from their siblings.

Dr Leman in his book on birth order says, ““Branching off” is a powerful force in shaping middle-borns. This principle says the second born will be most directly influenced by the first born and the third born will be most directly influenced by the second born. “Influence” means that each child looks above and sizes up the older sibling. If the second born senses he can compete with the older sibling, he may do so. But if the older sibling is stronger, smarter, etc., the second born typically shoots off in another direction. The general conclusion of all research studies done on birth order is that second-borns will probably be somewhat the opposite of the firstborns. Because later-born children “bounce off” the ones directly above them, there is no way to predict which way they might go or how their personalities might develop.”

1. We don’t have any record of interaction between Jesus and his siblings while they were children.
• Based on John 7:5; “For not even his brothers believed in him” James and Jude seem to have “branched off” from Jesus
2. I wonder how James reacted to Jesus when, began telling everyone that his real father was God.
• When Mary and Joseph found the twelve-year-old Jesus at the temple, Jesus said,
• Luke 2:49; 49 And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
3. What did James think?
• Did James just think that was normal – that your older brother thinks that his father is God?
• Or did James complain about it – “Mom, Jesus is talking about God again…”
4. Did James try to cover up for his brother’s words?
• The idea of thinking that Jesus was out of his mind surfaces when Jesus is an adult.
• Mark 3:20-21; 20 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”

Jesus stinging words about his family.

1. A few verses down from this “He is out of his mind” comment about Jesus are words that must have stung his family.
2. Mark 3:31-35; 31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Why couldn’t Jesus siblings accept that Jesus was the Son of God?

1. Sometimes you can be so close that you cannot see the truth.
2. Jesus acknowledged this in Matthew 13:57.
• Matthew 13:57; And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.”

We can be too close to see the truth.

1. Some children grow up learning all of the stories about Jesus’ teaching and miracles and yet do not develop faith in Jesus Christ.
• It is almost like they know the details of his life so well that they don’t think of him as the glorious Son of God who came to this earth to die for your sins and my sins.
2. Some people attend the worship services of the church for years, enjoying the worship services and being around those whose faith is living and active, and yet they never make the decision to obey the gospel in order that God may forgive you of your sins and add you to his church.
3. Some people know the church at North Penn so well that they see the flaws that we struggle to overcome and their familiarity with the church blinds them to the fact that the North Penn Church of Christ is a glorious example of God’s saving grace working in the lives of people.
4. Sometimes a non-Christian will look at his or her Christian spouse and all he sees is someone just like them.
• All he sees is someone who is far from perfect.
• When the marriage is in trouble, a non-Christian can even think that the Christian spouse is not worth the effort it would take to work out whatever problems exist.
• A non-Christian can’t see that person the way God sees that spouse.
• They can’t see that in that Christian spouse someone whose sins have been forgiven by God himself.
• They can’t see past the imperfections to see someone who is being changed by God from the inside out.
• They can’t see the precious soul that was worth so much that Jesus would pay the ultimate price to redeem it.
5. Some people can’t understand that the people who meet every Sunday at 300 North Wales Road are not just people who like to get together. Instead:
• We are the “called out” the church of Christ,
• The ones who have been washed in the blood of the lamb,
• The ones who have demonstrated our faith in obeying the gospel.
• Every day we demonstrate our faith by the way they live.
6. And I know that some of you can’t believe that in the water that is behind me you could, if you believed that Jesus is the Son of God:
• Have your sins washed away.
• Become a child of God, be added to his church.
• Be given the Holy Spirit to dwell in you.
• Begin that daily walk with him that will last until the days as we know them end in one glorious eternal day in heaven.

James Finally Believes

Some of you are thinking, “If James wrote this letter called James, he must have developed a faith in Jesus Christ.”

But by the time those who believed in Him gathered in Jerusalem after His resurrection, something remarkable had happened.

1. Acts 1:14; All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
2. What happened to change His skeptical, unbelieving brothers into devoted followers?
• Paul gives the answer in 1 Corinthians 15:7 noting that after Jesus’ resurrection:
• “7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.”
3. Probably, as a result of that personal, post-resurrection appearance, James came to believe that Jesus was the Son of God.

Although James was not one of the original 12 apostles, he soon became one of the Church’s key leaders.

1. When Paul visited Jerusalem, he discovered that James, as well as Peter and John, were pillars of the church there.
• Galatians 1:19; “But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother.”
• Galatians 2:9; “and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.”
2. While the original 12 Apostles when out from Jerusalem to preach the gospel, James stayed in Jerusalem.
• James had become the one to whom important news was to be first reported.
• Following his miraculous release from Herod’s jail, Peter ordered the astounded believers to “…Tell these things to James and to the brothers.”
3. Acts 15 records some of the details of an important meeting held in Jerusalem to discuss how to handle evangelism to the Gentiles.
• The Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem held quite a discussion with Peter making a strong plea for accepting the Gentiles without placing on them a yoke, “that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear.”
• James then reinforced Peter’s point, handed down the council’s decision.
• James said, in Acts 15:19-20; “19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.”
4. Many years later, when Paul returned to Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary journey, James again appears in a position of great influence.
• Acts 21:17-18; “17 When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly. 18 On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.”

How did the relationship between James and his older brother change after James believed in Jesus Christ?

1. Listen to the way James describes his relationship with Jesus.
• James 1:1; “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, …”
2. Listen to the way Jude describes his relationship with Jesus.
• Jude 1; “1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, …”
3. While other Christians continued to identify James as the brother of the Lord as Paul did in Galatians 1:19, James thought of himself as a servant (slave) of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
• It was no longer important for him to claim his physical relationship to Jesus – that of half-brother.
• The only meaningful relationship was that he was the slave of God and his son Jesus Christ.

James dies about 62 AD

1. There are two accounts regarding the death of James.
• Josephus is the more reliable of the two accounts.
• He described how Ceasar appointed Ananus, a Sadducee, as High Priest.
• He describes Ananus as, “was a bold man in his temper, and very insolent;”
• He described the Sadducees as, “very rigid in judging offenders, above all the rest of the Jews.”
• “so he [Ananus] assembled the Sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned.”

What did it mean to James to call himself “a servant (bond-servant) of God.”

1. In Greek culture it is most often referred to the involuntary, permanent service of a slave.
2. James and other writers of the NT elevate this word by using it in its Hebrew sense to describe a servant who willingly commits himself to serve a master he loves and respects.
3. Exodus 21:5-6; “But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.”
4. Such Old Testament luminaries as Abraham (Gen. 26:24), Isaac (Gen. 24:14), Jacob (Ezek. 28:25), Job (Job 1:8), Moses (Ex. 14:31), Joshua (Josh. 24:29), Caleb (Num. 14:24), David (2 Sam. 3:18), Isaiah (Isa. 20:3), and Daniel (Dan. 6:20) are described as God’s servants.
5. In the New Testament, Epaphras (Col. 4:12), Timothy (Phil. 1:1), Paul (Rom. 1:1), Peter (2 Pet. 1:1), Jude (Jude 1), John (Rev. 1:1), and our Lord Himself (Acts 3:13) all bore the title of doulos.
6. By taking that title, James numbered himself with those honored not for who they were, but whom they served—the living God.

Conclusion

What have we learned about James?

1. We can divide James’ life into two 30 year sections.
2. During the first 30 years he spent his life disbelieving his older brother.
• It seems that his physical closeness to Jesus made it hard for him to really understand and accept Jesus.
3. During the second 30 year he spent his life believing that his older brother in the flesh was the Son of God and set his life on a course of service to the church that would eventually lead to a martyr’s death.
4. The event that made this change possible was the resurrection of Jesus.
• Jesus appeared to him and that convinced him to believe what his older brother had been saying and doing for years.

Which half more accurately describes your life?

1. If your life right now is more like James’ first half in your denial of Jesus claims to be the Son of God, then let the reality of his resurrection into your mind and heart.
2. Let that undeniable fact that Jesus is the Son of God change your life.
3. Become a servant – slave—of God today!