This epistle which James wrote is viewed as being a good, straightforward, practical epistle, standing in contrast to some of Paul’s more closely argued theses. For this reason it might be thought that there is no need to write about James. After all, if it is simple, practical stuff, how can any amount of exposition make it any more meaningful? In fact, the multiplying of words might detract from the force of the original spirit – inspired exhortation. I sometimes think that in our spoken exhortations to one another we often only wrap up the simple scripture in many words, sometimes with deadening effect.
However, there is one consideration that seems to me worth following up, because the circumstances in which a letter is written may modify or enhance the emphasis to be put on seemingly straightforward issues. For instance, the simple assertion at the end of chapter 1 (“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world”) may be taken simply as a fundamental principle – when I think many of us would think it rather limited in scope – or, on the other hand, it may have a particular background which, if we knew it, could make the exhortation meaningful, and cause us to look for the general principle. Thus the understanding of the circumstances against which the epistle was written might help our appreciation of God’s ways.
Special Features
James wrote to Jews (1:1) who held the faith of Jesus Christ (2:1). In what circumstances did he write?
There are several peculiar features of the letter. In the first place it has a very sudden and abrupt beginning. By the second verse James has plunged straight into his practical message, and it is a message of comfort for trying circumstances. There is a sense of urgency in the epistle.
Secondly, there is the repeated use of “my brethren” or “my beloved brethren”. This seems to me to indicate that the position in some ways was getting desperate, and that strong pleas were essential to get his readers to listen. This underlines what I have said about the sense of urgency in the letter.
Then there is the strong criticism of those whom James styles “brethren” – “Ye adulterers and adulteresses” (4:4) – so reminiscent of Jesus’ condemnation of the Jews in his day (Matt.23). Contrast this style with that of Paul to the Corinthians – “Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers… shall inherit the kingdom of God”. James is evidently having to deal with a critical situation.
We also note that in this verse (James 4:4) there is the reference to being friendly with the world, harping on the same note as in 1:27, keeping ones-self unspotted from the world. This helps to tie the whole epistle together, indicating that James is not just enunciating a series of unrelated practical exhortations, but is dealing right through his letter with one major topic of interest to him and his readers. I shall hope to develop this theme.
Then there is the most surprising condemnation of the rich men, culminating in “Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you” (5:7). It is almost as if James expected these rich men to read his epistle, for he says, “Go to now, ye rich men” (5:1). In this 5th chapter we are back with the persecution with which the letter started; so again we have evidence that the epistle is all concerned with one theme.
Finally, I might mention the well-known calling for the elders of the church to anoint with oil in the name of the Lord, and to make the point that this is a unique exhortation in the epistles, but has association with the practice mentioned in the gospels (Mark 6:13); and also that here is the only reference to ‘church’ in the epistle. Which church is referred to?
The ending of the epistle is as abrupt as the beginning. James had made his point.
With these considerations in mind, I am making the suggestion that the “scattering abroad” of the twelve tribes of 1:1 was that scattering abroad mentioned in Acts 8:1, and was only a relatively local movement; that James was writing to Christian Jews in the land of Israel quite soon after the scattering, and that the ‘elders’ of the church referred to in James 5:14 were the apostles in Jerusalem. I hope to amplify these ideas as the study proceeds.
The Solution