Douglas J. Moo - Commentary on James: From The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary

Douglas J. Moo

Introduction

Author

The writer of the letter identifies himself simply as James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ (1:1). Who is this James? Of the four men with this name mentioned in the New Testament, only two are significant enough to have identified themselves as simply as does the author of this letter: James the son of Zebedee, who was one of the twelve apostles (Mark 1:19), and James the Lords brother (Gal. 1:19), who early on became the leader of the Jerusalem church (cf. Acts 15:13; 21:18; Gal. 2:9). Although a few scholars have thought that the son of Zebedee could be the author, his early martyrdom (AD 44; cf. Acts 12:2) probably removes him from consideration. Still others think that the good, almost literary Greek of the letter, along with the way the author handles the topic of justification (2:1426), makes it likely that someone toward the end of the first century wrote the letter and ascribed it to James. But this theory is unnecessary and calls into question the honesty of the writer. There is every reason to accept the widespread opinion of the early church that James the brother of the Lord wrote this letter.

Although this view is contested, it is probable that James was a younger brother of Jesus, born to Joseph and Mary after the birth of Jesus. Not a believer during Jesuss earthly ministry (cf. John 7:5), James was probably converted as a result of a postresurrection appearance (1 Cor. 15:7). His wise leadership of the Jewish Christian church (see Acts 15:622), along with his piety and respect for ancestral traditions, earned him the title the Just in both Jewish and Christian history.

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Audience, Date, and Occasion

James is classed among the General Epistles of the New Testament, those letters that are not addressed to specific churches (e.g., 1 Corinthians) or individuals (e.g., 1 Timothy). But this does not mean that James had no definite readers in mind as he wrote. The letter is addressed to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations (1:1). From its original application, the phrase twelve tribes came to designate the complete regathering of Gods people that would take place in the messianic age (cf. Isa. 49:6; Ezek. 47:13). James, then, uses this title to remind his readers that they belong to that new creation, the church, that God has brought into being on the basis of faith in his Son (cf. Matt. 16:18). These twelve tribes have been scattered or dispersed among the nations. What is meant by this? In one sense, all Gods people, as aliens and exiles, living apart from our true heavenly home, have been scattered in this world (cf. 1 Pet. 1:1). But the word scatter and its noun form, those scattered, or dispersion, was often used to designate Jews living outside Palestine. It may be that James uses the word with this more specific meaning. Suggestive here is the reference in Acts 11:19 to those early Jewish Christians in Jerusalem who were forced to flee the city because of persecution and engaged in evangelism among Jews as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch. Could this not furnish a plausible background for the circumstances of the Letter of James? Forced to live away from their home church, these scattered parishioners required exhortation and advice on issues they were facing. What is more natural than that their spiritual guide send them a pastoral letter?