The great Samuel Johnson once said about John Milton’s Paradise Lost that although he knew many people who had “read it,” he knew very few who had read it “through.” That is true of many literary classics. Books like Plato’s Republic, Dante’s Divine Comedy, Tolstoy’s War and Peace, Melville’s Moby Dick, and others are recognized as outstanding works. But there are millions of people who have never read them and have no intention of reading them. The same is true of much biblical literature. In fact, even Christians neglect much of it. When we talk about the New Testament one book that fits this category is James. Everybody knows about James. That is the book Martin Luther objected to. He said that it was not worth including in the canon; it is “a right strawy epistle.”
But although people know about James, many do not read it. Why is this? In some cases it may be because of Luther’s words; he rejected it, so we should reject it. But I am convinced that for the most part James is neglected simply because it is so practical. James talks about wealth and how we use it, gossip, how we choose our friends, and such things. We find ourselves saying, “Oh, I don’t like that. Give me a good lecture on theology. Teach me about justification. Better yet, let’s discuss eschatology. Those subjects are all right. But when you talk about who my friends should be, what I do with my mouth or my disposable income, you are meddling.”
Well, it is true. James does meddle in our most practical affairs, but in this he is only following the steps of his divine brother Jesus Christ. If we are to be Christ’s disciples, we must hear and obey precisely this kind of instruction.
Who was James? I have identified him as the Lord’s brother, and I believe he is. But we should acknowledge that James does not specifically identify himself in this book and that there are a number of possible candidates.
1. James the son of Zebedee, the brother of John. We know from the book of Acts that this James was martyred, probably about A.D. 44. It would be nice to think of him as the author of this book, but most scholars believe that his death within fifteen years or so of the death and resurrection of Jesus eliminates this possibility.
2. James the son of Alpheus, also called James the less in contrast to the better-known James who was John’s brother. We know very little about this man, even though he was an apostle. He does not seem to have had a position of great leadership.
3. James the Lord’s brother. This James is mentioned in nine significant passages in the New Testament, apart from the book of James. We know that he rose to importance and leadership in the church at Jerusalem in its early days, and that he presided over the first church council described in Acts 15 (cp. Gal. 1:18-2:10). James had a special ministry to Jewish Christians just as Paul and later Peter had special ministries to Gentiles. In view of this, it is hard not to think of this James as we come upon the beginning of the letter: “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings” (v. 1). This seems to be an apostle to the Jews writing to the Jews. And if this is the case, then James the Lord’s brother is the most obvious candidate for author.
This would also explain why the teachings of James are so much like the Lord’s teachings and why they are so practical. There are twenty-two references to the Sermon on the Mount in this letter, and each of the Beatitudes is reflected in one way or another.
