James 1:1

'James,. bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad, greetings.'

'James,. bond-servant of God' -Some have contended that if the brother of Jesus had written this letter, then it is strange that James didn't mention that relationship. But Roberts notes, 'Notice that there is. complete lack of claim to special prestige or attention as. brother of Jesus. Some have thought this unnatural, but it is. mark of modesty.' (p. 36) The name James in the Greek is pronounced ee-ack'o-bos and is the equivalent of the Old Testament name Jacob, it was. common name among the Jewish people.

Points To Note:

1. Notice the humility of James, even though being. brother of Jesus in the flesh, he simply calls himself. bond-servant. In the end, physical ties with Jesus meant nothing. 2. One writer notes, 'It must have been. hard pill to swallow to see his brother grow up to be the Messiah.' It must have been quite. shock for James and the other brothers to realize that their older brother was God! Think of the ramifications that went through their minds (like what they had said to Jesus while growing up with Him!) Concerning the word "bond-servant", Barclay notes, 'It implies absolute obedience. The slave knows no law but his master's word….The slave is the absolute possession of his master, and is bound to give his master an absolute and unquestioning obedience. It implies absolute humility. It is the word of. man who thinks not of his privileges but of his duties; not of his rights but of his obligations. It is the word of the man who has lost his self in the service of God. It implies absolute loyalty. It is the word of the man who has no interests of his own, because he is utterly pledged to God. What he does, he does for God. His own profit and his own preference do not enter into his calculations. His loyalty is to God.' The prophets in the Old Testament were called 'servants' (1 Kings 2:53; Daniel 9:11; Malachi 4:4; Joshua 2:8). 'By taking the title "doulos' James sets himself in the great succession of those who found their freedom and their peace and their glory in perfect submission to the will of God.' (Barclay p. 42)

Unfortunately, it seems that some Christians have lost sight of what it means to be. servant of God. And the freedom that is found in completely giving ourselves to God (Galatians 2:20; 2 Corinthians 5:14).

'of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ' -This clearly points out that there are at least two beings Who have the qualities of Deity. Be impressed that James describes himself as. servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only does James give absolute obedience to God, but also to Jesus. 'By designating himself as. bondservant of "God and the Lord Jesus Christ", James has put Jesus and God the Father on the same plane, surely. remarkable statement for. half-brother to make.' (Kent pp. 34-35)

'to the twelve tribes' -as noted in the introduction on James, it is obvious that James isn't addressing this letter to unbelieving Jews. Concerning the next statement the only remaining question would be, is James writing to an audience of predominately Jewish Christians in Palestine or does the expression, 'to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad', refer to Christians everywhere?

Points To Note:

1. Christians constitute spiritual Israel (Galatians 6:16; Galatians 3:28). 2. The statement "twelve tribes" indicates that the Church constitutes the entire people of God! Under the new covenant, God doesn't have. spiritual Israel and. physical Israel which are both in His favor. 3. The statement "twelve tribes" is used to describe the people of God in the new covenant (Revelation 7:4).

'who are dispersed abroad' -Initially the "Diaspora" referred to the Jews who lived outside of Palestine. In New Testament times it is estimated that three to five million Jews lived in other parts of the Roman Empire. The "Diaspora" contained about four groups: 1. Those who lived in Babylonian and were the descendants of those removed from Palestine by the Assyrians and Chaldeans in 722 and 586 B.C. 2. Those who lived in Syria, dating from the Greek conquests. 3. Those who lived in Egypt, especially in Alexandria, established by Alexander the Great and Ptolemy I. 4. The Jews who lived in Rome, dating from around 63 B.C. The great importance of the literal "Diaspora", is that they converted many people to Judaism, produced. Greek translation of the Old Testament, which was the Old Testament used by the early church. In addition, the presence of Jewish synagogues in almost every major city outside of Palestine, made it easier for Christian preachers to spread the gospel (Acts 17:1). 'This Dispersion is witnessed in the book of Acts as the reader sees Paul visiting the synagogues for his first contacts with the community. Along with these, there were large numbers of devout Greeks…who were already attracted to the religion of the Old Testament by the teaching and lives of their Jewish neighbors.' (Roberts pp. 38-39)

While some writers believe that James wrote primarily to Jewish Christians scattered throughout the Roman Empire,. am more inclined to believe that the statement, 'to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad', refers to all Christians who are scattered throughout the Empire. 1. The expression 'twelve tribes' was used to refer to the totality of the people of God. In. literal sense, it meant the same thing as the entire nation of Israel. Christians of. Jewish background do not make up the entire Church. 2. The letter doesn't deal with strictly Jewish issues, in fact many Jewish hot-topics are never mentioned, i.e. circumcision and the relation of the Law of Moses to the New Covenant. 3. The letter does mentioned. few Old Testament quotations and examples (James 2:8; 21-26; James 5:11-17), but these examples are relevant for all Christians.