Friday, October 15, 2004

a bit of background for study of book of james

james, the lord's half-brother, wrote his letter approximately a.d. 47 - 49... (james, according to josephus, an historian of the first century, was condemned to death in a.d. 62 by the sanhedrin)...

james wrote his letter to "jewish christians scattered among the nations" (james 1:1)... and probably penned it from jerusalem, his home at the time...

in jerusalem, he was a leader to the community of christians... and so he warned the jewish followers of christ not to show favoritism, to watch their speech, to remain humble, and to pray for one another...

he begins his letter simply, introducing himself to his readers as "james, a slave of god and of the lord jesus christ:..." (1a, holman christian standard bible)

the life application bible commentary points out that by using his first name, james conveys humility to his readers, some of whom would have known him on a first name basis... he also calls himself "a slave of god...and christ"... a slave or doulos (greek) is one who completely obeys in total loyalty and humility...

and although james does not tell his readers... remember, in christianity, the place of the servant or slave is one of honor...

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