James the Servant (Bulletin Article for October 21)

[NOTE: Our Youth Rally at 9th Avenue is a mere 79 days away! I hope you are planning on being with us as we study the book of James. With that theme in mind, I am trying to write several articles about James, young people and other related topics leading up to our rally. Here is the first in that series.]

In writing the letter that now bears his name, James begins with these words: “James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1:1, New American Standard Bible). In the First Century, it was common to open a letter with your name and a short description, whereas now we end the letter in similar fashion.

This short description, though, gives us a glimpse of the humility of the author. Why? Most scholars agree that the author, who calls himself “a bond-servant…of the Lord Jesus Christ” was, in fact, a fleshly brother of Jesus.

The brothers of Jesus are listed in Matthew 13:55: “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?” As we continue to read the Gospels we see that James, along with the other brothers, rejected Jesus as the Messiah and wanted nothing to do with Him.

However, something changed. In Acts 1, after Jesus ascended back to the Father, we see a great gathering. The faithful disciples are there, as are the 11 remaining apostles. Acts 1:14 then says, “These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers” (emphasis added). After initially rejecting Jesus as the Messiah, His brothers (which would have included James) now were devoting themselves to His service.

What changed? They saw the risen Lord! They saw that all these promises made by Jesus were absolutely correct. He was “the One” to come. One songwriter, in trying to grasp what must have been going through the mind of James, expressed it this way: “My own Brother is Messiah; My own Brother is the King.”

Now, after a few years, James is inspired to write the practical epistle that bears his name. It is no wonder, when we consider the background of the author, that the contents are about basic Christian living. It is also no wonder that James, now a believer, chooses to identify himself simply as a “bond-servant.” He does not identify himself as “brother of the Savior” or any other such title. It is also worth noting that Jude, another brother of Jesus, also avoids using that in the introduction of his letter.

Why? Humility. When we realize who we are and Who He is, we will place ourselves under His command.