Jensens survey of the old testament adam 568
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The Bible references shown below
reconstruct for us something of the
biography of James up to the time of his
death. Read all the passages (plus the
contexts surrounding them) and record on
paper the information furnished by each
reference.
During Jesus’ public ministry
John 2:12
Matthew 12:46-50
John 7:1-9
Early days as a believer
1 Corinthians 15:7
Early years as a servant of Jesus Christ
Acts 1:14
Galatians 1:18-19 (cf. Acts 9:26)
Successor to Peter as leader of the Jerusalem
church
Acts 12:17 Acts 15:13
Galatians 2:1, 9-10 (What is the
signi cance of James being mentioned rst
in Paul’s list of three pillars, Galatians 2:9?)
Acts 21:18-26 (Last appearance of James
in the New Testament)
5 . Character. The biography of a man is
incomplete without a description of his
character. Review the verses you have just
studied in connection with James’s life.
Recall, for example, that James was a
praying man (Acts 1:14). One church
historian,
Hegesippus
(c. A.D.
175),
commended James’s prayer life especially,
noting how he spent long hours interceding
for the people, so that his knees became
calloused.
The best insight into James’s character is
gained by reading his own writing. Take a
few minutes at this point in your study to
read the epistle with one object in mind:
learning what kind of man James was.
Record your impressions and compare those
with the following list: a praying man, pure,
powerful,
practical,
plain,
persistent,
humble, honest, single-minded, upright, and
just.
Concerning the last-named trait, James
came to be known by the early church as
“James the Just,” (meaning James the
Righteous). It is interesting to note that
James’s father, Joseph, was “a righteous
man” (Matt. 1:19); and that James refers to
Jesus as “the righteous” man (James 5:6).
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
pursues this thought at length, showing how
the younger brother James and his elder
brother Jesus were so much alike in
personality.4 The content and style of their
messages were very similar.
6 . Death. A strong tradition is that James
was martyred at Jerusalem in A.D. 62. This
date is about one year after the closing of
the book of Acts and about ve years before
Paul and Peter were martyred. The manner
of death, if Josephus (A.D. 37-95) and others
are correct, was by stoning at the order of
Ananias the high priest.
B. THE PEOPLE ADDRESSED
The salutation identi es the original
readers of this letter as “the twelve tribes
who are dispersed abroad.” Like many
passages in the Bible, this phrase could be
interpreted literally or symbolically.
1 . Literal interpretation. The question is,
Were the readers (1) Jews in general,
representing the twelve families of Israel,
living in di erent parts of the New
