By Prof. A. Lopukhin
Who is the author of the Epistle
The author of the first, according to the canonical order, Epistle of the Apostles, does not call himself an apostle in the greeting (James 1:1), but humbly calls himself: “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”. This silence regarding the apostolic rank of the writer, who addresses in his epistle “to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad”, not only does not deny his apostolic dignity, but also testifies to the great and indisputable authority which he had both among the Judeo-Christians and among the Jews in general. To have the consciousness that you are a servant of God and Christ is more than any praise, and it is this attitude that distinguishes the true apostles of Christ from the people who illegally appropriated the apostolic authority. This leads to the assumption that James, the author of the epistle, was an apostle of Christ, one of the leaders of the apostolic Church, who had spiritual authority over the Judeo-Christian communities outside Palestine.
Such a person is the first and most famous representative of the Jerusalem Church – St. James, the brother of the Lord, called the Just, one of the seventy apostles (Acts 12:17, Acts 21:18; Gal. 1:19). Church tradition attributes the writing of the epistle to this James, and not to James Zebedee or James Alphaeus (brother of the apostle and evangelist Matthew).
James Zebedee died a martyr’s death relatively early (around 44 AD) by order of Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:2); moreover, there is no historical evidence that he was known in the diaspora. At the same time, the entire content of the epistle suggests that its author was well known among all the Judeo-Christian communities in the diaspora. According to tradition, it was James, the brother of the Lord, who established himself as a spiritual leader after the death of St. James the son of Zebedee (Acts 15:13, 21:18; Gal. 1:19).
It is this James that the apostle Paul places on a par with the apostles Peter and John, calling them “pillars of the Church” (Gal. 2:9).
If, following the repose of Blessed Jerome, many Catholic scholars (Cornelius a-Lyapid, Min, Corneli, etc.), Protestant (Baumgarten, Lange), and some Russian (Metropolitan of Moscow Philaret, Archbishop of Chernigov Philaret, Prof. I. V. Cheltsov, Prof. M. D. Muretov) identify James, the brother of the Lord, with James Alfeyev, one of the twelve apostles, then both the New Testament data and the testimonies of church tradition speak against this identification. In the Gospel, the brothers of the Lord by the flesh – James, Josiah, Simon, and Judas – are clearly distinguished from the apostles or the first and closest disciples of the Lord. For example, in John 2:12 it is said: “After this He went down to Capernaum, and His mother, and His brothers, and His disciples.” If here, as in some other places in the Gospel (Matt. 12:48; Mark 3:31; Luke 8:19), the Lord’s brothers are presented separately from the disciples or apostles, then John 7:5 explicitly states that initially the Lord’s brothers did not believe in Jesus Christ.
Therefore, they could not have been among the apostles, which is all the more significant because the Evangelist John notes this unbelief of the Lord’s brothers almost immediately after mentioning the already formed circle of the twelve apostles (John 6:70–71).
Even after the Lord’s Resurrection, when His brothers believed in Him, they are still distinguished from the apostles (Acts 1:13–14), although sometimes they are compared with them (1 Cor. 9:5). And the ancient church tradition, despite its certain ambiguity regarding the brothers of the Lord, in most cases confirms that James, the brother of the Lord, is a different person from the apostle James of Alphaeus.
Thus, in the “Apostolic Decrees” James, the brother of the Lord, is clearly distinguished from the twelve apostles. In the “Apostolic Decrees” (VI, 12) it is said: “We, the twelve, gathered together in Jerusalem, appeared to James, the brother of the Lord.” And further down, in VI, 14, among those who proclaimed the Catholic doctrine, the twelve apostles (including James of Alphaeus) are first mentioned, and then “James, the brother of the Lord and bishop of Jerusalem, and Paul, the teacher of the Gentiles” are added to them.
Clement of Alexandria, quoted by Eusebius, testifies: “Peter, James and John, although preferred by the Lord Himself to the rest of the disciples, after the Ascension of the Savior did not begin to compete in the word, but chose James the Just as bishop of Jerusalem” (Church History II, 1).
Eusebius himself in I:12 of his Church History counts James, the brother of the Lord, among the 70 apostles, and in VII:19 he says that “James, the brother of Christ, was the first to receive the episcopate over the Church of Jerusalem from the Savior Himself and the apostles,” which clearly shows that he is different from the twelve apostles.
Finally, in the Fourteenths of Menaion on October 23, James, the brother of the Lord, is counted among the 70 apostles.
We will not go into a detailed examination and solution of the complex question: Who are the brothers of the Lord according to the flesh? We will only note that the most well-founded and most strongly supported opinion by ancient church tradition is that according to which the Lord’s brothers are the children of Joseph the Betrothed from his first marriage.
Of the four brothers, the Lord Of the twelve brothers mentioned in the Gospel (Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3), James was undoubtedly the eldest and distinguished among them for his righteousness. He accompanied Joseph and the Virgin Mary with the Infant Jesus on their flight to Egypt to escape the persecution of Herod. Raised together with his brothers in Joseph’s pious family in the spirit of true faith, James was distinguished precisely by his righteousness, which earned him the nickname “the Just.” According to the testimony of Hegesippus (quoted by Eusebius, “Church History” II:23), St. James was a Nazarene from his mother’s womb: “He drank no wine or strong drink, ate no animal food, did not cut his hair, did not anoint himself with oil, and did not bathe.”
But it was precisely because of the exceptional devotion of James and his brothers to the Law that throughout the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ they remained unbelievers.
It is only at the beginning of the book of the Acts of the Apostles that we find the first mention of the Lord’s brothers among the believers (Acts 1:14), together with the eleven apostles and the Mother of God. This transition of James from unbelief to faith occurred thanks to the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and His appearance to James (1 Cor. 9:5; 15:5).
The conversion of James, the eldest of the brothers, led to the conversion of the other brothers. Having believed in the Lord Jesus with all his heart, James, the Lord’s brother, both by his life and work and by his views, is an example of a true Judeo-Christian in the best sense. In his person we see the best example of the combination of the Old and New Testaments on the ground of practical life.
Treating with great respect the Mosaic Law in its entirety and observing its ritual prescriptions, even advising the Apostle Paul to perform the rite of purification (Acts 21:18–26) in order to calm the members of the Jerusalem Church, James, however, was the first to raise his voice at the Apostolic Council for the liberation of the believing Gentiles from the yoke of the Mosaic Law (Acts 15:13–21).
Christianity for St. James is not simply a transformed Judaism, but a new path of salvation in Christ, which begins with spiritual rebirth through the Gospel (James 1:18). Without breaking the national-historical connection with Judaism as a centuries-old heritage of the fathers, St. James allows the fulfillment of Old Testament customs and rites only to the extent that they do not acquire a dogmatic and eternal meaning and appear transformed by the Christian spirit.
The moral life of a Christian, according to the teaching of St. James, is guided by the “royal law of Freedom” (James 1:25; James 2:12). The perfection and justification of a Christian is accomplished only through his union with Christ in a living and active faith (James 2:14–26), and he recognizes selfless Christian love as a common duty of every person (James 1:27).
St. James was not in antagonism with the Apostle Paul, the great preacher of Christian freedom – despite the opinion of Farrar and other Western researchers. On the contrary, only the enemies of the Apostle Paul, namely the Judaizers and the Ebionites, used the name and authority of the first bishop of Jerusalem to conceal their Judaizing tendencies and designs.
The very Nazareneism of St. James, although Jewish in form, was Christian in spirit – and can rightly be considered a prototype of Christian asceticism and monasticism. St. James sealed his Christian asceticism with his own blood. Enjoying great respect among both believers and unbelievers, he lived continuously in Jerusalem until his martyrdom (probably around 64 AD).
The story of the death of the righteous James
The circumstances surrounding his death reveal both the high reverence that even unbelievers felt for him as a great righteous man, and the truly Christian character of his faith and life. Hegesippus, quoted by Eusebius (Church History, II, 23), tells of the martyrdom of the apostle James as follows: “When many believed through the word of the apostle James, even among the elders, the Jews, the scribes, and the Pharisees began to say: ‘Thus all the people may believe that Jesus is the Christ!’”
Therefore, when they came to James, the scribes and Pharisees said to him:
“We beg you, restrain the crowd! For they, being deceived, confess that Jesus is the Christ. Behold, all have come together for the Passover feast; we beg you, instruct them concerning Jesus. We entrust this to you, because we ourselves, together with the people, testify to your righteousness and impartiality. Convince the people not to be deceived concerning Jesus! All will listen to you, and we with them. Stand on the pinnacle of the temple, so that everyone can see you and your words can be heard by the whole assembly…”
Then these scribes and Pharisees really set James on the pinnacle of the temple and began to shout to him: “You righteous one! We must all believe in you. Behold, these people, being deceived, follow Jesus who was crucified. Tell us what this is – ‘the gate of Jesus who was crucified’?” James answered them with a loud voice, “Why do you ask me about Jesus, the Son of Man? He is seated in heaven at the right hand of the Power, and he will come to earth on the clouds of heaven!”
Hearing this testimony of James, many were fully convinced and began to praise Jesus, shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” Then the scribes and Pharisees began to say to one another, “We have done wrong in giving this opportunity to testify in favor of Jesus. Let us go up and push James away, so that the others will not believe in him out of fear.” And they began to cry out, “Oh! Oh! Even the righteous man has gone astray…”
Then they went up and threw the righteous man down and said to one another, “Let us stone him!” And they began to throw stones at him. But James, who had been knocked down, did not die immediately. Instead, he got up and stood He fell on his knees and said: “Lord, God the Father! Forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
While the stones continued to fly towards him, a priest, one of the sons of Rechab (mentioned by the prophet Jeremiah), shouted: “Stop! What are you doing? The righteous one is praying for us!” But at that very moment one of them, a cloth worker, grabbed a wooden loom rod with which cloth is wound and struck James with it – and he died. This story clearly shows that St. James was a true apostle of Christ, who preached to the Jews Jesus as the Christ, Savior and future Judge, and saw salvation only in Christ, and not in the Old Testament law.
And, according to the testimony of Josephus (Jewish Antiquities, XX:9, 1), St. James was stoned to death by order of the high priest Annas, precisely as a violator of the Law. This means that St. James’s adherence to the rites and customs of his people was entirely in a Christian spirit.
To whom was the epistle addressed
The Epistle of St. James the Apostle was originally intended and sent, as he himself writes (James 1:1), to “the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad.” Despite the opinion of some researchers, who gave this expression an allegorical meaning and interpreted it as a designation of the “new” or “spiritual” Israel, which has no permanent city in this world, but awaits the future, the expression “the twelve tribes” actually represents an ancient theocratic designation of the entire Jewish people as one people of God, in distinction from the other pagan nations (Acts 26:6). The addition “in the dispersion” (ἐν τῇ διασπορᾷ) first of all shows that the readers of the epistle were outside Palestine.
At the same time, the entire content of the epistle, which is of a purely Christian nature, clearly shows that the addressees were precisely Christians of Jewish origin, i.e. Judeo-Christians. However, not without reason, some researchers point out that the author of the epistle sometimes also addresses unbelieving Jews. This is quite natural, since in the initial period, and for quite a long time after that, believing and unbelieving Jews were not strictly distinguished and often gathered together. Moreover, St. Apostle James enjoyed extremely great authority both among believers and among unbelieving Jews.
Also, the limiting specification “in the dispersion” does not exclude Judeo-Christians, as well as Jews living in Palestine itself. The content of the epistle is fully applicable to them as well, although its main addressees were the Judeo-Christians living outside Palestine, and more specifically – probably the Christian communities beyond the Jordan, in Damascus and Syria (see Acts 9:1).
Why the Epistle Was Written
Like all apostolic epistles, the Epistle of St. James arose directly in connection with the needs and state of the religious and moral life of the Christian communities. It is the specific conditions of these communities that largely determine the content of the epistle.
At the same time, some of the thoughts expressed by the apostle can be considered regardless of the specific situation of the readers of that time, since, as in the Holy Scriptures, along with historical facts there always stand eternal truths of faith and morality. According to the instructions in the epistle, Christians of Jewish origin suffered many worries and inner trials.
Poor Jewish Christians were persecuted by their wealthy compatriots (Jas. 2:2–7; Jas. 5:1–6). In these external calamities they often lost the proper perspective regarding the origin of their trials (Jas. 1:12–21). They were in danger of wavering in their faith and even of apostasy (Jas. 5:7–11). Sensual desires and attachment to earthly goods caused dissensions among them (Jas. 4:1–12). Brotherly love in many grew cold (Jas. 4:13–17; Jas. 5:13–20). Self-importance led to many wanting to be teachers of others without having the ability or training (Jas. 3:1ff.). From here also arose important but harmful errors among the Judeo-Christians: Incorrect ideas about prayer (James 1:5–8; James 5:17–18). A wrong understanding of the connection between faith and good works (James 1:26–27; 2:14–26).
These and similar disorders in the inner and outer lives of the Judeo-Christians, which the Holy Apostle James calls “temptations,” served as the occasion for writing his epistle. The purpose of the epistle was, as is evident from its very content:
To eradicate these vicious attitudes and shortcomings from the lives of the Judeo-Christians. To comfort the suffering. To show all Christians the true path of moral perfection (James 1:4; 3:2).
It can also be assumed that – due to the high authority of the Apostle James even among the unbelieving Jews – he had a broader mission: By regulating the moral life of the Judeo-Christians according to the highest Christian principles, he would help attract their unbelieving compatriots to Christianity.
When was the epistle written
The time and place of writing the epistle are not indicated in the text itself, as in other New Testament writings. Therefore, its dating is speculative and uncertain. Several arguments are put forward in support of its early writing, namely before the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem (51–52 AD):
• The very purpose of the epistle to the Judeo-Christians, which would have been more understandable in the early period, before the council.
• The lack of mention of controversial issues from the time of the Apostolic Council (such as the ceremonial law and the relationship between pagan Christians and Judeo-Christians).
• The predominantly moralistic nature of the epistle and its relative modesty in doctrinal content.
Therefore, some researchers see in the epistle of James a closeness in time of writing with the Upper Sermon and in general with the Lord’s sermons.
Source in Russian: Explanatory Bible, or Commentaries on all the books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments: In 7 volumes / Ed. by prof. A.P. Lopukhin. – 4th ed. – Moscow: Dar’, 2009.
