Why James Calls Himself a Servant

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Nancy Guthrie
We’re finally here at the gospel coalition Women’s Conference, are you so happy like I am. Now, we have to try to not feel awkward when we walk past people that we know. But we didn’t recognize them because half of their face was covered, right? Well, I’m thrilled that I get to do one of these first sessions with you. We’re here to talk about thought through the book of James. And in this session, we’re gonna look at the person of James and I’m excited to get to do it. Before I do that, I want to let you know that this breakout has been sponsored for buy crossway I’m so grateful to publish books by crossway. They publish some of the very best books you’ll find there in the bookseller. I’m grateful they published a book of mine this last year called saints and scoundrels, and some of the content from this workshop is drawn from that. So we’re gracious, we’re grateful for their generous support, to help make this session possible. And you can learn more about crossway about by visiting them in their booth in the exhibit hall, or those who are you are online with us, welcome to you hope you’ve gotten settled, got something good to drink, and you’re ready to go to stay tuned in because we are all who are here are so grateful to know that you’re with us too. And you can find information about [email protected]. You know, sometimes I think that we read parts of the Bible without really thinking about the human person that’s actually behind those words, that person who have felt the burden to do this writing and made the arguments and organized the words. And so we’re going to just spend this session looking at the person of James who wrote the book that we’re going to be studying here. And in the truth is in the book of James itself, he doesn’t tell us very much about himself beyond introducing himself in the first verse. So we’re going to fill out some of who James is by what we read in the gospels, what we read in the book of Acts, and then in the historical writings of Eusebius, and Josephus and these sources are going to help us think about together about the home that James grew up in, that shaped his relationship with his brother, half brother, we would is more accurate Jesus.

Nancy Guthrie
And then the change that took place when the resurrected Jesus appeared to him. And we’re also going to look at the service, his service as a leader of the church in Jerusalem during the early years when the church was being formed. And then finally, look at his the circumstances of his death. So hope you brought your Bibles. Hope you all there at home, have your Bibles, open them up. And we’re going to start in Matthew chapter one, we can find that right, first page of the New Testament, I hope you’ll track with me all along with your Bibles open as we go. So the first thing we’re going to do is consider the home that James grew up in, or more specifically, the parents who shaped the home that James grew up in. And of course, what we know about his parents, Joseph and Mary, is comes from the Gospels. It’s in context of the experience and relationship they had with their firstborn son, Jesus, but certainly the these things reveal something to us about Joseph and Mary’s piety that might be helpful as we think also about the person of James. Now we’re introduced to Joseph here in Matthew chapter one who’s going to be Jesus’s earthly adopted father and James’s biological father, and as soon as we meet Joseph, I think we discover that he is the kind of person we all want to have, as a father, as a brother, husband. So look in chapter one of Matthew, one verses, verses 18 and 19. Now the birth of Jesus took place in this way, when his mother, Mary, had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit, and her husband, Joseph being a just man, and unwilling to put her to shame resolve to divorce her quietly. So we’ve learned two things about Joseph here. He’s a just man. In other words, he cares about justice. He cares about doing what is right. Clearly he loves the law of God, and he wants to live by it. The word has been implanted in Joseph, and like his son James is going to write about much later. Joseph clearly wants to keep himself self unstained by the world. He doesn’t want to speak evil against another. And of course, the problem is Is that from his vantage point, at this point in time, it would seem that Mary has been parked party to a great wrong, she’s pregnant. And he knows it’s not his child and he simply can’t begin their life together, as if she hasn’t slept with another man that would be ignoring God’s law that he loves. And right away, if we read the book of James, we realize that James is his father’s son. Because the book of James is we’re going to see over these plenary sessions is very dependent on Old Testament law. It’s also very dependent on Jesus’s reiteration of Old Testament law, as it’s filled with allusions and content that comes from the Sermon on the Mount. So like his father, Joseph, James is very concerned about doing what is right. And he’s also very concerned about the certainty of God’s judgment on those who claim to be a partaker in the covenant of grace, but live in such a way that denies that. So we see he loves the law. He’s He’s concerned with justice and righteousness. But did you see what else? Joseph is? Kind? Don’t you think? He’s merciful, which makes me think of what James will write that, that Mercy triumphs over judgments? Joseph doesn’t want Mary’s pregnant picture splashed on the tabloids to humiliate her and as many imperatives as we’re going to hear in James, don’t you in the book of James, I hope you’ve been reading itself as you prepare for this conference. Don’t we sense His kindness to his kindness and compassion for those who are suffering for those who were being mistreated by the rich oppressors, his kindness toward the the widow and the orphan. So here’s Joseph, he determines that he’s going to make it a quiet divorce, he’s going to be careful with his tongue. And James is certainly going to have a lot to say about that. By his good content, Joseph is going to show his good works in the meekness of wisdom. So that’s what Joseph determines to do. And then he went to bed. And in the middle of the night,

Nancy Guthrie
we read that an angel appeared to him in a dream, telling him that he should take Mary as his wife, and he’s going to name the child Jesus. So skip down to Matthew chapter one, verse 24, it reads, When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife took her as his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. And here, Joseph demonstrates. What Jesus is going to say later, is a family trait of anyone who belongs to his family. And that is, he heard the word of God. And he obeyed. He’s a man whose faith was put on display by his works. And he isn’t the only one. When this angel Gabriel came to Mary, who was betrothed to Joseph, she’d never slept with him or any other man, and told her that she’s going to conceive a son, and bear a son. She asks, How is this going to happen? Which makes sense she would ask, right? And here’s how the angel answer, sir, I’m in Luke 135, the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. So I find Mary’s response similar to Joseph’s response, actually quite stunning. It’s told very briefly, in Luke’s account, it says, And Mary said, Behold, I am the servant of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word. She heard God’s Word through this angel, or as James might say, she received with meekness the implanted word she intended to submit to it, and obey it no matter what it might cost her. And it’s going to cost her but because she really believed that God was at work in and through her life, and that that was a cause for joy. She erupted into this song, and in Mary’s song that we find in Luke chapter one, Mary alludes from two verses to content from Genesis and Deuteronomy. And first and second, Sam A meal and job and Psalms and Isaiah and Ezekiel and Micah and Habakkuk. And Zephaniah, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard that or seen that in Mary song. So what does this mean? This means that Mary is a biblical theologian, which makes me love her even more. In her songs, she connected the promises that God had made to Abraham and the promises that God had made to David, to the baby that she was carrying. She says in Luke 154, he, meaning the Lord has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers to Abraham, and to his offspring forever. It’s so curious the words Luke uses to then describe how Mary processes this. We read in Luke 219, that Mary treasured up these things, pondering them in her heart, maybe that has to be an understatement, doesn’t it? Can you imagine what it was like for Mary to try to think this through what this angel had said to her and how he was at work in her. And I have to think that as this child was born, and then grew that there were, there were things that Mary understood, I mean, those some of the things she understood are reflected in that song. But there was also things she didn’t quite get yet, that she was still trying to put together. She was pondering. And there’s, there must have been at least some sense that she and Joseph had that Jesus was divine, that he was destined to be the one who’s going to set things right in the world, that he was the king in the line of David, promised by God. But I think there also had to be a sense in which they didn’t see everything. Clearly, it must not have been something clearly talked about around the family dinner table, in this home that James grew up in with his other siblings. I want you to turn now to Matthew 13. We don’t have

Nancy Guthrie
very much at all about the childhood of Jesus, we’ve got that one scene where he goes to the temple, and he stays behind calling it his father’s house. But we do have this in Matthew chapter 13. Look, beginning in verses 55. And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, and coming to his hometown, you got the picture. He’s there where all of his family is going to be, they all come to this place, right? He taught them in their synagogue so that they were astonished. And they said, Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter son? I mean, they’ve all bought stuff from the carpentry office probably? Is not his mother called Mary, and are not his brothers, James, and Joseph and Simon, and Judas, and aren’t his sisters with us. Where then did this man get these things, and they took offense at Him. They’re not impressed with them. They’re offended by him. But not just all those people out there. Because it says that Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown. And you see the next three words in his own household. And he did not do many works there because of their unbelief. His own household unbelief, Jesus is talking about his brothers and sisters. But maybe we should give them a bit of a break. What must it been must have been like to grow up with a big brother who never disobeyed? Who always did the right thing. Who can impress even the rabbi’s at the temple? Not just with his answers to their questions, but the questions that he asked. I mean, in one sense, I can’t imagine how they didn’t believe that Jesus was divine. How could they not be drawn to a brother who always loved perfectly and always loved them perfectly and everyone around them? And yet, I think any of us who have siblings also recognize Can’t we that it can be incredibly annoying, maybe even alienating to have a sibling whose good behavior is always making us look bad. Anybody out there that maybe My two sisters sitting right here. Okay. I wonder was that part of the reason that once Jesus transitioned out of that carpentry shop and Nazareth, into a miraculous ministry around Galilee that Jesus’s brothers and sisters, not only rejected him not only didn’t believe him, they want to push him away. They want to shut him up. That’s what we read in Mark three turn, they’re with me to Mark chapter three. Now, when you get there actually wanting you to look a little bit and Mark chapter two, first, maybe just look at the headlines. Can you look at the like the sub headings that tell you what’s in those paragraphs that precede what we’re going to read in Mark chapter three, you can see that as Jesus is making his way around Galilee, first, he heals someone who is paralyzed, and in that he assumes the authority to forgive sin. He claims to be the Lord of the Sabbath, very big claim. When we get in the beginning of chapter three, it says he’s healed a man with a withered hand. And the Pharisees have decided to destroy him. Even though great crowds are following him. They’re pressing in to touch him so that they might, so that he might heal them. And they’re getting so close pressing, and so close the disciples. Jesus tells the disciples to get a boat, because they’re about to crush him. And then we come to verse 20, in chapter three, read this with me, then he went home, and the crowd gathered again so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize Him for their saying, he’s out of his mind. So they not only don’t believe in Him, they think he’s crazy. They’re not proud of him.

Nancy Guthrie
They’re ashamed of him. I mean, to the family of Jesus, all of these things that were happening that we read with such wonder and gratitude. I mean, to them, this was embarrassing. It’s like, doesn’t Jesus realize he’s making the whole family look ridiculous, by claiming the authority of God to do these things. And then Mark continues, look with me in verse 31. And his mother and his brothers came, and they’re standing outside, they sit to him and called him and a crowd was sitting around him. And they said to him, your mother and your brothers are outside seeking you. And Jesus answered, who are my mother, and my brothers. And then looking around at those who sat around him, he said, here are my mother, and my brothers, for whoever does the will of God, He is my brother and sister, and mother. Jesus actually used this as an opportunity to reveal something very significant about the human family, as well as what it means to be part of His family. And it’s that human family is important. But it isn’t everything. According to Jesus, there’s a family that takes precedence over our biological families, and that is the family made up of our spiritual mothers, and brothers and sisters, the family made up of people who are related by faith and obedience to Jesus. We gain one more insight into Jesus’s relationship with his siblings in the Gospel of John, turn to John chapter six. In this scene, Jesus has just fed 5000 People with five loaves of barley, and two fish and all is well and good. Until Jesus became really straightforward about what he was trying to communicate through this miracle. Verse 53, of John six. Jesus said, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoa, eat his flesh. Drink his blood. What does he mean by that? And we read that many of the people who heard what he said that day they were they were just very offended. By the very idea, if you skip down to verse 66, it ends by with this report that many of His disciples turned back and no longer walk with Him. So there’s the scene. And then we turn, we head into the next part, John chapter seven, and it opens this way. After this, Jesus went about in Galilee, that’s his hometown area, he would not go about in Judea, because Jews were seeking to kill him. Now the juice Feast of Booths was at hand. So his brothers said to him, leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the work you’re doing, for no one works in secret, if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, then show yourself to the world. And then look at this last line in verse five, it gets me for not even his brothers believed in him. Is that not a terribly sad sentence? So here’s the question when you read this, if they don’t believe in him, why are they urging him to go to Judea, which would mean go to Jerusalem? Maybe they just want him out of their backyard. But you have to wonder what kind of brothers and sisters want their brother to go to the very place where there are people who have declared openly that they want to kill him.

Nancy Guthrie
So they’re there. They don’t believe in him, but their lack of belief evidently, isn’t a hindrance to their desire to maybe ride on his coattails. If he’s going to gain in popularity there in Judea, it doesn’t keep them from giving Jesus what they may see as good advice. I mean, what they know is the Feast of Booths or tabernacles, that draws 1000s of people to Jerusalem, and there must be thinking, Okay, if Jesus goes there, and he performed some miracles, it’s gonna be a big boost to his notoriety. His brothers want Jesus to put on a big display of miracles, for the largest audience possible. Of course, Jesus did intend to put himself on display in Jerusalem. But not in the way that his brothers thought he would. Jesus put himself on display in Jerusalem by being hung on a Roman cross. He said, Indeed, that when he was lifted up, he would draw all men and all people to Himself. And here what I find so beautiful and so amazing, that among those that he drew to himself, when he was lifted up on that cross, or his slow to believe, brothers and sisters, they weren’t there at his crucifixion. I mean, think about it, to have a brother. being put to death in such a humiliating way, would be the ultimate embarrassment and shame his mother, is there alone. And so Jesus appoints the apostle John to take care of her. But then, something happens. Turn with me to First Corinthians 15. I want somebody to shout out to me when I say First Corinthians 15, there should be one word that comes to your mind. What is it? Anybody? I can’t hear you. Resurrection, absolutely resurrection. This is this chapter about resolution. Let’s begin in verse three of First Corinthians 15, in which Paul is going to define the gospel that he preaches. He says, For I delivered to you as a first importance what I also received that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures that He was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. And then he appeared to surface that would be Peter, then to the 12. Then he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Beep. Then he appeared to James. That’s our James. Then to all the apostles, last of all, is one two untimely born, he appeared also to me. In grace, the risen, glorify Jesus revealed Himself to this brother that he grew up with, who had refused up to that point to believe in Him. Do you remember some of the accounts in Luke and John about how Jesus appeared to the apostles after the resurrection? Remember, they’re they’re gathered after the crucifixion. And he shows up, and he breaks the bread. And then Peter and his brother have gone back fishing. And Jesus shows up on the seashore and he’s there fixing them breakfast. It’s so beautiful, isn’t it? I wonder what James’s experience was, once you’d like to know, his experience of having the risen Jesus appear to him? What was it like? What was he hiding in shame? Because his brother had just died the most shameful death that anyone could die? Was he alone? Was he gathered with his brothers and sisters? Were they grumbling, maybe, about the shame that Jesus had brought on the family? And were they thinking, you know, why didn’t we just put him away when we had the chance?

Nancy Guthrie
We don’t know. All we have is this, that the reason Jesus appeared to him. And what we know from this is that everything about his life changed. Because of this. Everything he thought and knew he knew and understood about his brother, it changed. I wonder if maybe everything is biblical theologian mother had been trying to explain to him was finally starting to come together and make sense. But you know, it wasn’t simply a change of opinion, or a change of perspective, it was a new birth. Was he still working in the carpentry shop in Nazareth? I don’t, we don’t know. We do know that he was in Jerusalem. on Pentecost, turn with me to Acts chapter one. Apps, chapter one. And verse three of acts one. It’s speaking of Jesus, when it says that he presented himself alive to them, after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the Kingdom of God, and then pick up in verse 12. Then Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath days journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room where they were staying, Peter, and John and James and Andrew that that James is the Apostle James, Philip and Thomas Bartholomew, and Matthew, James, the son of Alphaeus. And Simon zealot, and Judas, the son of James, all these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer together with the women and marry the mother of Jesus. You see it, and his brothers. I love that. They’re there. They’re in Jerusalem, they’re gathered with the apostles. They’re in constant prayer, for the power that Jesus promised them when he left. And so James must have been in the room look in chapter two of x, beginning of verse two, James was in the room, when suddenly there came from a hit from heaven, a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting, and divided tongues as a fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them, including James, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utter utterance. And surely James was in the audience then on that Pentecost day to hear Peters Pentecost sermon that had an incredible result. Look down in verse 37, of Acts two, it says, after Peter’s sermon Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brothers, what shall we do? And Peter said to them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, for the promises for you and for your children and for all who are far off everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. So those who received his word were baptized. And there were added that day about 3000 souls 3000, spiritually dead people became spiritually alive on that day in Jerusalem, pick up in verse 42. And they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship to the breaking of the bread and the prayers and awe came upon every soul. And many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles, and all who believe were together and had everything in common, and they’re selling their possessions and belongings, they’re distributing the proceeds to all they had need. And day by day attending the temple together, breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God, having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day, those who are being saved. You’re getting a picture of the numbers, how about how all of a sudden, there’s a bunch of new converts who need to be shepherded. And discipled. I would imagine many of those 3000 people were in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost, and they went back home to wherever they lived. But there had to be many who are actually from and lived in Jerusalem. And there’s a whole lot of new believers, and then more are joining them every day. And they’re all,

Nancy Guthrie
I guess, kind of doing like Mary, they’re pondering this, they’re trying to put it together. They’re trying to put together this lifelong understanding of the Old Testament and its law and the prophets and trying to make sense of what the Holy Spirit is now giving them the ability to put together to understand about the ways in which Jesus is the fulfillment of all of those, but then trying to figure out what’s that going to look like for us? What’s it going to mean? For are going to the temple for our sacrifices, all of these things? Let’s assume that Pentecost happened in AD 33. And x six, seven, we read that the word of God continued to increase and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly, and it tells us specifically in Jerusalem, and Luke, who’s joining the church in Jerusalem and Acts chapter six, verse seven, it says, a great many the priests became obedient to the faith. I mean, can you just imagine how much this church in Jerusalem is growing? It’s growing exponentially and numbers. Alright, so if Pentecost took place in 33 ad, likely it was that Stephen was stoned to death by the religious leaders within a year of when that happened, a year of the resurrection of Jesus. And so if you turn to Acts chapter eight, we read that on that day, meaning the day that Stephen was stoned, there arose a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and that they’re scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. So persecution is growing in the church of Jerusalem. And as that happens, great numbers of them are, are scattered throughout the world, outside the borders of Palestine, they’re taking the gospel with them. And they’re establishing churches. This is the audience for the book of James, the original audience of the book of James, that we’re going to be studying over these sessions together here at the conference. They are those who have been scattered. And the these are the churches that James is getting reports from, and what he’s hearing is about division and worldliness and favoritism these issues. And these are going to prompt him to write the letter of James to all those who’ve been dispersed from Jerusalem. So after Pentecost, Peter emerged as the leader of this church in Jerusalem, and it’s about 10 or 12 years later, that we read an X 12. About when Peter was imprisoned by Herod right before Passover, and you’ll inherited was planning to have Peter executed after the Feast of Unleavened Bread was passed, but you remember what had happens in x 12. That’s, that’s that night when Peter is in prison, and an angel appears to him and leads him out of prison. And it says that he went to Mary’s house, where there’s people praying for him. And he says, He tells them specifically in Acts 1216, to give the news of his escape to James, and to the brethren. Once again, this is our James, evidently, this church in Jerusalem. It meets in different places, it’s gotten, you know, large. And so there’s one group of believers that meets in Mary’s house. And perhaps Peter was the leader of this group. And that’s why he goes to them when he comes out of principle, he wants to make sure that they get the message of his escape to James, and this other house church.

Nancy Guthrie
A short time later, the chief persecutor of the church in Jerusalem. At that time, a man named Saul was radically reborn, he also was given a vision of the resurrected glorify Jesus, he spent a number of years first in Arabia, he’s going back to the Old Testament, that he had built his life around, seeking a new understanding of the way that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Scriptures, the love. And after three years, we read and Galatians one eight that he traveled to Jerusalem, and it says in Galatians, one eight he went to Jerusalem, to get to know see first once again, or Peter, and he saw none of the other apostles, except James, the Lord’s rather. So it gives us a sense at this point, James is not only closely associated with the 12 apostles, he claims he carries the same designation that they do at this point, since he has all of the requirements of being an apostle, particularly having seen the resurrected Jesus. And it seems that he’s the second most important man in the church. He’s important enough for Paul to note him as missing from all of the apostles that he saw. And then the next time that Paul comes to Jerusalem, James leading role in the Jerusalem church seems to been established. If you look in Galatians, two, nine, when Paul tells how he and Barnabas had a private conference with the three leaders, or he calls them the pillars of the Jerusalem church, he names them. And would it would be typical in biblical recording like this, that he would name them it kind of an order of importance. And in Galatians, two, nine, he says that he saw these pillars of the Jerusalem church, James Seavus, or Peter, and John. Now, it was shortly before this, that James penned his letter to all of these struggling believers who had fled persecution in Jerusalem and settled in places outside Palestine. James probably wrote this letter somewhere between AD 40 and ad 45. And about 20 years later from that. Another half brother of Jesus will pin his letter, the book, have you know it, dude, exactly. Now, here’s what I find most interesting about these two half brothers of Jesus. It’s the way they introduce themselves in their books. Have you ever noticed that? Turn, turn to James chapter one, and then maybe put another finger in Jude? The James one, one, here’s how he starts his letter, James, a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. I have to tell you, if it were me, I would probably if I was writing this letter, it probably be Nancy, half sister of Jesus. I mean, let’s get some credibility in there, right? I mean, nobody else can claim that and so it’s so stunning to me. That James doesn’t draw on that at all. Right? James, a servant of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then if you flip to Jude, how did you begin his book? Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of we might expect Okay, now he’s gonna do it. Now, brother of James. Isn’t this incredible? They define themselves, not as half brothers of Jesus but as servants of Jesus. Clearly, they have come to see Jesus not merely as their sibling but as the Savior. And not just the Savior of the world out there but their Savior, their only saver. They went from wanting to silence Jesus to giving their lives to serve Jesus. And rather than being embarrassed by him, thy glory in being able to call him, Lord. The Bible itself doesn’t tell us about how James’s life and ministry came to an end.

Nancy Guthrie
But the biblical the not biblical, but the historians. You see this at Eusebius and Josephus, they write about it. And here’s what we find in the writings of Eusebius. I’m going to read it to you and I hope you’ll forgive me that it’s kind of long, but I just felt like it was worth it. Can you stick with me a couple more minutes good. Here’s what he writes. But after Paul, in consequence of his appeal to Caesar had been sent to Rome by Festus, the Jews being frustrated in their hope and then trapping him by the snares, which they had laid for him turned against James, the brother of the Lord, to whom the Episcopal seat at Jerusalem had been entrusted by the apostles. leading him into their mitts they demanded of him, that he should renounce faith in Christ in the presence of all the people. But contrary to the opinion of all with a clear voice, and with greater boldness than they had anticipated, he spoke out before the whole multitude and confessed that our Savior and Lord Jesus is the Son of God. But they were unable to bear longer the testimony of the man who on account of the excellence of aesthetic virtue and piety which he had exhibited in his life, was esteemed by all as the most just of men, and consequently, they slew him. Opportunity for this deed of violence was furnished by the prevailing anarchy, which was caused by the fact that Festus had just died at this time in Judea, and that the province was thus without a governor and head. The manner of James’s death has already been indicated by Clement, who records that he was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple and beaten to death with a club. But haga sippers who lived immediately after the apostles gives the most accurate account. In the fifth book of his memoirs, he writes, The aforesaid scribes and Pharisees therefore placed James on the pinnacle of the temple and cried out to him and said, Thou just ONE in whom we all ought to have confidence for as much as the people are led astray after Jesus, the Crucified One declared to us, what is the gait of Jesus? And James answered in a loud voice? Why do you ask me concerning Jesus, the Son of Man, he himself sitteth in heaven at the right hand of the great power, and is about to come on the clouds of heaven. Which it grabs me that he says that said this at his death, because this is what he writes about in the passage I’m going to speak on on Sunday on James, that he’s about to come. And when many were fully convinced, and glorified glory in the testimony of James and said, Hosanna, to the son of David, the same scribes and Pharisees said to one another, we’ve done badly and supplying such testimony to Jesus, let’s, let’s go up and throw him down in order that they may be afraid to believe in Him. And so they went up, and they threw the just one down, and they said to each other, let us stone James the jest. And they began to stone him, for he was not killed by the fall. But he just turned and knelt down and said, I entreat the Lord God our Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. That sounds familiar. And while they were the stoning him, one of the priests of the sons of Ray KAB, the son of the Rekha bytes who are mentioned by Jeremiah the prophet cried out, saying, cease, what do you the just one pray of for you? And one of them who was a fuller took the club with which he beat out close and struck the just man on the head. And thus he suffered martyrdom, and they buried him on the spot by the temple, and his monument still remains by the temple he became a true witness both to Jews and Greeks, that Jesus is the Christ. Isn’t this what we would long for anyone? You say about us when our life comes to an end, they would call us a true witness. Yeah. So here’s James the son of Joseph and Mary, the half brother of Jesus, the leader of the church in Jerusalem, the author of this letter to the 12 tribes and dispersion, brother who became believer, sibling who became servant,

Nancy Guthrie
Pastor, Peacemaker, doer of the word, steadfast under trial, recipient of the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let’s pray. Lord, we thank you, for your servant James. We love getting to see what seeing you and your resurrected glory, the change that it brought about in his life from unbelief to believer. And Lord, we marveled at the humility and the sense of submission, that he would even just simply describe himself servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, the humility of that moves us and it makes us long to want to be a true witness. To be doers of the word and not hearers only, like James was to be bold in our faith, even though it might cost us even though like James, it might cost us our lives, life itself. But knowing that there is a crown of righteousness promised to those who love you, Lord, give us the grace to love you more today than we did yesterday and more tomorrow than we do today. The grace to love you with all of our hearts that we might remain steadfast under trial. Your name I pray, amen.