The primitive character of church order 17 suggests an early dateĮ. There is no mention of the Jewish-Gentile controversy which arose in AD 49-50 with the Jerusalem councilĭ. There is no mention of the fall of Jerusalem 16Ĭ. As an ending date Josephus 15 states that James was martyred in AD 62ī. The community appears to belong to the period before the fall of Jerusalem:ġ) Rich land owners who preyed upon the needy was the case before the fall of the Jerusalem 11Ģ) Guthrie writes, “In fact, in addition to the social surroundings of the community, the internal conditions of quarrelsomeness among the Christians may well point to an early stage in the history of the community before much maturity had been reached” 12ģ) The reference to ‘wars and fightings’ in 4:1 may have a context before the siege of Jerusalem by TitusĤ) The “thoroughly Jewish background of the letter is evidenced by the absence of any allusion to masters and slaves and by the omission of any denunciation of idolatry, both of which would have been inappropriate in an epistle attributed to such a devoted Jewish Christian as James” 13 II. 1:19)ĥ) James held a authoritative position in the church at the Jerusalem council (Acts 15:13ff)Ħ) James spoke with Paul on his return to Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary journey and Paul agrees to James’ request (Acts 21)Į.
15:7)Ĥ) James was the leader whom Paul met in Jerusalem (Gal. 7:5)Ģ) But James is among the brethren in Acts (1:14)ģ) James was specially singled out for a resurrection appearance (1 Cor. The rest of the NT supports James as a prominent figure who could have written this letter with authority: 10ġ) Yes, he was an unbeliever in the Gospels (Mr. Guthrie writes, “there are more parallels in this Epistle than in any other New Testament book to the teaching of our Lord in the Gospels” 9ĭ.
There are similarities with James and the teaching of Jesus. There are similarities between James and the speech and letter attributed to James in Acts 15 8Ĭ. If the half-brother of the Lord is the more reasonable of the two possible choices, than other internal evidence supports this conclusion:ġ) He draws upon the Hebrew Scriptures (1:2 2:8, 11, 23, 25 3:9 4:6 5:2, 11, 17, 18)Ģ) He employs Hebrew Idioms and style behind the Greekģ) He is concerned with the Jewish Diaspora and uses Jewish terms (cf. Only two (2) NT people 6 could fulfill this title of James and the half-brother of the Lord Jesus is the more reasonable choice:ġ) James, the son of Zebedee, of the Twelve Apostles-but he is most probably ruled out since he was martyred in AD 44 by Herod, and the epistle seems to have been written after thatĢ) James, the half-brother of Jesus, who became the leader of the Jerusalem churchĪ) This is support by the simplicity of the description (e.g., a well known James)ī) In Church history it seems to have the Lord’s half-brother James who made a significant impact on the early church in Jerusalem (Acts 15 21).ģ) Some believe that the name is only a pseudonym attached to the letter to add authority and others see the salutation as a later addition, but these are not necessary conclusions 7Ģ. The author identifies himself as James 1:1Ī.
Internal Evidence: Though one cannot not be dogmatic, it seems reasonable to identify the author of this letter with James, the Lord’s half-brother.ġ. It is the kind of letter which could easily be neglected as, in fact, the treatment of it in the modern Church abundantly shows and, once neglected, a fertile soil was provided for future doubts, especially at the time when spurious productions were being attributed to apostolic names” 5ī. Guthrie writes, “On the whole it is not altogether surprising that this brief Epistle of James was not much quoted in the earliest period, for it did not possess such wide appeal as the more dynamic Epistles of Paul. Mayor claims to find quotations or allusions to James in Didache, Barnabas, The Testaments of the Xii Patriarchs, Ignatius, Polycarp, Hermes and some later second-century Fathers 4ħ. Eusebius cites James among his disputed books ( Antilegomena), but he refers to it as if it were genuine 3Ħ. It is not mentioned in the Muratorian Canon, but this may have been to the corrupt state of this cannon (Hebrews and the Petrine Epistles are also missing).ĥ. Some question whether Origen doubted the authenticity of James, 1 but his abundant references to James as Scripture override this concern 2Ĥ. Except for 1 Peter and 1 John the Catholic epistles have played more of a part in molding the Christian church than Paul’s lettersģ. James is the first of the “Catholic” or “general” epistles which gain their name because they lack any specific addressĢ. External Evidence: Though not decisive, there is good evidence for the epistle of James:ġ. AUTHORSHIP: Most probably James, the Lord’s half-brotherĪ.