Some brief thoughts to set the scene of author and setting before we move on to the meat of the book, as means of introduction.
I. “servant” – slave:
This is surprising. James is one of the brothers of Jesus (yes, Joseph had sex with Mary after they were married, regardless of strange Catholic teachings). The Gospels tell us that Jesus’ brothers denied Christ as Messiah. They thought he was crazy. What must have happened to James to change his view to a “slave” of his brother? How easy would it be for any of us to so quickly start seeing our brother or sister as the Son of God through which all things we were created, by which all things are sustained? One o more evidence that Christianity is done to you, not the other way around. Something supernatural has to happen to you to see Christ as Lord and Savior.
II. “Dispersion”:
All Jews living outside Judea. We can find ourselves in this. God’s people far from where God has promised us to be, trying to figure out how to do this whole “Christianity” thing. This is what the rest of James is about. This whole earth is ours and we wait expectantly for the enemies to be cleared out so we can take possession. So what does life look like in the tension of awaiting promises for a new home, knowing it’s not yet time, but it will come? What is the first characteristic of this life that James brings up?What does life here look like? Verses 2 – 4 – a life of suffering for the purposes that God has laid out for us.
Verses 2 – 4 next.
