The James Review

James: A Mocking Brother Turned Slave

James 1:1a 'James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.'

James was a very important member in the early church. (Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18; Galatians 2:12). He was a key leader in the first church in Jerusalem. That's a pretty good reason for boasting. Paul even called him a pillar of the church (Galatians 2:9).

James was a very important person because he was the half-brother of Jesus. He was in Jesus’ family! He could have boasted in so much, but he didn’t.

Before the book of James was written, James mocked Jesus. Read John 7:1-9 you’ll see that Jesus’ brothers mocked Jesus and didn’t believe a word he said.

The opening of this book, though, doesn’t sound like a mocker. James calls himself a bondservant to God and to the Lord Jesus Christ. He calls himself a servant of the lowest place, a slave, to his brother Jesus who he calls Lord and Messiah.

A bondservant is one who willfully submits to a master. This slave would present himself to his master in order that his master would pound an awl through his ear at a doorpost (Exodus 21:5-6) to show that he would be a willing servant for life.

Something must have happened for James to go from mocker to slave. We find a curious story in I Corinthians 15:7. Jesus appears to James after rising from the dead. Jesus Christ has mercy on James and presents himself after rising from the dead as Lord and King. James became a worshipper, a servant, and a person who puts his trust solely in Jesus Christ.

Are you putting your trust in Jesus Christ as a loving master? James didn’t put trust in his family connections, or later in his status as a church leader. He put his trust in Jesus Christ as Lord over his life.

Are you a mocker or a slave? There are only two kinds of people in life. A mocker boasts in anything but Christ (i.e. family, church, youth group). A slave serves Christ.