Who is Writing? (James 1:1a)

As we embark on a new book of the Bible, it is important to answer who the human author was that God used to pen these words.

Which James authored this epistle, James?
He said, "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (James 1:1a). It was a well-known name, a version of the famous Old Testament name "Jacob." In the history of the New Testament, there were several men with this name. Let us consider four of them.

James, Zebedee's son and John's brother.
He was one of the most well-known people with that name.
He was a fisherman whom Jesus called to follow him and become a disciple (Matt. 4:17–22). Christ called him and his brother John "sons of thunder" because they were so quick to act (Mark 3:17; Luke 9:51–56). James was the first disciple to die for Jesus. Herod killed him in AD 44 (Acts 12:1–2).

James, Alphaeus' son.
He was one of the disciples (Matt. 10:3; Acts 1:13), but not much is known about him. Matthew (Levi) is referred to as “the son of Alphaeus” (Mark 2:14), and some scholars speculate that the two individuals may have been siblings.
There is no evidence that this James authored the forthcoming letter.

James, the father of Judas, who was a disciple. He is an even more unknown man (Luke 6:16). To tell this Judas apart from Judas Iscariot, he was called "the son of James."

James, the Lord's brother.
He looks like the best person to have written this letter. He does not refer to himself in this manner; rather, he modestly designates himself as “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Matthew 13:55–56 and Mark 6:3 say that Jesus had brothers and sisters. One of His brothers was named James. When I say "brother," I mean half-brother. Joseph was not the father of our Lord because the Holy Spirit of God conceived Jesus.

James and the other brothers did not believe in Jesus while He was on Earth (Mark 3:31–35; John 7:1–5). But we see our Lord's brothers praying with the disciples in the Upper Room (Acts 1:14). What caused the shift from doubt to faith? 1 Corinthians 15:7 shows that Jesus showed up to James after He came back to life! This made James believe that Jesus was really the Savior, and he told the other brothers about it.

James was a leader of the church in Jerusalem. In Galatians 2:9, Paul called him "a pillar." Acts 15 mentions the church conference that James presided over. Peter sent a special message to James when he got out of jail (Acts 12:17), and when Paul went to Jerusalem, he brought greetings and a special "love offering" from the Gentiles to James (Acts 21:18–19).

We don't have any records in the Bible, but tradition says that James died for his faith in AD 62. The story goes that the Pharisees in Jerusalem hated James' testimony for Christ so much that they threw him out of the temple and beat him to death with clubs. The story also says that James died praying for his killers, just like his Savior did, saying, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

What kind of person was James? He must have been a very spiritual person to become the leader of the Jerusalem church so quickly. Acts 15 shows his stature when he let all the groups speak and then brought peace by making a decision based on the Word of God. In 1 Corinthians 9:5, Paul implied that he was married.
Tradition says he was a man of prayer, which is why his letter puts so much emphasis on prayer. Church tradition tells us that his knees were as calloused as a camel's due to his frequent prayers.

James was a Jew who grew up following the law of Moses, and his letter shows how strict he was about Jewish law. James asked Paul to help him calm down the Christian legalists in the Jerusalem church (see Acts 21:18 ff. for more on this). There are more than fifty commands in the letter of James. James did not suggest; he ordered! He only quoted the Old Testament five times, but there are a lot of references to Old Testament passages in the letter.

Before becoming a believer, James must have listened to what Jesus said, even though he didn't believe in Him. His letter has many references to what Jesus said, especially the Sermon on the Mount. Look at these passages:
James 1:2–Matthew 5:10–12
James 1:4–Matthew 5:48
James 1:5–Matthew 7:7–12
​James 1:22–Matthew 7:21–27
James 4:11–12–Matthew 7:1–5
James 5:1–3–Matthew 6:19–21

Remember that James was in charge of the church in Jerusalem during a very challenging time. It was a time of change, and change is always challenging and stressful. Many Christian Jews in Jerusalem still believed in the Old Testament law (Acts 21:20). The temple and its services were still going on, and the full light of the gospel of God's grace had not yet come. We who have read Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews might be quick to judge these early believers, but we shouldn't. They were saved, but they were still living in the shadows of the law, moving James 1 out into the bright light of God's grace. Paul and the Jerusalem church leaders may have differed in spiritual knowledge and experience, but they weren't rivals (Gal. 2:1–10).