James Isn’t As Strange As You Think

Some life experiences are disorienting and overwhelming. Maybe it’s your first day of a new school or job or your first time in a new city. You look around and don’t recognize anyone, so you don’t know what to do. To see a familiar face can make a huge difference, bringing relief and comfort. Suddenly, unfamiliar situations don’t seem so strange, and the burden of facing the unknown eases.

The letter of James can be a disorienting book. It sounds so different from other parts of the Bible, and we may not understand how it fits within our theological system. Yet if we know what to look for, we’ll find familiar biblical “faces” that help us get our bearings and navigate James’s five chapters.

James is closely related to other Scriptures—from both the Old and New Testaments. If we can identify how James echoes other portions of the Bible, we can gain our interpretive footing and see that this letter isn’t as strange as it seems. Here are four familiar faces.

1. James’s Name

The name “James” has rich connections to the Old Testament. In the Gospels, Jesus has two disciples named James, including one of his inner three. The James who wrote this letter is different; he’s Jesus’s half-brother. What may be lost in English translation is that the name is the same as “Jacob.” Jacob was one of the Old Testament patriarchs. He was also known as Israel, and he was the father of the 12 tribes of Israel.

In this light, notice that James (Jacob) wrote to the 12 tribes of the Dispersion (James 1:1). It’s the letter of a New Testament Jacob to the 12 tribes of Israel who follow Christ in the new covenant era.

James is the letter of a New Testament Jacob to the 12 tribes of Israel who follow Christ in the new covenant era.

2. Lord of Glory

One of the most important passages about Christ in James comes in 2:1, where Jesus is identified as the “Lord of glory.” This designation also has an Old Testament background—it likely echoes the language from Psalm 24:7–10 that speaks of the Lord as the King of glory. For instance,

Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
he is the King of glory! Selah (v. 10)

James identifies the resurrected, glorified Jesus with the Lord of the Psalms, which is consistent with how other New Testament authors speak of Christ in exalted terms (e.g., 1 Cor. 8:5–6; Phil. 2:5–11; 2 Pet. 1:1).

3. Under Foot

Closely related to James’s view of Jesus as the Lord of glory is the possibility that he alludes to Psalm 110:1 in his critique of the covenant community showing favoritism to the rich. They shouldn’t say to the poor man, “Sit under my feet” (James 2:3; author’s translation), for that dishonors the poor man. This may also be an allusion to one of the Old Testament passages most often quoted and alluded to in the New Testament. Psalm 110:1 speaks of Christ’s exaltation and of his enemies being placed under his feet (see Acts 2:34–35; 1 Cor. 15:25; Eph. 1:22; Heb. 1:13).

Perhaps the favoritism James’s audience shows in the church is inconsistent with their commitment to Christ as the glorious Lord—the One who will have all things under his feet. If so, James may be using this passage in a surprising way: all things are subject to Christ, but by asking the poor to sit “under foot,” we’re treating them as second-class citizens in the church. Such behavior is inconsistent with Jesus’s present reign.

4. Royal Law

The Gospels are another familiar face for contextualizing James. Notice that James uses the phrase “royal law” and then cites Scripture in James 2:8. The quotation stems from Leviticus 19:18: “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This is the second great commandment as designated by Jesus. It is the royal law because of its connection to Jesus’s teaching about the Kingdom of God (Mark 12:31).

By asking the poor to sit ‘under foot,’ we’re treating them as second-class citizens in the church.

Many of James’s statements reflect the teaching of Jesus. In addition to James 2:8, James’s mention of the poor who are rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom (Jas. 2:5) reflects Jesus’s teaching that the poor are honored in the Kingdom (Matt. 5:3; Luke 6:20). Similarly, James’s encouragement for the humble to boast in their exaltation, and the rich in their humiliation (Jas. 1:9–11) also speaks about life in the Kingdom of God.

Get Your Bearings

Don’t stop with these four faces. Look for others as you read through James. See if you can detect how it echoes other Scriptures, and don’t forget to use your Bible’s cross-references. These can point you to a whole host of recognizable faces.

James was intimately familiar with Scripture, and the more familiar we are, the better we’ll understand James.