Brother of Jesus, Friend of God: Studies in the Letter of James
Overview
The letter of James has enjoyed a colorful history, with its background and significance widely debated over the centuries. In this book, an outstanding scholar of the New Testament offers new and selected studies of James that show its roots in antiquity and its importance for Christian history and theology.
Luke Timothy Johnson explores the letter of James from a variety of perspectives. After a general introduction to James, he looks at its history of interpretation. Johnson then examines James’s social and historical situation, its place within Scripture, and its use of the sayings of Jesus. Several exegetical studies take care to place James in the context of Hellenistic moral discourse. Two concluding essays look at the themes of friendship and gender in James.
Johnson’s Brother of Jesus, Friend of God is accessible to general readers serious about Bible study, and church groups will find this volume to be a fruitful entry into an important portion of the New Testament.
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- Explores the Letter of James from various perspectives
- Examines the letter's place in scripture, as well as its social and historical situation
- Includes essays that address the themes of friendship and gender in James
- Prologue: James’s Significance for Early Christian History
- An Introduction to the Letter of James
- A Survey of the History of Interpretation of James
- The Reception of James in the Early Church
- Journeying East with James: A Chapter in the History of Interpretation
- How James Won the West: A Chapter in the History of Canonization
- The Social World of James: Literary Analysis and Historical Reconstruction
- The Use of Leviticus 19 in the Letter of James
- The Sayings of Jesus in the Letter of James
- Taciturnity and True Religion: James 1:26-27
- The Mirror of Remembrance: James 1:22-25
- James 3:13–4:10
- Friendship with the World and Friendship with God: A Study of Discipleship in James
- Gender in the Letter of James: A Surprising Witness
- Epilogue: The Importance of James for Theology
Top Highlights
“First, although the name Jesus occurs only twice (1:1; 2:1), and although James never speaks of the resurrection directly, there is every reason to think that for James, Jesus is not simply a figure of the past but of the present.” (Page 21)
“Virtually all the vocabulary in James is found also in the Septuagint, and some of his Semitic constructions, such as the neologism prosōpolēmpsia (‘respect of persons’/‘discrimination’) or the expression ‘doing the word,’ would make sense only to a reader of Greek who was familiar with the usages in the Septuagint. Scripture provides James with more than diction. James’s entire symbolic world is that of Scripture in all its parts.” (Pages 26–27)
“James’s final verses in 5:7–20 sketch his understanding of a community that lives by the ‘faith of Jesus Christ’ and in ‘friendship with God’ in a religion ‘pure and stainless before God.’ Not surprisingly, given his attention to the ways speech betrays friendship with the world (above all in 3:1–12), James pays particular attention to the speech of such a community.” (Page 36)
“Fourth, James nevertheless locates this sectarian outlook not in individuals but in an intentional community.” (Page 22)
“Second, the distinctive presence of Jesus within James’s composition is through the medium of his sayings.” (Page 21)
Luke Timothy Johnson is Robert W. Woodruff Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. His works include The Real Jesus: The Misguided Quest for the Historical Jesus, and the Trust of the Traditional Gospels.