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Hello

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and welcome to the Waking Up to Grace podcast, where we celebrate and explore the finished work of our Lord, Jesus Christ. The Waking Up to Grace podcast can be found on every major platform. And now, here's Lenny.

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Welcome to the show, everyone. Today's episode is going to be about the letter of James. When you think of the letter of James, what stands out to you? Are there things that are unique about this letter in comparison to our New Testament epistles? I noticed several things about the letter of James that really stand out to me. I made a list of five for the sake of this episode. Number one, the first and most important thing that makes this letter unique is that it never once mentions the finished work of Christ Jesus. This fact, combined with the nature of the writing, alarmed the reformer, Martin Luther, so much that at one point he did not want it to be included in the Bible. Many criticize his thinking on the matter, but several points he makes about this writing cannot be ignored, and you cannot deny how odd it is that an inspired writer would fail to mention the finished work of Christ Jesus in a writing of this level of detail. Number two, James refers to the law as the law of liberty. Many would see this as a direct contradiction to Paul, who wrote, all who rely on observing the law are under a curse. Number three, James says faith without works is dead and uses Abraham's work of offering his son on the altar as the work that fulfilled or completed his faith. Paul, again, comes from a different angle in Romans 4 where he uses Abraham as an example as well, but follows up by saying if he was justified by works, he had something to boast about. And to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, Paul says his faith is credited as righteousness. That brings us to number four. He uses Old Covenant references a lot in his message, often strongly resembling Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5-7, also known as the Sermon on the Mount. And number five, his letter is written to the twelve tribes in the dispersion. Why not Gentiles? Why are they excluded here? But before we dig into the content, let's look at some of the issues that have arisen over the letter of James. Historically, there have been many disputes about the letter ranging from who wrote it, when it was written, and whether or not it should be included in scripture. The one question that has a clear answer is who it was written to. It could not be more clear that it is addressed to the 12 tribes in the dispersion. In other words, the 12 tribes that were scattered and divided. I believe that opening holds heavy significance on the time frame of which it was written, and we will certainly be covering that. It is commonly held today by scholars that James is the earliest letter in our New Testament. The question is how early? Is it even earlier than most think? The argument that it should not be part of scripture highlights most of the questionable points we have gone over so far. Questioning whether it was an author acting as James, why he makes no mention of the cross and resurrection, why he seems to have a law-based view on salvation. and some even saying it may have been written a few centuries after Christ Jesus. The core of this argument would be whether or not the letter of James was spiritually inspired. We're not going down that road today. There's really not a lot to explore if you come to that conclusion. I personally do not have a huge problem with that view, as many do, but it is not how I see the letter of James. Today, we will look at the topic of who wrote James from a perspective that it was written by one of the three most prominent James in Scripture. Those would be James, the son of Zebedee, James, the son of Alphaeus, James, the brother of our Lord. What do we know about these three James from Scripture? Well, let's start with James, the son of Alphaeus. This James was referred to as James the Less. Historically, maybe it was his age or his height in comparison with the other apostle named James. His father was Alphaeus. We know that from Matthew 10, verse 3. He is mentioned as being in the upper room as the disciples pray for the promise of the Father in Acts 1, 12-13. Some have tried to identify him as the same James who was the brother of Jesus, but the brethren of Christ did not believe in him during his lifetime. That's recorded in John 7, verse 5. This would be impossible. Now, if you look at Fox's Book of Martyrs, which is a very well-known book, and John Fox really did some digging to find his research that he had done. John Fox seems to believe that this James, known as James the Less, was elected to the oversight of the churches of Jerusalem and was the author of the epistle in our canon. Now, today, most hold that James, the brother of Jesus, was the leader of the church in Jerusalem. So, there is some dispute here on who would have been taking the floor at the conclusion of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. One account regarding this event, the event of James' martyrdom, says, Ananias summoned James before the judges to deny Jesus is the Christ. He was placed on the pinnacle of the temple where he was to deny Christ before the people. Instead, he boldly proclaimed Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah. The multitudes praised God. However, James was cast down and stoned. But the fallen stoning only broke his legs, so on his knees he prayed to God for those who were attacking him, saying, Lord, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Then he was struck in the head and died. Today it was more widely believed that the James in this event was the brother of Jesus. But again, according to John Fox, in his research, and I'm sure many others, because this is kind of a disputed topic, it was James the son of Alphaeus. But let's move on to James the son of Zebedee. The greatest number of Bible references seem to refer to James, the son of Zebedee, the brother of the apostle John. According to Matthew 10, James worked with his brother John, his father Zebedee, and Simon Peter, according to Matthew chapter 4. And then in Luke 5.10, they worked in the fishing business in the Sea of Galilee, and that's recorded in Mark 1.16. He had been a follower of John the Baptist along with all the early disciples as recorded in Acts 1, 21-22. He immediately answered the call to follow Christ as written in Matthew 4. When Jesus prayed all night and chose 12 of his disciples to be apostles, the next morning in Luke 15, James is the third man mentioned. Jesus called James and his brother John Blanerges, which means the sons of thunder, in Mark chapter 3. Both brothers evidently had fiery tempers. They displayed this when they sought permission to call fire down on a village of Samaritans who did not receive Jesus. That's in Luke chapter 9. They even approached Christ with their mother in Matthew 20 and asked him if they might sit on his right hand and left hand in his kingdom. That's Matthew 20 and Mark 10. Yet this behavior did not keep Christ from drawing James into his inner circle. The inner circle of disciples I'm referring to would have been Peter, James, and John. Only those three went up with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration, and that's in Matthew 17, Mark 9, and Luke 9. Those three were taken in to see the raising of the daughter of Jairus from the dead. recorded in Mark chapter 5 and Luke chapter 8. And then in the Garden of Gethsemane, they were taken further than the other disciples to pray with the Savior, according to Mark chapter 14. On a couple of occasions, in Mark 1 and Mark 13, Andrew was included in a slightly larger inner circle. Overall, his life for his Lord was to be a short one. In Acts 12, 1-2, probably about a dozen years after the death of Christ on the cross, James suffered as the first of the apostles to die of martyrdom. Herod had James executed with the sword. He entered into the presence of God sooner than all the rest. The account given to us by Clemens of Alexandrinus, who was a well-known primitive writer, tells us that as James was led to the place of martyrdom, his accuser was brought to repentance by the apostles' incredible courage. It is interesting that he was martyred so early. In Luke chapter 9, about Jesus sending out the twelve, we read, And he was perplexed because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, referring to John the Baptist, by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. Herod said, John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things? And he sought to see him. So it seems Herod was looking into this event. Is it possible that this letter of James was discovered and used as evidence to put this James to death? Could this letter have been written around that time frame? It is his early death that leads most to believe that this James is not the author of our letter of James, but that would have to depend on how early it was actually written. Next, we will look at James, the brother of our Lord. This James was not one of the twelve, but was a brother of Jesus in the flesh, being born of Mary and Joseph. He is one of four brothers mentioned by the Jews in Nazareth. Matthew chapter 13 and Mark 6. This James would be included in the brethren of Christ who did not believe in him during his earthly ministry. In fact, in John chapter 7 verse 5, it seems the brothers with James encouraged Christ Jesus to go to the Feast of Tabernacles knowing that people were waiting to kill him. However, Jesus made a special appearance to James after his resurrection. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, we read, written by Paul, he says,"...for I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and then he appeared to Cephas, who was Peter, then to the twelve." Then he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, most of them are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. It seems certain in this text, which is the ESV translation, that the James mentioned specifically was not one of the twelve. It also does not exactly say this James was an apostle. It does indicate that there were several others considered apostles, in addition to the twelve, including Paul. Then Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his brothers prayed in the upper room before the day of Pentecost, in Acts 1.14. And so, James, the brother of Jesus, is now a believer. The passage used to put James, the brother of Jesus, as head of the Jerusalem family Council are a couple different passages, and the first one is Galatians 1.18, which was written by Paul. It says, Now, in this passage, it seems James, the brother of Jesus, is an apostle, and he was the only one Paul met at this time other than Peter. Next, we read, In Galatians 2, verses 1-16, ESV, But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. Yet, because of false brothers secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery, to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. And from those who seem to be influential, what they were makes no difference to me. God shows no partiality. Those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. And when James and Cephas and John... So many claim that the James specified in this passage written by Paul has to be the brother of Jesus because that was the only James Paul had met. This does not confirm anything, though. He had not met John either, and he mentions him as a pillar as well. So upon examination, we cannot say for sure based on this passage, which James seems to be a pillar according to Paul. Let's continue in Paul's letter to see the dispute that is tied to the issue at the Jerusalem council. But when Cephas, Peter, came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, Paul writes, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles. But when they came... he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile, not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews? We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ. So we also have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified, Paul writes. So do we receive any more confirmation on James here? Paul said,"...for before certain men came from James." All we have is James. Nothing indicated of which James whatsoever. Can you see why people argue this? It's because there is no clear answer. We have to accept that we do not know for sure. I would rather realize that we do not know than to make something up and hold to that as truth. I think of Mary Magdalene in this situation. Along with most of our society, I once held that she was the prostitute that Jesus saved from being stoned. I never really looked into it. It was so beaten into my head that I even said it on accident in a past episode during a conversation. The problem is that there is absolutely no scripture that tells us this. Now, if you were Mary Magdalene, would you want to be known forever as a prostitute? If you weren't, although she is in a better place with our Lord, I think she still deserves proper recognition. It's okay if she was a prostitute, but unfortunately somebody just made it up and we followed the calf path. So now when we know a bit more about the three Jameses in Scripture, let's dig into the Council of Jerusalem. This would have taken place after the events we just read about in Paul's letter to the Galatians. Council of Jerusalem. In Acts 15, and this is the NIV version I'm reading from now, regarding the Council of Jerusalem, Luke writes... Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers. Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved. This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem and to see the apostles and elders about this question. The church sent them on their way. And as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders to whom they reported everything God had done through them. Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses. The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them. Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God who knows the heart showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them. for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No, we believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are. The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Paul and Barnabas telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. When they finished, James spoke up. Brothers, he said, listen to me. Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this as it is written. who does these things, things known from long ago. It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead, we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood. For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath. Now in this chapter, we learn that there were believing Pharisees among them who were calling for the Gentiles to be circumcised. Luke here refers to them as the party of the Pharisees. Paul earlier in Galatians called them the circumcision group. We also can see that a James is taking the role of leadership among those in this council. It is not completely clear on whether or not this James was aware of this false teaching or if he was supporting it. We know that he ruled against it, with some exceptions, and then seems to hold the law in high regards with his final words. Some believe James was originally behind this movement, based on Paul's statement in Galatians, saying certain people came from James. This is an interesting insight worth looking into, in my opinion. We definitely see here that the believing Pharisees came from James. We see that they were causing many to stumble, even Peter and Barnabas. Peter then goes on to stand up for the truth at the council in Acts 15 and James honors what he stood up and said. At the end of Acts 15, James tells them to obey a few of the 613 laws and goes on to conclude by saying, For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath. So it seems possible that James had legalistic tendencies. After all, these guys were still human and could clearly be swayed to some degree by such a powerful cultural belief system in which they grew up with after receiving the Holy Spirit. Being that this council took place after Paul's letter to the Galatians, James could have changed his mind. In this scenario, James' former mindset would seem to fit with the righteousness that James seems to promote in his letter, which presents James very much as a law-based righteousness for Christians. Another view on this Council of Jerusalem issue would be that people that came from James were not following his lead and going beyond their authority, trying to convince Gentiles to be obedient to the law of Moses, putting that yoke on them. Being in Jerusalem, it's easy to imagine that you would have believers that could not let go of the law fully, you know, that were still clinging to it, especially if they were a higher position in the temple worship practices and teaching. James may not have promoted this at all. And when he makes his concluding statement along with the four things they should honor from the law, he was very possibly just trying to get two completely different cultures to be able to get along and not cause each other to stumble. The statement that he made for the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath could have merely been pointing out how many people would be offended by seeing Gentiles eating certain foods. There were big issues of the day tied into that. And then sexual immorality would just cause divisions in any church, so I think the theme was sending them with instructions that would bring unity to the people. I imagine many of the Jewish believers took a be like them so they can be like us approach. Paul the Apostle was known for making this statement as well. One thing is for sure, these guys all knew that the final judgment on Israel was coming and that the law would soon disappear. But for the time being, it was causing a lot of division and confusion in the church. I'm not sure that an apostle would go around putting Gentiles under law. I think that is probably not what is going on here, but that people under James were teaching these things. Although still observing the law after Christ, historically, I do not believe James being a pillar of the Jerusalem church, whichever James it was, would have been spreading a mixed message. I see them acting incorrectly in Paul's letter to the Galatians, but not going as far as to teach a compromised gospel of our Lord. So let's shift our focus now a bit to the timeline in which James was written. When was James written? Let's take a closer look at some details that might shed some valuable insight as to when the letter of James was actually written. I believe that understanding the time frame this letter was written in is what would allow us to relate with what's being said and understand it in its proper context. It's going to make a big difference on how we view the letter. So this is where things get interesting. The letter of James chapter 1, NIV version, reads, In Luke chapter 9, Jesus sends out the twelve to share the good news that the Messiah had come and the kingdom of God was near. Then in Luke chapter 11, he sends out the seventy. Some manuscripts say seventy-two, that's another topic. But these seventy went out with the same message. But there's something very significant about the 70 that I wanted to talk about. In Genesis chapter 11, ESV, we read about the Tower of Babel. Some men decided to build a tower in this city, saying, Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth. Now, this was shortly after the flood, and this occurred right after Genesis 9, verse 1, where we read,"...and God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth." So, they were doing the opposite. They weren't multiplying. They were congregating and building a tower to heaven. This is certainly in direct disobedience to God. It may even be worse than it seems. According to extra-biblical writings that Jews were familiar with, Nimrod was behind this building, and it was to seek revenge on God for flooding the world and killing their ancestors. He wanted to build a tower so that he could go after God and pay him back for what he did. Regardless of what we believe about that, something major took place when God scattered the men and changed the languages they spoke, creating the 70 table nations. Keep in mind, Israel was not one of these 70 nations. We read more about this event in Deuteronomy 32 verse 8. It reads, Keep in mind that the sons of God written here is mistranslated in some Bibles. It comes from the Hebrew word Elohim. These were divine beings, not human beings. These were gods who Yahweh God, our Lord, created when he created the heavens. Yahweh put them in charge of these nations and would make himself the God of Israel. He pretty much said, I'm done with these people. You guys be in charge of them. I'm done with those nations. I'm going to be the God of Israel. They were going to be his nation. So in Job 38, verse 4, we read, Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know. Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone? When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. So we see in Job another reference to these spiritual deities. The first mention of them is actually in Genesis, but we'll need to cover that another time. Psalms 82 tells us God has taken his place in the divine council. In the midst of the gods, he holds judgment. How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Give justice to the weak and fatherless. Maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy. Deliver them from the hand of the wicked. They have neither knowledge nor understanding. They walk about in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken. I said you are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you. Nevertheless, like men you shall die and fall like any prince. That was Psalms 82 ESV. Here we see that these gods under Yahweh were considered to be his divine counsel. And they were not doing their jobs. They were disobedient to Yahweh and would face judgment for their actions. This judgment would take away their immortality. and they would die like men. Satan would certainly have been one of these deities and would have led the charge. That judgment would also take place at the end of the age alongside the destruction of Jerusalem and the lake of fire. The main point that ties this message, though, is the fact that the 70 nations were no longer being led by our Lord Yahweh. He became the God of Israel after the scattering of the people in Babel. This is where all the different languages and nationalities originated from, but Yahweh would be the God of Israel. He would make his covenant with them. This is where Israel becomes God's chosen people. So what is happening in Luke 10 when Jesus sends out the 70 is that they are going into the nations, casting out demons, declaring the kingdom of God is near, and spreading the name of the Lord. He is displaying his power over these 70 disobedient gods while seeking out the lost sheep of Israel. It is also symbolic of how he would ultimately bring back together the 70 scattered nations into union in him through the cross and resurrection. The 70 nations were Gentile nations. This, however, was still a mystery at this time. Christ Yeshua, or Jesus, came for the lost sheep of Israel. Over the history of Israel, the 12 tribes also became divided and scattered. The events leading up to that would take too much time to go through today. However, the opening of the letter of James being addressed to the twelve scattered tribes with no mention of Gentiles fits the time frame of Jesus' ministry. The mystery had not been revealed. The mystery would be revealed after the cross. The mystery was that Christ Jesus was true Israel and the body of believers who are his church would be the kingdom of the new age that was coming, established on the apostles and the prophets. This was not known until after the cross, after the resurrection, and after Pentecost. This was when the Gentiles became part of the plan. Not only does James never mention the finished work of Jesus at the cross, but he seems not to even be aware of this mystery. He addresses his letter only to the Jews in the twelve tribes. It seems like something that a disciple would have taught at the time of Jesus' ministry. In fact, if we compare and contrast it with the Sermon on the Mount, In Matthew 5-7, there are some striking similarities. I'm going to review several passages with you now to show you how much James mimics our Lord Jesus Christ when he was teaching under law. James vs. Matthew in the ESV translation, the contrast between the words of Jesus... and the words of James. In fact, I'm going to not mention the verses in the chapters, but I will have them in my episode notes. So I'm just going to go through and say James saying it and then Jesus saying it, but we're going to be comparing the words recorded of Jesus and Matthew versus the ones in James's letter, okay? James says,"...count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness." In comparison, Jesus says, And James says, And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Jesus says, If any of you lacks wisdom, James says, let him ask God who gives generously to all without reproach and it will be given. Jesus says, ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be open to you. Then James says, but let him ask in faith with no doubting. For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. Then Jesus says, truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, James says, James says, James says, Jesus says, but I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council, and whoever says you fool will be liable to the fire of Gehenna. James says, but be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Jesus says, everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Then James says, if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. You are doing well. Jesus says, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. James says, For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. Jesus says, Therefore, whoever lacks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. James says, For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Jesus says, If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. James says, What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? Jesus says, James says you adulterous people. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Jesus says no one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. James says humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you. Jesus says blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. James says, do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. Jesus says, judge not that you not be judged. For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged. And with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, let me take that speck out of your eye, when there is a log in your own? You hypocrite. First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. James says your riches have rotted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Jesus says, Do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. James says, You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Jesus said, So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near at the very gates. James says, As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Jesus said, Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. And finally, James says, But above all, my brothers, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or by another oath, but let your yes be yes and your no be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. Jesus says again, Let what you say be simply yes or no. Anything more than this comes from evil. So here we see undeniable similarity in the words of James and the words of Jesus as written in Matthew. The next questions I would like you to ask yourself is, who was the audience Jesus was speaking to in Matthew? What was the timeline he was speaking in? Was Jesus speaking under the law or under grace? What major events had not taken place? And number five, what was the purpose of the words of Jesus specifically on the Sermon on the Mount? If we can determine the answers to these questions, we might be closer to figuring out when James wrote this letter. So question one, who was the audience Jesus was speaking to in Matthew? Well, Jesus was certainly speaking to his disciples here, and it was said that the teachers of the law and Pharisees were nearby. Crowds began to gather around to hear what was being said. His audience was Jewish. Number two, what was the timeline he was speaking in? Scripture clearly states that Jesus was born under law. He was teaching the law throughout most of his ministry. However, he taught the law in a different way and with more authority than the former prophets. Number three, was Jesus speaking under the law or under grace? New Covenant grace had not been experienced yet by Jesus' followers. This would not happen until after the cross. And to prove that, we can read the evidence in Hebrews chapter 9, verse 15-22, it says, Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people. saying, This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you. And in the same way he sprinkled with blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. So what major event had not taken place? We see from the Hebrews passage that the most major event had not taken place, the event that began the new covenant, the blood of Jesus. cross, the resurrection, Christ Yeshua. Because in the case of a will, the one who made it has to be dead. So the new covenant began with shedding of blood. It's a blood-shedding covenant, the first and the second. Hebrews goes even more into depth on that for anybody still on the fence on that one. Number five, what was the purpose of the words of Jesus, specifically in the Sermon on the Mount? This is sort of a loaded question, but it will perfectly lead us to the next topic of our journey into the letter of James. The words of Christ in Matthew 5-7 were especially pointing out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Why were the Pharisees such a target? Was it because they valued the law of Moses so much? Certainly not. Neither John the Baptist nor Jesus would pronounce not keeping the law. In fact, what they were teaching about was a law-based repentance. Christ Jesus would clue them in on what was to come, but when it came to him needing to die and his finished work on the cross, scripture tells us these truths were hidden from the disciples. That truth would not be clear until Pentecost. So that leads us to several questions. One being, how was John the Baptist saved since he died before the cross? Well, he was saved by faith, the same way all the former prophets were saved. He trusted God. But he also promoted a law-based repentance and a law-based righteousness. When you hear Jesus speaking in Matthew 5-7, you would think, how could anyone be righteous based on these requirements? If you think that, you are doing well. Jesus wanted them to know that there was not a single human that has been able to live in perfect obedience to the law of Moses. The truth of the matter is that Yahweh, our God and Father, was looking at the heart all along. Under law, obedience was a requirement, and with law there is always consequence and punishment for disobedience. However, if you look at all of scripture leading up to the new covenant, you see that those who loved or knew Yahweh God also loved and held his laws in high regard. They served from the heart. They wanted to please God and they accepted whatever punishment was deserved when they were wrong, even if it meant death. It was do with me as you will, Lord, among the faithful in those times. We see in scripture among patriarchs and more ordinary people, there were some considered righteous by God. We don't really learn what that righteousness stemmed from until Paul and the apostles' letters were written. Long story short, it was because they believed God. Whatever he said, they believed it. They trusted him. They would fall away from their focus like all humans at moments, but God would bring them back. If it were not for God's mercy, most if not all would not have lived out their days. They would have been cut short. God was merciful to those who put their trust in him. That is faith. If you doubt what I am saying, read Hebrews chapter 11. So now that the work of Jesus is finished, We can now see this clear view of righteousness that existed even under the law. But before Pentecost, what would the disciples have believed about righteousness? Law-based righteousness and law-based repentance would have been what was on their minds. Jesus had not fulfilled the law yet. That happened at the cross, and the law was still in effect. And until AD 70, when God had his final judgment on the non-believing Jews, it was still available. A very interesting fact that is worth noting here is that Jesus' ministry began in AD 30. The destruction of Jerusalem took place in AD 70. This is a period of 40 years and is referred to as the second exodus by many. Both exodus events involved Israel and both were 40-year periods leading to a promised land. The second exodus was true Israel, the establishment of the body of Christ which would include all 70 of the scattered nations from Babel. Both Exodus events involve the destruction of a mighty fortress, the first being Jericho, the latter being the Temple of Jerusalem. Getting back to our train of thought, for the three years of Jesus' ministry, we have a transition period happening. The law was being fulfilled, but was still active. After the cross, according to Hebrews, the law was obsolete and fading away. It would soon disappear, AD 70, but it would have been obsolete. and fading away after the cross. I believe the letter of James was written during the time of Jesus' ministry. This makes the letter of James most unique among the writings we have in our New Testament. This letter would give us really great insight into what the followers of Jesus were thinking during his ministry. I'm going to end today's episode here, but if you want to dig into this with me some more, stay tuned. for our next episode because we have a lot of passages to explore before we can call it a wrap on this paradigm-shifting view of the letter of James. I look forward to having you on our next episode. God bless. Talk to you soon.

SPEAKER_01: 43:59

Thank you for joining us today. This podcast is brought to you by Waking Up to Grace Ministries. You can visit our blog page, add comments, or reach us privately from our contact form at wakinguptograce.com.

UNKNOWN: 44:16

Thank you.