In our last visit we introduced the book of James. Today let’s begin a biographical study of the author. To do this collect all the references to him in the Bible. Use a concordance for this. Once you gather this information about James, correlate it into an outline. Then crystallize what you learn from his life into some personal applications. When I did this I developed the following outline.
1. James before becoming a Christian. He was the oldest half-brother after Jesus according to Matthew 13:55. He demonstrated a genuine concern for Christ’s welfare, seen in Mark 3:21. It’s clear, he didn’t understand or believe in Christ, John 7:5.
2. James becomes a Christian. Jesus met him after his resurrection, 1 Corinthians 15:7. He must have made a decision at that time or soon after because he soon became the leader of the church in Jerusalem. The references to James in the book of Acts help us understand James as a mature Christian.
3. He was the leader of the Jerusalem church, seen in Acts 12:17. Compare this with Galatians 2. He was the moderator at the first church council described in Acts 15. He maintained a strong conviction regarding his Jewish heritage in Acts 21:17. Paul refers to him as being married in 1 Corinthians 9:5.
In summary, James was known as a just man, and a man of prayer. Tradition has it that he prayed on his knees so much that he had calluses, and was nicknamed, “Camel Knees.” He was quite a model to follow.
