SATURDAY June 20, 2026

The Servant James

James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.
James 1:1

Who was James? He was the son of Joseph and Mary, and the half brother of Jesus Christ. In the book of Matthew, Jesus spoke about all His brothers (Matthew 12:46-47; Matthew 13:55). Again, we find record of His brothers’ names in Mark 6:3––James, Joses, Jude, and Simon.

Although James was skeptical about Jesus at first, he became a believer. Another half brother of Jesus was Jude. Both brothers were not believers during Jesus’ earthly ministry, but they become believers after the Resurrection of Christ. James is mentioned by name as seeing the Lord in 1 Corinthians 15:7. He became a pillar in the Church in Jerusalem as the main pastor, and he was very influential in the Jerusalem council (Acts 15).

James was coined by several names, one was James the Just, because of his devotion to prayer. He became famously known as the disciple who had camel’s knees. Church historians, such as Eusebius and Hegesippus, recorded that James spent so much time on his knees in prayer that his knees became calloused and hardened––just like those of a camel.

James’ letter written mostly to Christian Jews––to the twelve tribes scattered abroad––followed the Greek-Roman culture in letter writing. It was customary to sign the letter at the beginning. Why did people sign their names at the beginning of a letter when we traditionally place our signatures at the end? The answer is simple. They wanted the recipient of their letters to understand who was writing to them from the onset, not wait until they read it at the end.

James had so much practical teaching to share from in his letter to the Jewish brethren. He spoke on subjects, such as: humility, pride, wisdom, controlling the tongue, demonstrating faith through works, not showing partiality in the church, and leadership qualities.

Let us practice the fine art of making every work priestly ministration. Let us believe that God is in all our simple deeds and learn to find Him there.
~A.W. Tozer~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!