The Bible references shown below reconstruct for us something of the biography of James up to the time of his death Read all the passages (plus the contexts surrounding them) and record on paper the information furnished by each reference During Jesus’ public ministry John 2:12 Matthew 12:46-50 John 7:1-9 Early days as a believer Corinthians 15:7 Early years as a servant of Jesus Christ Acts 1:14 Galatians 1:18-19 (cf Acts 9:26) Successor to Peter as leader of the Jerusalem church Acts 12:17 Acts 15:13 Galatians 2:1, 9-10 (What is the signi cance of James being mentioned rst in Paul’s list of three pillars, Galatians 2:9?) Acts 21:18-26 (Last appearance of James in the New Testament) Character The biography of a man is incomplete without a description of his character Review the verses you have just studied in connection with James’s life Recall, for example, that James was a praying man (Acts 1:14) One church historian, Hegesippus (c A.D 175), commended James’s prayer life especially, noting how he spent long hours interceding for the people, so that his knees became calloused The best insight into James’s character is gained by reading his own writing Take a few minutes at this point in your study to read the epistle with one object in mind: learning what kind of man James was Record your impressions and compare those with the following list: a praying man, pure, powerful, practical, plain, persistent, humble, honest, single-minded, upright, and just Concerning the last-named trait, James came to be known by the early church as “James the Just,” (meaning James the Righteous) It is interesting to note that James’s father, Joseph, was “a righteous man” (Matt 1:19); and that James refers to Jesus as “the righteous” man (James 5:6) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia pursues this thought at length, showing how the younger brother James and his elder brother Jesus were so much alike in personality.4 The content and style of their messages were very similar 6 Death A strong tradition is that James was martyred at Jerusalem in A.D 62 This date is about one year after the closing of the book of Acts and about ve years before Paul and Peter were martyred The manner of death, if Josephus (A.D 37-95) and others are correct, was by stoning at the order of Ananias the high priest B THE PEOPLE ADDRESSED The salutation identi es the original readers of this letter as “the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad.” Like many passages in the Bible, this phrase could be interpreted literally or symbolically Literal interpretation The question is, Were the readers (1) Jews in general, representing the twelve families of Israel, living in di erent parts of the New ... (What is the signi cance of James being mentioned rst in Paul’s list of three pillars, Galatians 2:9?) Acts 21:18-26 (Last appearance of James in the New Testament) Character The biography of a... book of Acts and about ve years before Paul and Peter were martyred The manner of death, if Josephus (A.D 37-95) and others are correct, was by stoning at the order of Ananias the high priest B THE. .. personality.4 The content and style of their messages were very similar 6 Death A strong tradition is that James was martyred at Jerusalem in A.D 62 This date is about one year after the closing of the