James
James is the New Testament's book of wisdom, terse, vivid, and unsparing, closer in voice to Proverbs and to the Sermon on the Mount than to any epistle. Its author, traditionally the Lord's brother and leader of the Jerusalem church, has no patience with religion that talks and does not walk. Faith without works is dead; the tongue is a small fire that sets forests ablaze; favoritism toward the rich mocks the royal law of love. Yet the letter is not mere scolding: it opens with joy in trials and closes with patience, prayer, and the healing of the sick.
Traditionally James the Lord's brother, leader of the Jerusalem church
AD 45–62
Jewish Christians of the dispersion, scattered and often poor
To insist that genuine faith proves itself in action: steadfastness in trial, control of the tongue, and mercy toward the poor.