James may well be the earliest of New Testament documents, apparently written mid-40s AD. He was the brother of our Lord, martyred in Jerusalem around 65 AD while Paul was still in Roman custody the second time. You may recall at one point, Peter had been driven underground after he escaped from jail, possibly heading off to Rome. James took up Peter's role as the Apostle to the Jews. It was a heavy burden, but he seems to have borne it with grace. This letter is quite Hebrew in style, with a powerful emphasis on mysticism. His mission was to peel Hebrew Christians away from the Talmud. This was before the controversy in Acts 15, so the Judaizers are not in the picture yet, but the tendency of Jewish Christians to slide back under the Talmud was strong simply because it was the easy path out of persecution, but there was also their love for tradition. It was all they had known for at least a couple of centuries.
The Fundamental Law
The Fundamental Law
The Fundamental Law
James may well be the earliest of New Testament documents, apparently written mid-40s AD. He was the brother of our Lord, martyred in Jerusalem around 65 AD while Paul was still in Roman custody the second time. You may recall at one point, Peter had been driven underground after he escaped from jail, possibly heading off to Rome. James took up Peter's role as the Apostle to the Jews. It was a heavy burden, but he seems to have borne it with grace. This letter is quite Hebrew in style, with a powerful emphasis on mysticism. His mission was to peel Hebrew Christians away from the Talmud. This was before the controversy in Acts 15, so the Judaizers are not in the picture yet, but the tendency of Jewish Christians to slide back under the Talmud was strong simply because it was the easy path out of persecution, but there was also their love for tradition. It was all they had known for at least a couple of centuries.