“James a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.” (James 1:1)
I believe the man who wrote this epistle which bears the name James was one of the half brothers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus the older brother had four half brothers and at least two half sisters. We know that the Bible says that none of the four half brothers of Jesus believed in Him, according to John 7:1-5)
In our text James calls himself, “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” He goes from doubting and belittling Jesus to being a servant. So what made the difference? First, I believe Jesus’ death on the cross and the resurrection made a difference. The Lord showed Himself to James after the resurrection. (I Corinthians 15:7) Second, James and our Lord’s half brothers were with James and the one-hundred and twenty in the upper room on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came and filled all of them. James was changed from a doubter to a believer. That’s the difference the Gospel makes in a life.
Not boasting that he was Jesus’ half brother and not boasting that he knew Jesus well, he saw himself as a servant of the Lord. James would not call attention to himself.
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