The Book of Jacob?
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
James 1:22 ESV (Monthly Watchword for October 2023)
Every so often, there are details we learn that, while not being earth shattering, are nonetheless surprising. Take, for example, the source of this month’s Watchword. It comes from what we call the Letter of James in the New Testament. In the original Greek of the New Testament, the name of this book is actually “Jakobus” (Jacob). In fact, whenever the name “James” appears in the New Testament, the name in Greek is “Jacob.” Translations of the Bible in other languages preserve this name “Jacob,” while English translations generally do not. I remember being confused when I looked at the copy of my German Bible. Expecting to find the Letter of James, I found the Letter of Jacob!
Apparently, the English name “James” is a variant of the name “Jacob.” But it should be considered that King James I of England, who sponsored the publication of the King James Bible in the year 1611, was inclined to have his own name included in the pages of the Bible. I guess if you’re a king, you can do that.
It is believed that the James/Jacob mentioned as the author of the letter is one of the brothers of Jesus, mentioned also in Galatians 1:19. The letter consists of five chapters directed to a more general audience, and it contains practical instruction about enduring suffering, not showing partiality to those who are wealthy, controlling our tongues (what we say), relying on wisdom that comes from God rather than earthly wisdom, and some other things.
These are all good things to consider. I remember being a teenager and reading the Letter of James/Jacob for the first time. I loved it. There was something about the directness and honesty of the letter that was refreshing.
Therefore, I was surprised and a bit disappointed when I read that Martin Luther (1483-1546), for whom Lutheran churches take their name, didn’t think too highly of the Letter of James. He once referred to it as “a letter of straw,” apparently meaning that it lacked substance. And he concluded that it is “not the work of any apostle.”
And it’s important to understand that Martin Luther was not the only one in Christian history who had reservations about the Letter of James and its inclusion in the Bible. Its status as a book in the New Testament was questioned at every stage in Christian history. When the final list of books of the New Testament was proposed in the 300s A.D., it was not clear whether the books of James, Hebrews, Jude, and Revelation would make the final cut. But they did, and so they are in our Bibles today.
What did Martin Luther and others find lacking in the Letter of James/Jacob? Luther acknowledged that James contains “many good sayings,” and he did “not prevent others from holding their own opinion about it.” But as much as the letter contains important wisdom, the book doesn’t focus on Jesus. The name of Jesus is mentioned twice in the letter, but it says nothing about who Jesus is and how he is the Savior of the world. Instead, the book focuses on ethical action, and while that is important in its own way, the book, in Luther’s opinion, misses the mark in that it does not preach the good news of Jesus and therefore forces people to rely on themselves for salvation.
But Luther never got rid of the Letter of James/Jacob, contrary to what some claim. In his German translation of the Bible, he included James along with the three other disputed books in an appendix in the back. He did this to show that they are not the books that one should read first. But once one understands the content of the chief books of Scripture, then James/Jacob makes more sense. In fact, in his writings, Luther quoted the Letter of James often. In some ways, James/Jacob is similar to the wisdom literature of the Old Testament, such as the book of Proverbs, and it is best understood in that way.
Despite the shaky relationship that Christian theologians have had with James/Jacob through the years, it has remained an important voice that whispers in our ears. In the month of October, Lutherans and some other Protestants focus on the work that God accomplished through people like Martin Luther in the 1500s. We call this “Reformation.” Luther never desired to form a new church, but simply to refocus the church on the central message of the Christian faith: being put right with God by His grace, received by faith.
But James/Jacob continues to whisper to us, reminding us that such faith is not meant as a license to do what we want, but is meant as a life-changing reality. So, James/Jacob speaks: But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Interestingly, a few hundred years after Martin Luther, the Danish Lutheran philosopher Søren Kierkegaard looked at the situation of the Lutheran churches of his time, and he concluded that James/Jacob should be considered the most important book of the Bible! He saw the stagnation and laxity in those churches, and he felt that James/Jacob was just the message people needed to hear.
As we give thanks to God for his grace, which makes us His children, let us receive it as a gift and also a call to be His people in the world. In the words of Martin Rinkhart’s German chorale hymn:
“Now thank we all our God with hearts and hands and voices!
Pr. Tom Jacobson