The papyrus sheet scratched in the afternoon daylight of the holy city as the stylus moved gently, slowly forming the words of a letter. Jerusalem was warm today day as a tall man, a man without any particular family beauty, bent diligently over his project. The stylus flickered again, and the words of a man’s heart gradually were revealed… “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault…” but then the utensil paused, unable to continue as a memory flooded back into the man’s vault.
His brother had entered a house. The crowds. All he could remember were the crowds, and the tension. There were important people in the crowd and more importantly there were people that knew him and his family in the crowd. They were all there to hear what his brother might say. The people from Jerusalem said his brother spoke the words of Beelzebub. In other words, they said his brother spoke the words of Satan. It was painful to hear someone from your own family publicly accused of speaking the words of evil, there was shame there. As he looked at the house he shook his head, silently agreeing with the teachers from Jerusalem. He was there to “take charge” of his older brother. His family had decided that this brother was simply “out of his mind.”
James rubbed his temples as he considered the memory. Doubt had flooded his mind then and his stylus began to finish his thought, “…but when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” He put down his pen. That’s exactly how if felt during those couple of years. Blown and tossed by the wind. Who knew what to believe about his brother? On the one hand his brother outclassed him in every category, amazing the temple authorities from when he was 12, and yet on the other hand he often said things that were crazy. Who wouldn’t forget the time Jesus had been invited to speak at their home synagogue and had ended up almost thrown of the cliff at the edge of town, stoned to death most likely after he claimed that Isaiah 61 was fulfilled by himself, and yet the people of Nazareth wouldn’t be able to participate in the glory of the hometown hero; no miracles for them. Nobody in their family knew quite what to do with Jesus. Familiarity breeds contempt when pride rules in the heart, He thought, as another memory pushed onto the beachhead of his mind…
The shame of it crashed over him first. It was late summer in Galilea and the feast of Tabernacles was approaching, and every Jewish male was supposed to be there. He and his brothers had found their older brother in Capernaum and taunted him. They knew his life was in danger and yet they encouraged him to “show his miracles in Jerusalem” so that maybe “people would believe in him”. It was the height of unbelief. What must have been the Savior’s private pain when he said that “a prophet is never accepted in his hometown”?
As the vertigo of the memory subsided a determined pen struck the papyrus, “That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man. Unstable in all he does.” That man. That man might as well be every man, James thought as the writing paused again. His thoughts swirled inside his head. So many truths to write. Faith, works, tongues and ships. The needs of the people under his care were many in Jerusalem and yet a half-smile began to curl at his lips when he thought for a second time about “that man.” A smile that can only come from knowing the end of the story before the story has been finished, “remember this”, he thought, “Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.”That whoever could be whomever, when his brother Jesus is properly understood, remains one of the great mysteries of time. The rest of what James has to say would flow from that truth; an understanding of his brother, who despite a lifetime of misunderstanding saves us from our unbelief. Even those of us who are close to Christ and yet misunderstand him, are compelled to action when we catch a glimpse of the brother who saves us.
May the Lord bless you richly as you read the words of a brother who finally understands his older brother, and is living in the new relationship that flows from a proper understanding of Jesus.
James 1:5 NRSV
Mark 3:20-21 NRSV
James 1:6 NRSV
Luke 4:14-30 NRSV
Luke 4:24 NRSV
James 1:7 NRSV
James 5:20
Blog Post Courtesy of Greg Ireland. Thank you Greg!
James as a Brother
The papyrus sheet scratched in the afternoon daylight of the holy city as the stylus moved gently, slowly forming the words of a letter. Jerusalem was warm today day as a tall man, a man without any particular family beauty, bent diligently over his project. The stylus flickered again, and the words of a man’s heart gradually were revealed… “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault…” but then the utensil paused, unable to continue as a memory flooded back into the man’s vault.
His brother had entered a house. The crowds. All he could remember were the crowds, and the tension. There were important people in the crowd and more importantly there were people that knew him and his family in the crowd. They were all there to hear what his brother might say. The people from Jerusalem said his brother spoke the words of Beelzebub. In other words, they said his brother spoke the words of Satan. It was painful to hear someone from your own family publicly accused of speaking the words of evil, there was shame there. As he looked at the house he shook his head, silently agreeing with the teachers from Jerusalem. He was there to “take charge” of his older brother. His family had decided that this brother was simply “out of his mind.”
James rubbed his temples as he considered the memory. Doubt had flooded his mind then and his stylus began to finish his thought, “…but when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” He put down his pen. That’s exactly how if felt during those couple of years. Blown and tossed by the wind. Who knew what to believe about his brother? On the one hand his brother outclassed him in every category, amazing the temple authorities from when he was 12, and yet on the other hand he often said things that were crazy. Who wouldn’t forget the time Jesus had been invited to speak at their home synagogue and had ended up almost thrown of the cliff at the edge of town, stoned to death most likely after he claimed that Isaiah 61 was fulfilled by himself, and yet the people of Nazareth wouldn’t be able to participate in the glory of the hometown hero; no miracles for them. Nobody in their family knew quite what to do with Jesus. Familiarity breeds contempt when pride rules in the heart, He thought, as another memory pushed onto the beachhead of his mind…
The shame of it crashed over him first. It was late summer in Galilea and the feast of Tabernacles was approaching, and every Jewish male was supposed to be there. He and his brothers had found their older brother in Capernaum and taunted him. They knew his life was in danger and yet they encouraged him to “show his miracles in Jerusalem” so that maybe “people would believe in him”. It was the height of unbelief. What must have been the Savior’s private pain when he said that “a prophet is never accepted in his hometown”?
As the vertigo of the memory subsided a determined pen struck the papyrus, “That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man. Unstable in all he does.” That man. That man might as well be every man, James thought as the writing paused again. His thoughts swirled inside his head. So many truths to write. Faith, works, tongues and ships. The needs of the people under his care were many in Jerusalem and yet a half-smile began to curl at his lips when he thought for a second time about “that man.” A smile that can only come from knowing the end of the story before the story has been finished, “remember this”, he thought, “Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” That whoever could be whomever, when his brother Jesus is properly understood, remains one of the great mysteries of time. The rest of what James has to say would flow from that truth; an understanding of his brother, who despite a lifetime of misunderstanding saves us from our unbelief. Even those of us who are close to Christ and yet misunderstand him, are compelled to action when we catch a glimpse of the brother who saves us.
May the Lord bless you richly as you read the words of a brother who finally understands his older brother, and is living in the new relationship that flows from a proper understanding of Jesus.
James 1:5 NRSV
Mark 3:20-21 NRSV
James 1:6 NRSV
Luke 4:14-30 NRSV
Luke 4:24 NRSV
James 1:7 NRSV
James 5:20
Blog Post Courtesy of Greg Ireland. Thank you Greg!