Paul and Jesus

James addressed his letter to the “Twelve Tribes in the Dispersion” (1:1). The term “Dispersion” refers to the notion that large portions of the Israelite or Jewish people had been scattered widely among the nations and were no longer living in the homeland. James refers here directly to the scattered Twelve Tribes of Israel, over which Jesus had promised the twelve apostles would rule. As the presiding head of this newly constituted Israel, expected to emerge fully when the apocalyptic Day of the Lord arrived, James intends his letter to be a call to all Israel to prepare for the imminent Day of Judgment (James 5:7–9). The letter reflects an early Palestinian Jewish cultural context, perhaps in the 40s A.D., before there was a strict separation between the Nazarene followers of Jesus and other Jewish groups. For example, James referred to the local meeting or assembly of proto-Christians as a synagogue, not a church, reflecting his Jewish understanding of the Christian movement (James 2:2). Even though the letter is written in Greek, at least as we have it today, linguistically it reflects numerous Aramaic and Hebrew expressions and recent research has revealed its Palestinian Jewish milieu.³¹

What is particularly notable about the letter of James is that the ethical content of its teaching is directly parallel to the teachings of Jesus that we know from the Q source. The Q source is the earliest collection of the teachings and sayings of Jesus, which scholars date to around the year 50 A.D. It has not survived as an intact document but both Matthew and Luke use it extensively. By comparing Matthew and Luke and extracting the material they use in common but do not derive from their main source, which is Mark, we are able to come to a reasonable construction of this lost “gospel of Q.” It consists of about 235 verses that are mostly but not entirely the “sayings” of Jesus. The Q source takes us back to the original teachings of Jesus minus much of the theological framework that the gospels subsequently added.³² Perhaps the most striking characteristic of the Q source in terms of reconstructing Christian origins is that it has nothing of Paul’s theology, particularly his Christology or view of Christ.

The most familiar parts of Q to most Bible readers are in Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5–7) and Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain” (Luke 6). If one takes the letter of James, short as it is, there are no fewer than thirty direct references, echoes, and allusions to the teachings of Jesus found in the Q source! A few of the more striking parallels are the following:

JESUS’ TEACHINGS IN THE Q SOURCE

Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. (Luke 6:20)

TEACHINGS OF JAMES

Has not God chosen the poor to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom. (2:5)

JESUS’ TEACHINGS IN THE Q SOURCE

Whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments . . . shall be [called] least in the kingdom. (Matthew 5:19)

TEACHINGS OF JAMES

Whoever keeps the whole Torah but fails in one point has become guilty of it all. (2:10)

JESUS’ TEACHINGS IN THE Q SOURCE

Not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” shall enter the kingdom . . . but he who does the will of my Father. (Matthew 7:21)

TEACHINGS OF JAMES

Be doers of the word and not hearers only. (1:22)

JESUS’ TEACHINGS IN THE Q SOURCE

How much more will your Father . . . give good gifts to those who ask him. (Matthew 7:11)

TEACHINGS OF JAMES

Every good gift . . . coming down from the Father. (1:17)

JESUS’ TEACHINGS IN THE Q SOURCE

Woe to you that are rich, for you have received your consolation. (Luke 6:24)

TEACHINGS OF JAMES

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. (5:1)

JESUS’ TEACHINGS IN THE Q SOURCE

Do not swear at all, either by heaven for it is the throne of God, or by earth for it is his footstool . . . let what you say be simply “Yes” or “No.” (Matthew 5:34, 37)

TEACHINGS OF JAMES

Do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath but let your yes be yes and your no be no. (5:12)