Echoes of Jesus in the Book of James
LEARNING FROM WISDOM INCARNATE
We’ve just completed a 13-week study in the book of James. A book that teaches us how to live in God’s world with God’s wisdom. A wisdom that we learned, time and time again, is ultimately personified and embodied in Jesus Christ. He is “the Lord of Glory,” and giver of God’s “perfect law” (James 2:1, 1:25). And he’s also the true wise man who acknowledged God in all his ways (Proverbs 3:5) and fulfilled the “royal law” (James 2:8). When we look to him, we see the highest expression of what it means to live in God’s world, God’s way.
All throughout his letter, James is looking to Christ as well. Echoing his teaching. Drawing from his example. Understanding that embarking upon the path to spiritual wholeness means following after Jesus. Below you’ll find every passage we studied in James with references drawn from the places he alludes to or echoes the words and work of Jesus. Read them, study them, meditate upon the Lord of Glory revealed in them, and be made more like him - from one degree to the next.
THE WORDS OF JESUS & THE WISDOM OF JAMES
James 1:1-4 - Encountering Trials of Various Kinds
Matthew 10:24-25 - Trials and suffering will come for us because they came for Jesus. “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.”
John 16:33 - “In the world you WILL have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world”
Hebrews 5:8-9 - According to his human nature, Jesus was prefected “through what he suffered.”
James 1:5-11 - Asking of God
Matthew 7:7-11 - Ask, seek, & knock because our Father delights to give good gifts to his children
Luke 11:11-13 - God is eager to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him
John 16:25-28 - You can ask of God as Father because he’s already set his love on you
James 1:12-18 - Temptation & Testing
Matthew 4:1-11 - Jesus responds to Satan’s temptations by clinging to the word of God and holding fast to what is true
Matthew 5:1-12 - Blessed are those who endure trials, are poor, empty, mourning, meek, and persecuted
Matthew 6:13 - We’re taught to pray, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”
Hebrews 2:14-18 - Jesus was made like us in every respect so that he would be “able to help those who are being tempted”
Hebrews 4:14-16 - Jesus can “sympathize with our weaknesses” because he “in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin"
James 1:19-27 - Hearing & Doing God’s Word
Matthew 5:17-48 - Jesus’ exposition of the true meaning of the law & what it means to be “a doer of the word”
Matthew 7:24-27 - Hearing God’s word and doing it is the difference between building one’s house on the rock or the sand
Matthew 22:34-40 - A summary of the “perfect law”
Jesus lived a life of “true religion” serving the sick, needy, widow, oppressed, outcast, and poor (Mk 1:21-42, 5:21-43; Lk 7:11-17)
James 2:1-13 - Showing No Partiality & Loving our Neighbor, No Matter What
Matthew 7:12 - The Golden Rule for treating others
Matthew 18:13-15 - Welcome those who have nothing to offer
Luke 4:16-21 - Jesus came to proclaim “the law of liberty”
Luke 10:25-37 - What it means to “be” a neighbor
Luke 14:12-14 - Do good to those who cannot repay you
John 13:31-35 - John’s version of “the royal law”
James 2:14-26 - A Faith that Works
Matthew 21:28-32 - Jesus is after humble hearers who demonstrate their faith in him
Matthew 23 - Jesus speaks scathing words against a dead and “demonic” faith
Mark 3:31-33 - “Whoever does the will of God,” truly belongs to God’s family (see also, Lk 8:21)
James 3:1-12 - Our Words
Matthew 12:33-37 - We’ll be held accountable for every careless word
Matthew 15:18-19 - Destructive words come out of an un-tamed heart
James 3:13-18 - Heavenly Wisdom vs. Earthly Un-wisdom
Matthew 7:15-20 - You’ll know who’s truly wise by their fruits
Matthew 12:33-35 - You’ll know goodness when you see it
Matthew 11:28-30 - Jesus is gentle and lowly and he offers true peace and rest
Matthew 17:1-8 - Who is wise? Who should we listen to? God the Father says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
Matthew 20:25-28 - The un-wisdom from the world exalts itself, the wisdom from above goes low
James 4:1-12 - Conflicts, Anger, & Forgiveness
Matthew 5:21-26 - Don’t live out of reconciliation with each other
Matthew 6:14-15 - The necessity of forgiveness
Matthew 7:1-5 - Don’t judge with hypocritical judgment. Start by dealing with the log in your own eye
Matthew 18:15-20 - Dealing with conflicts and offenses within the church
Matthew 18:21-35 - Forgiving as we’ve been forgiven
Luke 14:11 - “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted”
James 4:13-5:6 - Pride, Presumption, & Laying Up Treasures on Earth
Matthew 6:19-24 - Lay up treasures in heaven
Matthew 6:33 - “Seek first the Kingdom of God,” and not your own mini-kingdom
Matthew 26:36-44 - Jesus lived his entire life and even went unto death saying, “If the Lord wills it”
Mark 10:17-31 - “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” But to all who give up, sacrifice, and become poor for Christ’s sake will gain in this life and in the life to come.
Luke 12:13-21 - Life is more than your possessions
James 5:7-12 - Waiting on God’s help. Waiting for Christ’s Return.
Matthew 5:33-37 - A warning against oaths
Matthew 24:36-51 - Work hard to advance God’s Kingdom while we wait for Christ’s return
Matthew 25:1-13 - Live today with a watchful eye to eternity
Matthew 25:14-46 - Eternal rewards await those who trust in Christ, live God’s way, endure the suffering of this life with patience, and eagerly await the coming of the Lord
Luke 12:35-48 - We need to be good stewards of all we’ve been given
James 5:13-20 - Prayer
Matthew 6:9-13 - The Lord’s Prayer
Matthew 9:35-38 - Jesus has compassion for sheep who are wandering without a shepherd. We should bring back one who is straying (James 5:18-20).
Mark 1:35 - Jesus’ life is marked by regular prayer retreats
Luke 15 - God is ready, willing, and rejoicing when the straying are brought back
Luke 18:1-8 - Be persistent in prayer
John 9:1-3 - While some sickness and suffering is brought on by our sin, not all of it is