Character Study - Lesson Transcripts

COVER PAGE

Putting Your Faith into Action

Setting: Small Group Bible Study

Length of Delivery: 30 minutes for each lesson

Name of Student: Joshua E. WrightStudent ID: L24824428Class: NBST 521-B25

Instructor’s Name: Monte A. ShanksDate Submitted: 03/04/2012

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Lesson One: Mark 6:1-3

James: Family by Blood, Not by Spirit

Introduction:

At one time or another we have all come across an individual, or perhaps several,

whom seem to have all the right answers. It doesn’t matter what you say, because it is

“wrong” and they will correct you. I recently came across this while visiting a friend. We

were discussing the topic of computers when his girlfriend chimed in with a better answer.

We naturally moved onto a different topic, and she also had all the right answers for that

subject as well. It wasn’t so much of a better answer, as it was her way of showing off that

she had information on the topic. She even took the opportunity at one point to name-drop

a famous person she knew. When we went back to the original topic of computers, she

began to brag that she knew a person who writes code for Apple computers so anytime she

needed software she could go to them for the hook-up.

It’s kind of annoying being around someone who either is always right, thinks they

are always right, or wants to top your input with a better answer. Have you ever known

somebody to have all the right answers? Now imagine that was your family member.

If anyone had all the right answers in the world, it was certainly Jesus. Jesus had

some half-brothers and half-sisters. Today we are going to focus on James, who was the

half-brother of Jesus. Half-brother means that they both shared the same mother, but had

different fathers; Joseph adopted Jesus as a son. Joseph was the biological father to James.

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Our first question in this study is: “Who was James?”

As we see in Mark 6:3, James was the son of Joseph and Mary. He was a half-brother

to Jesus and biological brother to Jose, Judas, Simon as well as his sisters.

His name is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Jacob. He was called “James the

Just” for his righteous living and nicknamed “camel knees” because of the hours he spent on

his knees praying (from Hegesippus, quoted by Eusebius). He wrote the book that bears

his name; which interestingly enough is considered to be the earliest of all the New

Testament epistles. Church history tells us that he died around AD 62.

Now James, being a brother to Jesus, knew Jesus pretty well. But did James always

believe in Jesus? To get the answer to that question we need to first look at Mark 3:21-31.

If you have your bible with you, turn with me to Mark 3:21.

Mark 3:21 states: And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were

saying, “He is out of his mind.”1

Mark 3:31 states: And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to

him and called him.2

The context for this outburst by Jesus’ family is that he has been healing people and

teaching them the things of God. Now I speculate that in verse 21 the reference to family is

really just the brothers of Jesus trying to hush their older brother because they think he has

gone out of his mind. And then we see that in verse 31 that they were not successful in

their endeavor to quiet Jesus and so they went out and get their mom to help.

1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Mk 3:21.


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Some questions come to mind though as we look at their actions. First, why did they

seek to seize Jesus? It would seem their actions come from a standpoint of one who is

jealous or embarrassed. Do you think James was embarrassed by his older brother? I can

see it now, Jesus begins to speak and James rolls his eyes in contempt. Perhaps you have

run into a person your own life that makes you roll your eyes. My dad is a stickler for

getting things right. Especially when it comes to the Bible. I used to get embarrassed or

sometimes annoyed with him when he would always go back to scripture for his answer to

a question. I would sigh and roll my eyes because I didn’t want him to go there with his

answer. I don’t do that anymore - In fact, I am very appreciative of the words of wisdom

my dad has regarding scripture and I appreciate the deep love he has for God and his word.

I think we can see pretty clearly that James and his brothers didn’t always believe in

Jesus. Which brings up another question: Why didn’t James believe?

We know his family had the opportunity to see the various miracles of Jesus. So we

could surmise that James himself witnessed some if not all of the miracles of Jesus. Yet

seeing the miracles didn’t make him an instant believer that Jesus was the Messiah.

Perhaps it was because James was too close to Jesus. He had the inside scoop on

Jesus and knew him better than the crowds. This line of thinking could lead to the idea that

Jesus acted one way at home and different way in public. That isn’t very characteristic of

what the scriptures say about Jesus. Some would speculate that James and his brothers

tried to intervene and quiet Jesus not because of hatred - but that they did not necessarily

like all the attention that Jesus was getting. Let’s look at Mark 6:4.

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Mark 6:4 states: And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his

hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.”3

Perhaps Jesus made such a comment because he could sense envy in the heart of his

brothers. Perhaps when we are too familiar with someone we are more inclined to doubt

them or praise them for their deeds. And perhaps James and his brothers failed to

acknowledge Jesus and his ministry because they themselves had different expectations as

to what Jesus was supposed to be doing. In fact, let’s take at look at John 7:1-9

John 7:1-9 states: After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea,

because the Jews were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand.

3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see

the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If

you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in

him. 6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The

world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.

8 You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.”

9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.4

It would appear that James and his brothers had different plans for Jesus. They

expected Jesus to be doing something else. Though James didn’t believe in Jesus, that didn’t

stop him from trying to be Jesus’ manager. Jesus’ own brothers tried to control his own

ministry.

Conclusion:


4 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Jn 7:1–9.

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Are we not much different from James? We say Jesus is Lord, but we still want to

have a say as to what we should do and where we should go. In reality we say Jesus is Lord,

but with a few conditions.

Here are some questions to think about:

Do your plans differ from the plan of God? Are you hostile to the work God is doing

around you? If so, why? When all the excuses are stripped away, what keeps you from

fully trusting and believing in Jesus?

Application:

Sometimes we get envious of other people when they are successful and we are not.

We get jealous and that makes us want to stop or hamper their ministry. This attitude does

not honor God. God has called each one of us to serve him. No ministry is too small or too

great when it is done for the glory of God. Our thoughts should not be focused on us getting

the attention, but rather pointing people into the healing hands of Jesus. James failed to see

with his spiritual eyes. Because of his blindness, he literally attempted to interfere with the

ministry of Jesus – the Son of God! We must be careful to open our eyes to the things that

Jesus is doing around us and seek earnestly how we might help to contribute to the

ministry of Jesus.

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Lesson Two: Acts 1:14 & Acts 15:13-21

James: From Unbelieving to Believing. A Leader in the Christian Faith

Recap:

Last time we looked at the fact that though James was a half-brother to Jesus, that

didn’t mean that he automatically believed that Jesus was the Messiah.

We saw James getting in the way of Jesus’ ministry and asked ourselves if we do the

same thing. If so, then we need to repent and instead open our eyes to the things Jesus is

doing around us and see how we might instead help with the ongoing ministry of Jesus.

Introduction:

I want you to picture, if you will, that you have just witnessed the death of your

brother and know for a fact that he is dead and buried. Then three days later you are being

told that your brother is no longer in the tomb. In fact, you are told that he is no longer

dead but alive and well. How do you think you would respond? Scripture does not

illuminate to us the thoughts or actions of the siblings of Jesus when they were told that he

was alive. The one thing we do know for sure is that the resurrection of Jesus changed

their lives.

For James, the resurrection proved to be a life-altering event. This undeniable

action was proof enough for James that his half-brother, Jesus, was the Christ, the Anointed

One from God. This changed James’ view of Jesus. He didn’t see Jesus as the crazy person

in Mark 6:3. He now saw Jesus as someone to be worshipped and followed. Acts 1:14

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illuminates for us a small but powerful glimpse into the attitude change of James, and his

family, toward Jesus.

Acts 1:14 states: All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together

with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.5

After he believed in Jesus as the Messiah, James quickly rose in the leadership ranks

within the Christian faith.

First question: As an influential leader, how does James view his leadership role?

To answer this question, we need to look at Acts 15:1-12.

Let’s read Acts 15:1-12 and observe James’ character.

The first thing I would like us to take note of is that James remains silent during this

discourse. It is Peter who does all the talking. We see at the end that Paul and Barnabas

shared their testimony, but primarily Peter speaks.

The question was whether or not Gentiles needed to be circumcised in order to be

saved. Essentially, the impression that was given was that faith alone in Christ Jesus was

not enough. It was being circulated among strict Jewish Christians that Gentiles needed to

be circumcised in order to have true salvation. Peter, Paul and Barnabas spoke out against

this ideology by sharing their experience with the work God had been doing in the midst of

the Gentile people.6

Let’s read verses 13-21 to see what happens next.

5 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ac 1:14.

6 David Cook, Teaching Acts: Unlocking the Book of Acts for the Bible Teacher, ed. David Jackman and Robin Sydserff, Teach the Bible (Ross-shire, Scotland; London, England: Proclamation Trust Media; Christian Focus Publications, 2007), 214.

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Notice how James speaks only after hearing the statements from everyone else? As

a leader, it is sometimes beneficial to remain silent and simply listen. Being a leader

doesn’t always mean that your voice has to be heard. We can see that James exercised

great humility in being silent and waiting patiently before he opened his month.

What I find most interesting in this section is how James brings about his response.

Peter, Paul and Barnabas all speak out of experience to give their opinion as to whether or

not Gentiles should be circumcised. However, James uses scripture to defend his position.

James desired to see both Jew and Gentiles worshipping together and not fighting over

what ritualistic practice was being kept. And so he pointed to Scripture as the basis to

show the people that God had planned this all along.

This is a great reminder for us. Experience can play a part in our decision-making,

but we must be watchful to make sure that we are not ruled by experience alone. We have

to look to Scripture as our final authority and our final answer.

How was a Jewish man who converted to Christianity to respond to a Gentile who

became a Christian?

James’ character shows us the answer to this question. The first response is to love

the individual and extend to them a lot of grace and mercy. Looking over verses 19-21

again we can see that James is concerned with avoiding legalism while at the same time

desiring to setup clear boundaries to help the new believers to worship God and bring

glory to his name. It must be made clear that James was not trying to bind these new

Christians with rules. Rather his goal and intent was to encourage his fellow brothers and

sisters in the faith.

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Conclusion:

James is considered to be a leader in the early Christian church. In fact, Paul labels

him as a “pillar” of the church (Gal 2:9) and makes him equal in authority with Peter and

John. He is considered to be among the group of apostles and is an individual in which we

can learn character building from. He makes it clear that God has promised to include the

Gentiles in to his family. And since the people of God will include Gentiles, then no

roadblock should be created that would keep Gentiles from turning to God in Christ Jesus.7

Application:

The liberating work of the Good News must not become burdensome by “additions”

like ceremonial circumcision. Our salvation is by grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone.

The message of the Gospel must be carried out with any addition.8

Each day we need to be motivated by Scripture. We need to apply it our own lives and into

the lives of others so that we all may glorify our Father in heaven. To help evaluate our

own lives here are some questions to consider: How do you base your decisions? Are your

decisions emotionally driven? Intellectually driven? Fear driven? Comfort driven? Do you

look to Scripture as the foundation of your thinking? In dealing with new and old believers,

do you intentionally seek to encourage them up in the faith? Remember in the end our

actions should reflect the finished work of Jesus Christ.



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Lesson Three: James 1:5-8

James: A Closer Look at Faith in Action

Recap:

Last time we looked at discovering answers to difficult questions and forming our

opinions based on Scripture. While Peter, Paul and Barnabas gave their answers based on

their own experience, James gave his judgment backed up by Scripture. This is a great

example and good reminder for all of us. Far too often we look to the experience of others

or our own experience for answers, rather than relying on and seeking the answers from

the Word of God.

And now we will study the scriptures for our final lesson in the series, “James: A

Closer Look At Faith in Action.”

Introduction:

Forest Gump said, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re

gonna get.”

There are few things that are certain in this life. The saying goes that only two

things are certain in this life: death and taxes. This is true; you can’t escape the situations

in life that you will inevitably have to go through. Whether good or bad, we will all have

decisions to make and if we are trying to make those decisions based on good solid

theological grounding, then we are going to need help.

Turn with me in your Bibles to James 1:5. As you are looking that reference up in

your Bible, I want you to think about how you deal with trials that come your way. Do you

hide from them or face them head on? As we will see in the next few verses, decisions

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require wisdom, wisdom requires prayer, and prayer requires faith.9 Let’s read James 1:5-

8.

James 1:5-8 states: If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all

without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for

the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For

that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-

minded man, unstable in all his ways.10

Roger Ellsworth in his commentary on James states: “We can see James making

three points: trials demand wisdom, wisdom demands prayer, and prayer demands faith.”

Now to properly understand the context of what James is talking about we have to

know what was said in verses 1-4. In verses 1-4 James talks about persecution and

suffering. Now it must be understood that suffering can come in various forms. Primarily

there is suffering that we bring upon ourselves (we call this consequences) and there is

suffering that the Lord allows to come upon us. The reasons for the Lord allowing the

suffering can vary. Perhaps it is to humble us or teach us to rely on him. No matter the

reason, we should be joyful because such trials help us to grow in our faith. And so we can

take comfort in know that suffering is not meaningless. It is God’s way of bringing us to

spiritual maturity.

So the three demands that Roger talks about in verses 5-8 help us to refocus our

attention. It challenges us to look outside of ourselves for the answer, strength, and

wisdom to get through any of life’s situations.

9 Roger Ellsworth, Opening Up James (Leominster: Day One Publications, 2009), 26.

10 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Jas 1:5–8.

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Trials Require Wisdom.

What is the difference between knowledge and wisdom? Simply put, knowledge is

information; wisdom is application. Knowledge comprehends facts; wisdom is handling

life. Knowledge is theoretical; wisdom is practical. Knowledge is learning about life;

wisdom is rightly living a life. A helpful way to understand it is to think of it in terms of

driving a car. You can know everything about a car, but drive it very poorly. On the flip

side you can know very little about the internal workings of a car, and drive it very well. No

matter what trial we are facing, we could all use more wisdom – specifically, godly wisdom

for handling trials so that we can glorify God with our attitude and actions.

How do we get wisdom? We have to ask for it.

Wisdom Requires Prayer.

John Calvin says that the Lord is ready “to add new blessings to former ones without

any end or limitation.”

God is ready and willing to give us new blessings, but first we need to ask him. It is

possible to receive a blessing from God because we went through a difficult situation. Does

that mean that we can’t pray to have our trial lifted from us? We certainly can, but what

benefit would there be in the trial being lifted? Many of us pray for a trial to be lifted, but

have you thought about praying for wisdom to get through the trial? God uses each

situation we are in as a teaching lesson. Sometimes we learn it in the midst of the trial;

sometimes the lesson comes after the trial. The point is that if we never go through it, we

will never grow spiritually. God gives generously and without finding fault. He knows our

weakness. We could all use more wisdom in life. Ask God and he will supply it generously.

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When we pray, we must make sure that our prayers are done in faith. And that leads

us to our next point:

Prayer Requires Faith.

Most people think faith means that you pick something out that you want God to do,

and then psych yourselves up to believe that he will actually do it. That kind of "faith" is no

different than positive thinking. Faith is believing that God will do what he promised to do.

We need to ask and believe. We need to ask our Heavenly Father and believe that he is a

good and faithful Father that will provide for the needs of his children. Sometimes we

simply fail to ask God for wisdom. Perhaps this is out of pride. We simply do not ask

because we think we can handle the situation on our own. Perhaps we fail to ask because

we don’t think that God will come through on his promise. We sometimes have the

mentality that our problems are too small for God to care about. This is simply not true.

God cares for us deeply.

In this passage, James gives us a distinct promise. He tells us that God will give us

wisdom for the handling of our trials if we ask in faith.

Conclusion:

The trials we face in life are likely to scare us and cause us to doubt. James gives us

an encouraging reminder that our God is a giving God, and one of the gifts he gives is

wisdom. Jesus spoke on this very subject in Matthew 7:7-12. Jesus teaches us that God is

personable and desires to give us good gifts that glorify his name. Do you see God as your

loving Father who gives you good gifts?

Application:

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How can you take the knowledge you have accumulated over the years and turn it

into wisdom? What steps can you take to improve your prayer life? When you pray, do you

really believe that God hears and is willing to personally respond to you? The faith that we

are to have in our prayers suggests a desire to respond and act on God’s will for our life. If

we fail to respond in obedience, then we will not be able to enjoy the gift that God has ready

and waiting to give us. Without that gift, we miss an opportunity to draw closer to him and

glorify his name.

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Bibliography:

Andrew Knowles, The Bible Guide, 1st Augsburg books ed. (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg,

2001)

David Cook, Teaching Acts: Unlocking the Book of Acts for the Bible Teacher, ed. David

Jackman and Robin Sydserff, Teach the Bible (Ross-shire, Scotland; London,

England: Proclamation Trust Media; Christian Focus Publications, 2007)

Douglas J. Moo, The Letter of James, The Pillar New Testament commentary (Grand Rapids,

Mich.; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2000)

Peter H. Davids, The Epistle of James : A Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids, Mich.:

Eerdmans, 1982)

Phillip McFadyen, Open Door on Mark: His Gospel Explored (London: Triangle, 1997)

Ralph P. Martin, vol. 48, Word Biblical Commentary : James, Word Biblical Commentary

(Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002)

Robert James Dr. Utley, vol. Volume 11, Jesus' Half-Brothers Speak: James and Jude, Study

Guide Commentary Series (Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International, 2000)

Roger Ellsworth, Opening Up James (Leominster: Day One Publications, 2009)

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