10—Forty Days with James: Oppressors & Oppressed

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.IntroWas Jesus a "carpenter" (Mark 6:3, Matt 13:55)? Tekton = builder. "Carpenter,” esp. in our culture, has a certain prestige. But not so much when someone tells you, “I’m in construction. I’m a manual laborer.”Jesus was more likely a stonemason. Wood is not the usual building material in Palestine – stone is much more common. As a builder he would have worked with others. He also may not have been as well-off as we might think. (After all, consider how few possessions he had at the end of his life.)He was not born into privilege; he had to work for a living. James wasn't wealthy, either. If anything, he stood on the side of the underprivileged.James 2:5-7James urges us not to privilege the rich. Often they are rich only because they are underpaying, entrapping, or otherwise exploiting the poor.Of course not all poor people will be saved, and not all rich people will be condemned.But the Scriptures heavily favor the needy, pity the plight of the poor, and call us all to take responsibility.Irony: cozying up to the very people who are exploiting you!The rich typically use the law to gain wealth, keep it, and make it grow—and keep it away from others.Further:Q&A 1616: “Are James's remains in the church of Santiago de Compostela in Spain?”N.T. Character Study on James, the brother of the Lord.A book on the ossuary of James, by Hershel Shanks and Ben Witherington III, The Brother of Jesus: The Dramatic Story and Meaning of the First Archaeological Link to Jesus and His Family (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 2003).Next: The Royal LawNote: For days 11-40 of the series, you will need to log in (with username and password), even if you are a paid subscriber. If you are not currently a subscriber, you can sign up here.