Shabbat Shalom. If you take your Bibles, please open it to the Brit HaChadasha, to the New Testament. We are going to begin today to take the letter that the half-brother of Yeshua the Messiah wrote by the name of James. His Hebrew name is Yaakov. Jacob, Jacob, Jacob wrote to the first-century Hebrew Christians, Messianic Jews, who needed much encouragement through the difficult time that they have been going through as they follow Yeshua, their Messiah. So we will turn today to the first chapter of the book of James. And we are going to just begin by reading the first verse of this chapter. I want to give a little bit of introduction to the book of James.

And I believe, brothers and sisters, that this is a very important book because this letter is written in such a way that Apostle James was dealing with the practical issues that existed in the first century in the church, in the body of Messiah. And he was addressing those needs that existed at that time specifically because he was writing to Hebrew believers. He was dealing with Hebrew Christians' problems and issues that they have faced in the first century. So please follow me. I am going to read the first verse today. We want to have the scripture before us. So let me read the first verse of this chapter.

James chapter 1, verse 1. James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greetings. And I am stopping here by way of introduction. But I would like to introduce to all of us today this book or this letter that was written by a man that is called Yaakov in Hebrew. James, for some reason, the English gave his name, his Hebrew name Yaakov. They translated into James. And that's how we get in the English that letter that is called the letter that is written by James or the general epistle of James. But we would call him in his Hebrew name Yaakov.

Now, let me remind you, beloved brothers and sisters, that about 750 years before Yeshua the Messiah came to this world, the Hebrew prophet Isaiah already said in Isaiah chapter 53 that when the Messiah will come, Israel as a nation will not accept him. You know the famous verse that we often quote from Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 6, where Israel have confessed and will confess at the end of the tribulation period, all we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord Jehovah laid upon him, namely the Messiah, the iniquity of us all. In other words, Isaiah have already prophesied 750 years before Yeshua the Messiah came to our people Israel in the land of Israel.

He have already said that when the Messiah will come, he will suffer and he will be rejected by the very own people, namely our own Jewish people at his first coming. So when Yeshua came 2,000 years ago from our vantage point of time, at about 30 AD, 33 AD, he was crucified and he died on a Roman cross. The vast majority of our own people, the Hebrews, the Jewish people, the Jewish community, our own nation did not accept him as the Messiah. But while the vast majority did not accept him, there was a minority of our own people who did embrace him. We have accepted him as the promised Messiah and accepted him as the one that was promised through Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and all the prophets of all, that he would be the one that will deliver the people of Israel.

Well, when he came and was rejected by the vast majority of the nation, the minority of what we would know today, Hebrew Christians, Messianic Jews, Jewish believers in Yeshua, we would call him in Hebrew, they embraced him, and they assumed that he would restore the nation as a nation. But instead of restoring the nation as a nation, he formed, as we know by the Spirit of God, an entity that is called the Ekklesia, the church, the called out ones. And he had to teach those early Hebrew believers that it is not yet the time of Israel, that Israel will be restored as a nation at the end of the tribulation period.

But in the meanwhile, he is forming a body, a group, a company that is called the church, the Ekklesia, which is a composition of Jewish and non-Jewish people. And we are evident of this even in our meetings here at Holy Scriptures in Israel, where both Jewish believers here and non-Jewish believers are united together in the body of Messiah. So now, at about 33 AD, the church was formed. In Acts chapter 2, the Spirit of God came down upon all these Jewish believers who gathered in the upper room in the city of Jerusalem, and he formed that which we know today is called the body of Christ, the body of Mashiach.

By one Spirit, 1 Corinthians 12, we were all baptized into that one body, and the church began. Well, when it began, we know very well that it began by 100% Hebrews, Jewish, Israeli believers. All those that were there were those that were born Jewish people. They have accepted the Messiah. But now they had to learn that they are responsible to preach the message of the gospel to the nations of the world. And as equal, we come into the very same body, the body of Messiah. So, at about 33 AD, the Ekklesia was born, the Kehillah was born. Well, because the vast majority of them were Hebrews, and because they were rejected by their own brethren, Jewish brethren, who did not believe in the Messiah, those early Hebrew believers were persecuted.

They were persecuted in the land, and then they were driven out of the land, many of them, and they were persecuted outside of the land. And so, God had raised some men, brothers, who would write for those persecuted Hebrew Christians some letters of encouragement. In fact, most Bible teachers would tell you that there were five epistles that were written by Jewish believers to other Jewish believers who were either persecuted or had a problem with one issue or another. In fact, those five letters was the book of Hebrews, who were written to Hebrew believers. First Peter was written by Peter to Hebrew believers. Second Peter was written as well to Hebrew believers.

As well as Jude, Judah, he wrote his letter as well to Jewish believers. And also, this man by the name of Yaakov, James, who wrote this epistle that we are going to begin our study today together. So, let's talk a little bit about this author, this man by the name of James. Who is this man? First of all, I would like to remind you that the name Yaakov is a very Hebrew name. We have Abraham, Yitzhak, Yaakov, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the father of our nation, Israel. Jacob, Yaakov, is a famous name. His name first mentioned, of course, in Genesis chapter 25 and verse 26, when he was born to his mother, Rivka, Rebekah, as a twin of Esau.

This is the first time we have the name Jacob, Yaakov, in the Bible. Yaakov was born, if you remember, and Yaakov was, on the one hand, when he was born, he was called a hill holder, because he held the hill of his brother Esau as he came out of the womb of his mother. And Yaakov became known to be a hill holder, or you would say a follower. But there's another meaning of the name Yaakov that the first had been given to us in Genesis chapter 25 and verse 26. One of the meanings of the word Yaakov is supplantile. One that was akov was not always straightforward.

In fact, Jeremiah, the prophet, says the heart is deceitful above all things. And the name for deceitful in the Hebrew is akov. In fact, in Yaakov's name, we have a description of all the human race. Deceitful, sinful, that is the meaning and the condition. In fact, through Jacob, we have a representation of the whole human race. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So here's the first Yaakov. And therefore, throughout the history of our people Israel, the name Yaakov was given to many of our own people. Yaakov, why Yaakov? And I'm using it as an exchange to the name James. Why Yaakov?

Because Yaakov's name was changed from Yaakov to Yisrael, Israel. And if you remember, God said to him, this angel who met him, and he said, Your name shall no longer be called Yaakov, but Yisrael, prince with God. And every time we read that name Yaakov, we look at him and we realize, Ah-ah, this name Yaakov, this name Jacob, this one that was a hill holder, a follower, is also one that his life will be changed from Yaakov to Israel. And he's one day going to be speaking of the nation of Israel as a prince that represented the Messiah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

But this name has been given to many of our own Hebrew people. You go to the land of Israel today, you'll find Yaakov everywhere the name Yaakov. Almost every family has someone by the name of Yaakov. By the time we come to the Brit HaChadasha, to the New Testament, you will notice that there are so many times when the name Yaakov is being mentioned. In fact, in the Brit HaChadasha, in the New Testament, we have at least four men that their name was Yaakov. James or Jacob, you might call it in English. So there were four individuals by the name of James or Yaakov. Which of the four wrote this epistle?

Well, I would like you to turn for a moment to Luke chapter 6. And I want you to just see with me one or two things that I mentioned there in Luke chapter 6. And you will notice that you have three times the name James or Yaakov mentioned in connection with the choosing of the disciples by Yeshua the Messiah. Look at Luke chapter 6. It says in verse 12, and I'm giving this by way of introduction because it is important for us to understand this book of James, the book of Yaakov, if we will understand the background of the writing of this book. And who is James? Who is Yaakov?

It says in Luke 6, 12, and it came to pass in those days that he, this is Yeshua, he went out into the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples. And of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles. Now notice the names in verse 14. Simon, this is Shimon, whom he also called Peter or Petros. And Andrew, his brother. And here's the first Yaakov. James and John. This is two brothers, James and John. And then Philip and Barthalmai. Then verse 15. Matthew and Thomas. And here's the second James. James, the son of Alphaeus.

And Simon called the Zealots. So we have James, Yaakov in verse 14, who was the brother of John. Then we have another James, Yaakov, the one that was the son of Alphaeus. Every time you hear among the people of Israel, the name Yaakov is mentioned again and again, because everybody almost had in his family name one person by the name of Yaakov. Then notice in verse 16. And Judah, the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was a traitor. Notice here's the third time we have the name Jacob or James or Yaakov. It was another one who was the father of Judas. Now this is not Judas Iscariot.

This was a disciple by the name of Judah who had a father by the name of James, of Yaakov. So what we really see, we have Yaakov number one in verse 14, Yaakov number two in verse 15, Yaakov number three in verse 16. Three James, three Yaakov, but none of these James are the one who have written this book, this letter, which we are studying today in the ministry meeting of Holy Scriptures in Israel. Well, two of them were disciples, but none of them are the one that actually wrote this letter that is known the letter of James. Well, who is this author? Well, apparently this James is really the half-brother of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

Now I know that many people have a problem with the truth concerning the fact that Yeshua had brothers and sisters. We will find very quickly, I'm going to show you this in scripture in a moment. But, you know, this Yaakov, this James, was one of the half-brothers of our Lord Jesus the Messiah. As you know very well, that Miriam, the mother of Yeshua, gave birth first of all to Yeshua the Messiah. When she gave birth to Yeshua the Messiah, it was a supernatural birth. The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. This is the Son of God that was born in a supernatural way.

He was born out of the Spirit of God, placed in the womb of Miriam, that seed. And the Messiah was born, sinless one. But later on, Miriam had more children. And the children she had were half-brothers of Yeshua, the Messiah. Let's turn for a moment to Matthew chapter 13. Who is the author of the book of James? Who is the one who wrote this wonderful letter? His name was Yaakov, and he was half-brother of Yeshua the Messiah. We read in Matthew chapter 13, in verse 55: "Is not this the carpenter's son?" The carpenter was Yosef, his stepfather. "And is not his mother called Miriam?" And now notice: "And his brethren." The first one was Yaakov, James.

And Joseph, Yosef. And Simon, Shimon. And Judas, Yehuda. But not only then, brothers and sisters, according to verse 56. He said: "Then his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then has this man all these things?" And they were all offended in him.

But Yeshua said unto them: "A prophet is not without an honor, except in his own country, and in his own house." Now imagine that when the Messiah, when Yeshua came, and he finished to speak in parables, and everybody there were wondering, and they said: "Where does this man have all this wisdom?" "Isn't he only this carpenter's son?" "And look at his brothers." "We know them all." "His name is Yaakov, and Yosef, and Shimon, and Judah." "We know his brothers." "We even know his sisters." "They're all here." "From where does he have all this wisdom?" "And you see, brothers and sisters, his very own family were overwhelmed with: "Who is this Jesus, Yeshua, that is in

our midst?" "Our older brother." "And they're all ramped shoulders with him." "You might say all his youth life." "When they knew him, and they heard of him, they have seen him, they have talked with him." "And his second brother by the name of Yaakov, James, must have known very well about him, and he was always puzzled." "What about him?" "Why is my older brother so different?" "Why he always seemed to behave in such a way?" "He was amazed, but they didn't believe in him at first." "In fact, in John chapter 7, look at what it says in the first few verses of John chapter 7, that even his very own family, his own brethren, did

not believe that he was the promised Messiah.

Look what it says in chapter 7, verse 1, "After these things, Yeshua walked in Galilee, in the Galil, for he would not walk in Jewry because the Jews sought to kill him." "In other words, the rest of the nation, the leadership of our own people, did not recognize him, and they sought to kill him because they thought he was a person that claimed to be what he was not." "It says in verse 2, "Now the Jewish feast of tabernacle was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, depart hence, go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works that you are doing. For there is no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly.

If thou do those things, show thyself to the world." And look at the clause in verse 5, "For neither his brethren believed in him." So what we really learn, brothers and sisters, that one can live again and again all his life with Yeshua the Messiah, but they didn't believe that he was the Messiah. They may have seen some uniqueness in him, I'm sure. They have looked upon him, the way he behaved, the way he conducted himself, and they were amazed. But how can you claim that you are the Son of God, the Messiah? How can you claim? And I want to tell you, we are not to judge them, because if you and I would have been there, we would have had the very same attitude, because our hearts are not better than theirs.

And so we find out that this Yaakov is number one, not one of those disciples whom were called in the beginning by the Lord, according to Luke chapter 6. He was not the third one that was the son of James, but he was one of the half-brothers of Yeshua the Messiah. They had the same mother, but they didn't have the same father. Yeshua was not born by a natural, physical father, but he was born of the seed that had been planted by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Miriam to come forth into this world. So what happened? When did Yaakov, James, become a believer and acknowledge that Yeshua is the Messiah?

Well, turn with me to another verse in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. I want you to see that. While Yeshua was alive, his brethren did not believe on him. But after he died, and after he was buried, and after he was resurrected, look what we read in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. The whole theme of 1 Corinthians chapter 15 is the theme concerning the resurrection of the Messiah. And so we find here in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, in verse 3 says, "For I deliver unto you first of all that which I also receive, how that the Messiah died for our sins according to the Scripture, and that he was buried, and that he rose again on the third day according to the Scripture." And then listen to that.

He was seen, first of all, of Siphas. This is Peter, Shimon Petros. And then of the twelve, this is the twelve apostles. And then it says in verse 6, "And that he was seen of above 500 brethren at once." Apparently he revealed himself to other 500 Jewish believers there in the land of Israel, "The greater part remain unto this present, but some have died or falling asleep." And then look what it says in verse 7. "After that he was seen of James, Yaakov, then of all the apostles." Now you notice what we really learn, how beautiful. To see that Yeshua, the Messiah, who was not accepted by his very own brethren when he was alive.

After he died and he was buried, he rose from among the dead and before he had gone to the Father's house, he revealed himself to the disciples. He revealed himself to some of those that have trusted in him and believe in him. And apparently he went to Yaakov, to James. And he says, "James." Now we do not know. I am just putting this as a line here. He showed himself he was seen of Yaakov. And Yaakov, James, who is looking back and says, "Wow, I did not accept you when you were alive with us. I didn't realize. I could see it different in your life.

Now, Yeshua, Lord, now I realize that you are the promised Messiah." Yaakov, James, have seen the resurrected Messiah. The resurrected Mashiach. And I believe, and most Bible teachers will tell you, that this was a turnaround in the life of Yaakov. When he realized my half-brother in the flesh is actually the promised Mashiach of Israel. The eternal Son of God. And I now want to serve him. And I want to live for him. And I want to minister for him. Because now he revealed himself unto me. And I want to be faithful to minister to this Messiah, this Mashiach. To all believers that are struggling and need encouragement in a difficult time.

So now go with me back to Acts chapter 1 for one more verse there. You will notice that this Yaakov, this James, was there in the upper room with all the disciples. In Acts chapter 1, verse 12, 13 and 14, we find a beautiful scene. After Yeshua had been taken away to heaven now, back to the Father's house, we find out that the disciples went back to Jerusalem and they waited for the Spirit of God to come and to form the body of Messiah. In Acts chapter 1 and verse 12. Then returned they unto Jerusalem for Mount of Olives, which is from Jerusalem a Shabbat day's journey. And when they would come in, they went up into an upper room where abode both Peter and James and John.

Now this James is not the brother yet, this is the apostle James. The brother of John, James and John and Andrew and Philip and Thomas and Barthalmai and Matthew and James. The second James, the son of Alpheus and Simon the Zealot and Judas, the son of James. Again, you see another James. All these continue with one accord in prayer and supplication. And now notice what it adds. With the women and Miriam, the mother of Yeshua and with his brethren. The very same brethren that in Matthew chapter 13 and verse 55 and we heard of them. And in John chapter 7 we find out that they did not believe on him after his resurrection and his ascension.

And in between he revealed himself to his brethren and specifically to Yaakov James. Then you find out now all his family is sitting together in the upper room in a time of prayer with the apostles. And with others that are gathered there in the city of Jerusalem waiting for the Ruach HaKodesh, for the Holy Spirit to come and to unite them all into one body. That's the James. That's the James. That's the James. The one that is the half-brother of Yeshua, the Messiah. The one who did not believe in Yeshua in his lifetime but has seen him after his resurrection. We find him sitting here in the upper room with all the disciples waiting for the Holy Spirit of God to come to form the body of Messiah.

Now what does the New Covenant tell us about this man in addition to the fact that he was half-brother of Yeshua, the Messiah? Well, there are a few things that the Bible tells us about him that I think it is very, very important to learn about Yaakov, James, the half-brother of Yeshua, the Messiah. Turn to Galatians 2. Apparently, this Yaakov, this James, became a very, very prominent believer and leader among the believers in the city of Jerusalem. It says in Galatians 2 and verse 8, it says, For he that wrought affectionately in Peter, this is Paul speaking, to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me towards the Gentiles.

And when James, this is Yaakov, half-brother of Yeshua, and Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, they perceived the grace that was given unto me. Now the first thing we learn here about this James, we find out that he became a pillar. Let me ask you a question, brothers and sisters. Are you and I pillars that are standing firm in the things of the Lord among the local fellowship where we find ourselves? He was a pillar. What is a pillar? A pillar is a post, you might say, standing firm, immovable, being used by the Lord among the people of God. Well, this Yaakov, this James, became a pillar in the local assembly that started in the city of Jerusalem.

He was there as a pillar. He was there to support the brothers and sisters. He was there to be an encouragement to the people of God. He was a pillar. He was the one that everyone respected because of the fact that he was faithful. He presented the word of God and he was a man that was useful among the brothers and sisters in the local assembly in the city of Jerusalem. We find him to be known as a pillar just like Peter and just like John. They were an apostle, but here's Yaakov, who was the half-brother of Yeshua the Messiah, considered to be a pillar among the people of God in the local assembly in the city of Jerusalem.

Turn back to Acts chapter 12. One more thing to find out about this man by the name of James. In Acts chapter 12 and verse 17, Peter himself was sending to James to let him know that he was released from prison. He recognized him as a leader among the people in the local assembly in Jerusalem. Acts chapter 12 and verse 16, after Peter was delivered from prison, Peter continued knocking, and when they had opened the door and they saw him, they were all astonished. How come he came out of prison? And then Peter told them and he beckoned them and he said with his hand to hold their peace. And he declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison and he said, listen, go show these things unto James, unto Yaakov, and to the brethren.

Look at this. Peter recognized the leadership of Yaakov, of James. He recognized, he says to the brothers and sisters, he says, you go tell this to one of the leaders of the local assembly in Jerusalem by the name of Yaakov. You tell him how the Lord delivered me out of prison. And here I am now waiting to be brought back and to be embraced by the assembly, by the church, the congregation in the city of Jerusalem. So we learned that he was a pillar. We learned that he was a leader among the assemblies in Jerusalem, among the believers in the city of Jerusalem. Look at one more thing, brothers and sisters, bear with me.

Acts chapter 15. The third thing here we find out of the importance of the role of James, of Yaakov, that whatever he said in the local assembly of Jerusalem was appreciated and adhered to. And he knew very well the Hebrew scriptures, the Tanakh. We read in Acts chapter 15, verse 13. And after they have held their peace, James, this is Yaakov, he answered and he says, Men and brethren, hearken unto me. Simon has declared how God has at first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for himself. This was Peter that had been sharing what the Lord was doing among the Gentiles. So James says, listen, Peter have declared what the Lord is doing among the Gentiles.

And then he says in verse 15, and of this agreed the words of the prophets. Well, he knew his Hebrew scripture very well. He knew the history of his prophets. He says, as it is written, after this, I will return and I will build again the tabernacle of David, which is falling down. And I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up. He was quoting Amos. Amos has prophesied that when the Messiah will be rejected and Israel will be scattered, God is going to gather back the people of Israel to himself. And Yaakov knew his Hebrew scripture very well. And in the middle of the local assembly there in the city of Jerusalem, he was saying, brethren, let me tell you what Amos was already prophesying years ago.

The Messiah will be rejected. And later on, God is going to set up again the tabernacle of David, which had been falling down. And then it says in verse 17 and 18, that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and that all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who does all these things. Known of God are all his works from the beginning of the world. And so James knew his Hebrew scriptures very well. And many times we find him quoting in the letter of James some of the things concerning the promises of God from the Old Testament. So, we find out that he was half-brother of Yeshua the Messiah.

We found out that he did not believe in his life in Yeshua, but believed on him after the resurrection. We found out that he was waiting for the Holy Spirit of God to come to indwell all those believers before the church was born. Then we found out in our chapters here that James was part of the local assembly in Jerusalem, and that he was a pillar in this assembly in Yerushalayim, in this local congregation there. We found out that Peter had respected him, and he had sent to let him know first that he was released from prison. We found out that James knew very well the scripture, and he quoted the Old Testament concerning the restoration of the people of Israel.

So, that's beautiful. One final thing about him is that apparently he was a married man. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 9. Paul is saying to the Corinthians in verse 5, Don't we have power to lead about a sister, a wife? Don't we have a right to get married? Paul said to the Corinthians, Nothing wrong with me getting married and serving the Lord, having a wife, and he says, As well as other apostles, verse 5, And as the brethren of the Lord and Cephas. The brethren of the Lord is speaking about those brothers, Yaakov, Jacob, Yosef, Judah, Shimon. Apparently, James was a married man. He had perhaps a family. And we find out that Paul is saying, I can get married just like those such as Peter and the brethren of the Lord and other apostles who have been married as well.

So, apparently, he was a married man and he knew very well how it's necessary in a marriage relationship to treat your wife and the importance of being a husband that is a blessing to his wife as well. So, in the introduction of the book of James, immediately we want to find out who is this author, who is the writer. And the writer is her brother of Yeshua, the Messiah. Notice what he called himself in verse 1. And I'm back now in the book of James, chapter 1, in verse 1. Look what he says. James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. The Lord Yeshua, the Messiah.

Look what he called himself. Now, if you would have been, if I would have been half-brother of the Messiah, I would at least let everybody know, Hey, look at me. Listen, I'm half-brother of Yeshua, the Messiah. But he didn't so. He was a humble man. Many have said that he spent, in history, much time in prayer. Some have suggested that he had been so much on his knees for prayer that his knees had the thick skin like a camel's skin because of the fact that he spent a lot of time in prayer. But instead of exalting himself and he says, I'm writing to you, I'm the half-brother of Yeshua, the Messiah, He says, I am James, Yaakov, the servant of God.

Mesharet Elohim, like Moses was called, the servant of God. He was a born slave, you might say. A real servant of God and of Yeshua, the Messiah. He was a servant who wanted to minister to the people of God and to serve them and to serve them and to let them know of the faithfulness of God. And notice he called himself Yaakov. Not Yaakov the great, not Yaakov the special, but James, Yaakov, the servant of God and of the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah. Notice these three expressions. The Lord, Yeshua, the Messiah. He recognized the Lordship. He's Adon, He's Lord. We're just saying, Thou art the Lord of glory.

And then His name, Yeshua, Jesus. Thou shall call His name Yeshua, for He shall save His people from their sins. And then His title. Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach. The Messiah, the name Mashiach, Christ is not the family name of Jesus, of Yeshua, but this is His title. He is the anointed one, the Mashiach. The one whom God have anointed to be the one that will be the Redeemer, the Deliverer, the Savior of this world. So Yaakov is writing, he's calling himself a servant of God and of our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah. This is so precious to see the way in which he was writing his letter.

Now let's move on. Not only that he called himself the servant of God and of our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, but who were the recipients of this letter? When he wrote this letter, to whom did he write? And I mentioned this earlier, that there are five epistles, five letters, that specifically were written to Jewish believers. While it's applied to all believers, but in its origin, they were geared for the particular need of these Jewish believers of first century. And you notice how we know. It says here in verse 1b, the recipients of this letter are, listen to this, to the twelve tribes, which are scattered abroad, greetings.

I don't know about you, but since I became a believer in Yeshua, the Messiah, I've been told, by professing Christians, that God finished with the Jews, and the Jewish people are lost. We have those ten lost tribes. You heard this expression, right? And they say, well, they are so lost, they are gone. No one knows anything about them. We do not know ever if they will ever be restored to be part of the nation of Israel. But Yaakov, James, he seemed to know very much. He had a lot of information. And when he wrote this letter, he didn't write to two of the tribes, and we do not know where the other ten found, but he wrote to the twelve tribes which were scattered abroad.

Now, apparently, brothers and sisters, this expression, scattered, the people of Israel have been scattered more than once out of the land of Israel. The word for scattering, in Hebrew, we call it Mephuzarim. They were scattered abroad. God had promised our people of all, if you will disobey me and you will not submit to me, I will scatter you. You know, we have this expression, the galut. In fact, every one of us who is Jewish here and is living here in this country, we are really in the galut, in the diaspora, in the dispersion. Really, the home of the Jewish people is in the land of Israel.

This is the home that God had promised to the people of Israel. But apparently, there were those who were scattered abroad and he knew them as believers in Yeshua, the Messiah, and to them he addressed this letter. In other words, specifically, he said here, James, the servant of God and the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, to the twelve tribes which have been scattered abroad. He apparently knew very well from Reuven all the way to Binyamin. There were twelve tribes and there were believers among these twelve tribes to whom he wrote this interesting letter. Let me show you just a few points here in connection with the dispersion.

Israel was just about to enter into the promised land long before the Messiah came. This is 3,500 years ago from our point of time. Israel left Egypt on the shores of the promised land. God is saying to them in Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 25, He said to them this, When you shall beget children in the land, that is, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and ye shall corrupt yourself and make graven images or the likeness of anything, and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God to provoke him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over the Jordan to possess it.

Ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. And notice verse 27, And the Lord shall scatter you among the nation, and ye shall be left few in numbers among the heathen whither the Lord shall lead you. Israel, he's saying to them, before they enter into the land, Listen, I know what's going to happen. I'm going to bring you into the land, and you will not be faithful to me, and I'm going to tell you this ahead of time. Look what's going to happen. You're going to utterly perish from off this land, and the Lord himself shall scatter you, God was going to scatter the nation of Israel, the Jewish people, all the twelve tribes among the nations of the world, and he will leave them there to be persecuted and rejected by the world, and there will be a few in numbers among the heathen where the Lord shall lead them.

And you know, brothers and sisters, I don't have to tell you, look today, while a vast amount of Jewish people, Hebrews, have entered back into the land, but the vast majority are still outside, scattered among the nations of the world. Almost every nation today have some Jewish community in their land. Why? Because God's promises, God's assurance that if they will violate his word, he is going to scatter them among the nations of the world, and he did so, but ultimately, as Jeremiah said in chapter 31, he that scattered also will gather them back to the land. So most of our Jewish people are still in the galut, in the diaspora, dispersed among the nations of the world.

Now, one more point I want to mention in connection with the scattering of the Jewish people. I wanted to mention another verse in the book of Acts, chapter 8. Not only there was a scattering of the people of Israel as a nation, but now, in first century, there was scattering of Jewish believers among the nations of the world. Look at this. You remember when Stephen was stoned at the end of Acts, chapter 7. Look what it says in Acts, chapter 8, in verse 1. It says this, Shaul was consenting unto his death. This is the death of Stephen. And at that time, there was a great persecution against the church, and that church was Jewish believers.

There was a great persecution against the Jewish believers in the land of Israel, which was in Jerusalem, and they were all, listen to this, scattered abroad. Throughout all regions of Judea and Samaria, only the apostles remained still in the city. Already then, beloved brothers and sisters, Jewish believers, Hebrew Christians, Messianic Jewish people, Meshichim, were rejected by their own brethren, and they were scattered already then. Here it's mentioned Judea, Samaria, and scattered abroad throughout all the regions, except the apostles, as we have here in this first verse of Acts, chapter 8. Now, move to Acts, chapter 11. Look what happened in chapter 11. We read later on in verse 19.

That's where you get the word dispersion, scattering, galut. That's where we get this expression. It says in Acts, chapter 11, and verse 19, Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen, traveled as far as Pontius, Cyprus, Antioch, preaching the word to none but the Jews only. To those early Jewish believers that were scattered because of Stephen's death, they went to various countries and they presented the message of the Gospel first of all, according to Romans 1.16, to the Jew first. And they were presenting that message to the Jewish people first. And so we really learn that many of those who were persecuted and scattered presented the Gospel to other of their own brethren and many of those Hebrew people became believers in Yeshua, the Messiah.

And James is now knowing there were many who were scattered abroad. He said, according to James, chapter 1, he says, James, a servant of God and of our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, to the twelve tribes which were scattered abroad. Greetings. Now, while the letter was written to Jewish believers in Yeshua, the Messiah, this letter is for all of us. We know that. It's for all believers, Jew and Gentile alike, but it is important to understand the importance of this reason. Why did he write? To whom did he write? What is the purpose of his writing? He wrote to them because they had many, many needs. Those believers were persecuted.

Those believers had a danger in living, you might say, and being discouraged. You know, like when we are going through tribulation and persecution and discouragement, we feel like we don't have this zeal, you might say, to follow the law. We get so quickly discouraged. And James writing to them in order to encourage them and to warn them not to stop from following Yeshua, the Messiah, but to continue on. Now let's ask a third question here by way of introduction. When did he write this letter? Most Bible teachers suggest that he wrote this letter between the year 45 to 50 A.D. In fact, if it is true, that would be the first New Testament letter or book that was written, put down together.

It says that James died at about year 62 A.D. And because the letter doesn't give us much of information of the heavenly position of the church and much of the truth that Paul received from the glorified Messiah, it had been suggested that it was the first letter that was written in the Brit HaChadashah, the earlier letter of the Bible. James must have been written after the resurrection and ascension of the Messiah about 15 years after Yeshua had gone to heaven, about 45 to 50 A.D. There's not much doctrine here of the heavenly relationship that we have with the Lord and the truths of the church, the mystery of Jew and Gentile united together.

it's not so much taught here, but there's many practical things that James was writing about to those early Hebrew Christians. Now again, one or two more points. What is the theme of the book? There are two verses that I would like to give you as the theme. The first one is in verse 3 of chapter 1, where it says, knowing this, that the trying of your faith will work patience. The first portion of the theme of the book is that your faith will be tested. God will test us. He will test every one of us. He will somehow take us through an experience to test us. Will I trust the Lord?

Will I follow Him? He will allow us to experience a time of testing. And it's so true, isn't it? Some of us are going through trials, through problems, through issues in our life, and the Lord is really testing us. He doesn't test us so we will fall. That's what Satan does. He tests us in order that the gold will come out. That which belongs to the Lord, what we have learned from our walk with the Lord, like a school teacher who at the end of the year gives an exam to his student. he or she gives the exam to the student not in order to cause them to stumble, but in order to show them what have you learned in this year?

Have you been at class? Have you took notes? Have you learned from what I taught you this year? So our faith will be tested. Sometimes we wonder why the Lord allows us to go through some problems in our life. You know, again, verse 3, it says, knowing this, that the testing of your faith will produce something. none of us is exempt from that beloved brothers and sisters. We're going to leave this meeting today and the Lord will allow us to experience some lessons. Now, remember, sometimes we go through trials because it's our own fault. Sometimes we go through trials because Satan sent them our own way.

But sometimes we go through trials because God is testing his people. you remember Genesis 22 that God tested our father Abraham when he said to him, take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest. And Abraham says, God, I don't understand. You first of all promised me a son, and now you're telling me to take him and to offer him? I don't understand. Abraham was in a dilemma. And we sometimes have dilemmas in our life. God, I don't understand why you allow me to experience this. Why is it? You know why God tests us? Because he wants us to be driven closer to him. He wants us to more depend upon him, to realize that without him we can do nothing.

That the flesh profit is nothing. That we need to trust him. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not on thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he will direct thy path. That's why he is going to test every believer in Yeshua the Messiah. Trials come our way. The trying of our faith. The second purpose of the theme is that there is a need to grow spiritually that there must be an evident of change in the life of a believer. He says in verse 22, Be ye doers of the word and all hearers only. We are like this, isn't it?

We listen to the word from one ear, and let it go out from the other ear and we continue on sailing. And Ghani says, Lord, don't only be hearers of the word, but put it down into your feet, into your heart, into your conscience and seek to practice this. That's why the book of James is very practical. It's looking straight to the eyes of all those to whom he wrote. It's not so much in a relationship upward, but he's looking at each other. And James is writing directly to the believers in a practical way in which they expected to live their life here and now.

One of the brothers call it the shoe leather. In other words, where your feet are, where you walk here in this world. And we know we are theologians things, when it's come to our knowledge of the word, but when it's come to our practical walk with the Lord, we know that's the area that we fail. And so the theme of the book of James is one, your faith will be tested, and we will stumble and fail, but we have to get up. Secondly, that you need to grow, and therefore don't be only hearer of the word, but be also a doer of the word. Practice what you have learned from the word of God.

Now one more thing by way of introduction is notice how many times he called the people to whom he wrote brethren. In fact, I'm just going to highlight some of the times in which he used the word brethren. In chapter 1 and verse 2 he says, my brethren. Then a little bit further in verse 19 he's saying to them, my beloved brethren. It's come from the Hebrew word achim. Brethren, achim. Then look at this in the next chapter 2 and there in verse 1 he continues and he says, my brethren. In chapter 2 and verse 14 he continues James and he said, what does it profit my brethren? Achai, achim sheli, my brethren.

Then notice it in the next chapter 3 verse 1 he says, my brethren. Chapter 3 verse 10, my brethren, these things are not to be so. He's calling them my brethren. My brethren. This couple more times notice in chapter 5 and verse 12, but above all things my brethren. And then the last time it's mentioned in verse 19 of chapter 5, brethren, achim. He's apparently using the expression that is mentioned oftentimes in the Old Testament, in the Tanakh. You remember Psalm 133 and verse 1, he says, behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. In Hebrew, hine matov human na'im shevet achim gam yachad. How good and how pleasant it is for brethren, for the achim to dwell together.

Well, he loves the brethren. He loves his own brethren. He's writing to them, he's calling them my beloved brethren. In fact, three times chapter 116, chapter 119, chapter 2, verse 5, he called them beloved. I love you brethren, my beloved brethren. He loved his brethren. And he's writing to them a word of encouragement and support so they will recognize that when they suffer, their faith is being tested. There is a reason why. But God wanted the people of God not only hearers of the word, but also doers of the word. So I just believe that I think it's the best thing to stop here with an introduction as we simply introduce the book with verse 1.

James James Jacob a servant of God and of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad greeting. It had been said that the word greetings here simply mean rejoice. Brethren, he's writing to them, rejoice, be joyful, rejoice, rejoice in the Lord always, Paul said, and again I say, rejoice. The joy of the Lord is our strength, Nehemiah said to Israel in this writing to our people of all, to have the joy of the Lord in the midst of tribulation. and as we're going to go through verse by verse, I trust that the Lord will encourage us to understand the reason that the letter was written by Jacob James to the twelve tribes, Jewish believers who were scattered abroad, but is sufficient enough to speak to every one of us who belong to Yeshua the Messiah.

May the Lord help us and bless these thoughts in the introduction for the book of James.