25 Feb Resources | The Wisdom of Jesus in James

Posted at 14:30h in Teaching Resources by

At Grace Church, we strive to be believers who are defined and directed by Scripture. As a result, one of the things that distinguishes our church is our commitment to teaching through books of the Bible verse-by-verse, exposing the truth God has for us in the text and learning how to apply it to our living. As a result of being biblically oriented, we find joy in connecting people with strong resources that can help them further engage the truth of God’s Word and make whole-Bible connections.

As we journey through the Book of James this spring, one of the things you may notice about James’ writing as you read is how familiar some of his commands and proverbs sound to the sayings of Jesus we have recorded in the Gospels. James does not quote Jesus’ words exactly as we have them in the synoptic Gospels, nor does he refer explicitly to Jesus’ teaching (except in a general sense in James 2:1). Yet it becomes clear as we read that the instruction James gives has a marked similarity to what we find Jesus teaching in the Gospels — particularly in Matthew 5-7 (the Sermon on the Mount) and to a lesser degree in Luke 6 (the Sermon on the Plain).

The sheer number of connections helps us to see a relationship between James’ words and the words of his older brother, Jesus. As you read, consider giving special time and attention to tracing these connections and asking God for insight into them as you seek gain wisdom for living from both James and Jesus alike.
 

James
Matthew 5-7
Luke
1:2
Joy in suffering/trials
5:10-12
6:22
1:4
Be perfect
5:48
6:36
1:5-6
Ask in faith
7:7-11
11:9
1:10
Riches are fleeting
6:30
12:28
1:17
The Father gives good things
7:11
11:13
1:19-20
Do not be angry
5:22
1:22-23
Hearing and doing
7:24-27
6:47-49
2:5
God chooses the poor
5:3, 5
6:20
2:10
Doing the whole law
5:18-19
2:11
Murder and adultery
5:21-30
2:13
Mercy triumphs
5:7
6:36
3:12
Fruit indicates the tree
7:16-18
6:43-44
3:18
Peacemakers
5:9
4:2-3
Ask and you will receive
7:7-8
4:4
Serving two masters
6:24
16:13
4:8
Pure in heart
5:8
4:10
God exalts the humble
5:5
4:11 (5:9)
Do not judge
7:1-5
4:13-15
Not worrying about the future
6:34
5:2-3
Moth-eaten treasures
6:19-21
5:10
Prophets as examples
5:11-12
5:12
Do not swear
5:34-37

 

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