The letters of Peter and James reveal their declining authority in the church.

Paul's letter to the Galatians explains why his ministry to the Gentiles stirred up opposition among Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. We also see from Paul's writings and Acts of the Apostles that the place of Jewish law in churches with both Jewish and Gentile members remained a matter of dispute throughout Paul's ministry. The gospel of Mark implicitly supports Paul's ministry to the Gentiles by undermining the authority of the disciples of Jesus, who became the apostles of the church in Jerusalem. Moreover, the gospel of Mark claims that Jesus "declared all foods clean" (Mk. 7:19), which seems to set aside Jewish dietary laws. The gospel of Luke and its sequel, Acts of the Apostles, tell a story that presents as God's will the shift from a church led by Jewish Christians in Jerusalem to a church dominated by Gentile Christians in pagan cities throughout the Empire.

This is the context in which we must understand the letters attributed to Peter and to James. The first letter of Peter attests that it was written by an elder in Rome (1 Peter 5:1) who identifies himself as "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 1:1) The second letter claims to be written by "Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:1)

The first letter attributed to Peter was written to Gentile churches in order to assist them in resisting pagan influences. It explains to Gentile Christians why the Jewish scriptures and the revelation of God's covenant with Israel are essential for understanding salvation in Jesus Christ. The second letter attributed to Peter argues against false teaching, by using evidence of God's judgment in the scriptures of Israel and the testimonies of the prophets of ancient Israel. The author affirms the teachings of Paul to live godly and upright lives, as Christians wait for the consummation of the Lord's promised salvation. "So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters." (2 Peter 3:15-16)

In his letters Paul never apologized for calling Peter a hypocrite during their conflict in Antioch (Gal. 2:11-21), and when he last went to Jerusalem Paul was attacked for teaching that Jews no longer had to keep the law to be saved. The reference in this letter to Paul as "our beloved brother" is evidence that the letter was written after the time of Peter and Paul and simply attributed to Peter. Such a practice in the first and second centuries was not thought to be dishonest, but was a common way for an author to show respect for a revered teacher.

1 Peter contains references to church leaders identified in Acts as contemporaries of Peter and Paul. It mentions Silvanus (1 Peter 5:12), who in Acts is also known as Silas, a colleague of Paul's (Acts 15:22, 40; 16:19), and Mark (1 Peter 5:13), who is the son of Mary, in whose home the apostles hid when King Herod was persecuting them. (Acts 12:12) Mark is also identified as a companion of Paul. These references are presented to show the unity of the ministries of Peter and Paul, but suggest 1 Peter was written after the martyrdom of both apostles, when the church sought to reconcile the differences between their followers.

As Peter is the leading disciple of Jesus in the gospel accounts of the New Testament and also the spokesperson for the Christians in Jerusalem at the time of the first Pentecost, it is remarkable that only two brief letters in the New Testament are attributed to him. Moreover, both of these letters align their teachings with the ministry of Paul, whose letters dominate the latter part of the New Testament. It seems clear that by the time the New Testament was formed, the teaching tradition of Peter and his followers had lost ground in the struggle with Paul that is described in Galatians 2-3 and acknowledged in the latter half of Acts of the Apostles.

The letter attributed to "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ," is addressed to "the twelve tribes in the Dispersion." (James 1:1) This reference is literally to Jews outside Palestine, who were first dispersed by Assyrian conquerors of the northern kingdom in the 8^th century B.C. and by Babylonian conquerors of Jerusalem in the 6^th century B.C. Jews also fled Jerusalem and Palestine after the Jewish revolt of 66-70 A.D. Jewish Christians in Jerusalem not killed when the Romans burned the city in 70 A.D. were also dispersed. To pagan Rome, Christians were a Jewish sect and as guilty as other Jews in Palestine for the insurrection against Roman rule.

This setting suggests a date after 70 A.D. for the letter of James. However, the letter could not have been written then by James, the brother of Jesus, for he was martyred before the Jewish revolt. Written in eloquent Greek, most likely this letter was attributed to James by a later Jewish Christian leader.

The letter of James is known primarily for its assertion that "faith without works is dead." (Jam. 2:26) This is clearly an argument against some interpretations of the teaching of Paul. The author of the letter attributed to James emphasizes true worship, respect and care for the poor, and righteous living among the faithful. Although the gospel of Matthew challenges Paul's strong critique of Jewish law (Mt. 5:17-19), this is the only letter in the New Testament to do so. Writings by second century Christian leaders, which are not in the New Testament, praise "James the Just" for his leadership of the Jerusalem church. Yet, as Gentile Christian leadership throughout the church grew stronger, the teaching authority of James obviously declined.

To read more about the Letters of Peter.

To read more about the Letter of James.

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1 in Faith: A Christian Bible Study † Copyright © 2000 by Robert Traer