James and the Sermon on the Mount

1. Relevance to the Sermon

Davies (1964, 402-3) notes the frequency of parallels between the thinking in James and that of Jesus in the synoptic gospels and observes: “the cumulative effect of the parallels is impressive” (Davies 1964, 402-3). These parallels are very significant in any debate concerning the historicity of the history of the Sermon on the Mount, for even a quick glance at Davies list of them reveals the frequency with which they relate to the Sermon on the Mount. As James is thought to be one of the earliest of the canonical epistles, the significance of it containing significant parallels to the Sermon on the Mount cannot be ignored. An early date for James, if accepted, would suggest that the author of James had a body of Jesus’ sayings available to him that included a substantial number from the Sermon on the Mount and a considerable amount of other Matthean material. The distribution and nature of the similarities may then provide additional information on the scope and nature of that body of material.

2. Dating the Epistle of James

Evidence for an early date

Wessel (2002, 265), having reviewed the evidence for the date of James, concludes that dating it is not easy, but that “A date ca A.D. 44, during or immediately following the Herodian persecution, would best fit all the known factors.”  The evidence for this early dating includes (Wessel 2002, 965):

• the social divide between rich and poor within Judaism was particularly acute from the fall of the Hasmonean rulers until the wars that led to the temple’s destruction, after which it was more upon grounds of education than wealth;
• The references of faith associated with an expectation of the miraculous are typical of the earliest period of the church;
• The author needs to correct a misunderstanding of the teaching of Paul, which is most likely to have occurred in this early period;
• James’s readers are living in the active and powerful expectation of an imminent parousia, whilst within a generation or two this emphasis had diminished;
• The organisation of the church depicted in James is more like that of an early church, with elders and teachers rather than bishops and priests;
• There is no debate concerning gentiles;
• The letter is addressed to all branches of the church, “but the contents reveal that the hearers are primarily Jews” (Wessel 2002, 965).

To these may be added the point that this concurs with the traditional attribution of the book to James the Just, leader of the church in Jerusalem (cf Acts 21:18), whom Josephus says was stoned to death under the high-priest Ananus (Ant. 20.9.1), i.e. in C.E. 62.  

Evidence for a late date

Wessel (2002, 965) finds that the inference that the letter contains sighs of apathy within the church is the most serious objection against such an early date, for it generally takes time for apathy to set in.

3. Summary of the parallels between James and the Sermon on the Mount

The following summary of thematic and textual parallels is based upon a list given by Davies (Davies 1964, 402-3), complemented by a review of the voluminous cross references from James given in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Canne et al. 2009), and enhanced with a few additional observations of my own. 

The initial section provides a visual summary of the information given elsewhere on this page. Readers with non-visual browsers may wish to skip it.

Visual Summary of parallels with Matt 5:1-7:27. 

Ch 5: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, Ch 6: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, Ch 7: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27.

In the above, the emboldened verses are those which Davies (1964, 402-3) suggests represent the most striking parallels, underlined verses are those that form part of the suggested content of the hypothetical Q source. The verses are colour coded according to the range of alternate gospel sources for a possible parallel, as follows:

• Similarities between James and Matthew;
• Similarities between James, Matthew and Mark, but not Luke;
• Similarities between James, Matthew and Luke (in the Sermon on the Plain);
• Similarities between James, Matthew and Luke (not in the Sermon on the Plain);
• Sayings without any similarities to James but are integral to one that does.
  

Density of suspected parallels with Matthew

Chapter	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28
Number	-	-	-	-	16	8	10	-	1	2	1	1	2	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	1	2	2	1	2	-	-	-

Weighing similarities is a very subjective art, but, of those 40 passages in James where a thematic, or textual, similarity with the synoptic gospels was noted:

• 6 showed similarity with only Matthew;
• 21 showed more similarity with Matthew than with Mark or Luke;
• 1 showed more similarity with Luke than Matthew;
• 12 were ambiguous concerning which gospel showed the greater similarity.

Even allowing for the imprecision introduced by subjectivity, the material in James appears considerably more closely related to that in Matthew than to that in Luke or Mark.

Of the 40 passages in James with synoptic similarities, 31 relate to one, or more, part of the Sermon on the Mount, touching upon some 45% of its verses. These are spread throughout all the main sections of the Sermon, with over 40% being amongst the uniquely Matthean material, including a range of the closest parallels.

Apart from the conspicuous density of suggested parallels with the Sermon on the Mount, the remaining passages in Matthew with possible links to James are not evenly distributed across the chapters of that Gospel. There are conspicuous gaps in verses 1-4 (i.e. prior to the Sermon on the Mount), 16-20 (i.e. Jesus later ministry before he leaves for Jerusalem), and 26-28 (Jesus’ passion and resurrection). 

Of the suggested precursor passages, relatively few would be assigned to the hypothetical Q tradition by its advocates (Davies 1964, 403).

Davies (1964, 403) concludes that “James has clearly drawn upon a tradition of sayings of Jesus for his paraenetic purposes,” yet he feels that “there is no proof that James drew upon our Gospels.” Whilst the text of James does not lend itself to seeking such a forensic proof, the simplest way to explain James’ high density of similarities to the Sermon on the Mount must surely be to assume that the author’s primary sources included a block of teaching, the contents and layout of which were, if not identical, at least very close to those of the Sermon as we know it today. One might even speculate that the Epistle of James was an attempt to apply the Sermon’s principles to a specific set of problems.

4. The Sermon on the Mount parallels in detail

James 1:2, Matt 5:11-12, Luke 6:23

The passages in question are as follows:

• “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations,” (Jas 1:2 WEB);
• “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
  Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matt 5:11-12 WEB);
• “Blessed are you when men shall hate you, and when they shall exclude and mock you, and throw out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake” (Luke 6:23 WEB).

James’ saying has thematic similarity to a passage found in both the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain. However the reference to joy suggests the Matthew version was more probably the inspiration. There is a similar sentiment to Jas 1:2 expressed in 1 Pet 4:12-13, where 1  Pet 4:13-14  goes on to express the sentiments of Matt 5:11-12.

James 1:4, Matt 5:48

The passages in question are as follows:

• “Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. ” (Jas 1:4 WEB);
• “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matt 5:48 WEB);

The description of being perfect is associated, through the Septuagint use of τέλειος (teleios), with Noah who was blameless (Gen 6:9, cf Sir 44:17) and with 2 Sam 22:26 where God shows himself perfect to the perfect man. It is used relatively rarely but translates a much more widely used Hebrew word for “blameless”. The Sermon on the Mount provides the only Gospel reference to believers being expected to attaining such perfection (τέλειος), and moreover in the context of continuing to show love despite persecution (Matt 5:44).

James 1:5, Matt 7:7, Luke 11:9

The passages in question are as follows:

• “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach; and it will be given to him” (Jas 1:7 WEB);
• “Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened” (Matt 7:7-8  WEB);
• “I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened” (Luke 11:9-10 WEB).

All the three passages suggested as thematic parallels are rooted in David’s promise to Solomon in 1 Chr 28:9. Solomon being the king who sought God and found him, but he was also a man who asked for wisdom and received it liberally. There seems no stronger association with the material in either passage.

James 1:9-10a, Matt 5:5, Luke 1:52

The passages in question are as follows:

• “But let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position and the rich, in that he is made humble” (Jas 1:9-10a WEB); 
• “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5 WEB);
• “He has put down princes from their thrones. And has exalted the lowly” (Luke 1:52 WEB).

James 1:9 forms part of a contrast with the initial part of Jas 1:10, a passage that clearly shares its themes with Matt 6:28-30. The contrasted fates of the humble and the rich is a familiar theme in the Hebrew Bible (e.g. Ps 107:40-41, 147:6, Ezek 21:26) and provides a strong undertone in the Sermon on the Mount’s address concerning the feast for the birds of the air that accompanied the end of the mighty (Matt 6:25-27). Luke 1:52 and Jas 1:9 both use the Greek word ταπεινός (tapeinos=humble, lowly), whilst Matthew doesn’t. However, it should be noted that Matt 5:5 has close connection with the concepts of Matt 11:29, a passage that does uses ταπεινός.

James 1:10-11, Matt 6:28-30, 13:5-6, Mark 4:6

The passages in question are as follows:

• “and the rich, in that he is made humble, because like the flower in the grass, he will pass away.  For the sun arises with the scorching wind, and withers the grass, and the flower in it falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in his pursuits.” (Jas 1:10-11 WEB);
• “Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin,  yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith?” (Matt 6:28-30 WEB);
• “Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth.  When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away” (Matt 13:5-6);
• “Others fell on the rocky ground, where it had little soil, and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil.  When the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away” (Mark 4:6 WEB).

James could simply be drawing upon Isa 40:7-8 (cf. Ps 37:1-4, 103:15-17), but the mention of the agent of scorching is alien to those passages. Amongst the gospels, the main themes occurs only in the Sermon on the Mount, however the sun is portrayed as an agent of scorching elsewhere in Matthew with a parallel passage in Mark. The mention of the rich man ties in well with Matt 6:29’s reference to Solomon. 

James 1:14-15, Matt 5:28, Mark 7:21-22

The passages in question are as follows:

• “But each one is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death. ” (James 1:14-15 WEB); 
• “but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matt 5:28 WEB);
• “For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts,  covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness.” (Mark 7:21-22 WEB).

The teaching of James 1:14-15 rests upon the Jewish idea that sin was first conceived in the heart and then subsequently outworked. The same progression is apparent in Matt 5:27-28, where the original crime is a wrong disposition of the heart, which then prompts the lust that finds its fullness in sin. James uses ἐπιθυμία (epithumia, lust or desire), whilst in Matthew we find the closely related word ἐπιθυμέω (epithumeo, strongly desire or lust). The parallel with Mark is the looser of the two, as it is focuses on sin in general and the word used is ἀσέλγεια (aslgeia, lasciviousness or sensuality).

James 1:17, Matt 7:11, Matt 5:14a, 16, Luke 11:13

The passages in question are as follows:

• “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow”  (Jas 1:17 WEB); 
• “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matt 7:11 WEB);
• “You are the light of the world.” “Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt 5:14a, 16 WEB).
• “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (Luke 11:13 WEB).

Both the Sermon on the Mount and Luke contain similar affirmations that God is a giver of good gifts. In the case of Luke the emphasis is on the gift of the Holy Spirit. However, the reference to “Father of lights” makes for a closer thematic tie with Matthew. The Sermon on the Mount emphasises that the disciples, as God’s children, should imitate their heavenly Father (cf. Matt 5:45, 48). Like their Heavenly father they are lights that are not to be hidden (Matt 5:16), therefore the Sermon on the Mount effectively introduces God as the Father of lights.

James 1:18, Matt 5:13, Luke 14:34-35, Mark 9:50

This connection is far from immediately obvious, for the passages in question are as follows:

• “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures” (Jas 1:18 WEB).
• “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men” (Matt 5:13 WEB);
• “Salt is good, but if the salt becomes flat and tasteless, with what do you season it?  35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 14:34-35 WEB);
• “Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, with what will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another” (Mark 9:50 WEB);

James alludes to God’s foundational calling out of Israel to be his holy portion (Deut 7:6-8), for Jer 2:3 says of those people “Israel was holiness to the LORD, the first fruits of his increase” (Jer 2:3 HNV). However, Moses goes on to remind these people “Know therefore that the LORD your God, he is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with them who love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations” (Deut 7:9 HNV). The focus in Deuteronomy is on Israel as God’s covenant people. In Matt 5:13-14, Jesus, speaking of the need for wise salt, harks back to Israel’s special role and to the priest’s responsibility for ensuring that covenant endured. In itself this would be an extremely tenuous link, however Jas 1:17-18 juxtaposes two themes that also fall adjacent to one another (albeit in the opposite order) in Matt 5:14-16. In neither Luke nor Mark is the context of the passage the preservation of the covenant and nor is there in James an adjacent reference to a related passage in Mark or Luke.

James 1:19-20, Matt 5:20, 22

The passages in question are as follows:

• “So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for the anger of man doesn’t produce the righteousness of God” (Jas 1:19-20 WEB); 
• “For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt 5:20 WEB);
• “But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council; and whoever shall say, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of the fire of Gehenna” (Matt 5:22 WEB).

It is particularly notable how James sees dealing with anger as an issue pertinent to achieving God-like righteousness. The teaching on anger in Matt 5:21-22 follows directly from Jesus exhortation concerning the need to exceed the righteousness of the pharisees (Matt 5:20). Moreover, when the Sermon returns to the topic of animosity toward brothers in Matt 5:43-4, it explains that love for enemies is required if the disciple is to be like their Father in heaven, i.e. to have the righteousness of God. 

James 1:22, 25, Matt 7:24, 26, Luke 6:46-49

The passages in question are as follows:

• “But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves” (Jas 1:22 WEB), “But he who looks into the perfect law of freedom, and continues, not being a hearer who forgets, but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does” (Jas 1:25 WEB); 
• “Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock.” . . . “Everyone who hears these words of mine, and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man, who built his house on the sand” (Matt 7:24, 26 WEB);
• “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things which I say?  Everyone who comes to me, and hears my words, and does them, I will show you who he is like.  He is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep, and laid a foundation on the rock. When a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it was founded on the rock.  But he who hears, and doesn’t do, is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great” (Luke 6:46-49 WEB).

Though the need to be doers rather than just hearers is found in both Matthew and Luke, James goes on to tie this obedience to “the perfect law of freedom” (Jas 1:25 WEB). There is a far closer parallel with Matthew than with Luke. The word James uses for freedom, ἐλευθερία (eleutheria), is not a common one and its use in the Septuagint is always in connection with the freedom of a slave or slaves (Lev 19:20, Sir 7:21, 33:26) or freedom from the yoke of a foreign power (1 Esd 4:49, 53, 1 Macc 14:26, 3 Macc 3:28). That Christ indeed set his followers free is a central tenant of the New Testament (Gal 5:1, 13). However, when Moses set Israel free, the newly freed people required a legal system. They received their law of liberty at Sinai, in the form of the ten commandments. It was those same commandments on which Jesus was teaching (see main outline) when he delivered the the Sermon on the Mount, the legal judgements concerning which he said “Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock” (Matt 7:24 WEB).

James 1:27, Matt 6:1-4, 25:34-36, 40

The passages in question are as follows:

• “Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (Jas 1:27 WEB); 
• “Be careful that you don’t do your charitable giving before men, to be seen by them, or else you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” . . . “so that your merciful deeds may be in secret, then your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matt 6:1, 4 WEB);
• “Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;  for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in.  I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.’” “The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me’”(Matt 25:34-36, 40 WEB).

 Matt 25:34-40 confirms that Jesus saw charity as a vital element of discipleship, but he was doing no more than re-stating the standard position of Judaism. James harks back to a striking passage in Isaiah, that identifies charity as a facet of acceptable piety: “Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to release the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?  Isn’t it to distribute your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you not hide yourself from your own flesh?”  (Isa 58:6-7 WEB). Orphans and widows was a generic way of describing those genuinely unable to support themselves, so James’ instruction to visit such folk can be assumed to be for the provision of charity (cf. Jas 2:15-16). However, he sees the need to qualify his instruction. Pure religion is not just a matter of supporting the poor, but of doing so whilst remaining “unstained.” It would be easy to see in this an echo of the early cleanliness debates within the church. However, elsewhere to be unstained implies free from defect (1 Peter 1:19), rather than unclean. Indeed, Paul uses the same word in a similar way to James when he charges Timothy to “keep the commandment without spot, blameless” (1 Tim 6:14 WEB). Matt 6:1-4 is significant for it suggests that the acceptable worship envisage in Isaiah can be rendered unacceptable to God if motivated by a desire to please the world. In other words, it can receive a stain from the world.

James 2:5, Matt 5:3, Luke 6:20

The passages in question are as follows:

• “Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he promised to those who love him?” (Jas 2:5 WEB);
• “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt 5:3 WEB);
• ‘He lifted up his eyes to his disciples, and said, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God”’ (Luke  6:20 WEB).

James identification of the poor as being heirs of the Kingdom immediately calls to mind the beatitudes and, on the face of it, the unqualified reference to the poor is more in keeping with Luke’s version than Matthew’s. However, James seems to identify that being an heir to the kingdom was a promise. If the author was indeed basing this passage on a beatitude, then it is the Sermon on the Mount, rather than the Sermon on the Plain, in which the beatitudes are most deliberately linked to the promises within the Hebrew Bible. In Matthew the addition of the phrase “in spirit” helps the reader to understand that this is the case (see the notes on Matt 5:3). 

James 2:11-12, Matt 5:21, 27

The passages in question are as follows:

• ‘For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.  So speak, and so do, as men who are to be judged by a law of freedom’ (Jas 2:11-12 WEB);
• “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery” (Matt 5:27 WEB), “You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’ and ‘Whoever shall murder shall be in danger of the judgment” (Matt 5:21 WEB).

Davies (1964, 403) notes that this is a somewhat tenuous link, but in its flow of argument the passage in James picks on the only two commandments quoted, as opposed to implied, within the Sermon. 

James 2:13, Matt 5:7, 6:15, 7:1-2

The passages in question are as follows:

• “For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment” (Jas  WEB);
• “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matt 5:7 WEB); 
• “But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matt 6:15 WEB);
• “Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged.  For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you” (Matt 7:1-2 WEB).

This passage needs little interpretation as the basis for postulating a link is obvious.

James 2:14, Matt 7:21, Luke 6:46

The passages in question are as follows:

• “What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him?” (Jas 2:14 WEB);
• “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt 7:21 WEB);
• “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things which I say” (Luke 46:46).
  

The argument, that the disciple will be judged by their actions and not their confession of faith alone, is developed through Jas 2:14-26. “Lord, Lord” represented an emphatic statement of commitment to Jesus. However it is not those who make such strong statements, even accompanying them with all the signs of great faith (through prophecy, exorcism, and mighty exploits), as in Matthew, who are saved, but those whose works are consistently in tune with God’s will. It is also in Matthew that ones finds the story of the sheep and the goats, with its strong emphasis that works are important at the last judgement (Matt 25:31-46). The version in the Sermon on the Plain lacks such a strong emphasis that entry into the kingdom is conditional upon obedience.

James 3:12, Matt 7:16-18, Luke 6:43-44

The passages in question are as follows:

• “Can a fig tree, my brothers, yield olives, or a vine figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh water” (Jas 3:12  WEB);
• “By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree produces good fruit; but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit. A good tree can’t produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit” (Matt 7:16-18 WEB); 
• “For there is no good tree that brings forth rotten fruit; nor again a rotten tree that brings forth good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. For people don’t gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush” (Luke 6:43-44 WEB).

James’ picture of plants yielding fruit according to their kind is clearly similar to that used in both the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain. Within Judaism there was a distinction between bodies of water with living water and salt water (known as smitten water) being the most efficacious (bMiqw. 1.1-8). Both fresh and salt springs could be used for ritual cleansing, though some held that the latter could not be used for any purpose that required living water (bMiqw. 1.8, 5.4). Whilst there seemed to be many ways in which a freshwater source could become unclean, the same did not appear true of a salt water source (bMiqw. 1.1-8). Such linking of cleansing to the spoken word and to bearing fruit is a feature of Jesus’ teaching in John 15:3-4.
The association of this picture with the flow of water from a spring is in keeping with the version in Luke where the saying is associated with the outflow from a person’s heart (Luke 6:45). Matt 7:15’s link with prophets, together with the actions of Elisha in applying salt to heal a spring (2 Kgs 2:21), might naturally suggest James’ analogy based on a salty spring.

James 3:16-17, Matt 7:17. Luke 6:43

The passages in question are as follows:

• “For where jealousy and selfish ambition are, there is confusion and every evil deed.  But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. ” (Jas 3:16-17 WEB);
• “Even so, every good tree produces good fruit; but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit. ” (Matt 7:17 WEB);
• “For there is no good tree that brings forth rotten fruit; nor again a rotten tree that brings forth good fruit” (Luke 6:43 WEB).

Following on from James 3:12, which used similar imagery to Matt 7:16 and Luke 6:44, the flow of thought into a contrast of evil fruit with good fruit reflects the progression found in both Matthew and Luke.

James 3:18, Matt 5:9

The passages in question are as follows:

• “Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (Jas 3:18 WEB);
• “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (Matt 5:9 WEB).

The link here is the identification of those who make peace as a group, in the same way found in Matthew.

James 4:2, Matt 6:25

The passages in question are as follows:

• “You lust, and don’t have. You kill, covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war.” (Jas 4:2 WEB);
• “Therefore, I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matt 6:25 WEB).

Davies (1964, 403) notes that this is a tenuous connection. However, when considered alongside Jas 4:3 and its mention of seeking pleasure, these people’s covetousness is certainly the antithesis of the lifestyle advocated in Matt 6:25-30. Matt 6:26 speaks strongly of the downfall of the powerful through their warfare.

James 4:2-3, Matt 7:7-8, Luke 11:9-10

The passages in question are as follows:

• “You don’t have, because you don’t ask.  You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it for your pleasures” (Jas 4:2-3 WEB);
• “Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.
  For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened”  (Matt 7:7-8 WEB);
• “I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened” (Luke 11:9-10 WEB).
• The structure of the Sermon on the Mount places that parallel within the context of teaching on the tenth commandment and therefore of the wrong motive of covetousness (see main outline), a similar context to that implied by James’ wrong motives and “that you may spend it for your pleasures” (Jas 4:3b WEB). The context in Luke is the gift of spiritual bread through the Holy Spirit and therefore quite different.

James 4:4-5, Matt 6:24, 12:39

The passages in question are as follows:

• “You adulterers and adulteresses, don’t you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ” (Jas  WEB);
• “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon” (Matt 6:24 WEB), “But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet” (Matt 12:39 WEB).

Though the reference is to “the world” rather than “Mamon”, the two were symbolically equivalent, and the Sermon goes on to infer that such things are typical of the world outside Judaism (Matt 6:32). In the Hebrew Bible the service of another god was often thought of as adultery (e.g. Jer 3:9, Ezek 16:32, Hos 4:15).

James 4:9, Matt 5:4, Luke 6:25

The passages in question are as follows:

• “Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom.  ” (Jas 4:9 WEB);
• This passage inverts “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt 5:4 WEB);
• “Woe to you, you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep” (Luke 6:25 WEB).

The passage shows clear similarities to Luke 6:25. Though it should be recalled that, through the parallelism of the blessings and woes in the Sermon on the Plain, that statement is the logical inversion of Luke 6:21b, and therefore of Matt 5:4, the phrase is certainly suggestive of a knowledge the woe in Luke.

James 4:10, Matt 6:17-18, Matt 23:12, Luke 14:11, 18:14 

The passages in question are as follows:

• “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you.” (James 4:10 WEB);
• “But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face; so that you are not seen by men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:17-18 WEB), “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matt 23:12 WEB);
• “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11 WEB);
• “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14  WEB).

The theme of God exalting the humble is present in both Matt 6:17-18 or Luke 14:11, with no reason to prefer either. However, fasting, as in Matt 6:17-18, was a recognised way to humble yourself (cf. Isa 58:5) and in that passage the emphasis is on humbling yourself specifically in the sight of God, rather than in the sight of men. An association with Matthew is therefore to be preferred.

James 4:11, Matt 5:22, 7:1, Luke 6:37

The passages in question are as follows:

• “Don’t speak against one another, brothers. He who speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. ” (James 4:11 WEB);
• “But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a caused shall be in danger of the judgment” (Matt 5:22a), “Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged” (Matt 7:1 WEB).

Through Matt 7:1 the instruction not to judge becomes part of the law (by Jesus tying it to the tenth commandment). By choosing to go against the Sermon on the Mount’s instruction a person renders judgement on the law (declaring it irrelevant). The Sermon on the Plain is far less obviously an application of the law and so breaking its commands would be less likely to convey the sense of judging the law.

James 5:1, Matt 5:3, Luke 6:24

The passages in question are as follows:

• “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you” (Jas 5:1  WEB);
• This passage inverts “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt 5:3 WEB);
• “But woe to you who are rich! For you have received your consolation” (Luke 6:24 WEB).

This passage, whilst it superficially echoes the woe of Luke 6:24, uses substantially different language, and can equally be arrived at by inverting the anticipated blessing of Matt 5:3. Given the clear reference to the themes of Matt 6:19-20 in the verses that follow (Jas 5:2-3), this is more likely a simple introduction that draws on Jer 25:34, when God speaks of what will happen on the day of slaughter that Jeremiah longed for (Jer 12:3).

James 5:2-3, Matt 6:19-20, Luke 12:20-21, 33

The passages in question are as follows:

• “Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten.  Your gold and your silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be for a testimony against you, and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up your treasure in the last days.” (Jas 5:2-3 WEB);
• “Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal” (Matt 6:19-20 WEB);
• “But God said to him, ‘You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared—whose will they be?’  So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:20-21 WEB);
• “Sell that which you have, and give gifts to the needy. Make for yourselves purses which don’t grow old, a treasure in the heavens that doesn’t fail, where no thief approaches, neither moth destroys” (Luke 12:33 WEB).

The association of the moth that consumes with flesh eaten by fire may come from Isa 50:9,11, but has a distinctly apocalyptic tone. The references to laying up treasure in the last days and the thief breaking in are reminiscent of Luke, where the passage is part of a block of apocalyptic teaching (cf. Luke 12:36, 43) that includes a warning against stockpiling wealth (Luke 12:20-21). However, the combination of moth and corrosion with laying up treasure closely reflects the form found in Matthew, where the apocalyptic context is more subtly implied (e.g. by Matt 6:26, 30).

James 5:5, Matt 6:21, Luke 12:34

The passages in question are as follows:

• “You have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter.” (Jas 5:5 WEB);
• “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21 WEB);
• “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:34 WEB).

Of itself the connection might seem tenuous, but this continues the thought of James 5:2-3, which shares its imagery with Matt 6:19-20 and Luke 12:33-34. Therefore, moving on to refer to a wrong focus of the heart follows the flow of the argument in both Matthew and Luke. The reference to a day of slaughter may reflect Jer 50:26-27, especially given Jas 5:1 apparent reference to the day anticipated by Jeremiah.

James 5:6, Matt 5:21-22, 39

The passages in question are as follows:

• “You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn’t resist you” (Jas  WEB);
• “You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’ and ‘Whoever shall murder shall be in danger of the judgment.’ ” (Matt 5:21  WEB).;
• “But I tell you, don’t resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matt 5:39 WEB).

Having dealt with anger under the heading of murder, the Sermon on the Mount next touches it in Matt 5:38-39, where one finds the non-resistance mentioned by James. The Lukan version of this teaching (Luke 6:29) contains no reference to non-resistance.

James 5:9, Matt 5:22, 7:1, 24:33, Luke 6:37, Mark 13:29

The passages in question are as follows:

• “ Don’t grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won’t be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door. ” (Jas 5:9 WEB);
• “But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a caused shall be in danger of the judgment” (Matt 5:22a), “Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged” (Matt 7:1 WEB), “Even so you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” (Matt 24:33 WEB);
• “Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. Set free, and you will be set free” (Luke 6:37 WEB).;
• “even so you also, when you see these things coming to pass, know that it is near, at the doors” (Mark 13:29 WEB).

Of the three synoptics, Matthew is the one that contains both a statement on judging suggestive of the James passage and language similar to that used in the latter part of that verse.

James 5:10-11b, Matt 5:11-12, Luke 6:22-23

The passages in question are as follows:

• “Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of patience, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.  Behold, we call them blessed who endured. ” (Jas 5:10-11b WEB);
• “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matt 5:11-12 WEB);
• “Blessed are you when men shall hate you, and when they shall exclude and mock you, and throw out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake.  Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven, for their fathers did the same thing to the prophets” (Luke 6:22-23).

The correspondence in thought is clear, but there seems nothing here to prefer any link with one synoptic over the other.

James 5:12, Matt 5:34-37

The passages in question are as follows:

• “But above all things, my brothers, don’t swear, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath; but let your “yes” be “yes,” and your “no,” “no;” so that you don’t fall into hypocrisy.” (Jas 5:12 WEB);
• “but I tell you, don’t swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God;  nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Neither shall you swear by your head, for you can’t make one hair white or black.  But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’ Whatever is more than these is of the evil one.” (Matt 5:34-37 WEB);

The wording here is effectively an abbreviation of the same passage as found in the Sermon on the Mount. Neither Luke nor Mark have anything to correspond.

5. Matthean parallels outside the Sermon

James 1:6-7, Matt 14:29-31, 21:21-22, , Mark 11:23-24.

The passages in question are as follows:

• “But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For let that man not think that he will receive anything from the Lord” (Jas 1:6-7 WEB); 
• ‘He said, “Come!” Peter stepped down from the boat, and walked on the waters to come to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”’ (Matt 14:29-31);
• ‘Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, if you have faith, and don’t doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you told this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it would be done.  All things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”’ (Matt 21:21-22 WEB);
• “For most certainly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and doesn’t doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is happening; he shall have whatever he says.  Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them” (Mark 11:23-24 WEB).

The similarities to Matt 14:29-31, in particular the references to becoming like a wave, tossed and driven by the wind, would seem to prefer an association with Matthew over one with Mark.

James 2:1, Matt 22:16, Luke 20:21

The passages in question are as follows:

• “My brothers, don’t hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory with partiality” (Jas 2:1 WEB); 
• “They sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are honest, and teach the way of God in truth, no matter whom you teach, for you aren’t partial to anyone” (Matt 22:16 WEB).;
• ‘They asked him, “Teacher, we know that you say and teach what is right, and aren’t partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God”’ (Luke 20:21 WEB).

The proposed link is a fairly tenuous one and there is nothing to prefer an association with one gospel over that with the other.

James 2:8, Matt 22:39, Luke 10:27, Mark 12:31

The passages in question are as follows:

• ‘However, if you fulfill the royal law, according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well’ (Jas 2:8 WEB);
• “A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matt 22:39 WEB);
• “He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27 WEB);
• “The second is like this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:31 WEB).

Here the form agrees with Matthew and Mark over Luke. Only in Matthew is this saying set in the context of identifying that Jesus derives his royal authority from the line of David and therefore that his pronouncements are royal law (Matt 22:42).

James 2:15-16, Matt 25:35-40

The passages in question are as follows:

• ‘And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you tells them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled;” and yet you didn’t give them the things the body needs, what good is it?’ (Jas 2:15-6 WEB);
• “for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in.  I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.” . . .
  “The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” (Matt 25:35,40 WEB).

Davies (1964, 403) attempts to link this passage to the trust in God’s provision of Matt 6:25, whilst admitting that this is rather tenuous. However, there would seem to be a far stronger connection to Matt 25:35-40 which Davies fails to mention. There seems nothing equivalent in Luke or Mark.

James 4:1, Matt 15:19, Luke 6:45, Mark 7:21-23

The passages in question are as follows:

• “Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don’t they come from your pleasures that war in your members?” (Jas 4:1 WEB);
• “For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies.”  (Matt 15:19 WEB);
• “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out that which is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings out that which is evil, for out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45);
• “For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts, covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness” (Mark 7:21-22 WEB).

The parallel is a weak one, and there seems little to prefer one possible association over another.

James 4:6-7, Matt 11:29, 23:12, Luke 14:11

The passages in question are as follows:

• ‘But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  Be subject therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you’ (Jas 4:6-7 WEB);
• “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart; and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt 5:4 WEB);
• “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matt 23:12  WEB);
• “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11  WEB).

In James, humble translates ταπεινός (tapeinos), as does gentle. In the Matthew passage Jesus speaks of God hiding things from the wise, whilst graciously revealing them to little children (Matt 11:25-26), before portraying himself as the lead animal in God’s team by inviting his followers to accept his yoke and learn from him. The picture here is of a standard technique for training a draught-animal to submit to its owner, whereby an inexperienced animal was yoked to trained animal and learnt submission from it. The Luke passage fails to tie into the instruction to submit or the focus on grace. The injunction to resist the devil could possibly be an idea arising from Jesus temptation in the wilderness, which is found in both Matthew and Luke.

James 4:12, Matt 10:28, Luke 12:5

The passages in question are as follows:

• “Only one is the lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge another?” (Jas 4:12  WEB);
• “Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna” (Matt 10:28 WEB);
• “But I will warn you whom you should fear. Fear him, who after he has killed, has power to cast into Gehenna. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” (Luke 12:15 WEB).

The parallel is a loose one and there seems nothing to choose between in the two suggested associations.

James 5:4, Matt 9:37-38, 10:10, Luke 10:2,7

The passages in question are as follows:

• “Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Armies” (Jas 5:4 WEB);
• “Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest” (Matt 9:37-8 WEB);
• “Take no bag for your journey, neither two coats, nor shoes, nor staff: for the laborer is worthy of his food” (Matt 10:10 WEB);
• “Then he said to them, “The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest, that he may send out laborers into his harvest” . . . “Remain in that same house, eating and drinking the things they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Don’t go from house to house” (Luke 10:2, 7 WEB).

The prohibition on retaining the wages of a worker, lest they cry out, is found in Deut 24:14-15. The parallel is a fairly weak one and there seems little to favor one association over another.

James 5:7, Luke 8:15, Matt 13:3-9, 24-30

The passages in question are as follows:

• “Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receives the early and late rain” (Jas 5:7 WEB);
• “The farmer went out to sow his seed. ” . . . “That in the good ground, these are such as in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it tightly, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Luke 13:24-30 WEB).;
• “He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a farmer went out to sow.” . . . “Others fell on good soil, and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty” (Matt 13:3-9 WEB);
• “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat, and went away.” . . . “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them.  Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn” (Matt 13:24-30 WEB).

The link with the themes of the parable of the sower is clearly the picture of the farmer waiting patiently for fruit. The reference to rains harks back to Deut 13:14 and would nevertheless have been general knowledge in Judea. The Lukan version might seem preferable to the Matthean one because of the mention of patience, though it should be noted that James’ word for patience, μακροθυμέω (makrothumeo), is not the one used in Luke, which is ὑπομονή (hupomone). However, the Matthew passage is followed by the parable of the wheat and the tares, which not only speaks of waiting with patience, but contains the same apocalyptic edge as James. On balance the Matthean similarities seem the stronger.

References

Canne, John, Browne, B. Blayney, Thomas Scott, and R.A. Torrey. 2009. The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. Bellingham, Wash.: Logos Research Systems.

Davies, William D. 1964. The Setting of the Sermon on the Mount. Cambridge University Press.

Wessel, Walter W. 2002. “James, Epistle of.” Pages 959-966 in Geoffrey W. Bromiley editor. Vol. 2. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1988; 2002.