A Surprising Servant (James 1:1)

This meditation was given to Canon Court Evangelical Church on 17 August 2025 before the Lord’s Supper. The manuscript can be found below.
Good morning, it is a joy to be back with you all here in Canon Court. I wanted to begin our time of remembrance this morning by reflecting on a single verse together. So please do take your Bibles and turn to James 1:1. [READ]
Well, if we haven’t met before, my name is Alex. I’m originally from NI, but have been living in England for 10 years now. I’m married to Sarah, who is also from NI, and we have a 2 year-old son called Caleb, with another baby on the way any day now. [...] I studied law at university, trained as a solicitor, and currently practice in London. I became a Christian as a child, and over the years have grown to love studying and teaching God’s Word. That’s a little bit about me and my life. And I imagine those are the kinds of things that you say as well when you introduce yourself to others: where you are from, who is in your family, what you do for a living.
Now, of course, some people have more impressive introductions than mine. I’m sure you can recall what the King is often called at official state occasions. For example, after the death of his mother, King Charles was announced to be ‘the Most High, Most Mighty and Most Excellent Monarch, our Sovereign Lord, Charles III, now, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, and Sovereign of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.’ Quite an introduction! You know how important and illustrious the King is by how he is introduced.
And you know, that could have been the case with James, the author of this letter. For if we wanted to give James his full official title, we would announce him as: ‘James, the brother of Jesus, a witness of the resurrection, pillar and apostle of the early church, the leader of the saints in Jerusalem and Gospel minister to the Jewish nation.’ For in the rest of Scripture, all those things are said about him. That is how others, such as Luke and Paul, refer to him elsewhere. And yet, here in this verse, we have a very different introduction. Despite how other people see him, how does James view himself? Well, he simply writes: [READ]. Despite all the titles that James could have given himself, here he simply says that he is a servant. And I think we should see this as significant, for it would have struck the original audience as significant.
They knew how important and influential James was. Along with Peter and Paul, he was one of the chief leaders of the early church. Indeed, in Acts 15, it is James, rather than Peter or Paul who leads the church at the Jerusalem counsel. And yet here, he simply wants to be known as James, a servant. It would be like His Majesty the King slipping into the seat beside you and saying, ‘just call me Charles.’ That is what happens here. James wants to forgo the formalities, and to simply be seen as a servant. He wants to be known as nothing more impressive or illustrious than that.
And James is not alone in such an attitude, for when you read about other great figures in the Bible, you see that they too shared this same approach. Moses, the author of the first five books of the Bible and the first leader of the new nation of Israel is described in Number 12:3 as the meekest man on the earth. David, the great king of Israel, declared that he would have been happy to be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord in Psalm 84:10. Paul, the most prominent and important apostle for the spread of the Christian faith, said in Philippians 3:8 he counted his prestigious Jewish heritage as dung, it all was loss, compared to the worth and value of serving Christ. What makes these great men so humble? How is it that those who should be considered as the greatest in the kingdom of heaven seem content to be called by the lowest titles while they are here on earth?
Well, to put it simply, this is something that these men clearly learnt from their master. Or in the case of James, it was something he picked up from his older brother. We don’t know when he learnt this particular lesson. Perhaps it was after those events in John 7. Do you remember how the brothers of Jesus (presumably including James) encouraged him to go up publicly to Jerusalem for the festival? They wanted him to make a scene, cause a stir, assert himself on the national stage, they told him that he needed to show himself to the world. And yet, Jesus instead goes up secretly, he shows that he isn’t interested in the spotlight. As he later explained to his followers, , in Matthew 20:26-28, when he was approaching Jerusalem for the very last time, he taught them that, “whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Why was James content to set aside all of his prestige and privileges, and simply assume the status of a servant? It was because that is what Jesus said he must. And more that, it was because that what Jesus showed he must do. For Jesus is the greatest example of someone stooping from his station, forgoing all of the formalities, laying aside all that he was entitled to, in order to become a servant. Indeed, more than that, in order to become a sacrifice, giving his life as a ransom for many. Long just shedding his titles, but shedding his very blood. If we are amazed at the modesty of James, or meekness of Moses, how much more should we wonder at the humility of Jesus? The king over all who took off his crown for us? The lord who laid down his life? This is the saviour we have come to worship this morning, one who deserved to be served by all, and yet was satisfied to become the servant of all.