The "Sermon on the Mount" in James' Epistle

There are several teachings found in James' epistle that can be traced back to Christ's teaching in the "Sermon on the Mount" (Matthew chapters 5-7). The following are 10, in the order of their appearance in the epistle:

James 1:2—We are instructed to "count it all joy" whenever we experience trials. This is an echo of Mat. 5:12, where Jesus told us to "rejoice, and be exceeding glad" when facing persecution.
James 1:5,6—The exhortation to “ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally” if we lack wisdom, is reminiscent of Jesus’ encouragement to ask, seek and knock (Mat. 7:7,8). As the Lord did, James affirms that God the Father desires to answer prayer.
James 1:22-24—The apostle admonishes us to be “doers of the word, and not hearers only.” This was a point that Jesus repeatedly made, but nowhere else as vividly as in his parable about building one’s house on a rock rather than sand (Mat. 7:24-27).
James 2:5—James appeals to the common knowledge that God has “chosen the poor of this world”; this corresponds to a bullet-point of the “Beatitudes” section of Jesus’ sermon (Mat. 5:3); although the phrase there is “poor in spirit,” the companion teaching in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 6:20) implies that Christ taught that the materially impoverished were specifically blessed by God.
James 2:13—The apostle essentially rephrases the warning that if you don’t forgive others, your Heavenly Father won’t forgive you (Mat. 6:15).
James 3:11,12—In his discussion of the inappropriate speech by saints, James offers the imagery of a fountain spewing fresh and salt water, or a tree bearing figs and olives. This enlarges upon Christ’s assertion that we know a tree by its fruit (Mat. 7:16-20).
James 4:11,12—We are admonished not to judge our brothers and sisters, because only the law Giver is fit to sit in judgment. This proceeds neatly from the Lord’s commandment that we “judge not” (Mat. 7:1).
James 5:2—James chides the rich with the imagery of “motheaten” clothing; this was directly borrowed from Christ’s admonition that we store up “treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt” (Mat 6:20).
James 5:10—The apostle appeals to the example of the prophets, who suffered affliction because they spoke for God. His suggestion that they should be models for us echoes Jesus’ observation that we are not unique in suffering for righteousness: “so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Mat. 5:12).
James 5:12—We are instructed not to swear oaths; this is clearly a repetition of the instruction in Matthew 5:34-36.

James borrowed liberally from Jesus' sermon, without explicit attribution. Many modern-day preachers are very possessive of their messages, and would be critical of someone who borrowed from them so freely. But James' example is an excellent one of internalizing the Lord's teachings and then being able to communicate them in one's own words.

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