[1][3] Additional copies were later found in Coptic as part of the Codex Tchacos[4][5] and in Greek among the Oxyrhynchus Papyri.
[3][8] The text takes a docetic view of Jesus via his statements "you are not my brother materially" and "never have I suffered in any way, nor have I been distressed.
"[8][9] The text prepares James for his death as a martyr[8] by emphasizing spiritual redemption over material existence.
He tells James to leave Jerusalem because it is a dwelling place of a great number of archons, and his redemption will be preserved from them.
Jesus expresses his concern for James, who has descended into great ignorance but has not been defiled by it, unlike those who have succumbed to it.
The text emphasizes the importance of knowledge and recollection in the pursuit of spiritual understanding and the attainment of salvation.
Jesus instructs James to hide these things within himself and to reveal them to Addai, who will write them down and eventually pass them to Levi and his two sons.
Jesus discusses the spirits of thought, counsel, knowledge, and fear, and recalls a confrontation with the archon Adonaios.