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Studies In The Epistle Of James

A. T. Robertson

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Studies in the Epistle of James

Studies in the Epistle of James

First published as PRACTICAL AND SOCIAL ASPECTS OF CHRISTIANITY A. T. ROBERTSON Late Professor of New Testament Interpretation, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky Revised and Edited by Heber F. Peacock BROADMAN PRESS Nashville, Tennessee 421-06232 Library of Congress catalog card number: 59-5861 Printed in the United States of America 5.AT58K.S.P....

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Preface

Preface

In August, 1912, it was my privilege to deliver a course of lectures at the Northfield Bible Conference. There were many requests for the publication of the addresses. I shall never forget the bright faces of the hundreds who gathered in beautiful Sage Chapel at 8:30 on those August mornings. In August, 1913, the lectures were repeated at the New York Chautauqua and at the Winona Bible Conference. There were renewed appeals for publication, but it was not possible to put the material into shape

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Preface to Second Edition

Preface to Second Edition

The welcome accorded this interpretation of the Epistle of James makes a new edition necessary. Opportunity is thus afforded for weeding out misprints. Prof. S. L. Watson, of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has kindly verified all the references in the book. The words of James strike a peculiarly modern note during these days of war. A. T. R....

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The Brother of the Lord

The Brother of the Lord

It will be well to put together the bits of information about James, or Jacob, [1] as he is called in the Greek. They are not very numerous, and yet it is possible to form a reasonably clear picture of his personality. It is here assumed that James the author of the epistle is James the brother of the Lord ( Gal. 1:19 ). It is hardly conceivable that James the brother of John could have written the epistle, since he was put to death as early as A.D. 44 by Herod Agrippa I ( Acts 12:2 ). The matte

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In the Family Circle at Nazareth

In the Family Circle at Nazareth

In spite of Origen’s opinion (Origen on Matt. 13:55 ) that the sons and daughters of Joseph were children of a former marriage, an opinion more than offset by the position of Tertullian ( de Monog. 8 , de Virg. Vel. 6 ), we must think of the family circle at Nazareth as composed of five brothers (Jesus, James, Joses, Judas, Simon, as in Mark 6:3 , but Jesus, James, Joseph, Simon, Judas in Matt. 13:55 ) and the “sisters.” Every implication is that they all passed as sons and daughters of Joseph a

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A Scoffer of Jesus

A Scoffer of Jesus

We are left to conjecture what the brothers and sisters of Jesus thought when he went down to the Jordan to meet the Baptist. We know that “Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart” ( Luke 2:19 ). Mary had seen the dawning messianic consciousness when Jesus was only twelve ( Luke 2:49 ). The reply of Jesus to his mother’s hint about the wine at the wedding of Cana implies that they had talked over his messianic task ( John 2:4 ). But the brothers accompanied Jesus, his mother, an

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Seeing the Risen Christ

Seeing the Risen Christ

It is Paul who tells us of this most interesting event ( 1 Cor. 15:7 ). [17] As already stated, we do not know where James was when the risen Jesus manifested himself to him. Broadus [18] locates the event in Jerusalem after the return from Galilee and before the ascension. As a matter of fact, it could have been in Galilee perfectly well. James may have come to Jerusalem ( Acts 1:14 ) because he had been converted in Galilee. At any rate, “this appearance to James is the only one not made to a

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In the Upper Room at Pentecost

In the Upper Room at Pentecost

The simple statement in Acts 1:14 is: “These all ... continued stedfastly in prayer, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.” So then all four are now disciples and are admitted to the inmost secrets of the circle of believers in Jerusalem, whither they have now come. Certainly, now that they have all come to believe in their Brother as in reality the Messiah of Israel risen from the dead, they must come to Jerusalem to be with their mother in her hour of triumph and

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Leadership in the Jerusalem Church

Leadership in the Jerusalem Church

If he was disqualified from being one of the twelve, he was not debarred from liberty to serve. In fact, he was a practical apostle in Jerusalem along with the rest. The twelve kept no secrets from James. He gradually won his way to the love and confidence of all the great church in Jerusalem. His importance in Jerusalem is recognized by Paul on the occasion of his visit to Jerusalem on his return from Damascus, for he says: “Other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother” ( Gal

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The Writing of the Epistle

The Writing of the Epistle

The Epistle of James probably was written shortly before the Jerusalem Conference, most likely just before, that is, about A.D. 48 or 49. There is no room here for an extended discussion of the proof of this statement. In general I agree with the arguments of Mayor on this point. [25] Plummer [26] is unable to decide between A.D. 49 and 59. Writers like von Soden place it at the end of the century, and Bruckner puts it in the second century. Spitta admits that Paul in Romans alludes to the Epist

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Champion of Paul at the Conference

Champion of Paul at the Conference

I cannot enter upon a formal discussion of the many questions in dispute concerning this great event in the apostolic period. I can only briefly sketch my own interpretation of the part played by James on this occasion. [28] In brief, it is here maintained that in Galatians 2:1-10 Paul gives a report of the private interview with the leaders in Jerusalem after the first public meeting ( Acts 15:3 f. ; Gal. 2:2 ) was adjourned because of the violent opposition of the Judaizers ( Acts 15:5 ). In t

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Misuse of the Name of James

Misuse of the Name of James

In Galatians 2:11 Paul speaks of a visit of Peter to Antioch, apparently some time after the events recorded in 2:1-10 . If it were before the Conference, Peter’s conduct at Antioch would be largely relieved of the charge of cowardice. But on the whole, we must follow the order of time as given by Paul. We do not, however, know whether this visit of Peter was before the breach between Paul and Barnabas over John Mark ( Acts 15:36-41 ) or after the return of Paul from the second tour ( Acts 18:22

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Befriending Paul on His Last Visit

Befriending Paul on His Last Visit

Paul came to Jerusalem for the last time in the spring (probably 57 or 58) with a heavy heart. He reveals his apprehensions in Romans 15:31-33 and in his address at Miletus ( Acts 20:18-35 ). He has made a brave fight for liberty in Christ almost all over the Roman Empire, but the Judaizers have not ceased their attacks upon him. In particular, during his long absence from Jerusalem he has been grossly misrepresented there. He has been frequently warned of trouble if he came, but he is determine

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The Story of His Death

The Story of His Death

Clement of Alexandria [36] says that James the Just “was thrown from the gable [of the temple], and beaten to death by a fuller with a club.” Hegesippus [37] gives a long and legendary account of the death of James to the effect that the people of Jerusalem who called James “the Just” were so enraged when he bore witness to Jesus as the Son of man that they flung him down from the gable of the Temple, stoned him, and a fuller clubbed him. “And they buried him on the spot by the temple, and his m

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Simple Address

Simple Address

The writer is wonderfully simple and direct in his greeting as compared with Paul in Romans 1:1-7 , for instance. There is no principal verb, and the nominative absolute occurs with the infinitive, as is so common in the letters found in the papyri. Originally a word like “sends” may have been used also. But this short address is in perfect keeping with the business-like character of James and the pointed, pungent tone of the epistle....

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The Readers

The Readers

They are evidently not a local church. “The twelve tribes which are of the Dispersion” naturally refers to the Jews who are scattered in the Gentile world outside of Palestine. The technical term diaspora occurs in only two other places in the New Testament ( John 7:35 ; 1 Peter 1:1 ). In John the word has its usual significance. The Jewish leaders scoffed at Jesus as a failure in Palestine. Perhaps he meant to go and teach the Jews of the dispersion. The term “twelve tribes” in James merely mea

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The Occasion

The Occasion

This we do not know. Unlike most of Paul’s epistles, there are no personal details. We are left to conjecture, as in the case of Jude and 1 John. The picture drawn in the epistle is that of Jewish Christians of the poorer classes, with a small number of richer brethren ( 1:10 ), struggling for life in the midst of a social and economic environment that was utterly unsympathetic, not to say hostile. The process of adjustment was difficult and perilous. There were perils to the individual and to t

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Character of the Epistle

Character of the Epistle

The book, small as it is, is a little gem in conception and expression. It reminds one of portions of the book of Proverbs, some of the Psalms, portions of the Prophets, the Twelve Patriarchs, the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, the Wisdom of Solomon, Philo, and the Sermon on the Mount. It is quite possible that both Paul and Peter had read the Epistle of James; at least there are several coincidences between them. At any rate, there seems to be some literary connection between some of Paul’s

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Variety in Trials (1:2)

Variety in Trials (1:2)

There is the tone of an elder brother in this epistle, and we see it at the start when James says “my brothers.” It is no perfunctory phrase with him. It is “trials,” not “temptations,” that James here has in mind, though the same word probably means temptation in 1:12 . The word in the Greek came to have either sense, though originally it meant only to try, to attempt, just as our English word “tempt” was at first simply “try.” But it is a short step from “try” to “make trial of” one when suspi

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The Product of Trial (1:3)

The Product of Trial (1:3)

The rule of Christian joy thus expounded stands the test of experience. The word “knowing” is the one used for experimental knowledge as opposed to mere intellectual apprehension. The tense (present participle) expresses continuous acquisition of fresh knowledge from experience. It is the school of life where we learn most of what we really know. The position of James is thus in thorough harmony with psychology. The command to rejoice in the midst of manifold trials, paradoxical though it seems,

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Perfection by Patience (1:4)

Perfection by Patience (1:4)

There is no other way than the slow way of life. The mushroom springs up in a night and goes as quickly away. The oak grows a few inches a year and lasts for centuries. The finest product in God’s garden is the soul of man, ripe with the long years of toil and sorrow. Luther Burbank learned some of the witchery of nature by watching her ways with plant life. He showed great patience and has much to show for it. Give patience a chance to do its work and keep on giving it a fair show. Ole Bull sai

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Shortage in Wisdom (1:5)

Shortage in Wisdom (1:5)

“Defective in wisdom,” Moffatt puts it. It is the same word that occurs at the end of verse 4 . James is fond of catching up a preceding word and going on with it, even if, as here, in a new sense. “If any of you lacketh wisdom,” James gently hints. Who is it that does not feel his shortcoming here, at times with painful intensity? What does James mean by wisdom? It is more than knowledge. It is more than mere intelligent apprehension of acquired knowledge. Tennyson says: “Knowledge comes, but w

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Doubting Prayer (1:6-8)

Doubting Prayer (1:6-8)

Jesus ( Matt. 7:7 f. ) had urged the disciples to ask, with the promise that God would answer. There is a condition attached to the wide-open invitation in James 1:5 . “But let him ask in faith,” James adds. By faith James means not a body of doctrine but trust in God, a working confidence in God that leads one to ask and to expect to receive what he asks. It is certain that God does not answer some prayers, at least in the way expected. Some requests ought not to be granted, in fact ought never

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The Democracy of Faith (1:9-11)

The Democracy of Faith (1:9-11)

James returns to the keynote of “all joy” ( v. 2 ) and uses the word “glory.” The positive note of exultation is the mark of the true Christian against the double-minded man. The pessimist is not a representative of Christianity. The true optimist is not, however, blind to the facts of life. He can glory in God in the midst of all sorts of trials and conditions, whether in high or low estate. His joy is independent of earthly estate. The “cotter’s Saturday night” may be as happy as the one in th

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Standing the Test (1:12)

Standing the Test (1:12)

“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation.” We must never forget that Jesus warned us against rushing into temptation, not merely in the Lord’s Prayer ( Matt. 6:13 ; Luke 11:4 ) but also in the agony of Gethsemane, when Satan had come upon him with renewed energy in spite of repeated defeats by Jesus since the wilderness temptations ( Matt. 26:41 ; Luke 22:40 ). Jesus urged the disciples to pray to be spared temptation. No one knew so well as he the power of the evil one. He had wrestled with

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Blaming God (1:13)

Blaming God (1:13)

Whatever doubt exists in verse 12 about trial or temptation vanishes in verse 13 . Here it is clearly temptation to evil. Hort ( in loco ) suggests “tempted by trial,” and Moffatt puts it “tried by temptation.” Certainly trial becomes a temptation to some men who use it as the excuse for doing wrong. “Though trial in itself is ordered by God for our good, yet the inner solicitation to evil which is aroused by the outer trial is from ourselves” (Mayor). Any trial wrongly used may become a temptat

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Snared by One’s Own Bait (1:14)

Snared by One’s Own Bait (1:14)

The man himself is responsible for his sin, and he need not seek to place the blame elsewhere. The temptation is not a temptation to him if he refuses to listen to the siren’s voice. The man is not responsible for the efforts of others to allure him to sin but only in case he listens and yields. Then he is really tempted “when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.” The figure is very bold and impressive. The word for “drawn away” is used in Oppian for drawing the fish out from its origi

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The Abortion (1:15)

The Abortion (1:15)

The natural history of sin as the result of temptation to which one yields is given with scientific accuracy and graphic power: “Then the lust, when it hath conceived, beareth sin: and the sin, when it is fullgrown, bringeth forth death.” Moffatt renders it thus: “Then Desire conceives and breeds Sin, while Sin matures and gives birth to Death.” It is a gruesome picture surely. But who can say that it is overdrawn? The positivist tries to shut God out of the world and so to banish human responsi

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God, the Source of Good (1:16 f.)

God, the Source of Good (1:16 f.)

The contrast is sharp. “Be not deceived”; do not wander so in your minds as to think that temptation and sin and death come from God. He is not the source of evil. Rabbi Chaninah says: “No evil thing cometh down from above.” Note Jesus in John 8:23 on “above” and “below.” James is tenderly affectionate in his appeal on this point—“my beloved brethren.” On the contrary, only good comes from God. God is good, and he alone is absolutely good ( Mark 10:18 ). [59] In the Greek the next sentence runs

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The New Birth (1:18)

The New Birth (1:18)

“So far from God tempting us to evil, his will is the cause of our regeneration” (Mayor). He is our Father in a double sense. We owe our original birth to God, in whose image we are made ( Gen. 2:7 ). We owe our spiritual birth likewise to God, who begat us again to a living hope ( 1 Peter 1:3 ). The Mishnah ( Surenh. , iv. 116) says: “A man’s father only brought him forth into this world: his teacher, who taught him wisdom, brings him into the life of the world to come.” Happy is the father who

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Brilliant Listening (1:19a)

Brilliant Listening (1:19a)

By “swift to hear” James brings a vivid picture before us. Moffatt has it “quick to listen.” Sirach ( 5:11 ) has a like command: “Be swift in thy listening.” One thinks of fleet of foot, yes, and of ear. The Vulgate has velox here. The wild animals (and the Indians) of necessity have keen ears and can hear the slightest rustle of a leaf or crackling of a twig. The rabbit, so often hunted by man and dog, pricks up his ears at the sound of a pin dropping. The use of the telephone and radio have gi

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Eloquent Silence (1:19b)

Eloquent Silence (1:19b)

Another life rule of James (Windisch) is “slow to speak.” One must not forget Homer’s “winged words,” for words can be laden with messages of joy and life and peace and love. Eloquence has its place, real eloquence of the soul—words on fire that blaze and burn, words that thrill and electrify, words that make life and death noble and high, words like those of Jesus that are spirit and life ( John 6:63 ). But when all is said, there is something deeper than mere speech, higher than just words, no

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Dull Anger (1:19c f.)

Dull Anger (1:19c f.)

The third life rule of James is “slow to wrath.” There is a clear connection between speech and anger. Anger inflames one to hasty and unguarded talk. In turn, the words act as fuel to the flames. The talk inflames the anger, and the anger inflames the talk. The more one talks, the angrier he becomes—like a spitfire. If one stops talking, his anger will cool down for lack of fuel. Men who are dull enough in listening, who will sleep through any sermon, are quick to resent a personal reflection o

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The Rooted Word (1:21)

The Rooted Word (1:21)

“The implanted word” is probably a mistranslation. The common idea of the word is “inborn” or “innate” (cf. Wisd. 12:10 , “their wickedness is inborn”). The word is occasionally used for second nature or secondary ingrowth (Hort). The word is sown, not grafted, and so “rooted” seems to be the meaning here (Mayor). See also Romans 6:5 , “united with him in the likeness of his death.” The figure is that of the seed sown in the heart and taking root and growing there. So Jesus spoke of the man who

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Hearers Only (1:22-24)

Hearers Only (1:22-24)

James keeps the balance well. He has shown the wisdom of good listening. Now he proves the futility of mere listening with no effort to put into practice what one hears. There is life in the Word of God if it is lived. It is quick with life-giving energy for those who put it to the test of life. One may hear and not heed. The Greek used the same word for both ideas. One is reminded of the parable of the sower again, for only one of the four classes of hearers brought forth fruit. That is the tes

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Real Students of the Word (1:25)

Real Students of the Word (1:25)

The image of the mirror is carried on into the picture of the doer of the word, the “doer that worketh,” a doer of work, “an active agent” (Moffatt). The phrase is tautological but very emphatic. He is not only a doer of word but a doer of deeds. He has put the word into practice and has brought practical results. He has transmuted word into deed. This is what counts, the practice of the Word of God, not mere glancing at the mirror nor chatter about what one saw or picked up, not a hearer of for

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Complacent Religiosity (1:26)

Complacent Religiosity (1:26)

Mere listening may be idle. Mere work may be perfunctory. One may be a worker only as well as a hearer only. The hearer only deceives himself by an error of reason ( 1:22 ). The worker only deceives his own heart by an error of conduct. He leads himself astray, out of the path, by the delusion that religion consists in the performance of religious duties, not in the attitude toward God in the heart or the ethical conduct. Paul uses the term for Pharisaism ( Acts 26:5 ) and in Colossians 2:18 for

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Unspotted from the World (1:27)

Unspotted from the World (1:27)

James does not give a definition of religion in this verse but an illustration of the right sort of religious exercise in contrast with the futile religiosity already noted. The absence of the article shows that he does not mean an inclusive description. “A religious exercise pure and undefiled” is here given quite the opposite meaning of the professional performances of the pharisaic pietists. There is pure religion, and the counterfeit is a tribute to it. This religion is free from pollution.

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Face Value in Religion (2:1)

Face Value in Religion (2:1)

This is a very hard verse to translate at once, for we must decide three disputed questions. One is whether the verb is imperative or interrogative. It is taken as imperative in most versions, and so most interpreters hold, but Hort urges that it is a tame conception compared with the indignant query expecting the answer no. There is force in this point, as thus James would be expressing vehement surprise that such partiality could exist among the Jewish Christians. Still, the prohibition agains

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Partiality in Church (2:2-4)

Partiality in Church (2:2-4)

Already the Jewish Christians were in peril from this evil. It is, in particular, a sin of ushers who show respect of persons in seating strangers. But pastors are in constant danger of the same sin in general church relations. The word here for synagogue may mean place of worship or the assembly itself, as in Hebrews 10:25 , “the assembling of yourselves together.” The word for church does not occur in the apostolic period (Hort) for place of meeting, but synagogue was already in common use in

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Prejudice Against the Poor (2:5-7)

Prejudice Against the Poor (2:5-7)

James now has fewer maxims and a more argumentative style, like that of Paul. He makes a passionate appeal for attention: “Hearken, my beloved brethren.” He writes as an impassioned speaker speaks (cf. 1:16; 4:13 ). God’s choice of the people of Israel seems to be in the background ( Deut. 14:1 f. ). The Jews had come in many cases to look on earthly prosperity as a mark of divine favor and poverty as a sign of God’s disfavor (cf. Psalm 73 ). The Pharisees were lovers of money ( Luke 16:14 ). Bu

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The Royal Law (2:8 f.)

The Royal Law (2:8 f.)

The poise of James appears again. He has no wish to stir the passions and prejudices of the poor against the rich. Surely it is not a sin to love rich people. They are entitled to the same love as other people, many far more because of the noble use made of their wealth. If you really fulfil the royal law—a law fit for kings or such as a king will be sure to follow (cf. Psalm 72 ; Zech. 9:9 ) and supreme over other laws ( Matt. 22:40 )—you do well. We should love both rich and poor alike. This r

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Stumbling in One Point (2:10 f.)

Stumbling in One Point (2:10 f.)

At first blush it seems that James has Draconian severity in these verses, but it is not the severe punishment of small crimes or venial offenses. The long list of capital crimes in ancient England shows how slowly men have learned to temper justice with mercy. Some of the Stoics said that the theft of a penny was as bad as parricide. The “blue laws” of Connecticut come to mind also. James does not say that all sins are equal, that one sin is as bad as another. As a matter of fact, each man disc

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A Law of Liberty (2:12 f.)

A Law of Liberty (2:12 f.)

But James is not a pharisaic legalist nor a Judaizer. He adds these verses to make it plain that he does not have in mind the painful observance of separate rules and details. The spirit is greater than the letter. Our words and deeds are to be judged by “a law of liberty” (cf. 1:25 ), not of bondage. We are under grace, not the old law. We live in an atmosphere of love and liberty, not of repression and slavery. God watches the real motive in our conduct toward the rich and the poor as in all t

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The Standpoint of James

The Standpoint of James

This depends on the date of the epistle. (For the discussion of this question, see chapter I .) It is here assumed that James wrote before the Jerusalem Conference, before A.D. 50. Paul wrote Galatians and Romans, as well as 1 and 2 Corinthians, in the heat of the Judaizing controversy, to answer the contention that circumcision was essential to the salvation of the Gentiles, that Christianity alone was not sufficient but must be supplemented by Judaism. No issue ever stirred Paul’s nature like

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Not Pious Pretense (2:14-17)

Not Pious Pretense (2:14-17)

Once more James corrects a possible misapprehension. He properly places mercy above justice, but no one need think for a moment that good deeds do not matter. God is full of mercy, but there is a limit even with God. He demands some performance, not mere profession. “What doth it profit?” James pointedly asks. Cui bono? What is the use? What good is it for a man to say he has faith who has no works to prove his faith? How can men know that he has any faith? The mere assertion is all that men hav

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Not Mere Intellectual Assent (2:18-19)

Not Mere Intellectual Assent (2:18-19)

It is extremely difficult to follow the thought of James in verse 18 . He is usually wonderfully perspicuous, but here we are in doubt as to the punctuation and the reference in “a man.” Some scholars think that it is a delicate way that James has of referring to himself, but then James is emphasizing works, not mere faith. Is the sentence a question or an assertion? Shall we say “but” or “yea”? Hort has shown a way out that is partly followed by Moffatt. Take the “man” as an objector, but let h

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The Obedient Trust of Abraham (2:20-24)

The Obedient Trust of Abraham (2:20-24)

But James applies his illustration again. He hammers the objector while he has him. “But wilt thou know, O vain man?” (“you senseless fellow,” Moffatt). The word is used like the Latin vanus of boasters or impostors, men whose word cannot be depended upon. You can know, if you wish to know, [73] “that faith apart from works is barren,” “faith without deeds is dead” (Moffatt), according to some manuscripts. One may note 2 Peter 1:8 , “not idle nor unfruitful.” Faith without works is like a barren

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The Case of Rahab (2:25)

The Case of Rahab (2:25)

One wonders why James selects a case like this after speaking of Abraham, the father of the fruitful and God’s friend. Oesterley doubts how this verse could come from the pen of a Christian. But James may have wished to select another example at the furthest possible point from Abraham, a heathen and a proselyte, “the first of all the proselytes” in the land of Canaan (Hort). Certainly if a woman like Rahab could be saved, no one else need despair. She expressed her faith in God: “I know that th

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The Union of Faith and Works (2:26)

The Union of Faith and Works (2:26)

This is what James pleads for, not the divorce between creed and conduct, which is alas only too prevalent even today. There should be an indissoluble marriage between faith and works, a union as close as that between spirit and body. “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.” By “spirit” here James means simply the breath of life, without which the body is dead. “False faith is virtually a corpse” (Hort). By this striking paradox James attacks the r

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An Oversupply of Teachers (3:1a)

An Oversupply of Teachers (3:1a)

We are not here to think simply of official teachers like Paul’s apostles, prophets, teachers ( 1 Cor. 12:28 f. ; Eph. 4:11 ). In the Didache ( xiii. 2, xv. 1, 2 ) teachers are placed on a par with prophets and higher than bishops and deacons. There is no doubt that teaching received tremendous emphasis in the work of the early Christians. Jesus is the great Teacher of the ages and is usually presented as teaching. In the Jewish “houses of learning” (synagogues) teaching was as prominent an elem

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The Peril of Teachers (3:1b)

The Peril of Teachers (3:1b)

Teaching has to be done. There is no escape from that, but those who teach must understand their responsibility. They are doctors (from doceo , to teach) of the mind and heart. They cannot escape their responsibility as spiritual surgeons, for they deal with the issues of life and death, “knowing that we shall receive heavier judgment.” In seasons of religious excitement it is particularly desirable that men shall bear this fact in mind. There is danger for the teacher and for those that hear an

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The Test of Perfection (3:2a)

The Test of Perfection (3:2a)

Others besides teachers have pitfalls, for teachers are not the only errant men. “For in many things we all stumble.” James includes himself in this category. The Vulgate reads “ye” in verse 1 ( sumitis ), not willing to admit that James ran any risk about the heavier judgment; but that is not the correct text. James shows no disposition to exempt himself. One and all we make many slips, stumble over something in the path. Our falls are only too frequent. Who is the perfect man? Seneca (Clem. 1:

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The Bridle and the Horse (3:2b-3)

The Bridle and the Horse (3:2b-3)

The man who does control his tongue is able to bridle the whole body also (cf. 1:26 ), for the body goes with the tongue. In fact, nothing is commoner than for one to make a rash statement and then feel compelled to stand by it for the sake of imaginary consistency. Hort keenly observes that the force of “also” after “the whole body” is that a man who can bridle his tongue can bridle his whole body. The tongue is a real Bucephalus, and it takes an Alexander to master him. It is really wonderful

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The Rudder and the Ship (3:4)

The Rudder and the Ship (3:4)

With great wealth of imagination James proceeds to illustrate still further the power of the tongue over the rest of the body. The point is clear from the illustration of the bridle and the horse, but it is made still clearer by the other figures. The importance of the subject justifies this piling up of metaphors. “This combination of the horse’s bridle and the ship’s rudder as illustrative of the tongue is found” (Hort) in Philo and Plutarch. “The argument is à fortiori from the horse to the m

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The Fire and the Forest (3:5 f.)

The Fire and the Forest (3:5 f.)

The power of the tongue over the body in general is shown by the bridle and the rudder. Now the power of the tongue for evil is specifically illustrated by the metaphor of fire. True, the tongue is a little member, and yet it “boasteth great things,” “can boast of great exploits” (Moffatt). It is not a mere empty boast that the tongue can make. It is hard to exaggerate the power of the tongue, which is able to sway great multitudes for good or ill, to stir the wildest passions of man to uncontro

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Taming of Wild Beasts (3:7 f.)

Taming of Wild Beasts (3:7 f.)

James recurs to the beasts (cf. horse and bridle) for a broader discussion. The tongue is unbridled all too often and is the most unmanageable of wild animals. He had just said that the tongue is set on fire of hell. “The fact that the tongue is the one thing that defies man’s power to control it is a sign that there is something satanic in its bitterness” (Mayor). He uses the language of Oriental exaggeration in giving further proof of his strong statement, a justifiable hyperbole: “For every k

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Sweet and Bitter Water (3:9-11)

Sweet and Bitter Water (3:9-11)

The inconsistency of the conduct of the tongue is graphically portrayed by these verses. Plummer happily terms it “the moral contradictions of the reckless talker.” There is in very truth moral chaos if the Christian does not control his tongue. Inconsistency is not an evil per se. If one is wrong, he ought to be inconsistent enough to change and do right. But it is terrible to see a professing Christian lightly lapse into loose and licentious language. “The fires of Pentecost will not rest wher

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The Vine and the Fig Tree (3:12)

The Vine and the Fig Tree (3:12)

James has not only a new image here but also a new point of view (Hort). He has, in verses 9-11 , shown the inconsistency of two kinds of speech from the same tongue. Now he goes deeper to the heart behind the utterance. The comparison is here made between the heart and its utterance (tongue). The grape and the fig are the commonest fruits in Palestine. “Each tree is known by its own fruit” ( Luke 6:44 ). Yes, and Jesus had just said ( 6:43 ): “For there is no good tree that bringeth forth corru

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The Call for the Wise Man (3:13a)

The Call for the Wise Man (3:13a)

“Who is wise and understanding among you?” The question does not mean that nobody is wise and understanding, but it calls a halt on the rush of volunteers who have apparently a superfluity of wisdom. An overplus of conceit is intolerable for normal persons. Job ( 12:2 ) has our sympathy when he retorts to his officious advisers: “No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.” Once more Job ( 28:12 ) asks: “But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?

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The Proof of the Wise Man (3:13b)

The Proof of the Wise Man (3:13b)

Wisdom is not a matter for mere technical inquiry. One has to stand an examination on wisdom; but it is that of life, unwritten and written—that of deeds, not of words. “Let him show by his good life his works in meekness of wisdom.” This test of the wise man is put in a peculiarly Jacobean style. The very position of the word “show” is emphatic; it is the first word in the sentence. If one may use the vernacular, we are all “from Missouri” and “have to be shown” when it comes to each other’s wi

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The Disproof of the Wise Man (3:14)

The Disproof of the Wise Man (3:14)

“The possession of wisdom was made a claim to teachership” (Hort). So the absence of wisdom is a positive disqualification. One may, no doubt, possess wisdom and yet not be able to teach. But the lack of wisdom is itself a sufficient bar. The wrong spirit shows the lack of wisdom. “But if ye have bitter jealousy and faction in your heart,” what then? There were many controversialists who had both of these vices. Jealousy is not evil per se. It wavers between the good and evil sense and in itself

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The Wisdom from Below (3:15 f.)

The Wisdom from Below (3:15 f.)

Wisdom is precisely what we all need and desire, but the bitter self-seeking partisans just described “do not cherish the truth except as a possession of their own, or a missile of their own” (Hort). “This wisdom,” claimed by the pompous bigots in verse 14 , can only be so described in terms of courtesy or, more exactly, of irony. It is only wisdom so-called and is real folly. It is at best worldly wisdom, “earthly,” not merely in the sense of taking place on earth rather than in heaven ( John 3

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The Wisdom from Above (3:17)

The Wisdom from Above (3:17)

There is wisdom from above, that is, from God, as James had already said ( 1:5 ). This is the true wisdom, God’s wisdom both in source and character. James had not, of course, seen Paul’s remarks on wisdom in 1 Corinthians 1 and 2 , if he wrote his epistle by A.D. 50. But he had full opportunity to be familiar with Proverbs, the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, and the Wisdom of Solomon. “For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding” ( Prov. 2:6 , AV). “Wisdo

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The Harvest of Righteousness (3:18)

The Harvest of Righteousness (3:18)

In this verse James gathers up the sum and substance of all that he has had to say so far. He has just spoken of peace and of good fruits. He has been insisting on righteous deeds and not mere words, upon a live faith, not a dead creed. “And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for them that make peace.” “And the peacemakers who sow in peace reap righteousness” (Moffatt). The fruit is righteousness (genitive of apposition). The figure of sowing is common enough. It is the slow process of

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The Origin of War (4:1-2a)

The Origin of War (4:1-2a)

James makes frequent use of the rhetorical question, as here when he boldly demands the origin of the strife among the churches of the Diaspora: “Whence come wars and whence come fightings among you?” This use of question gives life to style and is the mark of a good teacher. Note also the repetition of “whence,” which gives added piquancy. In the Epistle of Clement of Rome ( xlvi ) to the church at Corinth (about A.D. 97) he seems to refer to this passage in James, where he asks: “Wherefore are

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Asking Amiss (4:2b-3)

Asking Amiss (4:2b-3)

The latter part of verse 2 is a puzzle to the commentators: “Ye have not, because ye ask not.” Oesterley (following Carr) thinks that we have a string of poetical quotations ( stromateis ), “not very skilfully strung together.” Mayor takes it as a mere repetition of “ye lust, and have not” and says that it is not a further step. But surely James does not mean to say that the one reason why the impulses to lust, covetousness, envy, fighting, and murder are not gratified is that men do not pray so

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The Friendship of the World (4:4)

The Friendship of the World (4:4)

The words “adulterers and” of the Authorized Version are not genuine, occurring in late documents. The sudden outburst of “ye adulteresses,” “wanton creatures” (Moffatt), leaves one in doubt whether James is singling out one special form of sin so common in the world (Hort) or is using the word in the figurative sense (Mayor) so frequent in the Old Testament for the sin of idolatry (cf. Psalm 73:27 ; Ezek. 23:27 ; Hos. 2:2 ; Isa. 57 ). Jesus denounced his age in Palestine as “an evil and adulter

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The Yearning of the Spirit for Us (4:5 f.)

The Yearning of the Spirit for Us (4:5 f.)

“Or think ye?” says James, as the alternative. Either the friendship of the world is enmity with God or you think “that the scripture speaketh in vain.” “What, do you consider this an idle word of Scripture?” (Moffatt). This rhetorical question expects an indignant denial. Therefore, the argument holds that the friendship of the world is enmity with God. But what is the Scripture? Is it only the passage in verse 6 that is referred to? The punctuation of the Revised Version allows that. We have t

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Choice Between God and the Devil (4:7-8a)

Choice Between God and the Devil (4:7-8a)

It comes to this, that a man must decide whether or not God is to rule his life. It is self or God, and that is the same thing as the devil or God, for a self without God is ruled by the devil. “Be subject therefore unto God,” since, as James has shown in verse 6 , God gives grace to the humble and withstands the proud. “The proud spirit has to be curbed” (Oesterley). Peter has expanded this idea in a great passage ( 1 Peter 5:6-9 ). Our only hope is under the leadership of God. The devil is the

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A Call to Repentance (4:8b-10)

A Call to Repentance (4:8b-10)

Here James speaks like one of the Old Testament prophets. His epistle, while thoroughly Christian, is yet nearer to the standpoint of the Old Testament prophets than any other book in the New Testament. “Cleanse your hands, ye sinners.” The priests washed their hands before they entered the tabernacle to worship ( Ex. 30:19-21 ; Lev. 16:4 ). It was natural for the language to be applied to moral purity: “I will wash my hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O Jehovah” ( Psalm 26:6 ).

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Captious Criticism (4:11 f.)

Captious Criticism (4:11 f.)

Moffatt places these verses just after 2:13 , since this seems to have been its original place. This is the position also given by Oesterley. And yet it is quite possible that James here merely recurs to the subject of the loose tongue, as he had already done once (cf. 1:26; 3:2 ff. ). See also 5:12 . He has one word more on this burning topic, a sort of postscript on the tongue, an extremely difficult subject to say the last word about. “Speak not one against another, brethren.” The tense of th

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Leaving God Out (4:13-15)

Leaving God Out (4:13-15)

One may hope that James alludes to the Jewish merchants, not Jewish Christians. Certainly those Jewish merchants who became Christians continued their business, though not in a godless fashion. The merchant has one of the most useful and most honorable of all callings, but it seems clear that some of the Jewish merchants had already brought disfavor upon the business by their sharp practices. See Sirach 26:29 . “A merchant will hardly keep himself from doing wrong; and a huckster will not be dec

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Conscious Opposition (4:16)

Conscious Opposition (4:16)

It is bad enough to ignore God, as so many men do. A slight is almost as hard to bear as an insult. However, a positive refusal to do God’s known will is worse. “But now,” as is really the case (cf. 1 Cor. 14:6 ), “But here you are” (Moffatt), instead of your trust in God, “ye glory in your vauntings.” In their pride of life ( 1 John 2:16 ) they practically defied God. The word meant originally a wanderer about the country, a vagabond, a Scottish landlouper, a swaggerer, an imposter, a braggart.

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Negative Sin (4:17)

Negative Sin (4:17)

In a way this verse is a summary of the entire epistle (cf. 1:22; 2:14; 3:1, 13; 4:11 ). Hence James’s “therefore” is quite in point. Moffatt places this verse at the end of chapter 2 . Spitta, however, finds no connection in the context and takes it as a familiar quotation. This may indeed be a reference to the words of Jesus in Luke 12:47 : “That servant, who knew his lord’s will, and made not ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.” There is an excusable ignor

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Tainted Wealth (5:1-3)

Tainted Wealth (5:1-3)

Oesterley finds proof of the “patchwork” character of the epistle in the five paragraphs of the closing chapter. But in a “wisdom” book one does not expect direct connection between the paragraphs. That is not true of the practical portions of the Pauline epistles. In the first eleven verses of this chapter the eschatological standpoint is occupied, possibly that of Jewish eschatology in 1-6 and that of Christian eschatology in 7-11 (Oesterley). Note “in the last days” in verse 3 . James is fami

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Wronged Workers (5:4)

Wronged Workers (5:4)

The God of all the earth will do right. He is not deaf to the cries of those oppressed millions in the ages whose piteous appeals for elemental justice come to him. This is a terrible indictment of Jewish capitalists who withheld the meager wages of the men who gathered the harvests. “Behold, the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth out.” The hire of the laborers reminds one of the proverb, “The laborer is worthy of his hire” ( Luke 10:7 ; 1 Tim.

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The Wanton Use of Money (5:5 f.)

The Wanton Use of Money (5:5 f.)

Evidently James is all ablaze as he faces the situation of his readers. These Jewish plutocrats, some of them shysters, have made their money out of the blood and sweat of the toiling poor. And then they spend it in a way to anger the wronged workers still more. They live in the most luxurious extravagance and waste of money while the cold, half-naked, hungry toilers who made the wealth go unpaid. It is no wonder that such laborers grow bitter at heart. It is a vivid and even ghastly picture of

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Patience till the Parousia (5:7 f.)

Patience till the Parousia (5:7 f.)

“Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.” Moffatt has it “till the arrival of the Lord.” The example of the righteous man, whether Christ or the typical righteous poor man, argues strongly for long-suffering (“long-tempered” like our “sweet-tempered,” “quick-tempered,” and the opposite of “short-tempered,” according to Mayor). In the Christian race one cannot afford to be short of wind. He has a long run and must hold out until the goal is reached (cf. Heb. 12:1-3 ). One is

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Folly of Recrimination (5:9)

Folly of Recrimination (5:9)

If things do not go to suit us, the natural way is to blame somebody else for what has befallen us. We generally exculpate ourselves from all responsibility. A naïve illustration of this propensity is found in John 12:19 : “Behold how ye prevail nothing; lo, the world is gone after him.” At the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem the Pharisees, thinking that their cause against Jesus was lost, turned and blamed each other for the outcome. So then “murmur not, brethren, one against another.”

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Examples of Patience (5:10 f.)

Examples of Patience (5:10 f.)

James, like a practical preacher, loves to illustrate his points. He has a fitting one at hand in “the prophets who spake in the name of the Lord.” They spoke in the name, with the authority and with the power of the Lord. The idiom is common enough in the Septuagint and, indeed, in the papyri. [93] They spoke as the representatives of Jehovah. Mayor seems a bit perplexed over the failure of James to mention Jesus as the supreme example of suffering, as is done by Peter ( 1 Peter 2:21 ), who spo

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Profanity (5:12)

Profanity (5:12)

This little paragraph seems to come in rather abruptly, with no connection with what precedes. As a result, Oesterley regards it as “a fragment of a larger piece” which James here tears from its context, perhaps a saying from Jesus. But Plummer is more likely correct in thinking of it as an appendix after rounding out the epistle, coming back to the blessedness of trial, with which topic the epistle opens. The exhortations need not have a close connection with each other. As a matter of fact, Ja

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Worship and Excitement (5:13)

Worship and Excitement (5:13)

Plummer has a very keen and pertinent heading for his chapter on this verse, and it is noteworthy that he devotes an entire chapter to this one verse, a verse that is little understood by most interpreters. His heading is this: “Worship the Best Outlet and Remedy for Excitement. The Connection between Worship and Conduct.” Certainly oaths are not the way to express one’s emotions, whether one be angry or merely excited, least of all when one has the miserable habit of profanity and is unaware of

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God and Medicine (5:14-18)

God and Medicine (5:14-18)

Few subjects have excited more interest in recent years than the subject here presented. So many subsidiary issues are raised that it is difficult to treat the question adequately in a few pages. Many varieties of “faith cures” have been before the world. The so-called Christian Science movement is now the most prominent of them all, combining an idealistic philosophy and pantheistic religion. This combination takes up various aspects of Buddhism, Gnosticism, and a dash of Christian verbiage wit

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Rescue Work or Restoring the Erring (5:19 f.)

Rescue Work or Restoring the Erring (5:19 f.)

James makes a last appeal to his readers, and it has a touch of tenderness—“My brethren.” In verse 5 he spoke of the case of a sick man who is brought to confess his sins and is led to God. Here he seems to refer specifically to the case of a brother who has fallen into error. There are such sad instances that puzzle many a pastor by their indifference, hardness, and even scorn of Christ. “If any among you err from the truth, and one convert him.” The condition (third class) is put delicately on

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