Part 16

James presents the joy of the winner of souls who throws the mantle of love over the sins of the repentant sinner, the joy of the Shepherd who has found the lost sheep out on the mountain and is returning with him in his arms, the joy of the Father who welcomes the prodigal boy home with the best robe and the fatted calf, the joy in the presence of the angels that one sinner has repented and turned unto God. That is heaven on earth. The preacher who has missed this joy of winning souls has missed the greatest reward in his ministry. If he has this, he can do without much else. He can stand many rebuffs, small salary, lack of help, if only there is this meat to eat that satisfied the soul of Jesus when he led one poor abandoned woman into the light and life of God.

Select Bibliography

Dibelius, M., and Greeven, H. “Der Brief des Jakobus,” _Meyer Kommentar_. 1956.

Easton, B. S., and Poteat, G. “James,” _The Interpreter’s Bible_. 1957.

Hauck, F. “Die Kirchenbriefe.” _N. T. Deutsch_. 1949.

Hort, F. J. A. _The Epistle of St. James 1:1 to 4:7_. 1909.

Knowling, R. J. “Commentary on the Epistle of St. James,” _The Westminster Series_. 1904.

Lenski, R. C. H. _The Interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews and of the Epistle of James._ 1946.

Marty, J. _L’epitre de Jacques._ 1935.

Mayor, J. B. _The Epistle of St. James._ 1910.

Moffatt, J. _The General Epistles._ 1928.

Oesterley, W. “The General Epistle of James,” _Expositor’s Greek Testament_. 1910.

Patrick, W. _James, the Lord’s Brother._ 1906.

Plummer, A. “The General Epistle of St. James,” _Expositor’s Bible_. 1891.

Ropes, J. H. “A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle of St. James,” _The International Critical Commentary_. 1916.

Ross, A. “James and the Johannine Epistles,” _New International Commentary_. 1954.

Schlatter, A. Der _Brief des Jakobus._ 1932.

Tasker, R. V. G. “The General Epistle of James,” _Tyndale New Testament Commentaries_. 1957.

Windisch, H., and Preisker, H. “Die Katholischen Briefe,” _Handbuch zum N. T._ 1951.

Footnotes

[1]Our “James” comes through the Italian “Giacomo.” The name is common enough in the first century A.D.

[2]For careful discussion of the authenticity of the epistle, see J. B. Mayor, _The Epistle of St. James_ (New York: Macmillan and Co., 1910), pp. xlvii-lxvii; Alfred Plummer, “The General Epistles of St. James and St. Jude,” _The Expositor’s Bible_, ed. W. Robertson Nicoll (New York: Hodder & Stroughton, 1891), pp. 13-24.

[3]See Mayor, _ibid._, p. iv.

[4]Barnabas is also called an apostle in Acts 14:4, 14.

[5]William Patrick, _James, the Lord’s Brother_ (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1906), p. 23.

[6]_Ibid._, p. 25.

[7]G. A. Deissmann, _Light from the Ancient East_, trans. L. R. M. Strachan (New York: Macmillan and Co., 1913), p. 242.

[8]George Milligan, _New Testament Documents, Their Origin and Early History_ (New York: George H. Doran Co., 1910), p. 111.

[9]Mayor, _op. cit._, pp. ccv-ccxiii.

[10]Milligan, _loc. cit._

[11]Mayor, _op. cit._, p. cxcii.

[12]A. T. Robertson, _A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research_ (New York: George H. Doran Co., 1915), p. 123.

[13]Charles Taylor, _Saying of the Jewish Fathers_ (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1898), Appendix 97.

[14]Patrick, _op. cit._, p. 46.

[15]The tense expresses a long-standing attitude.

[16]Patrick, _op. cit._, p. 60.

[17]The same verb occurs here as in the other appearances of Jesus.

[18]J. A. Broadus (comp.), _Harmony of the Gospels_ (New York: A. C. Armstrong & Son, 1893), p. 229.

[19]Patrick, _op. cit._, p. 67.

[20]R. W. Dale, _The Epistle of James and Other Discourses_ (New York: Hodder & Stroughton, 1895), p. 5.

[21]_Op. cit._, p. xxxvii.

[22]James Orr, _The Resurrection of Jesus_ (New York: George H. Doran Co., 1908); Thorburn, _The Resurrection Narratives and Modern Criticism_.

[23]Patrick, _op. cit._, p. 78.

[24]_St. Paul_, i., p. 233.

[25]See his commentary on James and his article on the epistle in James Hastings, _A Dictionary of the Bible_ (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1899), II, 540-48.

[26]Plummer, _op. cit._, pp. 61 f.; Patrick, _op. cit._, chap. V.

[27]Cf. Maurice Jones, _The New Testament in the Twentieth Century_ (New York: Macmillan and Co., 1914), p. 321.

[28]For a fuller presentation of the matter from the standpoint of Paul, see my _Epochs in the Life of Paul_ (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1914), chapter VII. I identify the visit to Jerusalem in Galatians 2:1-10 and Acts 15, in spite of the arguments of Sir W. M. Ramsay to the contrary.

[29]Cf. J. B. Lightfoot, _Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians_ (New York: Macmillan and Co., 1913).

[30]A hint that they had not always seen it this way.

[31]_Op. cit._, p. 188.

[32]_Ibid._, p. 191.

[33]F. J. A. Hort, _Judaistic Christianity_ (New York: Macmillan and Co., n.d.), p. 81.

[34]_Ibid._, p. 106.

[35]This “informing” was done by the Judaizers, who dinned it into the ears of the people.

[36]Hypotyp. vii. apud Eusebius H. E., II. l. 3.

[37]Also preserved in Eusebius H. E., II. xxiii. 4-18.

[38]Ant. xx. ix. 1. It is interesting to note that Prof. F. C. Burkitt, of Cambridge University, has boldly championed the genuineness of Josephus’ testimony to Jesus.

[39]_The Expositor_, VII. iv. p. 45 ff.

[40]_Op. cit._, p. 112.

[41]_A New Translation of the New Testament._ Besides, in 3:9 James speaks of “the Lord and Father” (God).

[42]Plummer, _op. cit._, p. 47.

[43]Einl. i. 5, 6.

[44]Plummer, _op. cit._, p. 46.

[45]_Op. cit._, p. 316.

[46]_Op. cit._, p. 298.

[47]W. E. Oesterley, “The General Epistle of James,” _The Expositor’s Greek Testament_, ed. W. Robertson Nicoll (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, n.d.), IV, 63.

[48]Plummer, _op. cit._, p. 63.

[49]Lectures on the Epistle of James, p. 73.

[50]See Plummer, _op. cit._, pp. 72 f., for proof.

[51]The late J. Pierpont Morgan testified before a committee of the U. S. Senate that he loaned money primarily on character, not financial ability.

[52]_Op. cit._, p. 88.

[53]There is the utmost contrast between this use of “humble” and that in Epictetus, with whom humility is an object of scorn and contempt, a meanness unworthy of man. See bk. III, chap., ii, § 14. Cf. Sharp, _Epictetus and the New Testament_, pp. 130, 133.

[54]Cf. Deissmann, _op. cit._, p. 392; _St. Paul: A Study in Social and Religious History_, trans. by Lionel R. M. Strachan (New York: George H. Doran Co., 1912), p. 47.

[55]Acta Philippi, Apocal. Apocr. Cf. Resch, Agrapha, 1889, p. 254.

[56]Cf. Mayor, _op. cit._, p. 54 f. The devil tried to tempt even Christ, the Son of God.

[57]Bengel puts it thus: _Peccatum morte gravidum nascitur_. The Targum of Jonathan says that imagination of sin is sinful.

[58]“Wages” means literally the rations of a soldier. The pay of sin is death, and it is always paid.

[59]“Good” is here used in the sense of absolute, not relative goodness.

[60]But see Robertson, _Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research_, _op. cit._, p. 1200.

[61]Bengel says: _voluntate amantissima, liberrima, purissima, foecundissima_.

[62]The inscriptions (Ditt., _Syll._, 587^268) use the word for the first fruits to Demeter and Kore, but James Hope Moulton and George Milligan, _Vocabulary of the Greek Testament_ (New York: George H. Doran Co., 1915), p. 54, give many examples from the papyri and the inscriptions where “gift” or “sacrifice” seems sufficient.

[63]J. Rendel Harris, “The Elements of a Progressive Church,” _Present Day Papers_, May, 1901.

[64]_Taylor_, _op. cit._, p. 63.

[65]The Hebrew (Psalm 82:2) originally had the idea of lifting the face with a view to comfort. Partiality was a subordinate development. Cf. H. St. John Thackeray, _Grammar of the Old Testament Greek According to the Septuagint_ (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1909), pp. 43 ff. The Greek idiom has only the bad meaning and comes from taking off the mask. See Luke 20:21; Gal. 2:3 f. for the full idiom.

[66]Deissmann, _St. Paul: A Study in Social and Religious History_, _loc. cit._, p. 47.

[67]_Ibid._

[68]_The Gospel of Jesus and the Problems of Democracy_ (New York: Macmillan and Co., 1914), p. 46.

[69]Codex D adds to Luke 6:4: “On the same day seeing a certain man working on the Sabbath, he said to him, ‘Man, if you know what you are doing you are blessed; if you do not know you are accursed and a transgressor of the law.’” But this logion does not compare sabbath-breaking with other sins, though it does emphasize insight into the motive of the act.

[70]Maim. on Mishnah, Sanhedrin xi. 1.

[71]The article here has almost the original demonstrative force. James means the kind of faith that rests on mere assertion without works to prove it.

[72]One may compare Paul’s habit of answering an imaginary objector in the development of his argument. See Romans 2:1; 9:20.

[73]Aorist tense and so punctiliar—know once for all—with almost a touch of impatience in the tense.

[74]See Lightfoot, _loc. cit._

[75]In Hermas (_Sim._ 9:22) we read of teachers who “wish to be self-appointed teachers, fools though they are.”

[76]Cf. Hermas, _Mand._ 12. 1.

[77]Cf., however, John 3:8 and 1 Peter 3:17.

[78]The Midr. Rabb. on Levit. (xiv. 2) xvi has _quanta incendia lingua excitat_ (Mayor).

[79]Cf. Jude 23. Cf. also James 1:27 and 2 Peter 2:13. One thinks of the smoke and soot of slander, besmirching all that it touches.

[80]Seneca (Ep. XIII. 2. 25) says: _Non nascitur itaque ex malo bonun, non magis quam ficus ex olea._

[81]Cf. Jude 19. See also 1 Cor. 15:45 for a distinction between these words.

[82]The verb means to distinguish, but the resultant idea is extremely variable.

[83]The Vulgate has _sine simulatione_. The Greek word is used of the actor’s mask and then for mere imitation, hypocrisy.

[84]See both terms also in 4 Macc. 5:23. See also Philo, M. 1, p. 445.

[85]Cf. Swete, _Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek_, ed. H. St. John Thackeray (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1900), p. 567.

[86]See Robertson, _Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research_, _op. cit._, p. 805. In prayer one must seek with passion. Since the middle voice denotes more earnestness, it is quite frequent in the papyri.

[87]The cosmos was originally “order.” The order and beauty of God’s world are attractive to the right-minded man (Rom. 1:20). It is applied to the people of the earth (John 1:29) and then to the believers who are alienated from God (John 8:23; 12:31), to this world which the devil rules (John 14:30; 1 John 5:19), whose spirit is hostile to that of Christ (1 Cor. 2:12), against which James has already (1:25) warned his readers.

[88]Moulton and Milligan, _op. cit._, p. 2.

[89]Westcott and Hort read in the margin, “the things of the to-morrow day.”

[90]At harvest time there is always special demand for laborers at higher wages than usual, to save the ripe grain before it perishes.

[91]Note Heb. 4:1. The word occurs in the papyri for “a bath insufficiently warmed.”

[92]Eusebius, H. E. ii. 23 (taken from Hegesippus).

[93]Deissmann, _Bible Studies: Contributions Chiefly from Papyri and Inscriptions_ (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1901), p. 198.

[94]Plummer notes that the Epistle of James shows more coincidences with the words of Jesus than all of Paul’s epistles and that all of them deal with the morality of the gospel, with conduct and life. This is all as the circumstances would lead us to expect.

[95]The use of the present imperative in prohibition rather than the aorist subjunctive implies that the thing was being done. That is probably true, for church members have been known to be guilty of this sin. However, it is possible for this tense to prohibit the habit rather than the single act. “Keep on not swearing.” See Robertson, _Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research_, _op. cit._, pp. 851-54.

[96]Deissmann, _Bible Studies: Contributions Chiefly from Papyri and Inscriptions_, _op. cit._, pp. 154 f., 233 f.

[97]See extensive discussion in Mayor. The New Testament usage favors the middle, but the passive is also in use, and either makes good sense.

[98]The passive voice does not have its technical force here as in Rev. 18:23 but rather is more like the middle in sense as in Deut. 22:1 and probably (Mayor) in Luke 21:8; 2 Peter 2:15. The passive is constantly making inroads on the middle in Koine Greek.

Transcriber’s Notes

--Silently corrected a few typographical errors.

--Retained publication information from the printed exemplar, which was already in the public domain.

End of Project Gutenberg's Studies in the Epistle of James, by A. T. Robertson