Part 3

Paul is among his friends, who tell him of a gross misrepresentation of his position that is current among the Jewish Christians at Jerusalem to the effect that he teaches that Jewish Christians must forsake Moses and the customs of the law (21:21).[35] They do not believe it themselves and only wish to help Paul clear up the matter without interfering at all with the decision of the Conference about the freedom of the Gentiles (21:22-25). They suggest that Paul join with four men in a Nazarite vow, pay the charges for their purification and for his own, and let all the Jewish Christians see him in the act of worship and ritual observance of the ceremonial law, thus proving “that thou thyself also walkest orderly, keeping the law” (21:24).

The matter seemed simple enough. Paul had not opposed the observance of the law on the part of Jewish Christians. Galatians was written in defense of Gentile liberty. There was no effort to commit Paul to the necessity of the law for salvation. As a matter of fact, Paul had kept up his observance of the Jewish customs save as they affected separation from the Gentiles. So Paul accepted the advice and made the offering, “purifying himself with them” (21:26). Apparently the plan succeeded in setting Paul right with the mass of the church in Jerusalem.

The trouble that led to his arrest arose from the attack of some Jews (not Christians) from Ephesus, who accused Paul of defaming the Temple while in the very act of doing worship in the Temple. We do not know whether the plan of the elders was the plan of James. Certainly if he had disapproved he would have spoken out, as the meeting was at his house. But it was all meant in the utmost kindness to Paul, and it is not possible to show that it was unwise. The incident shows the greatest friendliness between Paul and James and the frankest recognition on Paul’s part of the great worth and influence of James himself. There is no other reference to James in the New Testament unless it appears in Hebrews 13:7, 17, “them that have the rule over you.”

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 monument still remains by the temple.”

But Josephus[38] gives an entirely different and much more credible narrative of the death of James, placing it about A.D. 62 or 63. He charges the Sadducees through the high priest Ananus with the death of James and adds: “Ananus, therefore, as being a person of this character, and thinking that he had a suitable opportunity, through Festus being dead, and Albinus still on his journey (to Judaea), assembles a Sanhedrin of judges; and he brought before it the brother of Jesus who is called Christ (his name was James) and some others, and delivered them to be stoned, on a charge of being transgressors of the law.” So he won a martyr’s crown. He was called “the Just.” He had accused the wicked rich of killing “the righteous one” (James 5:6).

II To the Twelve Tribes Which Are of the Dispersion

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.

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 means the Jews as a whole in the dispersion, for the tribes were not preserved in a distinctive way outside of Palestine.

The “lost ten tribes” evidently had no significance for James. As a matter of fact, they are no more “lost” than Judah and Benjamin. The Jews of Palestine after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans were once more scattered abroad, as their ancestors had been twice before, to mingle as “Jews” in various parts of the world. Doubtless, modern Jews are simply a blend of all the twelve tribes. At the time when James wrote, the Jews were very numerous in all the great commercial centers of the world, such as Alexandria, Antioch, Babylon, Ephesus, Miletus, Pergamum, Rome, Thessalonica. But it is more than probable that James has in mind chiefly the Eastern dispersion in Babylonia and Mesopotamia, as Peter (1 Peter 1:1) addressed the Western dispersion.

But was James writing to Jews who were not Christians? Was he making an appeal to the non-Christian Jews of the dispersion to become Christians? The idea is not without fascination in itself. Dr. J. H. Moulton[39] contends that this is precisely what James has done, as is shown by the avoidance of specific reference to Christ and to the cross so as not to give offense to the Jews whom he wishes to win. Dr. George Milligan[40] replies that it is not possible to think of “a Christian teacher of James’s position suppressing his distinctive beliefs under any circumstances whatsoever.” But the author does _not_ conceal his view of Jesus. In the very first verse he speaks of “the Lord Jesus Christ,” and these words give his human name Jesus, his title Christ (Messiah), and his lordship (deity). Besides, in 2:1 James speaks of Jesus as the object of faith and so of worship, as Moffatt[41] correctly has it: “As you believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Glory.” See also 5:7, “until the coming of the Lord” (cf. 5:8).

There are no doctrinal discussions of the cross and the resurrection, but all this is distinctly implied. James also announces himself as a Christian in 1:1 and could not wish to conceal the gospel if he meant to win Jews to Christ. Moreover, he draws a distinction between the Christians (“ye”) and their oppressors (“they,” apparently rich Jews) in 2:7: “Do not they blaspheme the honorable name, by which ye are called?” That “name” is the name of Christ.[42] Compare also 2:6: “Do not the rich oppress you, and themselves drag you before the judgment-seats?” Besides, James claims the readers as believers, “my brethren,” in 2:1 and 5:7 f. There are, doubtless, passages where James pictures unbelieving Jews, as in 2:6 f. just mentioned and in particular 5:1-6, that vivid apostrophe to the rich Jews of the time.

In 1 Peter 1:1 we find the other instance of _diaspora_, or dispersion. Here Peter seems to mean by “the elect who are sojourners of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” not merely Jews or Jewish Christians but all Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles, in the spiritual dispersion, “sojourners” from the true Palestine or promised land (heaven). Is this the idea of James? Zahn[43] takes this position and finds that the writer is addressing all Christians in general, whether those persons would be Jews or Gentiles.

But surely the author has in mind simply Christian Jews outside of Palestine. The use of the word “synagogue” as a place of worship (James 2:2) on a par with “church” (5:14) argues for this interpretation. He is addressing the Christian Jews, who now have many problems, and he may have hoped by means of these believing Jews to reach the wider circle of unbelieving Jews. He speaks of Abraham as “our father” (2:21). He assumes that for his readers the Mosaic law is still binding (2:9-11; 4:11).[44]

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 the church life, and James shows real mastery of the situation that confronted the Jewish Christians in the middle of the first century in the scattered regions where they were found. He writes to them in a firm tone but with manifest understanding and sympathy.

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 epistles (Rom., 1 Cor., Gal.), 1 Peter and Hebrews, and the Epistle of James. Some contend that the epistle makes use of these New Testament books. M. Jones[45] thinks that the author had some knowledge of the Stoic philosophers, but this could have come through Hellenistic Judaism, as for instance the Wisdom of Solomon and Philo.

The author, as already shown, writes in the smooth and easy _Koine_ of a gifted and cultivated Jew of Palestine. One does not have to say with Patrick[46] that James had a wide knowledge of classical Greek. He may never have read a line of “classical” Greek, but he knew well the current Greek of his day and used it with fine skill. It is not a labored production and is in no sense artificial. The author is full of the Old Testament and writes like one of the prophets; yet he has a firm grip upon the essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The book forms a fine link between the Old and New Testaments. James, the brother of the Lord Jesus, understands the Old Testament and loves Moses still. He seeks to interpret Christianity more fully on its ethical and social side to the Jewish Christians of his time, who are in sad need of help, beset as they are by Jew and Gentile, and with an imperfect grasp of the new gospel. They find in this epistle just what they need to make practice correspond to profession, to square life with creed. The lesson is still needed today. There is a peculiar pertinence about the teaching of James that appeals to modern men who are nothing if not practical.

III Joy in Trial

Evidently these early Jewish Christians had their share of trial. Who, alas, does not have his portion? The problem with us all is to learn how to find the spring of joy in the midst of sorrow. There are always perplexities and anxieties. The sea is restless even in its moments of calm beauty.

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 suspicion exists or evil desire arises. Hence all through the Greek we find the old Greek word used in both senses. The New Testament usage varies. There are a half dozen other passages where the word has the idea of trial (Luke 22:28; Acts 20:19; Gal. 4:14; 1 Peter 1:6; 4:12; Rev. 3:10). In 1 Peter 1:6 the identical expression “manifold trials” appears. Oesterley[47] wrongly insists that “temptation” is the meaning in James 1:2 on the ground that “the writer’s Judaism is stronger than his Christianity,” and he then uses it as an argument against the genuineness of the book.

A soldier (Parry) does have “true joy” in victory over temptation, like Wordsworth’s “happy warrior,” but that is beside the mark here. There is no conflict here with the avoidance of temptation urged by Jesus (Matt. 6:13; Luke 11:4; Matt. 26:41; Luke 22:40). James refers rather to external trials into which men fall—trials that are not only unwelcome but also unsought and unexpected.[48] It is almost the picture of a stumble in the dark when one finds himself surrounded by hostile forces, just as the poor man fell among robbers (Luke 10:30).

Besides, one may be surrounded by all sorts of trials at once and not merely any sort of trial (Moffatt). The word “manifold” is really many-colored, variegated, spotted, mottled, pied, dappled. “It never rains but it pours,” we say at such a time. The same word is applied to the sicknesses and torments of body and mind which Jesus healed (Matt. 4:24). It is used of the evil desires that lead silly women astray (2 Tim. 3:6), of the lusts and pleasures which once the Cretans served (Titus 3:3), of the variety in the manifestation of God’s power in connection with the gospel (Heb. 2:4), of the many sorts of strange teachings then afloat (Heb. 13:9) of which we are now beginning to learn something (incipient Gnosticism and the early stages of Mithraism, for example), of the many trials which brought sorrow to the Christians (1 Peter 1:6), and of the many sides to the grace of God (1 Peter 4:10). God has grace for every trial whatever its color, whether black or blue, yellow or green, red or crimson.

The way to face them all is with joy in the heart and a smile on the face. We are not asked to rush into trials and to make mock martyrs of ourselves. We are not asked to rejoice because of the trials, many or few. Much depends on how we treat the problem of trial, much of which is beyond our control, like poverty in wisdom (James 1:5) and in substance (1:9) and like persecution (2:6 f.).

We are not to be blind to facts nor to submit tamely to what can be cured and should not be endured. James is not a cynic or a stoic but a victorious Christian who has learned the lesson that thankful joy is easier and wiser than mere dull resignation (Plummer, _in loco_). Each trouble may be met by a special kind of joy as its antidote. The common idea about “all joy” is that James thereby means pure joy, nothing but joy. “Greet it as pure joy” (Moffatt). That is possible, though it may also mean “bring to bear all that joy has to offer.” It does not mean (Mayor) that all of joy is contained in this view. At any rate, it is much to know that joy in suffering is possible, as many saints can testify who have reached the pure air of fellowship with Jesus in suffering (cf. Phil. 3:10). The Brother of James said: “Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you” (Matt. 5:10-12).

This is part of the fellowship of Christ and of the saints, the “sunshine band” of those who have learned to smile in the midst of tears, like the sunshine in the rain. Paul was able to say: “But we also rejoice in our tribulations” (Rom. 5:3). This is not the joy of the fanatic or of the fakir or of the rhapsodist. It is the joy of the soul that is at peace with God in Christ and has also more than earth and hell can take away, the peace that passes all understanding. The disciples rejoiced “that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name” (Acts 5:41). Even Marcus Aurelius said: “Say not that that which hath befallen thee is bad fortune, but that to endure it nobly is good fortune.”

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, is one that the Jewish Christians knew to be true from their experience of grace. Johnstone[49] has a fine word: “Affliction lets down a blazing torch into his own nature—and he sees many things which he little expected to see.” One of the marvels of modern science is the use of electric light by divers at the bottom of the sea to take pictures of sea life.

It is the biological conception that James has in mind. The law of life (nature and grace) works through personal experience and not by mechanical impartation. What do we learn by experience? “That the proving of your faith worketh patience.” Moffatt has it: “That the sterling temper of your faith produces endurance.”

The notion is plainly that of testing. See the same phrase in 1 Peter 1:7. Thus James, as Paul, regards faith as “the very foundation of religion” (Mayor). The verb from which the adjective is derived is common enough for testing a yoke of oxen (Luke 14:19), the spirits (1 John 4:1), work by fire (1 Cor. 3:13), genuineness of love (2 Cor. 8:8), all things (1 Thess. 5:21). Peter (1 Peter 1:7) explains the adjective by the verb (tested by fire). Compare Sirach 2:5: “For gold is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity.” One is reminded of the Sermon on the Mount. “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matt. 7:16).

Patience is _patientia_ (_patior_) and is called by Philo the queen of the virtues. The Jews (Oesterley, _in loco_) had had ample need of this virtue in their checkered history. It is just the opposite of the “superman” of Nietzsche, the triumph of might over right, the will to get what one wishes, right or wrong. There is inevitable conflict between selfish militarism and Christianity. It is a pity that Christians have left it to socialists to make the most vigorous protest against war. But alas, both Christians and socialists are swept under by the vortex of war _nolens volens_. And yet by “patience” James does not mean inertia or lack of ambition. It is not complacent self-satisfaction but the triumph of regulated consideration of the welfare of others, the victory of love over greed, the joy of doing without that others may be happy, the happiness of enduring ill for the sake of Jesus.

It is very hard to remain under misfortune (the literal meaning of the Greek word for patience) when it cannot be helped. James does not mean that we are not to try to cure any of the ills of life, not to overcome ignorance, poverty, disease, crime. There is here no surcease for the war on the evil conditions of modern life in home or city or state. But many things cannot be changed. Others will be alleviated by and by. Meanwhile the Christian can rise to the height of cheerful, joyful patience. It is the practice of cheerfulness that we so much need. We do not have to shut our eyes to the facts of life and of the human reason and deny the existence of sin and sickness. We can conquer the bitter results of these evils by the joy in Christ that drives away despair.

This patience is the product of trial. We are not born with a supply of patience. It is not bestowed in fulness upon us at the new birth. Like the manna, we need a fresh supply each morning. But the habit of mind termed patience is gradually wrought in us by the discipline of experience. Bitterness is a possible fruit of sorrow and hard experiences. Bitterness is written all over some sad faces. That terrible calamity can be missed, will be missed, if one walks in the way of him who said: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28 f.). It may not be easy and light at first, but it becomes so in the presence of Jesus.

Nobly does Wordsworth interpret it for us all:

Who, doomed to go in company with pain, And fear and bloodshed, miserable train! Turned his necessity to glorious gain; In face of these doth exercise a power Which is our human nature’s highest dower; Controls them and subdues, transmutes, bereaves Of their bad influence, and their good receives.

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 said that if he missed practicing on his violin one day, he noticed the difference in his playing. If he missed two days, other musicians noticed it. If he skipped three days, all the world knew it.

“Only, let your endurance be a finished product” (Moffatt). It comes to that in all great achievements, for the test is endurance. The goal is at the end of the race, where Jesus is the author and finisher of the faith which we possess (Heb. 12:2). “We are become partakers of Christ, if we hold ... firm unto the end” (Heb. 3:14). “But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved” (Matt. 24:13).

Patience calls for courage; discouragement leads to impatience and failure. There is need of long-suffering (Col. 1:11), if we get the “finished product.” The word for perfect here occurs also in James 1:17, 25; 3:2. The word, like the substantive, has a double usage (cf. _finis_ and our _end_), either limit or aim. So the perfect man may be regarded in the absolute sense, the limit, as the perfect Man Christ Jesus (Eph. 4:13), or as on the way to the goal (no longer a child but a developed man, as in 1 Cor. 2:6; Phil. 3:15). “The perfect” (1 Cor. 13:10) is still to come, but there is “perfect love” (1 John 4:18). We are to aim after the perfection of God himself (Matt. 5:48). Paul’s ambition was to present each one “perfect in Christ Jesus” (Col. 1:28). Compare also Colossians 4:12. Here James has his eye on the goal which is at the end of the long road. He knows full well (3:2) that in many things we all stumble, but we must persevere. Patience must do its “perfect work,” that ye may be “perfect.”

But James takes a latitudinal look at the work of patience, not merely the longitudinal view—the view that ye may be “entire, lacking nothing,” “complete, with never a defect” (Moffatt). This word for entire (cf. _integer_) means complete in all its parts, whole, not unsound anywhere. At the end of the race we are to be fully developed and sound to the core in heart and limb. The word is used of stones untouched by a tool (Deut. 27:6), of a body without blemish. Epictetus (bk. III, chap. xxvi, § 25) uses the word of a vessel which one finds whole, unbroken, and useful. It is used of a complete or unbroken household. In the papyri Philo uses both words together, as James does here.