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Life Application Bible Commentary: James

TYNDALE HOUSE PUBLISHERS, INC.

Contents

Foreword.............................xiIntroduction.........................xiAuthor...............................xivSetting..............................xviAudience.............................xviiiMessage..............................xxxiVital Statistics.....................xxxiOutline..............................xxxiiMap..................................1James 1..............................41James 2..............................71James 3..............................87James 4..............................115James 5..............................145Bibliography.........................147Index

Chapter One

GREETINGS / 1:1

How often do we open a letter without checking to see who sent it? Ancient letter writers signed their names right at the beginning, so readers immediately knew the source. Modern readers of the New Testament, however, frequently skip over the address. It strikes us as unimportant. Our oversight is a mistake. The first verses of New Testament books often tell us the writer's identity and how the writers perceived their roles. In James's case, these helpful insights prepare us for the entire letter. We treat letters with more respect when we understand who sent them and why.

1:1 James. James is mentioned by name only a few times elsewhere in the New Testament (Matthew 13:53-55; Acts 1:12-14; 15:12-21; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Galatians 1:19; 2:7-9). But as the leader of the Jerusalem church, he was known on a first-name basis by the rapidly expanding Christian world. By simply using his first name, James manages to convey both humility and authority as he signs his letter. He could have identified himself as "brother of Jesus" or "leader of the Jerusalem church," but the only addition to his name is the title of servant. Real authority doesn't need to promote itself. It was often said that Jesus spoke with unusual authority (Matthew 7:28-29; Mark 1:22, 27). The quality of Jesus' message had the ring of truth. James's name must have conveyed that same kind of authority. He felt no need to identify himself as Jesus' brother. It was not that role that gave James his authority anyway. His authority came from recognizing and confessing that Jesus, his brother, was also his Lord.

The effectiveness of our spiritual authority will always depend on the source of that authority. Religious education, titles, power, accomplishments, reputation, and self-image are short-lived and ineffective substitutes for a vital and obedient relationship with Jesus Christ. When we know Christ as Lord and obey him, we find his authority sufficient. He will be reflected in what we say and do.

Servant of God. The Greek word doulos (slave, servant) refers to a position of complete obedience, utter humility, and unshakable loyalty. Obedience was the work, humility was the position, and loyalty was the relationship that a master expected from a slave. Many of the first followers of Christ were, in fact, slaves. But among Christians, the idea of being a slave of Christ became not a position of humiliation, but a place of honor. There can be no greater tribute to a believer than to be known as God's obedient, humble, and loyal servant. When we struggle to display any one of those qualities, we will tend to be weak in the others also. If Jesus actually is our Lord, our actions must be obedient to him, our attitude must be humble before him, and our life must be loyal to him.

Lord Jesus Christ. The three names that make up this title refer to the unique character of Jesus. He is the heavenly, exalted Lord who will one day return in glory to this world. He is Jesus, God come to earth as a human being. He is Christ, the anointed one who fulfilled God's purposes by dying for us.

Today there are few places in the world where claiming Jesus as Lord is openly forbidden. This may be because the world has become a better place. But it is more likely that the world has simply discovered that today's believers don't quite mean it as seriously and completely when they say "Jesus is Lord" as the early believers did. Perhaps the biggest difference is that early Christians backed up what they said with their very lives, while today "Jesus is Lord" is merely a clich, a slogan, or a bumper sticker. The unspoken question of the entire letter of James is: To what degree will you be a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ?

The twelve tribes. The original twelve tribes of Israel no longer existed. Deportation of the ten northern tribes had effectively destroyed their identity. All that was left of that part of Israel were the mixed-race Samaritans who were despised by the Jews. By the time of this letter the term the twelve tribes had come to describe the regathered and renewed Israel that God would create in the last days (Ezekiel 47:13; Matthew 19:28; Revelation 7:4-8; 21:12). That regathering has been made possible by Jesus the Messiah.

Scattered. NRSV The phrase "scattered among the nations" translates the Greek word diaspora, a technical term referring to Jews who had left Palestine by force or by choice. The deportation of Jews to foreign lands had been practiced since the days of the Assyrians over six hundred years before Christ. But many Jews had also emigrated to other lands in the quest for wealth and opportunity. This network of Jewish communities scattered throughout the Roman Empire became the stepping stone for the spread of the gospel. The book of Acts describes the missionary pattern of Paul and others. In almost every town they visited, the presence of a Jewish synagogue gave them an open forum from which to communicate the Good News. What history records as the splintering of the nation of Israel was used by God to facilitate the spread of his Word.

Following the resurrection of Christ and the early successes of the young church in Jerusalem, the believers were severely persecuted. They were forced to escape to distant places. Taking their faith with them, they began to carry out the commission Christ had given his disciples in Matthew 28:19: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations" (NKJV).

The sense of accountability to the church in Jerusalem remained strong until the destruction of the city in A.D. 70. Paul's missionary journeys included reports to the apostles there. Early conflicts within the church were discussed and settled in Jerusalem (Acts 15). This letter from James indicates that there may have been regular channels of communication between groups of believers.

Greetings. As if to acknowledge the foreign environment of the believers to whom he is writing, James uses a typical Greek expression for his greeting. The term he uses, chairein, conveys a sense of joy or happiness. James will not delay in moving to the pressing matters which have motivated his letter. This same greeting (Acts 15:23) is used in the first circular letter written to believers outside Jerusalem after the first special council, recorded in Acts 15. James helped write that letter also.

ENDURING TRIALS AND TEMPTATIONS / 1:2-18

James wrote to believers facing difficult times. Their troubles ranged from personal trials to disabling doubts; from persecution for following Christ to the lure of respectability in their community and the dangers of spiritual...