The book of James is similar to Proverbs in that both are best approached in a topical manner since the same subject is often introduced, abandoned, and re-introduced later in the book. One such subject is the one with which James begins his epistle – the believer's proper response to trials. It is dealt with briefly in three passages.
James 1:2-4
Elliott cites D.F. Watson's opinion on these verses approvingly as “the statement of the main theme concerning completeness and wholeness and its implied opposite of division and fragmentation.” This is by no means a widely accepted view.
Here James comes up with the striking and counter-intuitive concept that trials should be met with joy on our part. Concerning the variety of trials we encounter, Davids clarifies: “The tests (peirasmois in Jas. 1:2 and I Pet. 1:6) do not include illness for (1) this is never found in the testing tradition in the OT (even Job did not use this vocabulary for illness), (2) this is not found in the contexts of either James or I Peter, and (3) this is not a part of the terminology in wider Greek literature.” Davids additionally points out elsewhere that the Epistle of James reserves the question of illness for a separate discussion.
Baker gets even more specific by stating that peirazo can “convey the sense of a test or a trial in which success is likely.” Davids provides another needed clarification when he states, “James...is no masochist, but he points to an important truth. Only those who are heavenly minded will suffer for their faith in the present.” Neither statement [James 1:2; Matthew 5:11-12] commends “the seeking of persecution in order to increase one's reward.”
Stahlin sees in v. 2 a purposeful contrast to II Peter 2:13. “They count it pleasure (hedonen) to revel in the daytime” in this verse becomes “Count it all joy (charan)...when you meet various trials.”
Beyreuther thus says that “it is clear how paradoxically the Christian's longing for joy finds its fulfillment and goal.” Two quotations from the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery are worth citing in this regard:
“Every trial is an opportunity for joy because it furthers the Christian's sanctification.”
“Affliction...increases a Christian's capacity to know and enjoy Christ (Phil 4:12-13; Jas 1:2-5).”
Another key word dokimion, translated as “trying or testing,” appears in v. 3. It is only used one other time in the NT – at Peter 1:7. Ladd notes that the joyful way we are told to greet trials “is difficult to square with Christian experience. Jesus Himself taught us to pray that we be not led into temptation (Matt. 6:13); but if such temptations provide a precious testing of faith, we ought to desire them. Modern philological criticism based on the papyruses discovered has found that dokimion can have a second meaning: not the act of trial, but the result of trial: the genuineness, the approvedness of the thing tried. It is the possession of a faith which has been tested and found true which is the precious thing [in I Peter 1:7].”
Calvert-Koyzis feels that “the sense in which dikaioo is used in James is in reference to Abraham's demonstrated faithfulness, perhaps in reference to the theme of testings (Jas 1:2,12).”
In terms of application, W.R. Baker adds, “From the outset (Jas 1:2-4) the letter calls on its readers to meet the variety of trials life offers...with confidence that stems from a growing, substantial faith and trust in God...This is a continuous cycle that builds from one success to the next.”
James 1:12-15
The same idea as in vv. 2-4 takes a slight twist in these verses by saying that we are blessed when we are confronted with temptations. At this point, the reader might rightly ask, “What is the difference between trials and temptations?” The problem is that the same Greek word is used to translate both. Osborne discusses this situation:
“Note the use of peirasmos in James 1:2 and James 1:12-13. In itself the word has no single meaning but only meaning potential. It is a symbol waiting for a context, when its meaning will be decided by interaction in a sentence...In 1:2 peirasmos clearly means a 'trial,' defined further as a 'testing of your faith' (v. 3) that comes in a myriad of forms (v. 2)...In verse 13, however, the meaning changes to another aspect of the semantic range, that of 'temptation.' This subtle shift is necessitated by the statement 'God is tempting me' and leads into a discussion of the source and progress of temptation – sin – death (vv. 14-15).”
The benediction on the Christian here consists of a crown of life; the meaning of this phrase is not an issue with most commentators:
“The image of a golden crown as a symbol of immortality is found in 2 Tim 4:8; James 1:12 and 1 Peter 5:4.” (DBI)
Morris says that “James does not spell out what 'the crown of life' means (cf. Rev 2:10), but clearly it points to a royal blessing, the life of the age to come.”
Fuller explains the literal root of the image: “A specific reward borrowed from the Greek world is the 'crown of life' (Jas 1:12). As a wreath, or crown, of leaves was awarded to winners of the athletic contests, so God will award his crown of eternal life to those who have persevered in trusting and loving him in the face of trials.”
One point of controversy in v. 12 is: Who gives out this crown, God or Christ? The Greek simply says “he;” some manuscripts read “God;” and NRSV, among other translations, reads “the Lord,” which may be interpreted as either referring to God or Christ (see discussion on James 5:7-11 below). Since the remainder of this passage refers to God, it is probably best to take that understanding of “he” in this case.
The meaning in v. 13 is even more controversial and leads us into some heavy theology concerning God's will:
“God is viewed as the ultimate cause of temptation but not directly as the tempter. James is saying: 'Let nobody say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by circumstances and influences that come from God or are permitted by him.' However the following rebuttal of this sentiment ('he himself tempts no one', v. 13c) shows that a direct divine temptation was also in mind.” (M.J. Harris)
“In [OT] thinking, God is considered responsible for all that happens to his people and his creation, good or evil...The theological distinction between God's absolute will and his permissive will had not yet entered the history of ideas; it was to wait for the time of Augustine. Meanwhile neither the OT nor much of the NT has corrected this way of thinking. For the beginning of the correction, see Jas 1:13.” (Fitzmyer)
Davids attempts to get around the problems in this verse by translating the first clause as “God ought not to be tested by sinful people” and understands the second clause as meaning “It is not God who wills ill to people and tries to make them fall; it is Satan.” This may be a rather drastic way to resolve the issue.
But if Christ was indeed God, what does this verse say about his being tempted in the wilderness? Copan explains, “To share in our struggle with temptation, Jesus did not engage in playacting but rather gave up having access to the knowledge that sinning for him as God was impossible (cf. James 1:13), just as he gave up other forms of knowledge.”
Notice that in the above quotations, it is assumed that peirasmos in v. 13 refers to temptation rather than testing. But that may not be correct. Gibson “raises the question of whether Gentile readers or hearers of NT writings would have understood the use of peirasmos and peirazein in such texts as...James 1:13 and 1 Timothy 6:9 in terms of the notion of enticement to sin, even if, as many NT lexicons and exegetical studies of these texts claim, that this is the idea intended to be conveyed there. In light of our observations, it seems more likely that these readers or hearers would have taken the terms as signifying only tests of faithfulness or integrity.”
J.D. Charles states that these verses contain “striking parallels from Jewish wisdom literature – notably the wisdom of Sirach (second century B.C.). In Sirach 15:11-20 the writer argues that in the context of testing God does not cause sin; rather sin proceeds from human desire.”
In verses 14-15, James utilizes an interesting literary device “for dramatic emphasis...Each statement picks up the last key word of the previous one and proceeds forcefully to a climactic conclusion.” (Harvey) Other New Testament examples are found in Romans 5:3-5; II Peter 1:5-7; and (to some extent) James 1:2-4. The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery adds: “The antithesis of being born of God is portrayed very graphically in Isaiah 59:45, Ps. 7:14, and James 1:15.”
W.R. Baker states, “Most scholars consider the use of 'evil desire' in James 1:14 the clearest example in the NT of yeser ('inclination') theology outside the OT.” Yeser is defined as “the tendency of humans to reel against God, a state for which we are culpable.” I had a Sunday school teacher while in junior high who, whenever she was reading a Bible passage concerning a sinful behavior, would simply excuse it by saying, “Oh well, that's just human nature. There's nothing we can do about it.” Other places in the Bible where the growth of evil is portrayed in terms of conception, pregnancy and birth include Job 15:35; Psalm 7:14; and Isaiah 33:11; 59:4. (Anderson)
Kasemann says that covetousness as described as the beginning of sin in intertestamentary writings and Romans 7:7-13 is developed psychologically in James 1:15. “For James mortality cannot be given a naturalistic explanation. Rather, it results from the flowering of sin.” (Shogren) Thus, we have the strange phrase “gives birth to death.”
James 5:7-11
Kreitzer labels 5:1-11 as “the most sustained section of James which deals with eschatological matters.” In these verses, “the suffering is set in an eschatological context...In the light of these facts Christians are to endure injustice (1:3-4; 5:7-11), not out of resignation, but on the grounds that their righteousness will result in a reward.” (Davids)
In this final variation on a theme, James tells us that through all of life's trials we should exercise patience. And if we do, then we can be considered blessed. As the first example of patience, James presents an agricultural image: “A good crop requires the onset of rain to enable the seeds to germinate and grow, and rain late in the growing cycle to bring crops to maturity. Hence the references in the Bible to early rain and later rain (Deut 11:14; Ps 84:6; Joel 2:23; Jas 5:7); the variant in Jer 5:24 is 'autumn rain' and 'spring rain,' cf. Job 29:23, Hos 6:3; Zech 10:1.” (DBI)
The most controversial issue in this passage is the proper identification of “Lord.” Does it refer to God the Father or to Christ: Several scholars weigh in on this issue below, and I will present their words without comment for you to decide for yourself who is the most correct:
“The references to Jesus as Lord at James 1:1, James 2:1 and probably James 5:7-8 all refer to roles he assumed or will assume after the resurrection, hence the apt qualifier at James 2:1 ('our glorious Lord Jesus').” (Witherington)
“In James 5:7-11 it is...probable that Jesus is the 'Lord' whose coming is awaited (5:7-8) and the judge standing at the door (Jas 5:9), in whose name the OT prophets spoke (Jas 5:10) and whose mercy and compassion are applauded (Jas 5:11). In all these cases it is noteworthy that Jesus is referred to in roles associated with God in the OT.” (Hurtado)
Newman discusses the use of kyrios (“Lord”) in James. There are seven appearances of the word where doubt occurs as to whom the referent refers. He feels that “the three occurrences in James 5:10-11 probably refer to God and on balance the other four (Jas. 5:7,8,14-15) refer to Jesus.”
Klappert: “The inseparable connection between the person of Christ and the presence of God's kingdom is expressed most clearly of all when Jesus Christ becomes an equivalent for 'kingdom of God.'” Among his cited NT examples is James 5:8.
“James 5:9 provides the most opportunity for interpretive debate in that it raises questions about who is understood to be the judge.” (Kreitzer) Although most commentators feel it is Christ, based on the parallelism with the previous two verses, Kreitzer feels that “judge” in v. 9 and “Lord” in vv. 7-8,10-11 all refer to God the Father instead.
James 5:11 begins with reference to those who are to be called blessed. Hawthorne in discussing the meaning of the pertinent Greek word makarios (“joy”) explains, “However one is to translate this word group, the translation 'happy' / 'count happy' is hardly the best, for 'happy' suggests an emotional reaction based on circumstances, while in fact makarios / makarizo suggest rather a reaction to whatever life might bring based on the faithfulness of God.”
Job is then cited as an example of patience in v. 11b. Some have questioned the characterization of Job as a patient man and have attempted to explain themselves:
Davids, for one, feels that the reference to Job as patient does not at all describe the OT Job but must refer to later Jewish traditions in writings such as Testament of Job. Charles adds, “Whether written or oral this tradition is apparently familiar to James's readers.”
Allen takes another approach: “In James 5:7-11 Job comes into the Christian tradition as an example of one whose patience and endurance in adversity ought to be emulated. The Greek term translated 'patience' (hypomone) more precisely means 'endurance' or 'persistence.' Job is hardly patient, but he is persistent. Job also learns that the compassionate mercy of God wins out for those who endure (James 5:11).”
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