A LIVING FAITH IN TRIALS AND TEMPTATIONS
A. Trials and wisdom
1. (James 1:1) A Greeting from James
James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.
James: There are four men mentioned in the New Testament who are named James.
1. James, the brother of John and son of Zebedee, the first apostle to be martyred. He is also known as James the Less (Matthew 10:2, Mark 15:40 and Acts 12:2).
2. James, the son of Alphaeus, another of the twelve disciples (Matthew 10:3).
3. James, the father of Judas (not Iscariot) (Luke 6:16).
4. James the Just, the half-brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55) and the brother of Jude (Jude 1), who led the church in Jerusalem (Acts 15:13).
Traditionally, the book of James has been attributed to James the Just.
A brief historical interlude:
Jesus' earthy life
During Jesus' time on earth, He grew up in a home that was probably as normal as any other Israeli family. His earthly father (Joseph) was a stone worker (aka, a carpenter), constructing buildings. (Remember that in Israel, the land is full of rocks. Most buildings in Jesus' time were constructed using rock. Carpentry of the day comprised of being a stone mason.)
Jesus was the son of Mary, but His biological father was not Joseph. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit as a new Adam; however, He was not made of the same flesh as the first Adam. But Joseph and Mary had other children conceived in the natural way. ("Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us?" Matthew 13:55-56)
One of Jesus' half brothers was a man named Jude, who wrote the New Testament letter by the same name.
Another half brother of Jesus was a man named James. James is a name translated from the Hebrew to Greek to Latin to English. James's name in Hebrew is Ya'akov (or Jacob in English). Named after the patriarch, Ya'akov means "he supplants" or "heel catcher".
Both Jude and James grew up with their older half-brother Jesus, living and working in Nazareth. We know nothing about the boys' early years together. When Jesus is about 30 years of age, He begins His earthly ministry. He begins teaching in the Galilee. His very first public declaration that He was Messiah was made in His hometown of Nazareth in the synagogue. It is likely that Jesus' half-brothers were present that day in the synagogue when they heard Him declare that He fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy of a coming Savior. His brother received the news with much skepticism.
In John chapter 7, we see Jesus' brothers showing nothing but contempt for Jesus' claim that He was the Messiah: "Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near. Therefore His brother said to Him, 'Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.' For not even His brothers were believing Him" (John 7:2-5).
Jesus' brothers advised Jesus to go to Jerusalem to declare Himself to be Messiah. They saw His claims and did not believe Him. Teaching and preaching in small towns in the Galilee would only attract a small audience. They encouraged Jesus to go to Jerusalem so that He might be seen by the whole world.
After Jesus' death and resurrection
According to Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:7, Jesus appeared to James after Jesus' death and resurrection. ("then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles" 1 Corinthians 15:7.) This was probably the cause of James's conversion because up to this time, the brothers of Jesus were not supportive of His message and mission. It seems after this encounter, James became a faithful apostle and leader of the church in Jerusalem. James followed the Lord with great devotion. An early history of the church says that James was such a man of prayer that his knees had large and thick calluses, making them look like the knees of a camel. It also says that James was martyred in Jerusalem by being pushed from a high point on the temple. Yet, the fall did not kill him. On the ground, he was beaten to death, even as he prayed for his attackers.
James never describes himself as the half-brother of Jesus. Forgoing his claim to any fleshly relationship with Jesus, he instead identifies himself by his spiritual association--as a bond-servant of God and Christ.
(Back to the text)
Bond-servant: Translated from the ancient Greek word doulos, it is better translated as "slave". A slave was one who was in permanent servitude to another. Among the Greeks, the term carried a degrading connotation.
Lord: Translated from the ancient Greek word kurios, it means master of a doulos. In the context, it means that James considered Jesus God. Hellenistic Jews used the term kurios as a name for God.
To the twelve tribes: This is a Jewish figure of speech that sometimes referred to the Jewish people as a whole. ("And Jesus said to them, 'Truly I say to you, that you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" Matthew 19:28.) Paul referred to our twelve tribes in his speech before King Agrippa (Acts 26:7). The concept of the "twelve tribes" among the Jewish people was still strong, even though they had not lived in their tribal allotments for centuries.
Who are dispersed abroad: At this time, the Jewish people were scattered all over the world. Regarding the extent of the dispersion, Josephus wrote: "There is not city, no tribe whether Greek or Barbarian, in which Jewish law and Jewish customs have not taken root." The church was largely comprised of Jewish believers in the land of Israel with a small number of Jewish believers living in the surrounding areas of Asia Minor and as far away as Rome.
Considering that James was Jewish and that he was writing to Jewish believers, the book of James has a strong Jewish flavor. James's words focus on how to live as a believer. In particular, it emphasizes a believer's behavior rather than his belief or knowledge. Moreover, it is a book concerned with sanctification (to be set apart as holy) rather than salvation.
Greetings: The salutation Greetings was the customary Greek way of opening a letter. Paul never used it. Instead, he preferred to salute his readers with the words grace and peace. Here, James uses the more customary salutation.
2. (James 1:2-4) Patient endurance in trials
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials: The first theme of James's letter is having the proper Christian attitude and persistence when experiencing trials. The Greek language used in verse 2 is especially important to understanding James's first purpose in writing.
Encountering various trials: The word "encounter" is peripipto, which means to fall into something. It does not mean to yield to something as to fall in to sin. Rather, it means to come upon something. The same word is used in Luke 10 in the parable of the Good Samaritan. "Jesus replied and said, 'A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers...'" (Luke 10:30).
The word "various trials" is an interesting translation. There are many different interpretations of this phrase. However, it literally means "many colored temptations" or "varied experiments" or "tests". The meaning behind the phrasing is of circumstances that take many forms and are brought about for a divine purpose as a test or experiment. By trials, James is talking about Christians being persecuted, hated, receiving unfair treatment due to their faith, etc. But he is also talking about ordinary difficulties such as illness, financial difficulties, relationship struggles, unemployment, etc. James is talking about the myriad of life circumstances that come upon a believer. But now that we are believers, we must resist urges and desires. We must control our action and respond differently to these circumstances.
When James uses words like "come upon us" and "experiment" or "test", he is not just describing the quality of these trials, but he is also indicating their origin. Who brings these trials? They originate from God. He brings them upon us. They do not happen by chance. They are a consequence of His Sovereign purpose to test us. It is this understanding that God guides our circumstances and brings these trials upon us that enables us to understand and obey James's command that we consider or count these circumstances as all joy.
Consider it all joy: Consider or count means to make up your mind concerning something or to judge something. We have a choice in how we view our circumstances, especially those that come upon us due to our walk of faith. The choice we should make is to count trials as joy. In the Greek, the word "joy" is chara, which means supreme joy or highest joy. While we could face trials with fear or anger or sorrow, as Christians we are to choose to be joyful.
We come to this attitude not naturally, but rather, we come to this as a result of our knowledge and faith. From verse 2, we can know that our circumstances were ordained from the Lord as a divine test. It is an experiment to see how we will respond, what we will do and how we are maturing in our walks as Christians. And God brings these trials about so that we may pass the test.
In high school, I had an English teacher who loved to spring pop quizzes on his classes. Although there were scheduled exams, the instructor always felt as though he needed to test us to ensure we were keeping up with the class. Every day, we were given reading assignments. Whenever the teacher felt like it, he would spring upon his students a quiz.
When I was prepared for the test, I approached the moment very differently that when I was caught off guard. When I was prepared, I breezed through the questions and knew I would ace the exam. It was easy during these times to consider the trial a joy. When a good mark was ensured, it was easy to celebrate. However, things were much different when illness or work or after school activities left me behind on the assignments. Even being just one day behind on the reading assignment could cause great anxiety if that was the day of the pop quiz.
James says to approach our trials of life work in a similar fashion. The more we understand how God uses trials in our lives to test us and to assign an eternal grade, the better prepared we will be to face them with confidence and joy.
Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance: James says knowing is the key to enduring trials. The Greek word for "knowing" is ginosko, which means to understand, to perceive properly or to see things in the right way. Do we see the trials in our life in the right way? Jesus tells us how we are to face trials. "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matthew 5:11-12).
We are receiving tests for the sake of a heavenly reward. Have you ever considered that each time you suffer through a trial, there is something eternal at stake? A grade from the Lord is being assigned to us each time we come through one of those trials.
And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing: When we face the trial successfully, we learn endurance. The Greek word for endurance is hupomone, which means patience or steadfastness. The word does not describe a passive waiting but an active endurance. It is not so much this quality that helps you sit quietly in the doctor's waiting room as it is the quality that helps you finish a marathon. The ancient Greek word hupomone comes from hupo ("under") and meno ("to stay, abide, remain"). At its root, it means "to remain under". It has the picture of someone under a heavy load and choosing to stay there instead of trying to escape.
James is talking about a consistency in our Christian character and attitude that does not vary with the circumstance. We should not be dancing on the rooftops one day and crying uncontrollably the next. If that describes you, then it is a sign according to Scripture that you still have a lot of maturing left to do in the Christian walk. Or perhaps, it means we have not been passing our God-appointed tests...and if we are not, then it is probably a consequence of a lack of knowledge that God brings us to these circumstances, and we are being graded for our response.
Have its perfect result: The word for "perfect" in Greek is telelos, which means complete of mature. James says that endurance leads to the result of complete maturity, perfection. Do you yearn to reach spiritual maturity? Do you desire to reflect Christ in your life and become that good and faithful servant that pleases his Master?
James states that the road that takes us to maturity is filled with trials and tests. As each test comes, we count it as joy because we know we are learning to practice patience and endurance which brings us to maturity. As James says, you will lack nothing in the area of spiritual maturity. You will be greatly blessed as a result of your close walk with the Lord.
On the other hand, what do you think the Lord will do with a Christian who is lacking spiritual maturity? Most likely, He will bring trials into our lives. And just like high school pop quizzes, when we face a trial unsuccessfully, God is likely to bring another one soon to give us another opportunity to do better. Have you ever faced trials in your life with that thought? But the key to meeting these tests successfully is in our wisdom and knowledge.
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