Page 31 - General Epistles (James through Jude) Textbook

“Jesus, . . . but probably a paradigmatic righteous person. The Old and Jewish writings regularly
condemn rich people for exploiting and indirectly killing the poor (in the Apocrypha [NRSV] see
Sirach 34:26-27: “to take away a neighbor’s living is to commit murder; to deprive an employee of
wages is to shed blood”; see also 2:5- 7; Ps.10:8-9; 37:32; Amos 2:6; 5:12; Mic. 2:2, 6-9; 3:1-3; 9-12;
6:9-16).”
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Christians’ Response to Rich People’s Exploitations (Jas. 5:7-12).

Having warned the rich people about the coming judgement because of their mishandling of wealth (or
riches), James turns to exploited Christians in order to encourage them in the light of their exploitations
by their rich landowners. James used three illustrations that they needed to heed and from which they
need to get some encouragement as they waited for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. They
needed that because they were possibly beginning to doubt if Jesus Christ would come due to continued
sufferings at the hands of the rich people. First, Jewish Christians needed to wait for the second coming
of Christ just like a farmer patiently waits for 1) the land to yield its valuable crops, 2) the autumn, and
3) spring rains. James has now returned to his usual address of his audience as brothers and sisters. And
so, while their sufferings were real and needed urgent resolve, their rescue relied on the second coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ. For successful waiting of our Lord, they needed to be patient like a farmer.
Next, they needed to stand firm because the coming of the Lord was near. No one needs to stand firm if
there is no pressure nor anything that would allow that person to not stand firm. How near or soon was
the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ? This question is big and controversial because the “First-century
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believers expected Christ to return in their lifetime (Luke 21:28; Rom 13:11–12). Osborne observes:

The New Testament stresses imminence as the biblical demand to be ready at all times, to live our
lives with the expectation of his soon return. There is also an inaugurated aspect, for the emphasis is
that the process has begun. The result of Christ’s first coming is that we are living in the last days,
experiencing the tension between the “already” and the “not yet.” Christ can return at any time,
and when he does, we will be held accountable for how we have lived. This is the thrust of the New
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Testament.

Second, in their patience endurance of difficulties, Jewish Christians needed to imitate the prophets who
while suffering to the point of death (and some truly died) for speaking in the name of the Lord,
endured. As a result, they were considered blessed.

Third, they needed to consider Job who having persevered in trusting God, allowed him to receive God’s
blessings. Now, for those who are able to endure unjust suffering, to them, God is compassionate and
merciful. On Job’s endurance, Osborne’s summary deserves a fair reading:

The second model for endurance in the midst of suffering—Job—makes sense on the surface,
because Job is the paradigm of the suffering saint. But when considered more closely, Job does not
seem to be an example of “patience,” for he frequently, even bitterly, complained, asking God why
these things had taken place (Job 7:11–21; 10:18–22; 13:20–27; 23:2–7; 30:20–23). Many think
(Davids, Johnson, Martin, Moo) that James was either acquainted with the Testament of Job (that
may have been written near the same time as James) or the tradition behind it, for that work also
extols Job’s patient endurance (Job 1:5; 25:4–5; 27:6–7; see Gray 2004, for the view that these are
thematic parallels rather than literary dependence). This is a very real possibility, but we also must
remember that in the canonical book of Job the hero never denounced either God or his faith but

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