Tiago 2
A.T. Robertson · Citado em PreceptAustin
Tiago 2
Robertson adds that prosopolepsia is "made from prosōpon lambanein (Luke 20:21+; Galatians 2:6+), which is a Hebrew idiom for panim nasa, "to lift up the face on a person," to be favorable and so partial to him." Hiebert adds a helpful note on prosopolepsia - This compound noun that literally means "a receiving of face" is based on the Septuagint (Lxx) rendering of a Hebrew phrase meaning "to lift up the face" (Lev 19:15; Ps. 82:2). The compound noun does not occur in secular Greek or the Septuagint and is apparently a term developed early in the Christian church. It came to be a well-known term to denote the partiality of a judge raising the face of someone to his unjust advantage. It denotes "a biased judgment based on external circumstances such as rank, wealth, or race, disregarding the intrinsic merit of the person involved." This was a common failing of Oriental judges, and the Old Testament strictly prohibited it (Lev 19:15; Deut. 1:17; 2 Chr 19:6-7; Pr 24:23). The early church, with its strong sense of justice and personal worth, was keenly aware of this evil practice. (Commentary on James) SHORT EXCURSUS ON RICHES Ecc 5:19 riches - gift of God (Riches are a gift, not a goal) Lk 12:15-21 beware of greed; life not = possessions; fool stores up treasure but not rich toward God Lk 16:13-14 cannot serve God and wealth Mt 19:24 - It is extremely difficult for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom. Pr 11:4 - Riches cannot save in judgment; trust in wealth fails, but righteousness delivers and prospers. Pr 11:28- Trust in riches fails; righteous will flourish Pr 23:4-5- Do not toil obsessively for wealth; it is fleeting like an eagle in flight. (Wealth is fleeting). Ecc 5:10- Love of money leads to dissatisfaction; it is vanity. Mk 4:18-19- Wealth can choke the Word and prevent spiritual growth (or salvation). (Material desire can block God’s Word) 1Ti 6:9-10- Love of money = danger – Leads to temptations, ruin, and wandering from faith. 1Ti 6:17-19- Instruct the rich not to be arrogant or rely on uncertain wealth; instead, they should be rich in good deeds, generous, and ready to share, storing up treasures in heaven. (Be rich in good works – Generosity and God-centered living store eternal treasure) SUMMARY - Riches themselves aren’t evil, but attachment to them can lead to spiritual danger. There is a balance of enjoying God’s gifts versus being enslaved by them. Receive wealth as a gift, don't pursue it as a god; don't trust it, don't love it, don't serve it; use it generously for God's purposes, because it is temporary, spiritually dangerous, and cannot save. Lord of Glory (1 Corinthians 2:8; James 2:1) - Borrow All the Divine Names in the Bible - Herbert Lockyer In a way, this title is akin to the one we have just considered for glory is synonymous with heaven. Describing the return of Jesus to heaven at His ascension, Paul says, "He was received up into glory" (1 Timothy 3:16). As the Lamb, "He is all the glory in Emmanuel's land." Twice over Jesus is designated Lord of Glory, and this title, as all others, is illuminated when interpreted in the light of its context. The companion titles Father of Glory and Lord of Glory are pregnant with spiritual meaning. Take the former, which reads in the original, "the Father of the glory," "the Father Glory-Clad" as Way puts it. The article suggests that the glory is preeminently the Father's, "the Father to whom the glory belongs," and He waits to make us the recipients of "the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints" (Ephesians 1:7, 18). Stephen tells us that as The God of Glory" He appeared unto Moses (Acts 7:2). See Psalm 29:3. As for our inheritance of "the riches of the glory,"
Tiago 2
Robertson says "They are guilty of partiality (a divided mind) as between the two strangers." Gilbrant has an interesting thought on the use of diakrino in this passage - When these believers made prejudicial distinctions between classes of people they wavered between the thinking of the world which made class distinctions and the faith they claimed to possess which forbade showing partiality." (Complete Biblical Library) Brian Bellhas an interesting comment on the closely related word diakrisis (derived from diakrino) writing that "This type of judging (James 2:4) is wrong because of the motive or attitude behind it. Right Discerning! = Hebrews. 5:14+ "Solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern (diakrisis) good and evil. a) diakrino (prefix added) meaning, “to separate, to distinguish, to select.” It’s the idea of distinguishing on the basis of comparison, coupled with careful thinking. The mark of a mature Christian is the ability to discern good from evil, strengths from weaknesses, to be concerned for the welfare of those we correct. Judges (2923)(krites from krino = to judge) were those who decided making their decisions based on examination and evaluation, in this context, the way the person appeared! We never do that do we? (Compare Lev 19:15+). Evil (wicked, bad) (4190)(poneros from poneo = toil) means evil including evil, malignant character, pernicious and denotes determined, aggressive, and fervent evil that actively opposes what is good. Poneros is not just bad in character (like kakos), but bad in effect (injurious)! That is a vivid description of what personal favoritism does! In short, partiality is vicious, injurious and destructive! Motives (reasonings) (1261)(dialogismos from diá = through + logizomai = reckon) means literally they were reasoning through and doing so with relative thoroughness and completeness but sadly not with integrity. ILLUSTRATION - Treating rich visitors with great respect and Treating poor visitors with no respect (at least one's he thought were poor!). -- In 1884 a young man died, and after the funeral his grieving parents decided to establish a memorial to him. With that in mind they met with Charles Eliot, president of Harvard University. Eliot received the unpretentious couple into his office and asked what he could do. After they expressed their desire to fund a memorial, Eliot impatiently said, “Perhaps you have in mind a scholarship.” “We were thinking of something more substantial than that...perhaps a building,” the woman replied. In a patronizing tone, Eliot brushed aside the idea as being too expensive and the couple departed. The next year, Eliot learned that this plain pair had gone elsewhere and established a $26 million memorial named Leland Stanford Junior University, better known today as Stanford! (Today in the Word) Charles Swindoll has a great illustration of not showing favoritism entitled "General Seating No Longer Available" When I was stationed on the island of Okinawa, our general liked to sit down front during chapel services. There was always a place reserved for him and his entourage of aides—all those guys that waited on him hand and foot. He would usually arrive about five minutes after the worship started, and you could just hear all of them marching in step to go sit down in that one spot that everybody knew belonged to them. Well, we had a fine Christian chaplain who was a real maverick, a strong preacher, and a courageous fellow. He was one of the only chaplains I knew who was genuinely born-again. One Easter Sunday morning the chapel was packed. There were guys outside who couldn’t get a seat. The chaplain wanted to make as much room as possible for all the troops, so he packed them in wherever there was space. He told the ushers, “Bring ’em down.” And guess who sat in the general’s seat? A private. Now in the Marine Corps, trust me, no one else sits where generals are supposed to sit—especially buck privates! But this Easter Sunday he did. Then in came the general. He surveyed the chapel and saw there was no place available. The general obviously didn’t like that, because our fine chaplain was sent off that island in less than three months’ time. The chaplain paid a big price for a valuable virtue. He refused to show partiality, even if it meant seating an on-time private over a tardy general. But God works in mysterious ways. I found out months later that our chaplain who got booted off Okinawa wound up being stationed in Hawaii. How good is that! (Swindoll's Living Insights New Testament Commentary – James, 1 & 2 Peter) Illustration of Partiality - Pastor Stuart Silvester told me of a conversation he had with an acquaintance who frequently flew his small private plane in and out of Toronto International Airport. He asked the pilot if he ever encountered problems taking of and landing a small craft at an airport that was dominated by so many large jets. His friend responded, “My plane may be small, but I have the same rights, the same privileges, and the same access to that airport as anyone else—even the jumbo jets!” Beloved you can see the application - the small planes can fly at the same level as the jumbo jets around here. The poor man should be as welcome as the rich man in the church of Jesus. Talk About Prejudice! - An African-American minister Raleigh Washington said the following "When I was born, I was black. When I grew up, I was still black. When I go out in the cold, I'm still black. When I go out in the sun, I get more black. When I'm sick, I'm black, and when I die, I'm sure I'll still be black. But I found out that when white people are born, you're pink. When you grow up, you become white. When you go out in the cold, 'lOU turn blue. And when you stay out in the sun, you turn reg. When you're sick, they say, "You look green," and when you die, you turn purple. Now what I want to know is why do they call blacks "colored people?" Sad Illustration of Favoritism - The late Max Cadenhead, when he was pastor of First Baptist Church in Naples, Florida, riveted his congregation one day with a bold confession. "My message today is on the parable of the Good Samaritan," Max announced. "Let me start with an illustration. "Remember last year when the Browns came forward to join the church?" he asked. Everyone nodded ; the Browns were a very influential family. "Well, the same day a young man came forward and gave his life to Christ. I could tell he needed help and we counseled him." No one nodded; no one remembered. "We worked with the Browns, got them onto committees. They've been wonderful folks," ' Cadenhead said to muffled amens. "The young manOwell, we lost track. "Until yesterday, that is, as I was preparing today's message on the Good Samaritan. I picked up the paper, and there was that young man's picture. He had shot and killed an elderly woman." Chins dropped throughout the congregation, mine included, as the pastor continued. "I never followed up on that young man, so I'm the priest who saw the man in trouble and crossed to the other side of the road . I am a hypocrite." More of that kind of sober honesty in the church would be very healthy. For God's kingdom is just the opposite of ours. We go after the rich or the influential, thinking if we can just bag t his one or that one, we'll have a real catch for the kingdom . Like the folks profiled by the apostle James, we offer our head tables to the wealthy and well-dressed and reserve the back seats for those we consider unimportant. BIBLE ILLUSTRATION - The Lord even had to remind Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:7 “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world [to be] rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? GNT Ἀκούσατε, ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοί· οὐχ ὁ θεὸς ἐξελέξατο τοὺς πτωχοὺς τῷ κόσμῳ πλουσίους ἐν πίστει καὶ κληρονόμους τῆς βασιλείας ἧς ἐπηγγείλατο τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν; Amplified Listen, my beloved brethren: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and in their position as believers and to inherit the kingdom which He has promised to those who love Him? Phillips For do notice, my brothers, that God chose poor men, whose only wealth was their faith, and made them heirs to the kingdom promised to those who love him. Wuest Listen, my brethren, beloved ones. Did not God select out for himself those who are poor in the world’s estimation to be wealthy in the sphere of faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? NET Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! Did not God choose the poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him? NLT Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn't God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren't they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? KJV Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? ESV Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? ASV Hearken, my beloved brethren; did not God choose them that are poor as to the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him? CSB Listen, my dear brothers: Didn't God choose the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that He has promised to those who love Him? NIV Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? NKJ Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? NRS Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? YLT Hearken, my brethren beloved, did not God choose the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the reign that He promised to those loving Him? NAB Listen, my beloved brothers. Did not God choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him? NJB Listen, my dear brothers: it was those who were poor according to the world that God chose, to be rich in faith and to be the heirs to the kingdom which he promised to those who love him. GWN Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! Didn't God choose poor people in the world to become rich in faith and to receive the kingdom that he promised to those who love him? BBE Give ear, my dear brothers; are not those who are poor in the things of this world marked out by God to have faith as their wealth, and for their heritage the kingdom which he has said he will give to those who have love for him? Listen, my beloved brethren: Judges 9:7 1Ki 22:28 Job 34:10 38:14 Pr 7:24 8:32 Mk 7:14 Ac 7:2 did not God choose the poor of this world: Jas 1:9 Isa 14:32 29:19 Zep 3:12 Zec 11:7,11 Mt 11:5 Lu 6:20 Lu 9:57,58 16:22,25 Joh 7:48 1Co 1:26-28 2Co 8:9 to be rich in faith: Pr 8:17-21 Lu 12:21 1Co 3:21-23 2Co 4:15 6:10 Eph 1:18 3:8 1Ti 6:18 Heb 11:26 Rev 2:9 3:18 21:7 heirs of the kingdom: Mt 5:3 25:34 Lu 12:32 22:29 Ro 8:17 1Th 2:12 2Th 1:5 2Ti 4:8,18 1Pe 1:4 2Pe 1:11 which He promised to those who love Him, Jas 1:12 Ex 20:6 1Sa 2:30 Pr 8:17 Mt 5:3 Lu 6:20 12:32 1Co 2:9 2Ti 4:8 James 2 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: 1 Corinthians 1:26-29+ For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but God has chosen (eklego - ELECTION) the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen (eklego) the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen (eklego), the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29 so that (HERE IS THE PURPOSE OF GOD'S CHOOSING THE FOOLISH, WEAK, BASE, THINGS THAT ARE NOT) no man may boast before God. Luke 6:20+ And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. John 15:16+ “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. Acts 13:48+ When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. Ephesians 1:4+ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love THE INCONSISTENCY EXPOSED In this next section (James 2:5-11) James now exposes the absurd irony of the situation using three arguments against the practice of favoritism and each argument is in the form of a question which expects an affirmative answer. James knows how to get his reader's attention by forcing them to answer! This is a good practice when teaching the Bible - rather than lecturing (often in one ear and out the other), interacting (including interrogating), which tends to engage the hearers. Charles Swindoll observes that James gives 3 reasons to show that favoritism should not be practiced by believers - "a theological reason, a logical reason, and a biblical reason. A Theological Reason (James 2:5). God shows no partiality, so neither should His children. The apostle Paul develops this theological principle in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29.... A Logical Reason (James 2:6-7)...indiscriminately showing favoritism toward the rich and mistreating the poor made no sense at all!.... A Biblical Reason (James 2:8-11). Finally, James points his readers to Scripture, which excludes all partiality." (Insights on James, 1 & 2 Peter - Page 52) Listen, (akouo) my beloved (agapetos) brethren (cf Jas 1:16+, Jas 1:19+) - Listen calls for the special attention of James' audience. He knows that there will be some who will probably be offended. So James is kind (motivated by love) but firm and once again addresses them as his fellow believers adding that they are beloved, the very adjective God used of His own Son (Mt 3:17). They are dear to him. Beloved is used (other than of Jesus) only of Christians who are united with God and with each other in this divine love. Agapetos speaks of love called out of one’s heart by preciousness of the object loved. Believers are greatly loved (held dear) by God Himself! James is saying that he is motivated by this quality of love and desires the best for them. Beloved, is that how you are loving your brothers and sisters in Christ? 🙏 THOUGHT - There may be another reason James began this sentence with the attention grabbing verb Listen. The same Greek verb akouo is found in the Septuagint (Lxx) of the famous Shema of Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear (Septuagint - akouo) O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! And so this verb would have been very familiar to the Jewish believers who very likely had heard and/or recited the Shema every morning and evening as was the typical practice in orthodox Jewish homes. Listen is akouo in the aorist imperative a command in essence saying "Give me your full attention! This is important!" It is interesting that only James uses Listen as an attention grabber in all of the epistles. The other uses are in the Gospels and Acts. One of the uses in Acts 15:13+ is in the context of the Jerusalem Council where Luke records that "After they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, “Brethren, listen to me. (Mt. 13:18; Mt. 21:33; Mk. 7:14; Lk. 18:6; Acts 2:22; Acts 7:2; Acts 13:16; Acts 15:13; Acts 22:1; Jas. 2:5) REAL RICHES ARE "OUT OF THIS WORLD!" Did not God choose (eklego) the poor (ptochos) of this world (kosmos) [to be] rich (plousios) in faith (pistis) - Answer? Yes! Note the paradox - the poor will be rich (of course not every poor person will be saved and there is no merit with God because of their poverty). The very ones they treat with contempt God treats with amazing (unmerited) grace! God's order is frequently to invert the world's order - the weak will be strong, more blessed to give than receive, the low (humble) will be lifted up (exalted), etc, etc. Little wonder that the unbelieving world often considers Christians as crazy! To snub the poor is to dishonor those God has honored. James is not teaching that God elects people because they are poor (not all the poor are of the "elect"), but that God's election has frequently fallen upon those whom the world despises and overlooks, directly rebuking the congregation for honoring those whom God has not necessarily chosen and dishonoring those whom He very well may have. And regarding faith, poverty strips away every false prop and forces the soul to depend on God alone, producing a quality of faith less often seen among the wealthy. 🙏 THOUGHT - As a successful physician, I was relatively well off by the world's standards when I was born again at age 39. So I am especially sensitive to passages like James 2:5ff and eternally grateful that the Spirit called me and birthed me into God's Kingdom. The words of Jesus are a continual, precious reminder to me of my having been made rich in faith at age 39... And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Lk 18:24-25+) See Kaiser's Hard Sayings article Woe to the Rich - page 658 D Edmond Hiebert comments that "When men become Christians, it is not due to their own unaided decision to accept the gospel but to the fact that God has chosen and drawn them unto Himself (John 15:16; 1 John 4:10; Rom. 9:11)." (Commentary on James) Spiros Zodhiates adds a note on chosen - "There is one thing which James wants to make clear by this word “chosen” and that is that God always takes the initiative when it comes to the salvation of man, and man actually does nothing more than respond to that initiative. Without that initiative of God, man could not possibly exercise the will to be saved. The child could not catch his father’s hand if the hand were not made available, if it were not stretched out. Grace is available to all, but it is only appropriated by some, and these some are certainly God’s elect.....Remember that the verb is in the middle voice, which indicates an action done for oneself and in one’s own interest. This demonstrates to us that God in the exercise of His sovereignty and choice interferes in no way with our free will to choose to respond or to reject the divine initiative. will to choose to respond or to reject the divine initiative. It may sound like a mystery or a paradox, but it is one of the many found in the Scriptures which the finite mind of man cannot understand: that God’s choice of us is in no way dependent on our choice of Him. As Beecher used to say, “The elect are whosoever will, and the non-elect are whosoever won’t.”" (Borrow James Commentary) David
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Robertson - This is law. To be a lawbreaker one does not have to violate all the laws, but he must keep all the law (holon ton nomon) to be a law-abiding citizen, even laws that one does not like. See Matthew 5:18-19 for this same principle. There is Talmudic parallel: "If a man do all, but omit one, he is guilty for all and each." This is a pertinent principle also for those who try to save themselves. (Word Pictures in the New Testament) Grant Osborne - "The point is that "failing" (STUMBLES) in one area is enough to lead a person away from God. Thus, such a one "is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God's laws." The courtroom metaphor continues, and the thrust is that God will judge them guilty. This does not mean that discrimination is the same as murder but rather that both are equally breaking God's law. (James, 1-2 Peter, Jude, Revelation - Page 54) Simon Kistemaker has a comment that is apropos to "stumbles" writing that "If I stub my toe, not only my toe but also my whole body hurts. Every part of my body is integrally related to the whole (cf 1 Cor 12:26). If I break one of God's commandments, I sin against the entire law of God." (Exposition of James) Simon Kistemaker of course is illustrating how the law of God is viewed as a unity (= an undivided or unbroken completeness or totality with nothing wanting; the quality of being united into one). ESV Study Bible on "fails in one point has become accountable (enochos) for all of it" (ESV translation) - The law was considered an interdependent whole, (ED: cf unity) and any infraction constituted a breaking of the law as a whole. Jesus said, “not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Mt. 5:18+). Thus favoritism (James 2:9) makes one “accountable” (Gk. enochos, a legal term for “liable” or “guilty” before God’s court) for the whole law. (Borrow ESV Study Bible) He has become guilty (enochos) of all - James is not saying he is guilty of all in the sense that that he has violated every single law of God. He is saying he is guilty of all, because as discussed above, the law is considered a unity. John
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Robertson - For this principle of requital see Matthew 5:7; Matthew 6:14; Matthew 7:1-2; Matthew 18:33. Douglas Moo - James suggests that ‘showing mercy’ is one particular aspect of the law of liberty that is important for his readers to recognize. ‘Showing mercy’ is, in fact, just what the love command requires (v. 8) and what James’ readers are failing to do when they ‘dishonour the poor man’.....If James’ readers continue to discriminate, they place themselves in danger of facing a harsh judgment. If you are a person who habitually, repeatedly fails to show compassion/mercy to your fellow man, then, simply, soberly stated, you are utterly destitute of Christian character. You are lost and will receive no mercy at the Great White Throne Judgment. On the other hand the children of God will imitate their Father and are energized by His Spirit to show mercy and shun partiality (Of course none of us will ever be perfect in not showing partiality -- it is not about perfection but about direction). We are never more like our Lord than when show mercy (and love). And to reiterate, because we have the indwelling Holy Spirit of God, it is impossible for a believer not to show mercy/compassion to some degree. As stated, we will never do it perfectly, but to NEVER do it signifies that such a person has never been born again! James is saying that a life characterized by discrimination and favoritism indicates a damned soul! R Kent
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Robertson - Only mercy can triumph over justice with God and men. "Mercy is clothed with the divine glory and stands by the throne of God" (Chrysostom). See Romans 8:31-39; Matthew 9:13; Matthew 12:7.