Douglas Jacoby Podcast

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

• 108 power-packed verses!
• Chapter 1 introduces the 12 themes of chapters 2-5.
• James is practical. James covers a whole range of everyday life issues: how we respond to pain and suffering, dealing with conflict, how our speech can help or harm, dealing with poverty and wealth, even how we should think about planning for the future. We never struggle for application!
• James is direct. James moves quickly from issue to issue. Much of what he says is straightforward to understand. There is no chance for us to get bogged down.
• James is vivid. Throughout the letter James gives us pictures and illustrations to help his message hit home in a vivid way. He speaks of forest fires, fruit-bearing plants, sea ships, horses—and that’s just one chapter! The preacher does not have to scratch his head trying to think up illustrations for the message!
• James is stretching. James assumes that the gospel touches every area of life. He does not let us off the hook in any of them! James likens God’s word to a mirror, and studying his own letter certainly has the effect of revealing to us what our hearts and attitudes are truly like.
• James is encouraging. Underlying all that James says is a desire to magnify Jesus Christ. It is Christ’s glory that drives everything. Along the way James gives us wonderful reminders of the grace and goodness of God. He can afford to be challenging because the grace of God is so compelling.
• Five verses that strike me personally are 1:19; 2:8; 3:1; 4:13; 5:20. What strikes you? How is God's Word speaking to you—not only in James, but in all 66 inspired books in Scripture?

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

• James was martyred in AD 62.
  • Prophet, Peacemaker, Martyr
  • Martyrs and confessors in the early church
• James’s execution
  • Thrown from pinnacle and beaten over the head (Jos. 2.23.12).
  • “If a priest performed the temple service while unclean… the young priests take him out of the temple court and split his skull with clubs” (Sanh. 81b).
• Responses to James:
  • The rich: Ananus II reacted violently to James’ denunciations of the rich and influential, perhaps more than to his lack of patriotism and his following a false messiah.
  • Yet James was highly respected among the Jews. Even the Pharisees defended him.
• Much in the epistle of James indirectly points to the danger James was in—James, the prophet and peacemaker who was executed early in his 4th decade as a follower of his brother (1:12; 2:6-7; 4:1-2; 4:13-14; 5:10-11; 5:6).
• Champions of righteousness and peace often meet violent deaths: Mahatma Gandhi; Martin Luther King; Oscar Romero… Jesus and James.
• “[Jesus] flatly refused the temptations of power and fame offered him by the Grand Inquisitor from hell. He was no Judas Maccabaeus redivivus [explain]. His conspiracy was not that of the Zealots of his day. His revolutionary manifesto was not a bloody call to arms like that of Marx and Engels, Hitler and Himmler, Mao Zedong and Pol Pot. His mission was not at the point of a sword like Muhammad’s. In fact, Jesus was the unarmed prophet who renounced the sword, and seemed to turn away from the use of force that any civilization needs in order to build and sustain itself. And he appeared to show little or no interest in many of the burning issues that parade across our television screens, shout at us in the headlines of our newspapers, and rage like wildfire through our social media.” Os Guinness, Renaissance: The Power of the Gospel However Dark the Times (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2014), 95.
• James breathed and lived in that same spirit!

Next / finally: My personal takeaways

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Acts 15

• Last time: James was a prophet (fiery hot). But he was also a peacemaker.
• The Jew-Gentile Controversy (Acts 15:1, 5) was the most contentious issue in the 1st century.
  • The Judaizers held that to be truly spiritual—or (in this case) even to be saved—a man must be circumcised. Circumcision entailed following the terms of the old covenant / the Law of Moses.
  • The apostles taught otherwise.
• The Council of Jerusalem (49 AD) focused on this serious issue.
  • The apostles and elders discussed the matter. Probably Galatians was written in 48, before the Council—otherwise it would be odd that Paul didn't appeal to the decision made in Jerusalem.
  • Peter takes a stand.
  • Paul and Barnabas provide evidence.
  • James guides the meeting towards a constructive conclusion. He frames the issue in light of scripture, and then suggests that a letter, personally delivered by respected leaders, is the best practical measure. His suggestion is followed.
• The result is edifying.
• It is clear from passages like this that James was a most respected leader in the Jerusalem church.

For you and me:

1.  
   1. Aim to become good listeners, carefully hearing and evaluating both sides of any issue.
   2. Think theologically—scripturally—about spiritual issues and also about our world.
   3. Let's craft practical solutions to problems, and entrust them to others. Don’t dominate.
   4. Be a team player.
   5. Remember Jesus’ words, Blessed are the peacemakers… (Matt 5:9).

Next: Jamesthe Martyr

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

• James is a “pillar of the church” (Gal 2:9), brother of the Lord, and highly respected leader. But he also speaks prophetically—his tongue dipped in the white-hot fire of God’s justice and righteous indignation.
• Try to feel the strength, the conviction, the vehemence of his words (ten selections from the NAB, adapted and abbreviated). Listen closely. Let these direct and challenging words sink in (1:6-8, 9-11, 22, 26; 2:19-20; 4:3-4, 8-9, 12, 14-16; 5:1-5).
• “No New Testament document… Has such a socially sensitized conscience and so explicitly champions the cause of the economically disadvantaged, the victims of oppression or unjust wage agreements, and the poor who are seen in the widows and orphans who have no legal defender to speak up for their rights. The rich merchants and luxury-loving agricultural magnates are held up to a withering and scornful reproach. Not only are their practices condemned as part of their profound attitude that forgets God and boasts in proud achievement. Their treatment of the workers and the needy is just as forthrightly exposed. And, to cap it all, James directs his shafts not simply at their amassing of wealth, nor even at the wealth itself – represented in the grain and the gold and the garments that were their trademark – which is doomed to be blighted. The rich people themselves will share the fate of their possessions. This indictment marks one of the Bible’s most thoroughgoing judgments on wealth and its possessors.” (Ralph P. Martin, James in the WBC, lxvii).

Questions for you and me:

• When do we get indignant? When our rights are infringed, or when we see the powerful taking advantage of the powerless?
• Are we regularly reading the prophetic portions of Scripture, or do we neglect them? (Highly recommended: Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Prophets.)
• Are we speaking up—in church, at work, wherever there is injustice—or holding silent?
• Are we sharing our wealth with the needy, or giving in order to alleviate their pain and suffering?

Next: James the Peacemaker

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The final four reflections:

• James the Prophet
• James the Peacemaker
• James the Martyr
• Series conclusion (and my personal takeaways)

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James 5:19-20

• Why does the letter end this way? It is likely people were leaving the fellowship—not persevering, or perhaps discouraged because of prejudice.
• Wandering "from the truth" us about lifestyle more than doctrinal confusion.
• A correction about "falling away" and "restoration."
  • Unfortunate terminology
  • Falling away: Heb 6:4-6; Heb 10:26; 2 Pet 2:20-22
  • Stumbling: Matt 13:21; 26:31; John 16:1; etc.
• Restoration
  • Gal 6:1-2; 2 Cor 13:9; 1 Pet 5:10
  • This is for insiders, active members of the body, not those who have left.
  • Ps 23:3—Don't we all need "restoring," refreshment, from time to time?
• Implications
  • Let's avoid unbiblical language, esp. when terms reinforce false understandings of God and his Word.
  • Don’t speak of former members as fallaways. Rather, how about "walkaways" or "wanderers"?
  • There is no comeback from falling away. But only God knows with total certainty the point of no return. See also Prov 29:1.
  • Yes, in a sense those who have quit need some form of “restoration,” yet this isn’t biblical language and is also likely to reinforce the false notion that there can be only one institutional group on earth faithfully following the Lord.
  • Sins covered over, or forgiveness? The latter is more likely.
  • If the thoughts on falling away and restoration are new to you, I can assure you they are actually ancient!
  • It’s hard to fight against tradition, and traditional language. But let's strive to do so all the same.

Next: James in the ISV

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James 5:13-18

• Prayer
  • 7x in this passage
  • "You must pray with all your might. That does not mean saying your prayers, or sitting gazing about in church or chapel with eyes wide open while someone else says them for you. It means fervent, effectual, untiring wrestling with God. You can be sure that this kind of prayer the devil and the world and your own indolent, unbelieving nature will oppose. They will pour water on this flame." – William Booth (1829-1912)
• Singing—music is not only an important part of culture, but touches our very souls.
• Elders.
  • It's assumed throughout the NT that churches are led by elders.
  • What if you don’t have elders? My opinion is that whoever functions in the oversight role is a person of prayer, and hence someone to be trusted to pray for you.
• Anointing
  • What about the Roman Catholic interpretation? The person summoning the elders is ill / weak – not likely to need extreme unction. This is a promise about life/restoration, not a preparation for death.
  • What about the charismatic / Pentecostal teaching about healing? This passage does not speak of anyone with a miraculous gift of healing.

• Probably this is a general principle, not an iron-clad promise.
• For more, see Q&A 752.
• Confession
  • Most churches ignore this passage! One wonders whether this is because members refuse to be open, or because church leaders themselves have something to hide.
  • Historically, the early church practiced a rather public confession. This eventually evolved into the confessional (in Catholicism). Then (in Protestantism) it virtually dropped out, or became confession only to God.
  • How honest are we—really? “…. The Christian faith calls for an open and voluntary confession of our wrongs, whenever we are wrong. This… is challenging and it may certainly be embarrassing for anyone who has to do it, but it is in fact an act of moral courage. For in confession we are called to do what no human does naturally and easily: to go on record against ourselves.” (Os Guinness, in Renaissance: The Power of the Gospel However Dark the Times. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2014), 80).
• Elijah: we can relate to him. Anyone can pray, not just apostles & prophets!

Next: The Truth about Falling Away

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James 5:12

• Not referring to profanity
• Similar to 3rd commandment – context of oath-taking.
• Not that we should throw around the words Jesus or God carelessly.
• Note connection with the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5). Frequent references to SOM material in James.
• Based on these passages, some Christians refuse to take oaths. Their word is their bond.
• Yet what about signing documents? I should not have to sign a mortgage statement, or work contract, because I honor my pledges. But in this fallen world few are totally reliable.

• Note that the Bible does allow us to go back on our word in certain situations. Balance these two passages:
  • Ps 15: Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose way of life is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart… who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind…
  • Prov 6:1-5: If you… have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth…Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
  • Sometimes wisdom or love requires that we balance principles.
• In a more political /military context, unless the oath involves a false god – as soldiers might have to take (one of the 3 things new converts were forbidden to do).
• Zealot oaths would not have entailed idolatry (apart from the idolatry of power), but they would have entailed rash promises to courses of violence and coercion.
• Beware the dangers of political promises, oaths, alignments – Jesus & Politics.
• We should all be people of our word.

Tomorrow: Pray x 7

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James 5:10-11

• Why patient endurance is needed
  • Socioeconomic disparities
  • Oppression
  • And (maybe) because the Lord's return has not yet taken place.

• Regular opposition from the world
• Prophets—why they needed to be patient
  • To honor the covenant
  • Didn't pile on new doctrines, or extra rules.Generally poor response
  • Called people to Torah
  • Discouragement
  • Some ministered for years, some for decades
  • This was very tough work, emotionally. Recall Elijah, Ezekiel, Habakkuk, and (esp.) Hosea and Jeremiah.
  • Greatly outnumbered
  • State prophets, did not challenge corrupt leaders, and connived at unfaithful living
  • It was dangerous to be a true prophet
  • Fate of the prophets
    • Jeremiah – beating, stocks, prison, cistern
    • Isaiah – sawn in two
    • Elijah – Jezebel after him!
    • Daniel – lion’s den
    • Amos – heavy opposition from rel estab in Bethel
    • Etc.
• Job
  • A sort of drama…
  • Job questioned God—but he did not give up.
  • Hardship: Lost children, respect / honor, wealth—but he persevered.
  • Compassion / mercy on Job? Far more at the end than the beginning.

Tomorrow: Yes and No

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James 5:7-9

• More about the Zealots
  • In the Jewish War, they took revenge on the rich, according to Josephus.
  • Rooted in the 2nd century BC:
    • Revolution (Judas Maccabaeus)
    • The ensuing Hasmonean dynasty becomes corrupt
    • The Zealots targeted corrupt Hasmoneans – even assassinating a high priest.
    • Later they targeted Romans.
    •  = dagger-bearers.
    • Herod the Great tries to extinguish the movement, forcing them to Galilee.
  • Later history (the Jewish War, 66-73 AD):
    • Wealthy priestly families attacked. (They enjoyed a very high standard of living.)
    • The Roman Emperor, Nero, aware of the seriousness of the rebellion in Palestine, sent his best general Vespasian, with three legions, to quell the outbreak. Vespasian’s troops easily penetrated Josephus’ defences and dispersed the Galilean army.
    • Gamla vanquished, 4000 Zealots killed, while 5000 hurled themselves over the cliff.
    • Masada—another amazing story of resistance.
• Today's text urges patience. Recall the socioeconomic disparities / lack of love, as well as the real possibility of persecution.
• No grumbling or bad attitudes.
• We are reminded not to be judgmental (negativity)—harking back to 4:11-12.
• The rich will get what’s coming to them: 1:10-11; 4:9-10; 5:1-6.
• Nearness of the Lord can be taken two ways.
• The Judge is standing at the door.
  • Awareness of that fact should keep us humble.
  • This should also prevent us from resorting to violence, or association with violent powers, when we feel desperate about the injustices in the world—or the wickedness of our enemies.

Tomorrow: Hang in there!

• Sicarii