1. JAMES 1 1-12 COMME TARY EDITED BY GLE PEASE 1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:Greetings. BAR ES, "James, a servant of God - On the meaning of the word servant in this connection, see the note at Rom_1:1. Compare the note at Phm_1:16. It is remarkable that James does not call himself an apostle; but this does not prove that the writer of the Epistle was not an apostle, for the same omission occurs in the Epistle of John, and in the Epistle of Paul to the Philippians, the Thessalonians, and to Philemon. It is remarkable, also, considering the relation which James is supposed to have borne to the Lord Jesus as his brother (Gal_1:19; Introduction, 1). That he did not refer to that as constituting a ground of claim to his right to address others; but this is only one instance out of many, in the New Testament, in which it is regarded as a higher honor to be the servant of God, and to belong to his family, than to sustain any relations of blood or kindred. Compare Mat_11:50. It may be observed also (Compare the introduction, Section 1), that this term is one which was especially appropriate to James, as a man eminent for his integrity. His claim to respect and deference was not primarily founded on any relationship which he sustained; any honor of birth or blood; or even any external office, but on the fact that he was a servant of God. And of the Lord Jesus Christ - The servant of the Lord Jesus, is an appellation which is often given to Christians, and particularly to the ministers of religion. They are his servants, not in the sense that they are slaves, but in the sense that they voluntarily obey his will, and labor for him, and not for themselves. To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad - Greek The twelve tribes which are in the dispersion, or of the dispersion ( en t diaspora). This word occurs only here and in 1Pe_1:1, and Joh_7:35. It refers properly to those who lived out of Palestine, or who were scattered among the Gentiles. There were two great dispersions; the Eastern and the Western. The first had its origin about the time when the ten tribes were carried away to Assyria, and in the time of the Babylonian captivity. In consequence of these events, and of the fact that large numbers of the Jews went to Babylon, and other Eastern countries, for purposes of travel, commerce, etc., there were many Jews in the East in the times of the apostles. The other was the Western dispersion, which commenced about the time of Alexander the Great, and which was promoted by various causes, until there were large numbers of Jews in Egypt and along Northern Africa, in Asia Minor, in Greece proper, and even in Rome. To which of these classes this Epistle was directed is not known; but most probably the writer had particular reference to those in the East. See the introduction, Section 2. The phrase the twelve tribes, was the common term by which the Jewish people were designated, and was in use long after the ten tribes were carried away, leaving, in fact, only two of the 2. twelve in Palestine. Compare the notes at Act_26:7. Many have supposed that James here addressed them as Jews, and that the Epistle was sent to them as such. But this opinion has no probability; because: (1) If this had been the case, he would not have been likely to begin his Epistle by saying that he was a servant of Jesus Christ, a name so odious to the Jews. (2) And, if he had spoken of himself as a Christian, and had addressed his countrymen as himself a believer in Jesus as the Messiah, though regarding them as Jews, it is incredible that he did not make a more distinct reference to the principles of the Christian religion; that he used no arguments to convince them that Jesus was the Messiah; that he did not attempt to convert them to the Christian faith. It should be added, that at first most converts were made from those who had been trained in the Jewish faith, and it is not improbable that one in Jerusalem, addressing those who were Christians out of Palestine, would naturally think of them as of Jewish origin, and would be likely to address them as appertaining to the twelve tribes. The phrase the twelve tribes became also a sort of technical expression to denote the people of God - the church. Greeting - A customary form of salutation, meaning, in Greek, to joy, to rejoice; and implying that he wished their welfare. Compare Act_15:23. CLARKE, "James, a servant of God - For an account of this person, or rather for the conjectures concerning him, see the preface. He neither calls himself an apostle, nor does he say that he was the brother of Christ, or bishop of Jerusalem; whether he was James the elder, son of Zebedee, or James the less, called our Lords brother, or some other person of the same name, we know not. The assertions of writers concerning these points are worthy of no regard. The Church has always received him as an apostle of Christ. To the twelve tribes - scattered abroad - To the Jews, whether converted to Christianity or not, who lived out of Judea, and sojourned among the Gentiles for the purpose of trade or commerce. At this time there were Jews partly traveling, partly sojourning, and partly resident in most parts of the civilized world; particularly in Asia, Greece, Egypt, and Italy. I see no reason for restricting it to Jewish believers only; it was sent to all whom it might concern, but particularly to those who had received the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ; much less must we confine it to those who were scattered abroad at the persecution raised concerning Stephen, Act_8:1, etc.; Act_11:19, etc. That the twelve tribes were in actual existence when James wrote this epistle, Dr. Macknight thinks evident from the following facts: 1. Notwithstanding Cyrus allowed all the Jews in his dominions to return to their own land, many of them did not return. This happened agreeably to Gods purpose, in permitting them to be carried captive into Assyria and Babylonia; for he intended to make himself known among the heathens, by means of the knowledge of his being and perfections, which the Jews, in their dispersion, would communicate to them. This also was the reason that God determined that the ten tribes should never return to their own land, Hos_1:6; Hos_8:8; Hos_9:3, Hos_ 9:15-17. 2. That, comparatively speaking, few of the twelve tribes returned in consequence of Cyruss decree, but continued to live among the Gentiles, appears from this: that in the days of Ahasuerus, one of the successors of Cyrus, who reigned from India to 3. Ethiopia, over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, Est_3:8, The Jews were dispersed among the people in all the provinces of his kingdom, and their laws were diverse from the laws of all other people, and they did not keep the kings laws; so that, by adhering to their own usages, they kept themselves distinct from all the nations among whom they lived. 3. On the day of pentecost, which happened next after our Lords ascension, Act_2:5, Act_2:9, There were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven; Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, etc.; so numerous were the Jews, and so widely dispersed through all the countries of the world. 4. When Paul traveled through Asia and Europe, he found the Jews so numerous, that in all the noted cities of the Gentiles they had synagogues in which they assembled for the worship of God, and were joined by multitudes of proselytes from among the heathens, to whom likewise he preached the Gospel. 5. The same apostle, in his speech to King Agrippa, affirmed that the twelve tribes were then existing, and that they served God day and night, in expectation of the promise made to the fathers, Act_26:6. 6. Josephus, Ant. i. 14, cap. 12, tells us that one region could not contain the Jews, but they dwelt in most of the flourishing cities of Asia and Europe, in the islands and continent, not much less in number than the heathen inhabitants. From all this it is evident that the Jews of the dispersion were more numerous than even the Jews in Judea, and that James very properly inscribed this letter to the twelve tribes which were in the dispersion, seeing the twelve tribes really existed then, and do still exist, although not distinguished by separate habitations, as they were anciently in their own land. Greeting - Health; a mere expression of benevolence, a wish for their prosperity; a common form of salutation; see Act_15:23; Act_23:26; 2Jo_1:11. GILL, "James, a servant of God,.... That is, of God the Father; not by creation only, as every man is; nor merely by calling grace, as is every regenerate person; but by office, as a preacher of the Gospel, being one that served God in the Gospel of his Son, and was an apostle of Christ; nor is this any sufficient objection to his being one, since others of the apostles so style themselves: and of the Lord Jesus Christ; the Ethiopic version reads this in connection with the former clause, without the copulative "and", "James, the servant of God, our Lord Jesus Christ": and so some consider the copulative as explanative of who is meant by God, even the Lord Jesus Christ: but it seems best to understand them as distinct; and that this apostle was not only the servant of God the Father, but of his Son Jesus Christ, and that in the same sense, referring to his office as an apostle of Christ, and minister of the word: to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad; by whom are meant believing Jews, who were of the several tribes of Israel, and which were in number "twelve", according to the number and names of the twelve patriarchs, the sons of Jacob; and these were not the Christian Jews, who were scattered abroad upon the persecution raised at the death of Stephen, Act_8:1 but they were the posterity of those who had been dispersed in former captivities, by the Assyrians and others, and who remained in 4. the several countries whither they were carried, and never returned. The Jews say (f), that the ten tribes will never return, and that they will have no part nor portion in the world to come; but these the Gospel met with in their dispersion, and by it they were effectually called and converted, and are the same that Peter writes to, 1Pe_1:1 2Pe_1:1. And thus we read of an hundred and forty and four thousand sealed of all the tribes of Israel, Rev_7:4 and to these the apostle here sends greeting; that is, his Christian salutation, wishing them all happiness and prosperity, in soul and body, for time and eternity; and it includes all that grace, mercy, and peace, mentioned in the usual forms of salutation by the other apostles. The same form is used in Act_15:23 and since it was James that gave the advice there, which the rest of the apostles and elders came into, it is highly probable that the epistles sent to the Gentiles were dictated by him; and the likeness of the form of salutation may confirm his being the writer of this epistle. HE RY, "We have here the inscription of this epistle, which consists of three principal parts. I. The character by which our author desires to be known: James, a servant of God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was a prime-minister in Christ's kingdom, yet he styles himself only a servant. Note hence, Those who are highest in office or attainments in the church of Christ are but servants. They should not therefore act as masters, but as ministers. Further, Though James is called by the evangelist the brother of our Lord, yet it was his glory to serve Christ in the spirit, rather than to boast of his being akin according to the flesh. Hence let us learn to prize this title above all others in the world - the servants of God and of Christ. Again, it is to be observed that James professes himself a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ; to teach us that in all services we should have an eye to the Son as well as the Father. We cannot acceptably serve the Father, unless we are also servants of the Son. God will have all men to honour the Son as they honour the Father (Joh_5:23), looking for acceptance in Christ and assistance from him, and yielding all obedience to him, thus confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. II. The apostle here mentions the condition of those to whom he writes: The twelve tribes which are scattered abroad. Some understand this of the dispersion upon the persecution of Stephen, Acts 8. But that only reached to Judea and Samaria. Others by the Jews of the dispersion understand those who were in Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, and other kingdoms into which their wars had driven them. The greatest part indeed of ten of the twelve tribes were lost in captivity; but yet some of every tribe were preserved and they are still honoured with the ancient style of twelve tribes. These however were scattered and dispersed. 1. They were dispersed in mercy. Having the scriptures of the Old Testament, the providence of God so ordered it that they were scattered in several countries for the diffusing of the light of divine revelation. 2. They began now to be scattered in wrath. The Jewish nation was crumbling into parties and factions, and many were forced to leave their own country, as having now grown too hot for them. Even good people among them shared in the common calamity. 3. These Jews of the dispersion were those who had embraced the Christian faith. They were persecuted and forced to seek for shelter in other countries, the Gentiles being kinder to Christians than the Jews were. Note here, It is often the lot even of God's own tribes to be scattered abroad. The gathering day is reserved for the end of time; when all the dispersed children of God shall be gathered together to Christ their head. In the mean time, while God's tribes are scattered abroad, he will send to look after them. Here is an apostle writing to the scattered; an epistle from God to them, when driven away from his temple, and seemingly neglected by him. Apply here that of the prophet Ezekiel, Thus saith the 5. Lord God, Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come, Eze_11:16. God has a particular care of his outcasts. Let my outcasts dwell with thee, Moab, Isa_16:3, Isa_16:4. God's tribes may be scattered; therefore we should not value ourselves too much on outward privileges. And, on the other hand, we should not despond and think ourselves rejected, under outward calamities, because God remembers and sends comfort to his scattered people. III. James here shows the respect he had even for the dispersed: greeting, saluting them, wishing peace and salvation to them. True Christians should not be the less valued for their hardships. It was the desire of this apostle's heart that those who were scattered might be comforted - that they might do well and fare well, and be enabled to rejoice even in their distresses. God's people have reason to rejoice in all places, and at all times; as will abundantly appear from what follows. JAMISO , "Jam_1:1-27. Inscription: Exhortation on hearing, speaking, and wrath. The last subject is discussed in James 3:13-4:17. James an apostle of the circumcision, with Peter and John, James in Jerusalem, Palestine, and Syria; Peter in Babylon and the East; John in Ephesus and Asia Minor. Peter addresses the dispersed Jews of Pontus, Galatia, and Cappadocia; James, the Israelites of the twelve tribes scattered abroad. servant of God not that he was not an apostle; for Paul, an apostle, also calls himself so; but as addressing the Israelites generally, including even indirectly the unbelieving, he in humility omits the title apostle; so Paul in writing to the Hebrews; similarly Jude, an apostle, in his General Epistle. Jesus Christ not mentioned again save in Jam_2:1; not at all in his speeches (Act_ 15:14, Act_15:15; Act_21:20, Act_21:21), lest his introducing the name of Jesus oftener should seem to arise from vanity, as being the Lords brother [Bengel]. His teaching being practical, rather than doctrinal, required less frequent mention of Christs name. scattered abroad literally which are in the dispersion. The dispersion of the Israelites, and their connection with Jerusalem as a center of religion, was a divinely ordered means of propagating Christianity. The pilgrim troops of the law became caravans of the Gospel [Wordsworth]. greeting found in no other Christian letter, but in James and the Jerusalem Synods Epistle to the Gentile churches; an undesigned coincidence and mark or genuineness. In the original Greek (chairein) for greeting, there is a connection with the joy to which they are exhorted amidst their existing distresses from poverty and consequent oppression. Compare Rom_15:26, which alludes to their poverty. CALVI , "1To the twelve tribes. When the ten tribes were banished, the Assyrian king placed them in different parts. Afterwards, as it usually happens in the revolutions of kingdoms (such as then took place,) it is very probable that they moved here and there in all directions. And the Jews had been scattered almost unto all quarters of the world. He then wrote and exhorted all those whom he could not personally ADDRESS, because they had been scattered far and wide. But that he speaks not of the grace of Christ and of faith in him, the reason seems to be this, 6. because he addressed those who had already been rightly taught by others; so that they had need, not so much of doctrine, as of the goads of exhortations. (98) James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, BIDS, (or sends, or wishes) joy to the twelve tribes who are in their dispersion. There had been an eastern and a western dispersion, the first at the Assyrian and Babylonian captivity, and the second during the predominancy of the Grecian power, which commenced with Alexander the Great. As this epistle was written in Greek, it was no doubt intended more especially for those of the latter dispersion. But the benefit of the eastern dispersion was SOO consulted, as the very first version of the ew Testament was made into this language, that is, the Syriac; and this was done at the BEGI I G of the second century. KRETZMA , "Unlike the salutations which characterize the OPE I G of Paul's letters, this address is very brief, exactly in the style which was employed in those days in writing letters. The Apostle James calls himself a servant, which includes the ideas of both worshiper and minister. Of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ he is a servant, the two persons of the Godhead being altogether on the same level in divinity and authority. To the twelve tribes this letter is addressed, the expression being a synonym, not only for the entire Jewish race, but also for the true Israel, the spiritual people of the Old Testament, the sum total of those that had expected the Messiah in firm faith and had now acknowledged Christ as the promised Messiah. These believers, these Christian Jews, were scattered abroad, were living in the Dispersion, in the countries outside of Palestine, and especially outside of Judea. In many cases they formed the majority of the congregation, and the entire policy of the congregation was guided by them. To all of these James sends his greeting in the customary form of salutation. BE SO , ". James, a servant of Jesus Christ Whose name the apostle mentions but once more in the whole epistle, namely, James 2:1, and not at all in his whole discourse, Acts 15:14, &c., or Acts 21:20-25. It might have seemed, if he had mentioned him often, that he did it out of vanity, as being the brother, or near kinsman, of the Lord; to the twelve tribes Of Israel; that is, to those of them that were converted to Christianity, and with an evident reference, in some parts of the epistle, to that part of them which was not converted; which are scattered abroad In various countries; ten of the tribes were scattered ever since the reign of Hoshea, and a great part of the rest were now dispersed through the Roman empire, as was foretold Deuteronomy 28:25; Deuteronomy 30:4. That the twelve tribes were actually in EXISTE CE when James wrote his epistle, will appear from the following facts. 1st, otwithstanding Cyrus allowed all the Jews in his dominions to return to their own land, many of them did not return, but CO TI UED to live among the Gentiles, as appears from this, that in the days of Ahasuerus, one of the successors of Cyrus, who reigned from India to Ethiopia, over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, (Esther 3:8,) the Jews were dispersed among the people in all the provinces of his kingdom, and their laws were diverse from the laws of all other people; so that, by adhering to their own usages, they kept themselves distinct 7. from all the nations among whom they lived. 2d, Josephus considered the twelve tribes as being in existence when the Old Testament Scriptures were translated into Greek, (namely, in the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus, about two hundred and fifty or two hundred and sixty years before Christ,) as he says that six persons were sent out of every tribe to assist in that work. 3d, On the day of pentecost, as mentioned Acts 2:5; Acts 2:9, there were dwelling at Jerusalem devout men out of every nation under heaven, Parthians, Medes, &c: so numerous were the Jews, and so widely dispersed through all the countries of the world. 4th, When Paul travelled through Asia and Europe, he found the Jews so numerous, that in all the noted cities of the Gentiles they had synagogues, in which they were assembled for the worship of God, and were JOI ED by multitudes of proselytes from among the heathens. 5th, The same apostle, in his speech to Agrippa, affirmed that the twelve tribes were then existing, and that they served God day and night, in expectation of the promise made to the fathers, Acts 26:6. 6th, Josephus (Antiq., 50. 14. c. 12) tells us, that in his time one region could not contain the Jews, but they dwelt in most of the flourishing cities of Asia and Europe, in the islands and continent, not much less in UMBER than the heathen inhabitants. From all which it is evident that the Jews of the dispersion were more numerous than even the Jews in Judea; and that James very properly inscribed his letter to the twelve tribes which were in the dispersion, seeing the twelve tribes really existed then, and do still exist, although not distinguished by separate habitations, as they were anciently in their own land. Greeting That is, wishing you all blessings, temporal, spiritual, and eternal. BARCLAY, "GREETI GS (James 1:1) 1:1 James, the slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, sends greetings to the twelve tribes who are scattered throughout the world. At the very BEGI I G of his letter James describes himself by the title wherein lies his only honour and his only glory, the slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. With the exception of Jude he is the only ew Testament writer to describe himself by that term (doulos, Greek #1401) without any qualification. Paul describes himself as the slave of Jesus Christ and his apostle (Romans 1:1; Philippians 1:1). But James will go no further than to call himself the slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are at least four implications in this title. (i) It implies absolute obedience. The slave knows no law but his master's word; he has no rights of his own; he is the absolute possession of his master; and he is bound to give his master unquestioning obedience. (ii) It implies absolute humility. It is the word of a man who thinks not of his privileges but of his duties, not of his rights but of his obligations. It is the word of the man who has lost his self in the service of God. (iii) It implies absolute loyalty. It is the word of the man who has no interests of his own, because what he does, he does for God. His own profit and his own preference do not E TER into his calculations; his loyalty is to him. 8. (iv) Yet, at the back of it, this word implies a certain pride. So far from being a title of dishonour it was the title by which the greatest ones of the Old Testament were known. Moses was the doulos (Greek #1401) of God (1 Kings 8:53; Daniel 9:11; Malachi 4:4); so were Joshua and Caleb (Joshua 24:29; umbers 14:24); so were the great patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Deuteronomy 9:27); so was Job (Job 1:8); so was Isaiah (Isaiah 20:3); and doulos (Greek #1401) is distinctively the title by which the prophets were known (Amos 3:7; Zechariah 1:6; Jeremiah 7:25). By taking the title doulos (Greek #1401) James sets himself in the great succession of those who found their freedom and their peace and their glory in perfect submission to the will of God. The only greatness to which the Christian can ever aspire is that of being the slave of God. There is one unusual thing about this OPE I G salutation. James sends greetings to his readers; using the word chairein (Greek #5463) which is the regular opening word of salutation in secular Greek letters. Paul never uses it. He always uses the distinctively Christian greeting, "Grace and peace" (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2; Philippians 1:2; Colossians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:2; Philemon 1:3 ). This secular greeting occurs only twice in the rest of the ew Testament, in the letter which Claudius Lysias, the Roman officer, wrote to Felix to ensure the safe journeying of Paul (Acts 23:26), and in the general letter issued after the decision of the Council of Jerusalem to allow the Gentiles into the Church (Acts 15:23). This is interesting, because it was James who presided over that Council (Acts 15:13). It may be that he used the most general greeting that he could find because his letter was going out to the widest public. THE JEWS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD (James 1:1 CO TI UED) The letter is ADDRESSED to the twelve tribes who are scattered abroad. Literally the greeting is to the twelve tribes in the Diaspora (Greek #1290), the technical word for the Jews who lived outside Palestine. All the millions of Jews who were, for one reason or another, outside the Promised Land were the Diaspora (Greek #1290). This dispersal of the Jews throughout the world was of the very greatest importance for the spread of Christianity, because it meant that all over the world there were synagogues, from which the Christian preachers could take their start; and it meant that all over the world there were groups of men and women who themselves ALREADYknew the Old Testament, and who had persuaded others among the Gentiles, at least to be interested in their faith. Let us see how this dispersal took place. Sometimes--and the PROCESS began in this way--the Jews were forcibly taken out of their own land and compelled to live as exiles in foreign lands. There were three such great movements. (i) The first compulsory removal came when the people of the orthern Kingdom, who had their capital in Samaria, were conquered by the Assyrians and were carried away into captivity in Assyria (2 Kings 17:23; 1 Chronicles 5:26). These are the lost ten tribes who never returned. The Jews themselves believed that at the end 9. of all things all Jews would be gathered together in Jerusalem, but until the end of the world these ten tribes, they believed, would never return. They founded this belief on a rather fanciful interpretation of an Old Testament text. The Rabbis argued like this: "The ten tribes never return for it is said of them, 'He will cast them into another land, as at this day' (Deuteronomy 29:28). As then this day departs and never returns, so too are they to depart and never return. As this day becomes dark, and then again light, so too will it one day be light again for the ten tribes for whom it was dark." (ii) The second compulsory removal was about 580 B.C. At that time the Babylonians conquered the Southern Kingdom whose capital was at Jerusalem, and carried the best of the people away to Babylon (2 Kings 24:14-16; Psalms 137:1-9 ). In Babylon the Jews behaved very differently; they stubbornly refused to be assimilated and to lose their nationality. They were said to be congregated mainly in the cities of ehardea and isibis. It was actually in Babylon that Jewish scholarship reached its finest flower; and there was produced the Babylonian Talmud, the immense sixty-volume exposition of the Jewish law. When Josephus wrote his Wars of the Jews, the first edition was not in Greek but in Aramaic, and was designed for the scholarly Jews in Babylon. He tells us that the Jews rose to such power there that at one time the province of Mesopotamia was under Jewish rule. Its two Jewish rulers were Asidaeus and Anilaeus; and on the death of Anilaeus it was said that no fewer than 50,000 Jews were massacred. (iii) The third compulsory transplantation took place much later. When Pompey conquered the Jews and took Jerusalem in 63 B.C., he took back to Rome many Jews as slaves. Their rigid adherence to their own ceremonial law and their stubborn observance of the Sabbath made them difficult slaves; and most of them were freed. They took up residence in a kind of quarter of their own on the far side of the Tiber. Before long they were to be found flourishing all over the city. Dio Cassius says of them, "They were often suppressed, but they nevertheless mightily increased, so that they achieved even the free exercise of their customs." Julius Caesar was their great protector and we read of them mourning all night long at his bier. We read of them present in large numbers when Cicero was defending Flaccus. In A.D. 19 the whole Jewish community was banished from Rome on the charge that they had robbed a wealthy female proselyte on pretence of sending the money to the Temple and at that time 4,000 of them were conscripted to fight against the brigands in Sardinia; but they were soon received back. When the Jews of Palestine sent their deputation to Rome to complain of the rule of Archelaus, we read that the deputation was joined by 8,000 Jews resident in the city. Roman literature is full of contemptuous references to the Jews, for anti-Semitism is no new thing; and the very number of the references is proof of the part that the Jews played in the life of the city. Compulsory transplantation took the Jews by the thousand to Babylon and to Rome. But far greater numbers left Palestine of their own free-will for more comfortable and more profitable lands. Two lands in particular received thousands of Jews. Palestine was sandwiched between the two great powers, Syria and Egypt 10. and was, therefore, liable at any time to become a battleground. For that reason many Jews left it to take up residence either in Egypt or in Syria. During the time of ebuchadnezzar there was a voluntary exodus of many Jews to Egypt (2 Kings 25:26). As far back as 650 B.C. the Egyptian king Psammetichus was said to have had Jewish mercenaries in his armies. When Alexander the Great founded Alexandria special privileges were offered to settlers there and the Jews came in large numbers. Alexandria was divided into five administrative sections; and two of them were inhabited by Jews. In Alexandria alone there were more than 1,000.000 Jews. The settlement of the Jews in Egypt went so far that about 50 B.C. a temple, modelled on the Jerusalem one, was built at Leontopolis for the Egyptian Jews. The Jews also went to Syria. The highest concentration was in Antioch, where the gospel was first preached to the Gentiles and where the followers of Jesus were first called Christians. In Damascus we read of 10,000 of them being massacred at one time. So, then, Egypt and Syria had very large Jewish populations. But they had spread far beyond that. In Cyrene in orth Africa we read that the population was divided into citizens, agriculturists, resident aliens and Jews. Mommsen, the Roman historian, writes: "The inhabitants of Palestine were only a portion, and not the most important portion, of the Jews; the Jewish communities of Babylonia, Syria, Asia Minor and Egypt were far superior to those of Palestine." That mention of Asia Minor leads us to another sphere in which the Jews were numerous. When Alexander's empire broke up on his death, Egypt fell to the Ptolemies, and Syria and the surrounding districts fell to Seleucus and his successors, known as the Seleucids. The Seleucids had two great characteristics. They followed a deliberate policy of the fusion of populations hoping to gain security by banishing nationalism. And they were inveterate founders of cities. These cities needed citizens, and special attractions and privileges were offered to those who would settle in them. The Jews accepted citizenship of these cities by the thousand. All over Asia Minor, in the great cities of the Mediterranean sea coast, in the great commercial centres, Jews were numerous and prosperous. Even there there were compulsory transplantations. Antiochus the Great took 2,000 Jewish families from Babylon and settled them in Lydia and Phrygia. In fact, so great was the drift from Palestine that the Palestine Jews complained against their brethren who left the austerities of Palestine for the baths and feasts of Asia and Phrygia; and Aristotle tells of meeting a Jew in Asia Minor who was "not only Greek in his language but in his very soul." It is quite clear that everywhere in the world there were Jews. Strabo, the Greek geographer, writes: "It is hard to find a spot in the whole world which is not occupied and dominated by Jews." Josephus, the Jewish historian writes: "There is no city, no tribe, whether Greek or barbarian, in which Jewish law and Jewish customs have not taken root." The Sibylline Oracles, written about 140 B.C., say that every land and every sea is filled with the Jews. There is a letter, said to be from Agrippa to Caligula, which Philo QUOTES. In it he says that Jerusalem is the 11. capital not only of Judaea but of most countries by reason of the colonies it has sent out on fitting occasions into the neighbouring lands of Egypt, Phoenicia, Syria, Coelesyria, and the still more remote Pamphylia and Cilicia, into most parts of Asia as far as Bithynia, and into the most distant corners of Pontus; also to Europe, Thessaly, Boeotia, Macedonia, Aetolia, Attica, Argos, Corinth, and the most and best parts of the Peloponnese. And not only is the continent full of Jewish settlements, but also the more important islands--Euboea, Cyprus, Crete--to say nothing of the lands beyond the Euphrates, for all have Jewish inhabitants. The Jewish Diaspora was coextensive with the world; and there was no greater factor in the spread of Christianity. THE RECIPIE TS OF THE LETTER (James 1:1 CO TI UED) James writes to the twelve tribes in the Diaspora. Who has he in his mind's eye as he writes? The twelve tribes in the Diaspora could equally well mean any of three things. (i) It could stand for all the Jews outside of Palestine. We have seen that they were UMBERED by the million. There were actually far more Jews scattered throughout Syria and Egypt and Greece and Rome and Asia Minor and all the Mediterranean lands and far off Babylon than there were in Palestine. Under the conditions of the ancient world it would be quite impossible to send out a message to such a huge and scattered constituency. (ii) It could mean Christian Jews outside Palestine. In this instance, it would mean the Jews in the lands closely surrounding Palestine, perhaps particularly those in Syria and in Babylon. Certainly if anyone was going to write a letter to these Jews, it would be James, for he was the acknowledged leader of Jewish Christianity. (iii) The phrase could have a third meaning. To the Christians, the Christian Church was the real Israel. At the end of Galatians Paul sends his blessing to the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16). The nation Israel had been the SPECIALLY chosen people of God; but they had refused to accept their place and their responsibility and their task. When the Son of God came they had rejected him. Therefore all the privileges which had once belonged to them passed over to the Christian Church, for it was in truth the chosen people of God. Paul (compare Romans 9:7-8) had fully worked out the idea. It was his conviction that the true descendants of Abraham were not those who could trace their physical descent from him but those who had made the same venture of faith as he had made. The true Israel was composed not of any particular nation or race but of those who accepted Jesus Christ in faith. So, then, this phrase may well mean the Christian Church at large. We may choose between the second and the third meanings, each of which gives excellent sense. James may be writing to the Christian Jews scattered amidst the surrounding nations; or he may be writing to the new Israel, the Christian Church. ELLICOTT, "(1) James, a servant (or slave, or bond-servant) of God and of the 12. Lord Jesus Christ.Bound to Him, i.e., in devotion and love. In like manner, St. Paul (Romans 1:1, et seq.), St. Peter (2 Peter 1:1), and St. Jude brother of James (James 1:1), BEGI their Letters. The writer of this has been identified (see Introduction, ante, p. 352) with James the Just, first bishop of Jerusalem, the brother of our Lord. To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad.Or, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion. To these remnants of the house of Israel, whose casting away (Romans 11:15) was leading to the reconciling of the world; whose fall had been the cause of its riches; and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles (James 1:12). Scattered abroad I DEED they were, a by-word among all nations (Deuteronomy 28:37), a curse and an astonishment (Jeremiah 29:18) wherever the Lord had driven them. But there is something figurative, and perhaps prophetic, in the number twelve. Strictly speaking, at the time this Epistle was written, Judah and Benjamin, in great measure, were returned to the Holy Land from their captivity, though numbers of both tribes were living in various parts of the world, chiefly engaged, as at the present day, in commerce. The remaining ten had lost their tribal distinctions, and have now perished from all historical record, though it is still one of the fancies of certain writers, rather pious than learned, to discover traces of them in the aborigines of America, Polynesia, and almost every where else; most ethnologically improbable of all, in the Teutonic nations, and our own families thereof. But long before the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, and even the preaching of Christianity, Jewish colonists were found in Europe as well as Asia. Even where they suffered most, through their own turbulent disposition, or the enmity of their neighbours, they sprang again from the same undying stock, however it might be hewn by the sword or SEARED by the fire. Massacre seemed to have no effect in thinning their ranks, and, like their forefathers in Egypt, they still multiplied under the most cruel oppression. (See Milmans History of the Jews, vol. i., p. 449, et seq.) While the Temple stood these scattered settlements were colonies of a nation, bound together by varied ties and sympathies, but ruled in the East by a Rabbi called the Prince of the Captivity, and in the West by the Patriarch of Tiberias, who, curiously, had his seat in that Gentile city of Palestine. The fall of Jerusalem, and the end therewith of national existence, rather added to than detracted from the authority of these strange governments; the latter ceased only in the reign of the Emperor Theodosius, while the former continued, it is said, in the royal line of David, until the close of the eleventh century, after which the dominion passed wholly into the hands of the Rabbinical aristocracy, from whom it has come down to the present day. The phrase in the dispersion was common in the time or our Lord; the Jews wondered whether He would go unto the dispersion amongst the Gentiles (John 7:35, and see OTEthere). COFFMA , "THE GE ERAL LETTER OF JAMES Oesterley thought that "For the most part this epistle is a collection of independent sayings";[1] but the viewpoint advocated here is that every portion of it fit beautifully and appropriately into the one theme of "Perfection" which ties every word of it into a cohesive whole. This theme was stated at the outset (James 1:4), thus: "That ye may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing." In this chapter, the 13. following requirements for those who would be perfect are advocated: (1) be joyful in trials (James 1:2-4); (2) in ignorance and uncertainties, let the Christian pray in faith without doubting (James 1:5-8); (3) in economic disparities, the rich and the poor alike are to rejoice at their new STATUS in Christ (James 1:9-11); (4) God is not to be blamed for temptations, but the source of temptation must be recognized as lying within Christians themselves; (5) anger and wrath are to be suppressed (James 1:19-20); and (6) it is not hearing God's word but the hearing and doing of it that lead to perfection (James 1:21-27). James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are of the Dispersion, greeting. (James 1:1) The manner in which James here bracketed the names of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ carries the affirmation of the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord taught that "no man can serve two masters" (Matthew 6:24); and, in James' affirmation here, he did not mean that he had two masters, but that the two are one. The very use of the title "Lord" in the ew Testament denotes this, the same being the "title given to the early Roman emperors to denote their deity."[2] Servant of God ... Paul, Timothy, Peter, Jude, and Epaphras were all so designated, the ew Testament word for each being [@doulos], meaning "one born into slavery"; thus every such usage of it indicates that such a servant was a "born again" Christian. The Old Testament Hebrew word for "servant" ([~`ebed]) was the title by which "the greatest ones of the Old Testament were known."[3] Moses, Caleb, Joshua, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, JOB, Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zechariah were all called "servants of God." However, it is wrong to make this fact the basis of identifying James with the Old Testament prophets. Paul also repeatedly referred to himself as the [Greek: doulos] of God and of Jesus (Romans 1:1); and both Paul and James belong to the ew Testament, not to the Old Testament. To the twelve tribes which are of the Dispersion ... This is an unfortunate rendition because of the capitalization of "Dispersion," making it a technical term for the Jewish people. This epistle is not written to the Jews, in the sense of racial Jews. The ADDRESS of those to receive this letter as "brethren" in the very next verse proves this. "The twelve tribes" is here a reference to the spiritual Israel of God, that is, the Christians of all ages. In this very first verse, James followed the same pattern that occurs repeatedly throughout the letter, in which the words of Jesus Christ dominate every line of it. It was Christ who promised the apostles that they would "sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matthew 19:28); and James here used exactly the same terminology to describe the church of Jesus Christ. Wessel declared that "This is a symbolical designation of the Christian church."[4] Harper AGREED that "The words here include the whole of spiritual Israel, all Christians everywhere."[5] Barnes likewise noted that "The phrase, `the twelve tribes' became a sort of technical expression to denote the people of God, the church."[6] This epistle, therefore, should be understood as inspired instructions to Christians, and the efforts of some to write it off as a mere appeal to racial Jews should be resolutely resisted. Paul frequently used "Israel" as a designation of the 14. Christian community, the true children of Abraham; and James did exactly the same thing here. Morgan said that "There are more references to the Sermon on the Mount in James than in all the other ew Testament letters put together."[7] It is not surprising, therefore, that in this very first verse James EMPLOYED the terminology used by our Lord. [1] W. E. Oesterley, The Expositor's Greek Testament, Vol. IV (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1967), p. 408. [2] Ibid., p. 419. [3] A. F. Harper, Beacon Bible Commentary, Vol. X (Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill Press, 1967), p. 193. [4] William Barclay, The Letters of James and Peter (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1976), p. 35. [5] Walter W. Wessel, The Wycliffe ew Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 945. [6] Albert Barnes, OTES on the ew Testament, James (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1953), p. 17. [7] G. Campbell Morgan, The Unfolding Message of the Bible (Old Tappan, ew Jersey: The Fleming H. Revell Company, 1941), p. 382. COKE, "We are to rejoice under the cross, to ask wisdom of God, and in our trials not to impute our weakness or sins unto him; but rather to hearken to the word, to meditate upon it, and to act accordingly: otherwise men may seem, but never can be, truly religious. Anno Domini 60. THE object of this epistle being to persuade the WHOLE BODY of the Jewish nation to forsake the many errors and vices into which they had fallen, the apostle first directed his discourse to such of them as were Christians, many of whom, it would seem, were becomeimpatient under the persecution that they were suffering for their religion; and the rather, because their unbelieving brethren had endeavoured to persuadethem, that the evils under which they laboured were tokens of the divine displeasure: for they applied to them those passages of the law, in which God declared he would bless and prosper the Israelitish nation, or curse and afflict it, according as it adhered to, or forsook the law of Moses. Wherefore,to enable the Jewish Christians to judge rightly of the afflictions they were enduring, and to reconcile them to their then suffering lot, the apostle, in the beginning of his epistle, exhorted them to rejoice exceedingly in afflictions, as a real advantage, James 1:2.Because it was intended by God to produce in them patience, James 1:3.And if it produced patience, it would contribute to the perfecting of many 15. other graces in them, James 1:4.In the second place, the apostle exhorted them to pray for wisdom to enable them to make a proper use of their afflictions, and assured them, thatGod was most willing to grant them that, and every other good GIFT, James 1:5.provided they asked thesegifts sincerely, James 1:6-8.Thirdly, that the poor among the brethren might be encouraged to bear the hardships of their lot patiently, and that the rich might not be too much cast down when they were stripped of their riches and possessions by their persecutors, he represented to the poor their great dignity as the sons of God, and the excellent possessions they were entitled to as the heirs of God: on the other hand, the rich he put in mind of the emptiness, instability, and brevity of all human grandeur, by comparing it to a flower, whose leaves wither and fall immediatelyon their being exposed to the scorching heat of the sun, James 1:9-11.Fourthly, to encourage both the poor and the rich to suffer cheerfully the loss of the transitory goods of this life for Christ's sake, he brought to their remembrance Christ's promise to bestow on them, in recompence, a crown of life, if faithful unto death, James 1:12. The apostle next directed his discourse to the unbelieving part of the nation, and expressly condemned that impious notion by which many of them, and even some of the Judaizing TEACHERS among the Christians, pretended to vindicate their worst actions; namely, that God tempts men to sin, and is the author of the sinful actions to which he tempts them. For he assured them that God neither seduces any man to sin, neither is himself seduced by any one, James 1:13.but that every man is seduced by his own lusts, James 1:14.which being indulged in the mind, bring forth sin; and sin, by frequent repetition, being nourished to maturity, bringeth forth death at length to the sinner, James 1:15.Wherefore, he besought them not to deceive themselves by the impious notion, that God is the author of sin, James 1:16.He is the author of every good and perfect GIFT, and of nothing but good, and that invariably, James 1:17.Farther, that such of them as professed the gospel might be brought to a right faith and practice, he desired them, as learners, to hearken with attention and submission to the apostles of Christ who had brought them word, and to be charitable in delivering their opinion on matters of religion, lest they might say something that was dishonourable to God; and by no means to be angry with those who differed from them, James 1:19-20.and to lay aside all those evil passions which they hast hitherto indulged, and which hindered them from receiving the word with meekness, James 1:21.Then he exhorted them to be doers, and not hearers only of the word, James 1:22.because the person who contents himself with hearing the word, is like a man who transiently beholds his natural face in a glass, then goes away, and immediately forgets his own appearance; so that he is at no pains to remove from his face any thing that is disagreeable in it, &c. James 1:23-25. The apostle, having thus exhorted the Jews to be doers of the law, PROCEEDED to mention certain points of the law, which too many professors are apt to neglect, but which merit the attention of all who are truly religious: And, first, he recommended the bridling of the tongue, that virtue being a great mark of holiness in those who possess it, and the want of it a certain proof of the want of genuine religion, James 1:26.An exhortation of this kind was peculiarly suitable to the Judaizing teachers, 16. who sinned exceedingly with their tongue, both by inculcating erroneous doctrines, together with a most corrupt morality, and by reviling all who opposed their ERRORS: and it is highly expedient for professors in general. The second point of duty which the apostle recommended, was kind offices to orphans and widows in their affliction, because such good works are principal fruits of true religion in the sight of God: and the third and last was, a crucifixion to the spirit and practices of the world. JAMES.] As this epistle plainly intimates that the destruction of Jerusalem was near, which happened in the year 70, this epistle could not be written by St. James the Elder, who was beheaded by Herod in the year 44. or were any large number of Jewish Christians dispersed, nor were the Jewish Christians sunk into any remarkable degeneracy, so early as his death. Hence we may conclude, that it was written about the year 60, by St. James the Less, called the brother or kinsman of our blessed Lord. This James chiefly dwelt at Jerusalem; and as he presided over the churches of Judea, to the inhabitants of which he had limited his personal labours, he endeavours in this epistle to extend his services to the Jewish Christians who were dispersed in more distant regions. For this end the apostle confines himself particularly to these two points, to correct those ERRORS into which the Jewish converts had fallen; and to establish the faith, and animate the hope of sincere believers, both under their present and approaching sufferings. These are both treated, jointly or distinctly, in a free epistolarymanner. This epistle is placed before those of St. Peter, because St. James was the first bishop, and because it is more general than the epistles of St. Pet Verse 1 James 1:1. To the twelve tribes, &c. It is well known, that the Jews were dispersed abroad, and to be found in great multitudes in almost all parts of the world, as well at the time of writing this epistle, as at present.It seems to be plainly deducible from this passage, that no entire tribes were lost in the captivity. The number of those who came back was REGISTERED by Ezra and ehemiah; twelve goats were offered for a sin-offering for all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. See Ezra 6:17; Ezra 8:35. CO STABLE, "I. I TRODUCTIO 1:1 The writer identified himself for the original recipients of this epistle and greeted them to introduce himself to his readers. James (lit. Jacob) was probably the half-brother of the Lord Jesus Christ who evidently became a believer late in Jesus' earthly ministry (cf. John 7:5; 1 Corinthians 15:7). He became the leader of the church in Jerusalem early in its history (Galatians 2:9; Acts 15:13-21). APART from Paul and Peter, no figure in the church of the first days plays a more substantial part upon the historic and legendary stage than James, first Bishop of Jerusalem." OTE: G. H. Rendall, The Epistle of James and Judaic Christianity, 17. pp. 11-12.] James described himself simply as a bond-servant (Gr. doulos) of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only he and Jude, another half-brother of the Lord, described themselves simply as bond-servants in their epistles. This probably indicates that they were so well known in the early church that they did not need to describe themselves in more detail. [ ote: Mayor, p. 29.] James did not refer to himself as Jesus' brother or the church's leader. He evidently purposed not to know Jesus "after the flesh" (2 Corinthians 5:16) but only as his Lord and God. Being a bond- servant of God was his most important relationship (cf. Romans 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:1; 2 Peter 1:1; Judges 1:1; Revelation 1:1). He placed Jesus equal with God by saying he was the bond-servant of both God and the Lord Jesus Christ. The term bond-servant did not carry the degrading connotation in the first century that it does today. In the Septuagint doulos described Israel's great leaders who occupied POSITIO S of privilege and honor (e.g., Moses [Deuteronomy 34:5; et al.]; David [2 Samuel 7:5; et al]; and the prophets [Jeremiah 7:25; Jeremiah 44:4; Amos 3:7]). By using this word James was proudly asserting that he belonged to God and to Jesus Christ body and soul. OTE: Burdick, p. 167.] "It is only his servanthood to the Lord Jesus Christ that matters to him here, for this is the theme of his letter: How shall we live as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ?" [ ote: Stulac, p. 30.] The 12 tribes (cf. Matthew 19:28; Acts 26:7) scattered abroad most naturally refer to Jewish Christians of the Diaspora, those who were living outside Palestine. [ ote: Hiebert, pp. 32-34. Cf. Martin, pp. 8-11.] James knew nothing of the ten so-called "lost tribes;" he regarded Israel in its unity and completeness as consisting of 12 tribes. These Jews were very likely members of the Jerusalem church who had left Jerusalem SHORTLY after Stephen's martyrdom (cf. Acts 8:1; Acts 8:4; Acts 11:19-20). Some scholars believed they lived within Palestine. [ ote: E.g., Zane C. Hodges, The Epistle of James, p. 12.] However the location of the recipients does not affect the interpretation of the epistle significantly. What James wrote to them as a fellow Jewish Christian is normative for both Jewish and Gentile Christians since both are one in Christ. It is unnatural to take the 12 tribes as descriptive of the so- called "new Israel," the church, as some interpreters do. [ ote: E.g., R. V. G. Tasker, The General Epistle of James, pp. 39-40; Motyer, p. 24; and Sidebottom, p. 26.] "Israel" can and does always refer to the physical descendants of Jacob whenever it occurs in the ew Testament, just as it does in the Old Testament. Furthermore there is no other revelation that the church consists of 12 parts as the nation of Israel did. James wrote in very good Greek; his grammar, syntax, and word choice were excellent. "Greetings" was a common Greek salutation familiar to his readers. SCHAFF, "James 1:1. James: the same name as the Hebrew Jacob. The James who is the author of this Epistle is the Lords brother, known in ecclesiastical history as the bishop of Jerusalem, and was either a son of Mary and Joseph, or a son of Joseph by a previous marriage (see Introduction, sec. 1). 18. a servant, literally a bondman or a slave; the word denotes absolute subjection, but we must not associate with it the degradation and involuntary compulsion ATTACHED to our conception of slavery. A certain undefined ministerial office is perhaps implied; but the phrase, a servant of Christ, has become a popular term, belonging not only to all the office-bearers of the Church, but to all Christians (1 Peter 2:16). We are all the servants of Jesus Christ, bound to obey His commands, and to devote ourselves to His service. Some suppose that it is a proof that James was not an apostle, because he calls himself only a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ; but this supposition cannot be maintained, as Paul gives himself the same appellation in the Epistle to the Philippians (Philippians 1:1). of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only in another place in this Epistle does James mention our Lord by name (chap. James 2:1), though elsewhere he alludes to Him (chap. James 5:7; James 5:14-15). to the twelve tribes, a common designation of the Israelites (Acts 26:7). The twelve tribes were now mingled together, and formed the nation of the Jews. The name Israel was, however, still retained as being the covenant people of God; to Israel, and not specifically to the Jews, were the promises made (Romans 9:4). which are scattered abroad, or more exactly, that are in the dispersion. The Dispersion, or the Diaspora, was the name given to those Jews or Israelites who resided in foreign lands beyond the boundaries of Palestine. This Epistle was not written primarily to the Gentile Christians, or to the Jews generally, but to the Christian Jews of the dispersionto those who are elsewhere called Hellenists (see I TRODUCTIO , sec. 2). The Jews were everywhere scattered abroad. Josephus says that it was not easy to find an eminent place in the whole world where the Jews did not reside; and the same observation holds good in the present day. greeting, or wishes joy. The usual Greek form of salutation. It is found at the commencement of no other apostolic Epistle, but occurs in the Epistle drawn up by James, ADDRESSED to the Gentile churches, at the council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:23), over which James seems to have presided. HAMPTO , "Ask and it shall be given, seek and you shall find, knock and it will be open unto you, except if you doubt. Then you have a promise of unanswered prayer. One Sunday in a Midwest city a young boy was "acting up" during the morning worship hour.The parents did their best to maintain some sense of order in the pew but were losing the battle.Finally the father picked the little fellow up and walked sternly up the aisle on his way out. Just before reaching the safety of the foyer the boy called loudly to the congregation, "Pray for me! Pray for me!" PETT, "Note here the standard formula for a letter, that is, name of the sender, name of the recipient, and greeting. This was a typical OPENING to a letter in ancient times. James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. 19. The majority evidence points to this as being James, the Lords brother. Through the death of Jesus he has become the heir to the throne of David, but to him that is as nothing compared with the privilege of being a servant of the Lord, Jesus Christ. There are two ways of looking at the word servant here. The first as indicating that he is, in privilege, in the line of the great men and prophets of old, the servants of YHWH. And the second as indicating a servant in relation to his lord. If we see it in terms of the first the term My servant or The Servant of YHWH was used in various ways, with various DEGREES of honour. Only Moses and Joshua were actually given the title of the servant of YHWH, and in both cases it was posthumously. For Moses as the servant of the Lord (YHWH: Greek - Kurios, Lord) see Deuteronomy 34:5 Joshua 1:1 and often; 2 Kings 18:12; 2 Chronicles 1:3; 2 Chronicles 24:6. For Joshua (Greek Jesus) as the servant of the Lord (YHWH) see Joshua 24:9; Judges 2:8. Thus we have here the great Lawgiver and the great Deliverer who each had bestowed on them after their death the title the servant of YHWH. Both were types of the great Servant of YHWH (Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 49:3; Isaiah 49:5; Isaiah 52:13) of Whom it was said that the coastlands would wait for His Law (Isaiah 42:4), and that He would restore Israel (Isaiah 49:6) and be a light to lighten the Gentiles in bringing them deliverance (Isaiah 42:6-7) taking YHWHs salvation to the ends of the earth (Isaiah 49:6). He was to be both Lawgiver and Deliverer. It is not likely that James had this in mind. However, Abraham was spoken of by YHWH as My servant ( GENESIS26:24; compare Psalms 105:6; Psalms 105:42) as were Jacob and his descendants (Isaiah 41:8-9; Isaiah 44:1-2; Isaiah 44:21; Isaiah 45:4; Isaiah 48:20; Jeremiah 30:10; Jeremiah 46:28; Ezekiel 28:25), and Moses ( NUMBERS12:7-8; Joshua 1:2; Joshua 1:7) and Caleb (Numbers 14:24). David the king (2 Samuel 3:18; 2 Samuel 7:5; 2 Samuel 7:8; 1 Kings 11:32; 1 Kings 11:36; 1 Kings 11:38; 1 Kings 14:8; 2 Kings 19:34; 2 Kings 20:6; 1 Chronicles 17:4; 1 Chronicles 17:7; Psalms 89:3; Psalms 89:20; Ezekiel 34:24) and Zerubbabel, the ruler of Israel after the exile (Haggai 2:23) were also spoken of by YHWH as My servant and the prophets were described as My servants the prophets (2 Kings 17:13; Jeremiah 25:4; Jeremiah 25:9; Jeremiah 29:19; Ezekiel 38:17; Zechariah 1:6, compare Daniel 9:10; Amos 3:7). See also the use of My servant of Job (Job 1:8; Job 2:3; Job 42:8); of Isaiah (Isaiah 20:3); of Eliakim (Isaiah 22:20) and of Nebuchadrezzar, in his case by YHWH as the God of Israel (Jeremiah 43:10; Jeremiah 46:26). But the people in general who were true to Him were also called My servants (Isaiah 43:10; Isaiah 65:8; Isaiah 65:13; compare Psalms 34:22 and often; Isaiah 56:6; Isaiah 65:15; Isaiah 66:14) and the servants of YHWH (Psalms 113:1; Psalms 134:1; Psalms 135:1; Isaiah 54:17). And, of course, Isaiah spoke of the coming great Servant as My Servant (Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 49:3; Isaiah 49:5-6; Isaiah 52:13 compare Isaiah 50:10). It will be noted how many inflections there are to the idea. With Moses and Joshua it was especially a posthumous title of great honour as the potential introducers of the Kingly Rule of God. David was unique in that YHWH paralleled him as His servant with Himself (2 Kings 19:34), He would act for His own Names sake and for Davids sake. Again the thought is of ensuring the MAINTENANCE of the Kingly Rule of God established by David. In other cases it indicated the privilege of serving YHWH, and the intimate concern that YHWH had for His servants. Thus if James had this in mind, and it must surely have been in the back of his mind, he was putting himself in line with all who served YHWH in the Old Testament. On the other hand it is also probable that, while having this BACKGROUND in mind, it is 20. the humbling emphasis of the title that he was mainly thinking of. He was not by it seeking to exalt himself as some great one (others did that for him). He was seeking to express his heartfelt gratitude to God and the Lord Jesus Christ for His goodness towards him as his Master, aiming to indicate the seriousness of his purpose. He was writing as the Lords servant, and indicating what his attitude of mind was to his readers. He was the slave of His God and Lord, Jesus Christ, and all that he wrote had in mind pleasing Him and accomplishing His will among His people. Of the God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the Greek the phrase is emphasised by its position in the sentence, and there are no definite articles in it, although we should bear in mind that with such nouns as God and Lord the article was often to be assumed. It therefore leaves it OPEN to ambiguity. We can translate in a NUMBER of ways. But in which ever way we do it, it is impossible to avoid the fact that James is equating the two titles in such a way that they are seen as parallel. We can compare here Pauls words in 1 Corinthians 8:6, we have one God, the Father -- and one Lord, Jesus Christ. Given the fact that Lord is the TRANSLATION of YHWHs name in the Old Testament, and that in the Greek world it was used in parallel with gods as describing gods this is a clear indication of deity. There is no question but that the Rabbis would have seen it as blasphemous. It could signify: 1) God on the one hand and the Lord, Jesus Christ on the other, but with an emphasis in the latter case on Lord (the idea of kurios = YHWH would have been one thing in mind to one who read the Scriptures in both Greek and Hebrew). 2) A deliberate contrast between God and Lord and himself as a servant so that he has over him both One Who is his God, and One Who is his Lord, (and thus is the Lord, Jesus Christ). 3) Jesus Christ as his God and Lord. This would tie in with the parallel idea in 2 Peter 1:1; 2 Peter 1:11, where we have our God and Saviour Jesus Christ and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, where the article before God and Lord indicates that THE LINK with Saviour indicates the One person (compare for this usage James 3:9, the Lord and Father). Whichever way we see it there can be no doubt that taken in its natural meaning this is an indication of deity. James is recognising the great gap between himself and his Lord, and putting his Lord on the divine side of reality. (How then could he also at the same time have said the brother of the Lord? It would have been incongruous). We should also note the significance of the other names. Jesus means YHWH is salvation, and was given because He would save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). Indeed the story of His naming was presumably regularly told in the household of Joseph and Mary, something which would have gained new significance after His death and resurrection. Christ means literally Messiah. Thus James is also stressing His Messiahship. These inflections would be obvious to all his readers. It is sometimes suggested that the letter is somewhat SHORT on references to Jesus Christ who is named only here and in James 2:1. But that is to ignore a number of things. Firstly it is to ignore what we see here. For James often speaks of the Lord, and certainly in James 5:7-8, where we read of the coming of the Lord, that can only mean the Lord Jesus Christ. It is apparent that, to James, God and the Lord, Jesus Christ, can be spoken of almost in the same breath. Thus the letter could be seen as having a number of references to Him (at least James 1:1; James 2:1; James 4:15; James 5:7-8; James 5:14- 15). Furthermore he also refers to the worthy/honourable Name by which you are called (James 2:7). The idea of the Lord, Jesus Christ thus underlies the whole narrative. 21. James 1:1, To the twelve tribes who are of the Dispersion. For a detailed argument indicating that the twelve tribes means the whole church, including ex-Jews and ex-Gentiles (Galatians 3:28) as in the new Israel in Christ, the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16), see the introduction. The phrase is also used in the Shepherd of Hermas to indicate the same, when Hermas (Similitudes 9. 17) explains that the twelve mountains in his vision are the twelve tribes who inhabit the whole world, to whom the Son of God was preached by the apostles. Hermas had evidently read James. Compare also its use in Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:30, for which see our commentaries. There too in our view it means the whole church. James had a strong sense that the church was the true Israel (not what some call the spiritual Israel in contradistinction to Israel, but the actual CONTINUATION of the real Israel, made holy by cutting off and engrafting as had always been the case), founded on Jesus as the new Vine (John 15:1-6), and then on the Apostles (Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 2:20). He saw it as the new nation of Matthew 21:43, established first in Jerusalem (Acts 1-9) but then spreading outwards to take in the Jews who became Christians, many of whom were then dispersed by persecution (Acts 8:1), which James saw as the new Dispersion, and grafting in the huge number who turned from being Gentiles to ENTER the new Israel as followers of the Messiah, who were also dispersed around the world. This was Israel as God had always intended it to be, an Israel throbbing with spirituality and life. Many scholars see it as indicating all Christian Jews but this is unlikely in view of the fact that the writer, while stressing inter-church behaviour, never deals with the question of how the Gentiles fit in. To have written just to Jews worldwide, and to totally ignore the Gentiles who shared with them the same synagogues and churches, without dealing with that question, would have been to be seriously divisive, and certainly unlike the ever considerate compromiser (in a good sense) James is revealed to be in Acts 15, 21. It would have been a separatist letter suggesting a division in the church. Some therefore, recognising this, argue that it is written to the Christian Jews in Judaea, but that is to give a totally new meaning to the term the Dispersion, which in fact regularly indicates Jews outside Palestine. Why not also then give a new meaning to the twelve tribes, one already used by Jesus? James 1:1, Greeting. It is noteworthy that this greeting only occurs elsewhere twice in the New Testament. The first is as used by James, the Lords brother and the elders in Acts 15:23, in a letter to the churches, and the second is as used in Acts 23:26 of the greeting from the Roman tribune in a letter to the Procurator about Paul. It has been seen as support for the idea that the writer was James, the Lords brother. On the other hand it might be seen as a common non-Biblical greeting. Either way it is an OPENING greeting intended to indicate oneness and love/loyalty with those to whom it is written. WHEDON, "1. JamesJacobus, the name which our English language has made Jacob in the Old Testament it has capriciously shortened to James in the New. Servant NOTE on Romans 1:1. The twelve tribesSee note on the , or twelve-tribedom. Acts 26:7. Which are scattered abroadLiterally, which are in the dispersion. 1 Peter 1:1. The dispersion was a customary term APPLIED to that scattered condition of the twelve tribes arising from their repeated captivities. There were four chief dispersionsthe Babylonian, the Egyptian, the Syrian, and the western in Greece and Italy. In John 7:35 is mentioned the 22. dispersion of the Greeks; that is, of Jews among the Greeks, or Gentiles. Josephus says: The race of the Jews has been plentifully dispersed among the inhabitants of the world, but the largest mingling has been in Syria. Compare the beautiful greeting in 2 Maccabees 1:1, from the Jews of Jerusalem to the Jews in Egypt: The brethren, the Jews that be at Jerusalem and in the land of Judea, wish unto the brethren that are throughout Egypt, health and peace. The infant Jesus was for a brief period among the dispersion of Egypt. The two epistles of Peter are also ADDRESSED to the dispersion. Yet these epistles contain nothing implying that they do not suit also to the conditions of Palestine and Jerusalem, as partaking, like the rest, in the tribal disorganization arising from the captivities and the desolations. In modern times, the dispersion of Israel, by a memorable history, has been extended to almost every part of the world. Yet it is plain that St. James specially ADDRESSES this epistle to the Christian Israel in Israel; the twelve-tribedom in the twelve-tribedom, who had accepted Jesus Christ. If the whole dispersion of Jews is nominally, and, in some parts, directly addressed, it is because to his strong Judaic feeling all nominally belong to the Messiah, and all ought to accept his epistle as to them. Compare our notes on Matthew 10:5-6; Matthew 19:28; Acts 1:8. GreetingThe word greeting is a SINGLE Greek word in the infinitive, signifying to rejoice, with the phrase BIDDINGyou to be supplied before it, making a salutation equivalent to our wishing you joy. The old Saxon word greeting signifies saluting, addressing in friendly and honorary style. See NOTE, Acts 15:23. OTES, "Ancient letters started with the author rather than how we do it now with the name at the end, and the fact is, that makes more sense, for you know who it is from the start and not after you read it all. We, of course, just look at the end first to see who it is from. James grew up with Jesus as his older brother, and he and his brothers, no doubt, resented Jesus because he was the ideal child. Who knows how often they had to hear from Mary or Joseph, Why cant you be more like Jesus? Jesus was favored for they knew he was special. When Jesus had great crowds following him, his brothers thought he was out of his mind. (Mark 3:21). We see that Jesus had 4 brothers and at least 2 sisters in Mark 6:3 where we read, Isnt this Marys son and the brother of James, Joses, Judas and Simon? Arent his sisters here with us? In John 7:5 we read, For even his own brothers did not believe in him. James was changed after the resurrection in I Cor. 15:7, and the other brothers became active also in the early church in Acts 1:14 and I Cor. 9:5. Two of them wrote books of the New Testament-Jude and James. Jude 1:1 begins, Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, James became a major leader in the early church. He was the leader of the mother church of Christianity in Jerusalem. See Gal. 1:19; 2:9-12; Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18 . He was a married man as we see in I Cor. 9:5 23. a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ A servant is one who lives in obedience to his master, and gives his life in serving the will of the master. In the Bible it puts you into the category of all the great people God has used to accomplish his will on earth, and so is a title worthy of honor. A servant was a doulos, or slave. Joseph Addison said, The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. All of these are fulfilled as servants of God and Christ, for their is much to do in obedience, a world to love, and a heaven to hope for. Being a servant is the most practical way to express your Christian faith. Try being a servant at work or at home and see the results. I thought we could not serve two masters? But here the two are one and so their is no conflict with the principle. Why is the Holy Spirit so often left out and not included with the Father and the Son? His absence is often conspicuous. He is the silent partner in the Godhead, and often get less than equal exposure. Some offset this neglect by giving the Holy Spirit a special focus in their theology, but this misses the point of the Bible by keeping Him obscure and not on center stage. 12 tribes Christian Jews felt they were the new Israel, and the true Israel through whom God would achieve his purpose in history. They were the Israel of God-Gal. 6:16. There are no lost tribes in Christ, for he combines all in one family. Christianity if Judaism fulfilled. Paul agrees with this completely in Gal. 3:29 and 6:16. Gentiles are now the citizens of Israel in Eph 2:11-22. So they are now part of the 12 tribes, which represent Gods people everywhere. In Acts 26:7 Paul refers to the 12 tribes who are looking for the hope to be fulfilled. The Jews had synagogues all over the world and this is what made it possible for Christians to go everywhere and share the Gospel, for the synagogue was open for others to come in and share. Roper, The 12 tribes are the 12 tribes of Israel. James is a thoroughly Jewish book. These are Christian Jews to whom he is writing, who were dispersed throughout the world. The Greek word "diaspora" means "to sow throughout." These were Jews God had sown throughout the world as the result of many scatterings and captivities and persecutions. These people had received Jesus as their Messiah. Perhaps Jews who were in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost had spread the gospel to them. And now James is writing to them to encourage them and instruct them. These were people who were suffering. This is a constant note throughout the book. They were suffering because they were Christians. Businessmen had lost their jobs, and their shops were being boycotted. Young people had been thrown out of their homes. Children were mocked and turned out of the Jewish schools. They were hated and despised. The Gentiles hated them because they were Jews, and the Jews hated them be cause they were 24. Christians. They had no place to go. Life was indeed grim. Roper, The third aspect of the introduction is a brief salutation: "Greeting." But "greeting" is a very poor translation of the Greek term. The word is not "greeting" but "Rejoice!" "Be satisfied!" What a strange word to address to these persecuted people. How could they rejoice in their present circumstances? Well, James answers that question in the next paragraph. There is one problem that those of us who work on college campuses face, over and over again. It is the problem of the justice of God: "Why do the innocent suffer?" James picks up this issue immediately, because it is one that was on the minds of these people as well. The problem of suffering was not a theoretical problem to them. They were suffering, and they needed to know what relationship this had to their Christian life. James does not provide a complete explanation to the dilemma but he does tell them how they can utilize suffering in their lives. BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, "James, a servant of God St. James and his Epistle This Epistle, although Luther stigmatised it as an epistle of straw, has many claims on our regard. It is the first Christian document that was given to the world, the earliest of all the New Testament Scriptures: It is more like the writings of the Old Testament than any other contained, in the New, and forms a natural transition from the one to the other. To St. James the gospel of Christ was simply the true Judaism, Judaism fulfilled and transfigured. It was the law of Moses, which St. Paul called the law of bondage, transformed into the law of liberty. it was the beautiful consummate flower of which the old economy was the bud, the perfect day of which that was the dawn. The first special claim of the Epistle is, then, that it presents us with the earliest view of the truth as it is in Jesus which obtained in the Christian Church; and the second is, that it was written by that brother of the Lord who was the first bishop, i.e., the first chief pastor, of the first Christian Church, viz., the Church of Jerusalem. And this James the brother of the Lord had much, not of the mind only, but of the very manner of the Lord. The style of St. James is precisely that of his Divine Brother plain, simple, direct, pungent, and yet instinct with poetic imagination. The Epistle opens, as most of the apostolic letters open, by announcing the names of the writer and of the persons to whom it was addressed: James to the Dispersion. This was the ancient epistolary style in private as well as in public correspondence. We have many instances of it in the New Testament, as, for instance, in Act_23:26, Claudius Lysias to the most excellent governor Felix. James had a history, and so had the Dispersion; and by his history he was marked out as the very man to write to the Jews who were scattered abroad. James was a Jew at heart to the day of his death, though he was also a Christian apostle. Who, then, so suitable as he to instruct men who, though Jews by birth and training and habit, had nevertheless embraced the Christian faith? After the death and resurrection of Christ he became the bishop and pillar of the Church in Jerusalema Church which was as much Hebrew as Christian; a Church which shook its head doubtfully when it heard that Gentiles also were being baptized; a Church from which there went forth the Judaisers who dogged St. Pauls steps wherever he went, hindered his work, and kindled a tumult 25. of grief and indignation in his heart. And these Judaisers carried with them letters of commendation from St. James, and were for ever citing the authority of the Lords brethren against that of St. Paul. It may be doubted whether he ever really approved the generous course St. Paul took. It is quite certain that, to the end of his life, he was as sincerely a Jew as he was a Christian. Till he was put to death by them, the Jews, the very Pharisees of Jerusalem respected and honoured him, although they hunted many of the Christians, and especially their leaders, to prison and the grave. Writing soon after James had passed away, an ecclesiastical historian tells us that he was holy from his mothers womb. He drank no wine nor strong drink, and no razor ever came on his head. He alone was allowed to go into the holy place of the temple, the shrine sacred to the priests, he was so long and often on his knees that they grew hard like a camels. When a religious crisis arose, and the Pharisees heard that many were going astray after Jesus, they came to James of all menthe brother of Jesus and the bishop of the Church!to beg that he would recall the people from their errors, so entirely did they regard him as one of themselves. On the feast-day they placed him on the front of the temple, and adjured him to tell the multitude, since many had gone astray after Jesus, what the true way of salvation was. They were thunderstruck when he gave testimony to the Son of Man as the Lord and Christ foretold by the prophets; but, as soon as they could believe for wonder, they rushed upon him, crying, Woe! woe! Even the Just One is deceived! They cast him down from the temple, and beat out his brains with a club. His testimony to Jesus as the Christ can hardly have been very zealous if the Pharisees regarded him as one of themselves, and put him forward to speak against the Son of Man. The fact seems to be that he never regarded Jesus as more than the Jewish Messiah, or the gospel as more than the fulfilling of the law. He did not see that, when a law is fulfilled, it gives place to a higher law. But whatever the defects we may discover in St. James, it is obvious that these very defects adapted him to be an apostle to the Jews. He may have quietly won many to the faith whom a man of a more catholic spirit would have alienated. At least he could help to make the men of Jerusalem better Jews; and that, after all, was the most likely way to make them Christians. But what sort of Jews were those to whom this letter was addressedthe Jews of the Dispersion?and wherein did they differ from the Jews of Jerusalem? When the Jews returned from their captivity in Babylon they left behind them the great bulk of their race. Only a few poor thousands returned; hundreds of thousands preferred to remain in the lands in which they had been settled by their conquerors. As they multiplied and prospered they spread, until they were found in most of the great centres of commerce and learning in the ancient world. So, too, the Jews who had returned to Judaea also multiplied and grew, till the land became too strait for them. Their fathers had been farmers and wine-growers, each tilling his own acres or dressing his own vines. But the sons were compelled by their growing numbers to build cities and to embark in manufacture and traffic. Meanwhile the great heathen empiresPersian, Syrian, Egyptian, Greek, Romanhad thrown the whole world open to them; and of this opening they were quick to avail themselves. It was inevitable that travel and intercourse with many men of many races should widen their thoughts. They could not encounter so many new influences without being affected by them. The influence they most commonly met, and to which they yielded most, was that of Greek thought and culture. Though they retained the faith and the Scriptures of Moses, they read them in a more philosophical and cosmopolitan spirit. Now, if we picture these foreign Jews to ourselvesthese twelve tribes in the Dispersion, as St. James calls them, just as we might speak of the greater Britain beyond the seaif we picture to ourselves these men, far from the land of their fathers,dwelling in busy, populous cities, where they were compelled to hold daily intercourse with men of other creeds and customs than their own, where, so to speak, a larger, freer current of air 26. tended to disperse the mists of local or racial prejudice, we shall readily understand that they were more accessible to new ideas, and especially to any new ideas which came to them from the land of their fathers, than their brethren who remained at home breathing the loaded atmosphere of their ancient city, into which the movements of the outside world could seldom penetrate. The Christian ideas, the good news that He was come for whom their fathers had looked, would be more impartially weighed by these Hellenised and foreign Jews than by the priests and Pharisees who dwelt under the shadow of the temple, and felt that, if Jesus should increase, they must decrease. Nor would the catholicity of the Christian faith, its appeal to men of every race, be so offensive to the tribes of the Dispersion as to the Jews of Judaea. (S. Cox, D. D.) The ministry of James I. A MINISTRY CONSCIOUSLY AUTHORISED BY GOD. The pledge of our soldiership, the credentials of our ambassage, are to be found chiefly within us, not without and around, II. MINISTRY AFFECTIONATELY ADDRESSED TO ALL. The true ministry never seeks to limit its love to one Church, or to square its sympathies to one sect. No scattering, either of denomination or distance, hinders the desire that all may be taught, comforted, sanctified, saved. III. A MINISTRY OCCASIONALLY WROUGHT BY WRITING. Some things are noticeable about the ministry of writing as compared with that of speech. 1. It is wider in its scope. 2. It is more permanent in its form. 3. It is frequently more easily discharged. Parents, friends, all who write to dear and most distant ones, can discharge a ministry thus. (U. R. Thomas.) Service the true idea of a Christian life The world is full of servants of one kind and another. 1. Many are servants through the force of their worldly position. 2. Through the weakness of their intellectual and moral natures. 3. Through the dominant force of an evil passion. 4. Through their effort to pursue a Christly method of life. By striving to bring our daily life into conformity with the Saviours, by endeavouring to become pure in our nature, spiritual in our ideas, reverent in our dispositions, and unselfish in our activities, we enter upon the highest service of which a human soul is capable. I. IT IS SERVICE DEDICATED TO THE SUPREME BEING OF THE UNIVERSE: James, a servant of God. 1. It is a service dedicated to God. 2. It is a service dedicated to the only Saviour of mankind: And of the Lord Jesus 27. Christ. 3. This service requires the divinest attitudes and truest activities of our moral nature. It must be (1) Sincere in its motives. (2) Pure in its effort. (3) Willing in its obedience. (4) Eternal in its duration. The moral relationships of the soul are deeper and more enduring than any other. 4. This service confers the highest dignity upon the moral nature of man. 5. This service presses itself upon our moral nature with the most emphatic claims. (1) That God is our Creator. (2) That Christ is our Saviour. II. IT IS A SERVICE DIRECTED TO TSHE MORAL CONSOLATION AND INSTRUCTION OF THE SORROWFUL. 1. James recognises the sorrowful condition and painful circumstances of those to whom he wrote. 2. The service of James was rendered effective by the ministry of the pen, III. IT IS A SERVICE INTENSE IN ITS CONVICTION AND PERSONAL IN ITS REALISATION: James. IV. IT IS A SERVICE MOST JUBILANT IN ITS INSPIRATION: Greeting. 1. It is jubilant because united to the highest source of joy and hope. 2. Because it has to console the worlds sorrow. 3. Are we all engaged in this service? (Joseph S. Exell, M. A.) Servants of God and Christ Men are the servants of God either generally or particularly. Generally, they are all the servants of Jesus Christ whosoever profess His religion and promise their service unto Him in the general calling of a Christian. Specially, they are called the servants of God and of Christ who in some chief calling do homage unto God and promote His kingdom. So princes in commonwealths, preachers and ministers in the Church of Christ, are servants of God and of Christ in special service. It we were princes, prelates, angels, yet this is the height of all glory, to rejoice in the service of Christ. Who are we, and what are our fathers houses, who can imagine greater glory than to be servants unto Christ? 1. Now, this name of servant must teach us humility, that we submit ourselves to Christ, whose servants we are, and for His sake and by His example to serve one another, whereunto He exhorteth (Mat_20:25-27); whereunto His example in washing His disciples feet serveth Joh_13:4-7; Joh_13:10; Joh_13:17). Submit yourselves one to another, deck yourselves inwardly in lowliness of mind, for God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble. Hereof our profession and calling putteth us in remembrance, who are servants by calling, to serve God in spirit and 28. truth, and to serve one another in the fear of God. 2. By our service we a