The Pulpit Commentary — James — Section 35

to oxcludo II direct reference to the words or llvoµa); the honourable Name; probo.bly the Christ, RB iu Luke vi. 20; xii. 31, 32; and Name of Christ, liy which the disciples were BO we get indirect proof of e. nurrent know- known ( Acts xi. 2G), and for which they ledge, o.t the e11.rly poriod o.t which St. Je.me8 suffered (Acts v. 41 : I Pet. v. H-16). By wrnte, of tenohing which was 11.fterwa.:rds the which ye are oe.lled; literally, which wa, recorded in the written Gospels." called upon you (Td l1r11,A118,v i,p' vµ.a,). A Ver. 6.- You have dishonoured by your 8imilar expression is found in St. J ames's treatment the poor man, whom Goel chose; speech in Acts xv. 17, in a quotation from while those rich men to whom ye po.y such Amos ix. 12. honour are just the very persons who (I) Ver. 8.-What is the connection with the oppress you and (2) blaspheme God and foregoing? M,v-ro, is ignored altogether by Christ. Poor . . . rich. In the Old Testa- the A.V. Translate, with R.V., howbeit if ment we occasionally find the term " poor" ye fulfil, etc.; Vulgate, tamen. According parallel to" righteous" (Amos ii. 6; v. 12); to Huther, St. James here meets the attempt and "rich" to " wicked" (Isa. liii. 9). St. which his readers might, perhaps, make to James's use here is somewhat similar (see justify their conduct towards the rich with on eh. i. 9, etc.). •• Christiani multi ex pe.u- the law of love; whilst he grants to them r,eribus ero.nt: pauci ex divitibus" (Bengel). that the fulfilment of that law is something The " ricb men" here 11.lluded to are evi- excellent, he designates 11pocro,-n:0A11.,..,,.,iv dently such as was the Apostle Paul before directly as a transgression of the law. Alford his conversion. (1) They dragged the poor thinks that the apostle is simply guarding Christians before the judgment-eeat (<A1<ov- his own argument from misconstruction~a. ,,.,,, vµ.«s •ls 1<p1T-/ip1ri). So Saul, "haling view which is simpler and perhaps more (uvpo111) men and women, committed them to natural. The royal law. Why is the law prison" (Acts viii. 3). (2) They blasphemed of love thus styled? (The Syri11c has simply the honourable Ne.me by which Christians " the law of God.") (1) As being the most were called. So Saul thought that he ought excellent of all laws; as we might call it to do m1my things contrary to the Name of the sovereign principle of our conduct (cf. Jesus of Nazareth, and strove to rne.ke them Plato 'l\Iin.,' p. 317, c, To op8r,v v6µ.os ,cr-rt blaspheme (Act.! xxvi. 9-11). (3) All this fJriu1A11,6s). Such an expression is natural they did in person (ri/rro(); "themselves," enough in a Greek writer; but it is strange just as Saul clid. No difficulty need be felt in a Jew like St. James (in the LXX. /3acr,- about the presence of these rich men in the }l.11<os is always used in its literal meaning); synagogues of the Christians (see Introduc- and as the "kingdom" has been spoken of tion, p. viii.). It will be noticed that St. just before (ver. 5), it is better (2) to take James never calls them "brethren." Further, the expression as literal here-"the law of it must be remembered that, at this early the kingdom" (cf. Plumptre, in lee.). Thou date, the Church had not yet learnt by bitter &halt love, etc. (Lev. xi.x. 18). The law had experience the need for that secrecy with received the sanction of the King himself which in later days she shrouded her wor- (Matt. x.xii. 39 ; Luke x. 26-28). ship. At this time the Christian assemblies Ver. 9.-And are convinoed, etc.; better, were open t.o any who chose to find their with R. V., being convicted by the law ( '"•"'f• way in. All were welcome, as we see from x6µ.n,o, inro Tou v6,uov). The Law of l\Ioses 1 Cor. xiv. 23, etc., where the chance entry directly forbade all respect of persons; see of "men unlearned or unbelieving" is con- Lev. xi:x. 15 (three verses above the passage templated ll.S likely to happen. Hence there just quoted by St. Jo.mes), Ou "-~1¥?1 ,rpo- is no sort of difficulty in the presence of uo,,rov ?l'Twxo;, ou~e µ.¾J 8riv,wi.lT!)S -..p&uonrov the "rich man" here, who might be eagerly 3vvduT011), welcomed, and repay his welcome by dmg- Ver. 10.-ln this verse the subjunctives ging them to the judgment-seat. Draw you TTJpficr?I, -n:-rrillT!I, are rightly read by the Re- before the judgment-seats. The 11.ccount visers, with N, B, C. The Law was express given by Josephus of the death of St. Jo.mes on the need of keeping all the comm11nd- himself affords a good 1llustre.tion of the ments; see Lev. xix. 37 (the same chapter m11.nner in which Christians were liable to to which St. J times has alreauy referred), this (see Introduction, p. vi.). But the Kril ,PvAd!,cr8• ,rdv-rri -rov 110µ.011 µ.ou, 1<c,l ,r11v-rr, tribunals need not be confined to J owisli Ta ,rpot1'Td."'(µClTU µ.ov l<<U ..-o,~rr•Tf <lUTa.). Ee ones, Other instances of similar treatment, is guilty of all. The very same thought illustrating the thoughts ond languoge of is found in re.bbinico.l writers (To.lmud, the passage before us, may bo found in Acts 'Schabbath,' fol. 70); a saying of R. Johe.- xvi. 19 ; xvii. 6; xviii. 12. Litigation of an nan : " Quoclsi fnciat onrnia unum vero Pntirely different ch1m1cter between Chris- omittet omni um est singulorum reus." Othor tians themselves is alluded to and con- p11ssnges to the same effect may be seen in demned by St. Paul in 1 Cor. vi. t:,chottgcn, 'Horre Hebmicro,' vol. i. p. 1017, Yer. 7.-That worthy Name (To rrMbv etc.; am! cf.' Pir11e Aboth,' iv.15. Wu;; it a 80 THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. [cB, II, 1-26,