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5.1       Come now you rich people, (147)      start weeping               with mournful howls               over your miseries yet to come. (148) 5.2  Your wealth stands rotten                 and (149)      Your clothes stand moth-eaten, (150) 5.3  Your gold and silver stand corroded. (151)      Their corrosion will be a witness against you,                 and (152)      ----- --------- will consume your flesh                               as fire; (153)      you have stored up wealth in the last days.       5.4       Behold, (154)      the wages of the laborers cries out,                                who mowed your fields                   which have been fraudulently withheold by you                 and (155)      the cries of the harvesters have entered the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. (156) 5.5  You have lived luxuriously on the earth                 and (157)      you have given yourselves to pleasure, (158)      you have fattened your hearts for a day of slaughter. (159) 5.6  You have condemned, (160)      You have murdered the just one. (161)      He does not resist you.

Summary:
        Once again, James employs a the thought structure of admonition (statement 147) backed up by a defense (statements 148-161).
        The admonition (147) is focused on eschatological judgment of the wealthy with nothing but eternal damnation in view for them. Using the language of many of the Old Testament prophets for the Day of the Lord, James pronounces certain doom on the rich and calls upon them to brace themselves for that day.
        In light of the twisted theology about wealth in many circles of ancient Judaism where wealth was seen as an indication of divine blessing and thus divine approval of lifestyle of the wealthy, James felt the need to justify his utter rejection of this belief about wealth with an elaborate defense (statements 148 - 161). With the use of powerful argumentation he successfully defends his banishment of the wealthy to eternal damnation. The underlying thought structure of this defense revolves around two motifs: accusation of guilt and pronouncement of judgment. This pattern provides the foundation for the four sets of expressions in the defense: (1) condemnation of the ancient status symbols of wealth (statements 148 - 153); (2) condemnation of fraudualent means of gaining wealth (statements 154 - 155); (3) condemnation of the luxuriant lifestyle of the wealthy (statements 156 - 158); (4) condemnation of the abusive treatment of the poor by the wealthy (statements 159 - 161). This last set has an ironic twist to it that we will explore below.
        Acknowledgement for the seminal idea of this structure goes to a former seminary student, Timothy Ahlen, who through his training at Harvard University in literary structuralism spotted this foundational structure years ago while taking a class in advanced Greek exegesis with me.

Exegetical Issues:

Literary Setting Questions
        Three areas of questions emerge here. The relation of 5:1-6 to both 4:13-17 and 5:7-11. Also, the view toward the wealthy throughout the document.

1.  The connection of 5:1-6 to 4:13-17 was explored in the previous lesson. Summarize that discussion here.
 
 
 
 

2.  Compare the contents of 5:1-6 and 5:7-11. What possible connection exists between these two passages?

 

James 5:1-6 (NRSV). 1 Come now, you men of wealth, give yourselves to weeping and crying because of the bitter troubles which are coming to you. 2 Your wealth is unclean and insects have made holes in your clothing. 3 Your gold and your silver are wasted and their waste will be a witness against you, burning into your flesh. You have put by your store in the last days. 4 See, the money which you falsely kept back from the workers cutting the grass in your field, is crying out against you; and the cries of those who took in your grain have come to the ears of the Lord of armies. 5 You have been living delicately on earth and have taken your pleasure; you have made your hearts fat for a day of destruction. 6 You have given your decision against the upright man and have put him to death. He puts up no fight against you.

James 5:7-11 (NRSV). 7 Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9 Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! 10 As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

Pay close attention to 5:6 and 5:7. Here is where the connection between the two passages is basically established. Can you identify what it is? Two signals in 5:7 especially point to that connection. What are they?

3. What view of riches and the wealthy surfaces in the book of James? Review question 6 in Lesson 02 where this question was first explored. Summarize that discussion here as it relates to 5:1-6.
 
 
 
 
 

Study of 5:1
        This first section contains the pronouncement of doom upon the wealthy. We need to explore the idea of wealth and the wealthy in the Bible in order to understand better the position taken in this verse.

4.  Compare 5:1-6 to Luke 6:24-25, 12:13-21, 16:19-31, 18:18-30 in the teaching of Jesus. What is the perspective on the rich in Jesus' teaching as set forth by Luke? How does it compare to James?

 

James 5:1-6 (NRSV).  1 Come now, you men of wealth, give yourselves to weeping and crying because of the bitter troubles which are coming to you. 2 Your wealth is unclean and insects have made holes in your clothing. 3 Your gold and your silver are wasted and their waste will be a witness against you, burning into your flesh. You have put by your store in the last days. 4 See, the money which you falsely kept back from the workers cutting the grass in your field, is crying out against you; and the cries of those who took in your grain have come to the ears of the Lord of armies. 5 You have been living delicately on earth and have taken your pleasure; you have made your hearts fat for a day of destruction. 6 You have given your decision against the upright man and have put him to death. He puts up no fight against you.

Luke 6:24-25 (NRSV).  24 But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 25 Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.

Luke 12:13-21 (NRSV). 13 Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." 14 But he said to him, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?" 15 And he said to them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." 16 Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17 And he thought to himself, "What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' 18 Then he said, "I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' 20 But God said to him, "You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' 21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God."

Luke 16:19-31 (NRSV). 19 "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man's table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. 24 He called out, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.' 25 But Abraham said, "Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.' 27 He said, "Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father's house — 28 for I have five brothers — that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.' 29 Abraham replied, "They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.' 30 He said, "No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' 31 He said to him, "If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "

Luke 18:18-30 (NRSV). 18 A certain ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 19 Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 20 You know the commandments: "You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.' " 21 He replied, "I have kept all these since my youth." 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." 23 But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. 24 Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." 26 Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" 27 He replied, "What is impossible for mortals is possible for God." 28 Then Peter said, "Look, we have left our homes and followed you." 29 And he said to them, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life."

What is the consistent emphasis in Luke's presentation of the teaching of Jesus about wealth?
 
 
 

How does this compare to the view of James here in 5:1-6?

5.  Compare 5:1-6 to 1 Tim. 6:6-10 in the teaching of Paul. What is the perspective on the rich in Paul's teaching? How does it compare to James?

 

James 5:1-6 (NRSV).  1 Come now, you men of wealth, give yourselves to weeping and crying because of the bitter troubles which are coming to you. 2 Your wealth is unclean and insects have made holes in your clothing. 3 Your gold and your silver are wasted and their waste will be a witness against you, burning into your flesh. You have put by your store in the last days. 4 See, the money which you falsely kept back from the workers cutting the grass in your field, is crying out against you; and the cries of those who took in your grain have come to the ears of the Lord of armies. 5 You have been living delicately on earth and have taken your pleasure; you have made your hearts fat for a day of destruction. 6 You have given your decision against the upright man and have put him to death. He puts up no fight against you.

1 Tim. 6:6-10 (NRSV). 6 Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; 7 for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; 8 but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

6.  Compare 5:1-6 to Amos 8:1-14 in the teaching of the OT prophet Amos, who represents the OT prophets. What is Amos' perspective on the rich? How does it compare to James?

 

James 5:1-6 (NRSV).  1 Come now, you men of wealth, give yourselves to weeping and crying because of the bitter troubles which are coming to you. 2 Your wealth is unclean and insects have made holes in your clothing. 3 Your gold and your silver are wasted and their waste will be a witness against you, burning into your flesh. You have put by your store in the last days. 4 See, the money which you falsely kept back from the workers cutting the grass in your field, is crying out against you; and the cries of those who took in your grain have come to the ears of the Lord of armies. 5 You have been living delicately on earth and have taken your pleasure; you have made your hearts fat for a day of destruction. 6 You have given your decision against the upright man and have put him to death. He puts up no fight against you.

Amos 8:1-14 (NRSV).  1 This is what the Lord God showed me—a basket of summer fruit. 2 He said, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A basket of summer fruit." Then the Lord said to me, "The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass them by. 3 The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day," says the Lord God; "the dead bodies shall be many, cast out in every place. Be silent!"          4 Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, 5 saying, "When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances, 6 buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat." 7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds. 8 Shall not the land tremble on this account, and everyone mourn who lives in it, and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt? 9 On that day, says the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight. 10 I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day.          11 The time is surely coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. 12 They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it. 13 In that day the beautiful young women and the young men shall faint for thirst. 14 Those who swear by Ashimah of Samaria, and say, "As your god lives, O Dan," and, "As the way of Beer-sheba lives" — they shall fall, and never rise again.

7. From the online article on 'wealth' in the Baker's Theological Dictionary of the Bible, summarize the biblical teaching about wealth.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

8. Compare 5:1-6 to 1 Enoch 94:6-11 in the Jewish teaching of the period before the beginning of the Christian era. What is the perspective on the rich here? How does it compare to James?

 

James 5:1-6 (NRSV).  1 Come now, you men of wealth, give yourselves to weeping and crying because of the bitter troubles which are coming to you. 2 Your wealth is unclean and insects have made holes in your clothing. 3 Your gold and your silver are wasted and their waste will be a witness against you, burning into your flesh. You have put by your store in the last days. 4 See, the money which you falsely kept back from the workers cutting the grass in your field, is crying out against you; and the cries of those who took in your grain have come to the ears of the Lord of armies. 5 You have been living delicately on earth and have taken your pleasure; you have made your hearts fat for a day of destruction. 6 You have given your decision against the upright man and have put him to death. He puts up no fight against you.

1 Enoch 94. 6-11.  6 Woe to those who build unrighteousness and oppression  And lay deceit as a foundation;  For they shall be suddenly overthrown,  And they shall have no peace.  7 Woe to those who build their houses with sin;  For from all their foundations shall they be overthrown, And by the sword shall they fall. [And those who acquire gold and silver in judgment suddenly shall perish.] 8 Woe to you, ye rich, for ye have trusted in your riches,  And from your riches shall ye depart,  Because ye have not remembered the Most High in the days of your riches. 9 Ye have committed blasphemy and unrighteousness,  And have become ready for the day of slaughter,  And the day of darkness and the day of the great judgment.  10 Thus I speak and declare unto you:  He who hath created you will overthrow you,  And for your fall there shall be no compassion,  And your Creator will rejoice at your destruction.  11 And your righteous ones in those days shall be  A reproach to the sinners and the godless.

What is the view toward the wealthy taken in 1 Enoch?
 
 
 
 

How does it compare to that of James?  Note some identical phrases between the two texts.

9. Why is the admonition in 5:1 not a call to repentance?  Compare 5:1 to Isa. 13:6, 14:31, 15:2-3, 16:7, 23:1, 14; 65:14, Jer. 48:20, Ezek. 21:11-12.

 

James 5:1-6 (NRSV).  1 Come now, you men of wealth, give yourselves to weeping and crying because of the bitter troubles which are coming to you.	Isaiah 13:6-8 (NRSV). 6 Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty! 7 Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt, 8 and they will be dismayed. Pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame.	Isaiah 14:31 (NRSV). 31 Wail, O gate; cry, O city; melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in its ranks.	Isaiah 15:2-3 (NRSV). 2 Dibon has gone up to the temple, to the high places to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness, every beard is shorn; 3 in the streets they bind on sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.	Isaiah 16:7 (NRSV). 6 We have heard of the pride of Moab — how proud he is! — of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; his boasts are false. 7 Therefore let Moab wail, let everyone wail for Moab. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth.
Isaiah 23:1 (NRSV). 1 The oracle concerning Tyre. Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your fortress is destroyed. When they came in from Cyprus they learned of it.	Isaiah 23:14 (NRSV).  14 Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your fortress is destroyed.	Isaiah 65:14 (NRSV). 14 my servants shall sing for gladness of heart, but you shall cry out for pain of heart, and shall wail for anguish of spirit.	Jeremiah 48:20 (NRSV). 20 Moab is put to shame, for it is broken down; wail and cry! Tell it by the Arnon, that Moab is laid waste.	Ezekiel 21:11-12 (NRSV). 11 The sword is given to be polished, to be grasped in the hand; it is sharpened, the sword is polished, to be placed in the slayer's hand. 12 Cry and wail, O mortal, for it is against my people; it is against all Israel's princes; they are thrown to the sword, together with my people. Ah! Strike the thigh!

These Old Testament passages use a couple of verbs (in the LXX) used by James in 5:1. The thrust of all of them was to pronounce doom upon various groups of people in reference to the anticipated 'Day of the Lord.' Can you identify these verbs?

Study of 5:2-6
        This second section of the passage (statements 148 - 161) sets forth a defense of the initial pronouncement of doom upon the wealthy. The two motifs of (1) Accusation of Guilt, and (2) Pronouncement of Judgment provide the foundational structure for the four sets of expression.

10. Identify the specific scripture text location of the two motifs in the four sets of defense in 5:2-6.

 

Four Sets of Arguments:	Accusation of Guilt.  Which statements does this show up in?	Pronouncement of Judgment. Which statements does this show up in?
1. Condemnation of the ancient status symbols of wealth (statements 148 - 153)
2. Condemnation of fraudualent means of gaining wealth (statements 154 - 155)
3. Condemnation of the luxuriant lifestyle of the wealthy (statements 156 - 158)
4. Condemnation of the abusive treatment of the poor by the wealthy (statements 159 - 161)

Attitude:

Actions:

 

James 5:4 (NRSV).  4 See, the money which you falsely kept back from the workers cutting the grass in your field, is crying out against you; and the cries of those who took in your grain have come to the ears of the Lord of armies.

Lev. 19:13 (NRSV). 13 You shall not defraud your neighbor; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a laborer until morning.

Deut. 24:14-15 (NRSV). 14 You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers, whether other Israelites or aliens who reside in your land in one of your towns. 15 You shall pay them their wages daily before sunset, because they are poor and their livelihood depends on them; otherwise they might cry to the Lord against you, and you would incur guilt.

Jer. 22:13-17 (NRSV). 13 Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice; who makes his neighbors work for nothing, and does not give them their wages; 14 who says, "I will build myself a spacious house with large upper rooms," and who cuts out windows for it, paneling it with cedar, and painting it with vermilion. 15 Are you a king because you compete in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. 16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is not this to know me? says the Lord. 17 But your eyes and heart are only on your dishonest gain, for shedding innocent blood, and for practicing oppression and violence.

Mal. 3:5 (NRSV). 5 Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

Matt. 20:8 (NRSV). 1 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4 and he said to them, "You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. 5 When he went out again about noon and about three o'clock, he did the same. 6 And about five o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, "Why are you standing here idle all day?' 7 They said to him, "Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, "You also go into the vineyard.' 8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, "Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.' 9 When those hired about five o'clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. 10 Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. 11 And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12 saying, "These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' 13 But he replied to one of them, "Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?' 16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

13. Compare Jas. 5:6 to Jas. 2:6b-7. What insight does 2:5b provide for understanding 5:6?

 

James 5:6 (NRSV). 6 You have given your decision against the upright man and have put him to death. He puts up no fight against you.

James 2:6b-7 (NRSV).  6b Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? 7 Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?

14.  Compare Jas. 5:6 to the following passages. What is the common link among them?

 

James 5:6 (NRSV). 6 You have given your decision against the upright man and have put him to death. He puts up no fight against you.

Isa. 53:5-7 (NRSV).   But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

1 Pet. 2:21-25 (NRSV). 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps. 22 "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." 23 When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

Matt. 26:57-68 (NRSV).   57 Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, in whose house the scribes and the elders had gathered. 58 But Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest; and going inside, he sat with the guards in order to see how this would end. 59 Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death, 60 but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward 61 and said, "This fellow said, "I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.' " 62 The high priest stood up and said, "Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?" 63 But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him, "I put you under oath before the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God." 64 Jesus said to him, "You have said so. But I tell you, From now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven." 65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? You have now heard his blasphemy. 66 What is your verdict?" They answered, "He deserves death." 67 Then they spat in his face and struck him; and some slapped him, 68 saying, "Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who is it that struck you?"

Rom. 12:17-21 (NRSV). 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God;  for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." 20 No, "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Matt. 5:38-42 (NRSV). 38 "You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' 39 But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; 40 and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; 41 and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. 42 Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

In first century Christian tradition, the concept of the unjust suffering of Jesus as the Just One before during the different phases of his trial based on Isa. 53 became a powerful influence upon Christians trying to respond to unjust circumstances. This teaching continued into subsequent centuries of Christian tradition making the point that Jesus is the ultimate model for Christians facing persecution. James' use of the term 'the upright man' (NRSV) represents an early expression of this teaching, along with 1 Peter 2, in the middle of the first Christian century. Paul composed a version of it in Romans 12 in the middle 50s as well.

Identify the double meaning of James' use of the term 'upright man' in 5:6.
 
 

Statement 161 should fall into the Pronouncement of Judgement motif followed in the previous sections, but instead takes an ironic twist, that sets up a transition to the next pericope of 5:7-11. Can you identify this ironic twist?

Application of the Text:

1. How do you view wealth?
 

2. How real is the awareness of impending divine judgment of your life?
 

3. As an Christian employer, how well do you treat your employees?
 

4. As an Christian employee, how well to you respond to injustices on the job?
 

5. How much does the model of Jesus influence your daily living?
 

For Further Study:

See the Bibliography listing for James under Bibliography, especially Individual Volumes and Articles.
 

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