Verses 11-12: For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away. Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
The picture that James draws for us in this verse is the inescapable
progress of time in the universe of the Creator. For as certain as we live and
breathe, whether we be rich or poor, death is inevitable, just like the flower
and grass of the fields. This verse is clearly alluding to the prophet Isaiah:
All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.The grass withers, the flower fades,When the breath of the Lord blows upon it;Surely the people are grass.The grass withers, the flower fades,But the Word of our God stands forever. (Isaiah 40:6b-8)1
And again, just in case the point is missed by those who are
driven by wealth, in the middle of their pursuits2
they will fade away. But ‘fade away’is much too kind of an interpretation. The word actually means to quench, to
extinguish or to die. For the rich man must never forget, as Solomon stated,
that there is a time to die (Ecclesiastes 3:2). Or that “it is appointed for
man to die once and after this comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
There are more important things in this life other than the
pursuit of riches. Believers should be in pursuit of that which has eternal
value – the development of our soul in the advance to spiritual maturity.
The Lord Jesus sternly warned in the parable of the rich man
the perils that lay ahead for those whose lives are merely in pursuit of
wealth:
“Then he said...‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:18-21)
James begins verse 12 with the word ‘blessed’, the same Greek word Jesus employed in the beatitudes of the Sermon on the
Mount. It is a word that connotes ‘happiness.’ Marvin Vincent wrote explaining
this word:
[I]t almost universally occurs in connections which emphasize, as its principal element, a sense of God’s approval founded in righteousness which rests ultimately on love to God...it becomes the express symbol of a happiness identified with pure character. Behind it lies the clear cognition of sin as the fountain-head of all misery, and of holiness as the final and effectual cure for every woe...and emphasizes something which thrives on trial and persecution, which glories in tribulation, which not only endures but conquers the world, and expects its crown in heaven.3
James declares that the man who perseveres in trials is a
happy man. This seems like a super-human feat. But the idea, as James concludes
his case concerning the divine purpose of believers’ trials, is that if a
believer possesses doctrine and is fully cognizant that God has determined to
provide the means for his advancement in this life of faith, that He will also
sustain him in the midst of trials. And upon this realization, that believer
can find happiness.
But the believer must be able and willing to persevere.
This word, in the Greek, is the verbal form of the word ‘endurance’ in verses 3
and 4. This implies that the believer must determine that in spite of how
severe the trial may be, he is going to rely on the sustaining ministry of his
Lord to see him through, and to derive from the negative encounters spiritual
strength and determination to stay the course of the Christian life. Just as
the apostle Paul stated:
That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, (Ephesians 3:16)
This lesson learned, separates the mature believer from the
spiritually weak believer, who collapses at the first sign of trouble.
James adds a promise for those who persevere: the crown of
life. This crown is also mentioned by the apostle John to the church at Smyrna
in the book of Revelation:
Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. (Revelation 2:10)
John forewarns them of suffering, testing and tribulations
for ten days and equates perseverance to being “faithful until death.”
We might conclude from out passage and from Revelation 2:10,
that the believers’ life may well be characterized as a series of trials and
tribulations, and that we need to learn endurance at a very early stage of our
Christian life in order to reach spiritual maturity, to receive the crown of
life and also to demonstrate are genuine love for Him.
The apostle Peter provides a further rationale for endurance
in the midst of trials:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials (1 Peter 1:3-6)
What Peter is saying is that in the midst of trials, we
should not block out of our minds the great blessings that God has provided us:
born again; an imperishable inheritance reserved in heaven; protection by the
power of God; a salvation ready to be fully revealed in the last times. This is
what we should ‘greatly rejoice’ in at the moment that the trials of life cause
us distress – and not allow the emotion of the moment to blind us of rich we
are in spiritual blessings.
Note the purpose of this mindset which Peter explains in the
next verse:
So that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:7)
[1]
Also quoted in 1 Peter 1:24-25
[2] Poreía in
the Greek [πορεία] meaning journey,
hence, the journey of life, way of life, manner of life
[3] Vincent,
M. R. (2002). Word Studies in the New Testament (1:35-36). Bellingham,
WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
© 2023 David M. Rossi
