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James 2:8

Discussion in '2005 Archive' started by CubeX, Apr 3, 2005.

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  1. CubeX

    CubeX New Member

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    James 2:18 - "If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right.

    Is this referring to the statement made by Jesus about which is the greatest commandment, or has this statement always been considered, by Jewish tradition, to have high authority?

    Just wondering if anyone knew!
    -David
     
    #1 CubeX, Apr 3, 2005
  2. PastorSBC1303

    PastorSBC1303 Active Member

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    He is referring to the statement of Jesus in the Gospels which ties back to Deuteronomy.
     
    #2 PastorSBC1303, Apr 3, 2005
  3. CubeX

    CubeX New Member

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    Yes, I knew that it was tied back to Deut. But I was wondering if James was referring to a book from the gospels which was not canonized at the time. Or perhaps this was always considered one of the most important commandments. Or, lastly, perhaps he knew that Jesus stated this. I was curious to see if a connection could be drawn from book to book, much like in the Old Testament, or if all that could be concluded is that it was stated by Jesus, therefore creating a connection from the early church doctrine to Jesus' statements.

    -David
     
    #3 CubeX, Apr 3, 2005
  4. Gold Dragon

    Gold Dragon Well-Known Member

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    From his reference to "royal law" (Moses wouldn't be referred to as royalty) and the use of the phrase "law of liberty" in verse twelve, I think James is strongly referring to Jesus' use of this command over the OT use of the command.

    Having said that, I do believe that the OT use was very common, familiar and authoritative to Jews of that time.
     
    #4 Gold Dragon, Apr 3, 2005
  5. CubeX

    CubeX New Member

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    Okay, so I think that it is safe to conclude that this is a cross-confirmation from book to book on what Christ said. Thanks!
    -David
     
    #5 CubeX, Apr 4, 2005
  6. Gold Dragon

    Gold Dragon Well-Known Member

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    I'm not sure if you are drawing the right conclusions.

    What do you mean by a cross-confirmation of the books?

    James is referring to Jesus' use of the command which is from the OT, but when he calls it "Scripture", he is likely talking about OT scripture and how Jesus quoted OT scripture as a royal law. The gospel writings likely were not percieved as "Scripture" yet as of the writing of James.
     
    #6 Gold Dragon, Apr 4, 2005
  7. CubeX

    CubeX New Member

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    I mean that there is a specific confirmation of Christ's wordings and early church doctrines instead of the majority -- general confirmations.

    -David
     
    #7 CubeX, Apr 4, 2005
  8. Craigbythesea

    Craigbythesea Well-Known Member

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    The NASB, 1995, reads,
    James 2:8. If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you are doing well.

    The use of all uppercase letters in the NASB New Testament signifies a quote from the Old Testament. I agree with their judgment. There is no suggestion here that James is quoting Jesus or that he was aware of any written gospels.

    [​IMG]
     
    #8 Craigbythesea, Apr 6, 2005
  9. Gold Dragon

    Gold Dragon Well-Known Member

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    What about oral traditions? Also, James being in Jerusalem probably did have access to some of the early copies of the gospels. He also had access to the disciples themselves or maybe heard it first hand.
     
    #9 Gold Dragon, Apr 6, 2005
  10. Craigbythesea

    Craigbythesea Well-Known Member

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    These considerations, whatever may be their merit or the lack thereof, are irrelevant to the passage at hand.

    [​IMG]
     
    #10 Craigbythesea, Apr 7, 2005
  11. Gold Dragon

    Gold Dragon Well-Known Member

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    These considerations, whatever may be their merit or the lack thereof, are irrelevant to the passage at hand.

    [​IMG]     </font>[/QUOTE]My point is that you don't have to justify the canonicity of the gospels to say that James quoted Jesus.
     
    #11 Gold Dragon, Apr 7, 2005
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