Lookahead: It’s the time of year when we revel in the greatest promise that God ever gave us, and then precisely delivered on (carried it out).  ~450 Messianic scriptures in the Bible foretold that, in this insane human existence that people were slogging through, with meaningless battered lives of war and pain, someone was coming to save us.  Someone who would bring perpetual peace and prosperity.  ~300 of these scriptures were fulfilled with the first visit of Jesus Christ. And I found an amazing (JPS) translation….Isaiah 9:6 (Masoretic 9:5) “For a child is born unto us, a son is given unto us; and the government is upon his shoulder; and his name is called Pele-joez-el-gibbor-Abi-ad-sar-shalom.” This JPS (Jewish Publication Society) translation actually treated, as one hyphenated name, the…component names of the Messiah (and rolled them into One)…This means that a baby, born from a human mother, was not only the Wonderful Counselor (Holy Spirit), but He was our Father forever (God the Father). And not only that, but He was the Prince of Peace (God the Son). All of this encapsulated in a tiny, fragile human infant who came down from heaven to earth for the sole purpose of saving us.

Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves. For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does.  James 1:22-24

“Be doers of the word, and not hearers only…the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so…being…an effective doer…will be blessed in all he does…”

To me, this scripture is a set-up for the sticky question that we’re going to address in Chapter Two which boils down to “works or grace?” (through unswerving faith that God did everything to put undeserving us back into right relationship with Him.)  This emphasis on “doing” rather than “receiving” may seem to contradict Paul’s teachings that “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.”  Ephesians 2:8,9  And James appears to associate keeping the Word with observing the “Perfect Law of Freedom?”  There’s nothing freeing or liberating about following the Law, no matter how perfect it is–especially if one’s blessing is contingent on being an effective doer.  For people who leave another religion to become Christ followers, it’s more like, “Welcome back, Bondage!”  

And yet even during Jesus’ earthwalk, people were clamoring to do God’s works.  

In the Book of John, Chapter 6–

28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” 

And yet Jesus could not have been any more clear in His simplicity:  

29 Jesus answered, 

“The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.”

Then and now, when we talk about being a doer, the only work that we are accountable for is believing and accepting Jesus as the Perfect Doer, Who did it all for us.  

For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

This verse always seemed a little confusing to me.  How could a person forget what he or she looked like?  For someone who probably owns or has access to fifty mirrors at any given time, I can constantly refresh my memory about my appearance.  So as an average person living in new millennium, it was a challenge to extrapolate my frame-of-reference to James’ era.  

“The idea of personal mirrors as tools for self-monitoring presupposes that a great deal of people have access to them. At least in the developed world, this is an empirical truth because mirrors are visibly commonplace. But how did this come to be?  Reflective surfaces made of polished obsidian are the oldest “mirrors” in the archaeological record, dating back as far as 4000 BCE. The first evidence of mirrors as grooming tools dates to the 5th century BCE, in illustrations of elegant Greeks gazing at hand mirrors (these illustrations are found on antique pottery). These mirrors, made from a polished metal disk attached to a handle, did not contain any glass. The first real glass mirrors in the record are from the 3rd century AD, consisting of extremely small (a few square inches) concave or convex metal surfaces with glass coatings. The size and style of these early mirrors leads many archaelogists to believe that they were used as jewelry or amulets rather than for personal grooming (Melchoir-Bonnet 12).”¹ 

In the 21st century, we never would walk away from a mirror and forget what we look like.  Depending on our demographic group and/or profession, we may be constantly self-monitoring and acutely aware of the slightest change in facial appearance.  Sales of “instant facelift type” products are in the millions as hoards declare war on sun spots and wrinkles, and obsess about every tiny facial line or complexion flaw.  (Frankly, I’ve found that the “improve appearance” check-box in Zoom (enables facial smoothing algorithms) is a handy solution, for those of us who conduct business virtually 🙂 ). 

One of the biggest global markets is anti-aging, including Botox injections and cosmetic surgery and every conceivable fountain-of-youth-formula–for both men and women…actually even young teens!  And I’m sure we all have that do-I-have-lettuce-in-my-teeth? story. I was watching a Korean comedy last night in which the young intern helps to get his inebriated boss home in a taxi after some evening team-building.  In the morning, the boss and his family find the intern asleep in the hall outside their apartment door.  His usually perfectly coiff’d-every-hair-in-place hair looks like it’s been in a hurricane, and is the comedic cause of much raucous laughter while the intern stares in complete ignorance.  

But today’s level of mirror gazing wasn’t possible in ancient Israel.  If you didn’t have money and weren’t an “elegant Greek” you probably would have had to go to a lot of effort to monitor your appearance.  You’d have to find someone with a polished obsidian who would let you use it.  Once you obtained that mental image of what you looked like, you had to hold onto it and carry it with you, because who knew when you’d have an opportunity to see yourself again.  So James is saying, if you go to all that trouble to find the Word of God, don’t just drop it/forget about the revelation, being a forgetful hearer…but (be) an effective doer (maker, poet, doer, performer).  Do something with the Word–just don’t give it lip service.

Why does James equate observing/keeping the Word with peering (looking intently) into the perfect law of freedom?

In my opinion, the only perfect law that this could be talking about is…Jesus Himself. Hebrew NT translations actually use the Torah word for law here (and we know that Jesus is the fulfillment/perfection of the Torah Matt 5:17). My theory is that “peering into the Torah” = “believing in Jesus and letting Him be the Perfect Doer.” I responded to a FB post from an amazing teenager in our family who, as a general comment, basically wrote that after offering love and trust to someone, it is really difficult if they betray that trust.  My automatic response was that shattered trust is a given in this crazy life we live.  “But don’t let them get in your head. If you can forgive and move on, you’re free to love and trust people who deserve it.”  However, an hour or so later, I found myself repenting for my pat, one-size-fits-all solution. I returned to FB to write, “I logged back on to apologize because I thought I was being awfully ruthless. I did not learn how to forgive until I was in my 40’s. And I was such a bitter, angry person I think I would have been dead by now (if I hadn’t learned)…I am so sorry (if) you’re having to go through this.” 

Jesus utterly set me free from unforgiveness.  And If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. John 8:36  It was Jesus Who overcame my bitterness, along with innumerable stressors, stinkin’ thinkin’ tendencies, pain recycling, etc.  How? When we believe in Jesus, we get the God perspective.  He revolutionizes the way we see ourselves and others; and He changes our priority system to one that is framed and fabricated on a foundation of LOVE. As the Master Doer–He does the work in and through and by us, and gives us His Love.  

It’s not a matter of taking on the huge burden of trying to keep 613 Levitical Laws flawlessly.  His Yoke is easy and His burden is light. Matthew 28:30 He strategically and tactically imparts His Word to anyone who is willing to include Him in the problem solving process. 

For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out….

So what is “the word?”  My last post discussed the Greek for “word”:

Logos or “λόγῳ” is the Greek word for the taught Word of God.  It is used in verse :18 as the catalyst for a Christian’s new birth (He chose to give us birth through the word of truth).  And it is also described as the catalyst for a Christian’s transformation in verse :19 (accept the word planted in you, which can save you).  Therefore, scripture says that the planted Word can actually save us, and more appropriately:  heal us, make us whole, deliver us, preserve us, keep us safe-and-sound, rescue us, and protect us. James effectively says that “now that you have been spiritually re-born by the Word, allow the Word to heal you and make you whole.”

But Jesus gives us more than logos.

In my past studies, I have learned that there are actually two Greek words for “the word.”  I’ve heard teaching that logos was the taught word from scripture, and rhema was the inspired personal word that we receive directly from on high.  In actuality, a lexicon weigh-in reflects that both logos and rhema have multitudinous meanings and contexts–but I found that there was a huge amount of overlap–most of the definitions were used for both Greek words.  I finally dumped all this into a huge spreadsheet and did a cell-by-cell comparison to see if either logos or rhema had a unique definition(s).  Rhema had only one definition that had not been applied to Logos–PROMISE.  

Ending this post on a pivotal note that, although it may seem like a detour, is, in my view, the primary path:

It’s the time of year when we revel in the greatest promise that God ever gave us, and then precisely delivered on (carried it out).  ~450 Messianic scriptures in the Bible foretold that, in this insane human existence that people were slogging through, with meaningless battered lives of war and pain, someone was coming to save us.  Someone who would bring perpetual peace and prosperity.  ~300 of these scriptures were fulfilled with the first visit of Jesus Christ.²

And I found an amazing translation on wikipedia:  Isaiah 9:6 (Masoretic 9:5) “For a child is born unto us, a son is given unto us; and the government is upon his shoulder; and his name is called Pele-joez-el-gibbor-Abi-ad-sar-shalom”; (JPS 1917)³

This JPS (Jewish Publication Society) translation actually treated, as one hyphenated name, the following component names of the Messiah (and rolled them into One):  His Name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.  

This means that a baby, born from a human mother, was not only the Wonderful Counselor (Holy Spirit), but He was our Father forever (God the Father).  And not only that, but He was the Prince of Peace (God the Son).  All of this encapsulated in a tiny, fragile human infant who came down from heaven to earth for the sole purpose of saving us.  

I don’t know about you, but I can never stop thanking Him. 🙂

++++++++++++

¹ https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/13things/7306.html

²https://www.gotquestions.org/prophecies-of-Jesus.html

³https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Testament_messianic_prophecies_quoted_in_the_New_Testament