“Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.” Moffatt
has it “till the arrival of the Lord.” The example of the righteous man,
whether Christ or the typical righteous poor man, argues strongly for
long-suffering (“long-tempered” like our “sweet-tempered,”
“quick-tempered,” and the opposite of “short-tempered,” according to
Mayor). In the Christian race one cannot afford to be short of wind. He
has a long run and must hold out until the goal is reached (cf. Heb.
12:1-3).
One is reminded of the opening note of the Epistle of James (1:2-4),
where he urged joy in the midst of varied trials. The wicked rich
deserve all the fierce denunciation that James has just bestowed and all
the penalty that God will inflict, but the suffering Christians must not
engage in mere recrimination. James does not discourage protest against
wrong or the effort to remove evil. But there is a residuum of suffering
and pain in the cup of all of us. When all else is done, in the end of
the day we must drink that cup. Let us do it with the spirit of soldiers
who fall in the trenches at the post of duty. It is better to do it
without flinching and without making a wry face. God is full of
long-suffering toward us (Rom. 2:4; 1 Peter 3:20), and men have shown
the same spirit (James 5:10; 2 Cor. 6:6). The patience in James 1:3 f.
is just “remaining under,” but here the point is to do it and make no
fuss about it, not to call attention to what one is suffering, to be a
martyr without insisting on being recognized as one.
The early Christians were so eager for the second coming of the Lord
Jesus that they were impatient for his return and some of them
completely upset about it, although Jesus had emphasized the utter
uncertainty of the time and had urged watchfulness and readiness. By a
skilful turn (Plummer) James “makes the unconscious impatience of
primitive Christianity a basis for his exhortation to conscious
patience.”
Some of them no longer had a taste for the slow work of plowing, sowing,
and reaping, forgetting what Jesus had said of the gradual growth of the
kingdom of God from seed to harvest. So James, probably with the words
of Jesus in mind, says, “Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious
fruit of the earth.” The farmer, tiller of the soil, has much to
discourage him in the making and selling of his crops. The soil has to
be kept up to its level of fertility and must be properly prepared. The
seed must be of good quality and has to be sown at the proper season.
The weeds will come, and the harvest is dependent on the sun and the
rain. He cannot hasten the process. When he has done the most scientific
farming, he can only wait in expectancy. Often, perhaps daily, the
farmer watches the growth of the grain, “being patient over it,” bending
over it as a fond father. He knows that he cannot hasten the season. The
early rain made possible the sowing of the seed. The latter rain will
make possible a harvest. Meanwhile, he can do nothing but wait “until it
receive” the final touch from God’s hand. By force of circumstances the
farmer has to exercise long-suffering toward his crop of wheat.
“Be ye also patient.” James applies his illustration with directness and
power. “Ye also,” as well as the husbandman. He does it, for nature has
taught him her secrets. “Ye” should do so, for Jesus has shown you the
way. “Establish your hearts.” Peter is charged with just this task when
he has turned (Luke 22:32). God strengthens us (1 Peter 5:10; 1 Thess.
3:13), but we must do our share. “For the coming of the Lord is at
hand.”
The phrase “is at hand” is the one that John the Baptist used of the
nearness of the kingdom of heaven which had come right upon them (Matt.
3:2). So Peter (1 Peter 4:7) says, “The end of all things is at hand.”
Paul (Phil. 4:5) says, “The Lord is at hand.” There is no doubt that the
early Christians hoped that Jesus would come back quickly and thus
relieve them from the ills of an impossible social system (Rom. 13:11; 1
Thess. 4:15; 1 John 2:18). But they did not at all feel sure that Jesus
was coming right away (1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Thess. 3:1 ff.; 2 Cor. 5:1-10;
Phil. 1:21-23).
When 2 Peter was written, scoffers were already asking, “Where is the
promise of his coming?” (2 Peter 3:4). The answer is given that one day
with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.
Back to their tasks they must go, back to the building up of the kingdom
of God in the midst of a world of woe and sin, on with the conflict till
Jesus comes, on with the long siege against human greed and inhumanity
to man. Patience is the word—patience and prayer, pluck and praise,
power and peace in the end.