A Call To Patient Endurance (preaching resource for 12/14/25, Advent 3)
This post exegetes James 5:7-12, providing context for the Epistle reading on 12/14/25, which this year is the 3rd Sunday of Advent. Insights are drawn from commentary by Warren Wiersbe ("Bible Expository Commentary"), Peter H. Davids ("New Bible Commentary") and Luke Timothy Johnson ("James, Anchor Bible").
 |
| "The Sufferomgs of Job" by Chiesa (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) |
Introduction
The book of James begins with an exhortation to suffering Christians to persevere (James 1:1-5), and now its conclusion begins with a similar plea to “be patient…until the Lord's coming…” (James 5:7). Perseverance and patience are needed as we await the “blessed hope” of Jesus’ return (Titus 2:13)—particularly when the going gets tough. And it often does. Jesus said: “In this world you will have trouble" (John 16:33). And Paul noted, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). And so we need patience (see James 5:7-8, 10, where the word means “long tempered”); and perseverance (see James 5:11, where the word means “to remain under” or “to put up with” and refers to endurance under stress). James gives us encouragement to patient endurance through giving us three examples of this virtue: the farmer, the prophets and Job.
The farmer
James 5:7–9
Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
Farming is not for the impatient. No crop appears overnight (except perhaps a crop of weeds), and no farmer controls the weather. Farmers must be patient. In Palestine they would plow and sow in October (when autumn rain softened the soil) and the crops would mature with the coming of rain in the spring. Why patiently wait so long? Because the crop is “valuable” (James 5:7). And so it is with us, “At the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). James pictures Christians as “spiritual farmers” looking for a spiritual harvest. His exhortation? “Be patient and stand firm” (James 5:8). This is not passive waiting, but focused and purposeful, knowing that through trouble; God is producing a harvest in our lives. The harvest we look for includes the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22–23).
And in our patient enduring we are called to help each other! Indeed, farmers are known for helping neighbors bring in the harvest. Nobody on the farm has time or energy for disputes with neighbors. James must have had this in mind when he added, “Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged” (James 5:9—an echo of Jesus’ words in Matt. 7:1). Impatience with God often leads to impatience with God’s people, and this is a sin we must avoid. If we start using the sickles on each other, we will miss the harvest! We are to encourage one another to be strong despite difficulties (Rom. 1:11-12). Let us work and wait together. At his return, Jesus will richly reward us all (Luke 12:43).
The prophets
James 5:10
Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Congregations of Jewish Christians would have readily understood James’ reference here to the Old Testament prophets. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus used the prophets as examples of victory over persecution (Matt. 5:10–12). What encouragements do we receive from their example? For one thing, though obedient to God’s will, the prophets suffered. Though Satan tells Christians that their suffering is the result of sin or unfaithfulness; the truth is that it can come because of faithfulness! “In fact, all who live godly lives will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12). The prophets encourage us by reminding us that God cares for us when we go through suffering for his sake. Elijah announced to wicked King Ahab that there would be a drought in the land for three and one half years; and Elijah himself suffered in that drought. But God cared for him, and God gave him victory over the evil priests of Baal.
Why is it that those who “spoke in the name of the Lord” often had difficult trials? In large part so their lives would back up their messages! The witness of a faithful life is powerful and convincing. But have not many faithful Christians suffered and died without notice or recognition? Yes, but when Jesus returns, they will be rewarded (Rev. 22:12).
This example of the Old Testament prophets encourages us to spend time in the Scriptures getting acquainted with these heroes of faith: “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). The better we know the Bible, the more God can encourage us in the difficult experiences of life. The important thing is that, like the farmer, we keep working, and, like the prophets, we keep witnessing, no matter how trying the circumstances may be.
Job
James 5:11–12
As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Above all, my brothers, do not swear-- not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned.
“We consider blessed those who have persevered” (Jlames 5:11) takes us back to James 1:12: “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” Victories follow battles. James taught that there are blessings after we have persevered. His example is Job who was understood by his readers to be a man of great patience. In the Old Testament, Job does not seem patient (he complains a lot). But in The Testament of Job and other Jewish documents circulating in James’s day, Job is represented as the paragon of patient endurance. In any case, James’s readers would have understood.
The Old Testament Book of Job is filled with long speeches. In the first three chapters we have Job’s distress: he loses his wealth, his family (except for his wife, and she told him to commit suicide), and his health. In Job 4–31 we have Job’s defense, as he debates with his three friends and answers their false accusations. In Job 38–42 we have Job’s deliverance: first God humbles him, then honors Job and gives him twice what he had before.
In studying Job’s experiences, it’s important to remember that Job did not know what was going on “behind the scenes” between God and Satan. Job’s friends accused him: “There must be some terrible sin in your life,” they argued, “or God would never have permitted this suffering.” Job maintained his innocence (but not perfection). The friends were wrong: God had no cause against Job (Job 2:3), and in the end, God rebuked the friends for telling lies about Job (Job 42:7).
It’s difficult to find a greater example of suffering than Job. Circumstances were against him, for he lost his wealth and his health. He also lost his beloved children. His wife was against him. His friends were against him, for they accused him of being a hypocrite, deserving of the judgment of God. And it seemed like God was against him! When Job cried out for answers to his questions, there was no reply from heaven. Yet, Job persevered. Satan predicted that Job would get impatient with God and abandon his faith, but that did not happen. It is true that Job questioned God’s will, but Job did not forsake his faith in the Lord. “Though he slay me, I will hope in him. Nevertheless, I will argue my ways before him” (Job 13:15, NASB). Job was so sure of God’s perfections that he persisted in arguing with him, even though he did not understand all that God was doing. That is endurance.
God made a covenant with Israel that He would bless them if they would obey his laws (see Deut. 11). This led to the erroneous idea that, if you were wealthy and comfortable, you were blessed of God; but if you were suffering and poor, you were cursed of God. Sad to say, many people hold that same flawed idea today. When Jesus said it was difficult for a rich man to enter heaven, the disciples were shocked. “Who then can be saved?” they asked (Matt. 19:23–26). “The rich are especially blessed of God,” they were saying. “If they can’t make it, nobody can!”
But the Book of Job refutes that idea; for Job was a righteous man, and yet he suffered. God found no evil in him, and even Satan could not find any. Job’s friends could not prove their accusations. Job teaches us that God has higher purposes in suffering than the punishing of sin. Job’s experience paved the way for Jesus, the perfect Son of God who suffered, not for his own sins, but for the sins of the world. In Job’s case, what was God’s purpose? To reveal himself as full of compassion and mercy. Certainly, there were other results from Job’s experience, for God never wastes the sufferings of his saints. Job met God in a new and deeper way (Job 42:1–6), and, after that, Job received greater blessings from the Lord.
“But if God is so merciful,” someone may argue, “why didn’t he protect Job from all that suffering to begin with?” To be sure, there are mysteries to God’s working that our finite minds cannot fathom; but this we know: God was glorified and Job was purified through this difficult experience. If there is nothing to endure, you cannot learn endurance.
What did Job’s story mean to the believers James wrote to, and what does it mean to us today? It means that some of the trials of life are caused directly by satanic opposition. God permits Satan to try his children, but he always limits the extent of the enemy’s power (Job 1:12; 2:6). Satan wants us to be impatient with God, for an impatient Christian is a powerful weapon in the devil’s hands. James 1 tells us that Moses’ impatience robbed him of a trip to the Promised Land; Abraham’s impatience led to the birth of Ishmael, the enemy of the Jews; and Peter’s impatience with Jesus almost made him a murderer.
When Satan attacks us, it is easy for us to get impatient and run ahead of God and lose God’s blessing as a result. So what then is the answer? "My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). Paul’s “thorn” in his flesh was a “messenger of Satan.” Paul could have fought it, given up under it, or tried to deny that the thorn existed; but he did not. Instead, he persevered despite the thorn; he trusted God for the grace he needed; and he turned Satan’s weapon into a tool for the building up of his own spiritual life.
When you find yourself in trouble, go to the throne of grace and receive from the Lord the grace you need to endure (Heb. 4:14–16). Remind yourself that the Lord has a gracious purpose in all suffering, and that he will work out his purposes in his time and for his glory. You are not a robot caught in the jaws of fate. You are a beloved child of God, privileged to be a part of your Heavenly Father’s wonderful plan.
The exhortation “do not swear” in James 5:12 may seem out of place; what does swearing (speaking oaths) have to do with suffering and endurance? If you have ever suffered, you know. When you’re suffering it’s easy to say things you do not mean, and even make bargains with God. Job said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. (Job 1:21-22). Job did curse the day he was born (Job 3:1ff), but he never cursed God or spoke with a foolish oath. Neither did he try to bargain with God.
Here James is reminding us of Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:34–37). The Jews were great ones for using oaths to back up their statements. They were careful, however, not to use the name of God in these oaths, lest they blaspheme God. So, they would swear by heaven, or earth, or Jerusalem, or even by their own heads. But Jesus taught that it is impossible to avoid God in such oaths. Heaven is his throne, earth is his footstool, and Jerusalem is the “city of the great King.” As for swearing by your head, what good is it? “Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black” (Matthew 5:36).
True Christian character requires few words. The person who must use many words (including oaths) to convince us has something wrong with his character and must bolster this weakness by using words. If you have true integrity, then all you have to say is yes or no and people will believe you. Jesus warns us that anything more than this is from the evil one.
Indeed, one of the purposes of suffering is building character. Certainly Job was a better man for having gone through fiery trials (the process explained in James 1:2–12.) If words are a test of character, then oaths would indicate that there is yet work to be done. When Peter poured out those oaths in the courtyard (Matt. 26:71), he was giving evidence that his character was still in need of a transformation.
Conclusion
James encourages us to have patient endurance in difficult times. Like the farmer, we are waiting for a spiritual harvest, for fruit that will glorify God. Like the prophets, we look for opportunities for witness, to share the truth of God. And, like Job, we wait for the Lord to fulfill his loving purpose, knowing that he will never cause us to suffer needlessly. And, like Job, we shall have a clearer vision of the Lord and come to know him better for having patiently endured. Hang in there! It’s worth it.