“Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.”
My Notes
What Does James 5:10 Mean?
"Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience." James points to the prophets as models — not of success but of suffering. The example they set isn't how to build a ministry but how to endure affliction. Their patience under suffering is the quality worth imitating.
The combination "suffering affliction and patience" (kakopatheia and makrothymia) pairs two qualities: the endurance of hardship and the long-temperedness that keeps going. The prophets didn't just suffer — they suffered patiently. The endurance had duration. The affliction didn't produce bitterness.
The phrase "spoken in the name of the Lord" connects the suffering to the speaking: they suffered because they spoke. The affliction was the direct result of their faithfulness. They weren't randomly unfortunate. They were targeted because they delivered God's message. The suffering was the receipt for the obedience.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Whose patient suffering — not success — are you learning from?
- 2.How does James's model (prophets who suffered) challenge prosperity-focused faith?
- 3.What does long-temperedness look like in your current difficult situation?
- 4.What 'affliction receipt' have you received for faithfulness?
Devotional
The prophets are your example. Not of success — of suffering. Not of prosperity — of patience. The models James holds up for imitation endured affliction for speaking God's truth. That's the example.
This challenges every prosperity-focused theology: the biblical models aren't people who achieved comfort through faithfulness. They're people who endured suffering because of faithfulness. The prophets spoke in God's name and received affliction as payment. Their example isn't 'do this and things will go well.' It's 'do this and things will go badly — and endure it anyway.'
The patience James highlights isn't passive resignation. The Greek word (makrothymia — long-temperedness, long-fuse endurance) describes someone who stays in the fight long after most people would quit. The prophets didn't just suffer. They suffered for decades. Jeremiah prophesied for forty years. Isaiah served through multiple hostile administrations. The patience wasn't a one-time achievement. It was a lifetime practice.
James says: take them as your example. Not their gifts. Not their miracles. Not their dramatic confrontations. Their patience. The unsexy, unglamorous, unheroic quality of continuing to be faithful when faithfulness produces suffering.
Whose patient suffering are you learning from? Not whose success — whose endurance? The prophets' example isn't their preaching. It's their patience under the consequences of their preaching.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord,.... Men who have been highly honoured of God,…
Take, my brethren, the prophets - That is, in your trials and persecutions. To encourage them to the exercise of…
Take - the prophets - The prophets who had spoken to their forefathers by the authority of God, were persecuted by the…
The apostle is here addressing first sinners and then saints.
I. Let us consider the address to sinners; and here we…
Take, my brethren, the prophets Better, as representing the emphatic order of the Greek, As an example of affliction and…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture