James 5:6

My Notes

What Does James 5:6 Mean?

"Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you." James accuses the wealthy exploiters of the ultimate crime: condemning and killing the righteous — the just (dikaion) person who doesn't resist. The just person's non-resistance makes the crime more damning, not less: you killed someone who wasn't even fighting back. The innocence of the victim and the passivity of the response compound the guilt of the oppressor.

The phrase "he doth not resist you" (ouk antitassetai hymin — does not oppose you, does not arrange against you) describes someone who absorbs the injustice without retaliation. Some interpreters see a reference to Jesus himself (the just one who didn't resist). Others see a generic description of the poor. Either way, the non-resistance is the indictment of the attacker, not the weakness of the victim.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Where have you seen legal systems used to condemn the just — producing injustice through the machinery of justice?
• 2.What does the just person's non-resistance (not fighting back) teach about the character of genuine righteousness?
• 3.How does the non-resistance compound the guilt of the oppressor rather than excuse it?
• 4.Where is God's court needed because human courts have condemned the innocent?

Devotional

You condemned the just. You killed the righteous. And he didn't fight back. James delivers the most devastating accusation in his letter: the wealthy have murdered innocent people who offered no resistance.

Ye have condemned. Katedikasate — you pronounced a guilty verdict. Using courts. Using legal systems. Using the machinery of justice to produce injustice. The condemnation is formal: not a mob killing but a legal execution. The just person was condemned through proper channels — the same channels that were supposed to protect them.

And killed. Ephoneusate — you murdered. The condemnation led to death. The legal system that pronounced the guilty verdict executed the sentence. And the person executed was dikaion — just. Righteous. Innocent. The legal system killed the innocent person and called it justice.

The just. The word is singular: the just one. Whether James means Jesus specifically (the Just One killed by the Sanhedrin) or the just person generically (the poor who are condemned by corrupt courts), the effect is the same: innocence destroyed by the people with power.

And he doth not resist you. The just person doesn't fight back. Doesn't organize resistance. Doesn't hire lawyers. Doesn't retaliate. The non-resistance isn't weakness. It's the character of the just — the person whose integrity is so complete that they absorb injustice rather than return it. Isaiah 53:7: he opened not his mouth. 1 Peter 2:23: when he was reviled, he reviled not again.

The non-resistance compounds the guilt: you killed someone who wasn't fighting. You used your power against someone who had no power AND who chose not to use whatever power they had. The victim's passivity is the perpetrator's maximum condemnation. Because the only thing worse than killing an innocent person is killing an innocent person who was too righteous to fight back.

James writes to a church that includes both the wealthy oppressor and the poor victim. The accusation is aimed at the former. The vindication is aimed at the latter. And the God who hears the cries of the defrauded laborers (v. 4) also sees the non-resisting just person — and the justice they didn't receive from human courts, they'll receive from the divine one.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture