Verba Christi in James: An Exegesis of James 4:11-12; 5:12 - Lorin

Although James does not distinguish between his own words and the sayings of Jesus, the latter
“indirectly form the very basis and authority” for his ethical instructions. 20
Verba Christi in Exegesis
Unfortunately, none of the authors consulted for this project (except one) articulate a
methodology for interpreting Verba Christi in the epistles. Lorin Cranford’s Exegeting the New
Testament offers three guidelines in “Appendix E: Guidelines for Exegeting Kleine
Gattungen.” 21 This seminar member recommends only an addition of an initial guideline. It has
been included here with the other three to aid the seminar in evaluating this suggestion.
a. Identify a saying of Jesus in the epistles using the following criteria: parallels in
wording, content, meaning, or images.
b. Compare the form of the saying in the epistolary context with the form in the Gospel(s)
if such exists. Look for interpretive alterations that may have been added to the saying
in the epistle.
20 Patrick J. Hartin, James and the Q Sayings of Jesus, Journal for the Study of the
New Testament Supplement Series, ed. David Hill, no. 47 (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1991),
243.
E. Earle Ellis, “Gospel Criticism: A Perspective on the State of the Art,” in The
Gospel and the Gospels, ed. Peter Stuhlmacher (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 44-45,
offers two reasons for this lack of distinction between the words of James and the sayings
of Jesus: “The letters reveal that Paul (and his congregations) and Peter and James know
a number of synoptic traditions. They rarely cite them as such, apparently because (1)
they know their recipients have already received Jesus-traditions that were deliberately
transmitted separately as a special kind of tradition and because (2) as prophets who
‘have the mind of Christ’ and apostles who are conscious of being his authorized
representatives (