James 2:3

James 2:3. And ye have respect: literally, ye look upon, ye have regard to him that weareth the gay clothing. The two who came in are very differently treated; the rich man is conducted with all honour to a comfortable seat, whilst the poor man is left to shift for himself. In these verses there is in our English version a needless variation in the renderings of the same Greek word; the words apparel, raiment, and clothing are all in the original expressed by the same term.

and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; a place of consequence and comfort: literally, ‘Be well seated.' As in the Jewish synagogues, so in the Christian, there would be a diversity of seats. Thus we read of the scribes and Pharisees who ‘loved the chief seats in the synagogues' (Matthew 23:6).

and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool. The other man in vile raiment is told to stand where he is, or is allowed to sit where he can, provided he does not select a good seat. Observe the contrast between ‘here' and ‘there;' ‘here,' the goodly seat the place of honour; ‘there,' the seat under the footstool the place of dishonour. We are not informed whether those who came in were believers or unbelievers. Some suppose that both parties were Christian strangers, others that they were Gentiles or unbelieving Jews, and others that the poor were believers and the rich unbelievers. But it is best to leave it, as in the Epistle, undetermined; they are taken merely as samples of each class the rich and the poor. It is well known that those who were not Christians might and did come into the Christian assemblies (1 Corinthians 14:23).