James 2:7

Do not they blaspheme that worthy name Better, Do not they revile that noble Name? The pronoun is again emphatic, Is it not they that revile? The two senses of the Greek verb, the reviling which has man for its object, and the blasphemy, in its modern sense, which is directed against God, are in this instance so closely mingled that it is difficult to say which predominates. Men reviled Christ as a deceiver, and in so doing were, not knowing what they did, blaspheming the Son of God. The Name can be none other than that of Jesus as the Christ, and the epithet attached to it, "which is given you, or called upon you," is best explained as referring to the name of Christian, which was beginning to spread from Antioch into Palestine (Acts 11:26). Where it had not yet found its way, it was probable enough that the disciples of Jesus would be known by the name out of which "Christian" sprang, as ο ἱ Χριστο ῦ, "Christ's people," "Christ's followers." The description reminds us of the account St Paul gives of his work in compelling the saints to "blaspheme" (Acts 26:11). The persecution in which he thus took part was instigated, it will be remembered, by the Sadducean priests, who formed a wealthy aristocracy, rather than by the more cautious Pharisees, who adopted the policy of Gamaliel (Acts 5:17; Acts 5:34).