Daily Devotional For Thursday, January 11, 2024

When we go to the book of James, there is a verse in it that many people misuse because they misunderstand it. It is James 5:13-15, "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. (14) Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. (15) And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven" (ESV). Specifically, it is verse 15. 

This verse raises a number of legitimate questions. It seems to imply that if someone is sick, call for the elders or leaders of the church, let them anoint that person with oil in the name of the Lord, and their prayer of faith will heal that person. How many of us have prayed for someone with cancer and they still died? Probably all of us. So, what is going on here? We must understand the context of this passage first before we come to a conclusion of its meaning. To help us with this, I have read many commentaries on this and looked at the passage in the Greek New Testament. Most commentaries went with physical illnesses, but that raises all kinds of questions due to our personal experience with this, as John MacArthur, raises in his commentary, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, p. 276 on the Book of James. The questions are listed below as well as some other ponts below from MacArthur's commentary. I do not intend to answer all these questions here.

1. First, what kind of illness or sickness does James have in mind here?
2. Second, why does it seem to give the impression that the prayers of the elders make more of a difference in the healing than yours or mine?
3. Third, what is the anointing of oil for and why does this matter in the healing?
4. Fourth,  does the prayer of faith of the elders always heal the sick person?
5. Fifth, is the sickness related or caused by some sin? If so, how and why does this make a difference in the healing?
6. Sixth, what type of healing is in mind here?
7. Seventh, why does James interject Elijah and rain in verses 17-18 and how does this relate to healing?

This is why context is so important in interpreting any Bible verse. We must look at verses prior and after. James wrote his epistle to Jewish believers. These were the ones who had been forced against their will to flee from Palestine from the persecution brought by then Saul (before he was Paul) as recorded in Acts 8:1–4,  "And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. (2) Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. (3) But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. (4)  Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word" (ESV). The execution mentioned in Acts 8:1 is of the first Christian martyr who was killed by stoning -- Stephen (Acts 7:54-60.

This is why James begins his epistle this way in James 1:1,  "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion" (ESV). James knew the church was under persecution and believers were fleeing this persecution and then he returns to this same theme in James 5:1-6, where James describes this persecution of the poor believers at the hands of the rich that even resulted in their deaths (James 1:6).

As a result of this persecution, James brings in the topic of prayer in James 5:13-18. I want you to notice how James incorporates prayer from the whole church.  In James 5:13, James calls on individtuals to pray for those undergoing persecuttion. Then in James 5:14-15, James calls on the elders to pray as well. Then in James 5:16, James calls on the whole congregation or church to pray for those undergoing persecution, where James asks the whole church to pray for those who have illnesses and/or injuries incurred from their persecution. 

Therefore, the context is not about physical illnesses or healing. James' concern is with healing spiritual weakness, spiritual weariness, spiritual exhuastion from persecution, and even spiritual depression through prayer. James is also dealing with suffering and sin that many times comes with persecution. If James was telling us we can pray for anyone who is sick by anointing with oil, with elders, and etc, then James would be insensitive and misleading. Why? Context. There is nothing in the preceding verses nor the verses that follow that give any hint of this. So, James gives us a few verses about how to help those with wounds from experiencing persecution through prayer. 

James says in James 5:13 if anyone is suffering, let them pray. Why? God is the only real source of strength and encouragement during times of persecution. Prayer brings us God's power to endure persecution. Without prayer, we give in to the persecution and abandon the faith. In fact, the word translated as "prayer" in verse 13 is [προσεύχομαι, proeuchomai]. It is in Greek what we call a present middle imperative. An imperative means a command and the structure of the verb indicates continued prayng, not just a one time prayer. 

So, when we come to verse 14, James is not talking about healing from physical illnesses but from evil and demonic persecution. The Greek word James uses for sick is [ἀσθενέω, astheneo]. This word is translated as "sick" 18 times in the New Testament (see e.g., Matt. 10:8; 25:36, 39; Mark 6:56; Luke 4:40; John 4:46; Acts 9:37). But it is also uses 14 times in the New Testament to refer to emotional and spiritual weakness (see e.g., (Acts 20:35; Rom. 4:19; 8:3; 14:1–2; 1 Cor. 8:11–12; 2 Cor. 11:21, 29; 12:10; 13:3–4, 9).  Yet, in all but three (Phil. 2:26–27; 2 Tim. 4:20) of "astheneō’s" appearances in the epistles does not refer to physical sickness. 

Therefore, the stress is more on the impact that results in emotional and spiritual weakness we can experience from the stress and hardship from persecution.  This Greek New Testament word [ἀσθενέω, astheneo] can also be translated as weakness or weak. So, James zeroes in on those who have become spiritually weak from persecution for thier faith. These would be fallen spiritual warriors, who have been defeated spiritually by persecution and may also have medical issues -- both physical and emotional -- tormenting their bodies from this persecution.  Meaning, initially they were strong during the constant persecution, but as it continued and as they prayed, the persecution won out and they lost all motivation to keep praying. 

For James, these "elders" are those in the church who have stood the test of persecution and did not lose their motivation to pray and serve God however intense and prolonged that persecution was. This is why they are the best ones to pray and help these defeated believers. The Apostle Paul writes about this in Galatians 6:1, "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted" (ESV). This is a lost spiritual practice in the church. The church tends to "shoot its own wounded" at times or worse, resort to gossip and condemnation. We see the same encouragement by Paul to do this in 1 Thessalonians 5:14, "And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all" (ESV).

So, why the anointing of oil? Good question. The Greek New Testament word used here for "anoint" is [ἀλείφω, adeipho]. This is not referring to some kind of ceremonial "anointing" as some think. The verb itself means "to rub." What may be implied here is to tell the elders to actually rub oil on the fallen believer and the oil serves as a visible reminder of asking God for help. In Jesus' time, oil was believed to have some healing properties. The New Testament has several references to people have oil rubbed on them.  Today, we look on this as primitive and it is because medicine was in its infancy then, but people in Jesus' day believed oil comforted and healed. It is no different than a parent giving their young child his or her teddy bear to sleep with at night. 

Also, the rubbing of oil on defeated believers reminds all of us a wonderful ministry needed in churches today: the ministry of intercession and restoration, where the church encourages, helps strengthen and motivates believers to continue in their faith when life turns against them. James then concludes when this is done, the "sick" is restored and healed.  As I wrote above, "sick" misleads us to think physical illnesses when James is referring to those defeated believers who are defeated due to persecution. It is a spiritual restoration and healing, not a physical one. 

We see this in James use of the words translated as "raise up." This is the Greek New Testamen word [ἐγείρω, egeiro], which can be translated as "to awaken" and "to arouse." The point is: through the prayers of godly persecuted believers, God can and will restore the defeated, discouraged believer if they let Him.  And if this person has sinned, his sins are to be forgiven. No where does the Bible teach that all sickness or illnesses are from sin. Some in Jesus' day believed that.  Read John 9:1-5. The disciples thought this and asked Jesus this about a man who had been born blind. Many times spiritual defeat is due to sin and this is why James words it this way.

Now that you understand the context of this often misused Scripture, I hope it makes better sense to you. Well, I had not intended to be this long, but to help you understand the context of this verse, it took more than I thought. Here are some questions for all of us to consider:

1. Who do we know we can provide the ministry of intercession and restoration?
2. Which Christians can you bring as examples of spiritual victory to those experiencing spiritual defeat? 
3. Do you need the ministry of intercession and restoration in your life by our church?

Scripture To Meditate On: Psalm 50:15, "And call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me” (ESV).

Prayer To Pray: "Dear God, please use me to encourage someone who feels they are spiritual defeated, even if it is by their own sin. God, help me not to gossip nor condemn believers who fall, but to be there to help pick them up. I know God, that one day, life could come at me in such a way that I could want to give up as well. God, help us to celebrate victories and comfort those who have no victory. In Jesus' naame, Amen!"

,