(1) The focus is the prayer
5:14 Is anyone among you ill? He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
Grammatically, the phrase, "anoint him with oil" was under the main verb, "pray." We may be very interested to know the exact meaning of the anointing oil, but the main focus is prayer.
Grammatically, the phrase, "anoint him with oil" was under the main verb, "pray." We may be very interested to know the exact meaning of the anointing oil, but the main focus is prayer.
5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praises. 5:14 Is anyone among you ill?
This is a repeated pattern in v.13-14a, if anyone among you...you should... Note, the ill person in v.14a was suffering just like the person in v.13a. Why did James not tell the ill person to pray? Instead, James instructed the sick to ask for the elders of the church to pray. Therefore, this sick person is more than physically sick. He might be also weak spiritually as well. The 2 words that described him: v.14 ill (also means weak) and v.15 sick (also means weary or fatigue). In v.15-16 James also mentioned the possibility of sins.
This is a repeated pattern in v.13-14a, if anyone among you...you should... Note, the ill person in v.14a was suffering just like the person in v.13a. Why did James not tell the ill person to pray? Instead, James instructed the sick to ask for the elders of the church to pray. Therefore, this sick person is more than physically sick. He might be also weak spiritually as well. The 2 words that described him: v.14 ill (also means weak) and v.15 sick (also means weary or fatigue). In v.15-16 James also mentioned the possibility of sins.
(2) The healing (and other extraordinary thing) was brought by healing of the righteous
5:15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick
v.16b The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness
v.17b he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and there was no rain
v.16b The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness
v.17b he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and there was no rain
v.18a 5:18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain
Not just prayer, but prayer of a righteous person. "So confess your sins to each other and pray for each other v.16" (BKC) A mutual concern for one another is the way to combat discouragement and downfall. The cure is in personal confession and prayerful concern.
Not just prayer, but prayer of a righteous person. "So confess your sins to each other and pray for each other v.16" (BKC) A mutual concern for one another is the way to combat discouragement and downfall. The cure is in personal confession and prayerful concern.
(3) Who prayed?
First the elders pray for the sick v.14. The prayer of faith v.15. However, in v.16 Scriptures said confess your sins... and pray...so that you may be healed... the prayer of a righteous person...
It seems like this, the ill person was weak and could not pray. The elders were called and prayed for the ill. Then the ill confess their sins and pray and he was healed.
In the church, we are each other's keeper. We encourage each other to come to God. Even our lives depend on this!
(4) About the oil
This word appears only 9 times in NT, mostly related to the anointing of Jesus before His death.
In the OT, (PNTC) Exod. 40:15 (twice) and Num. 3:3 [anoiting] denotes the ceremonial anointing of the priests, whereby they were set apart for the service of God.
(PNTC) As the elders pray, they are to anoint the sick person in order to symbolize that that person is being set apart for God’s special attention and care.
But James’s insistence in v. 15 that the sick person is healed through “the prayer of faith” suggests that the anointing itself does not convey the grace of healing power...the practice is not a necessary accompaniment to the prayer for healing.
Audrey
Comments