James 5:13-20 (NKJV) Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 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 sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
James writes more of the rules from the Law of Christ about conduct, sickness, prayer, confessing sins, and helping others who are struggling with the faith.
V13 “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.” Suffering in the early church included verbal, physical, and financial abuse. With any type of suffering we must seek God first. It is no shame to pray to God that we are afraid and need strength. The Scriptures remind us to always seek God for fellowship, wisdom, help for others, help for ourselves, etc. Always seek God first (1 Chronicles 16:11). The importance of singing to glorify God. Music can create moods from murder to peace, insanity to rest, etc.
From an image: There are physical benefits to singing as 1) releasing feel-good hormones, 2) boosts immune system, 3) lowers blood pressure, 4) improves breathing, and 5) improves overall health and well-being. The psychological effects include 1) lowers anxiety and stress, 2) choir singing promotes bonding as group, 3) improves happiness, 4) improves cognition, and 5) leads to a longer life.
Source image: https://globalharmonies.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Benefits-of-Singing.jpg
The importance of the Psalms shows the varied emotions in the songs from despair to joy, etc.
V14 “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. “ This refers to more serious sicknesses. One of the responsibilities for elders is to visit the sick and pray for them. Anointing is a physical object calling attention for the Holy Spirit’s blessing. In the name of the Lord refers to giving credit to Jesus, who is THE healer of bodies and souls.
The Dictionary of Bible Themes notes: “The application of oil was associated with times of rejoicing and celebration. It also possessed a deeper significance, including that of being singled out by God for special favour or responsibilities.” Thus kings, high priests, prophets, Messiah, sickness, blessing, dedicating, etc. are anointed. The oil is olive oil.
Other comments:
(Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Abridged – Little Kittel)) Anointing by God implies authorization and a specific commission whereby the king now represents the people.
(Smith Bible Dictionary) “Spiritual anointing with the Holy Ghost is conferred also upon Christians by God. 2Co 1:21. “Anointing” expresses the sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit upon Christians who are priests and kings unto God.”
V15 “And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” Save means deliverance. It is a saving from the illness. A person is raised because they are not sick anymore. See Luke 4:38-39.
V16 “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.“ Sometimes sickness is a chastening from God because of sin. Nevertheless, if there are sins, we need to pray to God (privately for forgiveness). If there are sins known publicly, then a public confession is needed. Confession involves truth, humility, and genuine sorrow for one’s sins. Only God forgives sins, so we must always ask for His forgiveness.
V17 “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.” The power of prayer is not the words, but the blessing of communicating with God who can help. Not all sickness is healed obviously to disappointment, but sickness can be an opportunity to bless others and receive blessings from others. Elijah was human. He was not sinless. He had weaknesses as all humans, nevertheless, God still commissioned this prophet to give this message and showing the necessity of prayer. Why didn’t God just do it without prayer? He is a delegator, not a dictator.
V18 “And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.” This is recorded in 1 Kings 17 and 18.
V19 “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back…” The Greek word for “wanders” is (G4105) πλανάω planaō, which means to causing someone to stray or we cause ourselves to stray from the standard or norm. The standard in Christianity is the Bible, the only source of 100% truth. Compare same word in Matthew 18:12, Matthew 24:5, Galatians 6:7, and Revelation 20:10. We are responsible to speak gently but truthfully to those who have strayed. When the one who wandered from the faith is convicted by the Holy Spirit, the wanderer has opportunity to return to the truth.
V20 “…let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.” There are blessings for the wanderer and the corrector. The wandering here is not just a minor thing for it could have been possible for God to judge and inflict them with death. Compare Acts 5:4-5, Acts 12:23. Utley writes on this verse: “Paul is asserting in plain language that believers who violate the unity of the church may suffer temporal physical consequences, even death (cf. 1Co 3:17). This is directly connected to a lack of respect for the body of Christ, the church, the people of God (cf. Acts 5; 1Co 5:5; 1Ti 1:20).”
We learn:
- God’s plan for a number of different emotions we experience
- One of the elder’s responsibilities for the believers
- Importance of prayer
- Importance of correction about the Faith