In James 5:13 the author calls for the persecuted brethren to pray, to have their focus on the Lord, rather than their difficult position. They need to remember the Lord is merciful and loves them, despite his seemingly far off context. No sorrow is so great nor pain so unendurable as that in which there is no hope for relief. The Lord does see, and he has promised vindication, and the afflicted need to focus on this. He also mentions those who seem to have escaped persecution, or, if they hadn’t, it wasn’t strong enough to change their happy disposition. They, too, are advised to focus on the Lord and sing to him who has helped them. What would be wrong for them to do is rub their happy disposition in the faces of their brethren who cannot bring themselves to smile. No one sings joyful tunes or dances at a funeral. There is a place for joy, but there is also a place for sorrow, and mutual respect should be shown among the faithful for their brethren’s state of mind. I believe this is James’ point.
James 5:14-15 has been grossly misunderstood and misinterpreted. Some have tried to draw a distinction between the Greek words used for anointing, aleipho (G218) used here in James 5:14, and chrio (G5548) used at Luke 4:18 for the Father anointing Jesus for his ministry. The one (G218) they say is common and used for medicinal purposes, while the other (G5548) is used for spiritual matters. Such a distinction cannot be drawn from the Scriptures. For example, aleipho (G218) is never used in the New Covenant text for medicinal purposes, unless it is forced upon the text as it is at James 5:14.[1] Certainly one wouldn’t try to say the Apostles anointed the sick and drove away the demons and their sicknesses (Mark 6:13). Such an interpretation speaks of the occult, but certainly not Christianity. The sick were anointed by the Apostles, pointing to the Spirit’s anointing power, as in the Septuagint at Exodus 40:15 and Numbers 3:3, where Aaron and his sons were anointed (G218) with oil for their service to the Lord. The oil, itself, healed no one, nor was it administered for medicinal purposes. It was used with prayer to point to the healing power of God, not the healing power of the product. Thus, poor interpretation of James 5:14-15 has led many to take their eyes off the Lord to place their hearts and minds on the oil, itself, as a medicinal product. Thus, some conclude: “…we have God and medicine, God and the doctor, and that is precisely where we are today,” and this couldn’t be further from the truth to which James points in the conclusion of his letter.
James’ point has nothing to do with oil. Rather, he points to the prayer of faith. How could one miss it? First he tells the afflicted to pray (James 5:13). Then he says the prayer of faith will heal the sick (astheneo – G770) meaning “without strength” (James 5:14-15), and there is no reason why this word shouldn’t refer to the persecuted in James 5:13, rather than someone who is ill. So, he who is persecuted prays (verse-13), and the elders pray for him who is without strength (verse-14) and the prayer of faith (verse-15) will save the one who is without strength, which seems to point to the then present persecution the churches were under, rather than diseases, upset stomachs and headaches.
In fact, James seems to imply that sin may be the reason for the afflicted one’s weakened condition (James 5:15), and then in verse-16 actually advises the brethren to confess their sins one to another and to pray for one another “that you may be healed!” saying, “the prayers of the righteous have a powerful effect” (Moffett).
For an example of the power of fervent prayer, James pointed to the prayers of the prophet, Elijah, whom James said was a man of like nature to the brethren undergoing the persecution to which James refers (James 5:17-18). He mentions the power of his prayers, that he stopped rain from falling throughout a whole nation, for the space of three and one-half years, and then prayed again, and the rain returned. In the context of James’ epistle, this may have to do with the coming of the Lord and the vindication of the righteous.
Finally, James reminded the brethren that, if anyone among them erred from the truth, meaning, if any of them had followed the ways of the rich men (James 5:1) who have been persecuting the righteous (cp. Matthew 24:9-10, 12), and, if the righteous among them turn that erring brother around, he (the righteous brother) would be responsible for saving the erring brother from death at the return of Christ and hide a great many of that one’s sins (James 5:19-20).
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[1] All the places in the New Covenant text where aleipho (G218) appears are: Matthew 6:17; Mark 6:13; 16:1; Luke 7:38, 46; John 12:2-3; James 5:14.
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