OIL & HEALING THE SICK
“Is any sick among you? 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.” James 5:14
The promise of healing in this passage applies only to the
special case of one whose sins have brought about the Lord’s chastening in the
form of sickness. The word “sick” in
this verse means “ill.” In James 5:13, on the other hand, the word
“afflicted” means “suffering trouble” (same as in James 5:10; also, the same as “endure hardness” in 2 Tim. 2:3; see also 2 Tim. 2:9 and 4:5). In such a case of affliction in a believer’s life, assuming
it is not clearly a specific chastising because of sin, the admonition is: “Let him pray.” The Lord in such cases
will answer in whatever way best serves His greater purpose (note Paul’s
testimony in 2 Cor. 12:9). In cases
of divinely imposed illness, however, when the sick person has injured the body
of Christ by his sin (as in 1 Cor.
11:18-34, especially verses 30-31),
he must first confess his sin to God and to those injured, as represented by
the elders of the church, asking them to pray for him—the initiative coming
from him rather than the elders.
There is nothing magical in the anointing oil, of course. It
could well have been used as merely a soothing ointment to alleviate the
suffering (note Isa. 1:6; Mark 6:13;
Luke 10:34). The oil was merely a spiritual symbol, representing God’s
hoped-for anointing of the sick person by the Holy Spirit, in order to bring
him back to active service for the Lord. This symbol recalled how priests and
kings had been anointed in ancient Israel, symbolizing their divine call to
service.
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