INTRODUCTION #34
1. Open your bibles to James 5:14. Here, James ask the question: “Is anyone among you sick”? Let those of us who are not sick think about this question for a few moments.
2. Most all congregations have a large number on the sick list at all times. James’ question reminds those who are not sick that they have responsibilities to those who are sick.
3. It is important that the well and healthy members stay alert and attentive to the needs of those who are sick.
4. We need to call and send cards and make visits. If it is necessary we need to take food to them. We need to clean their house. We need to wash their clothes and their linen and their dishes.
(1) All of these things are to be done with their permission. However, we should not wait until they ask.
(2) We should volunteer to do these things and insist that the sick let us help them. If they agree then we should do these things with a cheerful and merry heart.
5. Each sick person will require different kinds of help. Some may need us to take them to appointments to their doctors. Some may need us to go pick up their medicine.
6. Each sick person is a person we definitely should pray for regularly and do whatever else is necessary to help them get well and be as comfortable as possible while that they are getting well.
7. James’ question, “Is anyone among you sick?” has brought to our attention many things that those who are healthy ought to do for the sick. However, interestingly, James’ question is followed up by James with some instructions for those who are sick.
8. Let’s begin our discussion of the instructions that James gives to the sick.
DISCUSSION
I. FIRST, JAMES 5:14a INSTRUCTS THE SICK TO CALL FOR THE ELDERS OF THE CHURCH ONCE THEY GET SICK.
1. Let’s read James 5:14a, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church….”
(1) The word sick is different from the word suffering in verse 13. Sick in verse 14 refers to illness or bodily ailments.
(3) James instructs those who are sick to call for the elders of the church. Every congregation of the Lord’s people should strive to have qualified elders. However, many congregations don’t.
2. Who should the sick call if the church that they are a member of does not have elders?
(1) The sick could call a close friend or just any member of the church in the congregation and ask them to let the other members know of their sickness.
(2) The sick could call the preacher and/or the preacher’s wife and ask them to let the other members know of their sickness.
II. SECOND, JAMES 5:14b INFORMS THE SICK OF WHY THEY SHOULD LET THE ELDERS AND THOSE OF A LOCAL CONGREGATION KNOW THAT THEY ARE SICK – THE MAIN REASON IS TO REQUEST FOR PRAYERS ON THEIR BEHALF!
1. Let’s read James 5:14b, “and let them pray over him…”
(1) For a few moments we will skip over the phrase “anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord”.
(2) The statement, “let them pray over him” is not binding some special bodily position on the elders as the prayer is offered. To pray over someone is simply to pray for him [or her].
2. The Bible speaks of people, as they would pray, lying prostrate on the ground, standing up, kneeling down, etc., as they prayed; therefore, no special bodily position is the only position that one must be in before the prayers of the elders would be effective.
3. Today most people who pray for those who are sick will lay their hand on the body of the one that is sick, or they may hold the hand of the one who is sick. This is scriptural and yet one could pray just as effectively if they were required to stay at a distance from the sick person, due to the sick person being quarantined or other restrictions for not touching.
4. It is true that there are many bible examples of Jesus and the apostles praying for others with their hand on them or with them taking the other by the hand and yet we also have examples of Jesus and the apostles praying for others when they were not in the immediate presence of those who were sick. {Matt. 8:15; 9:18,25; 14:31; 19:13,15; Acts 3:7; 5:12; 9:41; 19:11}.
5. Turn to 2 Kings 20:1-7. This passage provides the example of Hezekiah being at the point of death. Isaiah the prophet is told by God to go tell Hezekiah that he is to get his house in order because he is going to die. Hezekiah immediately expresses repentance and humility and tears and pleads with God to remember his former faithfulness. God hears the prayer of Hezekiah and has Isaiah to go back and tell Hezekiah that he will be given fifteen more years to live. Let’s read this wonderful example of the power of prayer from 2 Kings 20:1-7, “1 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.’” 2 Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD, saying, 3 “Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 5 “Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD. 6 And I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David.”’” 7 Then Isaiah said, “Take a lump of figs.” So they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.”
(1) Most likely the lump of figs served as a medicinal salve to draw the infection out of the boil.
(2) Isaiah using the lump of figs implies that the healing was not miraculous, but rather that it came about in a natural manner.
(3) In the next four verses Hezekiah is given a miracle to assure him that he would be well enough in three days to get up and enter the temple in three days and that he would also live the extended 15 years. The miracle was for the shadow on the sun dial to move backward 10 %.
(4) Like Hezekiah, we should be penitent, humble and prayerful when we are sick. However, the N. T. teaches that we are not to expect miracles to occur.
III. THIRD, JAMES 5:14c INSTRUCTS THE SICK TO RECEIVE THE “ANOINTING HIM WITH OIL IN THE NAME OF THE LORD”.
1. Keep in mind that the sick and the group of elders that James first gave these instructions to were living in the first century and in a period of time that miracles were being performed.
2. For these elders to anoint the sick person in the name of the Lord was for them to act by the authority of the Lord. One cannot do a thing in the name of the Lord if that act has no New Testament authority behind it.
1) Turn to Acts 4:7. Here, we learn that as Peter and John were being questioned about what authority they had, to be able to heal the lame man of Acts 3, they were asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” This passage let’s us know that “in the name of” refers to “by the authority or power and/or approval of”.
2) Turn to Col. 3:17. In this passage the phrase, “in the name of the Lord” refers to “by or in the authority and/or the approval of the Lord”. Let’s read Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name [or authority or approval] of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
3) Turn to 2 John 9. This verse explains that we must faithfully obey the teaching of Christ in order be doing things in His name and/or authority and/or approval of the Lord. Let’s read 2 John 9, “9 Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.” Jesus gives His signature of approval for what we read in the N. T. and we must carefully follow and obey N. T. teaching.
3. In the first century, during the days that miracles were being performed, the sick were to call for the elders of the local congregation and along with prayer the elders would anoint the sick with oil. “Olive oil was used both medicinally and symbolically in Biblical times.
(1) Turn to 1 Samuel 10:1. This is one among many passages of olive oil being used symbolically in the appointment and coronation of prophets, priests and kings of the Old Testament period. This type of anointing implied an anointing of the Holy Spirit and the receiving of the power of God. In 1 Sam. 10:1 Samuel anoints Saul as Saul is appointed to be the first king of Israel. “Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said: “Is it not because the LORD has anointed you commander over His inheritance?”
(2) Turn to John 9:6&7. In this passage Jesus uses, not oil, but clay to place on the eyes of the blind man. Let’s read John 9:6&7, “6 When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. 7 And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.” This is an example of the anointing with clay to symbolize the miraculous healing power of God. The clay would not have been for medicinal purposes. The clay would not have been a form of medicine.
(3) Turn to Mark 6:12&13. This passage reports the apostles anointed with oil on some occasions when they performed miraculous healing. Let’s read Mark 6:12&13, “12 So they went out and preached that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.”
1) The “anointing with oil” by the apostles would not have been for the purpose of using the oil for medicinal purposes, but rather for using the oil in a symbolic way and for it to symbolize the power of God as the miraculous healing would take place.
2) This passage is teaching the same thing that James teaches as he commanded the elders in the first century to use the “anointing of oil”.
(4) Turn to Luke 10:34. In this passage we will observe the Good Samaritan pours oil and wine on the wounds of the injured man, not in connection with a miraculous healing of the man, but rather for medicinal help on the wounds. Olive oil also has therapeutic value and the Good Samaritan used it and the wine for that purpose. Today people use good doctors and medicine instead of oil and wine. Let’s read Luke 10:34, “34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”
4. It will be good to summarize the lessons we can learn from the passages that we have just studied. It appears quite clear that the use of the oil, when used by Jesus and the apostles in connection with miraculous healing, that the oil was symbolic, and not medicinal.
(1) When the oil was used in connection with miraculous healing the oil served as a token or sign of the power of God by which the healing was accomplished.
(2) James 5:14 teaches that elders that had the miraculous power to heal, not doctors, were to be sent for and such was appropriate during the days of miracles.
(3) However since the N. T. teaches that the healing of the sick in miraculous ways stopped after the apostles died and those that they laid their hands upon died, then miraculous healing has stopped.
5. The thing that the sick must do, since the days of miracles are over, is to ask the church to pray for them and to also take advantage of the best of doctors, nurses and medicines.
(1) God still does divine healing for the bodies that He created, but He does not do it in miraculous and immediate ways as He did in the first century.
(2) God is involved in the healing of every sick person, but He also expects each sick person to do everything that they can to assist in their being healed.
(3) Good doctors, good eating and sleeping habits, proper exercise and all other necessary requirements must be administered by the sick person who wants to get well.
CONCLUSION
1. Let’s do a quick summary of the three points that we have covered from James 5:14:
#1, When someone is sick they should let other members of the church and especially the leadership of the church know that they are sick. Sometimes folks won’t let others know that they are sick and then when others don’t visit them they blame the church. That is being unfair. We can not read one another’s mind and know if some one is sick, if we are not told.
#2, The person that is sick should not just depend upon the doctors and medicine, but should call for the elders and/or other members of the church to pray for them.
#3, The person that is sick must understand that we are not living in the days of miracles. The sick should not think that they are going to be healed instantly and miraculously. The sick must understand that God is doing His part in divine healing even if our sickness lingers for a long period of time.
2. All of us will, quite often, either find our self or some of our family or fellow members of the church sick physically.
(1) We are not living in the period of time that God will provided instant physical healing.
(2) However, if we are sick spiritually, we can receive instant forgiveness, if we will follow God’s instructions.
3. If you have not yet become a Christian, God’s instructions are for you to believe, repent, confess and be baptized. If you will sincerely obey those commands God will forgive you instantly!
4. If you are a Christian, that has backslid, then you can come forward in true repentance and ask for prayers for forgiveness and God will forgive you instantly.
5. In a future lesson we will discuss “the prayer of faith” in James 5:15.
6. If you are subject to the invitation, please come as we stand and sing!
Acknowledgments for a lot of thoughts in the development of all the sermons on the book of James are to go to:
(1) Bob Winton CD Commentary on Matthew 27:50-54. 464 Ridgewood Drive Manchester, Tennessee 37355. If interested in CD covering many O. T. & N.T. books call (866) 753-8456.
(2) Miscellaneous commentaries by numerous others.
