Bible Commentaries
James 5

Verses 1-6

Worldly Riches (5:1-6)

The statement that the rich "have killed the righteous man" (vs. 6), taken literally, shows that in this passage, at any rate, James cannot be thinking of Christians. Doubtless he has in mind here the unconverted rich man (Jew or pagan) about whom he has already written (2:6-7), although that there were rich persons in the Christian community at the time of this writing has already been indicated (1:10; 2:2). Other features in the description of these rich also indicate outsiders, reflecting the preaching of both Hebrew prophets and Jesus. It had been a point of great importance in the Mosaic Law that "the wages of a hired servant" should be paid him at the end of each day’s labor (Leviticus 19:13). This was of no little practical necessity in a day when such laborers "lived from hand to mouth"; if a man’s wages were kept back at the end of the day, he and his family did not eat (Deuteronomy 24:14-15; Mai. 3:5; Matthew 10:10). It may be such a practice that James has in mind in verse 4. Then, too, the general attitude of these rich toward their rich garments, their gold and silver, their luxury and pleasure, suggests that they are practical materialists who have not learned the Christian attitude toward worldly values. Two outstanding characteristics of this teaching should be noted: First, it reflects quite clearly Jesus’ teaching relative to "treasures on earth" and "treasures in heaven" (Matthew 6:19-21). The references to moth and rust as corrupting forces are significantly repeated in James (vss. 2-3), as though he were acquainted with the oral tradition of Jesus’ teaching current at the time. The idea that rust will eat the rich man’s "flesh" (that is, his person) as well as his silver and gold is akin to Paul’s teaching about the body in 1 Corinthians 6:12-13. In all three — Jesus, Paul, and James — it is what a man’s attachment to material values and pleasures does to his person (body, flesh) that is of deep concern. Second, James’ teaching reflects the Early Church’s awareness of the Last Judgment and of living in the end of time (see especially vss. 1, 3, 5; compare Hebrews 1:2; 1 Peter 1:5; 1 John 2:18).

Verses 7-11

SALVATION IN THE LIGHT OF ETERNITY

James 5:7-20

Endurance Until the Lord’s Coming (5:7-11)

This closing section of the letter focuses attention upon the eternal order. James has already written of the "one lawgiver and judge" of men (4:12). That one is now identified with the Lord who is about to come again. His coming is at hand; as Judge he "is standing at the doors" (vs. 9; see Matthew 24:33; Revelation 3:20). This idea of the nearness of the Lord’s coming was a general belief of the Early Church (for example, see Philippians 4:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:15; 1 Peter 4:7; 1 John 2:18).

No doubt there were those in the Church who accepted such teaching in most literal fashion; indeed, there is some evidence to show that this was the case. Paul appears to have written 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 in order to counsel the Church that nothing definite could be known about the matter of "times" and "seasons." 2 Peter 3:8-10 suggests that, as Psalms 90:4 teaches, God’s ways of reckoning time are not man’s. The thought in both these passages would suggest that the prophetic minds in the Church interpreted any reference to time in the most general sense. Man must always be ready and waiting for the Lord of life. So also for James, man must, like the farmer, "be patient"; like the prophets and Job he must be "steadfast," ready to exemplify the same "suffering and patience" as they; and this in view of the fact that the Lord of life who is man’s Judge is "compassionate and merciful" and will judge men accordingly when he comes.

Verse 12

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Oaths and the Judgment (5:12)

The taking of an oath during ordinary conversation was a longstanding custom within the Hebrew-Jewish tradition, as it is in the Moslem world today. The idea was that one was converted from being a liar into a truth-teller by simply taking an oath by whatever one held sacred. James follows his Lord in teaching that truth is to be respected for its own sake, that "a man’s word should be as good as his bond," his "yes be yes," his "no be no" (see Matthew 5:33-37). AH this, again, is to be seen in the light of eternity, of the final Judgment, of God’s "condemnation."

Verses 13-18

Prayer and Healing (5:13-18)

There was to James’ mind, as to that of the Early Church generally, a very thin line of demarcation between history and eternity; the second could at any moment break upon the first. Nowhere is this seen more clearly than in the matter of sickness and health; both are to be taken before God — the one in petition, the other in praise. Verse 13 sounds like an intentional couplet in blank verse, thus:

Is any among you ill? let him pray.

Is any well? let him sing.

The verb translated "is . . . ill" above is the equivalent of the noun "suffering" in verse 10. It has a wide usage, but in verse 14 James clearly defines the "suffering" he means here as "sickness." In such a case, James suggests that "the elders of the church" be called in, that they may do two things: pray over the sick one, and anoint him with oil "in the name of the Lord." It was standard procedure in the Jewish community thus to combine prayer with anointing with oil. Wine was also used along with oil for medicinal purposes among the Jews (Luke 10:29-37). Such prayer by the elders is a special case of what is generally termed "intercessory prayer" today. Such prayer for others is based on the fact of the corporate nature of human life — a principle recognized everywhere throughout Scripture. As God deals with men in all matters on both an individual and a corporate level, there appears to be no reason why prayer should be an exception to this rule. It is clear from the phrases employed ("in the name of the Lord," "the prayer of faith," and "the Lord will raise him up") that James attributed the actual healing, not to the oil, but to the Lord. In Hebrew thought a man’s person was a unit and both good and evil impinged upon that person as a whole, if at all. The righteous man whose "prayer . . . has great power in its effects" is the man committed to God’s will, who prays for what his Lord wills and whose prayer is in consequence answered (Matthew 6:9-13; Mark 11:24-25; Romans 8:26-27).

Verses 19-20

Conversion of the Sinner (5:19-20)

The last short section contains a further elaboration of the principle of corporate living already stated in verse 16. This is personal evangelism directed toward one in the Christian community who "wanders from the truth" of the gospel (1:18, 21-22). The soul saved from death in verse 20 is undoubtedly that of the sinner, not that of the evangelist; and if so, the "multitude of sins" thereby covered will surely also refer to those of the sinner. "Cover" is a Hebraism meaning "overtook," "forgive" (Psalms 32:1). 1 Peter 4:8 contains much the same thought. James’ interest here and in the preceding section centers at all times in the sinner or the unhealthy person involved. His intense desire is to further personal evangelism, with a view to that sinner’s conversion and restoration to Christian living.