James 05

 Warning to the Rich

5:1 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud over the miseries that are coming on you.

James used sarcasm to address the wealthy Pharisees and Sadducees. They were outside of the church and persecuting the Jewish messianic believers.

The Greek word for "weep" is κλαίω (klaio), an aorist active imperative verb, meaning a command to immediately and urgently cry out loud in a loud voice. 

The Greek word for "cry" is ὀλολύζω (hololuzo), meaning to howl and shriek as a lamentation at a funeral. 

James was commanding the rich and wealthy Pharisees and Sadducees that they need to go ahead and start singing and crying our aloud their own lamentations, because they were about to die. There was a lot of misery coming their way. The misery that James predicted was the Temple destruction of 70 A.D. After the nation of Israel rejected Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus predicted that Jerusalem would be destroyed by the Romans (Luke 21).

5:2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten.

The wealth of the Pharisees and Sadducees will be plundered by the Romans in 70 A.D. The beautiful robes that the Pharisees and Sadducees wore would be moth-eaten.

5:3 Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure!

The gold and silver that the Pharisees and Sadducees hoarded will rust. The fire of the temple destruction will burn their flesh. They will no longer be able to hoard any treasure.

5:4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

The wealthy were holding back the pay of the field workers by some kind of legal technicality. The field workers needed this pay daily so that they could purchase food for their families. The field workers have cried out to God and He has heard their cry.

5:5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

The wealthy were living a life of luxury at the expense of the poor. They were nothing but cattle that had fattened themselves for the day of slaughter. The day of slaughter was the coming temple destruction of 70 A.D.

5:6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you.

The Greek word for "condemned" is καταδικάζω (katadikazow), an aorist active indicative verb, meaning to condemn a person in a judicial trial. It is in the aorist tense, meaning that it was a completed action of the past.

The Greek word for "the righteous person" is τὸν δίκαιον (ton dikaoin), an accusative masculine singular noun, meaning the righteous man. The righteous man was the Messiah. The Pharisees and Sadducees condemned the Messiah in a court of law and then murdered Him. The Messiah could have thought them out of existence, but instead, He did not resist them. Basically, these Jewish leaders murdered their own Messiah.

Patience in Suffering

5:7 So be patient, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s return. Think of how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient for it until it receives the early and late rains.

The Greek word for "patent" is μακροθυμέω (makrothumeow), an aorist active imperative verb, meaning a command to urgently be patient and do not take revenge in anger against the wealthy Pharisees and Sadducees who were persecuting them.

They were to wait for the Lord to return and avenge them. Liberals like to use this verse to falsely claim that Jesus was to return in their lifetime and He did not come. Therefore, the Bible is false. However, James did not say that Jesus would return in their lifetime. What this verse does teach is that James possessed a strong sense of immanency. He believed that the Lord could come anytime, possibly even in his own life. This is more scriptural evidence that the Rapture and the Second Coming are two separate events. Jesus will not return at the Second Coming until the Jews cry out, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” The Rapture is imminent and there are no prophetic signs preceding it.

The farmer plants the crops and then waits for the early and latter rains. This description of the agricultural process shows that the author was Jewish. The early rains were those of March and April. The latter rains were those of September and October. Just as the farmer planted his crops and knew that the early and latter rains would eventually come in season and grow the crops, so was the believer to spread the seed and wait for the Messiah to return in season.

5:8 You also be patient and strengthen your hearts, for the Lord’s return is near.

These Jewish messianic believers were to strengthen their hearts so that they would be unmovable. The heart is their personality. Their personality was strengthened by the intake of Bible doctrine. Believers are commanded to study and apply Bible doctrine until the Messiah returns.

It has been 2000 years and the Messiah has not yet returned. How can His return "be near" to these Jewish messianic believers? This verse has nothing to do with returning soon, but to return with immanency.

5:9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be judged. See, the judge stands before the gates!

Until the Messiah returns, the Jewish believers are not to grumble against one another. Their enemy is not within themselves, but he is within and outside their congregation. They need to spend time fighting this enemy, not themselves. The Judge is the Lord Jesus Christ. He will judge all believers at the Judgment Seat of Christ, where believers will either gain or lose rewards. This verse has nothing to do with eternal salvation, as the believers already have eternal life. The Judge was standing at the gates, ready to return, so the Jewish believers need to be ready. The Judge can return at any time, even as they were reading this letter. This again was the doctrine of immanency. 

5:10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name.

The "brothers and sisters" were the Jewish messianic believers of the Diaspora who were spread across the Roman Empire. James asked them to look at the examples of the many prophets who suffered because they had spoken in the name of the Lord.

5:11 Think of how we regard as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and you have seen the Lord’s purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

This is the only mention of Job in the New Testament. James used his apostolic authority to confirm that Job was a real person. These Jewish messianic believers were familiar with the sufferings, endurance, and exaltation of Job. Job suffered so that he could teach a spiritual concept to Satan, angels, and all men. This spiritual concept was that Satan slanders in order to destroy, but God shows compassion and mercy on those who are slandered. 

5:12 And above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. But let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall into judgment.

Swearing does not refer to bad language, but to taking an oath to support truth. The rabbi taught that oaths taken in the name of God are binding, but those taken in the name of heaven or earth are not binding. This means that a person could take an oath to heaven and then break it whenever he chooses.

A believer's character should be so strong that he is taken for his word. He should not have to verbalize an oath. His "yes” and "no" should be trusted. If a believer does take an oath, then they are out of the will of God. They will be judged.

Masons claim to be a "Christian" organization. Yet they take oaths to cut their throats if they divulge any of their Masonic secrets. This is unbiblical. Christians should not associate with any group that requires them to take an oath.

There are also many mega-churches who ask believers to take an oath in their giving for the year. They usually use the word "pledge" to get around the technicalities of Scripture. This practice is unbiblical. The pastor is using secular strategies to increase the revenue of his church. The pastor should just simply teach that the believer is to give by grace. In this way, the pastor himself is counting on the Lord God Himself to sustain the needs of the church.

Prayer for the Sick

5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praises.

The Greek word for "suffering" is κακοπαθέω (kakpatheow), meaning to suffer hardship or painful affliction. The answer is for the Jewish messianic believer to continually pray about his circumstances. He is not to complain or be bitter. He is to be in good spirits. Instead of complaining, he should sing praises to God.

5:14 Is anyone among you ill? He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.

The Greek word for "ill" is ἀσθενέω (astheneow), meaning physically or morally sick in that the believer is incapable of possessing the strength to do any work. This sickness could even lead to death. In John 4:46-47, it is used of one who is sick and about to die. In Philippians 2:26-27, it is used of Epaphrodotus, who is sick and close to death. It is also used of Lazarus (John 11:6) and Dorcas (Acts 9:37, who did die, but they were resurrected by Jesus and Peter.

It is the responsibility of the sick to make the call. The elders do not make the call unless requested to do so.

Notice that elders were plural, as there was a plurality of elders in all of the New Testament churches. This included the mega-Jerusalem Church, of which James was pastor. It included the last church that Paul established with Timothy before his death. The New Testament doctrine of the Pauline apostles calls for a plurality of elders in all New Testament churches.

The Greek word for "church" is ἐκκλησία (ekklasia), meaning the called-out ones. James is the earliest written New Testament book. It mentions plural elders. It also calls the Jewish synagogue as an ἐκκλησία (ekklasia). At this time, most of the local churches consisted of Jewish messianic believers, but there was a sprinkling of Gentile believers.

The elders were to go to the privacy of the home and perform three tasks. First, they were to pray for the individual. Second, they were to anoint him with oil. The Greek word for "oil" is ἔλαιον (elaion), meaning olive oil. Third, they were to pray for him in "the name of the Lord," because it is God who heals, not the olive oil. The Lord Jesus Christ is the one behind the ritual.

5:15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up – and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

James did not expect failure. He expected the individual to be healed. 

The word faith has a double-Greek article, meaning "the prayer of the faith." It is the faith of the elders, not the faith of the sick one, which heals the individual. 

The Greek word for "sick" is κάμνω (kamnow), meaning one who is weary. This is a different Greek word for sick than ἀσθενέω (astheneow), meaning a sickness unto possible death. 

It is the Lord Jesus Christ, not a faith healer, an elder, or the olive oil, which will raise him up and cure him. However, notice that there is a condition. If the sickness was caused because of a person's personal and individual sin, then the sickness would disappear, because of the prayers of the elders. Therefore, this healing was not promised to every believer and every kind of sickness, as the faith-healers falsely claim. This healing only deals with those whose sin had caused divine discipline to fall upon them.

5:16 So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness.

Those who are sick because of sin are to confess their specific sin to the elders. The prayers of the elders have great effectiveness on those who are sick.

It is important to note that this passage does not teach that every person will be healed when prayed for by the elders. This verse does teach that if a person is sick because of personal sin, and he calls the elders and confesses his sin to them, then they can anoint him with olive oil and he will be healed, both physically and spiritually. If one is sick due to human frailty, then this verse does not apply.

There are many who will spiritualize this passage away and claim this is superstition. However, this is the Word of the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God. Therefore, do not listen to those who are arrogant enough to elevate their human opinion above what the text reads.

5:17 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months!

Elijah was only a human being, but his prayers brought upon the miraculous will of God. The power of prayer that Elijah possessed is available to every believer. This drought lasted for three years and six months and appears to contradict the statement in 1 Kings 18:1, which states in the third year. However, there is no disagreement, because it counts only Elijah’s time in Zarephath and does not count the time prior to his arrival. Jesus affirmed this fact in Luke 4:25.

5:18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land sprouted with a harvest.

The first prayer of Elijah was a negative prayer that was answered. Now, James gave an example of a positive prayer that was also answered. The people of Israel were not very righteous, as all but 7000 had bowed the knee to Baal. Therefore, the prayers of one righteous man prevailed. Righteous believers possess this kind of power in prayer.

5:19 My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back,

The Greek word for "wanders" is πλανάω (planow), an aorist passive subjunctive verb, meaning to possibly wander off like a lost sheep who is about to be devoured by wolves. This is a definition of a backslider. He has wandered from the flock and placed himself in the danger of being devoured by wolves. He has no defense against them, because sheep have no teeth, no claws, no fast legs, nor armor to protect themselves.

5:20 he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from his wandering path will save that person’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

The one who turns a backslider back to the path of doctrinal truth has saved his soul from death. The Greek word for "soul" is ψυχή (psyche), meaning the personality of the individual. A backslider will be spanked and disciplined by God. If the divine discipline fails to work, then the backslidden individual will head down the path which leads to the sin unto death. The believer can save this individual's physical death by returning him to the correct path of Bible doctrine.