Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

Although a detailed account is not given, Mark 6:13 indicates that, after Jesus had sent the apostles out two by two to various villages to preach repentance, and had also given them authority over unclean spirits, the apostles additionally healed sick people by anointing them with oil, which would apparently have been the same practice referred to by James in the passage cited in the question.

November 02 2020 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

Good question, Hayden!

James 5:14: He should summon the elders of the church: By visiting sick individuals, the elders reestablish the person’s fellowship with the community of faith.

anointing him with olive oil: The exact nature and role of the anointing is debated. It may have been symbolic of God’s special focus and consecration; all healing is of God.

in the name of the Lord: This phrase indicates that the elders were acting as representatives of God and calling on His power (compare Acts 2:38; 1 Cor 1:15; 5:4; 2 Thess 3:6; James 2:7). It serves as a powerful corporate confession of Christ as the one who is sovereign over disease and over the Church. --Faithlife Study Bible

Robert Plummer says, "In the church where I serve, when someone asks for the pastors to come pray over them, we seek to have two or more elders present. One of us will bring a small glass bottle of olive oil. We begin by talking with the church member and their family—asking them how they are doing and listening carefully. Then we ask permission to read Scripture, and one of us reads from James 5:13–18 and elsewhere. We then ask if anyone would like to say or share anything else. Next we explain, 'I have this little bottle of olive oil. In obedience to Scripture, I am going to take a drop of this oil with my finger and place it on your forehead. This oil is not magic. We, as a church, are setting you apart symbolically before God. We are asking him to intervene and heal you.'” 

Believers should not only confess their sins to those whom they have wronged (Luke 19:8); they should also confess their “secret sins” of pride, lust, resentment, and greed to a trusted fellow believer or believers. Such confession, James tells us, will result in spiritual, if not physical, healing (James 5:16a). 

I actually did this once when I myself was sick and at Dallas Theological Seminary. I called the elders of my Mexican church in Dallas, Primera Iglesia Bautista, and they came to my dorm room (I was still single then), and they anointed me with oil in the name of the Lord, and I was healed! It is a good New Testament commandment.

February 19 2023 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report