New Testament Survey Class
Professor Ben Shin

Steve Sterry
Expositional Paper
James 5:13-20


Background
The six sources used in researching this paper fail to unanimously agree on the author of the Epistle of James (a complete bibliography is included at the end of this paper). Five point to James, the Brother of Jesus, as the only logical author, after eliminating all of the other James’s. The Interpreter’s Bible, however, begs the question all together by an admission that there is no strong case for any of the known James, thus eliminating all the biblical James’s and instead concluding that the author must be some other James that nobody had considered.

On the other hand, all of the sources agree that this epistle was written to a Jewish audience living outside Palestine. Dr. John Hutchison believes that the letter was written with Jews in Babylonia and Mesopotamia in mind, while the Jerusalem Bible suggests those Jewish Christians in countries near Palestine, like Syria and Egypt were the likely audience. The Expositors Bible Commentary suggests that it was addressed to those Jews who were driven out of Jerusalem as a result of the martyrdom of Stephen in 35AD. The Interpreter’s Bible is careful to point out that those to whom the letter was written were, in fact, not just “God fearers,” but were practicing Jewish Christians. Finally, the IVP Online Commentary gives the most detailed explanation, suggesting that the writer was addressing people of Jewish upbringing with a fairly recently acquired Christian faith who were experiencing a severe persecution at the hands of their erstwhile leaders in Judaism. Furthermore, they were mourning deeply because of the death of their loved and respected leader, Stephen (Acts 7). In the meantime, the commentary continues, almost all the Christians (except for some apostles, including James) had been driven from their homes in Jerusalem and scattered to other places.

There is, unfortunately, no real agreement as to when the letter was written. Those sources attributing the writing to James, the brother of Jesus, cite dates that include AD 45 and 50. Obviously, if this James is the author, his letter would have been completed by AD 62, the accepted date of his martyrdom. The one source that is in disagreement with this James as the author sets the time of writing at 80 AD, or later.

Several themes are suggested by the sources listed in the bibliography, none of which totally agree with each other. They include:
§ A Manual for Christian Conduct
§ Faith that works
§ General Paraenesis (exhortation and advice)
§ Faith justified by works
§ (1) Concern for the poor and lowly and (2) Christians must do good and not be content with a faith that produces nothing.
§ A type of sermon letter, but more perhaps, to refute certain Christians who drew pernicious conclusion from Paul’s teachings.
There is just as much diversity in the suggestions for the purpose of the letter:
§ To encourage and exhort persecuted believers by demonstrating the connection between inward faith and outward works.
§ To make needed changes in one’s life and corporate relationships, because of problems that had arisen in the church.
§ A sermon against Jewish-Christian Intolerance
§ A call to serve both God and sinners.

Those commentaries which discussed source material for the letters agree that they include Old Testament wisdom literature, teaching of the Gospels, and the Interpreter’s Bible suggests additional sources attributed to another letter, one called “Jacob.”

Contents
After reviewing the various outline suggestions suggested by the research sources, this writer chose the outline suggested by The Jerusalem Bible, because it appeared to make the most sense when the book is read:
1. Chapter 1:
a. Trials a Privilege
b. Temptation (not a product of God)
c. True Religion (Listening to the Word is not enough, without doing it.)
2. Chapter 2:
a. Respect for the Poor (You cannot make distinctions between the poor man or the rich man.)
b. Faith and Good Works (They must go together.)
3. Chapter 3
a. Uncontrolled Language (Watch your tongue; Teachers are judged at a higher standard.)
b. Real Wisdom and its opposite (Real wisdom comes from God and does not include jealousy or ambition.)
4. Chapter 4/5
a. Disunity among Christians (Unfaithfulness and conflict among brothers caused by ambition and pride.)
b. A warning for the rich and self confident (We should discern the Lord’s will and not our own, which can be influenced by pride and material motivation.).
c. A final exhortation

It is the final exhortation that contains the verses that are the focus of this paper. The three major thoughts that are suggested by this exhortation are:
1. Be patient (without complaint) for the Lord’s coming, which will be soon.
2. Do not swear by oaths. Just say “yes or no.”
3. The power of prayer and forgiveness
It is this last thought, the power of prayer and forgiveness, that is addressed in the verses covered by this paper.

Structure
Each of the above suggestions of purpose, theme, and content appears to have some ring of truth. However, when one attempts to look at the actual organization (or disorganization) of the material in the letter, there is very little thematic unity that appears to tie the total contents together into a simple, neat, understandable package, unless one is willing to admit that the letter is a mere collection of general paraenesis, as suggested by The Interpreter’s Bible.

However, if the author was, in fact, James, the brother of Jesus, his purpose in writing might involve the continuance of his preaching to and his leadership of Jewish Christians that was evident during the Jerusalem Council in AD 49. In which case, James might merely be enumerating the major problems observed within the Church, discussing such specific situations that he felt were important to address, while suggesting individual and corporate healing to church members through use of the power of prayer and forgiveness. Thus, if this premise is accepted, Chapter 5, verses 13 through 20 could provide the key to solving the problems previously enumerated and might be outlined as follows:
 The elders and their responsibilities for solving problems in the church, especially through repentance and prayer
 The power of prayer
 The power of forgiveness

Interpretation
Incorporating the premise outlined above, the verses of this section might be interpreted as follows:
§ Verse 13: If anyone of you is in trouble, he should pray; if anyone is feeling happy, he should sing a psalm.
o This verse contains a general thought that opens the discussion about problem solving: If one accepts the concept of praise (or singing of psalms) as prayer, then it is a call to prayer in every aspect of life. Psalms would include hymns and spiritual songs, as well.
o The IVP Commentary suggests that “Prayer is the encompassing instruction, because it is the right course of action for the full range of life-situations.”
§ Verse 14: If any one of you is ill, he should send for the elders of the church, and they must anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord and pray over him.
o The verse, here, is asking the reader to take a specific action, based on a specific condition. Note that there is no reference to whether or not the illness is physical or spiritual.
o Elders, who also were called overseers and were later called Bishops, ran the early church with the assistance of Deacons. The office of Presbyter did not develop until later on. Therefore, it would, be normal for the elder or a group of elders to visit the sick person and provide ministry and comfort to him or her.
o Unction, or the anointing of a person with oil, is considered to be in most catholic and orthodox churches as a sacrament or quasi-sacrament, but probably originated from the idea that the oil had actual healing properties when applied to the patient for physical maladies.
o This verse appears to recommend a specific action based upon the fact that a church member is ill, and that action might be suggested here for both physical and spiritual healing.
o Prayer here would seem to be the primary process with the use of oil as part of the ritual or, perhaps, a secondary action to assist with the healing. In today’s catholic liturgy, for example, oil serves as a ritualistic symbol of healing. It is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.
§ Verse 15: The prayer of faith will save the sick man and the Lord will raise him up again; and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.
o Verse 15 now states the effect of the action taken in verse 14. Note that prayer over the sick person not only causes the restoration of health, but it also brings forgiveness of one’s sins.
o Implicit in this thought is the concept that God could send physical illness as a disciplinary agent. In such cases, the application of prayer by the elders would then heal the underlying spiritual problem and consequently the physical sickness caused by that problem.
§ Verse 16: So confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, and this will cure you; the heartfelt prayer of a good man works very powerfully.
o Verse 15 is now stated in another way and is expanded beyond just the prayers of the elders to all the members of the Church and, perhaps, to all conditions in the Church. It is possibly the key thought of the whole segment and, perhaps, the whole book. For, if we confess our sins to one another and pray for each other, both the individual and corporate problems stated in the earlier chapters will cease to exist or will be mitigated.
o The IVP Commentary states, “Instead of judging each other, we will be driven to confess to each other. Instead of desiring to place guilt on each other, we will become eager to forgive each other. Instead of moving to criticize, we will move to intercede for each other. A spirit of reconciliation will pervade the church.” Isn’t this the thought that James might be trying to get across?
§ 17-18. Elijah was a human being like ourselves- he prayed hard for it not to rain, and no rain fell for three-and-a-half years; then he prayed again and the sky gave rain and the earth gave crops.
o Here is an example of a righteous man whose prayers were answered by God. It implies that we too might have that power, if we follow the steps outlined above.
o What better way is there to support the preceding thoughts than to cite the example of a prophet who was known and respected by all of the Christian Jews to whom James was speaking?
§ Verses 19-20: My brothers, if one of you strays away from the truth and another brings him back to it, he may be sure that anyone who can bring back a sinner from the wrong way that he has taken will be saving a soul from death and covering up a great number of sins.
o James may be referring to the flock (my brothers) that has been scattered due to the intense persecution of Jewish Christians by either the Romans or non-Christian Jews. It is, first, an exhortation to bring the wanderers back.
o The term covering up probably means expungement, and it may refer to covering up the sins of the wanderer, as well as to the one who brings the wanderer back.
o It is essentially the reward for carrying out the actions that the writer is recommending.

Conclusion
This writer believes that the Epistle of James speaks to those Christian Jews who were disbursed throughout the world as a result of persecution. While it appears to be exhortation and/or encouragement toward better Christian living, its scope is not restricted to the individual. Instead, it seeks to solve the problems of a fractionalized church, whose members have been disbursed by persecution, first by healing both physical and spiritual illness in the individual, second by corporate healing of the body of the church, and finally through the forgiveness of sins, knowing that with healing comes forgiveness, and with forgiveness comes reconciliation.

Roger Rose, a retired Episcopal Priest and the leader of a Bible study group in which this writer participates describes the philosophy of member relationships in the African Anglican Church. It is, in this writer’s opinion, the same simple philosophy that reflects the purpose and motivation of James in writing this Epistle:
I am because We are because He is.

Bibliography

§ A Survey Of The New Testament, Fourth Edition, Robert H. Gundry, published by Zondervan, Grand Rapid, MI, 2003
§ Matthew – Revelation, TTBE 520, Dr. John Hutchison, Talbot School of Theology, published by Biola University Bookstore
§ The Jerusalem Bible, Alexander Jones, General Editor, published by Doubleday and Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, 1966
§ The Interpreter’s Bible (in Twelve Volumes), Volume XII, Published by Arlington Press, New York, NY and Nashville, TN, 1957
§ The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 12, Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor, published by Zondervan, Grand Rapid, MI, 1981
§ IVP New Testament Commentaries, Series Editor Grant R. Osborne, Consulting Editor D. Stuart Briscoe and Haddon Robinson InterVarsity Press (http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/index.php?action=getBookSections&cid=13&source=)