"Come now" - Note that this is the same phrase as in 4:13, "Come now, you who say…" This could be linked to what was said there about going to such and such a city, engaging in business, and making a prophet.

"you rich" – James probably has in mind here the rich who persecuted the Christians. See 2:6. Verses 1-6 of chapter 5 appear to be what is called an "apostrophe," a breaking off of conversation to address someone not necessarily present. Having said this, he could have also had in mind those who presumptuously go through life with great plans of making a financial killing. (See 4:13) Either way, the rich man always has his priorities mixed up. He focuses on riches and either leaves God out, or relegates him to a lesser concern.

"weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you." - Since rich unbelievers were persecuting these Christians, the natural question to ask or wonder would be "Where is God’s justice? Why does He allow these people to get away with this?" James turns in his letter, as if he is addressing their rich persecutors and lets them know that judgment was coming upon them for their injustice.

James is projecting the minds of his readers into the future when judgment comes upon their persecutors – a time when the things that they loved so much, their riches and their expensive garments, are worthless.

"Your gold and your silver have rusted…" – Gold doesn’t rust but the word here in Greek is not as specific as our English word "rust." The word means "to break down or corrode."

"and their rust will be a witness against you…" – The ruined tombs of the Egyptian Pharaohs stand as a witness today of their excessive but futile lifestyle. In the same way the ruined things they stole and hoarded would be a witness against them.

"and will consume your flesh like fire…" – Surely a reference to the fire of God’s judgment.

"It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!" – James probably means the last days of the Jewish dispensation. Jesus had already predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in Matthew 24. This event happened in 70 AD, just a few years into their future. Many of the very Jews James had in mind lost everything, including their lives. The rich persecutors of these Jewish Christians had done their dirty work during a time when their judgment was at hand.

Note: This verse does not mean that James thought that the return of Jesus was about to come in their day. Elsewhere, Paul indicated that the return of Christ was not eminent. Some things had to happen first. See 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10.

4 Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you," - The Law of Moses forbade the Jews to withhold the wages of a working man for even a single night: Leviticus 19:13 says, "You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning." You might remember the parable of the workers in the vineyard, told in Matthew 20:8: "And when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.'" Thus it was a crime to do what these rich Jews had done and they were soon to experience their punishment.

As an aside, the New Testament prescribes proper action of both employees and employers. To employees: Colossians 3:22-24: "Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve." To employers: Colossians 4:1: "Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven."

"cries out against you…" – The record of their injustice, which God duly notes, would be "Exhibit A" against them in their judgment.

"has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." – The word "Sabaoth" means "hosts or armies."

"wanton pleasure" – The word "wanton" means wasteful.

How inappropriate is luxury and the pursuit of wanton pleasure in the face of judgment! The word picture this calls to mind is perhaps a farm animal on which its owner spares no amount of grain and good things to eat. The animal figures it has it made. The intent of the owner though is fattening for the day of slaughter.

"You have condemned and put to death the righteous man…" - The rich were able to influence the courts of the land to secure sentences according to their own riches. They would cheat a man and if he complained they would haul him into court and have him condemned.

"he does not resist you." – This may mean that the poor man couldn’t resist or it may mean that his righteousness caused him to bear the wrongs and defer justice to God.

James now leaves his "apostrophe" and turns to the Christians he has been addressing in this epistle. He has shown his readers that their oppression is neither unnoticed nor will it be unavenged…

Application: It is not wrong to anticipate judgment upon those who oppress and persecute us, provided we defer the judgment to God.

"Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord." – This probably referred to the destruction of Jerusalem, since that was the eminent judgment in their day. It could apply to us in waiting for the Second Coming and judgment.

A farmer must wait all season for his crop to mature. The early rains are needed to get the crop up and out of the ground. The late rains give the produce a last bit of extra rich growth. The farmer might be tempted to harvest his crop too soon and cut his produce short or even destroy it altogether.

"strengthen your hearts" – Literally, "prop up your hearts." Christians should not fruitlessly fret against life’s difficulties, nor wear themselves out with anxiety over hardship. The must realize that, like the farmer, they must trust God. Weariness from fretting is a sure indicator of a lack of trust in God. How do we strengthen our hearts? We learn to pray and then we pray. We spend time with the reassurances of God’s word. We get ourselves busy in God’s work in order to burn off the nervous energy.

"Do not complain, brethren, against one another…" – When we’re suffering it’s typical to complain. If we can’t do anything about those who oppress us, we often get upset at the little irritations of those around us and complain against them.

"that you yourselves may not be judged…" – We dare not forget that we, too, just face the Judge. If our behavior is no more righteous than that of our oppressors, we’ll be in trouble, too!

"behold, the Judge is standing right at the door." – Yet another reference to the eminent judgment that was coming upon the Jews of that day. For us we must remember that we could die on any day and be caught up short in the midst of our sin.

"take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord" – Cf. Matthew 23:34: "Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute?"

An excellent passage to remember is 1 Peter 2:19-21: "For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a man bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God."

"we count those blessed who endured." – Endurance is the goal. It is natural to want to quit. It is godly to persevere!

"You have heard of the endurance of Job…" – Perhaps it would be good to go back and read the book of Job when we’re feeling overwhelmed.

"and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful." – Perhaps the key word here is "outcome." If we look at God’s dealings in the life of His people someplace in the middle, we might misunderstand. God’s compassion and mercy is best seen in the outcome.

"Above all, my brethren" – A primary preposition which means "at the front of." Above what? James has mentioned impatience, faint-heartedness, and complaining against one another in the previous verses. These are bad enough, but getting to the place where we are swearing is very dangerous. It holds the potential of putting us under judgment.

"do not swear" – present, active, imperative case, "don’t keep swearing." For those who have been doing it, stop! For those who haven’t been doing it, don’t start!

"either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath" – American Heritage Dictionary define oath as: "A solemn, formal declaration or promise to fulfill a pledge, often calling on God or a sacred object as witness." Thus, swearing is the process of making an oath. In James’ day the Jews understood from the third commandment (Exodus 20:7) that they should not use God’s name profanely (i.e., for common purposes) like punctuating their language. But they had resorted to using oaths that had no specific mention of the name of God. James is condemning his passage and saying it will bring judgment.

"let your yes be yes, and your no, no; so that you may not fall under judgment." – Simply tell the truth all the time. Do what you say and you will have no need for any swearing or oaths. Some in James day actually believed that, unless you used the Name of God in your oath, you were not bound to do what you swore. You can imagine how this would escalate to the point where you couldn’t trust anyone. James tells us to roll it all back to a simple "yes" or "no".

"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray." - Having prescribed the negative (be patient, don’t complain, etc.) for suffering, now James addresses the positive. When you’re suffering, turn to God. Pray! (Actually, the tense, voice, mood is present, middle, imperative: Let him keep praying.

Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises." – Same tense as above. Let him keep singing.

"Let him call for the elders of the church" – Notice who is responsible. "Let him call…" Don’t sit at home and wonder why the elders don’t know you’re sick. Don’t assume someone else will tell them. (Am I driving at something here?) You call.

"anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord" – Good Christian people are divided on the meaning of this passage for us today. Here are the possibilities that have been suggested: (1) It was a ritual, a symbolic act, like a catholic priest administers. Those who understand it thus, usually bring a small bottle of oil and rub it on the patient’s forehead, temples, eyelids, etc., then pray. (2) A rub down to make the patient feel better. (3) A figurative statement that could be interpreted as "treat him with medicine," since the medicinal properties of oil were known then (see the case of the Good Samaritan.) (4) Something that was a part of the first century period of miraculous gifts and is not longer with us today. Jesus used mud in much the same way as described in John 9:6. Which is it? I must confess that I’m not fully sure. However, I would point out that the next verse tells us that it is the prayer and not the oil that restores.

"And the prayer offered in faith"- Note that it is the prayer and not the oil that restores.

"will restore the one who is sick" –The remedy prescribed here is for the sick, not the lost or condemned. Some have pointed out that since the word "restore" is the Greek word sodzo, is also translated, "to save," that this is actually means that the prayers and the oil will save the person from his sins. However, in Matthew 9:22, we see that the same word is translated "made well" referring to physical healing: "But Jesus turning and seeing her said, ‘Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.’ And at once the woman was made well." The power to save one from his sins lies in the hands of God only and not in the hands of any man. One is forgiven when he or she conforms to the stated requirements of the gospel.

"and the Lord will raise him up" – Is this a 100% guarantee? In the day of miraculous healing it might have been. Today we know people whom we have prayed for who have subsequently died.

"and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him." – Will he be forgiven as a result of the prayer of the elders or what is prescribed in verse 16? (Read v. 16) There is no indication in Scripture that we can ourselves grant God's forgiveness to another person. But a Christian can confess his own sin and be forgiven. Presumably to one in danger of losing his life, the elders would admonish him to confess his sins. (See verse 19-20) James clarifies this in the next verse.

"confess your sins to one another" – The elders are summoned for the purpose of praying for healing. However, while they are there they would ask about the spiritual condition of the person. Confessing sins prior to prayer assures that there is no hindrance to God hearing the prayers. (See Isaiah 59:1-2) Confessing to one another here does not necessarily imply that the elders or any other human being can forgive sin. No one can forgive sins but God alone. (Mark 2:7)

"And pray for one another that you may be healed" – Pray for what? Forgiveness for the other person or for strength to overcome? I prefer the latter.

"the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much" – In the context here, it can accomplish restoration of health and salvation from sin, if done right, with a cooperative (repentant, confessing) person. It is presumed here the calling upon the elders of the church would give one the opportunity to enlist a "righteous man" in a campaign of prayer. This is one of many reasons why men who aspire to the office of elder or overseer must meet qualifications for the office laid down in the New Testament.

Story told in 1 Kings 17 and 18. Wow! The power of the prayer of a righteous man!

"and one turns him back" – Turns him back to the truth. The context of this seems to refer to the work of the elders while they are there on the sick call. Their asking, the patient’s confessing, and God’s forgiving will save his soul.

"turns a sinner from the error of his way" – Notice that this is a necessary part of the forgiveness mentioned above. To repent means to turn. The "sinner" here was a backslidden Christian, not an alien sinner. Remember that this letter was written to Jewish Christians. The terms for forgiveness of an alien sinner (a non-Christian) are spelled out elsewhere in the New Testament.

"save his soul from death" – This is even more important than saving his body from illness.

"will cover a multitude of sins" – A backslidden Christian who is moving away from God in the "error of his way" can do a lot of sinning before he dies. It is also possible that when we backslide, God reinstates our former sins. I base this on the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:34.

Note: This passage is used by the Roman Catholic Church to justify their doctrine of "extreme unction" or "last rites." To note however, are the following differences between the Catholic practice and James’ instruction…

1. "Last rites" are given to both Catholics and non-Catholics. James is writing only to Christians. Even if this "rite" forgave sins, would it be the remedy for alien sinners? This is no end run around the need to confess faith in Christ, repent, and be baptized.
2. The forgiveness mentioned is based upon the confession and turning back to the truth done by a Christian, not just anyone.
3. This is not a prescription for "deathbed repentance" for a non-Christian either, as some Protestants use it. Again, James was writing to Christians.

   

   Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.

   Copyright © 1996-2008 by The Preacher's Study. Permission is granted to subscribers to use this document in total or in sermon preparation in the context of the local congregation only. Publishing it in a book, on the Internet, or anyplace beyond the local congregation is prohibited.

   All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.

   

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