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You are here: Home / Passages / James / 12 James 5:12-20 Physically ill or spiritually weak?

12 James 5:12-20 Physically ill or spiritually weak?

March 28, 2012 By Krisan Marotta

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12 Physically ill or spiritually weak? - James 5:12-20 | WednesdayintheWord.com

We reach the end of the letter of James today.  Due to time constraints, I gave you my summary of the main themes and principles last week.

Review

Chapter 1  – James told us to consider it joy when we face trials because trials test our faith and the process of testing our faith brings us to maturity and makes us into the kind of people we should be.

Chapter 2 – James argued that if we have saving faith and genuinely believe the gospel, it will change the way we think, the way we live, what we value and who we are.

Chapter 3 – James focuses on strife within the community.  James argues that the strife results from our lack of understanding of the gospel.  Growing in “wisdom from above” leads to peace and unity because we are all striving after and seeking and valuing the same thing: the word of God. Wisdom from above can be summarized in 2 basic ideas: a growing single-minded pursuit of the gospel of Jesus Christ and a humble merciful attitude toward others.  I

Chapter 4 – James begins the conclusion of the book which is a call to repentance.  As he calls for repentance, he returns to his 2 main examples of the kind of change repentance should bring about in our lives.  Our speech and they way we handle wealth.

Chapter 5 – James turns to wealth and gives three pieces of evidence of that they may be trusting in their wealth: 1) hoarding (5:2-3); 2) fraud (5:4) and 3) self-indulgence (5:5).  Finally in the immediate context to today’s verses, he calls for them to wait patiently through trials and to face trials with the settled conviction that there is a purpose for the trial.

Passage

5:13Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.  14Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And 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.  16Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.  17Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.  18Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.  19My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back,  20let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.  – James 5:13-19 ESV

Sick or weak?

The way you understand this passage turns on the way you understand the word “sick” 5:14.  The Greek word (Strong’s G770) is used 37 times in the New Testament.  Basically it means weakness, but its field of meaning includes one of the most common manifestations of weakness which is being physically ill.  The word’s meaning is NOT confined to physical illness NOR is it confined to spiritual illness, that is weakness with respect to faith.

For example, here are 3 places where it clearly means physically ill either by added phrases or context:

Luk 4:40  While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them.

Joh 5:3  In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered,

Joh 11:3  {Speaking of Lazarus} So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”

And here are 3 places where it clearly means weak in faith:

Rom 4:19  Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb;

Rom 14:1  Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.

2Co 13:3  since you are seeking for proof of the Christ who speaks in me, and who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you.

Are we praying for one who is physically ill or one who is weak and weary?  I land on the “spiritually weak” side.

James 5 by itself is — apart from the larger context — is truly ambiguous.  It is perfectly reasonable to think it is referring to sickness, especially if you look at the passage in isolation or if you think James is a loosely organized collection of proverbs. Ultimately which option we choose rests on our understanding of the larger context. I think taken in the larger context, it makes much more sense to see it as spiritually weak.

For more detail and explanation, please listen to the podcast.

Previous: 11 James 5:1-11 – Worldliness and Riches

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Filed Under: James, Passages Tagged With: James, rich, time, wealth

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© 2011 by Krisan Marotta. Site by Author Media.