1. Although perplexing to some, Jas. 9 And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. All idolized treasures will soon perish, except as they will rise up in judgment against their possessors. I can remember when I was young, on a couple of occasions, my dad would get a call at an odd hour. b. Many of his readers fled from Palestine under the persecution of Acts 8:1-4 and dispersed through the Roman Empire (1:1). | Powered by WordPress. In the context of Christian community, James teaches us to confess our sins and to believe God for answered prayer – including prayers for healing. By citing both the importance of patience and the actual example of Elijah, James frames his exhortation so as to underscore both the possibility of miraculous fulfillment of our prayers, and the inevitable unlikelihood that we will witness such a dramatic response. “Don’t get discouraged in prayer. So in every situation, we must learn to live with a God-ward, God-dependent focus. Commentary on James 5:13-20 The preceding chapters in the Epistle of James have described the ideal of a congregation that lives cooperatively, harmoniously, in concord with heaven’s peaceable grace — and that repudiates wrangling, privilege, and domination. He ends the epistle with the verses from today’s lesson, an apparently somewhat miscellaneous array of exhortations. Times of affliction are times for prayer in God’s economy. Thus James echoes Jesus’ own call to perfect obedience, to consistent truthfulness, to whole-hearted faithfulness, and to community without favoritism. James also reintroduces the topic of truthfulness as an aspect of community life. Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing James 5:13: Mark 7:32 Acts 16:20-25 James 5:12 : James 5:14 >> The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment Sign up for the Berean: Daily Verse and Comment, and have Biblical truth delivered to your inbox. All suffering and all blessings come from God for His glory and our ultimate good. About This Expository Bible Study on James 5:13-20. Although James does not emphasize the point here, oil was not necessarily readily available to the poorest Christians; if the elders are to anoint any member of the congregation with oil, the better-off members of the community will have to be subsidizing the poorer. The sufferings to which Jam 5:7 ff. . God does not forbid us to use lawful pleasures; but to live in pleasure, especially sinful pleasure, is a provoking sin. Although James uses the form of imperative verbs, the context of the whole letter warrants our reading these verses not just as an array of commands; we do well to read these also as a description of what the ideal congregation behaves like. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James presents the idea that unless a Christian confesses and deals with his sin, God will set him on a course of physical sickness or even death (1:15, 21; 5:20). My father is an ordained minister. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”. Weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you— Quickly and unexpectedly. James therefore reminds the congregation that faithfulness requires patience (5:7-11). Come now, ye rich— The apostle does not speak this so much for the sake of the rich themselves, as of the poor children of God, who were then groaning under their cruel oppression. Biblical Commentary (Bible Study) James 5:13-20. How does one pray then, when it is difficult to pray for oneself? ii. The hesitancy of people to ask for or to seek prayer from the leadership of the church in such circumstances is a true mystery. James 5:13–20 closes out the letter by encouraging those who believe in God to show it. Php 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”. In our American culture we keep our business quiet, and let others do the same. The context of healing from this verse forward is not physical healing but the healing of hurts from people through prayer. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. wisdom for a blue jean faith “So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. In addition to what we just read in James 5:19-20, it also says in James 5:15-16, “And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. We can become upset, perplexed, unhappy, provoked, irritated, or resentful in times of stress, or we can put our tensions in the hands of God by prayer. We keep praying until we get an answer – “Yes” or “No.” We may not get an answer right away. The benefits of our caring for one another are not always (we may even say not usually) immediately obvious. Thanks for this sharing and explanation, may God bless you! We should pray for ourselves, praise God, and invite the spiritual leaders of our churches to pray for us when we are sick, or spiritually weak. But the *apostles and leaders of the church did notgo. Your explanations have a calming and reassuring effect on the reader: A reminder that God is an ever-present help in … Sermon James 5:13-20 Life Together Check out these helpful resources Biblical Commentary Sermons Children's Sermons Hymn Lists James 5:13-20 Life Together Dr. Mickey Anders Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) was martyred in 1945 at the hands of the Gestapo when … International Bible Lesson Commentary . James fires off two short questions (a third follows in 5:14), with crisp, short answers. James thus advocates a model of community that admits no distinctions between rich and poor, with regard to health as well as to wealth. If we do not pray, we will grumble, fret, and complain about everything. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. Sin is clearly in view in the next verse (5:15). Grant's Verse-by-Verse Logos Bible Software. Is anyone cheerful? At the same time, James considers Elijah the example of someone who, although human in every way, wrought extraordinary effects by his righteousness and his confident prayer. The duty of mutual confession and prayer (James 5:16a) C. “In fulfillment of God’s purposes …. A resource for the whole church from Luther Seminary. A rebuke of the ungodly rich. James does not, I think, consider this a punishment or a means of cult-like social control; rather, it constitutes an ingredient of the kind of common life he proposes for all Christians. Your email address will not be published. God will answer in His timing. It seems that the church has a tendency to be always going from one extreme to another. If one among you suffers, let him pray; if one is of good courage, let him sing psalms. Power In Suffering (5:13) In verse 13 James returns to the subject of suffering. The people James addresses are those defeated in the spiritual battle and are under God’s discipline of physical sickness. 16 Therefore confess your sins. The Greek indicates that we are to keep on praying when we engage trouble. James here refers to Mt 5:34, &c. let your yea be yea—Do not use oaths in your everyday conversation, but let a simple affirmative or denial be … 11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. The calling of the elders to pray for the sick (James 5:14) 2. Ps. James addresses what the saint should do in the following five situations: (1) When the Saint Suffers, (2) When the Saint Smiles, (3) A harmonious, mutually-concerned congregation will evince the sort of relationships James endorses here. Keep it up.” Prayer is the believer’s great weapon in times of adversity. .” 27:13-14, “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed, That I would see the goodness of the Lord. This is such a great interpretation and application of James 5:13. 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