By Pastor Alfred Massaquoi
Commentary on James 5:14-18
Introduction
What does James 5:14-18 mean as respects the olive oil? Is Anointing oil associated with every healing? Should churchgoers apply the olive oil they call Anointing oil on themselves when they fall sick? Or is the olive oil a Satan inspired practice tantamount to disobedience to God?
Churches belief in Olive Oil Miracle
Well, today most Charismatic churches use the olive oil in their worship. And most of them believe the olive oil or the anointing oil mentioned in the Bible by James is a Protection Oil – a charm, a taliseman, or a Church juju.
They enter the supermarkets, buy the olive oil, and take to their churches – to their pastors. What is done is either the pastors pray on the olive oil or the pastors ask the followers themselves to pray individually on the olive oil.
Thus, they believe by praying on the Olive oil, the Holy Spirit (they also believe is a person as part of the Godhead) will descend and dwell on the olive oil making it an anointing oil, which works effectively to protect them from dangers, such as witchcraft and other misfortunes or afflictions.
Now, you can understand why most churchgoers today in Africa, in particular, carry the olive oil on them, to and from church; and at home, they have the olive oil at their bedsides to ward off witches and wizards they perceive after them to harm them. Therefore, these people believe strongly that the olive oil works out supernatural powers. But, is that what the Bible James recommended to Christians when he wrote James 5:14,15?
INSIGHT ON JAMES 5:14-18
Now, let’s consider verse by verse James 5:14-18:
14 Is 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. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
To begin, let’s read James 5:14,15 to kick start this thesis:
14 Is 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. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
14 Is 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. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
In the reading of James Chapter 5:14, James asked, “Is anyone among you sick?” By “sick” James means, probably, physical illness, or better still, as you will see throughout verses 14-18, the scripture principally could be referring to spiritual sickness.
Possible Spiritual weakneas – Sin
The works of the flesh or human nature is manifested in spiritual sickness outlined by the Apostle Paul when writing to the Galatian Christians in Gal. 5:16-21:
“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
As you have seen, human nature or the desires of the flesh is a spiritual sickness or disease mentioned by Paul to the Galatians, but still applicable to us in this twenty first century.
Hence, owing to sin, we are susceptible to being spiritually sick, we need a spiritual doctor nevertheless to heal the spiritual sickness – no wonder the Bible James said, “Let him call for the elders of the church.”
Come to think of it, James is right suggesting we call for the elders of the church because the elders are supposedly pastors, overseers or leaders of the church. – Acts 20:17,28; Titus 1:5,7 and 1 Peter 5:1,2.
Those scriptural references above help us appreciate that, God, through Christ, and by the direction of the Apostle Paul, charged the elders of the church this responsibility, in that, they expectedly measured up to spiritual qualifications. In essence, the elders are spiritual doctors – whom I think spirited to heal most spiritual disease or sickness.
If you are sick, James advised, “Send for the church elders” – the wording here “elders” suggests multiple of elders of the church making us understand that if it were purely physical illness, James couldn’t have under inspiration necessarily say, “Call for the elders of the church”;instead, James could have emphasized physical healing which normally takes place in the hospitals or medical clinics.
Specifically, James rather said in the same verse 14 of James 5: “Anointing with oil,” because the oil symbolizes the healing power of the Holy Spirit upon the sick person.
Furthermore, James elaborated that during the “Anointing with oil,” do it “In the name of the Lord” – meaning, it is God, not the oil, who heals.
In other words, in the absence of the olive oil, or without the rubbing of the oil, God, being God, can heal the sick because he has the power to heal anything – hence, to Jehovah God, the Olive oil is not the prescription drug for healing the sick!
In addition, James said, “The prayer of faith,” suggesting, not the faith of the sick person, but the prayers of faith of those elders will make the sick person well.
Thus, in this perspective, James alluded that the sick person doesn’t require to exercise faith, but should simply ask for the elders of the church to pray for him. And James mentioned that the “Prayer of faith will save the one who is sick.”
Examining this statement, one could surmise that the said sickness could mean physical, and could require physical healing as the case maybe, or, it could mean spiritual healing, or, the sick could experience spiritual salvation.
“The Lord will raise him up,” James predicated, adding, “If he has committed sins he will be forgiven.” The emphasis here is “Sins…forgiven,” which means, blessings or salvation for the sick. Similarly, in the Gospel accounts, Jesus Christ healed a lot of people by forgiving sins.
Notably, James certainly did not teach that if people call on the elders of the church, all sickness will be healed, and nor did he preach that if the people try to make themselves have enough faith or pray with enough conviction, all sickness will be healed, because, when healing occurs, or the sick gets well, it is a gift or mercy from God who knows all things – sees all things – and heals all sickness, according to his grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Also, note, James said, “If the sick person has committed sin,” stressing the “if,” means, not all sickness is a fact the sick person has sinned, although, some sickness is the result of sin in 1 Cor. 11:30.
Understanding James 5:14,15 in our Day
Let’s apply James 5:14,15 locally. Thus, the statement: “Is anyone among you sick?” And James went on to say, “Let him call for the elders of the church.” Let’s consider six points below:
Point #1: Considering the serious nature of the sickness – probably, spiritual disease, James didn’t say, pray for YOURSELF when you’re sick. But James directed, “Call for the elders of the church,” which should be understood as sickness beyond your control or comprehension; perhaps, it could be a debilitating, or a terminal illness like Cancer, or a serious spiritual sickness, weaknesses like sexual immortality or alcoholism or aggressive behavior.
Point #2: James instructed the elders visiting the sick, saying, “Let them pray over him.”
Point #3: James said, in addition to prayers, “Anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” It’s very important to note that James didn’t say a person who isn’t an elder or a pastor should pray and anoint the sick with the anointing oil, contrary to the believe of many churchgoers today, who, evidently anoint themselves with olive oil.
For instance, in the Bible, Jehovah told Moses to anoint Aaron and his sons with the anointing oil to serve the function as priests in Exodus 30:30, and in Lev. 8:10.
Aaron didn’t anoint himself, and his sons didn’t presumptuously anoint themselves with the anointing oil, just to mention this example among a host of other instances in the Bible when no one anointed himself or herself with the anointing oil.
Point #4: James said, the anointing oil should be applied in the name of the Lord, and the sick person will be healed – not healed in the name of the olive oil, but healed in the name of the Lord. What is the lesson here in this statement?
You learned that you cannot anoint yourself with the olive oil or heal yourself with the olive oil, even if, you do this in the name of Jesus Christ, having prayed on the oil, because, you’re not an elder, or a pastor ordained to do so as recommend by James, and clearly, by Jehovah God in the Bible.
Point #5:- James didn’t say the anointing oil is meant for protection or power against witchcraft or misfortunes, but he said, the “elders” – not you – must, if necessary, use the anointing oil to heal the sick in the name of Jesus Christ.
Point #6:- James said the prayer of faith will make the sick well, contrary to the practices of most faith healers today, when they fail to heal the sick, they blame the failure on the sick person for lack of faith; rather, James said that the elders should pray in faith, not the sick person, because God is the person who heals by His mercy.
James 5:16 – What Does it Mean?
Consequently, in James 5:16, James directed, “Confess your sins to one another,” meaning, if sin is the cause for the sickness – that is, the spiritual sickness – sometimes, confession in the community or a group could be necessary before healing can take place, thus, James 5:16, admonishes, “Pray for one another” – meaning, all of us have the responsibility to pray for the other person – as you can see – prayers for the sick is not limited only to the elders as in James 5:14, but is extended to the church, or, as a group, a family can gather together in prayers for the sick.
Note, James didn’t say, in the group prayers, pray with the olive oil when you pray for one another, or go on to rub the anointing oil on yourselves when you pray in a group.
Another fact you need to understand is that it’s medically wrong or a violation of medical ethics that the wife, who is a medical doctor, or the husband, who is a medical doctor, alternatively, treat the other spouse in the case of a health emergency. The same interdict is extended to their immediate family members; and the remedy, is that another practitioner can administer medical treatment to the family.
How much more with spiritual sickness? Your family members or yourself cannot treat YOU with the anointing oil as we have seen; thus, there are definitive rules associated with the anointing oil in caring for the sick – consequently, the elders of the church ordained as spiritual doctors will conduct deliverance to liberate you from your trouble to the glory of God by the grace of His son, our redeemer or liberator or deliverer.
Summary Understanding
To recap, the olive oil was not considered a must by James before healing can take place. Hence, he mentioned the following:
The sick person must call for the elders of the church.
He said that the elders or pastors will say prayers or the church as a group can say prayers for the sick.
James said that the prayers of faith will save the sick.
James said also that the Lord will raise the sick up, and his sins forgiven.
About the anointing oil: James said further that when the elders pray they rub olive oil on the sick in the name of Jesus Christ – meaning, the anointing oil is not a prerequisite for healing – because God does the healing himself – and not the olive oil. James said that the prayer made in FAITH will heal the sick. Faith heals – NOT the olive oil.
Faith in God heals
Concerning faith , Paul reminds us in Hebs. 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarded of them that diligently seek him.”
To sum up what Hebs. 11:6 says: Paul indicated that it is impossible to please God without faith – you need faith to believe that God exists – and that you need faith to believe that God is able or has the ability to answer your prayers.
In other words, Hebrews reiterated that only your lack of faith will make you believe that God is unable to rescue you unless you apply the olive oil or the anointing oil when you are faced with trouble.
In effect, those who use olive oil rather than faith in God don’t believe in God – they are either called pagans, atheists or agnostics. They should not be called Christians because a Christian means a follower of Christ, and Christ, in all his teachings, didn’t preach faith in God by applying the olive oil.
James 5:17,18 – Elijah Calls Drought by Faith
Furthermore, James illustrated another point in James 5:17,18, when he spoke about Elijah the prophet of God. Although Elijah was a man with the same nature as us, he had a powerful prayer life. He didn’t pray with the olive oil or use the anointing oil to pray for daught in 1 Kings 17-18 over the land of Israel as a punishment for King Ahab and Israel for idolatry. There was drought or famine in the land of Israel for three years and six months.
Please take note of this critical point you need to know about the anointing oil.
Significance of the Anointing Oil in Moses’ Day
In Exodus 30:22-31 God told Moses to make the Anointing oil with specific instructions. So, the anointing oil does not constitute the only formula: the olive oil and prayers to make it holy; otherwise, God would have told that to Moses than having Moses to go through the exercise of making the Holy Anointing oil.
Since the oil was to consecrate the elements of the Tabernacle and the priests, the oil was to be treated as Holy and must not be used for any other purpose. Read: Exodus 30:22-31:
“Moreover the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Also take for yourself quality spices—five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane, five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil. With it you shall anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the Testimony; the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense; the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base. You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them must be holy. And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me as priests.
“And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations. It shall not be poured on man’s flesh; nor shall you make any other like it, according to its composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you. Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on an outsider, shall be cut off from his people.’”
Please note verse 33, it says that anyone who makes the formula of the Holy Anointing Oil, and puts any of it on an outsider or an unauthorized person, he must be cut off from his people; meaning, such a stranger, a man, not of Aaron’s family, must be put to death.
To illustrate how serious this was, let’s consider the Ark of the Covenant, for example, which was Holy by virtue of God’s glory and the consecration of the anointing oil, thus, we read 1Chr. 15:12:
“He said to the Levites, “You are the leaders of the Levite clans. Purify yourselves and your fellow Levites, so that you can bring the Covenant Box of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it.”
As we’ve read here, only Levites were authorized to carry the Ark of the Covenant; therefore, Uzzah, who was not authorized grabbed hold the Ark of the Covenant, and Jehovah struck him dead instantly in 2 Sam.6:6-8:
“As they came to the threshing place of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out and took hold of the Covenant Box. At once the Lord God became angry with Uzzah and killed him because of his irreverence. Uzzah died there beside the Covenant Box, and so that place has been called Perez Uzzah ever since. David was furious because the Lord had punished Uzzah in anger.”
Olive Oil Usage today Symbolizes Satan Worship
To conclude, the olive oil use by the churches today as an anointing oil is a symbol of occultism. Many so-called pastors have apostatesized from God, and have sold their souls to Satan – and Satanism or the aluminati uses them to recruit more worshipers for the Devil.
So, when you use the olive oil, not for its intended pupose as James directed, you indirectly demonstrate your lack of faith in Jehovah’s saving power, and you directly worship Satan (or you swear allegiance to Lucifer) who rewards those so-called pastors when he makes the olive oil works for them as if it were God’s power at work.
Satan, the Devil also rewards those so-called pastors by giving them riches at the expense of your foolishness, because you worship, not God, but signs, wonders, and miracles.
The practice of the occult today is real – and it has infiltrated the churches because you believe in the olive oil for protection rather than a strong faith in God who can rescue, save, and help you in this our world so full of troubles.
Conclusion
Finally, the Bible James does not support the idea that you abuse the true meaning of the anointing oil as you do today.
Yes, research has shown that the olive oil when eaten has medicinal properties, for instance, you can fry eggs with your olive oil; and the oil prevents heart attacks, high cholesterol, triglyceride and many other diseases.
