James · chapter 5 of 5
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James 5 denounces rich people who defraud their workers, encourages believers to wait patiently for the Lord's coming like a farmer waiting for the rain and to imitate the prophets and Job, forbids oaths and teaches prayer for the sick and confession of sins. It closes with the promise that whoever brings back a wanderer saves his soul from death.
James 5 is the last chapter of a practical and direct letter. It speaks to those with riches, to those who suffer, to the sick and to those who have wandered. The thread joining the parts is trust in God, who judges justly and hears prayer.
James addresses the rich: weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted, your garments are moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you. The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived in luxury and have condemned and murdered the righteous person, who does not resist you.
The brothers, on the other hand, must be patient until the coming of the Lord, like the farmer who waits for the precious fruit of the earth until it receives the early and the late rains. They must establish their hearts and not grumble against one another, for the Judge is standing at the door. The prophets are an example of suffering and patience, and Job shows the Lord's purpose, for the Lord is compassionate and merciful. Above all, do not swear; let your yes be yes and your no be no.
There follow counsels about prayer. Is anyone suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone sick? Let him call the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 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. 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. Elijah, a man with a nature like ours, prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not; then he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain.
The letter ends on a pastoral note: if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The wages of the laborers, kept back by fraud, cry out, and the Lord of hosts hears. God listens to those who suffer economic injustice.
Be patient and establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. The hope of his return sustains those who suffer.
Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed, for the prayer of a righteous person has great power. Communal prayer and honesty bring healing.
Whoever brings back a brother who has wandered from the truth saves his soul from death and covers a multitude of sins. Caring for the brother who drifts away is a mission for the whole community.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: The wages of the laborers kept back by fraud. — James 5:4
Answer: To the farmer who waits for the fruit of the earth. — James 5:7
Answer: The prophets and Job. — James 5:10-11
Answer: The elders of the church. — James 5:14
Answer: Three years and six months. — James 5:17
Answer: He saves his soul from death and covers a multitude of sins. — James 5:20
James 5 offers practices for a community. You can ask whether there is economic injustice nearby, at work or in the church, and what could be done. You can also give time to pray for the sick in the group and to confess with trust what weighs on them.
The final invitation is to care for those who drift away. You can name someone who stopped coming and decide who will approach them with affection, without judgment. Patience, prayer and mutual care form the close of the letter.
James 5 closes the letter with a community that awaits the Lord, prays in faith and cares for its own. The faith James defends is a living faith that shows itself in justice, patience, prayer and love for the brother.
Christians understand it in different ways: as a symbolic gesture of consecration and prayer in the name of the Lord, as a medicinal use accompanied by prayer, or as a sign of setting the person apart for God. In every case the power lies in the Lord and the prayer of faith, not in the oil.
The letter speaks of the prayer of faith that raises the sick, but other texts of the Bible show that God does not always heal in this life. Many understand that the text encourages us to pray with confidence without promising a fixed outcome.
That whoever restores a brother helps his sins to be forgiven and not held against him. It is an act of mercy that reflects God's forgiveness.