James 5:15

5:15 a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick: This proverb is a generally true statement, subject to the will of God. Only prayers that embody true faith will be answered affirmatively by the Lord, and faith for a particular healing is a gift that comes from God. See also Mark 9:23; John 14:13-14; 15:7, 16; 16:23-27; 1 Jn 3:22; 5:14-15. • if you have committed any sins: James suggests that some illnesses might be caused by sin, and it is important that the sin also be confessed and forgiven (Jas 5:16; see Mark 2:3-12; John 5:14).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Jas 5:15. Ἡ εὐχὴ τῆς πίστεως, the prayer of faith) [He does not say the oil shall save.—V. g.] When some of the faithful pray, the whole power of faith is spread and exercised through the whole body of the Church. James would have complained that he was greatly misrepresented, if any one were to say, that he attributed the remission of sins to works.—κἂν, and if) It may happen that a man is sick, even though he has not committed [special] sins.—ἀφεθήσεται, it shall be forgiven him) the having committed sins.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jam_5:15 mentions the result of the prayer conjoined with the anointing.

καὶ ἡ εὐχὴ τῆς πίστεως] That the prayer of the presbyters must proceed from faith was not asserted in the preceding, but was evidently presupposed; it is now directly characterized as such. τῆς πίστεως is gen. subj.: the prayer which faith offers; inaccurately Schneckenburger: preces fide plenae. πίστις is used here in the same signification as in chap. Jam_1:16; it is sure confidence in the Lord, in reference to the case in question. Grotius, Gomarus, Schneckenburger, Theile, and others define the prayer more closely, as that of the presbyters and of the sick man. On the other hand, Wiesinger refers ἡ εὐχὴ τ. π. to προσευξάσθωσαν, accordingly the intercession of the presbyters; so also de Wette. This is correct; it is, however, to be observed that James has certainly supposed as self-evident the prayer of the sick man who called the elders. The following words: σώσει τὸν κάμνοντα, state the effect of the prayer of the presbyters.

τὸν κάμνοντα] takes up again ἀσθενεῖ τις. κάμνειν, in the N. T. except here only in Heb_12:3 in a figurative sense, has even with classical writers very commonly the meaning to be sick.

σώσει] equivalent to will recover. This meaning is required by reference to τὸν κάμνοντα, and to the context generally; the word occurs in the same signification in Mat_9:22; Mar_5:23; Joh_11:12, and elsewhere.

By the following clause: καὶ ἐγερεῖ αὐτὸν ὁ κύριος, what is said is more exactly specified; the prayer of faith effects σώζειν, by which the Lord (apparently Christ) on its account helps; ἐγείρειν, to raise up from the sick-bed, see Mar_1:31, etc.; not to raise up from sickness (Lange; to cause him to recover, de Wette); the word never occurs in this meaning in the N. T.

A particular case is added to the general. κἂν ἁμαρτίας ᾖ πεποιηκώς] κἄν is not, as is done by most expositors, but against linguistic usage,[243] to be resolved by and if, but by even if (so also Lange). By the sins here meant are such as formed the special reason of the sickness. Accordingly, the meaning is: even if he has drawn his sickness upon himself by special sins (unsatisfactorily Lange: if his sickness has become by them very severe). By ᾖ πεποιηκώς the effect of the sins is represented as existing.

The apodosis ἀφεθήσεται αὐτῷ expresses that even in this case the healing will not fail. The forgiveness of sins is here meant, which is confirmed by the removal of the special punishment produced by the particular sins. The explanation of Hammond is evidently entirely erroneous: non tarn a Deo, quam a Presbyteris, qui aegroto peccata ipsis confitenti … absolutionem dare tenentur. As regards the construction of the sentence, κἂν πεποιηκώς may be joined to what goes before, and ἀφεθήσεται considered as an asyndeton addition: and the Lord will raise him up, even if he has committed sins … (for) it will be forgiven him. But the usual construction, according to which ἀφεθήσεται is simply the apodosis to κἂν κ.τ.λ., is to be preferred on account of the close connection of ideas; thus: even if he hath committed, sins, it will be forgiven him; by which the idea is included in ἀφεθήσεται αὐτῷ, that he will be healed of his sickness.

τὸ πεποιηκέναι is to be supplied from the preceding to ἀφεθήσεται (Bengel, Theile, Wiesinger).

The promise (σώσει … ἐγερεῖ) so positively expressed by James is founded on his confidence in the Lord, who hears believing intercession, so that it is not in vain. It is certainly surprising that James gives this assurance without any restriction. Although we cannot say, with Hottinger: si certus et constans talium precum fuisset eventus, nemo unquam mortuns esset, since the nature of the condition, on which James makes the event dependent, is not considered; on the one hand, it is self-evident that true πίστις includes the humble πλὴν οὐχ ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω ἀλλʼ ὡς σύ (Mat_26:39); and, on the other hand, it is to be observed that although James here evidently speaks of bodily sickness and its cure, yet he uses such expressions as point beyond the sphere of the corporeal to the spiritual, so that even when the result corresponds not to the expectation in reference to the bodily sickness, yet the prayer of faith does not remain unanswered in the higher sense.[244]

[243] In no passage of the N. T., except perhaps Luk_13:9, is the καί in κἄν the simple copula uniting two sentences, but it has everywhere the meaning though, even. The N. T. usage is here in conformity with the classical; see Pape on the word κἀν.

[244] It must be designated as arbitrary when Lange understands this passage also as symbolical, and thus interprets it: If any man as a Christian has been hurt, or become sick in his Christianity, let him seek healing from the presbyters, the kernel of the congregation. Let these pray with and for him, and anoint him with the oil of the Spirit; such a course, wherever taken, will surely restore him, and his transgressions will be forgiven him.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jas 5:15 . ἡ εὐχὴ τῆς πίστεως : Cf. Mat 21:22 . σώσει : for this sense cf. Mat 9:22 ; Mar 5:23 ; Joh 11:12 . κάμνοντα : in this sense only here in the N.T., though it is used in a somewhat similar sense in Heb 12:3 . ἐγερεῖ : it seems most natural to take this as referring to the sick man being raised up from his bed of sickness, though the use of κάμνειν in Heb 12:3 suggests the possibility of spiritual comfort being also included. ὁ Κύριος : this must probably refer to Christ, though the O.T. reference in the context would justify the contention that Jahwe is meant. κἂν . Cf. Mar 16:18 ; Luk 13:9 , as showing that this does not necessarily mean “even if”. ἁμαρτίας ᾖ πεποιηκώς ἀφεθήσεται αὐτῷ : Cf. Sir 38:9-10 , Τέκνον , ἐν ἀρρωστήματί σου μὴ παράβλεπε , ἀλλʼ εὖξαι Κυρίῳ , καὶ αὐτὸς ἰάσεταί σε · ἀπόστησον πλημμελίαν καὶ εὔθυνον χεῖρας , καὶ ἀπὸ πάσης ἁμαρτίας καθάρισον καρδίαν ; The Jewish belief on this subject may be illustrated by the following: in Test. of the Twelve Patriarchs , Simeon, Jas 2:11 ff., because Simeon continued wrathful against Reuben, he says, “But the Lord restrained me, and withheld from me the power of my hands; for my right hand was half withered for seven days”; in Gad. Jas 5:9 ff. the patriarch confesses that owing to his hatred against Joseph God brought upon him a disease of the liver, “and had not the prayers of Jacob my father succoured me, it had hardly failed but my spirit had departed”. That sin brings disease was, likewise in the later Jewish literature, an article of faith, indeed here one finds specified what are the particular sicknesses that particular sins bring in their train. According to Rabbinical teaching there are four signs by means of which it is possible to recognise the sin of which a man has been guilty: dropsy is the sign that the sin of fornication has been committed, jaundice that of unquenchable hatred, poverty and humiliation that of pride, liver complaint (?) ( אסכרה ) that of back-biting. In Shabbath , 55 a , it says: “No death without sin, no chastisement without evil-doing,” and in Nedarim , 41 a it says: “No recovery without forgiveness”. Leprosy may be due to one of eleven sins, but most probably to that of an evil tongue (see Weber, Jüdische Theologie , pp. 245 f.).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He hath reason in making mention of sins, for diseases are for the most part sent because of sins.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

prayer--He does not say the oil shall save: it is but the symbol.

save--plainly not as Rome says, "save" the soul. but heal "the sick": as the words, "the Lord shall raise him up," prove. So the same Greek is translated, "made (thee) whole," Mat 9:21-22.

and if . . . sins--for not all who are sick are so because of some special sins. Here a case is supposed of one visited with sickness for special sins.

have committed--literally, "be in a state of having committed sins," that is, be under the consequences of sins committed.

they--rather, "it": his having committed sins shall be forgiven him. The connection of sin and sickness is implied in Isa 33:24; Mat 9:2-5; Joh 5:14. The absolution of the sick, retained in the Church of England, refers to the sins which the sick man confesses (Jam 5:16) and repents of, whereby outward scandal has been given to the Church and the cause of religion; not to sins in their relation to God, the only Judge.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 15. And the prayer of faith; shall save the sick] That is, God will often make these the means of a sick man's recovery; but there often are cases where faith and prayer are both ineffectual, because God sees it will be prejudicial to the patient's salvation to be restored; and therefore all faith and prayer on such occasions should be exerted on this ground: "If it be most for thy glory, and the eternal good of this man's soul, let him be restored; if otherwise, Lord, pardon, purify him, and take him to thy glory."

The Lord shall raise him up] Not the elders, how faithfully and fervently soever they have prayed.

And if he have committed sins] So as to have occasioned his present malady, they shall be forgiven him; for being the cause of the affliction it is natural to conclude that, if the effect be to cease, the cause must be removed. We find that in the miraculous restoration to health, under the powerful hand of Christ, the sin of the party is generally said to be forgiven, and this also before the miracle was wrought on the body: hence there was a maxim among the Jews, and it seems to be founded in common sense and reason, that God never restores a man miraculously to health till he has pardoned his sins; because it would be incongruous for God to exert his miraculous power in saving a body, the soul of which was in a state of condemnation to eternal death, because of the crimes it had committed against its Maker and Judge. Here then it is GOD that remits the sin, not in reference to the unction, but in reference to the cure of the body, which he is miraculously to effect.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. But it must be observed, that he connects a promise with the prayer, lest it should be made without faith. For he who doubts, as one who does not rightly call on God, is unworthy to obtain anything, as we have seen in the first chapter. Whosoever then really seeks to be heard, must be fully persuaded that he does not pray in vain.

As James brings before us this special gift, to which the external rite was but an addition, we hence learn, that the oil could not have been rightly used without faith. But since it appears that the Papists have no certainty as to their anointing, as it is manifest that they have not the gift, it is evident that their anointing is spurious.

And if he have committed sins. This is not added only for the sake of amplifying, as though he had said, that God would give something more to the sick than health of body; but because diseases were very often inflicted on account of sins; and by speaking of their remission he intimates that the cause of the evil would be removed. And we indeed see that David, when afflicted with disease and seeking relief, was wholly engaged in seeking the pardon of his sins. Why did he do this, except that while he acknowledged the effect of his faults in his punishment, he deemed that there was no other remedy, but that the Lord should cease to impute to him his sins?

The prophets are full of this doctrine, that men are relieved from their evils when they are loosed from the guilt of their iniquities. Let us then know that it is the only fit remedy for our diseases and other calamities, when we carefully examine ourselves, being solicitous to be reconciled to God, and to obtain the pardon of our sins.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

15. and the prayer of faith shall save the sick] The context leaves no doubt that the primary thought is, as in our Lord’s words to men and women whom He healed, “Thy faith hath saved thee”—“thy faith hath made thee whole” (Mat_9:22; Mar_5:34; Mar_10:52; Luk_7:50; Luk_8:48; Luk_17:19; Luk_18:42), that the sick man should in such a case “recover his bodily health.” The “prayer of faith” was indeed not limited to that recovery in its scope, but the answer to that prayer in its higher aims, is given separately afterwards in the promise of forgiveness.

and the Lord shall raise him up] Here, as in Jas_5:14, we have to think of St James as recognising not merely the power of God generally, but specifically that of the Lord Jesus, still working through His servants, as He worked personally on earth. So Peter said to Æneas, “Jesus Christ maketh thee whole” (Act_9:34).

if he have committed sins …] The Greek expresses with a subtle distinction, hard to reproduce in English, the man’s being in the state produced by having committed sins. Repentance, it is obvious, is presupposed as a condition, and the love of God in Christ as the fountain of forgiveness, but the prayer of the elders of the Church is, beyond question, represented as instrumental, as helping to win for the sinner the grace both of repentance and forgiveness. It is noticeable that the remission of sins thus promised is dependent not on the utterance of the quasi-judicial formula of the Absolvo te (that, indeed, was not used at all until the 13th century) by an individual priest, but on the prayer of the elders as representing the Church. Comp. Joh_20:23, where also the promise is in the plural, “Whosesoever sins ye remit.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the prayer of faith shall save the sick,.... That is, the prayer of the elders, being put up in faith by them, and in which the sick person joins by faith; such a prayer is a means of bringing down from God a blessing on the sick man, and of restoring him to his former health:

and the Lord shall raise him up; from his bed of sickness, on which he is laid, and bring him forth to praise his name, and to fear and glorify him.

And if he have committed sins; not that it is a question whether he has or not, for no man lives without sin, nor the commission of it; but the sense is, if he has been guilty of any sins, which God in particular has taken notice of, and on account of which he has laid his chastising hand upon him, in order to bring him to a sense of them, and to acknowledge them; which is sometimes the case, though not always, at the same time that his bodily health is restored:

they shall be forgiven him; he shall have a discovery, and an application of pardoning grace to him: and indeed the removing the sickness or disease may be called the forgiveness of his sins, which is sometimes the sense of this phrase in Scripture, as in Kg1 8:34.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

Ver. 15. And the prayer of faith] The Greek word for prayer hath its denomination from well pouring out the heart, or from well cleaving to God. {a} Afflictions (saith one) cause us to seek out God’s promise, the promise to seek faith, faith to seek prayer, and prayer to find God.

They shall be forgiven him] And so he shall be cured on both sides. He shall be sure to have his prayer out, either in money or money’s worth, his labour shall not be in vain in the Lord.

{a} ευχη παρα το ευ χεειν, vel or παρα το ευ εχεσθαι του Θειου

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the prayer of faith - The prayer offered in faith, or in the exercise of confidence in God. It is not said that the particular form of the faith exercised shall be that the sick man will certainly recover; but there is to be unwavering confidence in God, a belief that he will do what is best, and a cheerful committing of the cause into his hands. We express our earnest wish, and leave the case with him. The prayer of faith is to accompany the use of means, for all means would be ineffectual without the blessing of God.

Shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up - This must be understood, as such promises are everywhere, with this restriction, that they will be restored to health if it shall be the will of God; if he shall deem it for the best. It cannot be taken in the absolute and unconditional sense, for then, if these means were used, the sick person would always recover, no matter how often he might be sick, and he need never die. The design is to encourage them to the use of these means with a strong hope that it would be effectual. It may fairly be inferred from this statement:

(1)That there would be cases in large numbers where these means would be attended with this happy result; and,

(2)That there was so much encouragement to do it that it would be proper in any case of sickness so make use of these means.

It may be added, that no one can demonstrate that this promise has not been in numerous instances fulfilled. There are instances, not a few, where recovery from sickness seems to be in direct answer to prayer, and no one can prove that it is not so. Compare the case of Hezekiah, in Isa 38:1-5.

And if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him - Perhaps there may be a particular allusion here to sins which may have brought on the sickness as a punishment. In that case the removal of the disease in answer to prayer would be an evidence that the sin was pardoned. Compare Mat 9:2. But the promise may be understood in a more general sense as denoting that such sickness would be the means of bringing the sins of the past life to remembrance, especially if the one who was sick had been unfaithful to his Christian vows; and that the sickness in connection with the prayers offered would bring him to true repentance, and would recover him from his wanderings. On backsliding and erring Christians sickness often has this effect; and the subsequent life is so devoted and consistent as to show that the past unfaithfulness of him who has been afflicted is forgiven.

This passage Jam 5:14-15 is important, not only for the counsel which it gives to the sick, but because it has been employed by the Roman Catholic communion as almost the only portion of the Bible referred to to sustain one of the peculiar rites of their religion - that of “extreme unction” - a “sacrament,” as they suppose, to be administered to those who are dying. It is of importance, therefore, to inquire more particularly into its meaning. There can be but three views taken of the passage:

I. That it refers to a miraculous healing by the apostles, or by other early ministers of religion who were endowed with the power of healing diseases in this manner. This is the interpretation of Doddridge, Macknight, Benson, and others. But to this view the objections seem to me to be insuperable.

(a) Nothing of this kind is said by the apostle, and this is not necessary to be supposed in order to a fair interpretation of the passage.

(b) The reference, as already observed, is clearly not to the apostles, but to the ordinary officers of the church - for such a reference would be naturally understood by the word presbyters; and to suppose that this refers to miracles, would be to suppose that this was a common endowment of the ordinary ministers of religion. But there was no promise of this, and there is no evidence that they possessed it. In regard to the extent of the promise, “they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover,” see the notes at Mar 16:17-18.

(c) If this referred to the power of working miracles, and if the promise was absolute, then death would not have occurred at all among the early disciples. It would have been easy to secure a restoration to health in any instance where a minister of religion was at hand,

II. It is supposed by the Roman Catholics to give sanction to the practice of “extreme unction,” and to prove that this was practiced in the primitive church. But the objections to this are still more obvious.

(a) It was not to be performed at death, or in the immediate prospect of death, but in sickness at any time. There is no hint that it was to be only when the patient was past all hope of recovery, or in view of the fact that he was to die. But “extreme unction,” from its very nature, is to be practiced only where the patient is past all hope of recovery.

(b) It was not with a view to his death, but to his living, that it was to be practiced at all. It was not that he might be prepared to die, but that he might be restored to health - “and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.” But “extreme unction” can be with no such reference, and no such hope. It is only with the expectation that the patient is about to die; and if there were any expectation that he would be raised up even by this ordinance, it could not be administered as “extreme unction.”

(c) The ordinance practiced as “extreme unction” is a rite wholly unauthorized in the Scriptures, unless it be by this passage. There are instances indeed of persons being embalmed after death. It was a fact also that the Saviour said of Mary, when she poured ointment on his body, that she “did it for his burial,” or with reference to his burial, (Notes, Mat 26:12) but the Saviour did not say that it was with reference to his death or was designed in any way to prepare him to die, nor is there any instance in the Bible in which such a rite is mentioned. The ceremony of extreme unction has its foundation in two things: first, in superstition, in the desire of something that shall operate as a charm, or that shall possess physical efficiency in calming the apprehensions of a troubled conscience, and in preparing the guilty to die; and, second, in the fact that it gives immense power to the priesthood. Nothing is better adapted to impart such power than a prevalent belief that a minister of religion holds in his hands the ability to alleviate the pangs of the dying, and to furnish a sure passport to a world of bliss. There is deep philosophy in that which has led to the belief of this doctrine - for the dying look around for consolation and support, and they grasp at anything which will promise ease to a troubled conscience, and the hope of heaven. The gospel has made arrangements to meet this state of mind in a better way - in the evidence which the guilty may have that by repentance and faith their sins are blotted out through the blood of the cross.

III. The remaining supposition, therefore, and, as it seems to me, the true one, is, that the anointing with oil was, in accordance with a common custom, regarded as medicinal, and that a blessing was to be invoked on this as a means of restoration to health. Besides what has been already said, the following suggestions may be made in addition:

This was, as we have seen, a common usage in the East, and is to this day. This interpretation meets all that is demanded to a fair understanding of what is said by the apostle. Everything thus directed is rational and proper.

It is proper to call in the ministers of religion in time of sickness, and to ask their counsels and their prayers. It is proper to make use of the ordinary means of restoration to health. It was proper then, as it is now, to do this “in the name of the Lord;” that is, believing that it is in accordance with his benevolent arrangements, and making use of means which he has appointed. And it was proper then, as it is now, having made use of those means, to implore the divine blessing on them, and to feel that their efficacy depends wholly on him. Thus used, there was ground of hope and of faith in regard to the recovery of the sufferer; and no one can show that in thousands of instances in the apostles” day, and since, the prayer of faith, accompanying the proper use of means, may not have raised up those who were on the borders of the grave, and who but for these means would have died.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And the prayer of faith; i.e. proceeding from faith; the cure is ascribed to prayer, the moral means, and standing ordinance, not to the anointing, which was but ceremonial and temporary; and to faith in prayer, to show that this remedy was effectual only when faith (requisite to the working of miracles) was active, viz. in a certain persuasion that the sick person should be healed.

Shall save the sick; restore to health, (if God see it fit, and the health of the body be good for the soul), Mar 10:52; Luk 7:50; 18:42.

And the Lord shall raise him up; the elders pray, but the Lord raiseth up, being prayed to in faith.

Raise him up; the same as saving before, only the word seems to respect the sick man’s lying upon his bed, from which he riseth when he is healed, Mar 1:31.

If he have committed sins; if he have by his sins procured his sickness; or, those sins for which particularly God visits him with sickness; sin being often the cause of sickness, Mat 9:2; Joh 5:14; 1Co 11:30, though not always, Joh 9:2.

They shall be forgiven him; God will take away the cause as well as the effect, heal the soul as well as the body, and prayer is the means of obtaining both.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. Prayer of faith—Prayer impregnated with and upborne by faith. No formal prayer, but such as is further described in Jas_5:16.

Shall—Will, a simple future.

Save—From temporal death.

Committed sins—By which the illness has been caused.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the prayer offered in faith shall save the sick - From his sickness; and if any sin be the occasion of his sickness, it shall be forgiven him.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Here our apostle shews the good effects of this anointing and praying; yet note, that he ascribes the sick man’s recovery, not to the oil, but to the prayer; the prayer of faith shall save the sick. The moral means is taken notice of before the ritual and ceremonial: the prayer of faith shall save the sick.

There was required to the miracle faith, both in the elder, and in the sick person, to save, that is, to recover the sick; yet mark, it is said, The Lord shall raise him up, to note, that the efficacy of faith lies in the object of faith; it is not faith properly, but God called upon in faith, that saveth the sick; the efficacy of faith is not from its own merit, but from God’s power and grace.

If he have committed sins: why, is there any question to be made of that? No; but if he has committed such sins as brought this sickness upon him, they shall be forgiven him, upon this prayer of faith; if any special or particular sin has drawn down this disease upon him, it shall be remitted, and the disease removed; where the sickness is by way of chastisement, the healing is a testimony of God’s forgiveness.

Learn hence, how absurd is the Popish sacrament of Extreme Unction: how can they gather a perpetual ordinance from an action that was extraordinary and miraculous, and long since ceased? Or apply a sacrament to dying persons, from a rite used upon persons who were not to die, but to be raised from sickness? Or how can they promise to him forgiveness of sins, to whom they cannot promise that recovery which was the token of it?

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. The prayer of faith. The prayer for the sick must be offered in faith to be effectual. If he have committed sins. Often our sickness is due to sins against our body. The Lord, who raises the sick in answer to prayer, will forgive these.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

15. εὐχὴ τῆς πίστεως. The prayer which is based upon faith, which proceeds from faith. Comp. Mat 21:22 καὶ πάντα ὅσα ἂν αἰτήσητε ἐν τῇ προσευχῇ πιστεύοντες λήμψεσθε.

σώσει τὸν κάμνοντα. κάμνειν here and Heb 12:3 only in the sense of being sick. σώσει, here in the sense of physical recovery as in Mat 9:22, Mar 5:23, and Joh 11:12. The difficulty that such means have not been and could not be always efficacious in the recovery of the sick is resolved by the consideration that prayer is always subject to the condition of deo volente. Such a prayer unanswered might well result in a higher σωτηρία than the recovery of bodily health.

ἐγερεῖ αὐτὸν ὁ κύριος. This also must refer to the raising from the bed of sickness—it is an expansion of σώσει. The unconditional promise is startling, but again ἐὰν ὁ κύριος θέλῃ is to be understood.

κἂν ἁμαρτίας ᾖ πεποιηκώς κ.τ.λ. The underlying thought here is that sin is the hindrance to recovery. For ἀφεθήσεται see Mat 16:19; Mat 18:18, and Joh 20:23 ἄν τινων ἀφῆτε τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἀφέωνται αὐτοῖς· ἄν τινων κράτητε κεκράτηνται.

For the analytic form ἦ πεποιηκώς see Winer III. xlv.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15.] And the prayer of faith (gen. subj.: the prayer which faith offers) shall save (clearly here, considering that the forgiveness of sins is separately stated afterwards, σώσει can only be used of corporeal healing, not of the salvation of the soul. This has not always been recognized. The R.-Cath. interpreters, who pervert the whole passage to the defence of the practice of extreme unction, take σώσει of the salvation of the soul. Thus Corn. a-Lapide: “Oratio fidei, id est, sacramentum et forma sacramentalis extremæ unctionis, salvabit infirmum, hoc est, conferet ei gratiam qua salvetur anima.” Some Commentators, as Lyra and Schneckenb., take both meanings. The Council of Trent prevaricates: “Ægroti animam alleviat et confirmat (unctio extrema), magnam in eo divinæ misericordiæ fiduciam excitando: qua infirmus sublevatus, et morbi incommoda ac labores levius fert, et tentationibus dæmonis calcaneo insidiantis facilius resistit: et sanitatem corporis interdum, ubi saluti animæ expedierit, consequitur”) the sick man (κάμνω, ægroto, is classical, even in its absolute use: cf. Soph. Phil. 262: Xen. Cyr. i. 6. 16), and the Lord (most probably Christ, again: He who is Lord in the Christian Church) shall raise him up (from his bed of sickness: see reff. Here again our R.-Cath. friends are in sad perplexity. The vulg. led the way with its “alleviabit.” The interpretations may be seen in Corn. a-Lap., Justiniani, Estius, al. Cf. the Council of Trent above. A curious contrast is furnished by the short comm. of Œc.: τοῦτο καὶ τοῦ κυρίου ἔτι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις συναναστρεφομένου οἱ ἀπόστολοι ἐποίουν, ἀλείφοντες τοὺς ἀσθενοῦντας ἐλαίῳ καὶ ἰώμενοι): even if (κἄν precedes a climax: see the sense below. So that the καί is not copulative, but the sentence is abruptly introduced) he have committed (he be in a state of having committed, i. e. abiding under the consequence of, some commission of sin; for so the perf. implies; and hereby the sin in question is presumed to have been the working cause of his present sickness. So Bede: “Multi propter peccata in anima facta, infirmitate vel etiam morte plectuntur corporis:” citing 1Co 11:30. On this necessary force of the perfect, see Winer, § 40. 4: and on the sense, cf. Mat 9:2, Mat 9:5 f.: Joh 5:14) sins, it shall be forgiven him (supply as a subject, τὸ πεποιηκέναι, from the foregoing).

Among all the daring perversions of Scripture by which the Church of Rome has defended her superstitions, there is none more patent than that of the present passage. Not without reason has the Council of Trent defended its misinterpretation with the anathema above cited: for indeed it needed that, and every other recommendation, to support it, and give it any kind of acceptance. The Apostle is treating of a matter totally distinct from the occasion, and the object, of extreme unction. He is enforcing the efficacy of the prayer of faith in afflictions, ver. 13. Of such efficacy, he adduces one special instance. In sickness, let the sick man inform the elders of the Church. Let them, representing the congregation of the faithful, pray over the sick man, accompanying that prayer with the symbolic and sacramental act of anointing with oil in the name of the Lord. Then, the prayer of faith (see Corn. a-Lap. above for the audacious interpretation) shall save (heal) the sick man, and the Lord shall bring him up out of his sickness; and even if it were occasioned by some sin, that sin shall be forgiven him. Such is the simple and undeniable sense of the Apostle, arguing for the efficacy of prayer: and such, as above seen, the perversion of that sense by the Church of Rome. Here, as in the rest of these cases, it is our comfort to know that there is a God of truth, whose judgment shall begin at His Church. Observe, the promises here made of recovery and forgiveness are unconditional, as in Mar 16:18 al.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. ἡ εὐχή. The prayer is the more important part of the process, but of course is not thought of as exclusively operative. Intercessory prayer was a familiar idea to Jews.

εὐχή is elsewhere in the N. T. used of a vow. In secular Greek, vow and prayer are in many cases not easily distinguished; εὐχή has there the meaning “wish” also. In the LXX it means “vow” in the vast majority of cases, but in Pro 15:8, Pro 15:29 has the sense of “prayer.” εὓχομαι is regularly used for “pray” as well as “vow.”

τῆς πίστεως, cf. 1:6.

σώσει, i. e. restore to health, cf. Mat 9:21f., Mar 6:56, Diod. Sic. i, 82 κἂν [οἰ ἰατροὶ] ἀδυνατήσωσι σῶσαι τὸν κάμνοντα.

Some interpreters, both Protestant scholars (as von Soden) and Catholic (as Trenkle), have given this the meaning “save to eternal life,” while others have tried to include both ideas. But the natural meaning of the word in this context is decisive (so, among Roman Catholics, Belser).

τὸν κάμνοντα, “the sick man,” cf. ἀσθενεῖ, v. 14.

κάμνειν is common in secular Greek in this sense, but is not found in LXX nor elsewhere than here in N. T. It is used, e. g. of gout and of disease of the eyes (κάμνειν τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς), and there is no reason whatever for taking τὸν κάμνοντα to mean “the dying” (von Soden).

ἐγερεῖ. The word means “raise from the bed of sickness to health,” and is a virtual repetition of σώσει; cf. 2Ki 4:31, Psa 41:10, Mar 1:31.

ἐγερεῖ cannot refer here either to the awakening of the dead to life or to the resurrection.

ὁ κύριος. If τοῦ κυρίου, v. 14, is genuine, and refers to Christ, ὁ κύριος may have the same meaning. It would be more natural that it should mean “God.”

κἄν, “and if,” cf. Mar 16:18, Luk 13:9, and many other passages quoted in Lex.. s. v. κἄν.

ἀμαρτίας, i. e. sins which have occasioned the sickness.

Sickness was generally held to be due to sin, cf. Mar 2:5 ff., Joh 9:2 f. Joh 9:5:14, 1Co 11:30, Deu 28:22, Deu 28:27, Psa_38, Isa 38:17, Ecclus. 18:19-21, Nedarim, fol. 41:1, “No sick person is cured of his disease until all his sins are forgiven him,” Test. XII Patr. Rub. 1:7, Sim. 2:12, Zab. 5:4, Gad 5:9 f.

ἀφεθήσεται, impersonal passive, cf. Mat 7:2, Mat 7:7, Rom 10:10, Blass-Debrunner, § 130, Gildersleeve, Syntax, § 176. This seems to refer not to general forgiveness but to the special sins in question.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The sick [τον καμνοντα] . Rev. gives, better, the participial force, him that is sick. The word originally means to work. Hence, "him that is laboring under disease."

And if he have committed sins [καν αμαρτιας η πεποιηκως] . The Greek gives a shade of meaning which can hardly be transferred neatly into English, representing not merely the fact that the man has sinned, but his condition as a sinner. Literally the words read, if he be having committed sins; i e., in a state of having committed, and under the moral or physical consequences of transgression.

They shall be forgiven [αφεθησεται] . Better, Rev., "it shall be forgiven," supplying the commission as a subject. The verb means to send forth or discharge, and is the standard New Testament word for forgiving. Forgiveness [αφεσις] is a putting or sending away of sins, with a consequent discharge of the sinner; thus differing from paresiv (Rom 3:25), which a passing by of sin, a pretermission as distinguished from a remission. See, farther, on Rom 3:25.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.