James fully expects the prayers of
the elders to bring about healing for sick members of the community (Jas.
5:14-16). Both the language used for the healing and the theological framework of
James 5 indicate that these healings are seen as eschatological works of
renewal. The prayer of faith will ‘save’ (σωσει) the sick
person and ‘the Lord [presumably Jesus, as in 5:7] will raise him up’ (εγερει αυτον ο κυριος). Taken alone, the words used
could simply indicate healing and restoration to normal life; taken together,
they have unmistakable overtones of ‘salvation’ and ‘resurrection’. The
temporal healing of individuals in the Church is a sign of the greater renewal
to come. The passage begins in verse 7 with unmistakable language concerning
Christ’s return, comparing the saints to a farmer patiently awaiting the ‘precious
fruit of the earth’ (τον τιμιον καρπον της γης). The imagery recurs during the discussion of the eschatological figure
par excellence, Elijah, whose three-and-a-half-year drought (Dan. 7; Rev. 12)
ends with the earth (η γη) giving forth its fruit (τον καρπον αυτης). The parallels to verse 7 are
obvious and put all that lies between in an eschatologically charged atmosphere.
(Sean M. McDonough, Christ as Creator: Origins of a New Testament Doctrine [Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2009], 44)
