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A denunciation of rich and hard-hearted landowners (1–6). General instructions to Christians in view of the nearness of the coming of the Lord (7-9). On long-suffering in the face of suffering (10–13). About anointing (14–15). Mutual confession and prayer (16–18). Conversion of the Lost (19–20). James 5:1. Listen, you rich people: weep and howl for your misfortunes that are coming upon you. From denouncing rich and arrogant merchants (James 4:13–16), the Apostle now moves on to denouncing rich, but merciless and cruel property owners and landowners for their oppression of poor neighbors and mercenaries. In tone and the very manner of expression, the formidable speech of the Apostle here closely resembles the formidable accusatory speeches of the Old Testament prophets. The rich people denounced here, as earlier in the letter (James 1:5, 9, 10, 27, 2:1 f., James 4:1 f.), probably belonged to the Christian society, and not to unbelieving Jews, although the latter, no doubt, were quite understandable and impressive in the denunciations of the Apostle, since the vices of hard-heartedness he denounced are contrary not only to Christian law love, but also the Mosaic Law with its compassionate care for the poor. The entire accusatory speech of the Apostle to the rich falls into two sections: James 5:1-3: the announcement of the punishment of God's wrath awaiting the rich, and James 5:4-6 - a description of the behavior of the rich, their crimes - as the basis or reason for the coming judgment of God. The rich are invited, Art. 1, to strong crying - “weep and wail” (κλαύσατε ολολύζοντες) - expressions used by the prophets when they proclaimed the horrors of God’s judgment (Isa. 8:6, 14:6, 15:3). The apostle “makes the rich weep, i.e. to cry greatly because they store up their wealth for incorruptibility and do not give it to the poor. For wealth does not perish only when it is spent on the poor” (Blessed Theophilus). We are not talking about the natural fate of all earthly wealth, as quickly perishing and corruptible by nature (James 1:10, 4:14), but about the fate that befalls the rich, as the judgment of God, as a deliberate punishment of God, precisely in view of the imminent coming of the Lord (below, James 5:7–9). The purpose of the apostolic call to mourning among the rich is not only to instill horror and awareness of the greatest disasters coming upon them (cf. Matt. 24:30), but also to encourage them to repent and improve their lives before it’s too late. James 5:2. Your wealth has rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. James 5:3. Your gold and silver are rusty, and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire: you have laid up for yourselves treasure for the last days. In relation to the main vice of the rich people exposed, their misfortunes are depicted under the image of the destruction of wealth and all kinds of material goods. “The rotting of wealth, he says, the eating of clothes by moths and the rusting of silver and gold will testify against you, convicting you of the fact that you did not give anything. Therefore, in the last days, i.e. at the coming of Christ, your wealth will appear as if by fire gathered for your destruction” (Blessed Theophilus). Like the ancient biblical prophets, the Apostle presents the future judgment of the rich and their property as having already happened (perfectum propheticum). After listing the individual types of property of the rich, along with the general name of wealth, the Apostle makes (v. 3) an expressive indication of the complete uselessness and extreme futility of accumulating wealth in view of the approach of the last days, i.e. the approach of the coming of Christ. James 5:4. Behold, the wages that you withheld from the workers who reaped your fields cry out, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. James 5:5. You have lived luxuriously on earth and enjoyed; nourish your hearts as for the day of slaughter. James 5:6. You condemned and killed the Righteous One; He didn't resist you. Having named above (James 5:1-3) the calamities of God's judgment awaiting the merciless rich, the Apostle now, in the same prophetically accusatory tone, shows the reason for the punishment coming upon them - in the moral transgressions and crimes they have committed. These crimes are as follows: the rich acquired their wealth through injustice and insults (v. 4), which is all the more criminal because they used their own wealth for a luxurious life (v. 5) and even to persecute the righteous in order to shed their blood (v. 6). The gravity of the first sin is beyond doubt: the rich withheld the wages of mercenaries, in particular the reapers, with whose hands and labors they acquired their wealth. The oppression of poor workers by withholding the wages they deserve is prohibited, as one of the grave crimes, already in the Law of Moses (Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:14) and was strictly, ardently denounced by the prophets (Am. 2:8; Jer. 22:13; Mal. 3:5; see Job 31:38; Tob. 4:14; Sir. 34:22). The crime and complete intolerance of the mentioned injustice towards the poor workers The Apostle shows, strongly expressing himself, that the withheld wages of the workers and the insults inflicted on them, like the blood of the world's first martyr Abel (Gen. 4:10), cry out to God, and that the groans and cries of the offended workers-reapers and others have already reached the ears of the omniscient Lord, called here by the Old Testament name, most often found among the prophets Hosts - God of the armies of heaven (Ps. 23:10), God of the heavenly lights and the hordes of Israel. In the LXX this name is often rendered Παντοκράτωρ, Almighty; Consequently, the idea of ​​omnipotence and omnipotence by the Greek translators of the Bible was considered the most important thing in the name of God Tsebaoot. By calling God by this name of hosts, the Apostle obviously expresses the idea that it will be easy for the Judge God to punish the rich who offend people so poor and who work under the scorching rays of the eastern sun, like reapers. In Art. 5, another sin of the rich is exposed: unrestrained luxury, extremely intemperate use of the blessings of life, which is especially criminal due to the lawless origin of the funds of the rich, who obtained them with the sweat and blood of their neighbors. Here a menacing foreshadowing of the fatal end of the violent rich is also given: they led an almost animal way of life, and their death is represented by the image of the slaughter of well-fed animals. In Art. 6 talks about the third and most terrible sin of the rich - their persecution of the righteous to the point of blood and death, regardless of his innocence and meekness. By the righteous (τόν δίκαιον) some (Icumenius, Blessed Theophilus, Lange) meant the Lord Jesus Christ and his unrighteous condemnation to death and murder by the Jews. But this understanding is not acceptable: the condemnation and murder of the Lord was not committed by the Jews of the Dispersion, to whom (actually to the Christians from the Jews of the Dispersion) the Epistle of the Apostle was written. James (James 1:1), but by the Palestinian Jews, and not only the rich ones, to whom the words of Art. 6th, and also to the poor, in a word, to all the Jewish people in Palestine; the present tense of the verb “does not resist” (ούκ αντιτάσσεται) is by no means applicable to the single past historical event of the condemnation and death of the Lord. Undoubtedly, here “righteous” stands in the collective sense (as below in James 5:16) - righteous people suffering unjust persecution. The blessed one rightly notes. Theophylact: “by adding “does not resist you,” the Apostle generalizes his speech, extending it to others who suffered similar things from the Jews, and, perhaps, speaks prophetically about his own suffering.” The persecution and murder of the righteous because of their righteousness, which is hated by those who persecute them, is a striking sign of the moral corruption of the latter (cf. Wisdom 2:12–20). Such a blatant crime cannot remain without the gravest punishment of God's judgment in the last days; The apostle, due to the fragmentary nature of his speech, does not directly express this thought about the punishment awaiting the criminal rich, but, without a doubt, implies this, moving on to exhortations, James 5: 7-9, with a clearly expressed expectation of the coming of the Lord. James 5:7. Therefore, brethren, be patient until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and for it he endures for a long time until he receives the early and late rain. James 5:8. Be patient and strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is drawing near. James 5:9. Do not complain, brothers, against each other, so as not to be condemned: behold, the Judge is standing at the door. Turning now to the poor and humble brothers, the Apostle teaches them mainly patience, since this virtue was most needed in their oppressed state. “Having condemned the luxury of the Jewish leaders and their cruelty towards the poor, the Apostle turns his speech to the faithful and says: “Brothers! do not be tempted at the sight of this, as if there will be no vengeance” (Blessed Theophilus). The main incentive for patience the Apostle indicates the nearness of the coming of the Lord: in v. 7 he says: “Be patient until the coming of the Lord” (έως τής παρουσίας τοΰ Κυριόυ), and the usefulness and fruitfulness of such patience is shown by comparing Christian patience with the farmer’s patient expectation of the fruits of his labors and, above all, favorable conditions: early rain ( πρώιμον, Heb. sea), i.e. autumn, and the latter rain (ὄψιμον, Heb. mavkosh), i.e. spring (the main seasons in Palestine for winter and other grains) (cf. Deut. 11:14; Jer. 5:24; Joel. 2:23); in Art. 8, repeating the admonition of patience and advising them to gain strength in patience (see 1 Pet. 5:10); finally, in Art. 9, exhorting Christians to avoid complaining against each other in order to avoid condemnation (cf. Matt. 7:1), again as an incentive to fulfill his instructions, he points to the nearness of the coming of the Lord: “behold, the Judge stands at the door” (ιδού ό κριτής πρό τών θυρών έστηκεν ). The coming of the Lord, from which Christians must draw moral strength for patience and virtue in general, - according to the usual use in the books of the New Testament of the expression παρουσία Κυρίου - undoubtedly means the second glorious coming of Christ, when the general terrible judgment will follow, with which the kingdom of grace will end and the kingdom of glory will begin (see. Matthew 24:1ff.) and on which all people will receive righteous reward for their deeds (Matthew 25:1ff.). The Apostles, in their moral instructions to Christians, often express the idea of ​​the proximity of the second coming of Christ and the end of the age: Apostle. Jacob in the place in question, Ap. Peter in both of his epistles (1 Pet. 4:7; 2 Pet. 3:4, 9–10), Ap. John the Theologian (1 John 2:18, 28), Apostle. Paul (1 Cor. 7:29, 10:11; 1 Thess. 4:1, etc.). The question is: in what sense do the Apostles talk about the proximity of the second coming of their time, when from the words of the Lord they knew about the complete unknown of the day of the coming of Christ (Matthew 24:36), and when the almost two-thousand-year existence of the Church of Christ actually testifies against the real proximity of the day of the second coming to the apostolic one? This can be partly understood from the psychology of faith - from the highest tension of faith of the Apostles and leading Christians in general: for a true and deeply believer, the coming of the Lord cannot be far away; faith in general contemplates times in the spirit of the Lord, and before it, like with the Lord, thousands of years are like one day (2 Pet. 3:8). But mainly the perplexity under consideration is explained from the point of view of the history of the economy of human salvation and the division of the life of the world, determined by the redemptive work of Christ, into two main eras, pre-Christian and Christian, Old Testament and New Testament. This latter is sometimes taken from the Old Testament prophets as a whole, without separating individual historical moments in it. Thus, for example, the prophets, speaking about the coming of the Messiah and His gracious kingdom, used the expression: “in the last days” (aharitiyamim Isa. 2:2, 4, etc.), and within the scope of this concept they included such events that (as a change in the entire world order and all creations to perfection Isa. 11) did not take place in the first and subsequent times of the gracious Kingdom of Christ, but only have a sequence in the general restoration of creation - at the opening of the kingdom of glory; therefore, one expression embraced the entire period of the Kingdom of Christ from its beginning to its end. In the same way, the Lord and His apostles spoke of the entire continuation of the Kingdom of Christ as the last dispensation of human salvation. Thus, Christ the Savior spoke about the coming of the time or hour of the resurrection of the dead (John 5:21, 25), and the Apostle John spoke about the coming of the last time (εσκάτη ώρα, 1 John 2:18). Now the eschatological idea of ​​the nearness of the second coming of Christ, as the end of the last period of house-building, after which the kingdom of glory will open, is quite understandable. “This closeness of the second coming of Christ to the first must be measured not by the temporal distance of these two events, but in the sense that it must be understood that with the first coming of Christ the last era of the real life of the world has come, when on God’s part everything has already been done for the world, and there are no longer any obstacles to the opening of the new glorious Kingdom of Christ. This era may be long in time, but in terms of the moral connection of events it is the last, and now its duration depends solely on the will of God; The coming of Christ is close in the internal moral connection of His second coming with the first; these are the last days, the last era of the world. But exactly when it will follow is not determined by this expression about proximity” (Bishop Michael). And the Lord Himself, as is known, revealed to the apostles only some signs of the approach of this time (Matthew 24). James 5:10. As an example of suffering and long-suffering, take, my brothers, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. James 5:11. Behold, we bring joy to those who have endured. You have heard about Job’s patience and seen the end of it from the Lord, for the Lord is very merciful and compassionate. Continuing to teach Christians to bear suffering without complaint and patiently, the Apostle, to reinforce his instructions, refers to the example of the Old Testament prophets, who resignedly endured great suffering for the truth of the word of God they preached. Next to the prophets, the Apostle names (v. 11) the righteous Job as a great example of patience with suffering, in whose history he simultaneously notes the favorable end of the suffering of the righteous man, blessed by God for his patience with great benefits. The story of Job, which the Apostle presents as well known to his readers, is thus especially edifying in two respects for suffering Christians; both by Job’s exceptional patience and by his final justification by the Lord. Τό τέλος Κυρίου is not the death and glorification of the Lord, as some interpreters thought (Blessed Augustine, Lange), but namely, the reward given by the Lord for Job’s patience. With the expression “you have heard about the patience of Job,” the Apostle perhaps alludes to the synagogue readings from the book of Job, which introduced the Jews to the great feat of patience of this righteous man. Place Jacob. 5:11 is very important as evidence of the historical existence of Job. At the end of Art. 11 The apostle to the history of glorification makes the remark: “for the Lord is very merciful and compassionate,” which should fill readers with hope that their patience with sorrows, by the mercy of the Lord, will be rewarded. James 5:12. First of all, my brethren, do not swear by heaven or earth, or by any other oath, but let there be “yes, yes” and “no, no,” so that you do not fall into condemnation. James 5:13. If any of you suffers, let him pray. If anyone is happy, let him sing psalms. Without any visible connection with the previous one, the Apostle warns Christians against the excessive use of oaths. It is known that the Jews around the time of Jesus Christ swore extremely often and in very diverse forms. The Lord Savior condemned these Jewish oaths and indicated to His followers the simple assurance of truth or the denial of untruth as an oath (Matthew 5:33–37). The apostle sets out the prohibition of the abuse of oaths and the instructions for the normal use of oaths almost in the words of the Lord, and, like the Lord, he does not abolish the oath in general, but only its unworthy use, motivating his instruction with the words “so that you do not fall under condemnation,” υπό κρίσιν.” Condemnation of someone who swears frivolously is very easy and possible. According to the accepted reading: είς υπόκρισιν, glory. in hypocrisy, the idea is given about the inevitability of hypocrisy with the frivolous use of an oath. “He calls hypocrisy either the condemnation that befalls those who mercilessly swear and, from the habit of swearing, reach the point of crime, or hypocrisy itself, which is different and seems different” (Blessed Theophilus). In Art. 13 The Apostle gives general instructions so that a Christian in joy and sorrow remembers the Lord, so that he resolves his sorrowful and joyful feelings through prayer and psalmody. “Let suffering be accompanied by prayer, so that the way out of temptation will be easier for the tempted one. Then, when our worries cease through prayer and the soul reaches its characteristic state, then let us wait for its bliss to increase” (Blessed Theophilus). James 5:14. Is any of you 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. James 5:15. And the prayer of faith will heal the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they will forgive him. The Apostle now gives instructions to the entire community of believers, the entire Church, in case of illness, more or less severe (as shown by the expressions: ασθενεί and κάμνοντα), one of the members. In this case, the sick person, by freely expressed desire or request, must invite the elders of the Church, not just elders or elders, but persons of special hierarchical powers and grace-filled gifts through ordination (see Acts. 14:23; 1 Sol. 5:12; Heb. 13:17), which should be performed over the sick with prayer and anointing in the name of the Lord, and the Apostle also indicates the various grace-filled actions of the “prayer of faith” (v. 15): this “prayer of faith” (ή ευχή τής). πίστεως) will save the “sick” (σώζει τον κάμντα), and the Lord will raise (glorified “raise up”, Greek εγερεί) his Lord, and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven (ἀφεθήσεται) to him... Western exegesis, when analyzing and explaining these words of the Apostle, strives to prove that there is no talk of the sacrament of anointing, but rather the usual and widespread anointing of the sick with oil in Judaism, performed by rabbis and elders, and some rabbis combined the art of a doctor with their jurisprudence. Indeed, from the outside, anointing, like baptism, does not represent anything new in Christianity. The popularity and prevalence of anointing in Judaism is evidenced by the Bible (Is. 1:6; Luke 10:34), and the Jewish tradition - Josephus (War of Judas I:33, 5, etc.), and the Talmud. In Judaism, anointing with oil was used for a wide variety of diseases, external and internal - both because of the refreshing and softening effect of oil on the skin and body, and partly due to the belief of the Jews that in paradise oil flowed from the tree of life, which was supposed to provide people with immortality. However, considered from the inside, Christian anointing is a completely new action, unknown to Judaism, it is a real sacrament, and, however, the Apostle James does not establish the sacrament again, but only advises Christians to use it at the right time. Signs of the mysterious, grace-filled properties of the action of anointing are the following, indicated by the Apostle, features: a) the performance of anointing not by ordinary Christians, but by deliberate church elders; b) “prayer of faith” over the sick person, namely, “in his presence, and not in absentia, as one can pray for anyone” (Bp. Michael); c) anointing the sick person with oil in the name of the Lord, which clearly shows that the healing effect of the oil itself is not meant here; finally, d) the healing effect is attributed not to oil, but to the prayer of faith, while oil is an external means or conductor of a higher power that heals the soul and body of the sick; This gracious effect of the sacrament is expressed here, firstly, by the general concept of salvation (mental and physical), secondly, in particular, by the bodily healing of the sick person (“the Lord will raise him” - unconditional, absolute speech instead of conditional) and, thirdly, the resolution of sins, i.e. healing even the mental infirmities of the sick. From what has been said, it is clear that, among other church sacraments, the sacrament of anointing has that peculiarity, that specific character that it brings to the person upon whom it is performed, along with spiritual and physical healing. Therefore, the view of the Catholic Church on the sacrament of anointing as extrema unctio (last anointing), sacramentum exeuntium (sacrament of the dying) is incorrect. The basis of this view is the opinion that the Apostle James does not speak about the physical recovery of the sick person, as if σώζειν means only spiritual salvation through the outpouring of grace, “εγείρειν, perhaps, indicates the strengthening and encouragement of the spirit of the sick person during the soul’s struggle with death. But the incorrectness of this understanding is obvious even when comparing the words of Ap. James with the testimony of the Evangelist Mark (Mark 6:13) about the healing effect of anointing in the hands of the apostles. Equally, there is no doubt that Ch. σώζει ν in the Bible more than once means bodily healing (Ps. 6:5, 7:2, 21:22); especially ch. εγείρειν quite often means raising a sick person from his sick bed, recovery (Matthew 8:15, 9:5). It is also a mistake to see with Catholics an indication of the mortal condition of the sick person, over whom the Apostle commands to perform the sacrament of anointing, in ch. ασθενίν, which in reality only indicates the severity of the disease, but not its mortality (Matthew 10:8; Luke 4:10), and in ch. κάμνειν, which has a similar meaning (Heb. 12:3). Therefore, rightly, St. denounces the Latins. Simeon, bishop Thessalonica: “The Latins say that the blessing of oil should not be performed on the sick, but only on the dying. Oh madness! The brother of God says: the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up, but they say that he will die... The Holy Scripture says: “I applied oil to many sick people and healed them” (Mark 6:13), and they say that it should be taught not so that the sick are healed, but so that they remain unhealed and die” (Bishop George). James 5:16. Confess your faults to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed: the fervent prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. James 5:17. Elijah was a man like us, and he prayed with prayer that there would be no rain: and there was no rain on the earth for three years and six months. James 5:18. And he prayed again: and the sky gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit. After speaking about the sacrament of anointing, which serves mainly for the healing of bodily ailments, the Apostle gives a remedy against ailments of the spirit - various sinful falls (παραπτώματα), namely: he explains the need for mutual prayer of Christians for each other, as a faithful and universal means of spiritual healing. “But such prayer presupposes the mutual confession of their sins by believers, for we need to know what our brother is guilty of, what lies on his conscience, so that our prayer for him will be successful” (Prof. Archpriest D.I. Bogdashevsky). Hence the admonition of St. Apostle: “Confess to one another (εξομολογείσθε αλλήλοις) your sins...” Contrary to the opinion of some ancient and new interpreters, there is no talk here of the sacrament of repentance or confession; The Apostle speaks only of the simple mutual recognition of Christians before other believers in their misdeeds, for the purpose of mutual reconciliation, consolation, relief, advice, mainly in order to enable Christians to pray for a brother who has sinned. Of course, confession before the elders, invested by the Lord with the power of forgiveness of sins, is not excluded here (Matthew 18:18; John 20:23). But most of all, the Apostle speaks not about the sacrament of repentance, but about Christian mutual communication, which is so invariably required in the life of the Church, as a single body, a single organism. Next to the mutual confession of Christians, the Apostle immediately places the mutual prayer of Christians for each other: “and pray for each other, that you may be healed” (ιαθήτε), i.e. spiritually heal from spiritual infirmities - sins that have support in sensual lusts (see James 4: 1–2). As an incentive to Christian mutual assistance in the form of prayer, the Apostle points to the great power of the prayer of a righteous person: “the prayer of a righteous person can greatly benefit” (ενεργουμένη). “The prayer of a righteous man has great power when the one for whom he is praying contributes to his prayer with spiritual sorrow. For if, when others are praying for us, we spend time in luxury, bliss and intemperance, then through this we weaken the power of the prayer of the one who strives for us” (Blessed Theophilus). However, the expression ενεργουμένη can be conveyed without any conventional connotation, for example, like this: “the prayer of the righteous has a powerful effect.” As an example of how much the prayer of the righteous can do, the Apostle cites the double prayer of the prophet Elijah - first for drought (v. 17, see 1 Kings 17:1), and then for rain (v. 18, see 1 Kings 18:42), and in both cases the prophet’s prayer was exactly fulfilled by God. In order to ensure that the example of the great prophet (see Sir. 48:1–15) is not considered unsuitable for ordinary people, the Apostle, at the very mention of the name of the great Elijah, calls him similar, similar to the passionate ones, ομοιοπαθής ημϊν, i.e. a man of the same limited nature as all mortals (cf. Acts 14:15; Wis. 7:1). James 5:19. Brethren! If any of you wanders from the truth, and someone converts him, James 5:20. let him know that he who converts a sinner from his false path will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. At the conclusion of his message, the Apostle - with a loving appeal - “brothers” - points to the greatest task of helping Christians to a brother who has departed from the Christian truth, the truth of faith, thought and life. Wanting to encourage Christians to such activity, required by the idea of ​​​​the organic connection of all members of the Church, the Apostle speaks of the exceptional importance of such a feat: “let him know that he who converts a sinner from his false path will save the soul from death and cover a multitude of sins” (v. 20). To whom does this last promise apply, to the converted sinner or to the convert who receives the great reward of his high work? In the first case, the meaning is that “the matter of converting a sinner is great because here, firstly, the sinner’s soul is saved from death, which, of course, means eternal death in the spiritual sense and, secondly, the basis for such salvation is given - a multitude of sins are covered” (Bishop George). Accepting this explanation (shared by Prof. Archpriest D.I. Bogdashevsky, even earlier Bishop. Mikhail and others), we, however, believe that the idea of ​​​​a reward for the convert himself is not excluded here. In a similar expression to the one in question by the Apostle Peter (1 Pet. 4:8): “love covers a multitude of sins,” as explained by the blessed one. Theophylact, the idea is that “mercy towards one’s neighbor makes God merciful to us” (see Matthew 6:14–15). The Apostle ends his message, full of high theology and holy moral teaching, with an exhortation to the most important feat of Christian love. You might be interested in: