Because the church of God has always been small and scattered, with few ministers serving widely separated congregations, apostles like Paul conceived of anointing the sick from a distance, a practice recorded in Acts 19:11-12. An elder prays in Jesus Christ's name for the ill person's healing and anoints a small square of cloth with olive oil. He sends it by mail with a letter of explanation and instruction. The sick person then prays in faith to God for healing and places the cloth on his or her forehead, and God does the rest according to His will for that individual. No superstition or magic is involved, for the power lies not in the cloth, the oil, or even the prayer. The oil symbolizes God's Holy Spirit and His power to effect His will. The practice rests on faith in God, who promises, "I am the LORD who heals you" (Exodus 15:26), forgives iniquities and heals diseases (Psalm 103:3), and heals by Christ's stripes (Isaiah 53:5). Jesus commanded His disciples to heal the sick and promised to do whatever is asked in His name. Personal anointing by an elder is always preferred, but when none is available, the anointed cloth is an expedient way to follow James 5. It shows God a fervent desire both for healing and to do what He has commanded. God has honored this practice thousands of times over several decades.

Anointing with oil by the elders is God's provision for the sick, based on James 5:13-16: when suffering, first pray directly to God, and when illness leaves a person weak and feeble, call on the elders, who pray over the sick and anoint with oil in the Lord's name. Scripture sets no fixed rule for when, so wisdom decides: a passing illness that the body's God-given defenses will clear needs no anointing, but an illness beyond the body's ability to recover calls for it, and a person need not be dying to ask. Which elder performs it does not matter, since elders are tools and God heals. Neither the oil nor the anointed cloth (Acts 19:11-12), sent to those who cannot be reached, holds any power. Anointing expresses faith and acknowledges human weakness and God's sovereignty. In Scripture, the Hebrew mashach covers practical uses such as hygiene, wound care, and hospitality, but its deeper meaning is consecration. Priests, the tabernacle and its furnishings, prophets, and kings were anointed and set apart as holy. Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One, set apart by the Father to be Savior, and He sent His disciples to anoint the sick (Mark 6:12). The anointed sick person is likewise set apart in God's eyes. Anointing does not guarantee healing. Healing is by God's will, and lack of healing does not mean lack of faith, as Paul's unhealed infirmity shows (II Corinthians 12:8-10). God's grace is sufficient, and trials build character. The believer's duty is to trust God whether or not healing comes, remembering that Christ's stripes make healing possible (Isaiah 53).

The Hebrew word mashiah, "messiah" in English and christos in Greek, simply means "anointed" or "anointed one," and its reach is far broader than the exclusive use for Jesus Christ suggests. The Old Testament applies it, and its verb mashah, to kings (David, Saul, even Gentile kings like Hazael), to priests including the high priest, and to prophets. These people were normally anointed with oil in a ritual marking them as set apart for the office they were about to fill. At its most basic, then, an anointed one is a person God authorizes and sets apart for His service. The roles vary, and some anointed ones filled more than one. David was both king and prophet, and Samuel and Jeremiah were priests and prophets. Jesus Christ alone fulfills the roles of king, priest, prophet, and Apostle. The primary function of an anointed one is deliverance. Jesus made this plain when He recited Isaiah 61:1-3 at the start of His ministry: the Lord anointed Him to proclaim good tidings, liberty to captives, and comfort to mourners. He fulfilled the first part of this in His first coming and will fulfill the rest at His return. This breadth explains why God, in Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1, can call the pagan Persian king Cyrus His anointed. God set him apart, held his right hand, and used him to deliver the exiles, return them to their land, and see the Temple and Jerusalem rebuilt, even though Cyrus did not know Him.

In the context of God's commands for light within the Tabernacle, anointing oil holds a distinct significance. As recorded in I Samuel 16:13, when David was anointed with a flask of oil, the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, illustrating a connection between anointing and the divine presence. Furthermore, in Exodus 30:22-24, the Lord spoke to Moses, instructing him to take quality spices—five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, two hundred fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cinnamon, two hundred fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane, five hundred shekels of cassia, and a hin of olive oil—for anointing oil. Unlike the oil for the Tabernacle lamp, there is no specific requirement for the purity of the olive oil in this recipe, with the emphasis placed more on the quality of the spices. Additionally, the source of this olive oil is not specified as a responsibility of the children of Israel, contrasting with the command for the lamp oil. This suggests a potential difference in symbolism between the anointing oil and the oil used for light in the Tabernacle.

At the Feast of Tabernacles, over fifty people required anointing for sicknesses, a situation attributed largely to the neglect of God's quarantine laws. Many attendees, suffering from infectious illness, nonetheless attended services and spread their conditions to others, when instead they should have remained away from the congregation and called for an elder to anoint them. Anointing is presented as the proper, God-ordained response for the sick, carrying no shame, disgrace, or dishonor. Rather than staggering into services while contagious and endangering the health of fellow worshippers, the sick are instructed to stay home and request anointing, since this reflects obedience to God's health laws and genuine love for one's neighbor. This principle connects directly to the broader discussion of quarantine found in Leviticus 13 and Numbers 5, where God established clear separation of the physically afflicted from the camp of Israel to prevent the spread of disease. Just as the priest in ancient Israel served as both spiritual and civil authority—examining, diagnosing, and overseeing the isolation of the sick—so in the present era, calling for an elder to anoint the sick fulfills a parallel role of care, discernment, and spiritual authority. The anointing, therefore, stands as the appropriate alternative to attending services while ill, allowing the sick to receive help and healing without exposing others to infection. This practice is tied to the larger theme of love and self-sacrifice within the community. Just as quarantine requires setting aside personal convenience for the well-being of others, seeking anointing instead of attending services demonstrates humility and consideration for the health of the brethren. It is framed as a way of "giving" rightly—offering a healthful environment to others rather than spreading illness—and thus becomes an expression of the command to love one's neighbor as oneself. Ultimately, the call for anointing when sick is woven into a broader call for God's people to model cleanliness, order, and love within the community, both physically and spiritually. Just as physical quarantine protects the body from contagious disease, so too must believers guard against the spiritual "infection" of false doctrine and heresy, avoiding fellowship with those who spread divisive or corrupting teachings. In both cases—physical sickness and spiritual corruption—the faithful response is separation for the sake of purity and protection, with anointing serving as the compassionate and obedient alternative for those who are physically unwell, ensuring that care is given without compromising the health and holiness of the congregation.