I assume the question is referring to the use of “anointing oil” throughout the Bible which may SEEM to imply that anointing oil had some inherent value that made one HOLY or HEALTHY. I don’t believe this is the case at all, for in each mention of anointing oil in Scripture it is used simply as a SYMBOL of holiness or healing.

For example, in Exodus 40:9-11 God told Moses, “And you shall take the anointing oil, and ANOINT THE TABERNACLE and all that is in it; and you shall hallow it and all its utensils, and IT SHALL BE HOLY. You shall ANOINT THE ALTAR of the burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar. The ALTAR SHALL BE MOST HOLY. And you shall ANOINT THE LAVER AND ITS BASE and consecrate it” (NKJV). In each case the anointing oil was marking them out as being “set apart to God” which is what the word “holy” means. The same could be said of the anointing oil in Leviticus 8:30: “Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him; and he CONSECRATED Aaron, his garments, his sons, and the garments of his sons with him.” This “consecration ceremony” resulted in Aaron, his sons, and their garments being “set apart to God” for His use in the tabernacle and the oil was used SYMBOLICALLY to show this.

In the New Testament, anointing oil was used SYMBOLICALLY in physical healing. In Mark 6:13 we read, “And they cast out many demons, and ANOINTED WITH OIL many who were sick, and healed them.” We saw in the Old Testament references that oil was used symbolically to “mark Aaron and his sons out as being set apart to God”; here the oil was used to “mark the sick out as those who would be blessed with healing.” One may be thinking, “How do we know the oil didn’t have healing properties in it?” Because it was Jesus who had given them (His disciples) the power to heal as is borne out in Matthew 10:1, “And when He (Jesus) called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.” Notice, there is no mention of “anointing them with oil” here, for the power was not in the oil. Others may point to James 5:14 in support of using oil to heal: “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, ANOINTING HIM WITH OIL in the name of the Lord.” This may SEEM to imply that oil had the power to heal, but before mentioning oil we read that the elders were to “pray over him.” It was the “prayer of faith” that would move the heart of the Lord to heal them, as we see in verse 15, “And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.” So once again oil was used to “mark them out as those who would be blessed with divine healing.”

I trust we have seen that oil, in and of itself, has no power to make one HOLY or HEALTHY. In light of that truth I see no reason why one would want to “sell anointing oil.” Having said that, one would be justified in asking, “Should Christians use oil today along with prayer for healing, as we see in James 5:14-15?” I see no problem whatsoever with elders being called to the bedside of the sick with oil in hand and faith in their hearts. But we must emphasize that “the prayer of faith will save the sick.” Elders that are called to the private home of the sick must be godly men who believe in the power of prayer and that prayer moves the heart of God to heal. Ultimately, it is THE LORD WHO HEALS THE SICK and NOT THE OIL!  (393.5)  (DO)