Christ, the Anointed One
The Lord Jesus was Christ, the Anointed One.
(Of course, in His deity, He needed no anointing….but in His human nature, He is shown as anointed….by the fulness of the Holy Spirit,…without measure…for the work and life He took on, to save us.)
His anointing was spoken of several times:
“anoint” means to consecrate…or to furnish what is needed.
The anointing of Christ Jesus is stressed in Scripture. Over three hundred times Christ is used in the New Testament.
1 John 5:1 “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God….”
The Lord’s enemies were very conscious of the importance of this name…for they said:
John 9:22 “….that if any man did confess that He was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.”
Before Jesus came to earth…He was said to be anointed with the oil of gladness for the work He was to do. His love was toward the sons of men….wanting and waiting the day when He would come and bring salvation to us.
Psalm 45:7 “Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows.” (This is repeated in Hebrews 1:9)
We often think of Jesus as a sad individual….but though He walked upon this sin sick earth…among some of the worst diseases…and with continual signs of rejection and or misunderstanding…yet He was a joyful and glad person.
He knew His Father’s Will and it was His joy to speak of His Will. It was His pleasure to relieve the sick, and demon possessed. It was His delight to speak of the kingdom of God…and HIs righteous laws.
Jesus was anointed with gladness (cheerfulness, joy)…for the work…and we can be too. For joy is the Presence of God in my life. God’s Presence was with Him…and therefore He rejoiced (Luke 10:21).
(We, too, should have the joy of the Lord, for it is through the Holy Spirit that we have it Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,”)
When Jesus came to earth and was to begin His work of redemption, He was baptized by John, and anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power
Acts 10:37-38 “…after the baptism which John preached;
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: Who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.”
He was anointed in full measure with the Holy Ghost for the life ahead…..His capacity for this fullness was limitless….because He knew no sin.
Matthew 3:16 “And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him:”
He was anointed against trials and temptations ahead….to heal and disciple those that would come after Him.
He was anointed by the Holy Ghost….and so are we to be…”…that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” (Eph.3:19)…”…be not drunk with wine…but be filled with the Spirit;” (Eph. 5:18)
Jesus showed us that we need the Holy Spirit’s infilling, for our lives ahead…”to do good”.
Jesus was “anointed….to preach the gospel”:
Luke 4:18-19, 21 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
And He began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”
Jesus was anointed to preach….to preach the gospel, to preach deliverance and enlightening of the eyes, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord…or that the kingdom of God is at hand. (Matthew 4:17)
We think of the Sermon on the Mt. and what a wonderful message that was!….but He preached in many places…giving out the glad tidings.
Luke 8:1 “And it came to pass afterward, that He went thoughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with HIm,”
How this shows us God’s plan for getting His message out!
He preached….going about preaching God’s Word….and….the glad tidings of the kingdom of God!
And we, too, that are preachers should preach…
1 Corinthians 1:21-23 “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
But we preach Christ crucified,…”
Jesus was anointed with tears of repentance… and love.
Luke 7:37-38, 44-47 “And, behold, a woman…which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
And stood at his feet behind Him weeping, and began to wash His feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment.”
Repentance is a choice flower in the garden of God. And Jesus manifests this thought, in His acceptance of this anointing.
We think that it was the lesson to Simon, that was most important…and it was important…
….but this sinner….acknowledged sinner….in faith and repentance, came and anointed Jesus because she loved Him!
(Sadly we get to thinking that when we are shown our sin, it is a thing to dread.
Yes, this woman was grieved and weeping because of her sin, how awful it was…but she loved Jesus, because she believed Who He was….the Messiah…
…and she came so that He could give her what she sought….forgiveness.
But whether He did or not…she had already brought an alabaster box to pour out on Jesus, in faith and love. And she poured it out on His feet, for she felt unworthy to do anything else.)
Jesus said about this: “My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed My feet with ointment.
Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” (Luke 7:46-47)
She repented and loved much….so we are called to repent, and love Him. (Revelation 3:19)
Jesus was anointed for His burial…twice.
John 12:1-3 “Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was….
There they made Him a supper; and Martha served…
Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.”
Mary had sat at His feet to hear Him before, she had heard His voice call Lazarus back from death, and she now wanted to worship Him…with an anointing of great cost to her….on His feet, and wiped them with her hair….(our hair is the woman’s glory….and she was taking her glory…and giving it to Christ, as worship.)
This was six days before the passover…when Jesus was betrayed and taken.
Mary anoints Jesus feet…”against the day of My burying” Jesus says. (John 12:7)
Jesus was anointed again, at Bethany, at Simon the leper’s house…(recorded twice Mark 14:3, Matthew 26:2, 6-13)…two days before the Passover feast:
Mark 14:1, 3 “After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread:….
And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on His head.
This time Jesus was anointed on His head…this woman, unnamed, broke the alabaster box…and poured it out on Jesus head.
She did not save it for anything, or anyone else…..for the vessel it was in, was broken…so that none but He could be honored by it!
This, too, was for His burial.
Mark 14:8-9 “She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.”
I find it amazing the God saw to everything where Jesus was concerned! And He will do the same for us!
[It is interesting to note that when they came to the tomb to anoint Jesus with spices on resurrection morning (Mark 16:1)…..angels were at the place of His feet and head (John 20:12).
And Mary had anointed Jesus feet, and another woman anointed His head….they did it beforetime]
And although it is not said in the gospels….God anointed Jesus, for the persecution, beatings, and crucifixtion.
Acts 4:27-28 “For of a truth against Thy holy child Jesus, whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
For to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined before to be done.”
Whatever was in the Will of God for the Lord Jesus….God anointed Him for it.
Anoint means to consecrate, or furnish what is needed.
And God will do the same for us….
And now I will speak of our anointing, by the merits of Christ….through the Holy Spirit.
1 John 2:27 “But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him.”
This anointing is the Holy Spirit. He is the One that will teach us “all things”. And He is truth, and will show us the truth.
John 13:26 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
Do we need to know what the Word is saying? The Holy Spirit will enlighten us to what we need to know….and do.
And He is truth, and will show us the truth.
John 16:13 “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth:…”
He is discernment for us. By Him we know what is good and evil…..which is not always easy to see, in this world.
(We are told in Revelation 3:18 “…anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see…” It is by the Holy Spirit’s grace, that we “anoint” our eyes with honesty…honesty with God and with ourselves.)
This anointing of the Holy Spirit is “power”….power to speak for Christ.
Acts 1:8 “And ye shall recieve power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:….and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem….and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
And the Holy Spirit will establish us “in Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)….this is a wealth beyond measure for us. He certainly is in us, by the Holy Spirit….but we are also in Him. As He is, so are we before the Father!
And the Holy Spirit will strengthen us in the inner man…that we may know the love of Christ (Ephesians 3:16-19)….here is an anchor for our hearts and affections…to know the love of Christ…for me personally.
How that will keep us in days of trials, and times of success….for both are sent to help us grow.
Christ was anointed….and when He was raised and ascended back to Heaven….He sent His Holy Spirit that we, too, might be anointed and empowered.
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 