DAY 14 - Who is Jesus? - Anointed

Luke 2:11

'"For there is born to you this day in the City of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord."' (NKJV)

Lev 8:12

'And he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him, to consecrate him.' (NKJV)

Luke 4:18

'"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor."' (NKJV)

OK, here are a few word meanings before we start:

Christ (Messiah in Hebrew) - Anointed One

Consecrate - to make holy

Holy - Set apart (for a specific task), dedicated to God

Gospel - good news

 Anoint - run or smear with oil.

In the Old Tesatament, people were anointed, specifically priests and kings, and set apart for a specific purpose. Priests were the custodians of Temple worship, but more than that, they were the connection the ordinary people had with God himself. Priests and kings would often be anointed by a prophet.

In this passage from Luke 4, Jesus was quoting a passage from the prophet Isaiah (61:1,2) because he knew he'd been anointed for the task of bringing good news to the poor, healing to the brokenhearted, freedom to captives, sight to the blind, liberty to the oppressed and to proclaim that the time of the Lord's favour had come!

He also said, recorded in John's gospel, 20:21, "As the Father has sent me, so am I sending you." Then he 'breathed' on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." 

As believers, we have been spiritually anointed by the Holy Spirit so that Jesus' whole mission statement above applies to us, too. I often think of anointing with oil to be like a lubrication which makes joints turn smoothly and stops abrasion. Through faith, our anointing makes living like Jesus a smooth run.... if we're struggling under the burden of it we're missing the anointing, somehow. Sometimes keys won't turn in the lock without lubrication, so let's get lubricated!