And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit
to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding
country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. And he came
to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to
the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of
the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place
where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has
anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim
liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty
those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:14-19 ESV).
Have you ever spilled olive oil or some other kind of oil? Oil can be messy to work with and hard to clean up. Our experience with that may make it hard to grasp the biblical beauty of being “anointed” with oil. In the Old Testament, people who were anointed with oil were set apart for special service to God for his people. When the Israelites anointed someone, they took olive oil and blended it with expensive spices (cf. Exodus 30:22-25). Then they rubbed, smeared, or poured the concoction on the head of the person being appointed. Priests and prophets were anointed with this oil. Kings were anointed with it as well.
The most important anointing in the
Bible doesn’t involve oil, however. When Jesus returned to his hometown
synagogue, he opened God’s Word and declared that he had been anointed with the
Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God himself anointed Jesus to proclaim the good news
of salvation.
As we confess with the Apostles’ Creed,
God anointed his Son, the long-expected Messiah, “the Anointed One,” the
Christ, to be our Prophet, Priest, and King. With his word, he guides us. With
his sacrifice, he redeems us. And as our King, he guides and protects us.
Jesus was anointed for us. And he
anoints us with his Spirit to serve him in this world.
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