Anointing and Incarnation: Who Is Our Messiah?
Have you ever wondered why we call Jesus “Jesus Christ”? “Christ” wasn’t Jesus’ last name. He wasn’t the son of Mary and Joseph Christ! At that time last names weren’t used as we know them today, although we do know he was from the lineage of David and the tribe of Judah. Like “President” or “King,” “Christ” is a title. A title that carried quite a bit of weight in first-century Judea.
“Christ” is an English word. It has come to us across time and space and translation. Remember, the New Testament was written in Greek, but the spoken language in Judea was Aramaic, which was very close to Hebrew. The people of Israel were not chanting the name “Jesus Christ” when they wanted to make him king and overthrow the Romans. They were probably shouting: “Yeshua haMashiach.”
In a newsletter last year we broke down Jesus’ Hebrew name, Yeshua. This month we want to break down that next word: Mashiach. Mashiach is the Hebrew word “Messiah.” When Mashiach is translated into Greek, it is Christos, from which we derive our English word….you guessed it... “Christ.” Christ = Messiah. Mashiach comes from the ancient Hebrew root mashach which means “to smear, to anoint, especially with oil; i.e. to consecrate.” Messiah = “anointed one.”
An important note before we dive in: Although precious to Christians, the word “Christ” can sometimes sound harsh or offensive to Jewish ears. Centuries of tragic persecution at the hands of the “church” in the name of “Christ” have understandably sullied the name for Jewish people. When they hear “Christ,” they don’t think about the Messiah. They think about Crusades, Nazis, or even being called a “Christ killer.” Calling Jesus “Messiah” instead of “Christ” in conversation with your Jewish friends is a simple way to remove a stumbling block and build a bridge.
Messiah is Anointed
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Isaiah 61:1-3a
At the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, he stepped up to the bema (podium) in a Nazareth synagogue to read from the scriptures. He read those words from Isaiah 61, and then he made a statement that got everyone’s attention: “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). Jesus was communicating that he was the Messiah: this Anointed One spoken of by the prophet Isaiah. He went on to perform miracles, signs and wonders authenticating his identity.
What does it mean to be anointed? Anointing in scripture symbolized the presence and the blessing of God, and consecration to a sacred purpose. Oil was used to anoint objects for use in the Temple, and an anointing with oil on the head was given to appoint or to inaugurate someone to an office or calling. We see patterns in the scripture of lower-case “anointed ones” that God raised up and anointed with his Spirit for a purpose. Priests, prophets, and kings - all foreshadowing the ultimate Anointed One to come.
Messiah is Priest
God commanded Moses to consecrate Aaron and his sons for priestly service, anointing them with oil and setting them apart as holy to the Lord (Ex 28:41). The job of an Israelite priest was to be a mediator - an intercessor - between the people of Israel and God. They represented the people before God, performing sacrifices and offerings in the Temple on behalf of Israel for cleansing of sin, worship and thanksgiving. The writer of the book of Hebrews describes the priestly duties in detail, concluding that “both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience” (Heb 9:9). Then he identifies Jesus as the perfect, ultimate High Priest:
But when Christ [Messiah] appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle...and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption...For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant. Hebrews 9:11-12, 15
Not only is Jesus our great, anointed High Priest, but he is also the atoning sacrifice itself.
Messiah is Prophet
God commanded Elijah to anoint Elisha as a prophet to succeed him (1 Kings 19:16). The role of a prophet of Israel in the Hebrew scriptures was to speak to the people for God: messages of conviction and condemnation, comfort and consolation, and oracles telling the future. Prophets were empowered and protected by the Spirit of the Lord to perform their calling (1 Chron 16:22, Ps 105:15). Moses is a supreme example: the Israelites could not bear to hear the voice of God because of fear (Ex 20:19), so Moses heard from God on their behalf and gave them God’s commandments.
The latter part of the book of Isaiah speaks of a coming Messiah, an anointed prophet (“Servant of the Lord”), who would be greater than any before. Using language and imagery from the Exodus, he is pictured as a ‘second Moses’ leading his people Israel in a great deliverance (Is 40:1-3, 41:17-20, 43:1-3, etc). Isaiah chapter 53 reveals that before he will conquer and bring in the reign of God on the earth, this Messiah will be “despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief” (Is 53:3). “As a lamb to the slaughter” (53:7) he would take the punishment for the sins of his people, not to be recognized until much later. Centuries after the time of Isaiah, while baptizing at the Jordan River, the Prophet John recognized Jesus as this “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29).
Biblical prophets were many times rejected and even killed because of the hard words of conviction that they brought from the Lord. God told the weeping Prophet Jeremiah that the people would not listen or obey his words, but to speak to them anyway (Jer 7:27). When Jesus, the “Servant of the Lord,” approached the city of Jerusalem to celebrate Passover for a final time, he agonized: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling” (Matt 23:37). As the greatest Prophet of all time, our Messiah knew that he was soon going to meet the same fate.
Messiah is Shepherd-King
While David was still a young shepherd, God told the Prophet Samuel to anoint him king over Israel (1 Sam 16:3). From that day on, the Spirit of God rested powerfully upon David’s life. While he had his flaws, David was a man after God’s own heart. It was through his royal line that the Messiah would come. King David provided a foreshadowing picture of Jesus, our conquering Shepherd-King.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Ps. 23:5
Anointing the head with oil was an ancient custom of hospitality shown to honored guests (Luke 7:46). Olive oil was used for healing and dressing wounds (Luke 10:34). According to Philip Kessler in his book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, a good shepherd will apply an oil or ointment to the heads of his sheep to protect them from the torment of flies, gnats and infection. In Psalm 23, King David pictures the Lord as his shepherd, anointing his head with oil: soothing and protecting him from his enemies, and inviting him to dine at his table as an honored guest.
The Lord is our shepherd, revealing himself in our King Messiah, the Good Shepherd. Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep... My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand...” (John 10:11, 27-8)
Jesus spoke these words in the Temple in Jerusalem during the festival of Hanukkah, which we recently celebrated (Nov 28th-Dec 5th). Hanukkah, also known as the Feast of Dedication, is a festival celebrating God’s miraculous protection of the Jewish people from attempted annihilation by the Seleucid Greeks in the second century BC. It commemorates the cleansing and rededication of the Temple from desecration, and coincidentally, a legend about a miracle revolving around oil!
In the same breath, Jesus continues…
“...My Father, who has given [my sheep] to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:29-30)
Our Messiah is not just the ultimate priest, prophet and king. He is God. This mystery of the incarnation - God becoming flesh - is the greatest miracle of all.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God... He came to His own, and His own people did not accept Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name... And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1-2, 11-12, 14
May we all richly treasure and honor Jesus this Christmas...Or should we say... “Messiah”mas!