Scriptures: Isaiah 11, 61, Zechariah 4, Acts 10:38, 2 Corinthians 5:20
Christ is not the last name of Jesus Christ, it is the Greek word for “Anointed One,” which in Hebrew is Messiah. So when we say Jesus Christ, we’re talking about Jesus, the Anointed One, the Messiah of the Jews. To be anointed is to have olive oil poured out or smeared on your head. In the Old Testament, the priests and temple objects were anointed with oil, as were kings. Being anointed with oil symbolized being chosen by God and set apart for a specific assignment. Oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit who is needed to accomplish the task for which a person has been anointed.
“So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David” (1 Samuel 16:13). Jesus was not anointed with oil by a prophet, like David was. Oil is symbolic of the anointing of the Holy Spirit who descended upon Jesus as a dove when he was baptized (Matthew 3:16). Jesus then began his earthly ministry as the Anointed One by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Peter describes Jesus’ anointing in Acts 10:38. “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” The anointing of the Holy Spirit gave Jesus the power to do miracles and overcome the devil. It equips us with God’s presence and power to be witnesses to Jesus and do the same works he did. What was Jesus anointed to do?
In his hometown of Nazareth Jesus opened the scroll to Isaiah 61 and announced that he was the fulfillment of this prophecy: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19). Jesus freed the demonically oppressed, proclaimed the good news of his coming kingdom to the poor in spirit, declared freedom from the prison of death, and opened spiritually blind eyes through his teaching.
When Jesus read the scroll of Isaiah, he stopped in the middle of a sentence. Isaiah 61:19 says the Anointed One will, “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God.” Jesus’ ministry is divided, as we saw in the revelation of the Branch. He first comes as High Priest to mediate the new covenant of peace between God and mankind. This is why the angelic host who appeared at Jesus’ birth said, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” During this time of favor inaugurated by the Anointed One, God wants all humanity to hear the good news of salvation so they can enter into his kingdom when Jesus comes. When Jesus returns, it will be as King over the earth who removes all wickedness and those who oppose him.
The day of vengeance is coming as announced by the Old Testament prophets and the apostles, but before that day, it is God’s will for all to be saved. While the Jews expected Messiah to show up and wipe out their enemies, avenging them for all the persecution they’ve endured, God chose to first send the Messiah leading a peace delegation rather than an army. When Jesus returns it will be the most dramatic takeover ever. Until that day, we are Christ’s ambassadors, inviting God’s enemies to willingly surrender and invite Jesus to be their King (2 Corinthians 5:20). God wants us to choose Jesus as our King rather than impose his rule on us. Jesus was anointed to reveal the goodness of the Father so we will invite his rule. That is why Jesus taught us to pray for God’s kingdom to come and his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Because God gave mankind dominion over the earth, God is waiting for people from all nations to agree to give Jesus dominion over the earth so heaven can come down.
While Isaiah 61 tells us what Jesus is anointed to do, Isaiah 11:2 describes how Jesus, the Branch, will do it: “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord.” There were many leaders who were anointed by the Spirit in the Old Testament, but they did not possess the “Spirit without limit” like Jesus did (John 3:34). For instance, Samson was anointed with the Spirit of might, but he definitely did not have wisdom! The religious leaders marveled at Jesus’ wisdom and understanding because he taught as one with authority. Jesus declared that he only did what the Father did because he was counseled by the Holy Spirit who empowered him with might to do the same works the Father does. Jesus had knowledge of peoples’ past, which he demonstrated to the Samaritan woman at the well, and also had knowledge of what will happen in the future when he returns. Jesus taught us the fear of the Lord because that keeps us from being ruled by the fear of man (Luke 12:4-5).
Jesus is both the Anointed One and the one who anoints us with the oil of the Holy Spirit so that we can be his witnesses, advancing the gospel of peace to the ends of the earth. In Zechariah 4, those who are anointed to carry the good news and expand God’s temple are pictured as olive trees. Olive oil was used in the Old Testament for both anointing and to fuel lamps. Zechariah sees a lampstand or menorah with seven lamps, symbolizing the sevenfold Spirit of God mentioned above in Isaiah 11. There are two olive trees on either side of the menorah in Zechariah’s vision. Verse 14 says the two trees are “the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.” Revelation 11:4 mentions these two olive trees and calls them God’s two witnesses. Who are they?
Speaking to the nation of Israel God says, “’You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘that I am God’” (Isaiah 43:12). God’s first witness is the nation of Israel, which is symbolized in scripture as an olive tree (Jeremiah 11:16). The second witness is the new covenant church which includes Gentile Christians who have received the Holy Spirit. Before ascending to heaven Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8) The two trees represent all of God’s witnesses, both Jew and Gentile, who have been grafted into Jesus, the Branch. The Hebrew number translated as two in Zechariah 4 can also be translated as 12, indicating the 12 tribes of Israel and 12 apostles sent out to build God’s temple.
Zechariah 4 describes a vision of a bowl at the top that is feeding oil to the lampstand between the olive trees. The word translated as top also means “at the head of,” like a chief or leader. Jesus is the head of the church, the one keeping the seven-branched menorah lit. We see this in Revelation 1 as Jesus tending the seven churches, filling their lamps with the oil of the Holy Spirit. For as the angel tells Zechariah, God’s temple will be built “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6).
Both Jew and Gentile were needed to build the second temple in Jerusalem because the Jews were assisted by the Persian kings (Ezra 6). Both Jew and Gentile, the two olive trees, will expand the temple to cover the earth by bearing witness to the world who God is under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. That’s what it means to be a Christian. To be in Christ, the Anointed One, is to be an anointed one. Our lamps must continually be filled with the oil of the Spirit by Jesus, our High Priest. He was anointed to bring the good news and sent his Spirit so we could carry on his work of declaring the time of God’s favor to receive Jesus as King. May his kingdom come and will be done on earth as it is in heaven!
Response:
Thank you, Jesus, for bringing the good news of God’s favor. Anoint us with your Holy Spirit so we can know you and represent you to a lost world. May the world receive her King, Jesus the Anointed One.
(The olive tree pictured above stands on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in front of the eastern gate.)
