Grace and Peace Episode 16
Presbyterian Church of Easton
December 15, 2020
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:2
31Q. Why is he called “Christ,” meaning “anointed”?
A. Because he has been ordained by God the Father and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief prophet and teacher who fully reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our deliverance; our only high priest who has delivered us by the one sacrifice of his body, and who continually pleads our cause with the Father; and our eternal king who governs us by his Word and Spirit, and who guards us and keeps us in the freedom he has won for us.
32Q. But why are you called a Christian?
A. Because by faith I am a member of Christ and so I share in his anointing. I am anointed to confess his name, to present myself to him as a living sacrifice of thanks, to strive with a free conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for eternity.
Jesus is the Christ. The word ”Christ” is the English version of the Greek word Χριστός, which means the “anointed one”. It is a translation of the Hebrew word ישו, which in English is “Messiah”. So Christ and Messiah mean the same thing, the anointed one. In ancient times people who be anointed as a sign that God had chosen them for important work. Prophets, priests, and kings all anointed.
We read this in the 133 Psalm. How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. The psalmist here describes the anointing of a High Priest with lots of oil poured on his head.
The Jews longed for an Anointed One to come and save them. Jesus arrived as the anointed one, the messiah they had been waiting for. And so Jesus is called the Christ. And all who follow him as their Lord are called Christians.
But Jesus was not anointed with oil. He was anointed with the Holy Spirit. We read in Luke 3:21 … when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you, I am well pleased.”
Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, as you did for Jesus, anoint us with your Holy Spirit. Bless us with the power to do what you want us to do in this world. We ask this in the name of Christ, our Lord. Amen.
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