Brothers & Sisters,
As we continue pressing in to explore Jesus’ teaching in John 13-16, we are also examining the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus on earth.
We read in Matthew 3:16-17 about the unique baptism of Jesus and find that The Father and The Spirit were present and active.
Matthew 3:16-17 NIV
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
The dove was considered a clean bird and was sent by Noah from the Ark (See Genesis 8:8-12). Here, the Holy Spirit descended like a dove; a gentle descent on the Savior. Implying that Jesus is anointed as a Priest, Prophet, and King by the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth, He quotes the prophet Isaiah and declares His anointing as the Messiah (Anointed One).
Luke 4:16-21 NIV
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 “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, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
John tells us that we, as disciples of Jesus, have been anointed by the Holy Spirit, who teaches us the truth.
1 John 2:19-21 NIV
They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.
Surely our anointing is not identical to the anointing of Jesus but there is a similarity since the agent of both is the Holy Spirit.
Rejoice in the anointing of our Savior and your anointing as a follower of Jesus!
Be encouraged,
Pastor Rick
Leave a Reply