The Anointed One--Prophet, Priest and King

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." 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, and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:14-21).

Anointing—the word sounds strange to us. What is anointing? Who does it, how is it done, and what does it mean for the recipient?

Even in Bible times, anointing was a rare event. Anointing was a ceremony where someone was installed into an important office. You can think of it this way: in our country, a candidate who wins the election must first go through a ceremony before he officially becomes president of the United States. Someone being anointed is just as big a deal, if not more so—because people who are anointed receive their job for life, and the person who approves their selection is God Himself.

In the Bible, three different types of people were anointed—prophets, priests and kings. Prophets were people who spoke for God. God gave them messages that were to be delivered word for word. Moses was a prophet—he gave the Israelites the Law of God to live by. Elijah was a prophet—he warned the people that their sins were angering God and inviting His judgment. Ezekiel was a prophet—in a time of severe hardship, he brought words of hope from God to the people. And Isaiah was a prophet—he told the people what the coming Savior would be like, so that they would recognize Him when He came.

Priests were different than prophets. A prophet represented God to His people; a priest represented the people to their God. The job of the priest was to reconnect sinners with the God who hates sin. To do this, the priest offered sacrifices on behalf of the people. In the Law of Moses, God established detailed procedures on how the priest was to do this. God’s Law stipulated that the price for sin was blood; to spare the people from God’s bloody punishment, the priest was to offer the blood of animals instead. God dictated the types of animals to be used and how they were to be sacrificed. He also dictated the size and shape for the altar where the sacrifices took place, the design for the tools to be used, even the clothing to be worn by the priest. It was the job of the priest to offer the sacrifices exactly according to God’s procedures, so that the people could have the guilt of their sins removed.

Kings were also anointed before they began to rule. Unlike in our country, the people had no say in who would serve as king—God chose the man who would rule. The king had three main duties. First, he was responsible for enforcing God’s laws; because of this, legal disputes were brought before the king for judgment. Second, the king was responsible for national defense; he raised armies and repelled the attacks of foreign powers. Most importantly, the king led by example; he was expected to worship God and ensure that no false religion was tolerated among the people.

Prophets, priests and kings were anointed into their offices. God would send someone to pour oil on the person's head; this was a sign that the person was now set apart to serve God in a new and important capacity. And these jobs were not interchangeable—kings were not allowed to offer sacrifices, for example.

Anointing was a rare event—it is not every day that a new king ascends the throne, a new priest begins serving at the altar, or God speaks to His people through the lips of a new prophet. When someone is anointed to serve God, it is a momentous occasion.

Which brings us to Jesus’ words in the synagogue. He reads from the prophet Isaiah, and makes it clear that those words from long ago were actually speaking of Jesus. The New Testament was written in Greek, and Christ is a Greek word meaning "the Anointed One". That morning in church, Jesus claimed to be the Christ, the Anointed One of God. This is a claim that shocked everyone who heard it; who anointed Jesus, and when?

Jesus’ anointing was unusual, and in more than just one way. First of all, Jesus was not anointed by someone acting as God’s representative—Jesus was anointed by God Himself! Nor was Jesus anointed with oil; instead, our Lord was anointed with the Holy Spirit. This anointing happened at the Jordan River, as described for us by Mark (chapter one): Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." Peter makes it clear that this was an anointing when he said, You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached--how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power (Acts 10:37-38).

Jesus’ anointing is also remarkable in that He was chosen to fill all three offices—He is simultaneously prophet, priest and king, something completely unheard of. Jesus is God’s prophet—He speaks God’s words to us, as He tells us in John chapter 14: These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. Like other prophets, Jesus spoke words of Law, words of warning, words of comfort and words hope. But Jesus is far greater than any other prophet. Moses disobeyed God and was denied entry into the Promised Land as a result. Jonah tried to run away from the task God had given him. Elijah grew so depressed that He asked God to end his life. But Jesus represents God perfectly; He says The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me (John 14:10-11). Jesus represents God perfectly because He is God’s Son.

Jesus also represents us to God as a priest. Through His work, we sinners are reconnected to the God who hates sin. But Jesus is far greater than any other priest; He has done away with sacrifices at the altar. He has replaced them with one sacrifice, a sacrifice of such power that no further bloodletting is necessary. The Son of God sacrificed Himself in our place, trading the life of God for the lives of sinful humanity. As shocking as this sacrifice is, it is even more amazing that He would accept, for His holy altar, a cross used to execute criminals, and that He would die in shameful nakedness instead of being dressed in the magnificent robes of a priest. And yet this terrible sacrifice is a wonderful blessing for us because it has allowed us to approach God, not as His enemies, but as His forgiven and dearly loved children. Hebrews puts it this way: fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess…Such a high priest meets our need--one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself…The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood (Hebrews 3:1, 7:26-27, 13:11-12).

Jesus has also been anointed to be our king. But Jesus is far greater than any other king. As our protector, Jesus defends us from Satan’s attacks and arms us to resist temptation. Paul writes in 1st Corinthians chapter ten, God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. As our leader, Jesus has shown us what a God-pleasing life looks like; He told the disciples, I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you (John 13:15). Jesus guides us in following His example through the reading and hearing of His words; Psalm 119:105 says Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. And as our ruler, Jesus will judge our lives when He returns on the Last Day. Speaking of Jesus, Peter says We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day…He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name" (Acts 10:39-40, 42-43).

I said earlier that when a person is anointed to serve God, it is a momentous occasion. This is even more so when God does the anointing Himself, and selects one person to serve Him as Prophet, Priest and King. When Jesus said, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing", it was an announcement that changed the course of history. With this anointing, God spoke to us directly, face to face, through the lips of His Son. With this anointing, God ended the problem of sin forever, washing it away with the blood of His Son’s willing sacrifice. With this anointing, Satan was put on notice that God will do whatever it takes to free us from our sins so that we can be welcome in His holy arms.

Jesus is the Christ, the one anointed by God to serve Him forever. Jesus speaks God’s words to us, forgives our sins, and directs our lives. He is greater than every other prophet, priest and king. And best of all, the Son of God was anointed to do these things because of His tremendous love for you.