To round it all off, we are also told that He is the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. In Psalm 2:1-4, we read, "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision." Oh, the world today thinks that it is just such hot stuff—trying to thwart God at every turn—even setting itself up as a god! It won'tlook like it's working! Why? Because the Father says, "Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion." (vs. 6) To which that King responds, "I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." (vss. 7-8)
work—even though it might
Paul couldn't have been more right than when he told the Colossian church that Jesus has the preeminence! (1:18) He is certainly greater than any prophet, any priest, any king! What do all of these have in common? It is the anointing! Herbert Lockyer once wrote, "Prophets, priests, and kings in ancient history were anointed for their particular offices, and Christ, at once Prophet, Priest, and King, became the Center of all prophecy, the Consummation of all priesthood, and the Source and End of all kingship." To be anointed, in the Hebrew, is, "mashyach", or "Messiah," implying an appointing for a purpose. Originally, it was applicable to anyone anointed for a holy office or with holy oil. Over time, in the days of Daniel, for instance, "Messiah" came to indicate the one who would redeem the chosen people of God from their enemies, and fulfill completely all the divine promises for them. In the New Testament, the Greek word is "Christos"—Ding! Are bells beginning to go off in your brain???
Yes, Jesus Christ is the preeminent and ultimate Anointed One! In our church, we anoint with oil, for the Scriptures tell us to—"Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord." (James 5:14) There is nothing "magical" about it; it points to a greater"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Mt. 3:17) But the anointing didn't just take place as He began His life and His ministry—it was throughout every minute of it!
anointing! While previous prophets, priests, and kings were anointed with special blends of oil, the Christmas story makes clear that Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit, even from the womb. At His baptism, He was publicly anointed with the Holy Spirit, and a heavenly voice,
Quite early on, in Luke 7, a Pharisee named Simon invited Jesus to have dinner with him. Oh, sure, it might have been "business as usual"—checking out the new itinerant preacher, who had already healed the sick and even raised the dead. The Bible doesn't say Simon invited Jesus with an ulterior motive, but he might have. In any case, what was about to happen would not be "business as usual." "And behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner…brought an alabaster box of ointment. And stood at His feet behind Him weeping, and began to wash His feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment."worship!known of Jesus—perhaps she had even heard Him preach, and maybe even had met Him along the way. Some assume she had been a prostitute, for a little later, Simon thinks to himself, "This man, if He were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth Him: for she is a sinner."
(vss. 37-38; italics mine) Washed; kissed; anointed—these are all marks of Obviously, she had at least (vs. 39b) Some assume the woman is none other than Mary Magdalene, and some assume she is both—that Mary was a prostitute! Careful—the Bible doesn't say that!
Let's stick with what we do know—she is repentant, and is anointing Him with her worship—tears, kisses, and precious oil. Since Simon wants to do nothing but lambaste this worshipper, Jesus turns it around and makes clear the Pharisee's lack of love and worship. You see, it was part of the culture to have a servant or a slave wash the feet of visitors. The roads were dusty, and sandals were almost grit magnets—such a cleansing as people entered would be a sure sign of love and hospitality. Jesus hadn't experienced any of that until this woman washed His feet with her tears. It was also traditional to kiss your guest on the cheek, further welcoming the traveler with the universal sign of devotion. Jesus had received no such thing until this woman kissed His feet. Lastly, a good host would anoint a guest with perfumed oil, a welcomed gesture for the tired traveler. Jesus never even saw the oil until this "sinner" anointed His feet.
Before one and all, Jesus made it clear that true devotion and love comes out of a recognition of the sinfulness of our past condition, and the boundless love that paid the price for that sin at the Cross! Oh, the anointing of worship! Praise God—this was not the onlyone day before Palm Sunday—it was after dinner at Mary, Martha, and Lazarus' house in Bethany. (John 12) And the woman who anointed Jesus this time was Mary herself. A lot of people like to point at others—especially at the blatantbad people—and declare that this weeping, kissing, and anointing is all for them to do to make up for their "bad" behavior. Evidently, they assume because they are "pretty good", that such poured out devotion is beneath them. They also assume that they are the standard, and not Jesus. First of all, Scripture tells us, "All have sinned and have come short of the glory of God." (Rom. 3:23) In other words, no one is better than another—sin is sin, and all need to repent and be saved. Secondly, those who already know the Lord and are close to Him, like Mary, will desire to anoint Jesus with their worship each and every day. Some others around you, even those who claim to follow Jesus, too—as Mary found out—will call this worship a big waste. The closer they all got to the Cross, the more it is seen as a waste—many want "business as usual,"—not death, not burial, not new life with Christ, but an old life, where otherthings come first!
time—a couple of years later, just sinners, the really
The end of Psalm 2 says—"Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him." Kiss the Son—in the Hebrew, it refers to being attached to Him, equipped with the spiritual weapons to fight the battle. Charles Spurgeon once wrote, "God's anointed is appointed, and shall not be disappointed." By the way, Matthew 26 and Mark 14 both tell of yet another time of anointing with worship—now it is a few days after Palm Sunday. Imagine—just two days before the Cross—Jesus is anointed again with a perfumed oil. And everyone around Him—from Pontius Pilate to the guards at the cross and the tomb—they can't miss the aroma! Who is this guy? What is so special about Him that He would be so anointed, so worshipped? Do you think He might be worth coming away from the "business as usual" type of attitude, and enter into the truth—Christ alone is superior; Christ alone must have the preeminence—this needs to be the new "business as usual!" Kiss the Son—if we are too busy to enter into all that Jesus is calling us to, wearetoobusy! Remember—the anointing didn't end at the Cross, either—what Jesus is, His redeemed people are—anointed, in these days, by the Holy Spirit to live and serve in the power of the resurrected life!
