When someone or something was anointed in the Bible, it generally means a ritual act has taken place such as the pouring of oil, where the person or object has been consecrated and made sacred through the power of God. We will consider three lessons from the Bible. We will also consider how each of us can be anointed for God today.
#1 Anointed Lesson from the Bible
Priests, prophets, and kings were anointed.
Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed him in the midst of his brothers, and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David. Then Samuel set out for Ramah. 1 Samuel 16:13
Priests
Anoint and install them, consecrating them as my priests. Exodus 28:41b
Install them means “to fill their hands.” In the Book of Leviticus, Moses poured anointing oil on the head of his brother Aaron to consecrate him to the Lord. This anointing can be considered a sacred rite where Aaron and his sons were set apart and were ordained as a priests of the Lord. This was done at the Lord’s command.
Consecrate. Hebrew and Septuagint, “thou shalt anoint and fill their hands “with oil, and the instruments of their office.” Source: George Leo Haydock
Prophets
You shall also anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of
Israel, and Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, as prophet to succeed you. 1 Kings 19:16
The Lord instructed the prophet Elijah to anoint Elisha, his successor, as prophet. This was accomplished by Elijah throwing his mantle (cloak) upon Elisha. It would seem anointing oil was reserved for God’s priests and kings.
Kings
Then Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. They blew the ram’s horn and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!” 1 Kings 1:39
Several people were anointed as kings in the Old Testament. Some are more well known such as King Solomon, and King Saul. Others such as Jehu, who was anointed king of Israel for 28 years, might not be as well known as Solomon and Saul.
David is the most well known King of Israel in the Bible. The Bible says when Samuel anointed him, “the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him.” This gives us a good understanding of how this special flow of God’s grace is at work when the Lord’s kings were anointed. It should be noted that David was anointed on three occasions.
- 1st Anointing – David was chosen and anointed ruler over Israel (1 Samuel 16:13).
- 2nd Anointing – David was anointed king over the tribe of Judah (2 Samuel 2:4a)
- 3rd Anointing – David was anointed king over all of Israel (2 Samuel 5:3)
#2 Anointed Lesson from the Bible
The word Christ means the “Anointed One.”
The woman said to Him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed; when He comes, He will tell us everything.” John 4:25
God anointed Christ at His baptism
After Jesus was baptized, He came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him. Matthew 3:16
Just as the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David and Saul when the prophet Samuel anointed them, so too did the Spirit of God descend upon Jesus when he was willingly baptized by the prophet John the Baptist, and the Spirit stayed with Him.
The Disciples Recognized Jesus as the Christ
He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). John 1:41
It was the prophet John the Baptist who witnessed the Spirit of God descend upon Jesus and remain upon Him. John the Baptist told Andrew, the brother of Simon (Peter), that Jesus was “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Andrew and another disciple stayed with Jesus for the day, and when their visit was over, they knew Jesus was the Messiah, the anointed one, who would restore Israel.
“Andrew kept not our Lord’s words to himself; but ran in haste to his brother, to report the good tidings: He first finds his own brother Simon, and said to him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.” + St. John Chrysostom
God’s Angels Praise the Anointed One
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have salvation and power come, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed. For the accuser of our brothers is cast out, who accuses them before our God day and night. Revelation 12:10
The angels recognize the authority of God and Christ, the Son. They know that God bestowed His Spirit on Jesus at His baptism, making Him “the Christ,” and they know that when Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected, victory over the devil, sin, and death, was decisively accomplished by Christ through the power of God.
“The word “Christ” comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Messiah, which means “anointed.” It became the name proper to Jesus only because he accomplished perfectly the divine mission that ‘Christ’ signifies.” Source: Catechism of the Catholic Church #436
#3 Anointed Lesson from the Bible
Christ’s disciples are anointed with the Holy Spirit.
But you have the anointing that comes from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 1 John 2:20
How do we get anointed that comes from the Holy One? We are anointed by God at our baptism, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Anointing by the Holy Spirit at Baptism
The anointing that you received from Him remains in you. 1 John 2:27a
Catholics are baptized in a solemn rite by the priest. The Spirt that rushed upon David when he was anointed by the prophet Samuel, and the Spirit that descended upon the Lord Jesus at His baptism is received by us at our baptism, and it abides in us and stays with us.
“Because the Holy Spirit is the anointing of Christ, it is Christ who, as the head of the Body, pours out the Spirit among his members to nourish, heal, and organize them in their mutual functions, to give them life, send them to bear witness, and associate them to his self-offering to the Father and to his intercession for the whole world.” Source: CCC 739
Anointed in the Word of God
He said in reply, “It is written: ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4
When we are anointed by the Holy Spirit at our baptism, we are sealed with the Spirit. The Spirit gives us gifts of wisdom, understanding, and fear of the Lord. We cultivate these gifts by living and abiding in the scriptures, the Word of God that speaks to us.
As we study the Word and contemplate its meaning, the Spirit give us a grace to discern between what is holy and what is not holy, what is clean and what is unclean, what is true and what is false. The Spirit illuminates a safe path through the Word for us to follow Him in life. It is a path that leads to eternal life in Christ, the anointed one.
He must increase; I must decrease. John 3:30
