Many would think Jesus’ last name is, Christ, but that word is so very much more than part of His name, it comes from the Hebrew word “Messiah”, translated into Greek it’s “Christ”, with both of those words meaning anointing. So that really has me pondering wondering; so what does this anointing mean exactly and when was Jesus anointed? I do feel as though this is a really, really Holy place so please excuse me as I walk around with my muddy feet but here are my devotional thoughts on the subject.

I LOVE Isaiah 11: as to me its clearly a picture of this anointing in the seven aspects of it.

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
    and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
    the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and might,
    the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

At his Baptism is where the Spirit of the Lord rested on Jesus, where we see the three aspects of the Trinity at the same place and time, as the Good, Good Father said, “this is my Beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased.”

So as I pondered the anointing I began to think of the seven days of creation and the seven saying from the cross as a few years ago I wrote about that in, “Many Faceted Jewels In The Cave” .  The seventh like God did on the seventh day of creation leaves you in this amazing place of rest… My mind being as twisted as it is reminded me of a cute story I have used in devotionals at the retirement home I visit. It goes like this.

A mother was concerned about her kindergarten son, Timmy, walking to school alone. He didn’t want his mother to walk with him. She wanted to give him the feeling that he had some independence, but yet know that he was safe. So she had an idea of how to handle it. The mother asked a neighbor if she would please follow him to school in the mornings, staying at a distance, so he probably wouldn’t notice her. The neighbor said that since she was up early with her toddler anyway, it would be a good way for them to get some exercise as well, so she agreed.

The next school day, the neighbor and her little girl set out following behind Timmy as he walked to school with another neighbor girl he knew named Susie. She did this for the whole week.

As the two walked and chatted, kicking stones and twigs, Susie noticed the same lady was following them as she seemed to do every day all week. Finally she said to Timmy,”Have you noticed that lady following us to school all week? Do you know her?”

Timmy nonchalantly replied, “Yeah, I know who she is.”

The little girl said, “Well, who is she?”

“The little girl is, Marcy I have played with her a few times, her mom is Mrs. Goodrest, but my mom calls her, Shirley” Timmy replied.

“Shirley Goodrest? Who is she and why is she following us?”

“Well,” Timmy explained, “every night my Mum makes me say the 23rd Psalm with my prayers, ‘cuz she worries about me so much. And in the Psalm, it says, ‘Shirley Goodrest and Marcy  shall follow me all the days of my life’, so I guess I’ll just have to get used to it!”

That “rest “, that delight in the fear of the Lord, got me to wondering if the whole of Psalm 23 would help me to see the Anointing of Jesus in a practical way. So below are my notes on how that lines up in my view. Below that are the Hebrew insights to the words and below that is the Father’s Day Sermon Podcast I gave June 18, 2017 at Peace Church in Durham, NC. In the podcast I go into detail of how I see these in practical ways. So I am hoping if your are truly interested you will listen and below are my notes as I prepared that.

Because Jesus is Anointed with-

    1. Wisdom, The Lord is my Shepherd 
    1. Understanding, I shall not want
    1. Counsel, He makes me lie down the in green pastures  He leads me by the still waters
    1. Might, He restores my soul
    1. Knowledge, He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake
    1. Fear of the Lord, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, Your rod and your staff comfort me.
  1. Delight in the fear of the Lord, You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You have anointed my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever 

Definitions of the seven spirits studying the Hebrew of each word

Wisdom – to rule

Understanding – discernment 

Counsel – to give purpose to plan

Might – strength or force

Knowledge – to like and be acquainted 

Fear of the Lord – Awesome Reverence

Delight in the fear of the Lord – To breath in with the nostrils….

 

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