Jesus is the prophesied Messiah
From the texts and their contexts cited in connection with Jesus
being anointed with the Holy Spirit, the Bible student can taught how
they teach that He is the Messiah.
John 3:34. "For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of
God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him."
This is a part of the Baptist's testimony concerning Jesus. In simple
and incisive language he points out the criteria for Jesus being the
heavenly-sent One, who is above all. The Father, in equipping the Son to
be the promised deliverer, furnished him with power and all sustenance,
as predicted in the Servant Songs of Isaiah (for instance, 42:1-4), not
least of being the recipient of the Spirit: "Behold my servant,
whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will
put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgement to the
Gentiles." Thus John incontrovertibly proves that Jesus is the
long-expected Messiah.
Psalm 45:7. "Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest
wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of
gladness above thy fellows."
The king is addressed as God in verse 6 of the same Psalm, and is
distinguished from God in this verse. Verse 6 was likely a royal
hyperbole (extravagant exaggeration) of the king referred to (perhaps
Solomon), but ultimately refers to Jesus as the Christ, as is proven
from Hebrews 1:8,9.
Jesus' basic qualification for Messiahship is the fact that he is
sinless, unblameable, spotless and perfect in every respect. As God's
representative and the restorer of his people, he holds a sceptre of
rectitude and holiness.
Being God and man in one person, he is entrusted with the mission of
accomplishing salvation, and his success is ensured. Though he had to
suffer, it is with the oil of gladness that he is anointed. This same
king, here prophesied, for the joy set before him, endured the cross,
despising its shame and is now set at the right hand of the majesty on
high (Hebrews 12:2).
Hebrews 1:9. "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated
iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil
of gladness above thy fellows."
The author here quotes a series of texts from the Old Testament to
prove that Jesus is superior to the prophets and even the angels, for
the simple fact that he is a divine person. As God's Son he speaks for
God, maintains and governs the universe and, most significantly, has
purged our sins (Hebrews 1:1-3).
In this particular quote, we know that historically the psalm was
probably sung at a Hebrew monarch's wedding. What was true of the
ancient king by virtue of his office, the writer to the Hebrews sees to
be wholly true of Christ by virtue of His nature.
The Messiah was to be a divine person, and that is exactly what the
context shows Jesus to be, being addressed by the Father in this way:
"Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever." And certainly the
Messiah was sent to establish God's rule in and over the hearts of men.
Matthew 3:16. "And Jesus, when he was baptised, went up
straightway out of the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him,
and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon
him."
Here we find the first clear expression of the blessed truth
concerning the Triune God in the whole New Testament. The descent of the
Spirit upon Jesus was for special power at the beginning of his public
ministry, in which he was to be the Prophet, speaking the words of God,
the Great High Priest, making atonement and interceding for his people,
and as King, ruling and defending the same.
John the Baptist also witness the Spirit's descent upon Jesus, as we
read in John 1:32,33: "And John bare record, saying, I saw the
Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I
knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said
unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining
upon him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost."
The Father's testimony from above (which, Jesus maintained, was
sufficient) and John's testimony from below (given "that ye might
believe") both confirm Jesus' identification as the Servant of the
Lord (Isaiah 42:1; cf. Exodus 4:22) and connects this with the messianic
kingship (Psalms 2:7).
Luke 4:1,14,18. "And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost
returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the
wilderness...And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee,
and there went out a fame of him through all the region round
about....The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me
to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of
sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised..."
The temptation, who preceded his public ministry, was in the plan of
God. Right at the beginning, Jesus faced the question of what sort of
Messiah He was to be. The trails he faced with Satan was not to see
whether he would sin or not (for he could not sin, though the pressures
of temptation were real and forceful), but to prove him conqueror over
sin and Satan.
The fact that Jesus was led constantly by the Spirit indicates that
He is indeed the Messiah, as was foretold in Isaiah 11:2: "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 of the fear of the Lord."
As he entered the synagogue of Capernaum, and stood up to read
Isaiah, the portion he selected (Isaiah 61:1-2) was fulfilled in the
hearing of his audience. In other words, He was the fulfilment of these
words: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me because the Lord has
anointed Me," which verb, anointed, indicated the Messiah.
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