Names of Jesus - Messiah

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. Then the angel told them, “Stop being afraid! Listen! I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people. Today your Savior, the Lord Messiah, was born in the City of David. Luke 2:9-11

In days of old, when a person was chosen for leadership, oil was poured over their head and they were anointed. Messiah, or Christ in Greek, means "anointed one. Jesus is God's Anointed One. It was understood in the Old Testament that God's anointed ones were holy. The high priests and kings were anointed when they were chosen for their jobs. 

Jesus was anointed three times: early in his ministry an unknown woman (labeled a sinner by those around Jesus) anointed his feet in Simon the Pharisee's house (Luke 7); a few days before the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, Mary, sister of Martha, anointed his feet (John 12); and two days before the Passover, an unknown woman anointed his head, and Jesus said it was for his burial (Matthew 26 and Mark 14). (I find it interesting that Jesus was anointed only by women!) 

Jesus wasn’t just any anointed person, he was THE Anointed One, set apart by God, both king and priest - a role that was only to be given to Messiah, the savior of the world. Unfortunately, Jesus did not look anything like the Messiah the Jews were hoping for. They were so busy looking for their idea of perfection and redemption, that they completely missed GOD’S idea of perfection and redemption.

In this season of looking forward to the arrival of Jesus, let us set aside our ideas of perfection and redemption. God’s ways are far above our own. He often works in ways that we could not have imagined, and most certainly in ways we would not have chosen. But God, in his infinite wisdom, has laid out a way for us. By sending his Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ, to redeem us from the bondage of sin and death, he has given us perfection that we could never have dreamed up.