Thirst

DEVOTION

PROPHESIES AND FULFILLMENTS CONCERNING CHRIST

THIRST

Ps 22:15-18

15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. 16 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. 18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

NIV

We actually have three distinct prophesies within this passage, but it seems better to include all of them for context. The first is he is thirsty.

John 19:28

28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty."

NIV

His mouth felt like a clay pot, that is what a potsherd is. Dry without any moisture left in it at all. However we notice, Jesus knew he had taken all our sins, all was now complete. He wanted to make sure all prophesies were completed to show the people he was their Messiah. Even in those horrible conditions, his thoughts were of his people rather than himself. It does seem odd that he would say he was thirsty being the spring of living water, but it was to fulfill the prophecy in this psalm. The question which this brings to mind is that related to one of the teachings of Jesus known as the beatitudes.

Matt 5:6

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

NIV

Jesus is our righteousness, and we are to hunger and thirst for him. That could relate to the events surrounding our conversion moment. Whatever our condition was or our state of mind was prior to our salvation moment, we were in the process of thirsting for Jesus. It may not have been in that word, but that was what was occurring. However were we filled completely with his righteousness and need no further food or drink? Seems rather foolish to think one meal would suffice. In the natural we cannot survive our whole life on one meal, nor should it be in the spiritual realm. It is a constant daily activity of seeking or following after Jesus, being thirsty for more of him in our lives. Yes, he is there, all the time, all of him, but it is us who are the problem. He does not force his way upon us. We merely have to look at how the Israelites deserted him time and time again. How they spent four hundred years in Egypt. What started out as their salvation turned into slavery. When they cried out to God, he saved them, as he always does. So let us continue to hunger and thirst for him and we will always be filled to the brim and, in fact, overflowing with the love of Jesus.

Just for us

DEVOTION

PROPHESIES AND FULFILLMENTS CONCERNING CHRIST

JUST FOR US

Deut 21:22-23

22 If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, 23 you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

NIV

Although officially verse 23 is the singular prophetic verse, but it would seem to us the guilty of a capital offense fits us very well and we are the ones who should be put to death. When we consider sin, even the smallest is really a capital offense against God.

Gal 3:13

 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."

NIV

There it is, he became the curse for us. He took all our capital offenses upon himself and was hung on the tree, that old rugged cross, for us. He was put to death, in the most agonizing method for us. This is how much God loves us, to die in such a manner so that he might redeem us from the wages of sin. We also see that because it was the day of preparation his body could not be on the cross overnight. We already visited that prophecy regarding not having any bones broken and the other two on crosses had to have theirs broken to hurry up their death so all bodies could be taken down the same day. We know Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, who both became disciples of Jesus at some point in their lives, after getting permission from Pilate took Jesus down from the cross and buried him. The full account is recorded for us by John. Although we are familiar with the complete account, this prophesy is aimed at him becoming a curse for us. How could God become a curse to himself? We know Jesus is God and yet he did in fact become a curse. The basis has to be in the fact that Jesus was also fully human. This is the only way that whole truth works. God satisfied his own need for justice. Since the time of the fall of man, God required some kind of sacrifice from man. We see this in the narrative of Cain and Abel, both bringing sacrifices to God. Man had been bringing sacrifices after sacrifices for years, but not one could redeem them. He gave them laws to abide by to show them they could not, that nothing they or we could do would be enough. It was a complete set up so we would see that Jesus was the only way we could regain entrance into the paradise we were banished from, because of sin. What a wonderful God we have, to do all this so that we can, through faith, and faith alone, in Jesus eat from the tree of life and become eternal beings, as God intended when he created man. But man failed to eat from the tree of life because he disobeyed God. Now we can because of Jesus. So there he was on that cross, a curse, just for us.

Passover Lamb

DEVOTION

PROPHESIES ND FULFILLMENTS CONCERNINS CHRIST

PASSOVER LAMB

Ex 12:43-47

43 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "These are the regulations for the Passover: "No foreigner is to eat of it. 44 Any slave you have bought may eat of it after you have circumcised him, 45 but a temporary resident and a hired worker may not eat of it. 46 "It must be eaten inside one house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones. 47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.

NIV

Num 9:9-13

9 Then the LORD said to Moses, 10 "Tell the Israelites: 'When any of you or your descendants are unclean because of a dead body or are away on a journey, they may still celebrate the LORD's Passover. 11 They are to celebrate it on the fourteenth day of the second month at twilight. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They must not leave any of it till morning or break any of its bones. When they celebrate the Passover, they must follow all the regulations. 13 But if a man who is ceremonially clean and not on a journey fails to celebrate the Passover, that person must be cut off from his people because he did not present the LORD's offering at the appointed time. That man will bear the consequences of his sin.

NIV

Although the actually verses that deal with not having any bones broken are just a couple, it would seem appropriate to include them in their context. The Passover lamb was to be completely eaten but they were not to break any of its bones. If we think about eating all the meat of a lamb, all the meat around the ribs without breaking one of them, or the spinal column for that matter, it must have been a very difficult task. But this was the whole set up for Jesus being the Passover Lamb that would keep the death angel from visiting our home.

John 19:31-36

31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken,"

NIV

It was all about Jesus being the Passover Lamb. Not having any bones broken showed all of Israel, all the world that Jesus was the one who the prophets spoke about. It seems we always talk about Jesus being the Passover Lamb, but as we started to say, he keeps the death angel away. The whole purpose God directed Moses to give all the regulations about the first Passover, was so as the death angel killed the first born of every family, as well as all the animals, as they put the blood of the lamb on the doorpost of their living places, the death angel would pass over them. Here we are centuries after the first Passover and although we are not a member of one of the tribes of Israel, we celebrate the Passover in an entirely different fashion. First we are to consume all of the Passover Lamb, Jesus. We cannot take part of him, part of what he says, part of his commands, we have to eat all of his body. We use those terms when we take communion. Although Jesus does not stipulate they are to eat all if it, which is the implication. They were celebrating the Passover, the whole idea was to consume it all. They were eating the Passover lamb at that meal, and Jesus made the parallel between the lamb and himself. We are to take the blood of the Lamb and sprinkle it upon the doorpost of our heart. When we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior we accepted him as our sacrifice for sin, our Passover Lamb. We should be celebrating each day because the death angel cannot harm us, he has to pass over our heart, our lives. When we became born again, we were born of God, given the right to be called children of God. This meant at that moment we began our eternal life in the presence of our Lord. We took the blood of the Lamb and poured it out over our hearts. We took his body, without breaking a bone, and ingested him into our being. He is the New Covenant of God for all people. The idea of not breaking his bones could be seen as not just taking part of Jesus, not just incorporating him into our lives, or incorporating our lives into Jesus. We are born again. That has to mean something. The old self is dead. We have been raised a new creature in Christ, we are not just changed, we have been made new. Because the death angel has to pass over us, we are already living our eternal life. It may be true we are still captive to this physical body and its weaknesses, but we are truly a spirit who lives in a body. Our spirit is eternal. We will not have to be concerned about death. Yes, this body will give out on us someday, but where is the sting, for we have victory over death. Victory over the death of  the body and over the second death. We have the Passover Lamb living within us.

New Priesthood

DEVOTION

PROPHESIES AND FULFILLMENTS CONCERNING CHRIST

NEW PREISTHOOD

Zech 3:8-10

8 "'Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. 9 See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,' says the LORD Almighty, 'and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day. 10 "'In that day each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree,' declares the LORD Almighty."

NIV

In the original language it says. “I am going to bring my servant the Messiah”. Here this translation uses the word branch, but then Jesus said that he was vine and we are the branches. Yet there is no question that he is the stone, the precious cornerstone which the entire church is built upon. He is the foundation to all things in this life and the life to come. Who else but Jesus could remove the sin of the world in a single day? But let’s also look at the scripture which fulfills this prophecy concerning Christ.

1 Peter 2:4-10

4 As you come to him, the living Stone — rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."   7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone," 8 and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message — which is also what they were destined for. 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

NIV

Jesus has established a new priesthood, a royal nation, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. All throughout the Old Testament it appears everything is speaking of the children of Israel.  Aaron and the tribe of Levi were designated as the tribe of priests. Everything regarding the Tabernacle was in the charge of Levi. There were no other priests other than from the tribe of Levi. Yet of course we know Jesus came through the line of Judah. He is the Lion of Judah. He established a whole new priesthood, not from the tribe of Levi, but from those who accept him as the Christ, the Messiah, and the one who takes away the sin of the world in a single day. As the Lord spoke through the prophet Zechariah regarding in the day you will invite your neighbor to sit under his vine and the fig tree, the Lord also spoke through Peter that we are to declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. This declaring is to whom? It has to be to our neighbors. Why would we only declare his praises to each other, which is other believers? We have been made into the temple of God. We have been made into a holy nation of people belonging to God. We have been made into a royal priesthood, to but serve the Lord and to be the priests who represent God to the people. We are the living stones, a brilliant shining building standing out in the darkness of this world, bringing the light of Christ to men. Yes, he is a stumbling block to some, mostly the Israelites, but also to some who cannot or will not come out of their darkness. They make themselves stumble, for they are blind. But that does not excuse us from shining brightly into the darkness. We are still this holy nation, this royal priesthood, called to his service in all things related to the temple. That would mean our own lives as well as the lives of all others. Jesus established all this new priesthood and because we are in Christ then we are his. Let us live as the priests he has made us.

Shout and be glad

DEVOTION

PROPHESIES AND FULFILLMENTS CONCERNING CHRIST

SHOUT AND BE GLAD

Zech 2:10-13

10 "Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you," declares the LORD. 11 "Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you. 12 The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem. 13 Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling."

NIV

We should be shouting for joy and being glad for he has come and he is living among us. Although he came to Zion, to Jerusalem, to the Children of Israel, we are among the many nations who are joined with the LORD and have become his people. Jesus did not come just for the children of Israel, but for the whole world, all the nations. We see this in the fulfilment scriptures.

John 1:14

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

NIV

This verse in John might give us the impression that he did come only for the people in Israel, as that is who he came into the world through their genetic line. Jesus dwelled among the people of Israel, but we also know, as John continues, that God so love the whole world that he sent Jesus to die for all so whosoever believes in him should no perish, but have everlasting life. We are the “whosoever”. But God has not stopped there. He will come again, this time in the fullness of his triune personage to dwell among his people.

Rev 21:3

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

NIV

The new creation will be an even better paradise then the first creation. While the Garden of Eden was a wonderful paradise and Adam and Eve had all they would ever need for their lives, there was still among them the tempter, the seducer, the old serpent who wooed them into a falsehood. Jesus has defeated him for good and before the new creation is completed, he will be thrown into the lake of burning sulfur and tormented day and night for all eternity. In the new creation there will be no tempter, only God and his people. We will have a perfectly blissful, eternal life in the presence of our God. Once again we will live in a paradise where every need is right there for us. There will be no good work for us to do, for Christ did all the work for us. In fact even in this life, the only good work we can do, is accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Sure, we do things for other people, or rather Jesus does them through us, or however some would want to think we do these things. But the point is within our own humanity we cannot do good things. Paul makes that clear in his discourse about wanting to do that which is good, but doing that which is not good. He wants to do good, but does not. He does not want to do that which is bad, but he does, in a paraphrased way. How is it we think we can do what is good, when a great spiritual giant life Paul has such a struggle with it. But that is still only here in the temporal world. One day all that struggle will be over, we who are in Christ Jesus will be taken up to meet our Lord in the air. After some time, however long that is, this world and the heavens will be no more and a whole new creation will exist. The rules of its order will be much different than the current rules of order of this universe and our current world. It is all spelled out for us in the revelation that was given to John so we might know what our eternal life will be like in the new creation. Yet we have already begun living our eternal life in this creation, as we have been born again. We are already eternal beings who God lives among. He has made his dwelling place within us. We have been,  and are being made into the temple of God. We are living stones built, and being built to house the living God. Although it is true God the Father seats in heaven and God the Son seats there at his right hand, God the Spirit is dwelling with us this very moment. He is within us, guiding us. He is also a deposit as a guarantee of our continued eternal life in the new paradise of God. Jesus promised us that he was going to prepare a place for us and that if he goes he will return to take us to the place where he is, that we might be there also. The Spirit bears witness within us to that promise. God is living with us right now. Should that not give us reason to be glad? Rejoice my soul, shout for joy my spirit, the Lord is here! He has brought us grace and truth. Rejoice and again I say, Rejoice! Shout and be glad!

Saved

DEVOTION

PROPHESIES AND FULFILLMENT CONCERNING CHRIST

SAVED

Joel 2:28-32

28'And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. 30 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. 32 And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls.

NIV

Acts 2:14-21

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'  

NIV

This portion of the books of Acts is right after Jesus had poured out the Spirit on those who have been in the room waiting as he had told them. He told them that he must go so that he could send the comforter, the Spirit. When the Spirit arrived as a mighty rushing wind and there appeared as tongues of fire on them, and they all started to speak in languages not their own, but as the Spirit gave them utterance. There were people in Jerusalem from fifteen difference language groups and each one heard those filled with the Spirit speaking in their own language. This has been debated among denominations throughout the ages, and into our time the question still remains a source of denominational divide. First, was this just for those in that day, just the one hundred and twenty in the room who were filled and spoke in a language not their own, which has been defined as tongues. Second, is it still for today? Third, were the disciples actually speaking in the language of these different people or was the Spirit causing these people to hear what the disciples were saying, as though they were speaking their language? What we have to see is that God speaking through the prophet Joel indicated he would pour out his spirit on all people. He said it would be in the last days. What are the last days? It would have to be from the time Jesus sent the Spirit, the day of Pentecost until the Day of Judgement, the end of the earth. In addition, he said he would pour his Spirit out on their sons and daughters, which is for generations to come. We know that the Spirit is still active in the world today, for we know that his task is to convict people of their sin and need of repentance and to lead those who have accepted Christ into all truth. We also know that after the day of Pentecost there were others as recorded in the Book of Acts who received this same Spirit and spoke in a language that was not their own, or tongues. We see the Apostle Paul giving instructions to the people living in Corinth, Gentiles, about the gifts of the Spirit. The Spirit is still at work today and being poured out on all people and there are people who do, in fact, speak in tongues. We can testify to this. Although this is a great gift from God for the ministry of his word to his people, we see an even greater ministry in that whosoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Saved from what? Some would say from hell, but hell and all those are in to will be thrown into the lake of fire, so correctly we should say, saved from the lake of burning sulfur. Some would say being saved from perishing. That could mean to perish, to cease to exist, to be fully destroyed. Of course that word perish could mean to perish from being in the presence of God, in his new creation. They would still be in the lake in eternal torment, but not in his paradise. Either way, those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved, we are already with our Lord as he lives in our heart, but on the day when there will be wonders in the heavens and signs on the earth and billows of smoke and the sun darkened and the moon turned to blood, we will be taken into the eternal presence of our Lord. We will be in the paradise of God. It is his promise. As he made that promise to Abram when he told him to leave his home, his family and he would lead him to a land he would show him, we live under that same kind of promise. We are children of the promise. We have called on the name of the Lord and we have been saved.

Under Grace

DEVOTION

PROPHESIES AND FULFILLMENTS CONCERNING CHRIST

UNDER GRACE

Isa 61:1-2

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,

NIV

We have always considered Jesus is the first one to preach the good news to the poor. No one before him would even be able to preach that except God himself as he spoke through Isaiah. This is all about Jesus coming to preach the good news and set the captives, which is all who are captive to sin, free. Let see the fulfillment verses.

Luke 4:16-21

16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,   19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." 

NIV

Jesus testifies those words spoken through the prophet Isaiah were spoken about him. He did preach the good news to the poor. Yet we also have to know that word poor is not to mean people without money, or beggars. Wealthy people without Jesus in their life are just a poor as people of meager means, if they do not have Jesus in their hearts. The poor are those who are captives, who are enslaved to sin, held in chains, in prison, so to speak. People who do not know Jesus because of their captivity are blinded by their own sin. They have no sight for anything other than fulfilling their own lust, desires, greed, ambitions and rewards. We know this because we were one of them. We were oppressed by the deception of the evil one, he kept us down, in the grave in a sense. But Jesus came to preach the good news to our heart and mind, we were able to hear, and our heart was lite up. Our eyes were opened and we saw His Glory. The prison door was opened, just like when Peter was freed.

Acts 12:5-10

5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. 6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists. 8 Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.

NIV

We have been freed by the Spirit of God coming to convict us of our sin and showing us the way to Jesus who proclaimed the good news to us. We have been set free from the bondage of sin. We have been set free from the chains that bind us. Now longer are we guarded by the demons of hell, kept still in our prison, we can now go about jumping and leaping and praising God. We have been comforted because we mourned or grieved over our bondage, and accepted his favor. We are living under the Lords favor, under his grace.

A Servant

DEVOTION

PROPHESIES AND FULFILLMENTS CONCERNING CHRIST

A SERVANT

Isa 42:1-4

"Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. 2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. 3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; 4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope."

NIV

Jesus is the example of the ultimate servant of God, even though he is God. Who better to show us what a servant of God looks like then God himself?

Matt 12:13-21

13 Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. 15 Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Many followed him, and he healed all their sick, 16 warning them not to tell who he was. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 18 "Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. 19 He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory. 21 In his name the nations will put their hope."  

NIV

We are not sure why this event has been recorded as to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah. Jesus simply healed a man’s hand and the Pharisees plotted to kill him. Yet if we look at the whole of the life of Jesus we can see he was indeed the finest example of a servant of God. The reason this event was used is that after Jesus healed the man, he withdrew, but healed all those who followed after him, all their sick. But he warned them not to tell anyone. This is the reason God had Matthew record that this was to fulfill what God spoke about Jesus through Isaiah. Jesus wasn’t here to make a big splash, a big show, with all the glitter, to get the fame and fortune. We certainly have enough of those types today. Jesus simply went about doing the business of God without all the lights and music to go with him. He showed compassion to those in need, he met their needs whenever he encountered them. The Father delighted in Jesus, we know this when the Spirit descended upon him after he was baptized by John. The Father said it for all to hear, that Jesus was his Son and in him he is well pleased. Jesus did proclaim justice to all the nations. By his going to the cross that was all the justice of God being complete. God’s justice for sin was fulfilled, it was met in Jesus taking on all our sin on the cross and paying the price that the justice of God demanded, death. This act has been proclaimed to the nations. Is there any nation on this earth that has never ever heard of Jesus on the cross? Whether they believe it or not is another issue, but all nations are aware of the event. There may be some small groups of peoples within some nations who have not yet got the message, but they are not many. Today we have so many servants of God proclaiming that Good News in so many different languages, throughout the regions of those nations. The fact is Jesus did die for all mankind, all nations. When he was being on trial and being judged, condemned, and beaten and hung on that cross, he did not quarrel, give any defense, he did not cry out, no one heard him scream in pain from that punishment. He was the Lamb of God, a servant for all times. Now, here is where the rubber meets the road. Because Jesus is living within us, through us, as us, then should not we be that kind of servant of God. That is first to say we should not be doing what we are doing for any other reason than to bring glory to God. We should not be looking for any fame of fortune in our ministry to the people in need. But then that also means we should be meeting the needs of people who are sick, both physically and spiritually, if we are to do what Jesus did. We should be ministering to people. This might be done inside the church, in some sense, because there are among church believers those who are in need. Some may be babes in Christ and need teaching, training in righteousness and correction. Some may have taken on incorrect theology from sources unknown. But for the most part the sick, the truly needy both in the physical and spiritual lie outside the walls of the church. Jesus did teach in the synagogue and even heal, but he did the most of his ministry out among the people, where they lived. Even his death was outside the walls of Jerusalem. If we are to be any kind of servant of God then we need to be meeting the needs of the people. First and foremost their spiritual needs, they need to find Jesus and life. They are living in death without him. They are living in dead man’s bones. But through us, Jesus can bring life to those bones. He can raise them up. But we must be his servant, his ambassador, his representative, his reflection to the world. He showed us the way of being a servant.  

The Great Shepherd

DEVOTION

PROPHESIES AND FULFILLMENTS CONCERNING CHRIST

GREAT SHEPHERD

Isa 40:10-11

10 See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. 11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

NIV

He has all the power in both heaven and earth and yet he tends his flock, which would be us, like a shepherd. He carries us in his arms close to his heart. He leads us gently. How wonderful to consider How Jesus tends us as a shepherd tends his sheep. But let us also see the fulfillment of these words spoken by Isaiah.

John 10:11

11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

NIV

John 10:14-16

14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep.

NIV

Heb 13:20

20 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,

NIV

1 Peter 2:25

25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

NIV

Jesus is our great Shepherd and we merely have to read that wonderful 23^rd Psalm to get the picture of how he tends us. Although he did lay his life down for us as the true Shepherd that he is, he was raised from the dead and lives to continue to shepherd us. The very first things we come to realize because he is our Shepherd is that we will not want. What does that mean, not want? There are many things in this life that we need, and yet we are not to want. Consider a flock of sheep in a field under the watchful and protected eye of the shepherd. Consider a sheep seeing something, wanting something in another field and wanders off alone to taste his want. That sheep has left the flock, desiring not the field his shepherd has lead him to. This sheep is in danger from the furious wolf. It is not good to want, our Shepherd has lead us to just the right place for us to have all we need. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. The green pastures are not burnt grass, but lust green with plenty of nourishment. To lie down would indicate security. Sheep are by nature nervous and so to lie down would mean they feel secure, safe from all alarm. This is how our life is. We have our security in our great Shepherd, we feel safe, secure and live in rest, without worry or anxiety or stress. He leads us beside still waters, not a raging river that would suck us under, but a quiet calm water where we can satisfy our thirst. He is our river of living water, he gives us the water of life. Because we drink the water he gives, rivers of water will actually flow from us for others to drink. There are raging rivers as well, there are rapids which takes us on a wild ride, and we could capsize and drown. But Jesus takes us to that still water, a place of calm and serenity, peaceful and secure. The Shepherd restore the soul of his sheep. In the case of human shepherds when one of their sheep, lying down, rolls over by accident, it is called going cast. The sheep cannot right itself and loses the use of its legs and eventually will die.  The shepherd rights his sheep, rubbing its legs restoring its soul. If we roll over, get in trouble is some way, Jesus will right us, he will rub us, so to speak restoring life into us. He guides us in the path of righteousness, because he is our righteousness. If we are not following him, if we are not truly part of his flock how then would we know the right path? When a shepherd leads his flock, he walks ahead of them, his staff is not a walking stick, but it serves to poke the ground to ensure a safe passage, no holes, no soft mire his sheep would sink in, as well as it serves to root out snakes or other critters that would be harmful to his sheep. This is what Jesus does for us, if we are following him. He will lead us to solid ground, free of any traps or dangerous areas. He does this because of his own name. Even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we have nothing to fear, because Jesus is there. He gives us comfort. It is questionable whether this is actually death itself, or just the valley of the shadow of death, which might imply times when we are seriously ill and near the end of life, but not yet there. As we are in those moments we can have the comfort of his rod and staff.  Whether he raises us up from the infirmity or comes to take us home, we are in comfort. What a great Shepherd we have in Jesus.

Walking and leaping

DEVOTION

PROPHESIES AND FULFILLMENTS CONCERNING CHRIST

WALKING AND LEAPING

Isa 35: 1-10

The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God. 3 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; 4 say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you." 5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. 7 The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs .In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. 8 And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it.   9 No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, 10 and the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads .Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

NIV

Although we are told it is verses 4-6 which are the ones which define Jesus as the healer, and Savior, do miracles, the whole chapter speaks directly about Jesus. Let us have the fulfillment of this first then we will see what happens.

Matt 9:30-31

 30 and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about this."

NIV

Matt 11:4-5

4 Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

NIV

Matt 12:22-23

22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see.

NIV

And we could go on and an on with multiple verses where Jesus did all those things spoken about in Isaiah. But first we should understand this vengeance of God is not against man, but against death. He comes to give us life, he comes with a divine act to save us from the penalty of death. Yes, Jesus did all the things, in the physical sense. He healed the lame, he gave sight to the blind and he gave voice to the mute. Water gushed forth, he brought streams of living water to those living in the wilderness of this world. A wilderness defined as life without or outside the paradise of God. But let us see this truth in the spiritual sense. We once lived in that wilderness, but Jesus opened our eyes and we were and are able to see the truth. Jesus opened our ears and we were and are able to hear his voice. We were living as a cripple, lame, unable to walk the path of righteousness, but Jesus being our righteousness have given strength to our legs and a light onto our feet so that we can walk in the way of Holiness. That is we are not perfect beings, but we have been declared by God as holy and blameless in his sight, therefor we walk in the way of holiness, his way. The wicked will not walk on that path, they are the foolish. But we will, Jesus has healed us and saved us and has done a great, the greatest of all miracles, he has changed our heart from one of stone to one of flesh. He brought us salvation, no greater miracle has ever been done. Notice that no beast will be on the path with us. That speaks directly to the beast in the revelation given to John. The great beast, the old serpent, the Devil himself cannot walk upon our path, he cannot journey with us. The best he can do is try to make enough noise out there in the wilderness, off the path, in order to get our attention and divert us off the path, the way of and to God. But Jesus is not just walking beside us, he is walking within us and the beast has already been defeated. Let us leave him in the wilderness, and listen only to the voice of our Lord, our Shepard. We have that spring of living water bubbling up from within us. Our mouths can now rejoice and we have already in a sense entered Zion with singing in our hearts and on our tongues. Everlasting joy has already crowned our heads, our minds, for we are in Christ. Gladness and joy overtake us, we have no sorrow no tears, it has fled from us. We no longer wander aimlessly throughout the wilderness, we have crossed over the Jordan into the Promised Land. Let us leap for joy.

Acts 3:8

8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.

KJV

We are walking and leaping and have entered his courts and praising God.

The Spirit

DEVOTION

PROPHESIES AND FULFILLMENTS CONCERNING CHRIST

THE SPIRIT

Isa 11:1-3

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD — 3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.

NIV

There are actually two different prophesies within this passage. The first has to do with Jesus coming through the line of Jesse. The fulfillment of that is found in the letter to the Romans,

Rom 15:12

12 And again, Isaiah says, "The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him."  

NIV

But today we are focused on the second prophecy of this passage about the Spirit of the Lord resting upon Jesus. We know the event in which the Spirit rested on him when he was baptized by John,

Matt 3:16-17

16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

NIV

All four of the Gospels record this event. There is no question that was a time when all three of the persons of God were present. Jesus, the Spirit and the Father speaking audibly to the people there. What a powerful time in the history of man to witness the full triune God at one time. Did the dove, the Spirit leave after that moment. Although we are not told one way or the other, it is doubtful the Spirit ever left him. However, we are also told Jesus made it clear to his disciples he must go so he can send the Spirit to them. Does that mean the Spirit was back in heaven waiting for Jesus to arrive so he could come? If so then after descending upon Jesus he ascended back to heaven. But the prophecy makes it clear the Spirit remained on Jesus all throughout his ministry. The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and power, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. There is no doubt the Spirit remained on him. But here is the kicker. Jesus said that he would send us the Spirit, the very same Spirit. Could that mean if we are indwelled by the Spirit, which we are, then we have available to us wisdom and understanding. We also would then have his counsel and his power and in addition we would have knowledge and the fear of the Lord. This would have to mean we are meant to live a full and productive life within the kingdom of God. Just as Jesus has told us that we would do even greater things.

John 14:12-14

12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

NIV

We either believe or we don’t. We cannot just believe part of the word of God, but we have to believe it all.  It is all or nothing and therefore we should be doing what Jesus did and even greater things because we have the Spirit resting upon us. Although it is us, it is not really us who does all this, but it is the Spirit living in us, living through us as us. Yet there it is. If we do not avail ourselves of the Spirit, yielding to his counsel, his power within, we will live as a crippled Christian, perhaps what might be called a carnal Christian, that is trusting in our abilities rather than of the power of the Spirit. Should we not be availing ourselves of all the Spirit has to offer? Let us seek that which Jesus has bestowed upon us. As the Military has said, “Be all that you can be”, we need to be all that we should be by the power of the Spirit.

Prepare the way

DEVOTION

PROPHESIES AND FULFILLMENTS CONCERNING CHRIST

PREPARE THE WAY

Isa 40:3-5

3 A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.  4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

NIV

Although this is concerning Christ, it is also about John the Baptist. He is the one, he is the voice calling “prepare the way for the LORD”.

Matt 3:1-3

3:1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'"  

NIV

Of course John was a very special person, being made specifically for the purpose of preparing the way for Jesus. It was the whole purpose of his life. Could we say there will always be someone who prepares the way for Jesus? Certainly we would have to believe this was the one and only time when Jesus would come to earth as a man. Jesus is the glory of the LORD. He was revealed and all mankind together will see it. How did all mankind see Jesus when he came as a man? Maybe these prophetic words speak for all time, for some day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Rom 14:10-12

For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. 11 It is written: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'"   12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

NIV

All mankind will have to give an account to Jesus. We will have to answer the question of whether we accepted him or rejected him. That is all the account needed to be either the sheep or the goats. But John prepared the way for all of this, he prepared the way for Jesus. Perhaps that is the importance of the words of this prophecy. Could any of us be used to prepare the way for the Lord in somebodies life? We would have to believe we could not be wearing camel’s hair and eat locust, but we would in some sense be in the wilderness. However, if all we do is hang around with other believers, socializing with just them and hiding our worship of God within the walls of the church, we may never understand what the wilderness is, or looks like. There are people roaming around in the wilderness, or desert. They have no idea of the oasis, the rest that is available.

Rom 10:14-15

14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"  

NIV

How beautiful are our feet? Do we walk about in the wilderness preparing the way for the Lord in someone’s life? This goes back to all the other scriptures about loving our neighbor, loving our enemies, loving people enough to go to where they are in the wilderness and preparing their hearts to see Jesus. What would the world had been like if John was not preaching about Jesus coming? People were being baptized by John in the water. They were preparing their hearts for the coming of the Lord. They were finding a way to repent through John, but found that repentance in Jesus. They were preparing their hearts for their salvation. How can we help people find that oasis in the desert they now wander in, if we don’t travel within it, speaking the words, living our faith out loud? There is so much pain, hunger and thirst in the desert, but there is rest in Jesus, he is the rest they need. He is the bread to satisfy the hunger. He is the living water that quenches their thirst. He is the rest for the weary and heavy laden. But someone has to be out there in the wilderness preaching the good news, making ready a way for the Lord. Who will that be? Here I am Lord!

Friendship

DEVOTION

PROPHESIES AND FULFILLMENTS CONCERNING CHRIST

FRIENDSHIP

Ps 109:4

4 In return for my friendship they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.

NIV

Who would not believe Jesus is a man of prayer? Of Course he is also the one who was accused. He was accused of doing miracles by the power of Satan. He was accused of being out of his mind, even by his brothers. He was accused of blasphemy by the Pharisees which ultimately brought about the plan he had come to do. Although Jesus did make some strong statements about the generation of vipers, or other strong words in an effort to reach their hearts and minds, he always loved them, enough to die for them. We know there were times he drew away from people to spend time in prayer. Some might think he may have always been praying about going to the cross, but it is also possible he was praying for those who persecuted him, such as the Pharisees. We know for sure that only once he prayed about going to the cross, but the other times we are not told of the content of his prayer. It would make sense since he has told us to pray for our enemies that he did.

Matt 5:44

44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

NIV

The prophecy says he was a man of friendship, but in return for being a friend he was accused. That would imply an enemy, who he prayed for. The first demonstration of how we are to live is in being a friend. That is we should not be a person of hate, bitterness, non-forgiving, revengeful or any other non-friendly attitude or behaviors. In fact, we are supposed to be a person of love and that is not just to those who love us. The rest of the words of Jesus in this fulfillment scripture tell us this truth.

Matt 5:43-48

43 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

NIV

What good is it if we just love those who love us, he says even the non-believers do that. Of course he is not saying that we can be perfect, although he is saying that. Within the context our perfection is in loving everyone, as God does. If Jesus is dwelling within us, living through us, then his love for everyone should be shining through us. We should not be having any ill thought about anyone. We should he seeing people as Jesus sees people, in need of salvation. We should be friendly to all people, smiling at them, enjoying them, allowing them to enjoy the fruit of the Spirit which the Spirit produces in our lives. They should be able to receive or take love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, kindness and even self-control from us. Our lives should be about loving all people, no matter how they treat us. One of the better ways to love them is to pray for them. However, we should not be praying for God to strike them down, or to avenge the wrong they did to us. We should be praying that God will bless them, that he will send the Spirit, which is already has, to break through to them, to convict them of their need of repentance and Jesus. Our prayers should not only be about us, our situation, our need, our wants and desires. We should pray for our enemies, loving them as God does. We should greet them, be kind to them, and show them compassion. In fact, friends laugh together, play together, spend time with each other. If we are, like Jesus, offering friendship, them what does that mean? That might be difficult to do, but if we say we are followers of Jesus, then what should we do? We cannot avoid them, shun them, look down upon them or ignore them, we are to offer them friendship. We are people of God, people of friendship.

Hear and see

DEVOTION

PROPHESIES AND FULFILLMENTS CONCERNING CHRIST

HEAR AND SEE

Ps 78:1-2

O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old.

NIV

We certainly know this to be true. Jesus spoke in many parables. We talk about them in Sunday school classes, we hear sermons based on them, we write stories, even books about them. But the reason for them is the point of this prophecy. At least that is what is seems. Why did he speak in parables? His disciples asked the very question.

Matt 13:10-17

10 The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?" 11 He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'   16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.

NIV

Matt 13:34-35

34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. 35 So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world."  

NIV

The key is in the word hidden, “I will utter hidden things”. The Hebrew word means a dark saying, a riddle, a difficult question, an enigma, a saying with double meaning. All that is wrapped up in a parable. He spoke in code, which is why the meaning enigma is used. He spoke with double meaning. Whenever he said the kingdom of God is like, he was speaking about things of old, or since the creation of the world. In some sense parables are no different from the whole of scripture to those who have closed their ears and shut their eyes. Because we know Christ, because he lives in us, as us, we understand those parables, many of which he explained to his disciples. But even without the explanation we see the truth of them. We see them in the context of all of scripture. We understand the principles of truth because we know God and all he has done for the world, for us and in us and is doing through us. Because we are his reflection to the world, his ambassadors, his spoke persons, he has given us insight into his truth. This is not of our own doing, from our own flesh, intellect, or education. But by the Spirit. Jesus sent him to first convict us of our need to repent and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, and second, to lead us, those who repented and accepted, into all, not some, truth.

John 16:13

13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth

NIV

Some might quote a verse from Job about not being able to probe the mysteries of God, but that was one of Jobs friends, one of his supposed comforters who was challenging jobs faith rather than comforting him. Daniel speaks about the fact, more then once, that God reveals the truth to us, he reveals mysteries.

Dan 2:28

28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries .

NIV

The parables of Jesus are in a sense a mystery to those who do not understand because they do not have the Spirit dwelling within. But we do and therefor there is no mystery that is withheld from our understanding. God desires we know everything about him and about his kingdom. He has opened our ears and our eyes so we can hear and see.

Anointed One

DEVOTION

PROPHESIES AND FULFILLMENTS CONCERNING CHRIST

ANOINTED ONE

Ps 45:6-7

6 Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. 7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.

NIV

Heb 1:8-9

8 But about the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy."  

NIV

It is really clear that Psalm 45:6-7 is speaking about Jesus when God quotes himself through the writer of Hebrews. This is the very beginning of the letter to the Hebrews and it is laying out the foundation that Jesus is the Son of God. He says that he spoke to the people through prophets, but in the last days he spoke through his Son. God the Father anointed Jesus the Son. What we need to understand is the meaning of the word anoint. Both the Old and the New Testament words carry the same meaning, to rub with oil. They both also have that implied meaning to consecrate to a holy office. The modern dictionary lines itself with this meaning as well, to ceremonially confer divine or holy office upon (a priest or monarch} by smearing oil upon them.  Jesus is both a priest and a monarch. We merely have to see where God smeared him with oil to complete this truth. Although it was the practice to use anointing oil in those times, and in some sense Jesus was anointed with oil, God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 10:37-38

37 You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

NIV

In the smearing of oil upon him we could say it was done by a woman as she was inspired by God.

Matt 26:6-13

6 While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, 7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. 8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. 9 "This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor." 10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. 12 When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. 13 I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her." 

NIV

The point is Jesus is in fact the Anointed One of God. He is the One, the only One, who is our High Priest or Monarch, our Kings of kings, Lord of lords. Everything throughout the whole of the bible is a witness about Jesus. He is the central theme of all scripture because He is the only way for us to be united with God. Without Jesus we are separated from God by our sin. We have been told God is good, in him there is no evil. We have been told God cannot look upon sin.

Hab 1:13

13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong.

NIV

But that view which may be taken out of context of Habakkuk is wrong. Jesus actually rushed to sin, to heal people of their sin. He came to take their sin upon himself, he became sin, and yet he was God. The Father divinely anointed the Son for that express purpose, so with that in mind we have to know God did not turn away from his Anointed One at any time, even while he was on the cross. We know this idea might go against most of the scholars and traditional thinking. However, we have to know Jesus was God and he took our sin upon him. Yes, he was God in the flesh, he experienced humanity, as he created it. He experienced the joy and the misery or pain of the human condition. But God has also told us that he would never leave us nor forsake us. We might feel like it at times, and this might have been the experience Jesus as man was feeling, but God never left him nor did he forsake him for Jesus was His Anointed One. He was anointed with the Holy Spirit. Throughout the Old Testament God declares the children of Israel have forsaken him for other gods. When Jesus made this statement quoting the psalm, it was in response to the Jews insulting him, mocking him, making comments about if he were the Messiah he could save himself, they were forsaking the Anointed One of God. If God actually did turn his back on Jesus because he had all our sin, then we would have to make the leap that whenever we fail God, whenever we commit the least little sin, he turns his back on us. Even if we are in Christ and he sees Jesus when he looks at us because some believe he turned his back in Jesus because of sin. So then when we sin, we are forsaken by God. That is absolutely so wrong on so many levels. God never turns his back on us, nor did he on his Son, His Anointed One.