Anointing

John 12:1-8 NLT:

(“Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from the essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor. Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself. Jesus replied, Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me”)

This act was bold to use something so expensive, but no one knew what was really going on; they did not know who Jesus really was

Anointing is to make holy, and anointing Jesus's feet was to show him as the Messiah and the King of Kings.

Anointing is to make holy by being made ready for what God has for you.

Mary was making Jesus ready for burial.

Mary’s anointing is highly unusual in two ways: first, she poured the oil on Jesus’s feet, whereas normally it was poured on the head, and second, she used her hair to wipe his feet, though it was considered improper for a woman to unbind her hair in public.

Andreas J. Köstenberger

By Mary wiping Jesus’s feet with her hair, it was an act of being a servant to Jesus.

James 5:13-20 NLT:

(“Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops. My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins”)

Anointing is an act of faith, just as going to the altar is an act of faith.

There is no power in the oil be there is power in the faith behind the oil.

When you get hands laid on someone, there is power in the people's faith, and the oil just adds to the faith.

There is no power in the oil without faith in God and with hope for the change to come.

Isaiah 50:8-10 NLT:

(“He who gives me justice is near. Who will dare to bring charges against me now? Where are my accusers? Let them appear! See, the Sovereign Lord is on my side! Who will declare me guilty? All my enemies will be destroyed like old clothes that have been eaten by moths! Who among you fears the Lord and obeys his servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God.”)

Anointing in this passage is a way to show surrender to God’s plan and not our’s. When evil comes for us, we need to trust in God’s plan and not ours.

We see that God will be are light when we have no light, and we need to rely on the light that God gives us.

Psalms 69:7-9, 16, 20-21, 30, 32-33 NLT:

(“For I endure insults for your sake; humiliation is written all over my face. Even my own brothers pretend they don’t know me; they treat me like a stranger. Passion for your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. Answer my prayers, O Lord, for your unfailing love is wonderful. Take care of me, for your mercy is so plentiful. Their insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. If only one person would show some pity; if only one would turn and comfort me. But instead, they give me poison for food; they offer me sour wine for my thirst. Then I will praise God’s name with singing, and I will honor him with thanksgiving. The humble will see their God at work and be glad. Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged. For the Lord hears the cries of the needy; he does not despise his imprisoned people.”)

We can see the suffering of Jesus on the cross, but we can see at the end of this passage that Jesus starts to worship, but the world rejection Jesus, the Anointed Son of God.

Anointing is also a sacrifice, but there is faith through Anointing, and there is hope through Jesus, for he was and still is our eternal sacrifice. He is the lamb that was killed for us all and is coming back as the lion and the King of Kings.

Jesus can touch us and heal us if we have faith that he can do it.

I can tell you that if you let God touch you, God will make you whole.

The anointing of the Holy Spirit is unlimited. It is we who set the limits.

Benny Hinn

Anointing empowers believers to act with boldness.

You can’t do God’s work if you don’t have God’s anointing.

Perhaps Mary felt unworthy to anoint Jesus’ head, so she anointed His feet.

John Martin

What I think is that it is the same as acting as a servant as Jesus washing his disciples.

Think about a musician tuning their instrument before a concert. Each string must be perfectly calibrated to create beautiful music. God’s anointing works in a similar way, tuning our hearts and lives to the right pitch so that when we play our parts in His symphony, we create melodies that uplift and inspire those around us!

God makes us ready by tuning our hearts to what he has for us and for what he wants us to do.