The Anointed Jesus: His Mission and Fulfilment

By Pastor Ebenezer Afolabi

In the winter before His crucifixion, Jesus took His disciples to Gentile territory in Caesarea Philippi. The region was strongly identified with various religions: it had been a centre for Baal worship; the Greek god Pan had shrines there; Herod the Great had built a temple there to honour Augustus Caesar. It was amid this pagan superstition that Jesus asked His disciples, “Whom do men say that I am?” (Matt. 16:13-20). Jesus’ question generated several answers. To some, He was John raised from the dead. Some said He was Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets, but Peter responded correctly by the Spirit of God: “Thou art the Christ (the Messiah), the Son of the living God!” Peter made the most sublime confession of who Jesus Is – the Anointed One. 

The anointed Jesus refers to Jesus’ role as the Messiah, which means “anointed one” in Hebrew. In the Old Testament, kings, priests, and prophets were anointed with oil to symbolise their appointment by God. Jesus, on the other hand, took a superior position and status because He was anointed with the Holy Spirit and with Power (Matthew 3:16-17; Acts 10:38). The confession of Peter did not just testify to His anointing but also to His deity, which sets Him apart from all Old Testament kings, priests, and prophets.  He embodied the threefold office of a Prophet, Priest, and King. 

The appellation of Jesus the anointed (the Messiah; the Christ) reveals the age-long expectation of the Jews in the coming of the one the Prophets of old had prophesied about, that will deliver them from Roman oppression and restore the kingdom to Israel. Contrary to their expectation, Jesus mustered no political revolution. Despite numerous references to Jesus as the long-expected Messiah in the New Testament, some Jews were unsatisfied. Their dissatisfaction was due to their wrong messianic expectation – a revolutionary messiah who would overthrow Rome.  

Interestingly, the scope of Jesus’ mission was universal and not limited to Israel. His mission as anointed was more significant than just offering freedom to politically oppressed people. One gets the picture from John’s gospel that Jesus is God’s anointed (the Messiah), not in the sense of widespread political expectation, but in a different sense related to His divine Sonship. His anointing as the Messiah means that He was chosen and equipped by God to save the world from sin and death. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). 

What were His Missions, and How Did He Fulfil Them?

Luke 4:18-19 (a quote from Isaiah 61:1-2) speaks explicitly about His mission: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

I want to explain His mission using three words: revelation, redemption, and representation. 

• He Came to Reveal God to Us. Hebrews 1:1-3 states: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person . . ..” According to this passage, Jesus is the finality of God’s revelation of Himself to humanity. Before Jesus, humanity only had a shallow knowledge of God, but when Jesus came, He revealed God to us so we could enjoy a loving, intimate fellowship with Him. Though God spoke in diverse manners to the fathers in times past, they only had a pale reflection of God’s character, but Jesus said He is the exact revelation of God (John 14:8-9). This fulfils His role as a Prophet. 

• He Died to Redeem Us. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:14). Redemption is at the heart of all that Jesus came to do. Through Adam, humanity stands eternally condemned before God. Sin brought gross enmity between God and humanity, and there was no cure for his estrangement from God until Christ came to pay the ransom for his sin. Humanity was helplessly bound under the tyranny of the cruel taskmaster, Satan. Still, Jesus redeemed us from the dominion of Satan and sin, giving us the right to stand before God. He offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin; He was both the offerer and the offering (Hebrews 9:11-14). He has provided the greatest gift of salvation to many who would come to Him in repentance and faith. His death is to redeem us from the penalty and power of sin. Through His death, we are ransomed, restored, renewed and forgiven. His redemptive mission fulfils His role as a Priest. 

1. He Went to Represent Us. “For Christ has entered into heaven itself to appear now before God as our advocate. . ..” (Heb. 9:24, NLT). After His resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven, seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Heb. 1:3). First, that Jesus sitting at the right hand of majesty means death could not hold its grip on Him. Second, sitting at God’s right hand means He has the highest place. Third, He is seated at the right hand of God as the judge of all. Paul reminded us of the supremacy of Jesus when he wrote in Col. 1:16: “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.” He is seated in the right hand of God, representing us before the Father. He is our advocate. He defends us; He speaks in our best interest. An advocate is a person who comes to our aid or pleads our case to a judge. Advocates offer us support, strength, counsel, and intercede when necessary. “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). Christ executes the office of a King in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all His and our enemies. 

To summarise the above points, Jesus fulfilled His mission in several ways: 

• He preached the gospel to the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalised.
• He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, set captives free, and raised the dead.
• He forgave sins and offered new life to all who would repent and believe in Him.
• He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and to make a way for us to be forgiven. We are now God’s children.
• He rose from the dead, conquering sin and death and giving us hope for eternal life.

The crux of Jesus’ mission was to save the world, and He fulfilled that mission perfectly. He is the Savior of the world, and He offers us forgiveness, new life, and eternal hope. However, He has also given us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18). His mission is ongoing, and He has graciously called us to be part of it. We are His ambassadors, and He is making an appeal through us that the world may be reconciled to Him (2 Cor. 5:20). The anointed Jesus revealed God to us, died to redeem us, and went to represent us. Shalom!