Meditate on the Word

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. - Acts 10:38

Have you ever wondered why the Holy Spirit didn’t move Dr Luke to write “Jesus, the Son of God” or “the Son of Man”, or “the Son of David”?

If it were the “Son of God”, then this verse would probably not be applicable to us. If it were the “Son of Man”, He would be seen as the Head of humanity and/or the Messiah.  If it were the Son of David”, He would be seen as the King of the Jews (or Messiah too).

God anointed Jesus of Nazareth. Nazareth is a city that was despised, rejected and esteemed lowly by many. In fact, the Jews didn’t think that anything good could come out of the city (John 1:46).

Yet God anointed Jesus of Nazareth! God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit AND with power.

It is interesting that the Bible actually separates the two —— Holy Spirit and Power. In Acts 1:8, Luke wrote that “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you...” But in Acts 10:38, Luke separated the two. This tells us that the Holy Spirit is not power. Do you have power when He comes? Absolutely!

But the Holy Spirit came for a greater purpose. He came for our identity.

The Spirit in us is the confirmation that we are His sons and daughters (Rom 8:16). The Spirit is sent because we are anointed (Isaiah 61:1) as His sons and daughters (Gal 4:6). Therefore, to be anointed is simply about our identity as His sons and daughters.

The Holy Spirit cannot make you more anointed because He came to confirm your anointing (1 John 2:20-27). He came because you are anointed, not because He’s trying to make you anointed. (Sorry, charismatics...)

The despised, rejected and lowly One was anointed with the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 61:1) and with power (Luke 4:14). That qualifies anyone of us who is despised, rejected and esteemed lowly by others, whether it’s in the world or in the church. Our identity is confirmed by the Holy Spirit, instead of the (haughty and critical) spirit of men.

Just when nobody thought any good could come out of Nazareth (John 1:46), Jesus went about doing good. The desire in you to do good reveals your identity, anointed as sons who are good and do good. Your behavior does not change your identity. It confirms it.

Jesus healed ALL who were oppressed by the devil. Since He healed the sick and cast out demons, it means that every sickness is an oppression from the devil. Nothing can be clearer here. It destroys every idea that sickness is part of God’s will, plan or discipline. We need to deal with sickness as though we are dealing with the enemy, because it is an oppression.

The last part of the verse says that “for God was with Him.” God was obviously with Jesus, because the Spirit rested upon Him and never left. Sometimes, I hear things like, “We invite the presence of God to come....” Since when did He ever leave? (Heb 13:5)

However, I believe that this verse is referring to the awareness that brings forth the fruit in 1 John 4:4. The awareness of the presence of God in the face of the sickness (the oppression of the devil) is the key for healing ALL who were oppressed. For greater is He that is in us.

Acts 10:38 is about walking in our identity as sons and daughters. This gives us the awareness of who our Father is and who we are in Him, so that we confront every sickness boldly and crush every oppression that comes our way. If goodness can come out of Nazareth, everyone of us is qualified to demonstrate what Jesus did.