Scripture Reading: Luke 4:18; Acts 10:38; 1 John 2:27; Lev. 14:14-17; 8:22-30; Psa. 133
All ministry follows anointing. Aaron did not exercise his priestly ministry until after his anointing, and David did not enter into his kingly ministry until he had been anointed. Following his anointing Elisha's prophetic ministry began. Even our Lord's public ministry began after the descent of the Holy Spirit.
We usually associate anointing with power and we are justified in doing so to a certain degree, but we are also apt to miss the significance of the anointing because of that very association. The power of the Holy Spirit in ministry is the result, not the object of the anointing. Its object is sanctification, that is, being set apart for God. Anointing is the first condition of ministry. Only those who are "set apart unto the Lord" are qualified to serve Him (Exo. 13:12). Unless the Lord has said, "This one is Mine," there can be no ministry to the Lord. When Jesus was anointed at the Jordan River, before He entered upon His ministry, a voice from heaven said, "This is My Son, the Beloved." The divine acknowledg- ment of Christ came first, His ministry followed thereafter. No one can deny that His ministry was powerful, and we are right in saying that power accompanies anointing; however, the anointing is not a matter of power, it is a matter of divine sovereignty. The anointing proclaims that the one anointed is under the authority of God. It is God's recognition that that one has been chosen by Him. On the divine side, the anointing signifies a setting apart by God for Himself. On the human side, it signifies ministry and carries power with it. Power is incidental to the anointing; it is not its primary object. The primary object is the setting apart of an individual to the Lord. Power follows because the Lord assumes the responsibility of empowering all the ministry that He has sanctioned.
For the one who ministers, the anointing does not mean power, it means the presence of the Spirit. "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says Jehovah of hosts" (Zech. 4:6). What registers in the life of the one anointed is the presence of the Spirit; what registers in the lives of others is the presence of power. The anointing teaches us, and it teaches us not through reason but through its presence. The presence or absence of the anointing always directs our course.
In the cleansing of the leper and in the consecration of Aaron, blood was smeared upon the ear, hand, and foot; thereafter, oil was put upon the bloodsmeared parts. In other places in Scripture, the blood speaks of redemption and is only for God. It is objective, but it is subjective in relation to the cleansing of the leper and the consecration of Aaron. It speaks of a subjective working of death. The blood on Aaron signified that Aaron had died. The blood on the ear, hand, and foot indicated that the Lord's priests should let the cross deal with all they hear, with all their work, and with all their walk. The anointing does not come upon uncrucified flesh; it only comes where the cross has already been. When God wants someone to serve Him, He does not look for quickness of mind or warmth of heart; He looks for the marks of the cross on the ear, hand, and foot.
Our Lord's ministry recorded in Luke 4 was preceded by His baptism. The waters of the Jordan in which He was baptized speak of death. Following this the Spirit descended. This is the New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament blood and oil. There is no ministry without anointing, but there is no anointing without the cross.
