Consider Jesus: The Anointed

Let us continue to “consider Jesus.” (Heb. 3:1) 

Acts 4:26,27 “The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the LORD and against His Christ. (Anointed – ASV, Anointed One – NIV)

27For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed,”

To anoint means to consecrate, especially to an office or some serious or somber purpose.  Anoint is the Greek word “chrio,” and “christos” is the Greek word for Christ.  Literally “Christ” means “anointed one.”  Jesus was the “Anointed One,” the Messiah.  

Jesus was consecrated to His holy office and God sent Him to do His redeeming work.  “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38)  Jesus quoted a prophecy of Isaiah saying this same thing at the synagogue in Nazareth to start His public work.  “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE DOWNTRODDEN” (Luke 4:18)

Consider Jesus: The Amen

Let us continue to “consider Jesus.” (Heb. 3:1) 

Rev. 3:14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:”

Amen means “true” or “steadfast and firm.”  We say “amen” to signal our assent to the fact that what we have heard is true.  We most often do this after prayers.  Jesus is our statement of confirming truth.  By Him, His life, character, power and promises we know the truth.  2 Cor. 1:20   “For as many as may be the promises of God, in Him they are yes; wherefore also by Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.”  What we know of Him is our confidence to believe every promise of God.  Whatever God has said can be “amen’ed” (stated and fully known as true) because of Jesus.  The more we consider Him the more our confidence in the complete truth of all that God has spoken to us.  

Beginning And End, First and Last

Beginning And End

Rev. 22:13  “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

Jesus is from the beginning and will be at the end.  In fact, He is before the beginning and will be after the end.  He is the summation and purpose of all as well as the creator and sustainer of it.  He started it. He’ll end it. It not just all about Him, but it was about Him before it was and it will still be about Him after it is over.

Beginning Of The Creation Of God

Rev. 3:14  “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:”

Yes, the creation began with Him because He created it, but He is also the most important part of the creation. 

First And Last

Rev 1:17  “And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as a dead man. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,”

Rev. 2:8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:”

Rev. 22:13  “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

These continual descriptions of Jesus as being from beginning to end and first to last affirm His divinity, eternality, power.  But I believe that they especially convey to us preeminence.  Paul sums up the preeminence of Christ in everything in Col. 1.  “And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation.  For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created by Him and for Him.  And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.  He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.” (Col. 1:15-18)

Alpha And Omega

Rev. 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Rev. 21:6  “And He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.”

Rev. 22:13  “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

“Alpha” was the first letter of the Greek alphabet (in fact we see that word “alpha” in “alphabet”) and “omega” was the last letter of the Greek alphabet.  Jesus is the “A” and “Z,” or the “beginning and the end.”  In fact, these very words are used in Rev. 22:13. 

Almighty

Rev. 19:11-16 “And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war.

12  And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself.

13 And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God.

14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.

15  And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.

16  And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

We normally think of God the Father as the Almighty.  But this title, which means possessing of all power and ruling with all authority, can apply in most contexts to the Godhead as a whole, and the clearly in this context the Jesus.

Rev. 19 presents Jesus as a mighty and unstoppable warrior, an avenging judge and mighty king in the conclusion of the war that the book of Revelation reveals.  The end of the conflict is the total destruction of the enemies of God.

Consider Jesus who an almighty conquering warrior fighting for us. 

Advocate

 1 Jn. 2:1  “My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous”

He speaks and pleads on our behalf.  The word “advocate” is often synonymous with lawyer, though here obviously not with the negative connotation that often goes with  that term(for the following phrase says that Jesus is “the righteous”) but in the sense that He has access to the bar of justice and speaks tirelessly for us there.  Those who go before the Judge need competent representation, especially when there is an “adversary,” (1 Pet. 5:8) and “accuser” (Rev. 12:10) who is a “liar” (Jn. 8:44) and a “deceiver” (Rev. 12:8) standing against them. 

Consider Jesus who is one our side, continually pleading on behalf of those who seek forgiveness of sins.

The Last Adam

 1 Cor. 15:45-47  “So also it is written, “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

46  However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.

47  The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.”

The father of us all in the flesh is Adam.  We all descend from him, and have a physical life.  But we also remember that he brought sin into the world and so he is also the source of death for us all.  “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive.” (1 Cor. 15:22)  Now in Christ we have life.  He’s like a second Adam giving life to all who will take it.  But the life He offers is a spiritual and everlasting one. 

Consider Jesus who has the power over death and offers to give life eternal to everyone.  

Considering Jesus

We are told by the Hebrew writer to give careful consideration to Jesus.  “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.  He was faithful to Him who appointed Him” (Heb. 3:1,2a)  In this text we are to consider the faithfulness of Jesus to doing the will of God.  “but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.” (vs. 6)  The faithfulness of Christ is a great thing for us to consider and to imitate. 

But there are many other things for us to consider about Jesus and draw lessons from.  Just the vast variety names and titles of Jesus given by inspiration should stop and give us pause.  Starting with descriptions as Adam (the last), Advocate, Almighty, and ending two hundred descriptors later with Witness, Wonderful and Word (of God and of Life), we find a breadth of words to communicate to us something of His position, mission, character, power, majesty, and dominion.  Truly he is “the Alpha and the Omega” Rev. 1:8,11; 21:6; 22:13 (or as we would say in modern idiom, the A to Z of it all).  For us, He is everything, and He is all. 

Because of this, we do rightly consider Him all that we can.