The Anointed One
Water, oil, and the Holy Spirit
When a baby is baptized in the Roman Catholic tradition, the priest applies oil to the child in the shape of the cross and says:
"We anoint you with the oil of salvation in the name of Christ our Savior; may he strengthen you with his power, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.”
This formula of ritual washing with water (the baptism) followed by anointing with oil can be found in many Christian and Judaic traditions.
Aaron Ordained
For example, in the Book of Exodus, God gives Moses the following instructions:
“Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them to minister as priests to Me…
“…you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. (…)
Then you shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. (…)
So you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.”
(From Exodus 29:1-9)
The “tent of meeting” referred to the Tabernacle: the Israelites’ portable sanctuary for the Ark of the Covenant. And the Ark was the chest that held the two stone tablets upon which God inscribed the Ten Commandments.
The Tabernacle was called the tent of meeting because it was the designated place for man to meet God. Such a momentous encounter called for due reverence. So, those who were to enter His presence had first to prepare by purifying themselves. That is why Aaron and his sons were to be washed and anointed before entering the tent of meeting.
Water and Oil
Such a ritual can purify on two levels.
On the physical level, washing with water cleanses the body of pollutants the body has picked up on its earthly travels. And oil on the freshly bathed skin creates a seal that protects against further pollutants. Water removes old impurities while oil prevents the introduction of new ones.
And on a higher plane of being, such ritual acts can symbolize and thus facilitate spiritual purification. During the baptismal washing, old sinful attachments (spiritual impurities) can be relinquished. During the anointing in oil, inward guards against new temptations can be raised.
Anointed Roles
To anoint also means to choose someone for a role: especially to confer holy orders. For Aaron and his brothers it meant ordination into a new priesthood.
Being baptized and anointed by Moses on behalf of God “consecrated” them as priests. To consecrate means to dedicate to a divine function. In this case, the function of the priestly office was to minister to God in His Tabernacle: by tending to the sacred objects, offering sacrifices, etc.
To anoint is to ordain, to consecrate, and to invest. Ordination is not just an assignment of duties but an endowment of the powers necessary to fulfill those duties: an investiture. That is why officiating priests say “by the power vested in me.”
Another holy office that would later emerge among the ancient Hebrews was that of King of Israel. The King was also anointed with oil (by a priest or a prophet). By that anointing, he was consecrated for and ordained into kingship and invested with the power to fulfill the duties of that office.
The Messiah
Those who were chosen for the holy offices of High Priest and King were called mashiach, a Hebrew word that means “anointed one” and is the root of the word “messiah.”
This word was also used to refer to a singularly great world-historical messiah: one destined (appointed or anointed by God) to be the great redeemer and savior of God’s people.
The Greek word for “messiah” or “anointed one” is “khristos,” which is the root of the word “Christ.”
Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the one anointed by God to offer redemption and salvation to His people, which includes not just one nation, but all humanity.
Jesus Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit in his mother’s womb. As an adult, although sinless, he was baptized in water by John the Baptist. Then, God Himself proclaimed who Jesus was:
After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and settling on Him, and behold, a voice from the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
The Apostle Peter later said of that event (emphasis added):
“You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.”
While the baptized Jesus stood in the Jordan, God anointed him, not with oil, but “with the Holy Spirit and power.” He thus ordained, consecrated, and invested Jesus as the Christ; the Messiah; the one anointed for the threefold office of “Priest, Prophet, King”; the one assigned, empowered, and destined to offer redemption and salvation to all mankind.
The baptized and anointed Jesus then proceeded with his ministry. By the power of the Holy Spirit vested in him, he preached the gospel and forgave sinners with divine authority. He miraculously healed suffering sinners of their interrelated physical and spiritual afflictions.
The Chosen Apostles
After his Crucifixion and Resurrection, and before his Ascent to heaven, Jesus gave, as Luke the Evangelist related, ”orders by the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen.”
Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
“…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.”
And the promised day did indeed arrive:
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, distributing themselves, and a tongue rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit...
As John the Baptist prophesied, Jesus came to baptize, not with water, but “with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11 NASB)
The Common Priesthood
After their baptism in the Holy Spirit, Jesus’s chosen (anointed) apostles served as his witnesses throughout the land, preaching the gospel. Those with ears to hear received the apostles’ message, thus receiving Jesus, thus receiving God. They themselves were thereby baptized and anointed in the Holy Spirit. And these Christians in turn witnessed Christ to their neighbors.
So the Holy Spirit spread “as far as the remotest part of the earth”: baptizing and anointing Jesus, through Jesus the apostles he chose, and through the apostles the Christian fellowship they launched.
Initiation into that fellowship is also an ordination into what the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls “the common priesthood of all believers.” For everyone and anyone can meet God through Jesus. Every Christian is ordained as a priest through being baptized and anointed by the Holy Spirit through Christ. And anywhere in the world can be a tent of meeting.
“you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 2:5 NIV
God’s offer of redemption and salvation through Jesus stands ready and available for any and all who would accept it. To accept God through Jesus is to be baptized and anointed in the Holy Spirit; to be cleansed of and protected from slavery to sin; to be consecrated as a dedicated vessel of God; to be invested with the power of faith; and to be inducted into the eternal fellowship of Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One.