Day 138

Of Christ the Mediator.

Chapter 8, Paragraph 3.

“The Lord Jesus in his human nature thus united to the divine, in the Person of the Son, was sanctified & anointed with the Holy Spirit, above measure;...“

Scripture Lookup

Psalm 45:7

Acts 10:38

John 3:34

Reflection

Why would Jesus, who always did the will of His Father, need to be sanctified by the Holy Spirit? Why was He anointed with the Holy Spirit? To sanctify means to make holy, or set apart. While the human nature and the divine nature of Christ are inseparably joined together, they are still distinct natures. The human nature of Jesus was sanctified by the Holy Spirit. In His very conception, the Holy Spirit set Him apart. He was born of a woman, yet not born by ordinary generation. The Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary, thus ensuring Jesus to be born without the corrupt sinful nature passed down from Adam and Eve.

As the Messiah, or “anointed one”, Jesus was empowered to carry out His role as mediator between God and man. Where did this anointing come from? From the Spirit. As a human, He held all the essential properties of being a man. That includes all the infirmities humans possess. How much stress can one man endure? How long can someone keep up such a ministry before physical ailments occur?  Jesus, in His human nature, was empowered by the Spirit to endure the agony and suffering necessary to atone for sin.

This sanctifying and anointing of the Spirit in Christ’s humanity was without measure. He was given all that was necessary for His task, and more so! We see through this the importance that the Trinity places on the redemption of the elect. All three persons determined to save a people for God’s glory. Our salvation is surely secure!

Questions to Consider

• Have you ever considered the role of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ life?