What does it mean to be anointed?

from the old testament

• A formal anointing in ancient times was the pouring of oil over an object. While anointing in Scripture is always religious in nature, not all anointing at that time was religious. People would rub their shields with oil or even cover themselves or animals with oil as a way to provide protection or healing from ailments. This practice was not limited to the Israelites, with evidence of anointing being done in the surrounding regions as well.
• In Hebrew, the verb for “anointed” is mashach, a word that literally means the smearing of something or someone with a liquid (such as oil). In the Old Testament, there were three types of people who were anointed: priests (and priestly articles), kings, and prophets. While anointing often involved a literal smearing of oil, it could also be used figuratively.
• The first use of mashach is literal and found in Exodus 28:40–41. By anointing Aaron and his sons, God was setting them apart, along with all future Levites, to serve Him as priests. This idea of “setting apart” is a key idea of the biblical use of mashach and is generally what people mean today when they refer to someone as anointed.
• In addition to priests, the articles located within the temple were also to be set apart, or anointed (Exodus 40:9–10). Notice that anointing something is directly associated with that thing being considered “holy.” So, when used in the Old Testament, being “anointed” had the idea of being set aside as holy in order to serve God. God was not saying that oil makes something holy, but He used a common practice in those days, so the Israelites would understand that everything He anointed was special.
• Not only were priests anointed, but so were Israel’s kings. For example, God, through the prophet Samuel, anointed their first king, Saul (1 Samuel 10:1a). This anointing was to set him apart as Israel’s leader.
• However, being set aside didn’t guarantee that one would act righteously. In Saul’s case, while he started out as a good leader, he quickly sinned, disobeying God’s commands (1 Samuel 13:8–14; 1 Samuel 15). As a result, God withdrew His anointing by sending Samuel to anoint Israel’s next king, David (1 Samuel 16:12c–14a). In this moment, the Spirit of the Lord moved from Saul to David. This shows that, in some way, God’s anointing was connected with the presence of Holy Spirit, with sin potentially disqualifying an individual.
• David understood this risk. After he sinned greatly (2 Samuel 11), he was afraid that God would remove His Spirit (anointing), as He did with Saul. After being convicted of his sin, David wrote Psalm 51, saying, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:10–11). Unlike in the New Testament, where believers are permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit, in the Old Testament, His presence was generally temporary and for the enablement of an individual to perform a particular task. David understood that sin makes a breech in relationship with God and that He might remove the anointing and give it to another.
• The difference between David and Saul was that David expressed heartfelt remorse and repentance for his sin. By not removing the anointing, God demonstrated that He was satisfied with David’s repentance. Sometimes, modern Christians claim that being anointed means that they have a special, untouchable status before God. However, David understood that God will not tolerate sin, even by those He has anointed.
• While most prophets are not explicitly said to be anointed, there are at least two times that a prophet is referred to as “anointed.” The first was Elisha, a prophet who was to replace Elijah (1 Kings 19:15–16). Interestingly, Elijah was never said to have been anointed himself, nor does the Bible record other prophets before him being anointed. Also, of the three men listed in the 1 Kings passage, Scripture only records Jehu being literally anointed with oil (2 Kings 9:6). Therefore, it is unclear if Elisha’s anointing was a figurative way of referring to the torch being passed to him from Elijah, or if there was a literal anointing with oil that was not recorded in Scripture. In any event, the Holy Spirit worked strongly through Elisha, like Elijah before him (c.f., 2 Kings 2:9, 15).
• One other passage where a prophet is said to be anointed is found in Isaiah 61:1. While the “me” is not defined in the passage, given the previous context of references to the Servant, it is likely that the speaker in this passage is that Servant, later identified as Jesus. Indeed, Jesus would refer to this exact passage and apply it to Himself (see the New Testament section).
• In the New Testament, “Christ” was the Greek word for the Hebrew word mashiach, which we know in English as “Messiah.” Messiah literally means “Anointed One.” That is, the Messiah was to be a specific, and specially anointed, individual. The use of the word “anointed” is figurative, as the Messiah was never literally anointed with oil. The Messiah was to be a special, Spirit-filled individual, set apart for a unique mission. That mission is described in greater detail in the New Testament.

from the new testament

• Jesus identified Himself as the Messiah to which the Old Testament had pointed. Entering a synagogue near the beginning of His ministry, He read from Isaiah 61:1–2a. After reading that passage, Luke records, “And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’” (Luke 4:20–21).
• Jesus was saying that He was specifically anointed by God “to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor” (Isaiah 61:2a). God had sent His Son, the Messiah, to provide favor to the Jews (and the rest of the world) by providing a way of escape from His coming wrath (Isaiah 61:2b). The rest of the New Testament describes His redemptive mission.
• This mission started with His baptism. While there are various reasons proposed for why Jesus insisted to John the Baptist that He had to be baptized “to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15b), one plausible suggestion was that this was also the point where Jesus was specifically anointed. Indeed, it was directly after this baptism that Jesus’ mission began with His temptation, and then the reading of the scroll as mentioned in the Luke 4 passage.
• Whether or not the baptism can be considered the exact moment Jesus was anointed, the disciples recognized that Jesus was anointed. After He ascended, the disciples were arrested for proclaiming His as Savior. After that ordeal, they praised God, quoting from Psalm 2:1 (Acts 4:27–28). They identified Jesus as being anointed by God, linking Him to the Messiah alluded to in Psalm 2.
• However, while Jesus was the Anointed One, before He ascended, He promised to send His Holy Spirit so that His disciples would be able to perform His mission on earth while He was gone. He said, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
• Now, all believers are sealed by the Holy Spirit and set apart to serve God. For example, Paul said, “And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee” (2 Corinthians 1:21–22). At first glance, it may appear Paul only spoke of himself and those with him as specially anointed. However, he states that the Holy Spirit within the believer is associated with God’s anointing.
• The connection between the Holy Spirit and anointing resembles the connection between a king being anointed and filled with the Holy Spirit. The key difference, however, is in the Old Testament, only specific individuals had the Spirit, only for specific purposes, and often only for a limited time. However, today, all believers have the permanent indwelling of Holy Spirit. Thus, all are anointed, permanently set apart to serve God.
• John understood that. Speaking to a general group of believers, he said, “But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge” (1 John 2:20). A few verses later, he reiterated that, saying, “the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him” (1 John 2:27). John was specifically talking about the “anointing” teaching them the truth about who Jesus is (in contrast with the false brethren, who were teaching a heretical version of Jesus). However, notice that he used language of an active actor in the believer’s life: The “anointing” abides and teaches. John used the word “anointed” to refer to the Person, the Holy Spirit (c.f., 1 John 4:13).
• All believers, then, are anointed. That means we have been set apart to serve God by living like Christ (1 John 2:6), sharing the gospel (Matthew 28:19), and being holy (1 Peter 1:15–16).

implications for today

Today, some people speak of specific Christians as being “anointed.” When they do so, they are generally using the Old Testament understanding of someone being specially blessed by God. While God does seem to bless some individuals with highly visible ministry gifts, the term “anointed” is not the best word to describe this situation since all believers are anointed by God.

More problematically, some use the term “anointed” as a way of referring to people who should not be “touched” with rebuke. This idea comes from a time when David had the opportunity to kill Saul, who was pursuing him, but he refused to do so because God had anointed him, so he left him to be judged by God (1 Samuel 24:6). Misusing verses like these, some claim to be specially set aside and thus above reproach, refusing to listen to counsel or correction. This is generally the sign of an unrepentant (Proverbs 29:1) or stubborn heart (Zechariah 7:11–12). As Saul showed, being anointed does not make one sinless or above reproach. Indeed, Scripture calls us to test everything (1 Thessalonians 5:21) and to reject the bad (1 Thessalonians 5:22) even when it is presented by spiritual leaders (Acts 17:11). Therefore, we should be wary of anyone who hides behind the term “anointed.”

Because all Christians are anointed by God, we should not look to specially anoint individuals. Instead, let us honor those God has placed in charge of our care (Hebrews 13:17), all the while remembering that we are all fallible and need one another to correct us and grow us to be like the only truly holy and Anointed One, Jesus.