The Claim: Jesus Was Never Properly Anointed and Could Not Be Christ/Messiah/Anointed One
Jesus was never properly anointed! Instead, he was smeared with ointment (Matthew 26:7-9, Mark 14:3-5, Luke 7:37). To be the Christ/Messiah/Anointed One, he had to be appropriately anointed. To be correctly anointed is the following - Exodus 30:22-25, Exodus 29:7, 1 Samuel 10:1, 1 Samuel 16:13, 1 Kings 1:34, 39, 45.
The Biblical accounts of the anointing of the first three kings of Israel – Saul, David, and Solomon – contain the following six unique elements of a template for the process of anointing royalty of Israel, one of whom will be a messiah.
1. A special preparation from pure olive oil was used as the oil of anointing.
2. Being sacred, the anointing oil was stored in the Temple.
3. A universally recognized prophet performed the ritual of anointing a king.
4. The prophets used the vial of oil, or the horn of oil, to anoint the new king, not merely a vial of oil or a horn of oil.
5. The oil of anointing was poured only on the head.
6. Anointing was tantamount to crowning a king (or appointing a high priest).
Jesus was never anointed in this way, and so he cannot be A messiah, much less THE messiah.
The Response
"Anointing" in a literal, physical sense means "to smear or rub with oil." For example, Jacob anointed a stone with oil (Gen 28:18).
The English word "Christ" comes from the Greek word Χριστός (Christos), which means "anointed one." The English word "Messiah" comes from the Hebrew word מָשִׁיחַ (Mashiach), which means "anointed one."
The claim mentions a "proper anointing" in Exodus chapters 29 and 30. This anointing is associated with establishing the Levitical priesthood. Jesus wasn't a Levite and should not have received that anointing (ever!). In this regard, the claim is 100% correct: the passages usually quoted from Matthew, Mark, and Luke would never qualify as anointing in a Levitical sense. Yeshua was a priest in the order of Melchizedek, not Aaron (Hebrews 5:10).
The claim also mentions a "proper anointing" found in 1 Samuel chapters 10 and 16 and 1 Kings chapter 1. These anointings are associated with humanity's actions in anointing a king, not with any requirement from the LORD. However, each of the six points presented in the claim has problems.
1) The only "olive oil" is mentioned regarding the Levitical priesthood... not kings.
2) The Levites couldn't have stored the oil in the Temple: it had not yet been built. (Perhaps the Tabernacle?)
3) Zadok, the priest who anointed Solomon (1 Kings 1:39), was not a universally recognized prophet.
4) This part of the claim doesn't make any sense.
5) Oil poured only on the head? This is apparent in only a few cases but not all of them.
6) Anointing = crowning a king? Anointing was also used for other purposes.
Is the oil indeed the point, though? Or is it merely an outward symbol of G-d placing His Spirit upon someone (like Aaron or King David) to accomplish His work?
We see the Holy Spirit anointed Yeshua in John 1:32. That is the true anointing that G-d performed Himself.
Messiah Yeshua came first as the suffering servant and will be anointed as King of Kings and Lord of Lords upon His return.
Oh, Lord, may You return soon!
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