Heidelberg Catechism Devotional Q31

Q.31. Why is he called “Christ,” meaning anointed?

A. Because he has been ordained by God the Father and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief prophet and teacher who perfectly reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God for our deliverance; our only high priest who has set us free by the one sacrifice of his body, and who continually pleads our cause with the Father; and our eternal king who governs us by his Word and Spirit, and who guards us and keeps us in the freedom he has won for us.

Monday

A man walks into a room and is crowned the King of a nation.  Another walks into a church and is pronounced a reverend. A third has a star pinned on his chest and becomes a sheriff.  Each of these is an act of ordination.  Ordination is the setting apart of someone for a specific purpose.  In each of these scenarios the public recognizes the authority the person has been granted and the ordinand accepts certain responsibilities in return for the authority and title received. 

God set Jesus apart to be the savior of the world, and in exchange for this responsibility, he received authority to rule.  This doesn’t mean there was a time Jesus had no authority, for he is uncreated and fully divine.  (This is the trouble with language.) Rather, this kind of language serves to illustrate that Jesus is the fulfillment of all our poor attempts to model his authority and responsibility in human acts of ordination.  Read Hebrews 1:8-9.

Tuesday

Have you ever had someone poor a bucket of water over your head? Or spill a pitcher of tea in your lap?  Have you put on lotion and rubbed it into your hands?  You have been anointed.  To anoint someone is to cover them with something.  In day-to-day life, we don’t think about anointing ourselves too much, but in religious ceremonies, the act of anointing someone is highly symbolic.  The one anointed is viewed as being covered in the blessings of the Creator.  Read Luke 3:21-22.  What was poured out upon Jesus?  What does this tell us about Jesus and his ministry?  Read Luke 4:16-21.

Wednesday

Since Jesus was set apart by God and covered in the power of the Holy Spirit, what kind of ministry/responsibility did he receive?  Reformed theology has always viewed the ministry of Jesus as three-fold.  He is a prophet, a priest and a king.  God anointed him and set him apart to fulfill all the great roles spoken about in the Scriptures.  As a prophet and teacher, he reveals to us the way of Salvation.  He calls us to follow him and to repent of our sin.  He tells us of God’s mercy and shows us his love.  He is the one Moses foretold when he told the Israelites to obey the one to come.  Read Deuteronomy 18:15-20 and Matthew 23:8-10.

Thursday

But Jesus is also our Great High Priest.  Where a prophet communicates God’s messages to the people and acts on God’s behalf, a priest communicates the peoples’ messages to God and acts on their behalf.  Jesus fulfills both roles by representing God to humanity and humanity to God.  He gives himself as a sacrifice to remove our sin and he prays for us.  Read Hebrews 9:11-14, 10:11-14 and Romans 8:34.  Because of this, we have no reason to fear ever falling under God’s eternal judgment since Jesus was set apart as both a prophet and a priest.  There is nothing lacking in our salvation.

Friday

Jesus is also a king, an eternal king who rules and who has complete autonomy and authority.  In the western world of democracies, the idea of a king seems vague and backwards, but a holy, good and wise king is a gift to a nation.  Read Proverbs 29:4.  By using his authority and ruling by his Word and Spirit, the people of God are given everything they could ever desire in salvation: a representative before God, God’s teaching in a manner they can understand and emulate and God’s power and authority in their lives through the Holy Spirit and finally, the security of knowing that their Savior has eternal power and will never be overthrown.  Read Psalm 2 and Matthew 21:5.

Saturday

Truly Christ is anointed and set apart for a ministry that is magnificent and grand.  The scope of his job description is immense – save sinners, teach them holiness, rule over them in such a way that they grow and flourish and protect them from all the schemes of the evil one.  How wonderful that Jesus fulfills each and every aspect of that charge.  Rejoice today in the salvation and freedom Christ has won for you.  Read Matthew 28:18-20 and Revelation 12:10-12.