Port City Faith Church
Sunday Morning - March 1st, 2026
  • Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
  • Trust In God
  • Gratitude
  • Nothing But The Blood (Plainfield)
  • We have been looking at the Titles of Jesus,
    by understanding his various titles we understand who he is, and how we relate to him
    Last week we Looked at Jesus as the WORD of God - the Logos, the source of all knowledge, wisdom, discovery, and prophecy.
    This week we look at his most well known title,
    so well known in fact that we often use it as if its his last name,
    Christ, or in Hebrew Messiah
    These two words mean the exact same thing, one comes from Greek - Christos, and the other from Hebrew - Mashiach,.
    And in English, and in our Culture, we almost always call Jesus - Christ, so much so that is you were to ask some random person on the Street what Christ means, they might simply say that it is Jesus’s last name.
    But it is not a name, it is a title.
    And Messiah, we use messiah as a stand in for “Chosen one” - and it usually is used to speak of the heroic figures of literature or movies, especially the hero that comes from nowhere, but who is prophesied to save the people.
    But it doesn’t mean chosen one.
    It means Anointed one. Or literally - “The Smeared one”
    And it’s actually a fairly common title, in that there are many anointed ones in scripture.
    But in the Old Testament there were only a few people who were anointed ones at any one time
    The High Priest, and the Kings of Israel and Judah.
    And the High priest was first.
    Leviticus 8:10–13 ESV
    Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. And he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its utensils and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them. And he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him. And Moses brought Aaron’s sons and clothed them with coats and tied sashes around their waists and bound caps on them, as the Lord commanded Moses.
    Aaron as the first high priest of Israel is anointed with oil - to consecrate him, or to make him Holy/ Set apart to serve God in the tabernacle - which is anointed at the same time.
    So in a sense Aaron is the first Messiah.
    And the Image of his anointing, of his being set apart to represent the people, is seen as a blessing, a sign of unity and favor from God
    Psalm 133 ESV
    A Song of Ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.
    When people dwell together in unity, it is like the anointing of Aaron, like the perfumed oil running down his beard.
    Like the dew of Hermon
    Hermon is the tallest Mountain in the area,
    It gets snow regularly
    The dew of hermon becomes the Jordan river which waters all of the promised land.
    So the anointing of the High priest is a blessing from God, trying to bring unity between God and his people.
    Aaron’s role as messiah is to try and reunite the People with God.
    Only the high priest is anointed this way, Aarons sons are NOT anointed.
    And Only the High priest is allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, once a year.
    On The Day of atonement:
    Hebrews 9:1–7 ESV
    Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people.
    So the anointing of the High Priest set him apart as a Messiah, who goes into the presence of God to make atonement for the people, and he could only go in once a year.
    And according to tradition they had the high priest wearing bells with a rope tied around his waist, so that if for some reason he wasn’t ritually pure, if he has sinned before entering the Holy of Holies, and God’s presence struck him dead, then the priests waiting outside could listen to hear if the bells stopped ringing and could drag him back out, rather than send someone who was not anointed into the presence of God.
    So that was the role of the priestly messiah,
    the other messiah’s of the old testament were the kings.
    The Prophet samuel Anointed Saul as king in 1 Samuel 10:1
    1 Samuel 10:1 ESV
    Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.
    Now when read in context, this happens in the middle of Saul trying to hunt down donkeys that he lost, and Samuel just anoints him in the middle of this
    And afterward it is clear that the anointing has done something to Saul.
    1 Samuel 10:9–12 ESV
    When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day. When they came to Gibeah, behold, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” And a man of the place answered, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
    Saul heads out, and it says that God gave him a new heart, and the Holy spirit rushed upon him and he starts prophecying, so even Saul is counted among the prophets, Saul who later rejects the Word of the Lord.
    Now Saul started off great, the new Heart that God gave him made him courageous and strong, but he began to put his own will above God
    1 Samuel 13:13–14 ESV
    And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
    When Saul lets his own heart overtake the heart God had given him, God rejects him, and goes to find a man after His own Heart.
    someone whose heart God doesn’t have to change.
    God sends Samuel to Bethelehem to the house of Jesse,
    1 Samuel 16:6–13 ESV
    When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
    At first Samuel is looking for someone like Saul, tall, handsome, strong, a natural leader,
    But God looks at the heart.
    And David the youngest son, the 8th son - is the one God has chosen,
    and he is handsome, and he becomes a natural leader,
    But when Samuel anoints him the Holy Spirt rushes on David, not just for that moment, like with Saul, but from that day forward.
    Because David has a heart aligned with what God wants, And he seeks God constantly.
    Now as an interesting aside, there are now three messiahs, the high priest, Saul, and David,
    And David is the new King, but David never takes the kingdom from Saul, and even when Saul is trying to Kill david, David refuses to kill saul when he has the chance.
    and look at David’s reasoning why:
    1 Samuel 24:1–7 ESV
    When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks. And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’ ” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord’s anointed.” So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.
    David refuses to attack the Lord’s Anointed, the word there is messiah.
    So the Priestly Messiah seeks to reunite God with the people,
    and the Kingly Messiah is to have a heart aligned with God - to lead the people.
    So what does it mean when we say that Jesus is THE Messiah?
    Is he a king or a priest?
    HE was both,
    He is descended from King David, so he is the rightful king of Israel
    and according to Hebrews he is our high priest
    Hebrews 9:11–12 ESV
    But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
    So Jesus both leads people with the Heart of God, and reunites the people with God through his sacrifice.
    And when was Jesus anointed?
    There is one place where Jesus is anointed before his death,
    When Mary of Bethany brings in a flask of pure nard and pours it on him
    But that is at the end of his earthly ministry, surely he was anointed before then.
    Well what does anointing represent? The Spirit of God rushing upon someone.
    And this happens at Jesus’s baptism. Matthew 3:13-17
    Matthew 3:13–17 ESV
    Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
    Jesus is baptized in water, and when he comes out of the water the Holy spirit descends on him,
    It doesn’t rush upon him, like it did for the kings,
    Oil doesn’t run down his beard like it did with aaron,
    This is something different. Something new.
    So why do we call Jesus the Christ/messiah/anointed one, if he was never actually anointed with oil?
    Well there are a couple places in the old testament where it is prophecied that an Anointed one will come.
    Jesus quotes one of the, in Luke 4:16-21
    Luke 4:16–21 ESV
    And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 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.”
    Jesus here claims that he is anointed by God, that he is the Messiah, bringing about the year of the Lord’s favor.
    Jesus only reads the first half of this passage.
    Isaiah 61:1–4 ESV
    The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
    Why does Jesus skip the later half of this prophecy? where Zion, or Jerusalem is rebuilt? and everyone is celebrating?
    That might be because of the other major prophecy of an anointed one, From Daniel 9, the Seventy “weeks”
    Daniel 9:24–27 ESV
    “Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. And for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”
    Daniel recieves a message from the angel Gabriel, that once Cyrus decreed that Jerusalem and the temple was to be rebuilt, that certain things would fall into motion over 70 weeks, weeks here means a period of seven years.
    THe first seven weeks, or 49 years, the temple will be fully rebuilt, under the guidance of a messiah - in this case both a kingly messiah Zerubbabel, and a priestly messiah Yeshua - this happens in the books of Ezra and Zechariah.
    Then there is a period of 62 weeks - or 434 years where the people will be oppressed by different outside rulers, the Greeks, the Romans, this covers both the 400 years of silence between old testament and new testament, and Jesus’s life, for at the end of this 434 years the Messiah is cut off.
    That is when Jesus died.
    Then it says the end will come and jerusalem will be destroyed.
    and when Jesus speaks with his disciples about the destruction of jerusalem he quotes this passage.
    And much of that destruction came in 70 AD, forty years after Jesus was crucified.
    See Jesus came as the Messiah to bring about the year of the Lords favor as Isiah described, but it didn’t end in rebuilding and joy, it ended with the destruction of the temple and the scattering of the People of Israel.
    So there is still part of the Year of the Lords favor to come, when Jesus comes again.
    And that is the final key in Jesus’s messiahship or Christhood.
    Jesus as the Messiah brings about the Lord’s favor.
    So church, how are we to respond to the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed one?
    Align your heart with God’s heart.
    Seek unity with others and with God.
    and Wait for our blessed hope, the Return of the Christ, who proclaims they year of the Lord’s favor.

      • Matthew 16:13–16ESV

      • Leviticus 8:10–13ESV

      • Psalm 133ESV

      • Hebrews 9:1–7ESV

      • 1 Samuel 10:1ESV

      • 1 Samuel 10:9–12ESV

      • 1 Samuel 13:13–14ESV

      • 1 Samuel 16:6–13ESV

      • 1 Samuel 24:1–7ESV

      • Hebrews 9:11–12ESV

      • Matthew 3:13–17ESV

      • Luke 4:16–21ESV

      • Isaiah 61:1–4ESV

      • Daniel 9:24–27ESV

  • Goodness Of God
Port City Faith Church
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