“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, we went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” Acts 10:38
Jesus spent about three years ministering on the earth before He went to the cross as a ransom for the sins of the world. In those three years Jesus made the Father known through how Jesus ministered. In those three years Jesus also demonstrated how to minister to those who followed Him. There are many things we can learn from reading about Jesus’ ministry in the Gospels. Here are three specific principles:
Jesus made it clear that it was the power of the Holy Spirit that made His ministry possible. That power was tangible. In Mark 5:24-34 a woman grabbed the edge of His clothing as a conductor of the anointing (see Acts 19:11,12). There was a group of people crowded around Jesus, yet Jesus perceived that the power of God had moved through Him to minister to someone. This is why Jesus said, “Who touched My clothes?” Jesus was able to perceive the flow of power because the power was tangible. Like Jesus, we need God’s power to minister to others.
There is another occasion where Luke wrote that the power of the Lord was present to heal them. If the power was present in this moment, then we know there were times when it wasn’t present, or manifested. The word present in the Greek language means that it “entered in (Luke 5:17).” This same Greek word was used for traveling from one place into another place. The power of God can flow in and out. In the preceding verse it says, “He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.” Praying is more than talking with God; prayer is having communion with God in the spirit. Prayer is basking in His presence. Prayer is letting the power of God rub on us. Like Jesus, to have the power present, we should spend time with God in the spirit.
Also, Jesus would come into physical contact with people to transfer the anointing. For example, he put His hands on these people: in healing a leper (Matthew 8:1-4), healing a fever (Matthew 8:14-15), healing the blind (Matthew 9:27-31), raising the dead (Mark 5:41), healing the deaf (Mark 7:32). In healing another blind man, Jesus touched Him twice, giving the man a double dose of God’s power (Mark 8:22). Like Jesus, we should make physical contact with people to transfer the anointing. Thankfully, Jesus is our teacher and the Holy Spirit is our helper! Let’s minister His power so God can get the glory!
Application: Read Luke chapters 3 and 4 and note how Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit before His earthly ministry began.