Messiah: Known for Righteousness

“You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever…Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set You above your companions by anointing You with the oil of joy.” (Psalm 45, 2, 6-7. NIV) “He went to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day He went into the synagogue, as was His custom, And He stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it is written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’…Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:16-19, 20b. NIV). “But about the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above Your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.” (Hebrews 1:8-9, NIV).

Psalm 45 is believed to be a song of celebration at the wedding of one of Israel’s kings (whose name is not given). However, because of its Messianic prophecy, it has been applied to the concept as the church as the bride of Christ. The theme is that of the righteous ruler, one above reproach and chosen by God. As Jesus worshiped in the synagogue at Nazareth, He read from the prophet Isaiah which gave details about his mission and ministry and declared: “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” The Son of Righteousness had indeed come, and was standing in their midst! Later, the writer of Hebrews would quote in his epistle the passage from Psalms 45:6-7 which reveals the everlasting nature of His kingdom, His righteous reign, and his anointing with ‘the oil of joy.’ This ‘oil of joy’ indicated a very festive occasion, as the joining eternally of the Bridegroom (the Messiah) with his bride (the church). The language in the Psalm is of such a transcendent nature that it could only be used of the future Messiah and His reign of righteousness.

Why the emphasis upon the righteous Messiah? We all have sinned and need a way to be justified in God’s sight, a way to become righteous again The Righteous Messiah offers His own righteousness so that we, by faith, can be made right. Paul made this very clear in Romans 3:22-24: “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ.” This Christmas let us celebrate the coming of the Christ Child. But let us not forget that in His plan for imputing the righteousness of Christ to us, God made a way which is above every way whereby we might be reconciled to Him. Thanks to God!

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Saturday, December 4, 2010