Pilot Calls Jesus the Christ

Pilot Calls Jesus the Christ

Did Pilate or Herod call Jesus the Christ?

Thought for 7s

Yes — Pilate does, but not as a confession of faith.

In Matthew, Pilate twice refers to Jesus as “Jesus which is called Christ”:

Matthew 27:17 — “Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?” Matthew 27:22 — “Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?”

That wording matters. Pilate is not saying, “I believe He is the Christ.” He is using the public/legal identification attached to Jesus — essentially, “Jesus, the one called Messiah.”

Herod, meaning Herod Antipas in the Passion trial, does not appear to call Jesus “the Christ.” In Luke 23, Herod is glad to see Jesus, hopes for a miracle, questions Him, mocks Him, robes Him, and sends Him back to Pilate, but Luke does not record Herod calling Him Christ.

There is one related Herod detail: Herod the Great in Matthew 2 asked the chief priests and scribes “where Christ should be born” after the wise men came looking for the newborn King of the Jews:

Matthew 2:4 — “he demanded of them where Christ should be born.”

But that is a different Herod, and even there he is asking about the expected Messiah, not making a faithful confession.

So the clean answer is:

Was Jesus annointed more than once? Or just at Bethany with the Spikenard?

Thought for 7s

Yes — Jesus was anointed more than once, depending on what kind of anointing we mean.

1. Divine anointing by the Spirit — at/after baptism#

This is not oil, but it is the deepest authorization/anointing category.

At Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit descends and the Father publicly approves Him:

“the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him…” — Matthew 3:16 “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” — Matthew 3:17

Peter later summarizes Jesus’ ministry this way:

“God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power…” — Acts 10:38

So before Bethany, Jesus is already the Christ / the Anointed One by divine appointment.

2. Earlier human anointing — Luke 7#

Luke records an anointing by a sinful woman in a Pharisee’s house:

“And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears… and anointed them with the ointment.” — Luke 7:38

This seems to be a different event from Bethany because the setting, timing, host, woman, and purpose are different.

Luke 7 is about forgiveness, love, repentance, and faith:

“Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” — Luke 7:50

That anointing is not directly identified by Jesus as burial preparation.

3. Bethany spikenard anointing — Matthew 26 / Mark 14 / John 12#

This is the major one you have been focusing on.

John identifies the woman as Mary, the sister of Lazarus:

“Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus…” — John 12:3

Mark says:

“having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious… she brake the box, and poured it on his head.” — Mark 14:3

Matthew and Mark emphasize the head/body. John emphasizes the feet and the fragrance filling the house. Those do not need to contradict each other. She may have anointed both head and feet.

This is the anointing Jesus explicitly interprets as burial:

“For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.” — Matthew 26:12

“She is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.” — Mark 14:8

“Against the day of my burying hath she kept this.” — John 12:7

So, Bethany is not the only anointing, but it is the great burial-sign anointing.

4. Burial spices after death — Joseph/Nicodemus and the women#

After Jesus dies, His body is prepared with burial spices:

“there came also Nicodemus… and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes…” — John 19:39

“Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices…” — John 19:40

The women also prepared spices and ointments:

“they returned, and prepared spices and ointments…” — Luke 23:56

But by the time they came to the tomb, He was risen. So the completed prophetic/burial-sign anointing before death is especially Bethany.

Clean answer#

Jesus was anointed in several ways:

So the best way to say it is:

Jesus was anointed more than once, but the Bethany spikenard is the specific, climactic anointing Jesus Himself attaches to His burial.

That keeps the distinction clean: baptism/Spirit = divine authorization; Luke 7 = forgiven love; Bethany = burial hinge; John 19/Luke 23 = burial preparation after death.

Memory updated

Thought for 5s

Yes. That is a clean image-bearer frame.

In Jesus’ saving work, image-bearers mostly receive:

They receive the Son. They receive His word. They receive His healing. They receive His blood. They receive His resurrection life. They receive His Spirit. They receive their identity in Him.

They do not create the covenant. They do not produce the atonement. They do not enthrone the King. They do not make themselves accepted.

But once they receive, they respond.

The image-bearer role#

The role is basically:

Walk with God. Teach others to walk with God.

That fits the garden pattern, the Abraham pattern, the Israel pattern, and the Great Commission pattern.

God said of Abraham:

“For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD…” Genesis 18:19

And Jesus gives the two great commandments:

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God…” Matthew 22:37

“Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Matthew 22:39

So image-bearing is not abstract. It looks like love of God and love of neighbor.

What does that look like?#

It looks like:

serve follow acknowledge pour out obey disciple the nations be a blessing to the nations through Jesus

That is the human side.

Not saving ourselves — but living as restored image-bearers in the One who saves.

Spikenard as the visible picture#

Mary becomes a picture of proper image-bearing response.

She does not seize authority. She does not self-exalt. She does not accomplish atonement.

She recognizes the Worthy One and pours out what she has.

That is the image-bearer posture:

Receive from God. Recognize God. Return honor to God. Pour out life before God. Serve others unto God.

So yes:

The spikenard is the image-bearer life poured out on Jesus, the true altar, the true Bethel, the true meeting-place of heaven and earth.

And through Him, it is offered to the Father.

Clean peg#

Image-bearers do not save. Image-bearers receive, worship, obey, and witness. They walk with God and teach others to walk with God. In Christ, that becomes poured-out faith: love God, love neighbor, disciple the nations, and be a blessing to the nations.

Or in your language:

This is the spikenard life — poured out on the Jesus altar, at the true Bethel, unto our Father: Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

So the Bible says that after David was anointed, the Spirit came upon him. I think after Saul was anointed, the Spirit came upon him. So there's at least two cases of a king that gets anointed and the Spirit comes upon them. But what about the priests? I don't have any recollection of a priest who gets anointed and then the Spirit comes upon them. Is there any case for the Spirit coming upon a priest after the priest is anointed?

This is exactly the distinction I’d make: the king-anointing pattern often has a personal “Spirit came upon him” result, but the priest-anointing pattern usually has “consecrated/hallowed for service” language instead.

Thought for 20s

I think you are seeing the pattern correctly.

With kings, Scripture gives clear examples:

Saul Samuel anoints Saul with oil in 1 Samuel 10:1, then says:

“the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy…” 1 Samuel 10:6

Then it happens:

“the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied…” 1 Samuel 10:10

David Samuel anoints David:

“Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him…” 1 Samuel 16:13

Then immediately:

“and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward.” 1 Samuel 16:13

So yes: kingly oil-anointing → Spirit coming upon is directly shown with Saul and David.

Priests are different#

With Aaron and his sons, the Bible clearly says they are washed, clothed, anointed, sanctified, and consecrated:

“Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.” Exodus 29:7

“And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office.” Exodus 30:30

“And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.” Leviticus 8:12

But I do not know of a clean passage that says:

Aaron was anointed, and then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Aaron.

That language is not used the way it is with Saul and David.

Instead, priestly anointing is followed by sanctification, consecration, holy service, sacrifice, blood, garments, and God’s glory/fire confirming the tabernacle service.

For example, after the consecration pattern is completed and Aaron begins ministry:

“the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people.” Leviticus 9:23

Then:

“there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering…” Leviticus 9:24

So with priests, the confirmation is less “Spirit came upon the priest” and more:

oil → consecration → acceptable service → glory/fire from God.

Closest priestly examples, but not exact#

There are priests or priestly figures who receive the Spirit, but not in the exact anointing-sequence way.

Zechariah son of Jehoiada was from a priestly family, and Scripture says:

“the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest…” 2 Chronicles 24:20

But that is for prophetic rebuke, not recorded as: “he was anointed priest, then the Spirit came upon him.”

Ezekiel was a priest:

“Ezekiel the priest…” Ezekiel 1:3

And the Spirit enters him and moves him repeatedly:

“the spirit entered into me…” Ezekiel 2:2

But again, that is prophetic calling/vision language, not priestly oil installation.

So the clean conclusion#

For kings: the Bible clearly gives oil-anointing followed by the Spirit coming upon them.

For priests: the Bible gives oil-anointing followed by consecration, sanctification, sacrificial service, and God’s glory/fire — but not usually the personal “Spirit came upon him” formula.

That actually helps your Bethany/Jordan distinction:

Kingly pattern: oil and Spirit are visibly linked. Priestly pattern: oil marks consecrated service, and God confirms the service by glory/fire/presence. Jesus: Spirit comes first at Jordan from heaven; visible oil comes later at Bethany before the final priest-king offering; then resurrection, ascension, enthronement, and Spirit poured out on His people.

So your hypothesis gets sharper:

Jesus fulfills more than one pattern at once. At Jordan, He receives the divine Spirit/Father testimony. At Bethany, He receives the visible oil sign-act. At the cross, He performs the priestly offering. At resurrection and ascension, God vindicates and enthrones Him. At Pentecost, the enthroned Anointed One pours out the Spirit.

Lock this

Memory updated

Thought for a second

Locked.

Key distinction preserved:

Kings: oil anointing → Spirit comes upon them. Priests: oil anointing → consecration, holy service, sacrifice/blood, then God’s glory/fire confirms the service.

And the Jesus synthesis is locked:

Jordan: Spirit/Father testimony. Bethany: visible oil sign-act. Cross: priestly self-offering. Resurrection/ascension: vindication and enthronement. Pentecost: the Anointed One pours out the Spirit.