Something terrible happens, and the mind seems to replay the event repeatedly. Some days are good and some days are bad, or the mood fluctuates from one extreme to the next. Or a person wakes up and feels imprisoned in their depressed and negative minds. Or another person has been bearing a world of stress on their shoulders and one more unbearable situation tips them over the edge and they snap or break down. These are common situations of people today, unfortunately. Does one of these descriptions describe you? It certainly does for me, from time to time.

And then we have the pandemic to deal with. The lockdowns, the continual masking, the social distancing, the uncertainty of job security, the vaccines, protests worldwide, disagreements with governments, people getting sick from a virus, the list goes on. If someone was already struggling with mental health, these world events would absolutely crush the human spirit. Has the pandemic caused your mental frame to shatter these past few years?

What have you done to help your poor mind and heart? My friend, I am sorry you hurt and suffer inwardly. I want to help you, I want you to see a God that loves you and wants to help you through this post. How? By exploring Jesus as Messiah. His being Messiah can be a healing ministry to the mind. Usually, when we think of Jesus being the Messiah we think of Him being born in a manger, and we think of Christmas as a consequence. Christmas is all about the birth of Christ, of course. However, Jesus being our Messiah should affect us all year long and even every day.

What Does Messiah Mean?

Messiah is a Hebrew word meaning, ‘Mashiach’, meaning anointed one. In the New Testament, in Greek, ‘anointed’ is translated as ‘Christ’. The name ‘Christ’, which means ‘anointed one’ would mean this is a title for Jesus. I will tell you that it isn’t His last name, as though ‘Jesus’ is His first name and ‘Christ’ His last name! It’s a title, arguably the most important title He bore in His earthly ministry as it framed up the reason for why He came to Earth. So, if Christ means ‘anointed’, what does ‘anointing’ mean? ‘Anoint’ is originally a Hebrew word for ‘smearing’ or ‘rubbing’ oil into something. The nation of Israel use to anoint utilizes in the Temple used for worship, they would anoint objects.

The Anointed People In the Past

When Israel was a new nation, (first created officially when they escaped the Egyptians and ran into the wilderness and met the God of the Bible at Mount Sinai), they would anoint prophets, priests, and kings when Moses passed down the Laws from God that would govern the nation. They would apply oil to the men who stepped into any of these three positions in Israel. Why would they anoint these three offices? Well, when we understand that the anointing symbolized the presence of the Holy Spirit, we see the importance of anointing. The Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit, was a necessity for a prophet if he was to speak truth from God. The Spirit was needed for a priest to perform holy sacrifices. The king needed the Spirit to rule with wisdom and upstanding character. The Spirit of God is that ‘extra’ which prophets, priests, and kings needed. These offices were such special, such extraordinary positions to be held, so separate from a common career that something ‘extra’ was needed. Simply put, prophets, priests, and kings were all little messiahs! Little ‘m’ messiahs, of course.

The Anointed One Whom We’ve All Been Waiting For…

Israel was waiting for Thee Messiah! They were waiting for an anointed one who would far excel in the offices of prophet, priest, and king above all others. He was to so far excel them that He is referred to in the Old and New Testament as “The Messiah” or “The Anointed”. Sort of like if someone is referred to as ‘the man’ rather than just ‘a man’. ‘The man’ implies a title of superiority, a title which epitomizes manhood. So, Christ being called The Anointed One implies His superiority who epitomizes what it means to be anointed.

Have You Been Waiting for Something or Someone To Help?

I ask you right now, have you tried countless things the internet and other people have suggested to you to try to help you cultivate mental health but it hasn’t worked? Maybe you’ve waited for some kind of messiah, an anointed thing, or person that has that ‘extra’ to help you with your mental health?

Thee Messiah Steps Onto the Scene

When Jesus was a little baby and presented in the Temple, Luke writes of Simeon, “And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” (Luke 2:26). When Simeon took the baby boy in his arms he cried out in joy, “For mine eyes have seen thy salvation” (Luke 2:30). When Jesus grows up and steps into the public, John the Baptist spends his whole ministry pointing to Jesus’ anointing as the Chosen One of Israel. Later on, after Jesus makes an impression, Simon Peter’s brother comes to him and says, “We found the Messiah” (John 1:41).

Not only did other people pick up the fact that Jesus is the Messiah, but He received Heavenly confirmation, too! After being baptized and while praying, God sent down His Holy Spirit—like a dove—to anoint Jesus. This was God’s public declaration that Jesus was God’s Anointed One for Israel, and later in the Gospel story, we would learn for the whole world. And the final confirmation from Heaven…which is the final ‘smoking gun’…was when He was raised from the dead through God’s Spirit! His resurrection validated everything He had performed through His ministry and truly proved to us He was God’s Anointed for us and our salvation.

Will The Messiah Step Onto the Scene of Your Life?

The whole reason for Jesus coming into the world is to come in yours and mine. He wants to make a difference in our lives. He is a very personal God, just take a read of the Gospels. His life story is essentially Him spending time with people one-on-one. When it comes to Him stepping onto the scene of our lives, I believe it involves–for you, my friend–your mind. Your mind is the scene that your life is played out on. This is why you are reading about mental health–this is your need and Jesus the Messiah, the Anointed One of God is anointed for your good. How will He step into our minds? Well, we need to know exactly why He was anointed by God, or rather, what His saving ministry entails for us to know how He can help the mind.

The Ultimate and Final Prophet

What is a prophet? Maybe you think of the Muslim faith and the prophet Mohammed? The Old Testament prophets were anointed to bring forth truth, to instruct Israel’s mind! When there is no prophet there is no truth for the mind to grasp and grow in, and so if there is no prophet there really is no profit! However, human prophets have only revealed partial truth as was revealed to them by God. The prophets always pointed to an Ultimate Prophet who would reveal all things. Even the Samaritan woman at the well said to Jesus, “I know that Messiah is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” (Jn. 4:25).

You and I need the truth that is revealed clearly to us, for the sake of our poor minds. No one likes confusion, obscurity, or being uninformed. The mind, by nature, thrives with information that is trustworthy. Jesus is the Ultimate and Final Prophet who is truly trustworthy making all His words trustworthy, too!

What can you do to mentally profit from this Prophet? Listen to Him! Read the Bible, read the Gospels, and listen to His teachings. Write down all the basic truths you learn in a list and let your mind absorb them! You were created by God and for God, which includes your mind. This means your mind will thrive the most on the information from your Creator.

The Ultimate and Final Priest

Jesus fulfilled the office of priesthood between people and God. Priests were to make sacrifices for sins, and we know sins separated man from God. And so priests bridged the gap and served as a middle man between God and the Israelites. Jesus came to be the Anointed Priest and be the Final Priest. He did this by being the Priest and offering Himself as the Sacrifice, the Lamb that would take away the sin of the world.

You and I need Him to be our Ultimate and Final Priest because we need to be restored back to our Creator. We need to know our God loves us and desires to be with us and we need access to His love. Christ serves as our middle man and pays for our sins. How does this help our mental health? Did you know discord and tension in relationships troubles our mind and emotions to such a deep level that it often ends being the greatest suffering a person can endure? I know this as a pastor. So many problems that affect the mind and heart have to do with the unresolved conflict in relationships. Relationships can be either great grief to our spirits or great joy. And so to know whether God is for us or against us is very important to our mental health. It could drive us crazy!

What can you do to have Jesus be your middle man? Trust in Him to take away your sin–that’s number one! Second, believe and learn your new spiritual stance with God (read Ephesians 1-2), and the wonderful access and favor you have with Him. Third, have a confident assurance that if Christ is truly Anointed as your Priest, don’t let your heart and mind trouble you ever again that you are unaccepted and in hot water with God! Your relationship is resolved, you have peace with God! Let your mind and heart rest in that!

The Ultimate and Final King

How does this Anointed One fulfill an office of being a king? Everything about the life of Christ was kingly. He was hailed as the coming King when he went into the Temple on a donkey fulfilling a prophecy in Zechariah about the coming Messianic-King. He preached about his kingdom through the parables, “the kingdom of God is like”. When asked whether He was the king of the Jews by Pilate He responded with, “You have said so.”

His kingdom was a spiritual one, which was superior to any temporal earthly kingdom. His kingdom didn’t force peace and order through rules like earthly kings, but He made willing subjects of His Kingdom within their hearts. Romans 14:17 says, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” He reigns with His Spirit within people. He rules people’s hearts and that’s far superior to ruling their hands by force or coercion.

How does this ruling King help us with mental health? The King, when He comes and rules over us, does so with love and power. He rules the whole person including the mind, as long as we allow Him. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Christ is the King, the land is your mind, and the thoughts are subjects! See that every thought of your mind obeys and pleases your King! See that your mind is the place where Christ seeks to extend His rule, only you must subject your mind to His good and loving rule.

Putting the Three Offices Together

Let’s wrap it up. What do you do day-to-day to allow Jesus to step into life, and be the Messiah of your mental state?

1) Listen to Him daily.

2) Rely on Him to keep the peace between you and a holy and good God.

3) Surrender your mind to this good King.

If you desire to have Jesus as the Messiah of your mind, I encourage you to pray this now to Him:

“Dear Jesus, I confess and truly believe you are the Anointed One to bring salvation to mankind–including myself. I see that you want to help my whole being, even my mind. Please, do so, Great Messiah! And please help me respond each day to your ministry to me as my Prophet, Priest and King. Help me read your words, rely on you as my middle man and surrender my mind to you each day! Be the Messiah my mind, Lord. Amen.”