Anointing was a common practice in the Old Testament for those who were set aside for a special job or mission. Both priests and kings were anointed for their office. In the book of Isaiah, even the Persian King Cyrus is referred to as God’s anointed because he had a special God-given mission and that was to allow the Jewish exiles to return to Palestine and rebuild the Jerusalem temple that the Babylonians had devastated. The word anointed means the same as Messiah.
We learn in 76 Sermons/Sermon 62 that in the above case, the term “Messiah” was not used in spiritual terms, but referred to Cyrus as a human instrument of God, such as He had used others to punish the people in the past. Cyrus was going to bring about God’s will of redemption from exile. Isaiah has God declare: “I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says the LORD Almighty.” (Isaiah 45: 13).
This chapter shows how Jesus was anointed for his special mission on earth, and how we as his brothers and sisters following in his footsteps are also anointed.
The word Christ also means an anointed one, the same as Messiah. Jesus was anointed for the mission of bringing the message of salvation through the Divine Love.