“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”
My Notes
What Does Acts 10:38 Mean?
Peter summarizes the ministry of Jesus in a single sentence to Cornelius' household: God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power. He went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him.
The summary is both comprehensive and simple. Jesus was anointed — empowered and commissioned by God. He went about — his ministry was mobile, accessible, among the people. He did good — the broadest possible description of his activity. He healed — specifically those oppressed by the devil.
"For God was with him" is the explanation for everything. Why did Jesus do what he did? God was with him. The presence of God is the source of every miracle, every act of goodness, every healing.
Peter delivers this to Gentiles — the first non-Jewish audience to receive the gospel. The summary needed to work for people who did not know the Old Testament backstory. It is the gospel at its most elemental: God anointed Jesus. Jesus did good and healed. God was with him.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How does this one-sentence summary of Jesus' ministry clarify what matters most?
- 2.What does 'going about doing good' look like as a pattern for your life?
- 3.How is healing 'all oppressed of the devil' a description of spiritual warfare through compassion?
- 4.What does 'God was with him' mean for the source of your own ability to do good?
Devotional
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power. Before Jesus did anything, he was anointed. The power came from outside him — placed upon him by the Father, carried in the Holy Spirit.
Who went about doing good. The simplest summary of Jesus' ministry possible: he went about doing good. Not building an empire. Not accumulating followers. Not establishing an institution. Doing good. That was the whole agenda.
Healing all that were oppressed of the devil. The healing was targeted — not random acts of power but liberation of people under the devil's oppression. Every sickness healed, every demon cast out, every life restored was a direct assault on the enemy's work.
For God was with him. That is the explanation. All the good, all the healing, all the power — because God was with him. The presence of God is the source of everything Jesus did.
If God was with Jesus — and if the same Spirit that anointed Jesus now dwells in you — then the pattern applies. Go about. Do good. Heal the oppressed. Not in your own power. Because God is with you.
What good are you going about doing today? And are you doing it in his power or your own?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth,.... And so declared him to be the Messiah, that was promised to the Jews, and…
How God anointed ... - That is, set him apart to this work, and was with him, acknowledging him as the Messiah. See the…
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth - Here the apostle refers to Christ as the promised Messiah; for, as Messiah signifies…
We have here Peter's sermon preached to Cornelius and his friends: that is, an abstract or summary of it; for we have…
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth It seems better to take the name "Jesus of Nazareth" as in apposition with the…
Cross References
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