Bible Strands
Acts 10:38
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Peter addresses Cornelius, a Roman centurion, and his household in Caesarea, recounting what the apostles personally witnessed. This is the middle of a longer testimony (Acts 10:36–43) that moves from John's baptism to the crucifixion and resurrection.
The words — ἐχρισεν (echrisen), "he anointed," is the verb root of Χριστός (Christos); the sentence makes the title an action God performed, not a label people applied.
The thread — Jesus himself quotes Isaiah 61:1 in Luke 4:18, applying the anointing to his mission of preaching and healing. Peter's earlier Pentecost sermon (Acts 2:22) uses the same logic: God certified Jesus by what he did.
Why it lands — The anointing is not a static honorific but the stated cause of a specific pattern: going around, doing good, healing the oppressed. The verse forces the reader to connect the title "Christ" to observable acts rather than to a theological abstraction.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Luke 4:18 “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 liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,
- Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,
- Acts 2:22 Men of Israel, listen to this message: Jesus of Nazareth was a man certified by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know.
- Isaiah 11:2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.
- John 3:34 For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.
- Hebrews 1:9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You above Your companions with the oil of joy.”
- Psalms 45:7 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you above your companions with the oil of joy.
- John 3:2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him.”
- Matthew 12:28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
- Isaiah 42:1 “Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.