Psalm 40:1–11; Acts 10:34–43; Matthew 3:13–17
Introduction
Every generation wrestles with the same question, "Why am I here?" Beneath our ambitions, anxieties, and achievements lies a deeper longing to know that our lives are not accidental, but purposeful. The Bible has consistently answered this longing with a resounding affirmation that God calls, God anoints, and God sends (cf. Mark 3:14). Being called is not merely about identity, just as being anointed is not merely about empowerment, but both are inseparably tied to a purpose. Our reflection today will focus on divine calling and anointing move outward toward obedience, witness, and redemptive mission.
DELIVERED TO PROCLAIM HIM
The Psalm 40 is a song of testimony that moves from personal rescue to a public proclamation. King David begins with his patient trust in the LORD, “I waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry." (Psalms 40:1). The Hebrew word for 'patient' carries an active endurance that is a waiting that clings to God despite delay and in the midst of great confusion and despair. The testimony of God’s response is very decisive. He lifts David from the “slimy pit, out of the mud and mire [destruction]” and sets his "feet on a rock... a firm place to stand" (Psalm 40:2). For the purpose of deliverance, God's calling is laid for us.
However, the psalm does not end in private gratitude. God “put a new song” in David’s mouth (Ps 40:3). This means that, when God's salvation is mercifully laid, it generates the desire to witness. As Walter Brueggemann notes, “Praise is never an end in itself; it is always a public act that reorders the community around God’s faithfulness.” David’s call and anointing as king of Israel were not for personal privileges but for covenantal leadership and testimony to God's purpose in our low estate.
The psalm again reveals that God desires obedience over ritual, "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire," meanwhile God opened his ears, and he also made himself available to the call, "Here I am, I have come...I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.” (Ps 40:7,8). This psalm was also a prophetic anticipation for the coming Messiah fulfilled in Jesus Christ (cf. Hebrews 10:5–7). This illuminates to us that true calling and anointing align our will with God’s redemptive purpose. We can learn that David’s calling compelled him to public proclamation, "I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly; ... I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help. I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly." (Psalms 40:9-10). God's calling must always culminate in faithful witness and public testimony.
Do you publicly share your testimony, or have you sealed your lips?
Obedient for the Anointed
At Jesus’ baptism, calling and anointing converge unmistakably into the purpose of God. Jesus submits to John’s baptism “to fulfill all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15). This scene in Matthew 3 indicates more of Christ's identification than John's baptism. Jesus aligns Himself with humanity’s need and God’s purpose for saving humanity. The heavens open, the Spirit descends “like a dove,” and the Father declares, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” while the Son is the water. This is the most explicit picture of the Trinity to human understanding.
This Trinitarian moment establishes Jesus’ identity as "the Christ,"(Anointed One) and mission of purpose on earth. The Spirit’s descent signifies anointing for messianic ministry (cf. Isaiah 61:1). As Karl Barth observed, “Jesus does not seize His vocation, He receives it.” The divine affirmation is not for comfort alone but for costly obedience, immediately leading Jesus into the wilderness to be tested and ultimately to the cross.
Here, we learn a crucial hermeneutical principle that the anointing is not insulation from suffering but a necessary preparation for faithful obedience. Divine pleasure rests not in human ambition but in humble submission to God’s redemptive will and purpose.
Public Testimony and Witness
In Acts 10, Peter interprets Jesus’ life, suffering, death, and resurrection through the lens of His divine anointing, saying, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power” (Acts 10:38). The Greek "chrio" underscores messianic commissioning of Jesus as the Christ. Jesus’ anointing is evidenced in His actions, “doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil.” (cf. Luke 4:18,19)
This passage is also a watershed in salvation history. Peter declares, “God shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34). Though the apostles had the wrong understanding that Christ was for only Jews, they were opened to embrace the anointed Christ as Lord of all, not only Israel but also for Gentiles. Christian mission expands beyond ethnic and cultural boundaries. Lesslie Newbigin noted that, “The gospel is public truth and it addresses the whole world, not a private religious sphere.” We are called and anointed into a public global ministry not a secret society.
The resurrection validates Jesus’ calling and grounds the church’s witness. “We are witnesses… that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins” (Acts 10:39–43). The calling demands proclamation, and the anointing produces testimony in our lives to achieve God's purpose.
Precious one, believers are “chosen… that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness” (1 Peter 2:9). As Augustine famously said, “God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called.”
Conclusion
We live in an age obsessed with self-definition and achievement, but the Bible insists that true purpose for a fulfilled life is discovered, not invented. Like David, we are lifted to stand firm in the anointing and purpose of God: we are sent to bear witness to the Gospel.
The question, then, is not whether God calls and anoints, but whether we will align our lives with the purpose for which He does so. Calling without obedience is mere sentimentality, anointing without mission purpose is stagnation. But when calling and anointing are embraced in faith, God writes His redemptive story through ordinary lives.
Let us echo what the psalmist says, “I delight to do your will, O my God,” and live as those truly called and anointed for a purpose. Amen!
