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.
This verse comes from a speech given by Peter — one of Jesus's original twelve disciples — to a Roman military officer named Cornelius and his family. This was a remarkable moment: Jewish believers of that era typically didn't associate closely with Gentiles (non-Jews), but God had specifically directed Peter to go. Peter is summarizing who Jesus was and what he did. The word "anointed" recalls the Old Testament practice of pouring oil on someone to set them apart for a sacred task — here it refers to God's Spirit empowering Jesus at his baptism. Peter's summary of Jesus's life is both simple and striking: he went around doing good and healing people oppressed by dark spiritual forces, and the reason was that God was with him.
God, thank you that Jesus didn't just teach about goodness — he lived it, person by person, day by day. Remind me today that you are with me the same way you were with him. Make me someone who notices people's pain and actually does something about it. Amen.
If you had to summarize a life in one sentence, what would yours say? Peter — a fisherman turned apostle, speaking to a room full of people he'd never have associated with a week earlier — summarizes the entire ministry of Jesus in a single clause: "he went around doing good." No grand title. No theological treatise. Just: he went around doing good. There's something almost startlingly ordinary about that phrase. Jesus healed people. He freed them from things that had trapped them. He showed up where suffering was and did something about it. And the reason, Peter says, is simple: God was with him. That phrase — "God was with him" — is the engine of everything, and it's also an invitation. Because the same Spirit that anointed Jesus is the one who lives in every believer. Which means the calling on Jesus's life has a family resemblance to yours. Not to be Jesus — but to go around doing good. To show up in your neighborhood, your workplace, your family, with that same presence-fueled purposefulness. Not performing goodness for anyone's approval. Just noticing who is under pressure, who is struggling, and doing something about it — because God is with you too.
Peter describes Jesus's entire ministry as "going around doing good" — what does that surprisingly simple summary reveal about how Jesus prioritized his time and attention?
Where in your daily life do you have the most natural opportunity to "go around doing good," and are you actually taking it?
Peter says Jesus healed "all who were under the power of the devil" — what forms does that kind of oppression or bondage take in the lives of people around you today?
How does genuinely believing that "God is with you" change the way you approach a draining relationship or a responsibility that's wearing you down?
Think of one person in your life who is visibly struggling right now — what is one concrete act of goodness you could offer them this week?
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted , to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Isaiah 61:1
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 1:8
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
Isaiah 61:3
And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
Isaiah 11:2
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7
Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
Acts 2:22
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted , to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Luke 4:18
For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
John 3:34
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with great power; and He went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.
AMP
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
ESV
'[You know of] Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and [how] He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
NASB
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
NIV
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
NKJV
And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
NLT
Then Jesus arrived from Nazareth, anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, ready for action. He went through the country helping people and healing everyone who was beaten down by the Devil. He was able to do all this because God was with him.
MSG