Christ, and cinnamon, the sweetness and effec
Christ, and cinnamon, the sweetness and effec tiveness of Christ's death. Calamus, a reed that grows in a muddy environment, signifies Christ's resurrection. Cassia was a spice used as a re pellent; it is a symbol of the power of Christ's resurrection. Therefore, in these four spices we see the precious death of Christ, the sweetness and the effectiveness of the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, and the power of Christ's resurrection. The fact that these four spices were compounded with the olive oil sig nifies that after the resurrection of Christ, the Spirit of God became the compound Spirit. In this Spirit we have the precious death of Christ, the sweetness and effectiveness of His death, and Christ's resurrection with its power.
The numbers used in the account of the holy anointing oil are also significant. In the ointment the number five is implied—the oil plus four spices. One is the number of God, and four is the number of man as a creature. The number five signifies responsibility: the number one (God) added to the number four (man as God's creation). The number three is implied by the fact that the four spices are in three units of five hundred shekels each: five hundred shekels of myrrh; five hundred shekels made up of two