Prophetess Anna beholds the Savior and speaks the reason for the season

Luke 2:36-38

Jesus was only 40 days old when the wrinkled, saintly Anna slowly walked through the temple in Jerusalem and immediately sensed His presence. Scanning the large, dimly lit area, she saw the “righteous and devout” Simeon holding the newborn as Mary and Joseph anxiously watched, bursting with curiosity.

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,” intoned Simeon in Luke 2:29-32, NIV, his voice echoing off the temple walls, “you may now dismiss your servant in peace.For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

At 105, Anna’s movements were deliberate, intentional. By the time she reached the couple, Simeon had finished his blessings but still held the baby. Anna fixed her gaze on Jesus and “immediately thanked the Lord for sending the Savior who was going to take away the sins of the world,” Luke 2:38 NIV.

Despite her age, Anna’s voice was strong, confident. She had waited 84 years for scripture to be fulfilled. She invited every listening ear in the temple to contemplate the expectation of the living hope in Christ Jesus.

Her voice echoes even today.

Anna and Simeon’s timely encounter with Mary and Joseph was no coincidence. Steeped in biblical prophecy, the prophets knew that God had promised that the woman’s seed would crush the head of the serpent in Genesis 3:15. Even Simeon’s declaration included portions of prophecy found in Isaiah 42:6. And, Micah 5:2 foretells that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, while Isaiah 7:14 declares Jesus’ birth from a virgin.

Mary and Joseph were nearly paralyzed by the commotion over their son. Mary clearly remembered how an angel named Gabriel had come to her, told her about the pregnancy and gave her the name Jesus [Yehoshua HaMashiach in Hebrew]. The couple explicitly followed the angelic directions during Jesus’s circumcision when he was eight days old.

Now Moses’ law that God had given had a further requirement: “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord,” according to Luke 2:23 NIV and Exodus 13: 2,12 KJV. That was the reason for Mary and Joseph’s visit to the temple, for a purification ritual of the three. The parents were required to take an offering with them as they dedicated their son to God. The couple brought two turtle doves, something cheap but acceptable. They could not afford a lamb as suggested in the law.

As Mary and Joseph obeyed the commandment to complete the ceremony required by the Hebrew parents and all those of the Israelite nation, they set the precedent that Jesus would fulfill ALL the law and ultimately serve as the Savior of the world.

The Holy Spirit revealed to both Anna and Simeon that this was the Son of God as stressed in Psalm 2:12 and Proverbs 30:4 and yet God himself, as noted in Isaiah 9:6-7 and Jeremiah 23: 5-6. At that moment, the triune God was visible.

To the natural eye, Jesus appeared as an ordinary infant, helpless and vulnerable; yet Anna could feel supernatural power. But, even as a prophetess, there was no way Anna could definitively predict this child would heal lepers, open the eyes of the blind, and enable the lame to leap for joy. Her mind would never imagine him walking on water or changing water to wine. Neither could she foretell Jesus’s pierced hands and feet, the mocking and torture during his execution on a cross at Golgotha, nor His resurrection with all power three days later.

This day Anna rejoiced at the purification ritual, despite unexplained foreboding. She valued this day; she had waited expectantly the bulk of her life. Her faith was in God’s promise to forgive their sins, even if she understood little about how he would do it.

Anna was the daughter of Phanuel, a member of the Tribe of Asher whose name means “Face of God.” At age 14, as was typical in her country, she married but the years of wedded bliss ended after only seven years when her husband died. Instead of bitterness or desperation, Anna lived in the temple from the age of 21, fasting and praying. She worked 24/7, a spiritual or worship workaholic of sorts.

So, those milling about the temple probably listened to Anna’s evangelizing message when she saw baby Jesus. Mary may have been the first to be told that Jesus will be the Messiah and Simeon may have been the first stranger to hold baby Jesus, but Anna was the first woman to understand fully the nature of the occasion. She declared a new era where everyone may enjoy the “living voice of God.”

Simeon was visiting the temple that day. Anna “never left the Temple but worshiped there with fasting and praying night and day,” according to Luke 2:37.

Her remarkable, unwavering faith was evident. She was full of hope and purpose, well deserving of the honor bestowed on the elderly in the ancient Mediterranean world. She is the New Testament’s only named female prophetess.

Anna’s encounter with Jesus came long before the Magi or Wise men traveled thousands of miles to see the king of the Jews. In fact, biblical scholars calculate that Jesus was 1 or 2 years old by the time these eastern astrologers who studied ancient manuscripts from around the world found Jesus.

Written by TMCH and COH

Sources:

Branch, Robin Gallaher. “Anna in the Bible.” Biblical Archaeology Society. Aug. 7, 2022.

Branch, Robin Gallaher, “Anna in the Bible: Luke reveals the prophetess as a Biblical model for aging, Biblical Archaeology Society. Washington DC, BAS, 2020, https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/anna-in-the-bible/ (accessed January 26, 2021).

Plummer, Alfred, “Luke,” International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T&T Clark 1905), p. 71.

Riepma, Rev. Alisha. “Anna the Prophet: she never stopped praying.” She is Called Women of the Bible Study, Vol. 2.

“Simeon and Anna: How did they recognize the Messiah?” One for Israel Staff. Kehila News. December 18, 2021.

Williams, P. “Anna: A Model of Spiritual Devotion.” Women of the Bible for Women of Color. Urban Spirit LLC. P. 185.

Witherington III, Ben. “Mary, Simeon or Anna: Who First Recognized Jesus as Messiah?” Bible History Daily. Bible Archaeology Society, June 11, 2022.