Characters at the Cradle: Anna, A Witness of Fulfilled Prophecies

by David Chadwick

Have you ever experienced something in your life that you had to wait a long time to see realized?

Do you have any testimonies in your life of waiting for the Lord to answer a prayer and finally seeing it come to pass?

This week’s character at the cradle is Anna. She waited a long time to see the promise of her coming Messiah fulfilled, and she eventually saw it happen.

Anna SAW Jesus in human form after all of her times worshipping, fasting, and praying in the temple. Described by Luke as a prophetess, she was able to witness all of her prophecies fulfilled.

What did Anna speak over Jesus? Luke 2:38 says, “And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.” To everyone who would listen, Anna said that this child was the one sent to redeem Jerusalem.

Jerusalem. The holy city. The city of David. A central part of biblical history and of world history. But for no other reason than it being a profoundly important part of God’s story. There is no river near it. It is not on the oceanfront. It is on a mount called Zion, which is surrounded by wilderness. And yet, it is the focal point of worldwide tension even today.

As prophesied by the Old Testament prophets, Jerusalem will be the city that nations will attack in the end times. It will be the city that Jesus rescues. And it will be the city from which Jesus will rule in the establishment of his eternal kingdom. Don’t allow anyone to convince you that Israel is not in God’s end times plans.

Anna’s prophecy was especially powerful because back then, Jerusalem was controlled by the iron-fisted Romans. And before that, the Greeks, the Persians, and the Babylonians.

Even in recent history, for the last 2,000 years, up until 1967, Jerusalem was trampled underfoot by Gentiles. But this won’t always be the case! One day, Jesus WILL return to Jerusalem and rule forever from there, and the redemption of Jerusalem will happen in full.

Anna knew that Jerusalem was key to God’s eternal economy and that Jesus’s birth was the key for the redemption of Jerusalem. We must all see its importance as well as we wait expectantly for that glorious day when Jesus brings full redemption to Jerusalem and to the world.

This WILL happen. God’s Word says so.

Characters at the Cradle: Anna, A Life of Abiding

by David Chadwick

This week we are looking at Anna, a beautiful figure in the early days of Jesus’s life.

At 84 years old, this woman shows us a real-life example of what happens when someone abides in Christ.

Jesus says in John 15:4, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” There is no replacement for a life that has been marked by the Spirit, is full of the Spirit, and is producing the fruit of the Spirit.

As we saw yesterday, Anna regularly worshiped, fasted, and prayed in the temple, even at the age of 84! She was a prophetess who sought God’s wisdom for Israel’s future.

Don’t you think that Anna must have seen baby Jesus while worshiping, fasting, and praying in the temple day and night? At that moment, she just knew, deep within her soul, that he was the Messiah, the one for whom she and many others longed, prayed, and hoped.

How do we know that she saw him? Because Luke 1:38 says, “And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God…” All her years of waiting were now realized, and all of her prophecies about the coming of the Messiah were now satisfied.

At that very moment when her eyes saw Jesus, her prayers were answered. She saw the one who would redeem Israel and the world. You and me.

When your prayers are answered, what else can you do except give thanks? That is what Anna did. It is also what we should do whenever God finally gives us our breakthrough. We should also train ourselves to praise God BEFORE the breakthrough occurs, believing we’ve received, knowing God’s promises are true, and claiming them before we actually see them.

I want to challenge each of you as you read about the life of Anna. Do you have a life that would recognize Jesus if he were standing right in front of you? Anna knew it was Jesus because she KNEW Jesus. Too often, people learn about Jesus through other people but don’t actually encounter him personally.

An abiding life is marked by worship, prayer, and fasting. It prioritizes King Jesus and wants to see glimpses of his kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven.

Characters at the Cradle: Anna, A True Worshiper

by David Chadwick

Anna is this week’s character at the cradle. Her story is found alongside Simeon’s story in the temple where Mary and Joseph took Jesus to present him to the Lord at their purification ceremony.

Anna lost her husband after being married seven years and is described by Luke as a prophetess and a widow at 84 years of age. She did not depart from the temple, seeking God with all her heart.

How did she seek God? Luke made sure to outline very precisely how Anna lived a life that was fully dedicated to seeking the Lord.

First, she worshiped. Evidently she had a deep love for worshiping God and being in his presence. Worship seemed to be the foundation of everything else that Anna did to cultivate a deep walk with her Creator. I can almost picture in my imagination a faithful, older woman who loved to simply sit and praise God. Do you think she sang the psalms? Maybe meditating on the greatness of her God? Do you think she replayed the stories she had heard through generations of the Messiah who would come?

Secondly, the Bible says that Anna worshiped with fasting. When the Bible references fasting, it was typically from food. Fasting forces our bodies to be in submission to the Spirit who lives in us. Every growl of the stomach should remind us to seek God for our needs, our hopes, and our desires.

As followers of Jesus, we, too, should practice this spiritual discipline of fasting. Did you know that even in the secular world, medical professionals speak to the benefits of fasting for your physical health? But remember, as evidenced in Isaiah 58, that God cares more about our hearts than anything. Whatever we abstain from, God’s desire is that we increase in holiness, purity, humility, and repentance. So, maybe it’s food. Or maybe you need to take a break from social media, entertainment, shopping, or anything that could take the place of God. So that you can fully and clearly focus on him and his promises to you.

Finally, Anna worshiped with prayer. Prayer is simply a conversation with God. Anna most likely expressed her love for God, and God expressed his love for her. She did this “night and day.” Day and night, night and day, she worshiped, fasted, and prayed. Even at 84 years of age!

Anna should be an example for all of us of how to abide no matter our age. No wonder Dr. Luke wanted to include Anna in the Christmas story. What a godly woman who lived in adoration of her loving God!