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!

Characters at the Cradle: Anna, A Woman Worthy of Honor

by David Chadwick

Anna, a prophetess, is this week’s character at the cradle.

The name Anna means “grace” and “favor.” True to her name’s meaning, Anna was a beautiful display of the grace that would fully be made known to the world through the life of Jesus. Anna was also the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, one of the 12 tribes of Israel.

Do you think Dr. Luke interviewed Anna personally? He certainly gave details of her family line in great specificity. I can’t help but wonder what kind of father Phanuel was to have raised such a wonderful daughter like Anna. A really good one I’d bet!

Along with Simeon, Anna was in the temple when Mary and Joseph presented Jesus for the purification ceremony. Her presence there was divinely ordained, and both she and Simeon were used to prophetically confirm all Gabriel had already told Mary and Joseph.

In the context of this story, we see in verse 36 that Anna was advanced in years. Let me first stop and point out the importance of knowing people who are older than you. Proverbs 16:31 says, “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.” It is reflected in those who have gained a measure of wisdom simply because of the number of years they’ve lived.

We also see that Anna had gotten married later in life and had been married for seven years before her husband died. She clearly understood grief and the sadness of losing a loved one. At the age of 84, she found herself a widow after only a short time of being married. Again, notice the specifics of Luke’s writing. We are able to deduce based on his fine details that she was a virgin until she was married and now lives alone again. Anna was a shining display of maturity and integrity and the Biblical virtue of chastity.

Paul talks about the command to honor older women in all purity in 1 Timothy 5:2. Then in Titus 2:3-5, Paul addresses how older women are to teach younger women how to be self-controlled, wise, and pure.

Anna’s life modeled the exhortations Paul had for young people. This is such a good message for younger women and men today. Find older mentors who really love the Lord and have lived a faithful life to the Lord. Let them speak into your life. Learn from them. There are certain things that can only be learned by someone who has lived life. Learn from their stories of how to get up when knocked down, how to persevere, how to pray, how to be faithful to your spouse, and how to live for God’s “Well done.”

Characters at the Cradle: Anna, A Prophetess Full of Grace

by David Chadwick

Following Simeon, our next character at the cradle is Anna. Join me in Luke 2:36-38. In just three simple verses, we will learn so much about the life of Anna.

Described in the Bible as a “prophetess,” Anna had a spiritual gift from God to be able to rightly hear the heart of God and declare it accordingly for particular situations, sometimes even for future situations. In this case, Anna was testifying and prophesying to the fact that Jesus was the fulfillment of all of God’s promises.

We know that the prophets in the Old Testament were from God because their prophecies came true. Over 300 were about the coming of the Messiah, and every one of them was fulfilled in Jesus. The probability factor of all these 300 coming true, given hundreds of years before Jesus came into the world, is astonishing.

Let’s take a look at some of the notable ones. Micah 5:2 says the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, 700-plus years before Jesus’s birth. Psalm 22 prophesies of Jesus’s death, 900-plus years before Jesus died on the cross. Isaiah 53 prophesied 600-plus years before Jesus’s death that a Messiah would come to pay for our sins.

The probability factor of just eight prophecies to be accurately fulfilled in specificity through Jesus is off the charts! Much less 300 of them accurately fulfilled! We can wholeheartedly trust the reliability of God’s Word, at least in part, because of fulfilled prophecies.

Don’t forget that one out of four verses in the Bible is prophetic. In the New Testament, they point not to Jesus’s First Coming, but to his Second Coming. While this hasn’t happened yet, these prophecies will also come to pass. Are you living each day in anticipation of his Second Coming? It will happen! Are you ready? I am! I can’t wait for this glorious day!

But for this week, let’s look at Anna. She was a widow. Therefore, she knew heartbreak and loss. She loved God. Therefore, she trusted God in her pain and hurt. But she also exercised a gift of prophecy that God had given her about Jesus. She saw in this baby in the temple the redemption of all humanity. The way to heaven for those who believe in him.

May her words of prophecy give us all great hope this week and beyond.