December 30, 2022: Luke 2:38 - The Grace of God for All Who Look for Redemption
“And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.” - Luke 2:38
Anna was one of a handful of women in the Bible who was called a “prophetess,” which is a female prophet, one who proclaims God’s word and speaks for God. The name “Anna” is from the Hebrew name “Channah” or “Hannah,” which means “favored” or “grace.” Anna was the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old and a widow for a long time. She was married only seven years. She lived a life by serving God faithfully in fasting and prayers night and day.
Throughout Anna’s life, she must have experienced many trials, as she was a widow for many years. The Bible doesn’t say that she had remarried, so no other husband would have cared for her. Anna likely had known the scriptures about widows and that God has a heart for them, including:
- Proverbs 15:25 “The LORD will destroy the house of the proud, but He will establish the boundary of the widow.”
- Psalm 68:5 “A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation.”
- Psalm 146:9 “The LORD watches over the strangers; he relieves the fatherless and widow; but the way of the wicked He turns upside down.”
She trusted in the Lord and in His word. She trusted in Him to provide and in Him to make the way for redemption of sins.
Anna was one of two eye witnesses who saw the Child Jesus when Joseph and His mother Mary came to Jerusalem to present Jesus to the Lord in the Jewish temple. Simeon was the other eye witness to this extraordinary event. Like Anna, Simeon was old in age, and both had been looking and faithfully waiting for the salvation of the Lord to come. Anna not only came to the temple, the Bible says, “And coming in that instant.” She came without hesitation, for she knew something remarkable had happened! Oh, that we as believers in Christ may act as she did, not holding back, but trusting in the Lord, and when He says “Go!”, we go!
Anna gave thanks to the Lord for His blessed gift of redemption - Jesus, Christ the Lord - who offers redemption of all our sins for all who believe in Him, and she spoke of Jesus to all who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. She knew that redemption of all our sins cannot come by coming to the temple no matter how faithful we are; rather, it can only come by believing in Jesus, sent by God, who is the Savior, Christ the Lord. She knew that Jesus was sent for all people, not just the Jews. For as Simeon proclaimed through the Holy Spirit when he held the Child Jesus, “For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.”
As Jesus would later tell His disciples during His time of ministry here on earth, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7) Are you looking to Him for redemption? Have you found Him and given thanks to Him, as Anna and Simeon did? ✝️