Anchor My Faith

The Words and Actions of Anna

Scripture: Luke 2:38-39

In the previous lesson we met Anna and learned about her devotion. In this lesson we will look at what God revealed to her: “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” (Luke 2:38 ESV). The hour spoken of here is that time when Simeon held Jesus, the Redeemer, in his arms and spoke of his departing in peace now that he had seen the one who would provide salvation. At that very hour the Spirit speaks to Anna and she begins to give thanks to God for sending his Savior to Israel. She speaks of what he will be like, his mission and the glory he will bring to Israel.

She speaks of him, the Redeemer and Savior, to those who were waiting for him to come. Since the seventy weeks of Daniel had ended and the Jews were back in their land, there was great expectation of the coming of the promised Messiah. Now he is here and is held by Simeon and recognized by Anna. It is very possible that at the close of this event in the temple, Anna goes from house to house in Jerusalem telling about what took place at the temple and explained that the Messiah has arrived.

With the signs and wonders that began with Gabriel’s visit to Zachariah and then to Mary with the promised births of both John and Jesus, people began to take notice. The extraordinary conception and birth of Jesus, the angel’s visit to the shepherds and the heavenly host singing praises to God, the shepherds journey to see the baby Jesus, and now the words spoken in the temple are preparing people to expect that God is on the move on their behalf. How this unfolds is the purpose of this lengthy study as we walk the gospel path together.

Before we move on we have one more verse to look at in this section: “And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth” (Luke 2:39 ESV). Like Zachariah and Elizabeth, who according to Luke 1:6, were considered righteous, Joseph and Mary performed everything they were required by the Law to perform. Luke then says that they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. There is disagreement here as to whether they returned to Galilee before going to Egypt and then later came back to Galilee. It makes logical sense that they went from to Galilee to Bethlehem and there Jesus was born. From there they returned to Galilee, because that is where home at the time was. From Nazareth of Galilee they decided to go back to Bethlehem where the wise men met them. From there that went to Egypt, but later returned to Galilee.

Prayer

Father, in this section we met two special people, Simeon and Anna, chosen by you for a special purpose of identifying Jesus as to who he is and what he was to accomplish. He is the coming Messiah and Savior, your Son. Father, you have others that you will use to draw attention to Jesus. We will meet them soon as we continue our journey along the gospel path.