New King James Version:
Luke 2:36-38 Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; (37) and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. (38) And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
Ang Bag-ong Testamento (Gihubad sa pinulongang Cebuano gikan sa Griego, by Dr. Gadiel T. Isidro):
Lukas 2:36-38 Ug didto si Anna, manalagna nga babaye, anak ni Fanuel, sa banay ni Aser, ug tigulang na gayud, nga nakapuyo kauban sa iyang bana sa pito lamang ka tuig gikan sa iyang pagkabayeng ulay, (37) Ug siya balo sa may kawalo-an ug upat ka tuig, nga wala mobiya gikan sa templo ug nagpuasa ug pinaagi sa pag-ampo nag-alagad adlaw ug gabi-i. (38) Ug niana nga takna, sa iyang pagduol nagpasalamant ngadto sa Dios ug mingsulti mahitungod kaniya ngadto niadtong nagpa-abut sa kaluwasan sa Jerusalem.
Introduction
We have come now to our next witness giving testimony and affirming the identity of Jesus while Jesus was still 40 days old being presented in the temple according to the custom of the law. For few Sundays we studied Simeon and his testimony about Christ, and now we will study the testimony of a godly woman named Anna, who was also there at the temple at that very moment when Simeon blessed God upon seeing the Messiah.
Before we come to know her, let us first review what we studied last Sunday.
The Testimony of Simeon: “Jesus is Destined for the Division of People”
A. Jesus is set or destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel (A Stone of Division)
B. Jesus is set for a sign which will be spoken against (A Sign of Division)
C. Reason for division: That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed (Revelation of Hearts)
I. The Witness – v. 36
So, who was Anna? Like Simeon, we only have what is written here about our witness. No other gospel writer mentioned her.
A. Family line
She is the daughter of Phanuel. Her family is known. The Jews can trace her family line. Of the tribe of Asher. Their lineage is from Asher. These details were important in establishing her credentials and her Jewishness.[i]
An interesting note about the tribe of Asher, this is not related to our focus here but, Asher was one of the ten tribes of the northern kingdom. Remember the kingdom was split after Solomon's reign? Ten tribes went north, two tribes stayed south, and the south was Judah and Benjamin. All the other ten tribes went to the north. There came a time when the northern kingdom was taken captive by the Assyrians and never returned.[ii] The reason is punishment of God because of gross idolatry. They were deep into idolatry led by their kings. There was not one good king in Israel, that is, the northern kingdom. But there was a remnant of believing Jews up there who were not happy with that. And there were those who wanted to be a part of the temple. Solomon’s temple was in Jerusalem, in Judah, that is the southern kingdom. So before they were taken captive by the Assyrians, they came to the south so that by the time the northern kingdom was taken into captivity, there were people from every tribe, families from all ten tribes who had systematically migrated south.
God had preserved a remnant from all the tribes of Israel. That is why we have a witness here who was from the tribe of Asher.
B. Status
Anna was very old when she met Jesus at the temple. She was of a great age. The first part of verse 37, and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, is complicated in Greek but if we use Dr. Isidro’s translation then we can compute that Anna is about 103 years old. Scholars are divided to the exact age, either 84 or more than a hundred but what is important is that Anna was already advanced in years. In the Jewish culture, elders were respected; thus, because of Simeon’s and Anna’s age, their prophecies carried extra weight.[iii]
Her married life was only seven years and she did not remarry. She remained a widow for 84 years or until the age of 84 depending on the translation used.
II. The Credentials – v. 36a, 37b, 37c
A. She was described as a prophetess. Now what do we mean by that? She spoke God's truth. She spoke God's Word. She may have been a teacher of the Old Testament to other women. She is not a source of divine revelation. There is no revelation that has ever come from her, none comes in this passage. But she was known as one who taught, one who spoke.[iv]
If you go into the Old Testament, there are only three women who prophesied. One is Miriam, Exodus 15, sister of Moses. The other is Deborah in Judges 4, one of the judges before the monarchy in Israel. And the other is a woman named Huldah. If you study them, you will find that they prophesied at some event or some moment or some important time but you won't find an ongoing prophetic ministry such as you do with the men who were prophets in the Old Testament who were largely life-long prophets.[v]
John MacArthur went on to say, she is a prophetess and it could mean nothing more than that she was a teacher. She becomes the prophetess in the sense that she speaks of this child as the Messiah. It could be that in the past she had been a teacher. It could be that it designates this great moment in her life.[vi]
B. She did not depart from the temple but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. What a godly woman, up to her old age she did that. This is why she is also a credible witness. If the Jews, or us, are looking for a trustworthy witness who could testify to us the identity of Jesus then this woman is a trustworthy woman. And she did claim through her actions and reaction upon learning Jesus the Messiah was there with them in the temple, verse 38 says, she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
Anna was always at the temple. We can safely assume that she lived there. Around the temple grounds there were apartments, especially for priests who come to do their week-long services at the temple, like Zechariah. But she was not there doing nothing. She was there serving night and day with fastings and prayers. She was completely devoted to the service and worship of God. She was there in the temple all the time, serving through her prayers and fasting.
Now about fasting, here’s our bishop, Dr. Isidro: Fasting was a legitimate spiritual exercise but not normative. It was to be voluntary and not mandatory. The length of days of fasting was never a gauge of spiritual power. Fasting was not exclusive to Christianity. It could be abused as denounced by the Lord in Matthew 6:16-18.[vii] This is also what MacArthur said, fasting in and of itself does not have any particular virtue, just saying "I won't eat." But when you are so consumed with the spiritual enterprise of prayer that you have no interest in eating, then fasting takes its appropriate place.[viii]
The details of Anna’s life are clues to her character. She has got to be the most devout person on the pages of Scripture. Do you know of anybody else that prayed and fasted for sixty-four or eighty-four years? Now if you are going to find a witness, this is a very trustworthy one.
III. The Testimony – v. 38
Verse 38 it says, “And coming in that instant.” What instant? It refers to the very moment that Simeon was uttering his prophecy about Jesus Christ. When Simeon praised God for seeing God’s salvation in verse 30, she, too, began giving thanks to God. More than this, she began to broadcast the good news to all those who were, like her and Simeon, looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
And all those many, many years of petition turn now to praise. You can only imagine after all these many years of one focus in life, God and His glory, praying and fasting for the salvation of Israel. It says it at the end of verse 38. She was a part of the people looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. There was not going to be any redemption in Jerusalem until the Redeemer came. She had been praying and fasting all these years for the Messiah to come and bring the promised redemption and fulfill the Abrahamic and the Davidic Covenants.
And then she becomes the prophetess. "And spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem." Redemption of Jerusalem is an Old Testament prophecy and promise of God. According to Isaiah, with the coming of the Messiah, Jerusalem will be redeemed as a place of glory. You can read that in Isaiah chapters 60-62. John also described that future event in Revelations.
So, Anna, from then on, who had spent all her years talking to God started talking to everybody else. God had answered prayer. The Messiah came, born of a woman. She continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. Everybody anticipating salvation, everybody anticipating that the promises of the prophets would be fulfilled, that the promises to Abraham and Moses and David would be fulfilled.
Her actions were triggered by meeting the Messiah. She went praising God when she met Jesus. She was declaring with Simeon, although Luke did not record her statements, but through her actions, she was declaring that the Redeemer, the Messiah has come, and it was Jesus who they referred to. In NASB, she continued to speak of Him to all those looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. She was introducing to the people there, teaching, that Jesus was the one who will bring the redemption of Jerusalem. She knew Jesus. She identified Jesus as the Messiah. And Luke included her, when Luke wrote his gospel, as a witness giving testimony to the identity of Jesus while Jesus was still a child.
Conclusion
And so Luke gives us witnesses to indicate that this indeed is the Christ, the Son of God, the Son of the Most High, Son of David, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world; we have old Simeon and Anna. But the greatest testimony that will ever be given to the identity of Jesus Christ comes not from Joseph and Mary, comes not from Simeon and Anna, comes not from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The greatest testimony ever given to the identity of Jesus Christ comes from the Father who said of Him at His baptism, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." That is the greatest testimony to who this child is.
This Scripture was written, inspired by God, that we may know His Son and believe in Him. And in believing Him we will have life in His name. The witnesses have said their part. What is your take?
If you are already a believer then let us take inspiration from Anna. After recognizing Jesus the Messiah, she gave thanks to God. She was grateful for God’s provision of a Redeemer and Savior. May we too be always thankful to God and give God the praise and honor He deserves through our lives.
She was also not just thankful to God after recognizing the Messiah. She also witnessed to others about who Jesus is. May we not fail also to share this life-changing truth of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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[i] Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., Taylor, L. C., & Osborne, G. R. (1997). Luke. Life application Bible commentary (48). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
[ii] MacArthur, J. MacArthur’s New Testament Commentary
[iii] Barton, et. al.
[iv] MacArthur, J.
[v] Ibid.
[vi] Ibid.
[vii] Dr. Gadiel T. Isidro. Study notes on Acts 13:2
[viii] MacArthur, J.