Anna

I think I would like many of the folks who spent their days in the temple courts at Jerusalem during the days of Jesus.  We are not given information of the many who must have daily spent hours there.  However, there is no doubt that many faithful and righteous among those referred to as “the multitudes” in the Gospel messages were awaiting the arrival of the Messiah.  Though disillusioned with the political nature of the leadership in the temple they clung to the sanctification and hope in the center of religious activity in the capital city.  We read of two such righteous people; Simeon and Anna, and I think I would like them both.  

Joseph and Mary traveled from Bethlehem to Jerusalem with their baby.  Luke 2:22-24 tells us of that day, “Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

By the time Jesus was born, there were several processes that the Jewish faithful would observe when a first-born son was born.  The baby boy would be brought to the temple and presented to a priest, with the price of 5 shekels, which was the “redemption money” required and of great importance.  This redemption could be accomplished at the same time the mother met her purification requirements. 

Following the Law that God had given the nation, Jesus would have been 41 days old when Joseph and Mary came to Jerusalem from Bethlehem to fulfill the ceremonial cleansing for Mary and the redemption for their newborn son. We must note here, that if the baby was a girl the requirements were still necessary, but the baby girl would be 81 days old according to the Law. In addition, by the time Jesus was born the family could meet these ritual requirements when coming to Jerusalem for a feast any time after the 41 or 81 days had passed. In fact, Alfred Edersheim states in “Jesus the Messiah” that “women did not even have to be present at all, when their offerings could be provided by a representative of the family or from the synagogue to which the family belonged.”  Of course, Mary the mother of our Lord chooses to make that journey from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, which most of the devout and faithful in the land would be inclined to do.

On the day that this young family came to present their baby, born in the privacy of a stable and visited by shepherds, they encountered two very interesting people – Simeon and Anna.  For the sake of our conversation now, we will look at the text concerning Anna. Luke 2:36-38 tell us, “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; 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. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.”

Simeon, who had already declared that the salvation of Israel had arrived, was not the only one who would express words of praise for this baby on this day.  This wonderfully interesting woman, Anna, will also provide words for Mary and Joseph to ponder.  

Anna was one of the widows provided provisions – living in the Temple.  Her age is indicated to us, she was married for 7 years and widowed for 84 years – that equals 91 years.  We do not know what age she was when she married, but if it was 15 or older, she would have been 106 or more.  So, she and Simeon were both old (for he would seemingly die as soon as he was released from his watch) and her age is certainly plain to see.

Anna is interesting – Alfred Edersheim says, in his “Jesus the Mesiah,” A special interest attaches to her who responded in praise to God for the pledge she saw of the near redemption.  A kind of mystery seems to invest this Anna.  A widow whose early desolateness had been followed by a long life of solitary mourning; one of those in whose home the tribal genealogy had been preserved.  We infer from this, and from the fact that it was that of a tribe which had not returned to Palestine, that hers was a family of some distinction.  Curiously enough, the tribe of Asher alone is celebrated in tradition for the beauty of its women, and their fitness to be wedded to High-Priest or King.” I would love to meet Anna, who spent these years Anna in the Sanctuary fasting and praying.  It is clear the many years did not make her heart self-righteous, she had not been influenced by the pious and hypocritical trends of the culture of the Temple.  In fact, her fasting and prayer where not an empty display of what her religion was about – they were a natural response to her hope.  This woman and her experiences in Jerusalem (apparently where she had become a widow) did not define her.  You think about what she saw and who she was - a seemingly hopeless exile of her own tribe (for the tribe of Asher did not return) surrounded by the political state of Judea in those days – a social, moral and religion state not in keeping with the Israel that she longed for.  It seems her prayers every day included the redemption that only God could provide, the one promised, the one she believed in – and she recognized that redemption when she saw this baby.

Sitting each day among the false pretenses and fake religion of the nation she loved, she had not grown disillusioned or given up on the sincere hope of the promise.  I think I would like her. This temple did not represent stones that somehow glorified her nation, to her it was the place, like the tabernacle so long ago, that drew her closer to God.  What better place to spend a long solidary life, the natural place for her to lift her prayers each day, to keep her eyes steadfast on the hope of Israel.   She was one of the devout waiting – one of many – waiting.  There were others, who heard the words of Anna and knew that redemption had come.  I am so grateful to God that he allowed Anna to see and recognize Jesus.  For all her prayers – 84 years of prayers – she was given the assurance, they had been heard.  

We don’t know how many more years Anna lived – my guess is not many.  But, God is so good to assure us that our prayers have been answered.  I would love to meet Anna to hear of her years spent in the temple, praying, fasting – only to be given the opportunity to know that God had indeed fulfilled his promise to her nation and to all.  And I wonder, what do we pray for?  Do we pray for the redemption of Christ for all?  Do we hope for the promise of His coming?  Do we live in ways that draw us nearer to God?  Do we remind ourselves each day that there is hope even when we are disappointed in our circumstances, betrayal, or hypocrisy?  Do we believe deeply enough to know that God is in control and will do what is best for all in His time?  Anna did, and oh how I would like to meet her for I am sure I would like her very much.