I invite you to turn to Luke chapter 2. We're looking at verses 36 through 38 tonight of Luke chapter 2, found on page 1019. Let's give our attention tonight to God's Word. "And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was 84. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day, and coming up at the very hour, she began to give thanks to God and to speak of Him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem." And there I will end the reading of God's word tonight.
We always kind of want to have a fresh look at the birth of Christ and the narratives. Always have so much we realize when we look at them that we haven't really mastered or learned. There's so much to learn in these. And one of those particular passages that is very special tonight to consider, one that often gets overlooked, As I said this morning, I go through my texts and my history of preaching. And I think I've preached all these, I don't know how many times when it comes to the birth of Christ. So all of you who take notes in your Bible and you mark down when the pastor preached, I don't know what else to do. I don't know what else to do. So you only have a certain amount of text.
So I think Anna tonight gives us a unique look at the coming of the Savior. If you think about what the celebration of Christmas is if we're going to have a celebration of the birth of Christ that means anything it's helpful to look at those who actually were there at His birth, their record and their testimonies, what their stories were, and how they received their Messiah. I love to think about the figures that Luke shows us that surround the birth of Christ because all these stories are so unique. All of them are different. Each figure is unique. Each figure has a specific kind of emphasis for us and story for us, and they really do help us, I think, to look at whatever station in life one is in. We should live with the same hope that they all had in expectation of the coming of Christ, which we're trying tying together as we did this morning with the first and the second coming.
Whatever they were, think about it. Think who's presented in the Scriptures and who's highlighted for us. You have wise men. You have lowly shepherds. You have priests, Zechariah. You have lowly young married, duly married. You have old men, old women. You have Simeon. You've got, it seems to me, a sort of presentation of every sort of walk of life is given to us when we look at the coming of the Messiah. But the one figure that obviously often gets overlooked is this figure: Anna.
In some ways, it's a little bit challenging because what do we have here? Three verses. And that was why I chose it for a shorter sermon, because that makes sense, doesn't it? Three verses here that talk about Anna, but they are indeed full of great truth about this wonderful woman that we really, throughout history, have not given attention to. Anna is important, and I want to think about how her story helps us with the celebration of the birth of Christ, how her story encourages us to show, as all of them do, God's faithfulness all throughout history to bring forth the Messiah and what that means for us.
This morning, we were challenged regarding Zechariah about belief in the promise. You'll notice there that what was captured was Zechariah didn't believe the words of the angel Gabriel. But the Bible doesn't just focus on our failures. The Bible also captures shining moments of faithfulness in God's people. It provides for us a snapshot of a faithful response so that we don't run around always and get the impression we just can never do anything that's right. We never can honor the Lord because we're so sinful. The Scriptures are calling us to take seriously what it means to live by faith.
And here we have sort of the opposite response of Zechariah initially. Zechariah gives a great prayer of faith in Luke, but here we see something very powerful with the response of Anna. Anna is one of these remarkable figures because she captures what it really looks like to be ready has been our theme today, to be watching, to be living by faith in anticipation of the fulfillment of God's promises.
So I want to take just a few moments to consider Anna tonight. The scene is this: that the Holy Spirit had told Simeon that he would not see death until he beheld the Messiah, and I believe that Luke wanted us to take these two accounts together. They really are a pair here. I'm not doing that tonight, but I don't think you can divorce what is said about Simeon with regard to Anna and what follows.
Simeon walks up into the temple, and he takes the child into his arms. And you remember what he said: "Now I can die. Behold, my eyes have seen your salvation. Now I'm released. I'm free to die. This was the promise that I would not taste death till I've seen the Messiah."
Now, if you want to see the connection here, you can see it in verse 38. "We're at that very hour, that very moment, you'll notice, Anna walks in. So as the Savior's being held by Simeon, you have Anna walk into the temple here, and you'll notice it says, 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.
So she comes in and she speaks. She becomes, at this moment, one of only a handful of prophetesses in the Bible who speak God's word. She's highly honored by the Lord here. Whatever you think of prophetesses throughout the Old Testament, you have a few of them that are remarkable: Miriam and you have Deborah and Huldah. They were prophetesses that showed up at unique moments in redemptive history. They were not the norm, of course, but they were unique moments that they showed up. And I want to think a little bit why Anna is so important for this.
Let's consider her for a minute. "And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was 84."
The details are important. They're a little bit challenging to work through, but you can get the clear picture here. They married very young in those days, things that would make us uncomfortable, but it's just the reality. Married even at 13 was not uncommon. And so what we have here is that she had probably become a widow by the age of 20. That's something. And then she had only been married seven years when her husband died. So then for 84 years she had been a widow, which would make her over 100 years old. What a unique story. I think it's one of those things that you're meant to stop and to think about. That's a hard life. That's a long life of a lot of aloneness. It's sort of a bitter struggle, isn't it?
She too. Now think of the ties to everything we've been considering. She too was a barren woman. We read of not one child that she bore. The marvel of her is not that she had the gift to be alone. We say that so frequently. I think we need to think through how we say those things and be careful in how we say those things. But it's important to say, she did not have the gift. She obviously had the need to be married, didn't she? She never remarried. 84 years. She was never given a child.
I think it's fascinating. I think if we look at our lives and we think about what's normal to life, we tend to think that people who have these kinds of hardships in life, at least that's kind of how we treat them, or we think, and indeed they can be must really struggle to be happy. Right? We might believe this is a kind of life of woe. Who wants this kind of life? She had the painful, lifelong struggle of having her husband taken from her after seven short years of marriage, no children, and for 84 years, she has no husband who would not love her and no children to bear. What kind of a life is that? It's kind of a remarkable hardship, isn't it?
I know some sit here as widows and widowers and they never anticipated it, and that's been a very difficult affliction for you. There are a variety of hardships in life, as the saying goes, which is sort of the crash, insensitive saying, "Cheer up, someone has it worse than you." Well, it's kind of true with Anna. Or is it? You see, it's remarkable God's shining a light on her. 84 years old, 84 years without, over 100 years old, alone. Whatever your struggle, her story is meant to encourage you. God spotlights this woman, and it's important.
And that's why I love to look at things through the different stations that God gives us of the birth. And I think it's sad. That's why I titled the message "The Forgotten Anna." She's forgotten. And I think that's how a lot of single people feel. I believe it's important to look at her. Anyone would stop and say, "Would I really even want to live to 100 years old and be in this position?" What's remarkable about her, though, is her devotion.
Look at what's said about her. I want you to notice she lived the most fulfilled life. Just as Simeon, what does it say of Anna? "She did not depart from the temple, worshiping and fasting and praying night and day." I think we read that and say, "Are you kidding? How do you apply that? You know, we want to try to convince people just to come to church on Sundays. Night and day. She did two services every single day. Took the opportunity to spend her time in prayer and in fasting."
And I think you have to say that in light of her hardship, she had a special opportunity that she had learned to live her life singularly devoted to the Lord. Paul could write, "Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in body and spirit." Normal routine, day and night, she comes to the temple, and you have to kind of ask, "What drove this woman?" On all accounts, no one would ever think of a life like this. No one would ever think of anything of a life like this. That it's important. That it matters. That it's valued.
She's presented by God Himself as attaining something that I think is remarkable that can be attained. She's right at the top. If you ever wanted a model for devotion to the Lord, I don't know if I can find anyone outside of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself who beats this. And I think it's meant to teach us something about hardship and difficulty in life.
Like Simeon, she was waiting for the consolation of Israel. She wanted release too, but her release was special. Why do I say that? There's something really moving here. Did you notice where she came from? "And there was a prophet, prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher." You know who Asher was. Asher was a special son born to Leah through Zilpah. It seems that Luke wanted us to think for a minute about Leah. I've always been heartbroken over the story of Leah.
Remember the story? I want you to put yourself in Leah's shoes for a minute. Jacob loved Rachel, and he worked for her, and he was promised her. And that abusive father, Laban, that night when the marriage had come, took a veil and put it over Leah and gave her to Jacob, and after a night of being together, he wakes up in the morning, and it's not Rachel. I mean, how do you think she felt when he disgustingly ran out of the tent? He didn't love her.
It always struck me weird, though, that Rachel was not buried in the tomb, but Leah was buried in Abraham's tomb. I went back and read it, and I found in the midst of all of her sad story Leah's sad story of never being loved and wanting children and wanting hope and wanting happiness. She spoke one day of her happiness. There was an unloved woman who became happy. A promise none of us have really ever thought about from Leah's mouth.
When the Lord saw, this is Genesis, that Leah was hated, the Lord cared for her so much. Think about this. Who's the husband here? The Lord cared about her so much. When he saw that she was hated, he had compassion. He opened her womb. His children start coming. Then Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. And Leah said, "Happy am I. Here's the prophecy. For daughters shall call me blessed." So she called his name Asher. Happy. Leah foresaw that a daughter would come from Asher who would showcase her happiness. a voice was heard in Rama who was weeping for her children, Rachel, not Leah.
Fast forward. God is always fulfilling His promises. Here is a daughter of Leah and her son Asher fulfilling her happiness. After all these years for the story for her life for her affliction, what's she doing? Leah's happiness is captured in Anna, who celebrates the bringing forth of the redemption of Jerusalem.
So Anna brings together the redemptive story of Leah. And the Scriptures always seem to have this in mind. Why do I say that? Listen to Isaiah 54: "Tell me how this does not ring out from this story. Sing, O barren one, you who did not bear. Break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor, for the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married, says the Lord. Enlarge the place of your tent. Let the curtains of your inhabitants be stretched out. Do not hold back. Lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes, for you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your offspring will possess the nations and the people, the desolate cities. Fear not, for you will not be ashamed. Do not be confounded, for you will not be disgraced, for you will forget the shame of your youth and the reproach of your widowhood. You will remember no more. Whoa. For your maker is your husband. The Lord of hosts is his name, and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer. The God of the whole earth he is called. For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off says your God. for a brief moment I deserted you but with great compassion I will gather you. An overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you but with everlasting love I have compassion on you says the Lord, your Redeemer."
See, I think what this all captures tonight, what we would think would be the lonely life, a life of hardship and affliction, the unloved life. The Lord says, "Look at a life fulfilled by my love. Her maker is her husband."
After the long struggle, this day finally comes. She walks in the temple, and the very moment she walks in, she hears from Simeon, "Lord, now you're letting your servant depart in peace. Who is Simeon? Well, you can go back and read it. Simeon was a righteous man. Now you're letting your servant depart in peace according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation that you've prepared in the presence of all people a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for the glory of your people Israel."
At that moment, at that moment, at that moment, she begins to give thanks to God. And happiness and speak of the redemption that was brought through Jesus Christ. She began to praise and bless God with words of great blessing, and she starts speaking of her Savior. The whole weight of her widowhood is now fulfilled.
And that captures something for us important: No matter our circumstances, whatever God will have for us, He is in control of them. No matter our station in life whether you're wise men whether you're shepherds whether you're priests serving in the temple whether you're like Mary and Elizabeth no matter our station, our lives are worth waiting. Are like waiting for the Lord to fulfill everything He said He would do. And all of our responses should be the same: Happy are we. We are a happy people. We are a celebratory people. We are a people in whatever capacity of life, in whatever calling of life, in serving to the Lord, we pray to Him. We wait upon Him. And the abilities that we have and the callings that we have, some people are set apart uniquely to give themselves in this kind of way. Others in the stations they do, still we all wait and call upon the Lord. We trust Him. We believe His word. That's how He wants us to live.
And in all the sorrows and the difficulties of this life, we find our strength in Him. He is the one that satisfies our souls. He's the one that satisfies our life with happiness by giving us a Savior who saved us from our sins. A true celebration. When we have taken up Christ into our hearts, we join with all the saints in celebrating God's gift to the world.
So today we give thanks to God for His indescribable gift. We have waited. He answered us in A.D. At this time, A.D. 30, when His Son died. He answered us all throughout history, and He will answer us again as we wait for His second coming. Let us live in whatever station we are in the same hope that Anna captures for us. I'm thankful tonight to be able to showcase this special woman who shows us in her station of life what happiness, true happiness, looks like. May we be the same. Amen.
Let's pray. Gracious Lord, thank you for encouraging us with this word tonight. Thank you for blessing us in the study of this servant of the Lord so many years ago. May we be thankful in our situations and stations. May we give you praise and glory. May we realize that you love us, you care for us, you are the one that fulfills our hearts with true happiness. Nobody else can. Thank you for this indescribable gift of sending your Son to come here to save us. The Lord of hosts is His name. The Holy One of Israel is our Redeemer. The God of the whole earth, He is called. We praise your wonderful name. In Jesus' name, Amen.