Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple…She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem. (Luke 2:36-38)
A point easy to miss in the extraordinary encounter that Simeon had with Jesus and his parents is that a lady named Anna came upon them while Simeon was talking and making his declaration. This set her to “praising God” (Luke 2:38) and telling about the child to everyone who was waiting patiently “for God to rescue Jerusalem.”
God orchestrated this in a way that leaves us shaking our heads. Consider this:
He gave insight to a man who had received a special promise about seeing the Messiah during his lifetime. This man was bubbling over with his eureka moment while this old widow of 84, who spent her life in the Temple “worshiping God with fasting and prayer” just happened to come by. She was in the Spirit. She was tuned in to God. She heard what Simeon was saying and this immediately resonated with her. And then just as Simeon couldn’t keep quiet—he overflowed with song and praise to God—this prophet lady named Anna also burst forth with validation and proclamation.
The witnesses continue to pile up to announce the coming of Messiah Child. As they keep coming forward, what were Jesus’ parents thinking? Maybe…
Who is this old man?
Who is this old lady?
Who else is going to say something—hey, what about that guy over there? Is he going to come see us?!
Is this really happening to us?
In light of all the things no doubt swirling in the minds of this young couple, maybe they didn’t need any longer to ask questions like:
Who is this baby?
and,
Is he really who they say he is?
With sound mind, there was no way to deny the obvious: this unique baby was surrounded by unmistakable validation.
I wonder if Anna’s validation was the tipping point, and caused them to say, “Ok, ok! We’ve got the message! Now, Lord, show us how to raise this child for you!” Or, had they already reached that point and they just continued to praise God, gulp, and hold on for the ride? That is, the parade of witnesses keeps marching by and they have long ago accepted that Jesus is the One. Opportunities for doubt have been decisively removed, and instead of the ongoing parade serving to convince them, the line of witnesses encourages them.
It’s interesting that the Scripture does not at any time, after the birth of Jesus, record that his parents had doubts that he was exactly the One who the angel announced to them. This long procession of validation evidences was accepted by his parents, and there is no reason to suggest that they believed anything about him other than the truth that was announced over and over.
As the story reads, we can reach no conclusion other than this: his parents heard and accepted the message that their baby was the long-awaited Messiah of Israel. Rejoice!
“Father, thank you that the announcement of Jesus as the Savior was not a one-off event. You showed to his humble parents, time after time, in ways they didn’t expect and which they could not orchestrate, that their baby was the Son of the Most High God.
Thank you for the model of their belief and action in response to this extraordinary announcement and string of validation evidences. As they did, may we obey you with humility and with receptive hearts!”
Freddy Boswell 