Anna was a prophetess who lived at the temple, where she worshiped El Shaddai night and day until the promised child came. She was a widow until she was eighty-four years old.
Now, Mary and Joseph arrive at the temple with the baby Jesus to satisfy the Old Testament law. They needed to make the purification offering (see Leviticus 12:6–8) and to present Jesus as their firstborn before God (see Exodus 13:2, 12–15). While they’re there, Simeon cradles the Lord Jesus in his arms, praises God, and utters a prophecy concerning Jesus and Mary. At this moment, Anna enters. She immediately recognizes Jesus as the long-awaited Savior and begins thanking God.
Anna thanked God and spoke of the child, her Savior, to everyone looking forward to Jerusalem’s redemption.
This poor woman prophesied the coming King of Kings just as Simeon prayed.
In Luke 2: 36-38, MSG, “Anna the prophetess was also there, a daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was by now a very older woman. She had been married seven years and a widow for eighty-four. She never left the Temple area, worshiping night and day with her fasting and prayers. At the very time Simeon was praying, she showed up, broke into an anthem of praise to God, and talked about the child to all who were waiting expectantly for the freeing of Jerusalem.”
This outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Anna and Simeon was an everlasting testament to God’s love. She spoke and sang an anthem of praise to God for allowing her to witness the birth of the
Messiah, the promised King.
Both Simeon and Anna waited with patience for God to display something so big the Holy Spirit had to announce this monumental moment through a stirring in their spirits. That something incredible was to happen, and the saints would proclaim the coming. Yet, the announcement kept hidden until the exact time when Mary and Joseph appeared at the temple to celebrate Jesus’s circumcision (Bris in Hebrew).
After seeing the Anointed King, Simeon and Anna are never the same in their hearts. Because knowing the child, Jesus was like no other, and He came to set the captives free from sin.
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