It is Good Friday! A day we recognize as the day that Christ gave His sinless life in trade for our Salvation from the wrath of God: a wrath we so deserve.
Today my quiet time was Luke 2:36-40 which is Luke’s capture of the visit by Anna (the prophetess) to the dedication of Jesus at the temple in Jerusalem.
It is interesting the mention of Anna as prophetess as there were no prophets mentioned in the bible in hundreds of years preceding Jesus’ birth. She was a very old widow but never missed a worship service in the temple and in fact even had a chamber that slept in there in the temple.
She was very a very devout Jew. Many Jews never accepted Jesus but there were some who understood the scriptures and patiently waited for the Messiah, realized He had come, Jesus. Luke says that Anna came up to Mary, Joseph, Simeon, and Jesus at the moment of Jesus’ dedication and gave thanks to the Lord for Him. After this moment, Anna returned to her spot in the temple and proceeded to tell everyone she met about Jesus. All of the people were coming to the temple “looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem”.
She did not go out from the temple enclosure but was worshiping night and day with fasting and prayer.
Luke 2:37b
Application:
As I continue to read through the narrative story of the birth of Jesus, I sometimes struggle to find ‘application’. However, what I do find is a recognition of God’s plan in His redemptive story for all of humanity and His guiding hand in every aspect of the preparation and coming of His Son. When I think about Anna – I think about my own initiative (or lack thereof) to tell everyone I come across of the Life, Love, and Gospel of Jesus. The devotion of this woman and dedication to telling all about Jesus, is humbling.