36 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, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 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. (Luke 2:36-38)

This week, we’ve become acquainted with the prophetess Anna and have seen how she dedicated her life to God and responded to trial and pain by wholeheartedly pursuing God. Finally, let's consider where Anna placed her hope. J.I. Packer once wrote:

"'Where there’s life, there’s hope,' is a deep truth. Deeper, however, is the converse: 'Where there’s hope, there’s life.' We humans are hoping creatures; we live very largely on and in our anticipations, things we know are coming, and we look forward to. If the light of hope goes out, life shrinks to mere existence, something far less than life was meant to be."[^1] This quote perfectly depicts Anna. She was the very definition of alive—a human in total and constant connection with her maker. She was living out her design because she had a well-placed hope. What do I mean? Well, remember, Anna was a prophetess (36). There aren't many of them mentioned in the era before Jesus. She is female prophet #5 in the Bible after Moses's sister Miriam (Ex. 15:20), Deborah the judge (Judg. 4:4), Huldah who prophesied to King Josiah (2 Ki. 22:14), and Isaiah's wife (Isa. 8:3).[^2] As a prophet, Anna would have been centered upon the Old Testament Scriptures, and they would have fueled her hopes in the future redemption for Jerusalem (38). Anna would have been conscious of the same prophecies Elizabeth and Zechariah knew about the coming of Elijah before the great day of the Lord. In those predictions from Malachi, God said the day was coming when God would burn like an oven and consume all evil and arrogance from the earth, bringing healing to all who feared his name (Malachi 4:1-3). And Anna knew her life was found in the God-fearing camp, so she looked forward to that great day. Anna would have also been conscious of Isaiah's prophecies about a descendant of David, referred to as the stump of Jesse, who was also the child of a virgin mother, who would come with the Spirit of God upon him (Is. 7:14, 11:1-5). One day, Isaiah said, "the government would be upon his shoulder, and his name would be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And of the increase of his government and peace there would be no end" (Is. 9:6-7). And she had prayed the psalm that said one day a King above all Kings would arise, and that all kings and nations would bow to him, just as the wise men did after Jesus' birth (Ps. 72:10-11).

Baby Jesus Was the Answer

Anna was only the most recent in a long line of biblical women who hoped for the coming of Christ. There are, of course, many more women in the Christmas story than the two we've considered this Christmastime. Matthew, who also told the story of Jesus' birth, was careful to mention four of them. He mentioned Bathsheba, the woman King David stole from one of his special forces operators (Matt. 1:6)—I think she longed for a righteous king to arise. Before Bathsheba came Ruth, the Moabite foreigner who came to know and trust God before marrying Boaz and becoming the great-grandmother to King David (Matt. 1:5). I think she longed for a light to dawn upon the non-Jewish world. And before Ruth was Rahab—in her past life, she'd been a prostitute in the Canaanite city of Jericho (Matt. 1:5). I think she longed for the One who could wash away all our sins. And the first woman Matthew mentioned was Tamar, whom Judah scandalously impregnated and then attempted to ostracize (Matt. 1:3). I think she longed for justice for all who are oppressed and abused. Before these four women of Christmas were many others, dating all the way back to the first woman, Eve. After sin entered the world, God immediately promised that a descendent of hers would crush the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). Anna was conscious of this promise. And with birth after birth, Eve waited with bated breath for that snake crusher to arise, removing the great curse that had come upon the perfect world God had made. And when God promised Abraham that from him would come a great nation to bless all nations and that from his body would come descendants as innumerable as the stars in the sky, he said it would happen through his wife Sarah's body (Gen. 12:1-3, 15:1-6, 17:16). Someday, through Abraham, the seed to crush the serpent would arrive. And though Sarah initially laughed in unbelief, she eventually laughed with joy, believing that through her body, God was fulfilling his promise. Then, Rebekah had Jacob, and Leah had Judah—and God kept narrowing the line down and holding out the promise. The serpent crusher would come. The seed of Abraham would bless all nations. And all these women—Anna included—hoped and believed that God's promise would be fulfilled, that someday the darkness would lift and the age of great blessing would come.

Conclusion

We should carry a similar hope today. Anna wanted the redemption of Jerusalem, but we crave the redemption of the whole world. Isaiah (and Habakkuk after him) promised a day to come when "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea" (Is. 11:9, Hab. 2:14). Living, as we do, on the Monterey Bay, we know a bit about the sea. In our bay, there is seemingly endless life, a whole world that researchers are increasingly learning about. It is a world under water, under the deluge, existing within the substance. One day, Christ will come, and he will establish his reign and kingdom forever. And it will be like life under the ocean surface—we will exist within his realm, with a knowledge of him, his ways, and his goodness. Nothing will be untouched by the cross. Right now, though we hope for that kingdom, we have a hard time imagining it. But, one day, when Jesus returns, not as a baby but as a conquering king, "what no eye has seen or heard or imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him," will be known (1 Cor. 2:9). It will be our experience. We will be swimming in it. No, living within it. So, with Anna, let's live in anticipation and hope!

Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee. Israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art; dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart. — Charles Wesley, 1744[^3]

[^1]: Packer, J. I. 2013. Weakness Is the Way: Life with Christ Our Strength. Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press. [^2]: Though the text calls her a prophetess, I've intentionally excluded Noadiah (Neh. 6:14). She was a prophetess who tried to make Nehemiah afraid with her false-predictions, so I classify her as a false prophetess, of which there are many in Scripture. [^3]: “The United Methodist Hymnal 196. Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus.” n.d. Hymnary.org. Accessed December 14, 2022. https://hymnary.org/hymn/UMH/196.