Witnesses For The Messiah

Good morning!

It is good to worship with you this morning!

Last week we took a week off from our study of the book of Luke to celebrate and reflect on Easter.

The focus of the message last week was on what it means to be born again.

We looked at the interaction between Nicodemus and Jesus and then finished with a reflection on the Prodigal Son and how God feels about his children.

God wants us to understand just how much He loves us and that our sins and mistakes in life don’t define us.

God has already defined us when He created us and then again when He offered Jesus on our behalf.

Think about the meaning, purpose, and value we have all been given through our creation and redemption!

The love and grace that flows from God to all people are overwhelming!

I spent much of our time discussing what being born again means for life here on Earth.

When I was thinking through that content again this week, God brought something of great significance to my attention.

I have been aware for most of my life that the church’s main focus in salvation is on the promise of heaven.

While it is true that, as believers, we will experience heaven when we die, that is not what we were created for.

God created us to live here on earth, in His kingdom, walking in His presence and fellowshipping with Him.

God put some pieces together from my own past to solidify what He was trying to say.

I’ve shared with you guys before the story of being a young youth pastor and prepping a lesson.

As I was prepping, I was trying to figure out how to sell the idea to teenagers that being a christian was as worthwhile endeavor.

I was struggling because at that time in my life, I was miserable, specifically in regards to the church that was employing me and how different it felt from what I saw in scripture about how a church should look, feel, and operate.

It didn’t make sense to me and I was struggling to make the case that others should join.

God reminded me of that time in my life to show me that much of the church’s focus on heaven isn’t because of a lack of theology about life on earth.

It is directly caused by their/my lack of experience with living in the kingdom of God here on earth.

At that time in my life, I didn’t understand what it meant to abide in Jesus.

I didn’t know by experience the fullness that comes from living in an active, vibrant walk with God.

I believe that the same is true of much of the church as a whole.

If you went to church as a child/young adult, what was the major focus of their evangelistic approach?

We focused on a future promise because we didn’t understand what life was supposed to be like right now.

Guys, this is the very point of this sermon series.

We are studying Luke so that we can know Jesus.

To know Him personally is to live in the Kingdom of God right now.

In knowing Jesus, we are compelled by His great love for us to share what we experience with others, thereby making Jesus known.

Knowing Jesus and Making Him Known.

What have you learned about Jesus through this study that you didn’t already know or have a new understanding about?

Today, as we continue forward in our study, we find ourselves looking at the story of Anna, the prophetess.

Here is our challenge from God for today.

If we are going to really know God in the way that He wants us too, there are some things about our past that we are going to have to let go of.

We need to be prepared to allow God to challenge some of the things we have been taught in the past.

There are certain aspects of our faith tradition that are restrictive in a way that I don’t think God intended.

Consider the religious leaders of Jesus’ time and how much Jesus challenged their theology.

It would be foolish and pigheaded of us to think that Jesus will not challenge us in the same way.

My personal goal today is not to change your theology.

I am asking that you simply make space in your heart and mind for God to work and move your theology as He sees fit.

Has God challenged your theology recently and if so, how?

As we read and study this passage today, we are going to see God use a person that our culture would consider an unlikely source to share the truth about who Jesus of Nazareth was with all those in the temple.

Luke 2:36-38

Today we are going to focus on the three major ideas that Luke addresses in these three verses, and then we will make some applications.

Luke describes the character, role, and ministry of Anna in the proclamation of Jesus as the redeemer of Israel.

There is a very specific reason that Luke addresses both of those things.

Her character, which is a product of her relationship with God, is what qualifies her for this work.

I also want us to see that the role we see Anna fulfilling is a well-defined and historical concept.

This is important because for the last 50 years or so there has been a trend in evangelistic circles to downplay the role that women play in the spreading of the Gospel.

My hope is that at the end of our time together today, all of us will clearly understand why God chose Anna and the importance of her ministry in establishing the credibility of Jesus as Messiah.

Anna’s Character

Luke 2:36-37

Why is a person’s character important in regards to their ministry?

What happen’s to a persons witness if their character doesn’t match their message?

Luke tells us that her father’s name and the tribe that her family comes from.

We don’t know anything else about her father, but it is believed that Luke includes this information to establish her lineage and belonging.

He is relaying to the original audience that she is a person who would have known the history of Israel and understood the gravity of what God spoke through her.

I read a paper on this passage this week in which the author explains that by including Anna with the testimony of Simeon, Luke is showing the fulfillment of the Law’s requirement for at least two witnesses in legal cases. Deuteronomy 19:15

Deuteronomy 19:15 CSB

15 “One witness cannot establish any iniquity or sin against a person, whatever that person has done. A fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

So by including Anna, Luke is showing that we have two well-known Israelite people that are professing that Jesus is the Messiah.

Luke also tells us her age which was another cultural marker of reliability and wisdom.

The same is true in our culture as well.

Someone’s age speaks to the wisdom that they possess.

There is some debate over whether she was 84 or had been a widow for 84 years, but regardless of her age, she is a reliable witness.

Lastly, Luke speaks to the consistency of her spiritual life, establishing her credibility as a reliable witness.

You may have heard people describe others by saying that if the church doors were open, they are there.

This is what they would also say about Anna.

She either lived in the temple or very near it and was there consistently.

Many commentators make mention of the detail that Luke gives for her over the limited details we get about Simeon.

Luke intentionally slows down the narrative of the story to make sure that it is known that Anna also testified about who Jesus was.

We will see this come into play later in the book as others try to disprove Jesus as Messiah.

Namely the religious leaders.

So, here we have Anna, who has the right background to understand the gravity of what God is speaking.

She is of the age to possess great wisdom.

She has a spiritual life that is consistent and well-established.

God uses Anna to play an important role in the announcement of who Jesus is in the temple.

I cannot stress enough just how important this moment is in the life of Jesus.

Now let’s look at how God used her in this moment.

Anna’s Role

Luke 2:36a, 38.

Luke 2:36a (CSB)

There was also a prophetess, Anna…

Luke 2:38 CSB

At that very moment, she came up and began to thank God and to speak about him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Luke describes Anna as a prophetess.

This causes us to ask several questions.

1. What did Luke mean by prophetess?

2. What would the original audience have understood him to be talking about?

3. What is the biblical role of a prophetess?

The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (Revised and Updated) Prophetess

prophetess (Heb. nebi’ah), a woman who serves as a channel of communication between the human and divine worlds. In their prophetic behavior and religious functions prophetesses are not distinguished from their male counterparts. The NRSV uses the word “prophetess” in eight passages (Exod. 8:20; Judg. 4:4; 2 Kings 22:14; 2 Chron. 34:22; Neh. 6:14; Isa. 8:3; Luke 2:36; Rev. 2:20), but the strong tendency in contemporary biblical scholarship is to call a woman who prophecies a “prophet.”

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised Prophetess

PROPHETESS [Heb. nḇîʾâ; Gk. prophḗtis]. A female prophet; in one instance possibly the wife of a prophet (Isa. 8:3).

In the OT the title is applied to five women: to Miriam the sister of Moses and Aaron (Ex. 15:20), to Deborah the charismatic judge (Jgs. 4:4), to the wife of Isaiah (Isa. 8:3), to Huldah, who was consulted by King Josiah (2 K. 22:14; 2 Ch. 34:22), and to No-adiah, a false prophetess who opposed Nehemiah (Neh. 6:14). Rabbinical tradition recognized seven prophetesses who prophesied to Israel: Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, and Esther (TB Megilloth 14a).

In the NT the term appears only twice, referring to Anna, who recognized and proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah (Lk. 2:36–38), and to the temptress Jezebel, “who calls herself a prophetess” (Rev. 2:20). Other women who prophesied in the early Church are referred to in Acts 21:9 (the four daughters of Philip) and 1 Cor. 11:5. One of the signs of the messianic age is that men and women will prophesy (Acts 2:17f.).

Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary Prophetess

PROPHETESS 1. Female prophet; women serving as God’s spokesperson.

Let’s look at a few of these passages that are called out by these commentators.

Judges 4:4 CSB

4 Deborah, a prophetess and the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.

2 Kings 22:14 CSB

14 So the priest Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the prophetess Huldah, wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the Second District. They spoke with her.

Acts 2:17 CSB

17 And it will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all people; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.

Acts 21:9 (CSB)

9 This man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.

1 Corinthians 11:5 CSB

5 Every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since that is one and the same as having her head shaved.

As we can clearly see, having a women speak on God’s behalf was not unusual.

Let’s look back at those questions.

1. What did Luke mean by prophetess?

Luke means that Anna spoke on God’s behalf about the role that Jesus would play in the life of all people.

She prophesied that Jesus was the one that would redeem Israel.

2. What would the original audience have understood him to be talking about?

It was a well-established idea and culturally acceptable for a woman to be a prophet.

They would have ranked her with the list of Old Testament prophetesses like Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Huldah, and others.

There would have been no confusion from the original audience as to the greatness of her ministry.

3. What is the biblical role of a prophetess?

A prophet is any person directed by the inspiration of God to proclaim His will.

Simply put, a prophet and prophetess are men and women who speak God’s message, on God’s behalf, to the people.

As we can clearly see, it was a well-established concept in both the Old and New Testaments that women can serve as God’s spokesperson.

Now, look back with me at Luke 2:38

Anna’s Ministry

Luke 2:38 CSB

38 At that very moment, she came up and began to thank God and to speak about him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

The word there that is translated as moment literally means “that very hour.”

This is important because Luke is showing us that Anna didn’t simply overhear what Simeon said and then jump on his coattails.

The Holy Spirit revealed this to Anna, and she went to Mary, Joseph, and Jesus so that she could thank God for sending the Messiah.

This is an important step in the witness process.

Anna saw the baby for herself, and the Holy Spirit confirmed it for her.

She then went, the scripture says, “to speak about him to all that were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.”

Who would these people have been?

I can only imagine that it was literally everyone in the temple.

If you consider the political climate that Israel was in at the moment and the long history of occupation and dispersion.

Literally, the entire Old Testament is pointing towards the one that would redeem God’s people, deliver them from the shackles of sin and death, and restore their relationship with God.

Everyone would have wanted to hear the incredible news that the long-awaited Messiah was here!

Anna is proclaiming the fulfillment of the promise that God has made to Israel.

Prophecies like one from Isaiah 52:9.

Isaiah 52:9 CSB

9 Be joyful, rejoice together, you ruins of Jerusalem! For the Lord has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem.

Luke shows that God clearly used both a man and a woman to bring testimony in the temple about the person of Jesus.

They affirm his messiahship in the place where God’s presence was supposed to be.

They were led by the Holy Spirit, obeyed the Holy Spirit, and then shared all this with those that would listen.

Anna knew God, knew how to hear his voice, and obeyed what God told her to do.

When we think about the application of this passage, we can see that God wants to use all people, both men, and women, to share who Jesus is with all people.

God places no limits on who He can use to share the Gospel.

As I mentioned in the introduction, there has been a tendency to downplay women's role in speaking on God’s behalf.

As we have seen today, this was not the case for Anna, prophetess of old, nor of women in the New Testament.

God has not placed a limit on who can speak on his behalf.

We should not limit what God does not limit.

In preparing for this message, I thought about the women in this church and how effective their ministries are in sharing the truth about who Jesus is to our body and beyond.

There is no doubt in my mind that God speaks through them.

God wants to use every man and woman to share the truth of the Gospel of Jesus.

The great commission is not for men alone.

In fact, women were the first to share that Jesus had risen from the dead.

They proclaimed the good news first!

In our passage today, we see God speak through Anna.

We saw that Anna spent her life pursuing God, worshiping and serving Him.

Anna’s ministry was to proclaim the good news to those in the temple.

God prepared and empowered her to fulfill the call He had on her life.

God has and will continue to do the same in the women in our church.

We have been and will continue to be greatly blessed by their ministries in this body!

Let’s pray.

Announcements:

David’s website and funding future singles or, hopefully, an EP.

Secret Church journals have shipped. I also have a digital copy if you would prefer that to a physical journal.

We will meet up at David’s house at ______?

Menu?

What should we all bring?

I have a meeting with the Governor Tuesday afternoon. Pray for that meeting.

Offering

“if i am going to fail, I want to fail all the way. If I just stop at the moment of failure, I may miss out on some of what the failure could have taught me.”

Chase the rabbit all the way down the trail and see what you discover along the way.