Redemption

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

REDEMPTION

Luke 2:36-38

36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

NIV

Luke is the only Gospel that mentions the prophetess Anna, or her father Phanuel, which means we have no other record to compare this account of what happened. We do wonder about her never leaving the temple night and day, as to how and where she ate and slept and took care of her hygienic needs. But, alas, never leaving the temple night and day could have also meant that she never missed any of the public times of worship or service, morning, noon, and night, so then she did not live in the temple but was there for all times of pray and service within the temple. If the doors were open she was there. We could say this might serve as an example of what our lives should be, but for the most part, our churches are only open a few times a week. What we might learn from Anna is both her dedication to God and that God must have spoken to her through inspiration for she was known as a prophetess. The Greek word, profeetis for prophetess, is used as a feminine foreteller, or an inspired woman. It is interesting this word is only used twice, once for Anna and then in the revelation given to John referring to Jezabel.

However, the truth we can garner from this narrative is that she recognized that Jesus was the redemption or ransoming of Jerusalem, and thus all of Israel. This is our story because God sent his Son to pay the ransom for us, as we had been kidnapped by the dark powers of this world, and the spiritual forces of evil in the spiritual realm. This meant we were set free from the death our captor had planned for us. All we can do is thank God for our redemption, and our freedom to return to the family we were supposed to be in from the beginning. We should always remember that we are God’s beloved creation whom he made in their own image, that is the image of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. That is what we were supposed to be or the way we were made. But we were captured by everything else in the world, and the spiritual forces of evil. We might have even begun to enjoy our captivity, sort of like the Stockholm syndrome. We certainly were not being an image bearer of God, which is how we were made to be. But now that we have been redeemed, we have been brought back into the family we were supposed to be in, and now we are free to reflect our maker, to be an image bearer of God, and to reflect his glory. This is what Israel was supposed to be, but they lost their way and gave way to their captivity of self-righteousness. We cannot afford to give way to anything that interferes with our being the image of God. We are always thankful for the redemption of God.