In Luke chapter 2, verse 36 down
through verse 40, we have a record here of one Anna. You see that in verse 36? There
was one Anna. I have a preacher friend of mine,
years and years ago, this is back in the early eighties, I
remember him preaching from this verse, verse thirty-six, and
the title of his message was, One Anna. One Anna. But I'm going to title the message
from what is said in verse thirty-eight. Verse thirty-eight of Luke two,
and she coming in that instant, gave thanks likewise as Simeon
did unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked,"
and here's a title, "...looked for redemption." That is, looking
for the Redeemer, looking for redemption. Now, I want you to
consider this personally. Are you looking for redemption
from all your sins? You're a sinner. Every sinner
needs a ransom. Every sinner needs redemption
from their sin. The question is, are you looking
for a redeemer? Are you looking for redemption
from your sin? You need look nowhere else but
to the one Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is called God
our Savior and He is the only Redeemer of sinners. We read this in Matthew 28 verse
20. The Son of Man came not to be
ministered unto but to minister and to give His life a ransom
for many. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
only Redeemer. We read in Ephesians chapter
1, that we are accepted in the Beloved to the praise of the
glory of His grace, in whom we have redemption. Where? In the Beloved. To the praise
of the glory of His grace, in whom we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of His grace. The Lord Jesus Christ paid the
terrible cost, the awful ransom price for the redemption of His
covenant people. He gave not the blood of bulls
and goats, He gave His own blood. He laid down His life for us. We are redeemed with the precious
blood of Christ. The Apostle Paul put it this
way, you're bought with a price. What was the price of our redemption?
His life, His blood. the precious blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now in these verses in Luke chapter
2 verse 36 down through verse 40, is the only place in scripture
that tells us about this old widow woman, her name was Anna. One Anna. Anna who worshipped
the Lord and was blessed to see the Savior, God incarnate, God
incarnate, God in human flesh, like the old man that we talked
about last week, the old man Simeon, both of these dear believers
found their hope of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ alone.
Worshipped Him and gave Him all the glory and all the honor.
You remember in Luke chapter 2, Luke verse 30, He says in
verse 28, let's begin there, Then took he him up in his arms,
and blessed God, and said, Lord, now let us, thy servant, depart
in peace according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
and this salvation which thou hast prepared. before the face
of all people. The salvation that we enjoy is
prepared from all eternity before we read about the Lamb being
slain from the foundation of the world. Now, in verse 36,
let's go back for just a moment and let's find something out
about this widow woman. Widow woman. We have several
widows in this congregation. Some of them here today. This
ought to be most interesting to you. One Anna, one Anna, a prophetess,
the daughter of Phanuel, the daughter of Asher, or the tribe
of Asher. She was of great age and had
lived with her husband seven years from her virginity. They
were married, they lived seven years together, and he died.
And she was a widow about four score and four years old, 84
years old, which departed not from the temple, but served God
with fasting, prayers, Night and day, verse 38, and she coming
in that instant gave thanks, likewise as Simeon did unto the
Lord. And like Simeon did, spake of
him, and like she did. And she spake to all them that
looked for redemption, or looked for the Redeemer. Now her name
is like that name we read of in 1 Samuel 2, that woman named
Hannah. Do you remember Hannah? And her
name here is Anna. Some say it's the same name.
But Hannah and Anna means Gracious. Or Hannah and Anna means grace. You remember in Hannah's prayer
in 1 Samuel 2, she said, My heart rejoices in the Lord. She found
her same comfort in the Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. My heart
rejoices in the Lord. My horn is exalted in the Lord
because I rejoice in Thy salvation, for salvation is of the Lord. And it was a gracious believer
who experienced salvation by the grace of God, the sovereign
grace of God. This one woman Anna was saved
by grace, walked in grace, told others of salvation by the grace
of God, she told others of her Redeemer, and this dear believer,
I'm confident, died in faith, died in grace, believing the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This dear woman was well over
a hundred years old, and yet she was still rejoicing and finding
great comfort in the Lord. Now it says in verse 36 that
she was a prophetess. That is, one who is inspired
to worship God. One who is inspired to worship
God. Now some would look at that verse
and think, well, women should be ordained to preach the gospel.
Does this mean that it's proper for women to preach the gospel,
to pastor church, or conduct a public ministry? Absolutely
not. No, that's forbidden in the Word
of God. Let the women learn in silence with all subjection.
Suffer not a woman to teach, 1 Timothy 2, 11 and 12, nor usurp
authority over the man, but to be in silence. So this woman,
and that word prophetess actually means one who is inspired to
worship. All of us here who came to worship the Lord are in that
sense what the definition of that word means. The second thing
we see about this one Anna, that she was the daughter of this
man named Phanuel. Her father had the same name
of the place that Jacob named when he met God face to face. Remember? He called the name
of that place Peniel, which is the same as Phanuel. It means,
I've seen, you remember what Jacob said? He said, I've seen
the face of God. Remember? Genesis chapter 32.
I've seen the face of God. How fitting then that Phanuel's
daughter actually saw the face of God in the Lord Jesus Christ,
didn't she? She saw the face of God in the
Lord Jesus Christ in this time. He's 40 day old, a 40 day old
infant. You remember our Lord said to
Philip, Philip said, Show us the Father. Philip, have I been
so long time with you? He that seen me hath seen the
Father. I, my Father, we are one." She actually saw the face
of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. Something else we see, she was
of great age, well over 100 years old. She never married. She lived as a young virgin,
married, and she lived seven years with her husband. Her husband
passed away. She never remarried. Never remarried. But my friend, she was married.
She was married. Her husband took marvelous care
of her. Her husband was the Lord Himself
who married her in that eternal covenant of grace. Yes, she was
married. She was married to the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's why I read from Isaiah
54. Remember the verse? For thy maker
is thine husband. The Lord of hosts is His name,
thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole
earth, shall He be called? He's the Holy One of Israel? It's the same one, look back
in Luke chapter 1 verse 35. Luke chapter 1 verse 35, And
the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come
upon thee, the power of the highest shall overshadow thee, therefore
also that holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called
the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Holy One. He
is our Redeemer. And this dear woman, this widow
woman, a hundred years old, was married to the Lord Jesus Christ
in that eternal covenant of grace, and He took care of her. Remember
the Apostle Paul said, My God shall supply all your need according
to His riches in glory through the Lord Jesus Christ. You've
found that to be true, haven't you? So have you widow women
here this morning. And the Lord has taken your dear
husband, but He is still blessing you. with the gospel of His grace. Many remarkable and gracious
things that God the Holy Spirit tells us about her godly conduct,
for faith and conduct always go together. Look at verse 37. She was a widow about fourscore
and four years old, which departed not. She departed not. from the temple, but served God
with fastings and prayers night and day." Now this is a good
description of every believer. When her husband died, she departed
not from serving God, departed not from the temple of God, but
she served God in praying unto the Lord. That's the privilege
that we have, to call upon our God in prayer. She served the
Lord in fasting, sacrificially giving unto the Lord, and in
service to the Lord. She was made a godly woman, how? She was made a godly woman by
the grace of God. She was not so by nature. She
was born in sin, shapen in iniquity, but God made her an object of
love, an object of grace. God made her a new creature in
Christ Jesus and changed her desire and her want to. She did
not make herself godly. God made her a new creature in
Christ Jesus. She served the Lord willingly. Thy people shall be willing in
a day of God's power. Anna considered it a great honor
to attend the worship service in the house of the Lord. She
had a great privilege of taking her burdens to the Lord and praying
and casting all her care upon the Lord. And that's what believers
do. That's what we do. Turn to Psalm
55. Casting all your care upon Him. Psalm 55. When we went through
that flood in 2009 and 2010, I can't remember which year it
was, someone sent me a letter and it had a little scrap piece
of paper and it had this verse jotted down. I have it in my
study, pasted to my computer. Psalm 55 verse 22. Cast thy burden upon the Lord.
That's the privilege we have as God's people and He would
have us do it. Take your burden to the Lord
and leave them there. Cast thy burden upon the Lord
and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous
to be moved. That blessed me so, when we were
going through such turmoil and such heartache, to cast my burden
upon the Lord. Something else we see of Hannah,
Anna, Fasting and prayers, praying unto the Lord, and then it says
in verse 38, she coming in that instant when Simeon declared
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and she hearing that
message and God revealing the gospel unto her, she came in
that instant and she gave thanks likewise. And she gave thanks
unto the Lord, and spake of Him to all them that looked for redemption
in Israel or in Jerusalem. Thankful. She was thankful in
her heart. She gave thanks to the Lord for
her salvation as Simeon did of old. Then Simeon took him up
in his arms and blessed God and said, he was thankful. for the
salvation of the Lord. And when Anna heard the prophecy
of Simeon, she gave thanks unto God for the unspeakable gift
of His love unto His people. For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son. The Lord Jesus Christ is God's
gift unto His covenant people. We read in Ephesians chapter
5 that the Lord loved the church. He loved the church and He gave
Himself for it. He laid down His life for the
church. This is true of every believer.
You who believe the gospel sitting here today, We are thankful,
aren't we? We come before the Lord with
thankful hearts, giving thanks unto the Lord. Turn again to
another psalm, one of my favorites, Psalm 145. The Apostle Paul said, In everything
give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
you. In everything give thanks? Oh
yes, be ye thankful. Psalm 145, look at verse 11. I will extol thee, my God, O
King. I will bless thy name forever
and ever. Every day will I bless thee.
I will praise thy name forever and ever. Great is the Lord,
and greatly to be praised. And of his greatness is unsearchable. We give thanks unto the Lord
for His great mercy unto us. Now listen to this, all that
we have, talking about all the blessings we have as believers
in the Lord Jesus Christ, all that we have He gave it to us
as a free gift of His grace. Listen to this scripture. He
that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,
how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things, all
that we have? He gave it to us as a free gift
of His grace. We can say with the Apostle Paul,
by the grace of God, I am what I am, all that we know, all that
we know. He taught us. All those who have
heard and learned of the Father, they come unto the Lord Jesus
Christ. We know the Son of God has come. He's given us an understanding
that we may know Him that is true. And we are in Him that
is true. This is a true God and this is
eternal life. All blessings that believers
enjoy are by His grace alone. He's blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in the heavenlies in the Lord Jesus Christ. You see,
she came in with thanksgiving. How'd you come here today? Did
you come with a thankful heart, rejoicing in the Lord's great
mercies unto us? I sat this morning out on the
porch, and I was thinking about the Lord's blessings Unto his people and I started
looking at the the trees the water the rocks the clouds the
birds and And I started thinking, everything you see with an eye
that's taught of God, with a heart that has understanding, trees,
when you look at the trees, what do you think of? Trees of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord. When you look at the water coming
down the creek, bubbling down the creek, what do you think
of? Well, I think of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the water
of life. When I look at that big rock
that's in that creek over there on Wynn's Branch, and that water
cascades over that rock, but that rock is, the water fills
it over when it rains hard, and when the water diminishes, that
rock is still there. My friend, that's a picture of
Christ, our rock. It's a certain sure rock. He's in the trees. He's in the
sky. And I looked over in the east
and I saw some clouds fluttering by. The clouds are called the
dust of His feet. You see, the eye that's taught
of God and the believer that has understanding sees the Lord
Jesus Christ in His goodness in all things. Even the rain
comes down. The Scriptures talk about the
rain that falls from heaven like the doctrine. The doctrine is
called the rain of God from heaven. And then the birds that fly in
the air, how the Lord provides for them. I watched a mama bird
this morning feeding that little one. Feeding that little one.
That little one totally depended upon mama bird. And we as believers
are totally depended upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And I thought
of this scripture, a bird doesn't fall to the ground without God
ordaining it. He's sovereign over all things. Now, next time you sit outside,
you think about these things and be thankful. Hannah and Anna
came both to the temple with thankful hearts. Anna was thankful
and she gave thanks to the Lord, likewise did Simeon. And we do
give thanks for all blessings that we have. She was a witness,
furthermore, it says there, she spake, she gave thanks unto the
Lord, and then she spake of Him. You see that in the text? She
spake of Him. She was a witness of the coming
of the Messiah and spake of Him to all that would listen to those
looking for redemption. We read in John chapter 12, about
Isaiah and when it says, when Isaiah saw His glory, he spake
of Him. Spake of Him. Now listen to me
just a minute. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, I hope
you've been listening all along, but now just sit up a little
bit straighter and listen just a little bit closer. The gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ is not about you. Do you understand
that? We can't spell church without
you. The Lord Jesus Christ, the gospel is not about you, it's
all about Him. You see, she spake of Him. It's all about the Lord Jesus
Christ, His person and His work. It's what He has done for us.
It's not what we do for Him. We read in the Revelation, unto
Him who loved us and washed us from our sin in His own blood,
to Him be all the honor and glory. You see, He loved us, He washed
us, He chose us, He called us, He made us new creatures in Christ
Jesus. You see, the Gospel is all about
Christ. Well, preacher, could you make good on that? I think
I can. Turn to Romans chapter 1. To him give all the prophets
witness. Our Lord said to those Jews,
you search the Scriptures, but there they which testify of me.
Romans chapter 1, look at verse 1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
Romans 1.1, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of
God, which he had promised afore by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures,
the Gospel of God concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
which was made of the seed of David, according to the flesh,
he is the Son of God, and he is the Son of David, declared
to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness
by the resurrection of the dead." What kind of power are we talking
about in Romans 1.16? For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ, it's the power of God and the salvation. To everyone
that believe it, to the Jew and also to the Gentile, for therein
is a righteousness that God reveals from faith to faith, as it is
written, the just shall live by faith. Hannah and Mary and Hannah And
Simeon, all found their salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. Look
back at Luke chapter 1 verse 46. You remember what Mary said?
Luke 1 verse 46, Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, My
spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." He's my Saviour. He's my Lord. He's my King. He's my Redeemer. And He's my
Saviour. Now look back at Luke chapter
2. The last part of verse 38, "...she
spake of Him," that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, her Redeemer and
Savior in God, "...and she spoke of Him to all them that looked
for redemption," and the word there is ransom from sin, "...in
Israel," in Jerusalem. Now, who needs a Redeemer? Do
you need a Redeemer? If you know that you're a sinner,
you know you need someone to pay the ransom for your deliverance. Who needs Redeemer? Those who
need deliverance from their sin. And the Lord Jesus Christ, make
no mistake, He is the Redeemer that did indeed redeem His people
from their sin. He redeemed us from the curse
of the law being made a curse for us. Who needs a Savior? Sinners. The Lord Jesus Christ
said, I didn't come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. Call His name Jesus, He shall
save His people from their sin. The Lord Jesus Christ is both
Redeemer and Savior. Redeemer and Savior. He put away our sin and He bought
us with His own blood. Now you remember the story of
the kinsman and Redeemer in the book of Ruth? Ruth and her mother-in-law,
Naomi, both were in deep poverty. Neither one could redeem themselves,
but the near kinsman, Boaz, remember, he did. He was able to redeem. He was a man of great wealth.
He was near kin who had the right to redeem. He was able to redeem
a man of great wealth. He was near kin, had the right
to redeem. And He was willing to redeem
them. And He did. And all that is a
great picture of our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is
our Redeemer. He is near kin unto us, for as
much as the children were partakers of flesh and blood, He also likewise
took part of the same." Hebrews 2.14. He is near kin to us. He has the right to redeem. He
is the able Redeemer. He is mighty to save. He is the
able Redeemer. He has great wealth, great power,
able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by Him.
He is near kin to us, bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh.
He has the right to redeem us. He has the ability to redeem.
He has all power in heaven and earth. He prayed that in John
17. Father, I thank You. You've given me power over all
flesh that I should give eternal life to as many as the Father
has given to me. And make no mistake, the Lord
Jesus Christ is willing to redeem. Is He not? Turn to John chapter
6. Let's see if He's willing to
redeem. The Scripture says so. He's a
willing Redeemer, the able Redeemer, the near-kin Redeemer. Thank
God for our Boaz, the Lord Jesus Christ, our kinsman Redeemer.
In John chapter 6, look at verse 37, All that the Father giveth
me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no
wise cast out. For I came down from heaven,
not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me. And
this is the Father's will, which has sent me. Of all which you
have given me, I would lose nothing, but raise it up again at the
last day. This is the will of Him that
sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on
Him may have everlasting life." And I will. I will. I will raise
Him up at the last day. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ
redeemed his church with his own blood. Acts chapter 28, the
Apostle Paul giving instruction to the elders at Ephesus, feed
the church of God, he said, which he had purchased with his own
blood. The Lord Jesus Christ bought
us. We are redeemed, not with corruptible
things, as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now, do you think for a moment,
He saved us from our sin, redeemed us and bought us with His blood,
do you think He's going to lose those for whom He saved and those
for whom He bought? Absolutely not. He's going to
take them to glory and enjoy them forever. He loved the church
and gave Himself for it. Now this redemption that we read
of in Scripture is called particular redemption. That is, the Lord
Jesus Christ did not try to redeem all the sins of all men everywhere. It's a particular redemption
He laid down His life for the church. It even says in the text
here, unto them that look for redemption in Israel. The Lord Jesus Christ redeemed
His Israel, His church with His own blood. The redemption that
we read of in the Word of God, the redemption by the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ, is also a powerful redemption. Cleansing
redemption. How much so? How powerful is
the blood, redeeming blood of the Lord Jesus Christ? He said,
their sin and their iniquity will I remember no more. The
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all
our sin. It's a particular redemption.
It is a powerful redemption. And my friend, make no mistake,
it's a complete redemption. He said it, Calvary's tree. is
finished. If you look carefully at verse
39 in Luke 2, when they had performed all things according to the law
of the Lord, they returned into Galilee there from Jerusalem.
If you look up that word right there, performed. It is the exact
same word in the original that the Lord Jesus Christ uttered
from Calvary's tree in John 19 verse 30 when He said, It is
finished. The same word. He said in the
last part of Luke chapter 2, I must be about my Father's business.
And then he said at Calvary 3, it is finished. The Lord Jesus
Christ made complete redemption for His people. God said, deliver
them from going down to the pit. I found a ransom, and that ransom
is Christ, His blood. And my friend, make no mistake
about this, turn to Hebrews chapter 9. We could talk all morning
about the redeeming blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom
we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sin
according to the riches of His grace. We have redemption in
Christ Jesus. And this redemption that we have
in the Lord Jesus Christ, He bought us with an eternal redemption. Hebrews 9. Verse 11, But Christ,
being come a high priest of good things to come, by a greater
and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is
to say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats
nor of calves, but by His own blood, He entered in once into
the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us, for
His people. Turn back to Hebrews 2. When
He by Himself purged our sin, He sat down on the right hand
of the Majesty on high. He obtained for us eternal redemption. It was a heavy price. But my
friend, He paid the price and He set us free. In Hebrews 2
verse 17, Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like
unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high
priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for
the sins of the people. And the word there is atonement.
Reconciliation is atonement for the sins of the people. In that
he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to succor
or to save them that our tempted. We have redemption in the Lord
Jesus Christ. This is our Redeemer. Thank God
for such a Redeemer as this. A real man able to identify with
our sorrow and our heartaches and truly our God and Savior. He is a just God and Savior. He is just and the Justifier.
He is our God able to redeem us, able to save us from all
our sin, for He's mighty to save. Now, my closing question is this,
do you have such a Redeemer as this? Is the Lord Jesus Christ
all of your hope of salvation? Is He your Redeemer? The Lord
Jesus Christ, I can say with Hannah, He is my Redeemer, and
I trust you can as well.