She may have lived there but more likely ‘she never left the Temple’ refers to the frequency of her presence there. The Temple in Jerusalem was her favourite place to be. It is useful for Christian women to remember that they gain their identity, not by being Mrs X but by being in Christ, part of his bride.Īnna might have been ‘very old’ (Luke 2:36) but it is clear that she was very active. Maybe Anna has discovered the reality of Isaiah 54:5 ‘for your maker is your husband – the Lord Almighty is his name – the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer’ and she was looking to God for her protection and provision. How easy it is to doubt the painful providences of God in our lives and to think that he has made a mistake. There is no indication that widowhood had made Anna bitter, as was the case with Naomi (Ruth 1:20). But we do know that she was one of those who were ‘looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem’ (Luke 2:38), so it is likely that hers was a message of hope. What God said through Anna we do not know she was not a writing prophet and there is no record. And now suddenly there is a prophetess – God is speaking once more. Up to this point there had been years and years of silence, no prophesy. We can pass this by but it was a bit of a ‘wow’ moment. In identifying who she is, Luke slips in that she was a prophetess (Luke 2:36). Anna the prophetessĪnna was a member of one of the so-called ‘lost tribes’, the tribe of Asher, Jacob’s eighth son. In the pain and agony of the cross, Jesus made provision for his Mum (John 19:26-27) and we should do the same (Ps. And of course the greatest example of love and compassion to widows was seen in the ministry of Jesus (to the widow of Nain, to name just one example) and of course to his own mother.

The Old Testament gives us a glimpse of God’s gracious love for widows and his provision for them (see for example: Deut. Without protection widows could be denied their legal rights. Re-marriage was the best option for younger widows. It seems that the Jews did not always take their obligation to widows seriously and later Jesus was to denounce the Pharisees who ‘devoured widows’. Jewish law allowed widows a share of the third year tithe (Deut. Unless someone from the family stepped forward, widows could be reduced to begging and gleaning (as in Ruth), unless their husbands had left them an inheritance, or they were wealthy in their own right. Problems began soon after the burial of their husbands – no paid employment, no welfare benefits, their means of visible support had gone.

Even the very word ‘widow’ means ‘forsaken’ or ‘left desolate’. Widowhood in Bible days, with no Welfare State, was no picnic.

She was a widow for more years than she’d been a wife. No doubt Anna felt like that (Luke 2:36-40). Geoff Thomas (Pastor of Alfred Place Baptist Church, Aberystwyth, 1965-2016) has written, ‘I do believe that losing a husband is the greatest loss a woman can experience’.

Jesus mission undistracted