The Messiah Anna Longed For

Isaiah 12

Then you will say on that day,
“I will give thanks to You, O Lord;
For although You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away,
And You comfort me.
² “Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
For the Lord God is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.”
³ Therefore you will joyously draw water
From the springs of salvation.
⁴ And in that day you will say,
“Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name.
Make known His deeds among the peoples;
Make them remember that His name is exalted.”
⁵ Praise the Lord in song, for He has done excellent things;
Let this be known throughout the earth.
⁶ Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. (NASB)

During Jesus’ second coming, the descendants of Jacob will know him and accept the salvation He offers.

How different from the first coming and the crucifixion!

But both comings are required to bring about the redemption of Israel and the redemption of the true Jerusalem—as Anna prayed for daily.

In this hymn that the returning will sing, they call the land Zion. Zion refers to the perfected Israel, the complete Israel that lives in their full territory and under the leadership of Christ.

The words of this song resemble the words sung when a newborn Israel emerged from the womb of their Egyptian captivity. But this time, the song signals their rebirth and their birth in the spirit.

As Jesus himself says in the gospel of John, ‘unless one is born of water and the Spirit, one cannot see the kingdom of God.’ How fitting that the exodus birthed Israel through the Red Sea because that was the water birth. Yet one day, along the highway to holiness, Israel will be born again!

Anna prayed for the redemption of Jerusalem. She praised the Messiah’s arrival as its beginning.

And truthfully, God sees this as accomplished. It’s only a matter of time…