Week 1 Thursday — That First Easter... I Was There
Day 4: The Faithful Remnant
Day 4: The Faithful Remnant
Luke 1:5-25; Luke 2:25-38
Introduction
Most people missed Him.
The religious leaders were too busy practicing their traditions. The crowds wanted a revolutionary, not a suffering servant. The Roman occupiers didn’t even know to look. For four hundred years, God had been silent, and by the time Jesus arrived, most of Israel had stopped watching. Stopped listening. Turned their faith into mere ritual.
But not everyone missed Him.
There was a faithful remnant—a small group of people whose lives had been shaped by waiting, devotion, and trust in God’s promises. They weren’t famous. They weren’t powerful. But when the Messiah came, they recognized Him. While the rest of the world walked past, these few saw exactly who He was.
Zechariah and Elizabeth—an elderly priest and his wife, carrying decades of unanswered prayers.
Simeon and Anna—two elderly saints who had spent their lives in the temple, praying, worshiping, waiting.
These were the people who got it right. Not because they were perfect. Not because they never doubted. But because their lives had been positioned to recognize God’s work when it finally came.
They were there in the silence, faithfully serving, patiently waiting. And when the promise arrived, they were ready.
We can learn from them.
Scripture
⁵ In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. ⁶ Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. ⁷ But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
⁸ Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, ⁹ he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
¹¹ Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. ¹³ But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. ¹⁴ He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of the Lord...”
¹⁸ Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
¹⁹ The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. ²⁰ And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”
— Luke 1:5-15, 18-20 (NIV)
²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷ Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, ²⁸ Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. ³⁰ For my eyes have seen your salvation, ³¹ which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: ³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”
³⁶ There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, 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.
— Luke 2:25-32, 36-38 (NIV)
Reflection
Zechariah and Elizabeth: Faithful in the Waiting
Before the angels sang in Bethlehem, before Mary whispered yes, there was a promise. A promise spoken into an old priest’s heart. A promise planted in a barren woman’s womb. A promise given long before it was seen.
Luke tells us that Zechariah and Elizabeth were “righteous in God’s sight,” yet “they had no child.” Faithful people carrying unanswered prayers. Longing hearts shaped by years of silence. This is where doubt grows—in the long space between belief and reality.
Then Gabriel appeared and spoke the words Zechariah never expected to hear: “Your prayer has been heard.”
Even with an angel standing before him, the promise felt too big, too late, too impossible. Zechariah responded with doubt—not rebellion, but the honest disbelief of someone who has been disappointed too many times.
And yet, God did not withdraw His promise. His promise didn’t erase the years of waiting—it redeemed them. Zechariah’s doubt didn’t cancel the blessing—but it did cost him something.
Months of silence followed. Months where Zechariah could not speak but had to learn to trust. Months where Elizabeth carried both a child and a fulfilled promise. Months where God worked quietly, faithfully, steadily in hidden places.
When the time came, Zechariah’s voice returned—not with doubt, but with worship.
His first words declared the sunrise of God’s mercy: “Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us” (Luke 1:78).
What began as a promise became a living testimony. Zechariah and Elizabeth were part of the faithful remnant—not because they never doubted, but because they kept serving, kept believing, and were positioned to participate when God’s plan unfolded.
Simeon and Anna: Faithful in Recognizing
Some moments in life take no proof at all—you simply know. It’s the quiet conviction that rises inside you, the clarity that settles in your spirit, the confidence that something is true long before it is visible.
Simeon and Anna lived with that kind of spiritual insight.
When Mary and Joseph carried Jesus into the temple, they looked like any other poor couple presenting their newborn child. But to Simeon and Anna—two elderly saints shaped by decades of prayer, worship, fasting, and faithful expectation—this child was unmistakably the One.
No angelic choir. No brilliant star. No prophetic dream the night before. Just an ordinary baby wrapped in the arms of ordinary parents.
But Simeon and Anna saw who He truly was.
Simeon had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before seeing the Messiah. Years—maybe decades—had passed since that promise. Still he waited. Still he believed. The moment he saw Jesus, everything inside him leapt with recognition: “My eyes have seen Your salvation.”
Not “I hope this is the One.” Not “Could he be the Messiah?” But certainty. A fulfillment so deep he felt ready to die in peace.
Anna had lost her husband young and lived decades as a widow, choosing not bitterness but devotion. She spent her life in the temple—worshiping, praying, fasting. When she saw Jesus, she instantly knew who He was. Scripture says she “gave thanks to God” and began telling everyone around her that the Redeemer had come.
These were the people who got it right. While the religious establishment argued theology, while the crowds chased political revolution, while most of Israel went about their lives oblivious—Simeon and Anna recognized the Messiah in an ordinary moment.
Why? Because their lives had been shaped by devotion, prayer, and faithful waiting. They had spiritual eyes to see what others missed.
We Are Like Them (Or We Should Be)
Where are we in this story?
Are we like Zechariah and Elizabeth—faithful in service but struggling to believe God will keep His promises? Serving God while secretly wondering if He’s forgotten us? Carrying unanswered prayers that have made us cynical?
Or are we like the crowds—so busy with our plans, our expectations, our timelines that we miss God’s work happening right in front of us?
Or can we be like Simeon and Anna—lives so shaped by devotion that we recognize Jesus when He shows up?
Here’s what Zechariah, Elizabeth, Simeon, and Anna teach us:
God’s promises are certain, even when they feel delayed. Unchanged circumstances are not the same as unanswered prayer. What God speaks, He fulfills—at the proper time.
Doubt doesn’t disqualify us. Zechariah doubted with an angel standing in front of him, and God still kept His promise. But doubt does cost us something—time, peace, the ability to speak His praise freely.
Faithful waiting prepares us to recognize God’s work. Simeon and Anna didn’t stumble into the temple that day by accident. They were there because they were always there—praying, worshiping, watching.
Recognition requires devotion. Most people missed Jesus. Simeon and Anna saw Him immediately. The difference? Lives formed by prayer, worship, and attentiveness to the Spirit.
We were there in the waiting—some of us faithful, some of us doubting. We are there now. The question is: are our lives positioned to recognize Jesus when He shows up?
Grace Note
“The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.”
— Lamentations 3:25-26 (NIV)
God honors long obedience. He rewards faithful waiting. He reveals Himself to those who seek Him with their whole lives—not just their words, but their time, their worship, their devotion. Zechariah and Elizabeth kept serving even when their prayers felt unanswered. Simeon and Anna kept watching even when decades passed. And when God moved, they were ready. That’s the grace in the waiting: God is preparing us to recognize what others will miss.
Prayer Prompt
Jesus,
Thank You for Zechariah, Elizabeth, Simeon, and Anna—for showing me what faithful waiting looks like. I confess that I struggle with unanswered prayers. I struggle with doubt. I struggle to keep watching when nothing seems to change.
Help me be part of the faithful remnant—not perfect, but positioned. Teach me to keep serving even when I doubt. To keep praying even when heaven seems silent. To keep my life shaped by devotion so that when You show up, I don’t miss You.
I don’t want to be so busy with my expectations that I miss Your work. I don’t want to be so focused on what I think You should do that I fail to see what You’re actually doing. Give me eyes to see. A heart that recognizes Your presence. A life that’s ready.
You kept Your promises to them. You’ll keep Your promises to me. Help me trust that. Amen.
Response
1. Name Your Unanswered Prayer: What promise are you waiting for—maybe for years? Write it down. Bring it before God again. Ask Him: Is this “not yet”? Is there something I need to see or surrender? Then commit to keep serving, keep trusting, even in the silence. God’s timing feels slow only to us.
2. Choose One Promise from Scripture: Find a promise from God’s Word that speaks to your waiting. Write it down. Memorize it. Place it where you’ll see it often—on your mirror, in your car, on your desk. Repeat it every time you see it. Let this promise shape your perspective. Make it part of your daily rhythm.
3. Position Yourself to Recognize: Simeon and Anna were in the temple because they were always in the temple. Where do you need to show up consistently—in prayer, worship, Scripture, service—so that when God moves, you’re ready to see it? Pick one spiritual discipline you’ve let slip. Commit to it for the next seven days. Not to earn God’s favor, but to position yourself to recognize His presence.
To read all the posts in this devotional series, visit: That First Easter... I Was There
© Steve Peschke / This Is The Way