King James Version
Luke 2
52 verses with commentary
The Birth of Jesus Christ
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. taxed: or, enrolled
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KJV Study Commentary
Luke grounds the nativity in world history: 'And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed' (ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ἐξῆλθεν δόγμα παρὰ Καίσαρος Αὐγούστου ἀπογράφεσθαι πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην). The term 'dogma' (δόγμα) means official decree or edict, while 'apographō' (ἀπογράφω) refers to census registration for ta...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
**II.**
(1) **There went out a decree.**—The passage that follows has given rise to almost endless discussion. The main facts may be summed up as follows:—(1) The word “taxed” is used in its older English sense of simple “registration,” and in that sense is a true equivalent for the Greek word. The corresponding verb appears in Hebrews 12:23. It does not involve, as to modern ears it seems to do, ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
31. The angel purposely conforms his language to Isaiah's famous prophecy (Is 7:14) [Calvin].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 2
Chapter Outline
The birth of Christ.(1-7)
It is made known to the shepherds.(8-20)
Christ presented in the temple.(21-24)
Simeon prophesies concerning Jesus.(25-35)
Anna prophesies concerning him.(36-40)
Christ with the learned men in the temple.(41-52)
**Verses 1-7**
The fulness of time was now come, when God would send forth his Son, made of a woman, a...
Read full commentary →( And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
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KJV Study Commentary
Luke's historical precision—'this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria'—grounds the Gospel in verifiable history. The phrase 'first made' (Greek 'prote egeneto') may indicate this was the first of several enrollments or be a grammatical construction meaning 'this enrollment took place when.' Luke's concern for historical accuracy supports the Gospel's reliability. Mentioning C...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.**—Here we come upon difficulties of another kind. Publicius Sulpicius Quirinus (“Cyrenius” is the Greek form of the last of the three names) was Consul B.C. 12, but he is not named as Governor of Syria till after the deposition of Archelaus, A.D. 6, and he was then conspicuous in carrying out a census which involved taxation...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
32-33. This is but an echo of the sublime prediction in Is 9:6, 7.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 2
Chapter Outline
The birth of Christ.(1-7)
It is made known to the shepherds.(8-20)
Christ presented in the temple.(21-24)
Simeon prophesies concerning Jesus.(25-35)
Anna prophesies concerning him.(36-40)
Christ with the learned men in the temple.(41-52)
**Verses 1-7**
The fulness of time was now come, when God would send forth his Son, made of a woman, a...
Read full commentary →And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>All went to be taxed, every one into his own city</strong> (ἐπορεύοντο πάντες ἀπογράφεσθαι, ἕκαστος εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ πόλιν, eporeuonto pantes apographesthai, hekastos eis tēn heautou polin)—The Greek <em>apographesthai</em> means 'to be registered' or 'enrolled,' indicating a census for taxation purposes. Roman administrative efficiency required travel to ancestral cities, unwittingly fulfil...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **All went to be taxed.**—As a rule the practice in a Roman census was to register people in their place of residence; but this was probably modified in Palestine, in deference to the feelings of the people. After the death of Herod and the division of his kingdom, such a method as that implied hero could hardly have been feasible, as the subjects of one tetrarchy would not have been registere...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
32-33. This is but an echo of the sublime prediction in Is 9:6, 7.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 2
Chapter Outline
The birth of Christ.(1-7)
It is made known to the shepherds.(8-20)
Christ presented in the temple.(21-24)
Simeon prophesies concerning Jesus.(25-35)
Anna prophesies concerning him.(36-40)
Christ with the learned men in the temple.(41-52)
**Verses 1-7**
The fulness of time was now come, when God would send forth his Son, made of a woman, a...
Read full commentary →And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
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KJV Study Commentary
Joseph going 'from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem' emphasizes the geographic movement necessary to fulfill prophecy. The phrase 'because he was of the house and lineage of David' explains both why Joseph went to Bethlehem and Jesus's legal right to David's throne. That Jesus's adoptive father descends from David establishes mess...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem.**—St. Luke’s way of speaking of the town agrees with that in John 7:42. It would appear to have been common. It had never ceased to glory in the fact that it had been David’s city.
**Of the house and lineage of David.**—Others also as, for example, Hillel, the great scribe—boasted of such a descent. What, on one hypothesis, was the special p...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**34. How, &c.--**not the unbelief of Zacharias, "Whereby shall I know this?" but, taking the fact for granted, "How is it to be, so contrary to the unbroken law of human birth?" Instead of reproof, therefore, her question is answered in mysterious detail.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 2
Chapter Outline
The birth of Christ.(1-7)
It is made known to the shepherds.(8-20)
Christ presented in the temple.(21-24)
Simeon prophesies concerning Jesus.(25-35)
Anna prophesies concerning him.(36-40)
Christ with the learned men in the temple.(41-52)
**Verses 1-7**
The fulness of time was now come, when God would send forth his Son, made of a woman, a...
Read full commentary →To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
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KJV Study Commentary
Joseph went 'to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.' The phrase 'espoused wife' indicates their betrothal, legally binding though not yet completed in marriage ceremony. Mary's advanced pregnancy ('great with child') made the journey difficult, yet they obeyed governmental decree. This detail emphasizes the real humanity of Jesus's birth—He entered the world through norma...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **To be** **taxed.**—Literally, *to register himself.*
**With Mary his espoused wife.**—Many of the best MSS. omit the substantive: “with Mary who was betrothed to him.” The choice of the participle seems intended to imply the fact on which St. Matthew lays stress (Matthew 1:25). She went up with him, not necessarily because she too had to be registered at Bethlehem, but because her state, as ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**35. Holy Ghost--**(See on Mt 1:18).
**power of the highest--**the immediate energy of the Godhead conveyed by the Holy Ghost.
**overshadow--**a word suggesting how gentle, while yet efficacious, would be this Power [Bengel]; and its mysterious secrecy, withdrawn, as if by a cloud, from human scrutiny [Calvin].
**that holy thing born of thee--**that holy Offspring of thine.
**therefore .....
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 2
Chapter Outline
The birth of Christ.(1-7)
It is made known to the shepherds.(8-20)
Christ presented in the temple.(21-24)
Simeon prophesies concerning Jesus.(25-35)
Anna prophesies concerning him.(36-40)
Christ with the learned men in the temple.(41-52)
**Verses 1-7**
The fulness of time was now come, when God would send forth his Son, made of a woman, a...
Read full commentary →And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
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KJV Study Commentary
The phrase 'while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered' emphasizes divine timing—Mary gave birth not during travel but after arrival in Bethlehem. The passive 'were accomplished' indicates fulfillment of natural gestation period while subtly pointing to fulfillment of divine purpose. This wording suggests God's sovereign control over timing—Jesus born neither to...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**36. thy cousin--**"relative," but how near the word says not.
**conceived, &c.--**This was to Mary an unsought sign, in reward of her faith.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 2
Chapter Outline
The birth of Christ.(1-7)
It is made known to the shepherds.(8-20)
Christ presented in the temple.(21-24)
Simeon prophesies concerning Jesus.(25-35)
Anna prophesies concerning him.(36-40)
Christ with the learned men in the temple.(41-52)
**Verses 1-7**
The fulness of time was now come, when God would send forth his Son, made of a woman, a...
Read full commentary →And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
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KJV Study Commentary
The nativity verse: 'And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn' (καὶ ἔτεκεν τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς τὸν πρωτότοκον, καὶ ἐσπαργάνωσεν αὐτὸν καὶ ἀνέκλινεν αὐτὸν ἐν φάτνῃ, διότι οὐκ ἦν αὐτοῖς τόπος ἐν τῷ καταλύματι). 'Prōtotokos' (πρωτότοκος, firstborn) indicates Jesus was Mary's first child, contradic...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **She brought forth her first-born son.**—On the question whether anything may be inferred from the word “first-born,” as to the subsequent life of Mary and Joseph, see Note on Matthew 1:25.
**Wrapped him in swaddling clothes.**—After the manner of the East, then, as now, these were fastened tightly round the whole body of the child, confining both legs and arms.
**Laid him in a manger.**—A tr...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**37. For, &c.--**referring to what was said by the angel to Abraham in like case (Ge 18:14), to strengthen her faith.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 2
Chapter Outline
The birth of Christ.(1-7)
It is made known to the shepherds.(8-20)
Christ presented in the temple.(21-24)
Simeon prophesies concerning Jesus.(25-35)
Anna prophesies concerning him.(36-40)
Christ with the learned men in the temple.(41-52)
**Verses 1-7**
The fulness of time was now come, when God would send forth his Son, made of a woman, a...
Read full commentary →The Shepherds and the Angels
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. watch: or, the night watches
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KJV Study Commentary
Shepherds 'abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night' receive the first angelic announcement of Christ's birth. God's choice of shepherds—among society's lowest classes—to receive heaven's greatest news demonstrates divine inversion of worldly values. The phrase 'keeping watch' (Greek 'phylassontes phylakas,' φυλάσσοντες φυλακάς) means guarding vigilantly, suggesting spiritual ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Shepherds abiding in the field.**—The fact has been thought, on the supposition that sheep were commonly folded during the winter months, to have a bearing adverse to the common traditional view which fixes December 25 as the day of the Nativity. At that season, it has been urged, the weather was commonly too inclement for shepherds and sheep to pass the night in the open air, and there was ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
38. Marvellous faith in such circumstances!
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-20**
Angels were heralds of the new-born Saviour, but they were only sent to some poor, humble, pious, industrious shepherds, who were in the business of their calling, keeping watch over their flock. We are not out of the way of Divine visits, when we are employed in an honest calling, and abide with God in it. Let God have the honour of this work; Glory to God in the highest. God'...
Read full commentary →And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid .
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KJV Study Commentary
The 'glory of the Lord shone round about them' as the angel appeared, and 'they were sore afraid.' The 'glory of the Lord' (Greek 'doxa kyriou,' δόξα κυρίου) refers to God's manifest presence—the Shekinah glory that filled the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34) and temple (1 Kings 8:11). This theophany demonstrates that Christ's birth is a divine invasion of earth, God breaking into human history. The shep...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Came upon them.**—The Greek verb, like the English, implies a sudden appearance. The form of the angel was probably, as in Mark 16:5, that of a young man in white apparel. (See Note on Luke 1:12). The wings of angels are, without exception, an after-thought of Christian imagination, those of Isaiah 6:2, Ezekiel 1:6, Revelation 4:8, being connected with the mysterious figures of the cherubim,...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Lu 1:39-56. Visit of Mary to Elisabeth.
**39. hill country--**the mountainous tract running along the middle of Judea, from north to south [Webster and Wilkinson].
**with haste--**transported with the announcement to herself and with the tidings, now first made known to her, of Elisabeth's condition.
**a city of Juda--**probably Hebron (see Jos 20:7; 21:11).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-20**
Angels were heralds of the new-born Saviour, but they were only sent to some poor, humble, pious, industrious shepherds, who were in the business of their calling, keeping watch over their flock. We are not out of the way of Divine visits, when we are employed in an honest calling, and abide with God in it. Let God have the honour of this work; Glory to God in the highest. God'...
Read full commentary →And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.</strong> This angelic proclamation to the shepherds opens with the divine imperative "Fear not" (<em>mē phobeisthe</em>, μὴ φοβεῖσθε), a phrase repeated throughout Scripture when God breaks into human experience. The shepherds' terror at the sudden glory of the Lord (ve...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Fear not.**—It is worth noting that this is almost the normal accompaniment of the angelic manifestations in the Gospel (Matthew 28:5-10; Luke 1:13; Luke 1:30). They were intended to lessen, not to increase the dread which men feel on being brought into contact with the supernatural world.
**I bring you good tidings.**—The verb is formed from the word for glad tidings, which we translate as...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**40. saluted Elisabeth--**now returned from her seclusion (Lu 1:24).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-20**
Angels were heralds of the new-born Saviour, but they were only sent to some poor, humble, pious, industrious shepherds, who were in the business of their calling, keeping watch over their flock. We are not out of the way of Divine visits, when we are employed in an honest calling, and abide with God in it. Let God have the honour of this work; Glory to God in the highest. God'...
Read full commentary →For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.</strong> This verse contains the angel's proclamation of Jesus' identity and mission, comprising perhaps the most theologically dense announcement in Scripture. The preposition "unto you" (<em>hymin</em>, ὑμῖν) makes the birth personally relevant to the shepherds—this event has immediate significance fo...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**41. babe leaped--**From Lu 1:44 it is plain that this maternal sensation was something extraordinary--a sympathetic emotion of the unconscious babe, at the presence of the mother of his Lord.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-20**
Angels were heralds of the new-born Saviour, but they were only sent to some poor, humble, pious, industrious shepherds, who were in the business of their calling, keeping watch over their flock. We are not out of the way of Divine visits, when we are employed in an honest calling, and abide with God in it. Let God have the honour of this work; Glory to God in the highest. God'...
Read full commentary →And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
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KJV Study Commentary
The angel gives the shepherds a sign: 'Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.' The humble sign contrasts dramatically with the glorious announcement—the Savior, Christ the Lord, identified not by royal regalia but by poverty and humility. A manger (feeding trough) as cradle signals both Jesus' identification with humanity's lowest condition and His future role as b...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **This shall be a sign unto you.**—The sign was not such in itself, but became so by its agreement with the prediction. It was something exceptional that a new-born infant should be found, not in a cradle, but in a manger; still stranger that that infant babe should be the heir of the House of David.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
42-44. What beautiful superiority to envy have we here! High as was the distinction conferred upon herself, Elisabeth loses sight of it altogether, in presence of one more honored still; upon whom, with her unborn Babe, in an ecstasy of inspiration, she pronounces a benediction, feeling it to be a wonder unaccountable that "the mother of her Lord should come to her." "Turn this as we will, we shal...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-20**
Angels were heralds of the new-born Saviour, but they were only sent to some poor, humble, pious, industrious shepherds, who were in the business of their calling, keeping watch over their flock. We are not out of the way of Divine visits, when we are employed in an honest calling, and abide with God in it. Let God have the honour of this work; Glory to God in the highest. God'...
Read full commentary →And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
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KJV Study Commentary
Suddenly 'a multitude of the heavenly host' joins the angel, praising God. The term 'heavenly host' (Greek 'plēthos stratias ouraniou,' πλῆθος στρατιᾶς οὐρανίου) literally means 'multitude of heaven's army'—myriads of angels constituting God's forces. Their sudden appearance magnifies the birth's significance—all heaven celebrates this moment. The military imagery of 'host/army' contrasts with the...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **A multitude of the heavenly host.**—The phrase, or its equivalent, “the host of heaven,” is common in the later books of *the* Old Testament, but is there used as including the visible “hosts” of sun, moon, and stars, which were worshipped by Israel (Jeremiah 8:2; Jeremiah 19:13; 2Chronicles 33:3). In this sense we find it in St. Stephen’s speech (Acts 7:42). Here it is obviously used of th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
42-44. What beautiful superiority to envy have we here! High as was the distinction conferred upon herself, Elisabeth loses sight of it altogether, in presence of one more honored still; upon whom, with her unborn Babe, in an ecstasy of inspiration, she pronounces a benediction, feeling it to be a wonder unaccountable that "the mother of her Lord should come to her." "Turn this as we will, we shal...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-20**
Angels were heralds of the new-born Saviour, but they were only sent to some poor, humble, pious, industrious shepherds, who were in the business of their calling, keeping watch over their flock. We are not out of the way of Divine visits, when we are employed in an honest calling, and abide with God in it. Let God have the honour of this work; Glory to God in the highest. God'...
Read full commentary →Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.</strong> This verse records the heavenly host's doxology, one of Scripture's most sublime expressions of worship. The phrase "Glory to God in the highest" (<em>Doxa en hypsistois Theō</em>, Δόξα ἐν ὑψίστοις Θεῷ) ascribes ultimate honor and praise to God. The term <em>doxa</em> (δόξα, "glory") encompasses God's radiant m...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Glory to God in the highest.**—The words would seem to have formed one of the familiar doxologies of the Jews, and, as such, reappear among the shouts of the multitude on the occasion of our Lord’s kingly entry into Jerusalem (Luke 19:38). The idea implied in the words “in the highest” (the Greek is plural), is that the praise is heard in the very heaven of heavens, in the highest regions o...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
42-44. What beautiful superiority to envy have we here! High as was the distinction conferred upon herself, Elisabeth loses sight of it altogether, in presence of one more honored still; upon whom, with her unborn Babe, in an ecstasy of inspiration, she pronounces a benediction, feeling it to be a wonder unaccountable that "the mother of her Lord should come to her." "Turn this as we will, we shal...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-20**
Angels were heralds of the new-born Saviour, but they were only sent to some poor, humble, pious, industrious shepherds, who were in the business of their calling, keeping watch over their flock. We are not out of the way of Divine visits, when we are employed in an honest calling, and abide with God in it. Let God have the honour of this work; Glory to God in the highest. God'...
Read full commentary →And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. the shepherds: Gr. the men the shepherds
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The shepherds' response—'Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass'—demonstrates faith expressed in immediate action. Their words 'which the Lord hath made known unto us' show recognition that the angel's message came from God. They didn't debate whether to go but exhorted each other to immediate obedience. The phrase 'come to pass' indicates their faith that what...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **The shepherds.**—Some, but not the best, MSS. give, as in the margin, “the men the shepherds,” as if to emphasise the contrast between the “angels” who departed and the “men” who remained.
**This thing. . . . which the Lord hath made known.**—Literally, *this word,* or spoken thing. The choice of the Greek word seems to indicate that St. Luke was translating from the Aramaic.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
45. An additional benediction on the Virgin for her implicit faith, in tacit and delicate contrast with her own husband.
**for--**rather, as in the Margin, "that."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-20**
Angels were heralds of the new-born Saviour, but they were only sent to some poor, humble, pious, industrious shepherds, who were in the business of their calling, keeping watch over their flock. We are not out of the way of Divine visits, when we are employed in an honest calling, and abide with God in it. Let God have the honour of this work; Glory to God in the highest. God'...
Read full commentary →And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
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KJV Study Commentary
The shepherds 'came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger' demonstrates that faith is rewarded with finding what God promised. The detail 'with haste' emphasizes eager urgency, not panic. That they 'found' confirms the angel's specific directions were accurate and God's revelation reliable. The listing order—Mary, Joseph, the babe—emphasizes the human context of di...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **They came with haste.**—The scene has naturally been a favourite subject of Christian art, and the adoration of the shepherds is, perhaps, implied, though not stated, in the narrative. The conventional accessories, however, of the ox and the ass, and the bright light glowing forth from the cradle, belong only to the legends of the Apocryphal Gospels. (See Notes on Luke 2:7.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**46-55. A magnificent canticle, in which the strain of Hannah's ancient song, in like circumstances, is caught up, and just slightly modified and sublimed. Is it unnatural to suppose that the spirit of the blessed Virgin had been drawn beforehand into mysterious sympathy with the ideas and the tone of this hymn, so that when the life and fire of inspiration penetrated her whole soul it spontaneou...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-20**
Angels were heralds of the new-born Saviour, but they were only sent to some poor, humble, pious, industrious shepherds, who were in the business of their calling, keeping watch over their flock. We are not out of the way of Divine visits, when we are employed in an honest calling, and abide with God in it. Let God have the honour of this work; Glory to God in the highest. God'...
Read full commentary →And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
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KJV Study Commentary
The shepherds, 'when they had seen it, made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.' Their response to seeing was proclamation—faith that sees must tell. The phrase 'made known abroad' (Greek 'egno̱risan') indicates they publicized what they had been told. They proclaimed not merely that they saw a baby but repeated the angels' theological interpretation—this child is Sa...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **They made known abroad** **. . .**—The fact must be borne in mind, as tending to the agitation which reached its height on the arrival of the Magi in Jerusalem. (See Note on Matthew 2:3.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**46-55. A magnificent canticle, in which the strain of Hannah's ancient song, in like circumstances, is caught up, and just slightly modified and sublimed. Is it unnatural to suppose that the spirit of the blessed Virgin had been drawn beforehand into mysterious sympathy with the ideas and the tone of this hymn, so that when the life and fire of inspiration penetrated her whole soul it spontaneou...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-20**
Angels were heralds of the new-born Saviour, but they were only sent to some poor, humble, pious, industrious shepherds, who were in the business of their calling, keeping watch over their flock. We are not out of the way of Divine visits, when we are employed in an honest calling, and abide with God in it. Let God have the honour of this work; Glory to God in the highest. God'...
Read full commentary →And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
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KJV Study Commentary
Those who heard the shepherds 'wondered at those things which were told them.' The Greek 'ethaumasan' indicates amazement or marveling, but not necessarily saving faith. Wonder is appropriate initial response to Christ's birth but insufficient for salvation. The shepherds' testimony created curiosity and astonishment, preparing hearts but not guaranteeing conversion. This demonstrates that proclam...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**46-55. A magnificent canticle, in which the strain of Hannah's ancient song, in like circumstances, is caught up, and just slightly modified and sublimed. Is it unnatural to suppose that the spirit of the blessed Virgin had been drawn beforehand into mysterious sympathy with the ideas and the tone of this hymn, so that when the life and fire of inspiration penetrated her whole soul it spontaneou...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-20**
Angels were heralds of the new-born Saviour, but they were only sent to some poor, humble, pious, industrious shepherds, who were in the business of their calling, keeping watch over their flock. We are not out of the way of Divine visits, when we are employed in an honest calling, and abide with God in it. Let God have the honour of this work; Glory to God in the highest. God'...
Read full commentary →But Mary kept all these things , and pondered them in her heart.
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KJV Study Commentary
Mary's response contrasts with others' amazement: 'But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.' The word 'kept' (suneterei) means to preserve carefully, while 'pondered' (sumballo̱usa) means to bring together, compare, consider deeply. Mary didn't merely remember but actively meditated on these events, seeking to understand their significance. Her thoughtful reflection models p...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **Mary kept all these things.**—On the assumption that the whole narrative is traceable to the Virgin herself as its first author, these brief and simple touches as to her own feelings are of singular interest. She could not as yet understand all that had been said and done, but she received it in faith, and waited till it should be made clear. It was enough for her to know that her Child was...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**46-55. A magnificent canticle, in which the strain of Hannah's ancient song, in like circumstances, is caught up, and just slightly modified and sublimed. Is it unnatural to suppose that the spirit of the blessed Virgin had been drawn beforehand into mysterious sympathy with the ideas and the tone of this hymn, so that when the life and fire of inspiration penetrated her whole soul it spontaneou...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-20**
Angels were heralds of the new-born Saviour, but they were only sent to some poor, humble, pious, industrious shepherds, who were in the business of their calling, keeping watch over their flock. We are not out of the way of Divine visits, when we are employed in an honest calling, and abide with God in it. Let God have the honour of this work; Glory to God in the highest. God'...
Read full commentary →And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
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KJV Study Commentary
The shepherds returned 'glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.' Their worship flows from finding everything exactly as the angel promised—perfect correspondence between revelation and reality strengthens faith and produces praise. The distinction 'heard and seen' encompasses both the angels' announcement and its confirmation in findin...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**46-55. A magnificent canticle, in which the strain of Hannah's ancient song, in like circumstances, is caught up, and just slightly modified and sublimed. Is it unnatural to suppose that the spirit of the blessed Virgin had been drawn beforehand into mysterious sympathy with the ideas and the tone of this hymn, so that when the life and fire of inspiration penetrated her whole soul it spontaneou...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-20**
Angels were heralds of the new-born Saviour, but they were only sent to some poor, humble, pious, industrious shepherds, who were in the business of their calling, keeping watch over their flock. We are not out of the way of Divine visits, when we are employed in an honest calling, and abide with God in it. Let God have the honour of this work; Glory to God in the highest. God'...
Read full commentary →Jesus Presented at the Temple
And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
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KJV Study Commentary
The eighth-day circumcision demonstrates Jesus's full entrance into covenant community and submission to the Law He came to fulfill (Matt 5:17). His naming 'JESUS' ('Yeshua'—Yahweh saves) fulfills Gabriel's instruction (Luke 1:31) and declares His mission. The name's meaning—'He shall save his people from their sins' (Matt 1:21)—defines His purpose. That the name was 'so named of the angel before ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **When eight days were accomplished . . .**—Hence the Feast of the Circumcision in the Church Calendar comes on January 1st, and so, not without design, perhaps, came to coincide with the beginning of the civil year. The contrast between this and the narrative of John’s circumcision is striking. Here there are no friends and neighbours. Mary and Joseph were but poor strangers, in a city far f...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**46-55. A magnificent canticle, in which the strain of Hannah's ancient song, in like circumstances, is caught up, and just slightly modified and sublimed. Is it unnatural to suppose that the spirit of the blessed Virgin had been drawn beforehand into mysterious sympathy with the ideas and the tone of this hymn, so that when the life and fire of inspiration penetrated her whole soul it spontaneou...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-24**
Our Lord Jesus was not born in sin, and did not need that mortification of a corrupt nature, or that renewal unto holiness, which were signified by circumcision. This ordinance was, in his case, a pledge of his future perfect obedience to the whole law, in the midst of sufferings and temptations, even unto death for us. At the end of forty days, Mary went up to the temple to o...
Read full commentary →And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;
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KJV Study Commentary
Mary's purification 'according to the law of Moses' and presentation of Jesus demonstrates covenant faithfulness and Jesus's full identification with His people. The purification (Lev 12:2-8) treated childbirth's ceremonial uncleanness, while firstborn presentation (Ex 13:2, 12) acknowledged God's ownership. Their obedience 'according to the law of Moses' shows submission to God's revealed will. J...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **When the days of her purification** **. . .**—The primary idea of the law of Leviticus 12:1-6, would seem to have been that of witnessing to the taint of imperfection and sin attaching to every child of man, just as that of circumcision (its merely physical aspects being put aside) was that of the repression or control of one chief element of that sinfulness. Here neither was necessary; but...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**46-55. A magnificent canticle, in which the strain of Hannah's ancient song, in like circumstances, is caught up, and just slightly modified and sublimed. Is it unnatural to suppose that the spirit of the blessed Virgin had been drawn beforehand into mysterious sympathy with the ideas and the tone of this hymn, so that when the life and fire of inspiration penetrated her whole soul it spontaneou...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-24**
Our Lord Jesus was not born in sin, and did not need that mortification of a corrupt nature, or that renewal unto holiness, which were signified by circumcision. This ordinance was, in his case, a pledge of his future perfect obedience to the whole law, in the midst of sufferings and temptations, even unto death for us. At the end of forty days, Mary went up to the temple to o...
Read full commentary →(As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)
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KJV Study Commentary
The parenthetical 'As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord' quotes Exodus 13:2 and grounds Jesus's presentation in Scripture. The phrase 'openeth the womb' designates firstborn males belonging to God, remembering His sparing of Israel's firstborn at Passover. Jesus being 'called holy to the Lord' is ironic—He is inherently holy (th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**46-55. A magnificent canticle, in which the strain of Hannah's ancient song, in like circumstances, is caught up, and just slightly modified and sublimed. Is it unnatural to suppose that the spirit of the blessed Virgin had been drawn beforehand into mysterious sympathy with the ideas and the tone of this hymn, so that when the life and fire of inspiration penetrated her whole soul it spontaneou...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-24**
Our Lord Jesus was not born in sin, and did not need that mortification of a corrupt nature, or that renewal unto holiness, which were signified by circumcision. This ordinance was, in his case, a pledge of his future perfect obedience to the whole law, in the midst of sufferings and temptations, even unto death for us. At the end of forty days, Mary went up to the temple to o...
Read full commentary →And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.
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KJV Study Commentary
The sacrifice of 'a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons' reveals Jesus's family's poverty. Leviticus 12:8 specifies this substitute for those unable to afford a lamb, demonstrating that God accommodates the poor while maintaining covenant requirements. That the Lord of glory entered the world in such poverty that His parents couldn't afford standard sacrifice demonstrates the depths of His h...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **A pair of turtle doves.**—The law of Leviticus 12:8 allowed these to be substituted for the normal sacrifice of a lamb as a burnt-offering, and a pigeon or dove as a sin-offering, when the mother was “not able” to offer the former. We may see, therefore, in this fact, another indication of the poverty of Joseph and his espoused wife. The offering had, like all other sacrifices, to be made i...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**46-55. A magnificent canticle, in which the strain of Hannah's ancient song, in like circumstances, is caught up, and just slightly modified and sublimed. Is it unnatural to suppose that the spirit of the blessed Virgin had been drawn beforehand into mysterious sympathy with the ideas and the tone of this hymn, so that when the life and fire of inspiration penetrated her whole soul it spontaneou...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-24**
Our Lord Jesus was not born in sin, and did not need that mortification of a corrupt nature, or that renewal unto holiness, which were signified by circumcision. This ordinance was, in his case, a pledge of his future perfect obedience to the whole law, in the midst of sufferings and temptations, even unto death for us. At the end of forty days, Mary went up to the temple to o...
Read full commentary →Simeon's Prophecy
And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
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KJV Study Commentary
Simeon is introduced: 'And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel' (καὶ ἰδοὺ ἄνθρωπος ἦν ἐν Ἰερουσαλὴμ ᾧ ὄνομα Συμεών, καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος δίκαιος καὶ εὐλαβής, προσδεχόμενος παράκλησιν τοῦ Ἰσραήλ). 'Dikaios' (δίκαιος, just/righteous) and 'eulabēs' (εὐλαβής, devout/reverent) describe his character. T...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **Whose name was Simeon.**—Some writers have identified the man thus described with a very memorable Simeon in the annals of the Jewish scribes, the son of Hillel, and the father of Gamaliel. He became president of the Sanhedrin, A.D. 13. Singularly enough, the Mishna, the great collection of expositions of the Law by the leading Rabbis, passes over his name altogether, and this suggests the ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**46-55. A magnificent canticle, in which the strain of Hannah's ancient song, in like circumstances, is caught up, and just slightly modified and sublimed. Is it unnatural to suppose that the spirit of the blessed Virgin had been drawn beforehand into mysterious sympathy with the ideas and the tone of this hymn, so that when the life and fire of inspiration penetrated her whole soul it spontaneou...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-35**
The same Spirit that provided for the support of Simeon's hope, provided for his joy. Those who would see Christ must go to his temple. Here is a confession of his faith, that this Child in his arms was the Saviour, the salvation itself, the salvation of God's appointing. He bids farewell to this world. How poor does this world look to one that has Christ in his arms, and salv...
Read full commentary →And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
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KJV Study Commentary
Simeon's revelation 'by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ' demonstrates God's gracious encouragement to His servants. The passive construction 'it was revealed' emphasizes God's initiative in making known what couldn't be discovered naturally. The Holy Spirit's specific promise sustained Simeon through years of waiting, showing how divine assurance e...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **It was revealed unto him.**—The Greek word is the same as that rendered “warned” in Matthew 2:12. It implies a divine oracular communication, but rests on a different idea from the “unveiling,” which lies at the root of the word “reveal.” The message in this case came clearly as an answer to prayers and yearnings.
**The Lord’s Christ.**—The word retains all the fulness of its meaning—the Me...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**56. abode with her about three months--**What an honored roof was that which, for such a period, overarched these cousins! and yet not a trace of it is now to be seen, while the progeny of those two women--the one but the honored pioneer of the other--have made the world new.
**returned to her own house--**at Nazareth, after which took place what is recorded in Mt 1:18-25.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-35**
The same Spirit that provided for the support of Simeon's hope, provided for his joy. Those who would see Christ must go to his temple. Here is a confession of his faith, that this Child in his arms was the Saviour, the salvation itself, the salvation of God's appointing. He bids farewell to this world. How poor does this world look to one that has Christ in his arms, and salv...
Read full commentary →And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He came by the Spirit into the temple</strong> (ἦλθεν ἐν τῷ πνεύματι εἰς τὸ ἱερόν, ēlthen en tō pneumati eis to hieron)—The Holy Spirit's direct guidance brought Simeon at the exact moment of Jesus's presentation. The Greek construction <em>en tō pneumati</em> indicates movement under the Spirit's control, demonstrating sovereign orchestration.<br><br><strong>To do for him after the custom...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **He** **came by the Spirit.**—Better, as in Revelation 1:10, *in the Spirit*—i.e., in a spiritual state in which the power of the Divine Spirit was the pervading element.
**The parents.**—Here, as in Luke 2:33; Luke 2:48, St. Luke does not shrink from reproducing what was obviously the familiar phraseology of the household of Nazareth. In common life it is almost obvious that no other phrase...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-35**
The same Spirit that provided for the support of Simeon's hope, provided for his joy. Those who would see Christ must go to his temple. Here is a confession of his faith, that this Child in his arms was the Saviour, the salvation itself, the salvation of God's appointing. He bids farewell to this world. How poor does this world look to one that has Christ in his arms, and salv...
Read full commentary →Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then took he him up in his arms</strong> (καὶ αὐτὸς ἐδέξατο αὐτὸ εἰς τὰς ἀγκάλας, kai autos edexato auto eis tas agkalas)—The Greek verb <em>dechomai</em> means 'to receive' or 'welcome,' suggesting deliberate acceptance. Simeon physically embraces the infant Messiah, a prophetic act symbolizing Israel's longed-for reception of salvation.<br><br><strong>And blessed God</strong> (εὐλόγησεν ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-35**
The same Spirit that provided for the support of Simeon's hope, provided for his joy. Those who would see Christ must go to his temple. Here is a confession of his faith, that this Child in his arms was the Saviour, the salvation itself, the salvation of God's appointing. He bids farewell to this world. How poor does this world look to one that has Christ in his arms, and salv...
Read full commentary →Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
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KJV Study Commentary
Simeon's Nunc Dimittis begins: 'Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word' (νῦν ἀπολύεις τὸν δοῦλόν σου, δέσποτα, κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμά σου ἐν εἰρήνῃ). The verb 'apolyō' (ἀπολύω, let depart/release) can mean dismissal from service or peaceful death. Simeon had received God's promise (rēma, ῥῆμα, specific word) that he would not die before seeing the Messiah (v.26). Now, havi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29) **Now lettest thou thy servant depart in** **peace.**—It is not expedient to alter the translation, but we have to remember that the central idea is that of the manumission of a slave. The word for Lord is not the usual *Kyrios,* but *Despotes*—a word but seldom used of God, and then almost always of the relation of a master and the slave who is such by inheritance or purchase (Acts 4:24; 2Pe...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Lu 1:57-80. Birth and Circumcision of John--Song of Zacharias and Progress of the Child.
**59. eighth day--**The law (Ge 17:12) was observed, even though the eighth day after birth should be a sabbath (Joh 7:23; and see Php 3:5).
**called him--**literally, "were calling"--that is, (as we should say) "were for calling." The naming of children at baptism has its origin in the Jewish custom at cir...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-35**
The same Spirit that provided for the support of Simeon's hope, provided for his joy. Those who would see Christ must go to his temple. Here is a confession of his faith, that this Child in his arms was the Saviour, the salvation itself, the salvation of God's appointing. He bids farewell to this world. How poor does this world look to one that has Christ in his arms, and salv...
Read full commentary →For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
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KJV Study Commentary
Simeon declares: 'For mine eyes have seen thy salvation' (ὅτι εἶδον οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου τὸ σωτήριόν σου). The perfect tense 'eidon' (εἶδον, have seen) emphasizes completed action with continuing effects—he has seen and continues to possess this vision. 'Sōtērion' (σωτήριον, salvation) is neuter, referring to the means or instrument of salvation—the infant Jesus Himself is God's salvation incarnate. Th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(30) **Mine eyes have seen thy salvation.**—The Greek word is not the usual feminine noun expressing the abstract idea of salvation, but the neuter of the adjective—that which brings or works out salvation. Its use here is probably determined by its appearance in the LXX. version of Isaiah 52:10, as quoted in Luke 3:6. He saw in that infant child the means of deliverance for the world.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-35**
The same Spirit that provided for the support of Simeon's hope, provided for his joy. Those who would see Christ must go to his temple. Here is a confession of his faith, that this Child in his arms was the Saviour, the salvation itself, the salvation of God's appointing. He bids farewell to this world. How poor does this world look to one that has Christ in his arms, and salv...
Read full commentary →Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people</strong> (ὃ ἡτοίμασας κατὰ πρόσωπον πάντων τῶν λαῶν, ho hētoimasas kata prosōpon pantōn tōn laōn)—The phrase <em>kata prosōpon</em> literally means 'according to the face of' or 'in the presence of,' suggesting public, visible display. The Greek <em>laōn</em> (peoples, plural) signals gentile inclusion, not Israel alone.<br><br>God's s...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(31) **Before the face of all people.**—Literally, *of all peoples.* The word expresses the universality of the salvation which the next verse contemplates in its application to the two great divisions of the human family.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-35**
The same Spirit that provided for the support of Simeon's hope, provided for his joy. Those who would see Christ must go to his temple. Here is a confession of his faith, that this Child in his arms was the Saviour, the salvation itself, the salvation of God's appointing. He bids farewell to this world. How poor does this world look to one that has Christ in his arms, and salv...
Read full commentary →A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>A light to lighten the Gentiles</strong> (φῶς εἰς ἀποκάλυψιν ἐθνῶν, phōs eis apokalypsin ethnōn)—The Greek <em>apokalypsin</em> means 'revelation' or 'unveiling,' indicating Christ discloses God to gentile darkness (John 1:9). This directly quotes Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6, identifying Jesus as Isaiah's Suffering Servant who brings salvation beyond Israel.<br><br><strong>And the glory of thy pe...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(32) **To lighten the Gentiles.**—Literally, *for a revelation to the Gentiles.* The idea is strictly that of the withdrawal of the “veil spread over all nations” of Isaiah 25:7.
**The glory of thy people Israel.**—Here, again, the language is the natural utterance of the hope of the time, not the after-thought of later years. The Christ whom Israel had rejected was hardly “the glory of the people...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**62. made signs--**showing he was deaf, as well as dumb.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-35**
The same Spirit that provided for the support of Simeon's hope, provided for his joy. Those who would see Christ must go to his temple. Here is a confession of his faith, that this Child in his arms was the Saviour, the salvation itself, the salvation of God's appointing. He bids farewell to this world. How poor does this world look to one that has Christ in his arms, and salv...
Read full commentary →And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him</strong> (καὶ ἦν ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡ μήτηρ θαυμάζοντες ἐπὶ τοῖς λαλουμένοις περὶ αὐτοῦ, kai ēn ho patēr autou kai hē mētēr thaumazontes epi tois laloumenois peri autou)—The Greek verb <em>thaumazō</em> indicates wonder mixed with amazement. Despite Gabriel's annunciation, Elizabeth's prophecy, and the shepherds' testi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(33) **And Joseph and his mother.**—The better MSS. give, *His father and his mother.* The present reading has apparently been substituted for this through feelings of reverence, but it has quite sufficient authority in Luke 2:27; Luke 2:48.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**63. marvelled all--**at his giving the same name, not knowing of any communication between them on the subject.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-35**
The same Spirit that provided for the support of Simeon's hope, provided for his joy. Those who would see Christ must go to his temple. Here is a confession of his faith, that this Child in his arms was the Saviour, the salvation itself, the salvation of God's appointing. He bids farewell to this world. How poor does this world look to one that has Christ in his arms, and salv...
Read full commentary →And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
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KJV Study Commentary
Simeon prophesies to Mary: 'Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against' (ἰδοὺ οὗτος κεῖται εἰς πτῶσιν καὶ ἀνάστασιν πολλῶν ἐν τῷ Ἰσραήλ καὶ εἰς σημεῖον ἀντιλεγόμενον). The verb 'keimai' (κεῖται, is set/appointed) indicates divine purpose. 'Ptōsis' (πτῶσις, fall) and 'anastasis' (ἀνάστασις, rising) describe opposite respon...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(34) **This child is set for the fall and** **rising again.**—The words start from the thought of Isaiah 8:14-15. The Christ is seen by Simeon as the stone on which some fall and are bruised (Luke 20:18), while others plant their feet upon it and rise to a higher life. Primarily the clause speaks of the contrast between the two classes; but there is nothing to exclude the thought that some may fir...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**64. mouth opened immediately--**on thus palpably showing his full faith in the vision, for disbelieving which he had been struck dumb (Lu 1:13, 20).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-35**
The same Spirit that provided for the support of Simeon's hope, provided for his joy. Those who would see Christ must go to his temple. Here is a confession of his faith, that this Child in his arms was the Saviour, the salvation itself, the salvation of God's appointing. He bids farewell to this world. How poor does this world look to one that has Christ in his arms, and salv...
Read full commentary →(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
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KJV Study Commentary
Simeon prophesies to Mary: 'a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also.' This prediction of Mary's suffering refers primarily to her anguish at Christ's crucifixion (John 19:25-27), where she witnessed her son's horrific death. The Greek 'rhomphaia' (ῥομφαία) denotes a large sword, emphasizing the depth and severity of coming pain. Mary's participation in Christ's suffering begins at the incar...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(35) **A sword shall pierce through thy own soul also.**—The word used for “sword” here, occurs also in the Apocalypse (Revelation 1:16; Revelation 2:12, *et. al.*)*,* but not elsewhere in the New Testament. It was the large barbaric sword used by the Thracians, as distinguished from the shorter weapon of Roman soldiers. The announcement of the special sorrow that was to be the Virgin Mother’s por...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**65. fear--**religious awe; under the impression that God's hand was specially in these events (compare Lu 5:26; 7:16; 8:37).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-35**
The same Spirit that provided for the support of Simeon's hope, provided for his joy. Those who would see Christ must go to his temple. Here is a confession of his faith, that this Child in his arms was the Saviour, the salvation itself, the salvation of God's appointing. He bids farewell to this world. How poor does this world look to one that has Christ in his arms, and salv...
Read full commentary →Anna the Prophetess
And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age , and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Anna, a prophetess</strong> (Ἄννα προφῆτις, Anna prophētis)—The feminine form <em>prophētis</em> appears only here and Revelation 2:20 in the NT, indicating a woman who spoke God's words. Her Hebrew name Hannah means 'grace,' fitting for one who announced Messiah.<br><br><strong>The daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher</strong>—Luke's genealogical precision establishes authenticity. ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(36) **One Anna, a prophetess.**—The fact is in many ways remarkable. We find a woman recognised as a prophetess at a time when no man is recognised as a prophet. She bears the name of the mother of the founder of the School of the Prophets, identical with that which the legends of Apocryphal Gospels assign to the mother of the Virgin. She is named, as if it were a well-known fact, as having been ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**66. hand of the Lord was with him--**by special tokens marking him out as one destined to some great work (1Ki 18:46; 2Ki 3:15; Ac 11:21).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 36-40**
There was much evil then in the church, yet God left not himself without witness. Anna always dwelt in, or at least attended at, the temple. She was always in a praying spirit; gave herself to prayer, and in all things she served God. Those to whom Christ is made known, have great reason to thank the Lord. She taught others concerning him. Let the example of the venerable sain...
Read full commentary →And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>A widow of about fourscore and four years</strong> (χήρα ἕως ἐτῶν ὀγδοήκοντα τεσσάρων, chēra heōs etōn ogdoēkonta tessarōn)—Likely 84 years of widowhood (not total age), making Anna over 100. The Greek construction suggests prolonged state: 84 years of faithfulness despite loss.<br><br><strong>Which departed not from the temple</strong> (οὐκ ἀφίστατο τοῦ ἱεροῦ, ouk aphistato tou hierou)—Th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(37) **A widow of about fourscore and four years.**—The better MSS. read, “*up to the point *of fourscore and four years,” pointing to the fact that this was the duration of her widowhood. Assuming her to have been married at fifteen, this places her actual age at 106. She had lived through the whole century that preceded the birth of Christ, from the death of John Hyrcanus, and had witnessed, the...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 36-40**
There was much evil then in the church, yet God left not himself without witness. Anna always dwelt in, or at least attended at, the temple. She was always in a praying spirit; gave herself to prayer, and in all things she served God. Those to whom Christ is made known, have great reason to thank the Lord. She taught others concerning him. Let the example of the venerable sain...
Read full commentary →And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. Jerusalem: or, Israel
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KJV Study Commentary
Anna 'gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.' Her response mirrors Simeon's—recognizing Jesus as the promised Redeemer and immediately testifying to others. The phrase 'looked for redemption' identifies the faithful remnant who maintained messianic hope. Anna's speaking 'of him' indicates specific testimony about this child, not ge...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(38) **Gave thanks.**—The word so translated occurs here only in the New Testament, but it is found with this meaning in the LXX. version of Psalm 79:13.
**That looked for redemption in Jerusalem.**—The better MSS. give, “the redemption of Jerusalem,” the phrase being the counterpart of the “consolation of Israel” in Luke 2:25. Both the verbs “gave thanks” and “spake” imply continued, and not mere...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
68-79. There is not a word in this noble burst of divine song about his own child; like Elisabeth losing sight entirely of self, in the glory of a Greater than both.
**Lord God of Israel--**the ancient covenant God of the peculiar people.
**visited and redeemed--**that is, in order to redeem: returned after long absence, and broken His long silence (see Mt 15:31). In the Old Testament, God is ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 36-40**
There was much evil then in the church, yet God left not himself without witness. Anna always dwelt in, or at least attended at, the temple. She was always in a praying spirit; gave herself to prayer, and in all things she served God. Those to whom Christ is made known, have great reason to thank the Lord. She taught others concerning him. Let the example of the venerable sain...
Read full commentary →And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.
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KJV Study Commentary
Joseph and Mary's performance of 'all things according to the law of the Lord' demonstrates comprehensive obedience to God's revealed will. Their return to Nazareth 'their own city' indicates they fulfilled all Jerusalem temple obligations before resuming normal life. The phrase 'according to the law' emphasizes that obedience characterized Jesus's family from the beginning. Their return to Galile...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(39) **They returned into Galilee.**—Filling up the narrative from St. Matthew, we have to insert after the Presentation, the visit of the Magi, the massacre of the Infants, and the flight into Egypt. It seems probable that St. Luke was not acquainted with St. Matthew’s narrative, nor St. Matthew with St. Luke’s. Each wrote from what he heard, or found in previous existing narratives, more or less...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
68-79. There is not a word in this noble burst of divine song about his own child; like Elisabeth losing sight entirely of self, in the glory of a Greater than both.
**Lord God of Israel--**the ancient covenant God of the peculiar people.
**visited and redeemed--**that is, in order to redeem: returned after long absence, and broken His long silence (see Mt 15:31). In the Old Testament, God is ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 36-40**
There was much evil then in the church, yet God left not himself without witness. Anna always dwelt in, or at least attended at, the temple. She was always in a praying spirit; gave herself to prayer, and in all things she served God. Those to whom Christ is made known, have great reason to thank the Lord. She taught others concerning him. Let the example of the venerable sain...
Read full commentary →And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.
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KJV Study Commentary
Luke summarizes Jesus' childhood: 'And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him' (τὸ δὲ παιδίον ηὔξανεν καὶ ἐκραταιοῦτο πληρούμενον σοφίᾳ, καὶ χάρις θεοῦ ἦν ἐπ᾽ αὐτό). The verbs 'auxanō' (ηὔξανεν, grew) and 'krataioō' (ἐκραταιοῦτο, waxed strong) describe normal human development—Jesus experienced genuine childhood, not docetic appearance. Th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(40) **Waxed strong in spirit.**—The better MSS. omit the last two words.
**Filled with wisdom.**—The Greek participle implies the continuous process of “being filled,” and so conveys the thought expressed in Luke 2:52, of an increase of wisdom. The soul of Jesus was human, *i.e., *subject to the conditions and limitations of human knowledge, and learnt as others learn. The heresy of Apollinarius,...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
68-79. There is not a word in this noble burst of divine song about his own child; like Elisabeth losing sight entirely of self, in the glory of a Greater than both.
**Lord God of Israel--**the ancient covenant God of the peculiar people.
**visited and redeemed--**that is, in order to redeem: returned after long absence, and broken His long silence (see Mt 15:31). In the Old Testament, God is ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 36-40**
There was much evil then in the church, yet God left not himself without witness. Anna always dwelt in, or at least attended at, the temple. She was always in a praying spirit; gave herself to prayer, and in all things she served God. Those to whom Christ is made known, have great reason to thank the Lord. She taught others concerning him. Let the example of the venerable sain...
Read full commentary →The Boy Jesus in the Temple
Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus' parents 'went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover,' demonstrating their faithful observance of Torah. The annual Passover pilgrimage was commanded in Deuteronomy 16:16—all males must appear before the LORD three times yearly (Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles). Mary and Joseph's consistent obedience shows their genuine piety and commitment to raising Jesus within covenant fa...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(41) **His parents went to** **Jerusalem.**—The law of Moses required the attendance of all males at the three feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles (Exodus 23:17; Deuteronomy 16:16). The dispersion of the Jews had, of course, relaxed the obligation for those who lived at a distance; but it was still more or less generally recognised by those who dwelt in Palestine, and the school of Hill...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
68-79. There is not a word in this noble burst of divine song about his own child; like Elisabeth losing sight entirely of self, in the glory of a Greater than both.
**Lord God of Israel--**the ancient covenant God of the peculiar people.
**visited and redeemed--**that is, in order to redeem: returned after long absence, and broken His long silence (see Mt 15:31). In the Old Testament, God is ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 41-52**
It is for the honour of Christ that children should attend on public worship. His parents did not return till they had stayed all the seven days of the feast. It is well to stay to the end of an ordinance, as becomes those who say, It is good to be here. Those that have lost their comforts in Christ, and the evidences of their having a part in him, must bethink themselves wher...
Read full commentary →And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus's attendance at Jerusalem when 'twelve years old' demonstrates covenant faithfulness and approaching manhood in Jewish culture. The specific mention of twelve indicates the cusp of religious responsibility—approaching bar mitzvah age when boys assume adult religious obligations. That the family went to the Feast demonstrates their annual Passover observance, though only required of males ove...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(42)**When he was twelve years old.**—The stages of Jewish childhood were marked as follows:—At three the boy was weaned, and wore for the first time the fringed or tasselled garment prescribed by Numbers 15:38-41, and Deuteronomy 22:12. His education began, at first under the mother’s care. At five he was to learn the Law, at first by extracts written on scrolls of the more important passages, th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
68-79. There is not a word in this noble burst of divine song about his own child; like Elisabeth losing sight entirely of self, in the glory of a Greater than both.
**Lord God of Israel--**the ancient covenant God of the peculiar people.
**visited and redeemed--**that is, in order to redeem: returned after long absence, and broken His long silence (see Mt 15:31). In the Old Testament, God is ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 41-52**
It is for the honour of Christ that children should attend on public worship. His parents did not return till they had stayed all the seven days of the feast. It is well to stay to the end of an ordinance, as becomes those who say, It is good to be here. Those that have lost their comforts in Christ, and the evidences of their having a part in him, must bethink themselves wher...
Read full commentary →And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.
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KJV Study Commentary
The parents' ignorance that Jesus 'tarried behind in Jerusalem' after completing the feast days shows the accidental nature of the separation. The detail that they 'fulfilled the days' emphasizes they completed proper observance before beginning return journey. That 'Joseph and his mother knew not of it' indicates Jesus's action was independent and intentional on His part, not parental negligence....
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(43) **The child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem.**—The words do not imply that He intentionally stayed behind. If we deal with the history on its human side, the probable course of things was this:—The Passover Feast lasted seven days; on each of those days, after the first, we may well believe the *“*child Jesus” was seeking wisdom to do His Father’s work at the hands of the appointed teachers...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
68-79. There is not a word in this noble burst of divine song about his own child; like Elisabeth losing sight entirely of self, in the glory of a Greater than both.
**Lord God of Israel--**the ancient covenant God of the peculiar people.
**visited and redeemed--**that is, in order to redeem: returned after long absence, and broken His long silence (see Mt 15:31). In the Old Testament, God is ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 41-52**
It is for the honour of Christ that children should attend on public worship. His parents did not return till they had stayed all the seven days of the feast. It is well to stay to the end of an ordinance, as becomes those who say, It is good to be here. Those that have lost their comforts in Christ, and the evidences of their having a part in him, must bethink themselves wher...
Read full commentary →But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.
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KJV Study Commentary
The parents 'supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey' shows reasonable assumption that proved mistaken. Large pilgrimage groups made it logical to expect Jesus among relatives and acquaintances. Their 'seeking him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance' demonstrates thorough search when He wasn't found. This detail emphasizes their growing alarm and the genuineness of the cr...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(44) **Supposing him to have been in the company.**—The company was probably a large one, consisting of those who had come up to keep the Passover from Nazareth and the neighbouring villages. It is not certain, but in the nature of things it is sufficiently probable, that the boys of such a company congregated together, and travelled apart from the others.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
68-79. There is not a word in this noble burst of divine song about his own child; like Elisabeth losing sight entirely of self, in the glory of a Greater than both.
**Lord God of Israel--**the ancient covenant God of the peculiar people.
**visited and redeemed--**that is, in order to redeem: returned after long absence, and broken His long silence (see Mt 15:31). In the Old Testament, God is ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 41-52**
It is for the honour of Christ that children should attend on public worship. His parents did not return till they had stayed all the seven days of the feast. It is well to stay to the end of an ordinance, as becomes those who say, It is good to be here. Those that have lost their comforts in Christ, and the evidences of their having a part in him, must bethink themselves wher...
Read full commentary →And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.
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KJV Study Commentary
Finding Him not among acquaintances, 'they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him' demonstrates parental responsibility and persistence. The phrase 'turned back' indicates retracing their steps, adding another day to the journey. Their 'seeking him' shows determined search, not passive waiting. This models appropriate parental response to missing children—immediate action, retracing steps, pe...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
68-79. There is not a word in this noble burst of divine song about his own child; like Elisabeth losing sight entirely of self, in the glory of a Greater than both.
**Lord God of Israel--**the ancient covenant God of the peculiar people.
**visited and redeemed--**that is, in order to redeem: returned after long absence, and broken His long silence (see Mt 15:31). In the Old Testament, God is ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 41-52**
It is for the honour of Christ that children should attend on public worship. His parents did not return till they had stayed all the seven days of the feast. It is well to stay to the end of an ordinance, as becomes those who say, It is good to be here. Those that have lost their comforts in Christ, and the evidences of their having a part in him, must bethink themselves wher...
Read full commentary →And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
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KJV Study Commentary
After three days searching, Jesus' parents 'found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.' At age 12, Jesus demonstrates extraordinary wisdom and spiritual understanding. The phrase 'in the midst of the doctors' (Greek 'en mesō tōn didaskalōn,' ἐν μέσῳ τῶν διδασκάλων) shows Jesus as eager learner, yet His questions reveal depth beyond H...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(46) **Sitting in the midst of the doctors.**—A chamber of the Temple was set apart as a kind of open free school. The “doctors” or teachers—famous “doctors of the Law” (Acts 5:34)—sat “in Moses’ seat;” the older students on a low bench; the younger on the ground, literally “at the feet” of their instructor. The relation between master and scholar was often one of affectionate reverence and sympat...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
68-79. There is not a word in this noble burst of divine song about his own child; like Elisabeth losing sight entirely of self, in the glory of a Greater than both.
**Lord God of Israel--**the ancient covenant God of the peculiar people.
**visited and redeemed--**that is, in order to redeem: returned after long absence, and broken His long silence (see Mt 15:31). In the Old Testament, God is ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 41-52**
It is for the honour of Christ that children should attend on public worship. His parents did not return till they had stayed all the seven days of the feast. It is well to stay to the end of an ordinance, as becomes those who say, It is good to be here. Those that have lost their comforts in Christ, and the evidences of their having a part in him, must bethink themselves wher...
Read full commentary →And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
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KJV Study Commentary
All who heard Jesus 'were astonished at his understanding and answers.' The Greek 'existanto' (ἐξίσταντο) indicates they were amazed, overwhelmed, put out of their senses. Despite His young age, Jesus demonstrated wisdom that astonished learned scholars. This supernatural understanding fulfills Isaiah 11:2's prophecy that Messiah would be filled with the Spirit of wisdom and understanding. Jesus' ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(47) **At his understanding and answers.**—The first word seems to point to the discernment which showed itself in the questions as well as the answers. The egotism of Josephus leads him to speak of himself as having, at the age of fourteen—when he too had become “a child of the Law”—caused a like astonishment by his intelligence; so that the chief priests and principal men of the city used to com...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
68-79. There is not a word in this noble burst of divine song about his own child; like Elisabeth losing sight entirely of self, in the glory of a Greater than both.
**Lord God of Israel--**the ancient covenant God of the peculiar people.
**visited and redeemed--**that is, in order to redeem: returned after long absence, and broken His long silence (see Mt 15:31). In the Old Testament, God is ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 41-52**
It is for the honour of Christ that children should attend on public worship. His parents did not return till they had stayed all the seven days of the feast. It is well to stay to the end of an ordinance, as becomes those who say, It is good to be here. Those that have lost their comforts in Christ, and the evidences of their having a part in him, must bethink themselves wher...
Read full commentary →And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
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KJV Study Commentary
Mary's response—'Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing'—reveals her maternal distress but also her limited understanding. She refers to Joseph as 'thy father,' yet Jesus' response corrects this, pointing to His true Father. Mary's natural anxiety is understandable, but she hadn't yet fully grasped Jesus' unique identity and mission. This inciden...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(48)**Behold, thy father and I have sought.**—The latter clause expresses a continuous act, *We were seeking thee; *and our Lord uses the same tense in His answer.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
68-79. There is not a word in this noble burst of divine song about his own child; like Elisabeth losing sight entirely of self, in the glory of a Greater than both.
**Lord God of Israel--**the ancient covenant God of the peculiar people.
**visited and redeemed--**that is, in order to redeem: returned after long absence, and broken His long silence (see Mt 15:31). In the Old Testament, God is ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 41-52**
It is for the honour of Christ that children should attend on public worship. His parents did not return till they had stayed all the seven days of the feast. It is well to stay to the end of an ordinance, as becomes those who say, It is good to be here. Those that have lost their comforts in Christ, and the evidences of their having a part in him, must bethink themselves wher...
Read full commentary →And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?
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KJV Study Commentary
The 12-year-old Jesus responds to Mary: 'How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?' (τί ὅτι ἐζητεῖτέ με; οὐκ ᾔδειτε ὅτι ἐν τοῖς τοῦ πατρός μου δεῖ εἶναί με;). The Greek phrase 'en tois tou patros mou' (ἐν τοῖς τοῦ πατρός μου) literally means 'in the things/house of my Father'—referring both to the temple and to His Father's concerns. The verb 'dei' (δεῖ, m...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(49) **Wist ye not . . .?—**This is, as it were, the holy Child’s defence against the implied reproach in. His mother’s question. Had they reflected, there need have been no seeking; they would have known what He was doing and where He was.
**About my Father’s business.**—Literally, *in the things that are My Father’s*—*i.e., *in His work, the vague width of the words covering also, perhaps, the m...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
68-79. There is not a word in this noble burst of divine song about his own child; like Elisabeth losing sight entirely of self, in the glory of a Greater than both.
**Lord God of Israel--**the ancient covenant God of the peculiar people.
**visited and redeemed--**that is, in order to redeem: returned after long absence, and broken His long silence (see Mt 15:31). In the Old Testament, God is ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 41-52**
It is for the honour of Christ that children should attend on public worship. His parents did not return till they had stayed all the seven days of the feast. It is well to stay to the end of an ordinance, as becomes those who say, It is good to be here. Those that have lost their comforts in Christ, and the evidences of their having a part in him, must bethink themselves wher...
Read full commentary →And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.
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KJV Study Commentary
The statement 'they understood not the saying which he spake unto them' reveals that even those closest to Jesus, including His mother who received angelic revelation, didn't fully comprehend His identity and mission. Their lack of understanding wasn't sinful but demonstrates the mystery of the incarnation—God's purposes aren't always immediately clear even to the faithful. Jesus's reference to 'm...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(50) They understood not the saying.—We are apt to think that they should have understood, and sceptical criticism has seen in this a contradiction to the previous history of the Annunciation and the Birth. Twelve years, however, of the life of childhood after the outward pattern of that of other children, may have dulled the impressions that had then been made; and even if they, in part, understo...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**80. And the child, &c.--**"a concluding paragraph, indicating, in strokes full of grandeur, the bodily and mental development of the Baptist; and bringing his life up to the period of his public appearance" [Olshausen].
**in the deserts--**probably "the wilderness of Judea" (Mt 3:1), whither he had retired early in life, in the Nazarite spirit, and where, free from rabbinical influences an...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 41-52**
It is for the honour of Christ that children should attend on public worship. His parents did not return till they had stayed all the seven days of the feast. It is well to stay to the end of an ordinance, as becomes those who say, It is good to be here. Those that have lost their comforts in Christ, and the evidences of their having a part in him, must bethink themselves wher...
Read full commentary →And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus 'went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them.' Despite His divine identity and temple incident, Jesus submitted to His parents' authority. The Greek 'hypotassomenos' (ὑποτασσόμενος, was subject/submissive) indicates continuous voluntary submission. This demonstrates Jesus' full humanity and His perfect obedience to the law, including the fifth commandment to honor pa...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(51) **Was subject unto them.**—There was, therefore, in the years that followed, no premature assumption of authority—nothing but the pattern of a life perfect in all its home-relationships. In such a household as that of the carpenter of Nazareth, this subjection must, in the nature of things, have involved much manual and menial work—a share in the toil alike of the workshop and the house.
**Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 41-52**
It is for the honour of Christ that children should attend on public worship. His parents did not return till they had stayed all the seven days of the feast. It is well to stay to the end of an ordinance, as becomes those who say, It is good to be here. Those that have lost their comforts in Christ, and the evidences of their having a part in him, must bethink themselves wher...
Read full commentary →And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. stature: or, age
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KJV Study Commentary
This summary of Jesus' childhood emphasizes His full humanity and normal development in four dimensions: intellectual (wisdom), physical (stature), spiritual (favor with God), and social (favor with man). The Greek word 'prokoptō' (increased) suggests steady progress and advancement, demonstrating that even in His sinless humanity, Christ experienced genuine human growth and learning. This verse b...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(52) **Jesus increased in wisdom and stature.**—Here again we have nothing but a normal orderly development. With Him, as with others, wisdom widened with the years, and came into His human soul through the same channels and by the same processes as into the souls of others—instruction, *e.g., *in the school of Nazareth, and attendance at its synagogue—the difference being that He, in every stage,...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 2 Lu 2:1-7. Birth of Christ.
**1. Cæsar Augustus--**the first of the Roman emperors.
**all the world--**so the vast Roman Empire was termed.
**taxed--**enrolled, or register themselves.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 41-52**
It is for the honour of Christ that children should attend on public worship. His parents did not return till they had stayed all the seven days of the feast. It is well to stay to the end of an ordinance, as becomes those who say, It is good to be here. Those that have lost their comforts in Christ, and the evidences of their having a part in him, must bethink themselves wher...
Read full commentary →