86 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Simeon blessed them,.... Pronounced them blessed persons, on account of their relation to Christ as man; and more especially, because of their interest in him, as the, Saviour and Redeemer of them; and wished them all happiness and prosperity inward and outward, temporal, spiritual, and eternal; and so the Arabic version renders it, confining...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And for a sign which shall be spoken against; How true has this been. The cross has been to many a stumbling block, and to the worldly wise it has been foolishness; and so will it be to the world’s end.
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
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; Do you understand that? Whenever Christ comes to a man, there is a fall first, and a rising again afterwards. You never knew the Lord aright if he did not give you a fall first. He pulls us down from our pride and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,.... Meaning either the sword, "or spear of scandal", as the Arabic version renders it; so the calumny, and reproach of the tongues of men, is compared to a sharp sword, Psalms 57:4 and such the virgin might meet with on account of her conception in art unmarried state, which might greatly wound...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also,) Great privileges often involve great troubles. Mary was highly favored, and truly blessed among women, yet no woman ever had greater sorrow than she had. Luk_2:35. That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. Christ’s death revealed the thoughts of many hearts. It revealed the thought...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) This favored woman had the greatest smart to go with her great honour. She saw the suffering and anguish of her son; and the nearer you are to Christ, the more of sorrow it will cost you, sorrow which you may be well content to bear. You know how it is put in that hymn of which many of us are...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And there was one Anna,.... The name is the same with Hannah: so Hannah, the mother of Samuel, is by the Septuagint called Anna, in 1 Samuel 1:2 and it signifies "grace"; or "gracious": and as was her name, so was she, a gracious woman; One that had the grace of God herself, and was a publisher of the glad tidings of grace and redemption by...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
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; 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. And she coming in that instant...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
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; 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. It would have been a pity for...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years,.... Which is not the date of her whole age, as some have thought, but of her widowhood state, as distinct from her marriage state, and the time of her virginity. And this sense all the versions favour. Which departed not from the temple that is, she was constant in her devotion there, at the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And she coming in that instant,.... That the parents of Christ brought him into the temple; just as Simeon was embracing him in his arms, and blessing God for him, and saying the things concerning him he had done; and who also came at that juncture, as he did, under the impulse, and by the direction of the Spirit of God; gave thanks likewise unto...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And she coming in that instant — God knows how to time what we call our accidental walks: “She coming in that instant” — Luk_2:38. Gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. So that the song of Simeon was sweetened by the voice of Anna, and they both rejoiced in God their Saviour; and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when they had performed all things,.... Relating to the purification of Mary, and the presentation and redemption of her firstborn, and the sacrifices and ceremonies belonging thereunto: according to the law of the Lord; which that directed to, and enjoined: they returned into Galilee: not that they came from thence to Jerusalem, but from...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the child grew,.... In body, in strength, and in stature; which shows that it was a true body Christ assumed, and like ours, which did not come to its maturity at once, but by degrees: and waxed strong in spirit, or in his soul; for as he had a true body, he had also a reasonable soul; the faculties of which were far from being weak, they were...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year,.... Joseph was obliged to go three times a year, as were all the males in Israel, at the feasts of the passover, pentecost, and tabernacles, Deuteronomy 16:16. The first of these is expressed here, at the feast of the passover; but the women were not obliged to go up: for so it is said by the Jews (p),...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when he was twelve years old,.... Not that he was now, בר מצוה, "a son of the commandment", (r) to use the Jewish phrase; or now came under the yoke of the law; or was obliged to the duties of adult church membership, as is asserted by some; nor particularly to go to Jerusalem to make his appearance at the feast of the passover, or any other...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when they had fulfilled the days,.... The seven days of the fear of unleavened bread, for so many days that feast was observed; and though it was not absolutely necessary, and obligatory upon them to stay all that time at Jerusalem, yet Mary and Joseph seem so to have done, as did the more religious and devout persons: as they returned; at the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
But they supposing him to have been in the company,.... That travelled together into the same parts, having been, as they, at Jerusalem to keep the feast: went a day's journey; either before they missed him; or if they missed him sooner, yet they went on inquiring for him in the company, until they were come a day's journey before they thought,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when they found him not,.... In the company that came from Jerusalem with them, nor among any of their relations and friends, with whom they supposed he was: they turned back again to Jerusalem, that is, the next morning, for it can hardly be thought they would set out that night, after they had travelled all day, without taking some repose:...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And it came to pass, that after three days,.... From their first setting out from Jerusalem, when Jesus tarried behind; or on the third day, which may be reckoned thus; the first day was spent in journeying, and the second in coming back the same journey, and the third day they sought all Jerusalem for him, when they found him in the temple; his...