1151 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And it came to pass in those days,.... When John the Baptist was born, and Christ was conceived, and his mother pregnant with him, and the time of his birth drew on. The Ethiopic version reads, "in that day"; as if it was the same day in which John was circumcised, and Zacharias delivered the above song of praise: that there went out a decree from...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And this taxing was first made,.... Or "this was the first enrolment, or taxing" in the Jewish nation; for there was another afterwards, when Judas the Galilean arose, and drew many after him, Acts 5:38. When Cyrenius was governor of Syria; or "of Cyrenius" "governor of Syria"; that is, it was the first that he was, concerned in; who not now, but...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And all went to be taxed,.... Throughout Judea, Galilee, and Syria; men, women, and children; every one into his own city; where he was born, and had any estate, and to which he belonged.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Joseph also went up from Galilee,.... Where he now lived, and worked at the trade of a carpenter; having for some reasons, and by one providence or another, removed hither from his native place: out of the city of Nazareth; which was in Galilee, where he and Mary lived; and where he had espoused her, and she had conceived of the Holy Ghost:...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife,.... Whom also he had married, though he had not known her in a carnal way; she came along with him to be taxed and enrolled also, because she was of the same family of David, and belonged to the same city: being great with child; very near her time, and yet, though in such circumstances, was obliged by this...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And so it was, that while they were there,.... At Bethlehem, waiting to be called and enrolled in their turn; the days were accomplished that she should be delivered; her reckoning was up, the nine months of her going with child were ended, and her full time to bring forth was come.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And she brought forth her firstborn son,.... At Bethlehem, as was predicted; and the Jews themselves own, that the Messiah is already born, and born at Bethlehem. They have a tradition, that an Arabian should say to a Jew (k) "Lo! the king Messiah is born; he said to him, what is his name? Menachem: he asked him, what is his father's name? he...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And there were in the same country shepherds,.... For Bethlehem was a place of pasture: near to Ephrata, the same with Bethlehem, were the fields of the wood, Psalms 132:6 and the tower of Edar or the tower of the flock, Genesis 35:21 and here David kept his father's sheep, 1 Samuel 17:15 so that we need not wonder to hear of shepherds here,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And lo, the angel of the Lord,.... It may be Gabriel, who had brought the tidings of the conception of the Messiah to the virgin, and now the birth of him to the shepherds: came upon them; on a sudden, unexpectedly, at once, and stood by them, as some versions read; or rather, stood over them, over their heads, just above them; so that he was...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the angel said unto them; fear not,.... For he was not a messenger of bad, but of good tidings: for behold, I bring you good tidings; tidings, that were both wonderful and amazing, and therefore a "behold" is prefixed to them, as well as to excite to attention; and which were good news, and glad tidings, for such the birth of Christ of a...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For unto you is born this day,.... Day is here put for a natural day, consisting both of night and day; for it was night when Christ was born, and the angels brought the tidings of it to the shepherds. The particular day, and it may be, month and year, in which Christ was born, cannot be certainly known; but this we may be sure of, it was in the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And this shall be a sign unto you,.... When they should come to Bethlehem, and to the inn where Joseph and Mary were: ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger; for though there might be many other children, in the inn, yet none else in swaddling clothes, at least lying in a manger: this sign would distinguish the new...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And suddenly there was with the angel,.... That brought the tidings of Christ's birth to the shepherds: a multitude of the heavenly host: who being caused to fly swiftly, were at once with him, by his side, and about him; and which was a further confirmation of the truth of his message to them: these were angels who were called an host, or army,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Glory to God in the highest,.... Which with the following words, are not to be considered as a wish, that so it might be, but as an affirmation, that so it was; for the glory of God is great in the salvation, peace, and reconciliation of his people by Jesus Christ, even the glory of all his perfections; of his wisdom and prudence in forming such a...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And it came to pass, as the angels,.... The Persic version reads in the singular number, "the angel: were gone away from them into heaven", from whence they came, and which was the place of their abode and residence; and therefore they are called the angels of heaven, where they always behold the face of God, hearken to the voice of his...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And they came with haste,.... In the night, leaving their flocks, to see their incarnate Lord, as Zacchaeus hastened down from the tree to receive the Saviour. The wonderfulness of the vision, the importance of the thing related, the eagerness of their spirits to see the thing that was told them, put them on making quick dispatch, and hastening to...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when they had seen it,.... Or "him", as the Arabic version reads, the child Jesus, or "them", Joseph, Mary, and the child; or this whole affair, as had been related to them: they made known abroad; not only in the inn, and among all the people there but throughout the city of Bethlehem, the saying which was told them concerning this child:...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And all they that heard it,.... What the shepherds related of what they had heard from the angel, and from Joseph and Mary, and what they had seen themselves; wondered at those things that were told them by the shepherds: for though they expected the Messiah, and that he would be born at Bethlehem, yet they did not imagine that he would be born of...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
But Mary kept all these things,.... Which the shepherds had related to her: and pondered [them] in her heart; or compared them in her mind, with what had been said to herself by the angel, and also by her husband, as well as what was said by Elisabeth at the time she made her a visit; but she said nothing of them to others, lest she should be...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the shepherds returned,.... From Bethlehem, to the fields, and to their flock there; glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard; from Joseph and Mary: and seen; as the babe lying in the manger: as it was told unto them; by the angel: they glorified God on account of the birth of the Messiah; and praised him, wondering...