1151 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child,.... According to the original institution of circumcision, Genesis 17:12 and which was strictly observed by religious persons, as by the parents of our Lord here, and by those of John the Baptist, Lu 1:59 Hence the Apostle Paul reckons this among his privileges, that he could...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when the days of purification,.... Of the Virgin Mary, the mother of our Lord; though most copies read, "of their purification"; and so read the Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions, including both Mary and Jesus: and now, though Mary was not polluted by the conception, bearing, and bringing forth of Jesus, that holy thing born of her; yet...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
As it is written in the law of the Lord,.... In Exodus 13:2 every male that openeth the womb, shall be called holy to the Lord; that is, devoted and consecrated to him, and so to be redeemed. The reason of this law was this, when God smote all the firstborn of Egypt, he saved the firstborn of Israel; and therefore claimed a right to them, and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And to offer a sacrifice,.... That is, when the time of purification came, the parents of our Lord brought him from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, to present him in the temple to the Lord as his, and to redeem him; and not only so, but to offer the sacrifice required of child-bed women: according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, Leviticus...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And behold there was a man in Jerusalem,.... Not in Nazareth, or Bethlehem, but in Jerusalem, the metropolis of the nation: one that lived there, was an inhabitant of that city, and a person of fame and note. So Joseph ben Jochanan is called (z) איש ירושלם a man of Jerusalem, an inhabitant of that place: whose name was Simeon; not Simeon, הצדיק...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost,.... Not in a dream, as the wise men were warned, nor by an angel, as Joseph, nor by a voice from heaven, which the Jews call "Bath Kol", but by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, enlightening his understanding, and impressing on his mind: that he should not see death; an Hebraism, see it in Psalms...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he came by the Spirit into the temple,.... By the same Spirit of God, that revealed the above to him. The Ethiopic version renders it, "the Spirit brought him into the temple": but Simeon was not brought thither, as this version seems to suggest, in such manner as Ezekiel was brought by the Spirit to Jerusalem. Ezekiel 8:3 or as Christ was...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then took he him up in his arms,.... That same Spirit that had revealed unto him that he should not die till he saw the Messiah with his bodily eyes; and who by a secret impulse had moved him to go to the temple just at this time made known unto him that that child which Joseph and Mary then brought into the temple to present to the Lord, was the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant,.... He acknowledges him as his Lord, and to have a despotic power over him with respect to life and death; and himself as his servant, which he was, both by creation and grace: and though it expresses humiliation, and a sense of distance and unworthiness, yet to be a servant of the most high God, is a very high...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,.... The Messiah, who is often so called; see Genesis 49:18. He goes by the name of "salvation", because the salvation of God's elect is put into his hands, and he has undertook it; and because he is the author of it, he has fulfilled his engagements, and has accomplished what he promised to do; and because...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Which thou hast prepared,.... In his eternal purposes and decrees, having chosen and foreordained Christ, and appointed him to be his salvation, to the ends of the earth; in his counsel and covenant of grace wherein it was agreed, determined, and concluded on, that he should be the Saviour of his people; and in the promises and prophecies of the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
A light to lighten the Gentiles,.... Or for the revelation of the Gentiles; to reveal the love, grace, and mercy of God, an everlasting righteousness, and the way of life and salvation to them. Reference seems to be had to Isaiah 42:6. "Light", is one of the names of the Messiah in the Old Testament, as in Psalms 43:3 Daniel 2:22, which passages...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Joseph and his mother,.... The Vulgate Latin reads, "and his father and mother". The Ethiopic version retains both his name and his relation, and reads, "and Joseph his father, and his mother"; but all the ancient copies read only "Joseph", without the addition, his father; and so the Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions: they marvelled at...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...