Luke 2:40

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Luke 2:25-40

Even when he humbles himself, still Christ has honour done him to balance the offence of it. That we might not be stumbled at the meanness of his birth, angels then did him honour; and now, that we may not be offended at his being presented in the temple, like other children born in sin, and without any manner of solemnity peculiar to him, but silently, and in the crowd of other children, Simeon and Anna now do him honour, by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. I. A very honourable testimony is... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Luke 2:36-40

2:36-40 There was a prophetess called Anna. She was the daughter of Phanuel and she belonged to the tribe of Asher. She was far advanced in years. She had lived with her husband ever since seven years after she came to womanhood; and now she was a widow of eighty-four years of age. She never left the Temple and day and night she worshipped with fastings and with prayers. At that very time she came up and she began to give thanks to God and she kept speaking about him to all those who were... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Luke 2:40

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 exceeding strong, and appeared stronger and stronger every day; his understanding was clear, his judgment solid, and his memory strong and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Luke 2:40

The child grew - As to his body - being in perfect health. Waxed strong in spirit - His rational soul became strong and vigorous. Filled with wisdom - The divinity continuing to communicate itself more and more, in proportion to the increase of the rational principle. The reader should never forget that Jesus was perfect man, as well as God. And the grace of God was upon him - The word χαρις , not only means grace in the common acceptation of the word, (some blessing granted by... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Luke 2:40

Verse 40 40.And the child grew From the infancy of Christ Matthew passes immediately to his manifestation. (230) Luke relates here a single fact, which well deserved to be recorded. In the midst of his boyhood, Christ gave a specimen of his future office, or at least indicated, by a single attempt, what he would afterwards be. The child grew, and was invigorated in spirit These words show, that the endowments of his mind grew with his age. (231) Hence we infer, that this progress, or... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 2:21-40

Circumcision and presentation of the Child Jesus . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 2:21-40

The circumcision and presentation of Jesus. We pass now from the angel's sermon and the shepherds' faithful verification of it to the next notable events in the great life which embodies the gospel for mankind. And we have here— I. THE CIRCUMCISION . ( Luke 2:21 .) This was the admission of Jesus when only eight days old into the Old Testament Church. It was a painful, bloody process, and as such it was the beginning of that life of suffering upon which God's Son had determined... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 2:39-52

The childhood and the waiting-time. Before the age of twelve, nothing is told. In modern biographies, all kinds of traits, incidents, forecasts of the man in the child, are mentioned. The Apocryphal Gospels fall in with this custom. God's thoughts are not our thoughts. The child-life of "the Lord's Christ" is thoroughly simple. A bright-eyed boy, learning to read the Scriptures at his mother's knee, running out and in to shop and cottage, and joining sometimes in the innocent pastimes of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 2:40

And the Child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him . Another of this evangelist's solemn pauses in his narrative. In this short statement the story of twelve quiet years is told. From these few words St. Luke evidently understands the humanity of Jesus as a reality. The statement that "he waxed strong, filled with wisdom" (the words, "in spirit," do not occur in the older authorities), tells us that, in the teaching of SS . Paul and Luke,... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Luke 2:40

Strong in spirit - In mind, intellect, understanding. Jesus had a human soul, and that soul was subject to all the proper laws of a human spirit. It therefore increased in knowledge, strength, and character. Nor is it any more inconsistent with his being God to say that his soul expanded, than to say that his body grew.Filled with wisdom - Eminent for wisdom when a child - that is, exhibiting an extraordinary understanding, and “wise” to flee from everything sinful and evil.And the grace of God... read more

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