Luke 2:35

(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. YEA, A SWORD SHALL PIERCE THROUGH THY OWN SOUL ALSO. 'Blessed though thou art among women, thou shalt have thine own deep share of the struggles and sufferings which this Babe is to occasion'-pointing not only to the obloquy to which He would be exposed through life, to those agonies of His on the cross which she was to witness, and to her own desolate condition thereafter, but perhaps also to dreadful alternations of faith and unbelief, of hope and fear regarding Him which she should have to lease through. THAT THE THOUGHTS OF MANY HEARTS MAY BE REVEALED - for men's views and decisions regarding Christ are a mirror in which the very thoughts of their hearts are seen....

35._But also a sword shall pierce thy own soul _This warning must have contributed greatly to fortify the mind of the holy virgin, and to prevent her from being overwhelmed with grief, when she came to those distressing struggles, which she had to undergo. Though her faith was agitated and tormented by various temptations, yet her sorest battle was with the cross: for Christ might appear to be utterly destroyed. She was not overwhelmed with grief; but it would have required a heart of stone not to be deeply wounded: for the patience of the saints differs widely from stupidity. _That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed _There are some who connect this clause with a part of the former verse, that Christ is _set for the ruin and for the resurrection of many in Israel; _and who include in a parenthesis what we have just now explained about the _sword: _but it is better, I think, to r...

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 salvation in his view! See here, how comfortable is the death of a good man; he departs in peace with God, peace with his own conscience, in peace with death. Those that have welcomed Christ, may welcome death. Joseph and Mary marvelled at the things which were spoken of this Child. Simeon shows them likewise, what reason they had to rejoice with trembling. And Jesus, his doctrine, and people, are still spoken against; his truth and holiness are still denied and blasphemed; his preached word is still the touchsto...

Verse 35. _YEA, A SWORD SHALL PIERCE THROUGH THY OWN SOUL ALSO_] Probably meaning, Thou _also_, as well as thy son, shall die a martyr for the truth. But as this is a metaphor used by the most respectable Greek writers to express the most _pungent sorrow_, it may here refer to the anguish Mary must have felt when standing beside the cross of her tortured son: John 19:25....

YEA, A SWORD ... - The sufferings and death of thy Son shall deeply afflict thy soul. And if Mary had not been thus forewarned and sustained by strong faith, she could not have borne the trials which came upon her Son; but God prepared her for it, and the holy mother of the dying Saviour was sustained. THAT THE THOUGHTS ... - This is connected with the preceding verse: “He shall be a sign, a conspicuous object to be spoken against, that the thoughts of many hearts may be made manifest - that is, that they “might show” how much they hated holiness. Nothing so “brings out” the feelings of sinners as to tell them of Jesus Christ. Many treat him with silent contempt; many are ready to gnash their teeth; many curse him; all show how much by nature the heart is opposed to religion, and thus are really, in spite of themselves, fulfilling the scriptures and the prophecies. So true it that “none...

EXPOSITION LUKE 2:1 _The Redeemer's birth_. LUKE 2:1 THERE WENT OUT A DECREE FROM CAESAR AUGUSTUS, THAT ALL THE WORLD SHOULD BE TAXED; more accurately, _that there should be a registration_, etc.; that is, with a view to the assessment of a tax. On the historical note of St. Luke in this passage much discussion has arisen, not, however, of much real practical interest to the ordinary devout reader. We will glance very briefly at the main criticism of this and the following verse. Respecting this general registration it is alleged (1) no historian of the time mentions such a decree of Augustus. (2) Supposing Augustus had issued such an edict, Herod, in his kingdom of Judaea, would

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 her soul; or else the sorrows she met with on account of her son: as he was a man of sorrows, so was she a woman of sorrows, from his cradle to his cross; and his sorrows, like so many darts, or javelins, rebounded from him to her, and pierced her soul through; as when Herod sought his life, Matthew 2:13 when she had lost him for a whole day, Luke 2:48 and when he was frequently exposed to d

Luke 2:1. And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 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:) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 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. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord cam...

CHAPTER 2 _ 1. The Birth of Christ at Bethlehem (Luke 2:1)_ 2. The Glad Tidings Announced to the Shepherds. (Luke 2:8) 3. The Circumcision and Presentation (Luke 2:21) 4. Simeon and His Prophecy (Luke 2:25) 5. Anna the Prophetess (Luke 2:36) 6. In Nazareth (Luke 2:39) 7. In the Temple (Luke 2:41) 8. The Increase ...

SIMEON. As the family enters the Temple they are met by Simeon, an aged man whose devout life and expectation of Messiah had been rewarded by a Divine intimation that he should live to see the Christ. He has been guided by the Spirit, and taking the child in his arms thanks God for the fulfilment of his heart's desire. He blesses the astonished parents, and tells the mother that the babe is destined to be a stumbling-block (Isaiah 8:14; Matthew 21:44) to many in Israel, a token (Isaiah 11:12) that shall be disputed, and a touchstone of hearts. The astonishment of Joseph and Mary, and the mention of them as parents, point to a different source from that of the narrative of the annunciation. With the Nunc Dimittis _cf._