Luke 2
DODDLuke 2:1-21
Christ is born at Bethlehem, and his birth revealed by an angel to some shepherds in the neighbourhood of that town; and he is circumcised on the eighth day. Luke II. 1—21.
LUKE II. 1.
NOW it came to pass in those days, or about the time in which John the Baptist was born and Christ conceived in the manner related above, that the Roman emperor, Augustus Cesar, published an edict, or decree, that all the land of Judea, which was then united under one prince and governed by Herod, should be publicly enrolled; or that the number of its inhabitants, both male and female, with their families
LUKE II. 1.
AND it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
² All the land.] Though cixsævns doth undoubtedly sometimes signify the whole world (Acts xvii. 31; Rom. x. 18; and Heb. i. 6,) and sometimes probably the Roman empire (as more especially in Rev. iii. 10; and xvi. 14;) see Elsner, in loc. yet I think the learned and ingenious Dr. Lardner hath fully proved that it is to be taken in a more limited sense both here and Acts xi. 28, as it plainly is,
Luke xxi. 26. (See Lardn. Credib. of Gosp. Hist. Part I. Vol. I. page 542; and Vol. II. page 574, & seq.) It is with peculiar propriety called the whole land, as it was soon after dismembered; and Nazareth, where Christ’s parents dwelt, was in a different division from Bethlehem, as Dr. Lardner well observes. That ætcyæon signifies a public enrolment, Elsner, on that text, hath evidently shewn.
A general enrolment of the Jews.
and estates, should be registered. This he ordered, as a token of his particular displeasure against Herod their king, and as an intimation that he intended quickly to lay them under a tax. And here we may observe by the way, that this was the first enrolment of the Jews, and was committed to the care of Cyrenius, or, as the Latins write it, Quirinius, a Roman senator; who, being [afterwards] governor of Syria,ᵇ made a second enrolment or taxation, which was so famous in the Jewish history for the tumults that attended it. And all the inhabitants of Judea were obliged to obey the edict, and went each of them to his own native city, or the place where his paternal inheritance lay,ᶜ to
ᵇ And this was the first enrolment of Cyrenius, afterwards governor of Syria. Ἐνὶ ἡ ἀπογραφή ἀγαθοῦν ἑγενεῖον ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν ἑγιωτικοῦν
of the taxing, which was afterwards made by Cyrenius, (when on the banishment of Archelaus, Judea was reduced to the form of a province, and annexed to Syria under the government of Cyrenius,) in opposition to which a disturbance was raised by Judas of Galilee, see Joseph. Antiq. Jud. lib. xviii. in fin. lib. xviii. cap. 1. § 1. Bel. Jud. lib. ii. cap. 8. § 1. and Acts v. 37. ᶜ Where his paternal inheritance lay.] Some have conjectured that Joseph might have a small estate here: but that is, at best, very uncertain; at least it is improbable that Jesus inherited it (Mat. viii. 20,) or that his mother enjoyed it during her widowhood. See John xix. 26, 27. It is true, indeed, that had the original settlement of the divine law been duly regarded, estates in the land of promise would have been unalienable; and every male descended from Jacob, and not of the tribe of Levi, must have been born heir to a certain portion of land, allotted to some of his ancestors, when the division was first made; on which, however it might have been mortgaged, he must, if his father were dead, have entered at the next jubilee, if he lived to see it. But things were now fallen into confusion. The small remains of the ten tribes who were brought back at all were, after their return from the captivity incorporated together in the neighbourhood of Judea, while strangers were in possession of large tracts of land once theirs; and the whole country of Samaria was in the hands of those whom the Jews looked upon as the vilest kind of Gentiles, that is, the Samaritans. All that appears as to the circumstance now before us is, that every one was obliged to be enrolled at the place to
Joseph and Mary come from Nazareth.
be enrolled: a circumstance wisely ordered by Providence, to verify the truth of ancient prophecies and introduce the promised Messiah; as, by their coming to be thus registered among the subjects of the Roman empire, the subjection of the Jews to the Romans very remarkably appeared.
And thus the parents of Christ were providentially brought to Bethlehem, the place where the Messiah was to be born, without leaving any room to suspect them of artifice and design: for, being thus obliged by the emperor’s authority, Joseph went up from Galilee, even out of the city of Nazareth, where he then dwelt, into the land of Judea, most properly so called, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, which was the town where his ancestors had formerly been settled: (for, notwithstanding Joseph was reduced so low as to follow the trade of a carpenter, yet he was originally of the family and royal household of David: d) It was to Bethlehem therefore that he went up to be enrolled; and thither he took with him, by divine direction, e Mary his espoused wife, who was now big with child, and very near the time of her delivery.
But the town was so crowded on this occasion, that they were obliged to lodge in the stable of a public house, though, in her present circumstances, it was so very inconvenient for her. And so it was that, while they were there, either waiting for the proper officer who was to register the people, or staying till their own turn came, the days of her pregnancy were fulfill-
which his family belonged; and the obedience of the Jews to this decree is a plain proof that they were now dependant on the Romans, and the sceptre was departing from Judah. See Lightfoot’s Harmony on Luke ii. 1; and compare Gen. xlix. 10, and Numb. xxiv. 24.
d Of the family and royal household of David.] I have here rendered an *family, and household; because I apprehend with Grotius, that it may refer to the divisions of the tribes into families and households. Compare Numb. i. 18, 17 seq. and Josh. vii. 17, 18. In this sense of the words, after having told us that Joseph was of the house of David, it would have been very unnecessary to add he was also of his family; but it was not at all
improper to say he was of his family and household too: for all the descendants of Eliab and his other brethren, if there were any such remaining, would have been of David’s family, yet not of his household. If the word lineage only signified descendants, it would be exceeding proper to give Luke’s sense; but, as I apprehend it includes collateral branches, I thought fit to change it.
e By divine direction.] One could hardly imagine he would otherwise have exposed her to the hazards of such a journey at so unseasonable a time; for, whatever the Emperor’s commands were, such a case as Mary’s must to be sure have been admitted as an excuse for her not complying with it.
An angel appears to the shepherds,
ed, and the time came that she should be delivered, And she brought forth her Son, even him that justly bears the character of the Firstborn; that glorious and excellent Person, who was the Firstborn of every creature, and the Heir of all things. And she no sooner was delivered, but immediately she swathed him; being so miraculously strengthened by God, in this hour of extremity, as to be able to perform that office herself; and, having no other conveniency near, she laid him in a manger which belonged to one of the stalls there; because (as we have just now said) there was no room for them in any of the chambers belonging to the inn.
And there were some shepherds in that country who were then lying out in the field and watching, in their turns, over their flocks by night; which it was necessary they should do, to guard against the wolves and other beasts of prey which were common there. And, behold, on a sudden, an angel of the Lord came upon them, and appeared in a visible form, standing in the air over their heads; and their eyes were immediately directed to it by the glory of the Lord, which shone round about them with such incomparable lustre, as had in former ages been the usual symbol of the Divine Presence; And they were exceedingly terrified at so uncommon and
The Firstborn.] See before the paraphrase and note 1, on Mat. i. 25. Sect. 8. p. 35.
Being so miraculously strengthened, [etc.] I had in the first edition, here and in many other places, inserted the word probably in the paraphrase: but, on the whole, considering that in all such performances the author, and not the paraphrast, is supposed to speak, I judge it more proper here to remind my reader (as I have elsewhere intimated) that he is to take it for granted I do not pretend in this instance, and a great many others, to speak confidently; but that the different character, which distinguishes the divine next from my fallible, though upright, attempts to illustrate it, must guide him in determining what is certain, and what only probable, and perhaps, after all, very doubtful.
A manger which belonged to one of the stalls there.] Though Heinsius has learnedly proved that the same
signifies a stall, yet it is certain that more frequently it signifies a manger; and the manger was the most proper part of the stall in which the Infant could be laid. If (as tradition says) this stable was cut out of a rock, the coldness of it must, at least by night, have greatly added to its other inconveniences.
Watching in their turns over their flock by night.] The original φυλατσονις φυλακας της νυκίας, might more literally be rendered, keeping the watches of the night; which intimates their taking it by turns to watch according to the usual divisions of the night. And as it is not probable that they exposed their flocks to the coldness of winter nights in that climate where, as Dr. Shaw has shown, they were so very unwholesome (see Shaw’s Travels, p. 379,) it may be strongly argued, from this circumstance, that those who have fixed upon December for the birth of Christ have been mistaken in the time of it.
With the glad tidings of the birth of
so awful an appearance. And, while they stood in silent amazement, the angel said unto them, in the mildest and most condescending manner, Be not affrighted, O ye shepherds! for the design of my appearance to you hath nothing terrible in it; but, on the contrary, behold, and take the most thankful notice of it, I bring you good news, and greet you with the tidings of great and universal joy, which shall be now occasioned, not only to you, but to all people in the whole Jewish nation, yea, and to all the human race. For this very day, this welcome blessed day, there is born unto you, and unto all nations, a Glorious Saviour who is, even Christ the Lord, that Illustrious sovereign, whom you have so long been taught to expect, by the title, and under the character, of the MESSIAH: He is even now born in the neighbouring city of David his royal father; and I call you to offer him your earliest homage. Go, therefore, into the town without any farther delay, and inquire after him: for this [shall be] a sign to you, by which you will easily know him: you will find him an infant in swaddling bands, lying in a manger belonging to one of the inns.
And immediately, to confirm them in the belief of so strange a truth as that this illustrious Prince should be born in such mean circumstances as he had now described, there was seen with the angel that spake to them a great multitude of the celestial army praising God, and saying, in the most cheerful and harmonious accents, Glory be to God in the highest heavens, and let all the angelic legions resound his praises in the most exalted strains: for with the Redeemer’s birth peace and all kinds of happiness come down to dwell on earth; yea, the overflowings of divine benevolence and favour are now exercised towards sinful men, who, through this
k There is born unto you.] That one of the Bodleian manuscripts reads it, μαι Christology, Vol. I. p. 80.] I should rather to us, is of very little weight, considering the consent of copies on the other side; and affords but a very slender support, to Mr. Fleming’s conjecture, that this was a glorified human spirit, perhaps that of Adam, all whose hap descendants might, of these words. I do not mean as to the he thinks, make up the chorus. (Fleming’s Christology, Vol. I. p. 80.] I should rather imagine, with Grotius, that this angel was Gabriel. 1 Glory to God in the highest; and peace on earth; benevolence and favour towards men.] I am well aware of the ambiguity of these words. I do not mean as to the
shepherds come and find him in a manger.
Saviour become the objects of his complacential delight: Echo it back, O ye mortal abodes, to ours! “Glory to God in the highest! on earth peace! benevolence and favour unto men!”
And it came to pass that, as soon as the angels departed from them, and returned back into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Come, let us go immediately to Bethlehem, and see this great thing which is done, even this wonderful and important event which the Lord hath so graciously made known unto us. And, accordingly, with one consent, they came in haste, before the night was over, leaving their flocks to the care of Providence; and, entering into the town, they followed the direction which the angel gave them, and quickly found Mary and Joseph, and the newborn Infant with them, just in the circumstance which had been described, lying in a manger. And, when they had viewed this scene of wonders, and had attentively considered [it,] they humbly paid their dutiful respects unto their newborn Saviour; and having acquainted his parents with the marvellous vision they had seen, they immediately published abroad a full account of this
reading: For though the Alexandrian, and other manuscripts, instead of ἰσόκαι, give it ἰσόκαι, as if the angels were proclaiming peace to men of favour and goodwill, or unto those who were the objects of the divine benevolence and complacency; (which is a reading that has been approved by many learned men, and in particular by Beza;) yet I think the authority of that is overborne by the more general consent of the most ancient manuscripts, as well as by the versions of the oldest date, and the quotations of the fathers in the most early ages, which almost universally oppose it. (See Mill and Grotius on the place.) But, taking the original as it stands, Δοξία ἐν ὑψίς, Ὅπε, καὶ ἐπὶ γῆν, ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ ἰσόκαι, we must allow it to be capable of different senses. Some chose to render it, Glory to God in the highest, (that is, in heaven,) and on earth; peace, yea favour, towards men: But then, I think, instead of ἐν ὑψίς, it rather would have been ἐν ἱεράν, for so it is always usual to express, in heaven and upon earth. (Compare Mat. vi. 10; Luke xi. 2; 1 Cor. viii. 5; Eph. i. 10; iii. 15; Col. i. 16, 20; Rev. v. 3, 13.) Others have given as the sense of it, that the goodwill,
or favour, which is now shewn to men, is the glory of God in the highest, and is the peace or happiness of those that dwell on earth: And this indeed is an important sense, and the original well enough will bear it. But thus to change the doxolog into a kind of proverb or aphorism, see to destroy much of its beauty. I rather think that they are all to be considered as the words of a rejoicing acclamation, and that they strongly represent the piet and benevolence of these heavenly spirits, and their affectionate good wishes for the prosperity of the Messiah’s kingdom. (Compare Mat. xxi. 9; Mark xi. 10; and especially Luke xix. 38.) The new translation that has been lately published, where it is rendered, to men on earth felicity in the divine favour, does indeed express the sense of the two latter clauses, but by no means with equal ardour. The shouts of a multitude are generally broken into short sentences, and are commonly elliptic; which is the only cause of the ambiguity here. As this beauty could not be preserved in a paraphrase, I have repeated the words, after they had been explained.
They return glorifying and praising God
remarkable occurrence, and gave a particular relation of the whole of that which had been told them, in so wonderful a way, concerning this Child. And, upon hearing this strange account, there was a general surprise; and, though they were prevented, by the meanness of his birth, from shewing a due regard to one that made no better an appearance, yet all that heard [it] were astonished at those things which were related to them by the shepherds on this subject. But Mary in particular treasured up all these things, and carefully retained them in her memory; and, though she did not blaze them abroad among the populace, or make any vain boast of such extraordinary favours and testimonies, yet she attentively regarded all these wonderful events, entering into the meaning [of them] in the secret reflections of her heart, and improving them all, as a further confirmation of what had been before revealed to her, and a foundation for the early acting of her faith and reverence towards her Divine Son.
And the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things which they had heard and seen at Bethlehem, so perfectly agreeable in every circumstance to the account they had received but just before, as it was told unto them by the angel; admiring the mercy of God in sending such a Saviour, and his condescension in favouring them with such early discoveries of him.
And when eight days from the birth of this Holy Infant were fulfilled, (that is, when the eighth day was come,) his pious parents failed not, according to the Mosaic law, under which they were placed, to circumcise the Child; that so, though he had not any corruptions of nature to mortify, which was in part represented by that institution, he might nevertheless, in a regular manner, be initiated into the Jewish Church,
m Entering into the meaning, &c.] I apprehend Elsner has abundantly vindicated this sense of the word συμεχέλεια, in his note on this place.
n Which they had heard and seen at Bethlehem.] Joseph and Mary would, no doubt, upon such an occasion, give them
an account of those particulars, which the sacred historians have recounted above relating to the conception of this Divine Infant; and this interview must greatly confirm and comfort the minds of all concerned.
Reflections on the birth of Christ.
called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
and thereby be engaged to the duties and entitled to the privileges of a son of Abraham, according to that covenant. And his name was called JESUS, that is, the Divine Saviour; a name by which the angel had called him before he was conceived in the womb of his virgin mother.
X. Luke II. 21
IMPROVEMENT.
WITH what humble amazement should we contemplate this verse first appearance of our Incarnate Redeemer! Surely all the an- 6, 7 gels of heaven might justly have admired his condescension in assuming such a nature as ours, and wearing a mortal frame, though it had been attended with all the ornaments and splendors earth could have given it. Though, at his entrance into our low world, he had been born of an imperial family, placed under a canopy of velvet and gold, or laid to repose on pillars of down, all this had been deep abasement in the eyes of those who had beheld the glories of his celestial throne, and the honours paid him by cherubims and seraphims: But, behold, the Son of God, and the Heir of all things, is not merely in the abodes of men, but in a place destined for beasts, and, while wrapped in swaddling clothes, is laid in a manger!
Yet, O blessed Jesus, how much more venerable was that stable and manger, when graced with thy sacred presence, than the most 12 magnificent palace, or most shining throne of earthly princes! How ill doth it become thy disciples to seek for themselves great things in this life, or to be proud of its pomp and grandeur! Give us, O God, the simplicity of children, and make us willing to be conformed to the birth of thy Son as well as to his death!
Yet, mean as his birth might appear, his Heavenly Father did not leave him without witness. We see him, in this wonderful 9 account that the Evangelist hath given us, surrounded with a brighter lustre than a court or a crown could have afforded. Angelic legions are employed as heralds to proclaim the newborn 11 King. And to whom are they sent? To humble pious shep- 8 herds, diligently employed in the duties of their proper calling, and watching by night for the security of their flocks. Who would not gladly have shared in their poverty and fatigue, to have heard with them these good tidings of great joy? 10
Let us observe with what delight these courtiers of heaven 13,14 undertook the happy embassy to these lowly mortals. Let us
His name was called Jesus.] Grotius of them inhabitants of Bethlehem, their thinks there might be an assembly of most kinswoman would not, in such circumof the remainders of David’s family on this stances, have been reduced to the necesoccasion; but surely, had there been many sity of lodging in a stable.
The purification of Mary.
with pleasure attend to the anthem of these benevolent spirits. X. Far from envying the favour that was done us, they ascribe glory to God for it, and take their part in the joy they give. Let this love of the whole heavenly host to us awaken our love to them, and our longing for that blessed world where we and they shall surround our dearest Redeemer, not in such a form of abasement as that in which he here appeared, but clothed in that celestial lustre with which God hath rewarded the humiliations of the manger and the cross.
In the mean time let our more intimate concern in this great salvation engage us more cordially to join with these blessed angels in their hallelujahs; ascribing glory to God in the highest for this peace on earth, this goodwill towards men, the great fountain of our present tranquillity and future hope! Above all, if Divine Grace hath conquered all the foolish prejudices of our hearts against Christ, and taught us with humble faith to apply to him, let us, with the shepherds, bless God for the things which have been shewn us, and make it our care to spread abroad the favour of his name, that others may join with us in paying their homage and their praises to him!
Luke 2:22-39
The purification of Mary and her offering in the temple; where Christ is presented to God, and has a very memorable testimony given him by Simeon and Anna. Luke II. 22—39.
LUKE II. 22. SECT. AND after Mary had been thus delivered of AND when the days of her purification, according to the law of Moses, were accomplished, were fulfilled, Jesus was taken by his parents
a Her purification; καθαρισμω αυλος.] The Alexandrian, and some other manuscripts, read αυλος; and, as it must be owned that both mother and child, for a while after the birth, were looked upon as ceremonially unclean, i might not be improper (with Erasmus and some of the most considerable expositors) to admit this reading, and to render it their purification, as referring to them both. For, notwithstanding it is true that Christ had no moral impurity, from which he needed to be cleansed, yet we may well enough suppose him, as he bore our sins, to have submitted to this ordinance as well as
circumcision: and as he came into the world, made of a woman, made under the law, he would be ready to comply with any institution of the law, that he might thus fulfil all righteousness. But as the law that is referred to in this place, speaks only of the woman, and of the sacrifice that was appointed to be offered for her purifying, I have retained the common reading, and have made no alteration in the version.
b The forty days—were fulfilled.] Mr. Whiston has supposed in his Harmony, (prop. xiv. page 158, & seq.) that these forty days were not accomplished till their
Jesus is brought to be presented in the temple.
from the place where he was born, and, in obedience to the divine command, they brought him to Jerusalem, there to present him as a firstborn son before the Lord in the temple; According as it is written in the law of the Lord (Exod. xiii. 2; Numb. viii. 16, 17) that “every firstborn male shall be called holy to the Lord, and shall be treated as devoted in a peculiar manner to his service.” Agreeable to this precept they now went up to redeem him, at the price of five shekels, which was the sum appointed to be paid for every eldest son, without any regard to the condition of the family (compare Numb. xviii. 15, 16.) And to offer a sacrifice, according to what is enjoined in the law of the Lord, Lev. xii. 6, 8; where they, whose circumstances were so mean as that they could not conveniently afford a lamb, are ordered to bring a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons;
return from Egypt: But although this may give the easiest solution to ver. 39, it rowds so many events into that little space, and so entirely depends on a precarious hypothesis, that Christ was born about a tenth before the death of Herod (which I think Mr. M. M. has entirely overthrown, in his Dissertation on the birth of Christ, p. 42-45,) that it seems evident upon the whole, that the purification preceded the flight into Egypt, as most Harmonizers have thought. But whether the purification was before or after the visit of the wise men is not so plain: I have placed it before chiefly that I might not interrupt the thread of the story; and partly because the meanness of the virgin’s sacrifice makes it probable she had not then received the presents that were offered by the wise men. Nevertheless, I acknowledge it very possible that the purification might happen during the interval of Herod’s waiting for the return of the wise men; and that the holy family might go from Jerusalem to Egypt the very night after Jesus had been presented in the temple; as Garthwait intimates in his excellent Harmony (chap. xi. xii.) which is so accurately and judiciously composed, that, as far as I can judge, most of the faults in Le Clerc, Whiston, Wells, &c. may be corrected by it. It was first printed at Cambridge, 1634, and is almost entirely the same with that which was afterwards published under the name of Mr. Locke’s Life o Christ. After
all, I shall only observe that this is one of the many instances in which the order of the sacred story cannot be circumstantially determined with demonstrative evidence.
e They went up to redeem him.] God having acquired a peculiar right to the firstborn of Israel, by preserving them amidst the destruction brought on the firstborn of the Egyptians, though he had accepted of the tribe of Levi as an equivalent, yet would have the memory of it preserved by this little acknowledgment of five shekels (or about twelve shillings and sixpence of our money,) which was the price that every firstborn child must be redeemed at; and in case of an omission here, it might reasonably have been expected that the child should be cut off by some judgment. The firstborn therefore were redeemed by paying of this money, in such a sense as all the people were when, at the time that they were numbered, each of them paid half a shekel as a ransom for their souls, that there might be no plague among them; as there might otherwise have been if that acknowledgment of the Divine Goodness had been omitted: Exod. xxx. 12-16. But that the five shekels demanded for the firstborn were paid to redeem them from being sacrificed on the altar, is one of the most false and malicious insinuations that ever came even from the most inveterate enemy of revelation
Simeon em raceh Christ.
which offering suited best the virgin’s rank in life, and she did not affect on this occasion to exceed it.
And behold, there was then at Jerusalem a certain man, whose name was Simeon; and he [was] one that was a singularly righteous and religious person, who was waiting, with many others at that time, for the coming of the Messiah, the great expected consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit of prophecy was sometimes in an extraordinary manner upon him: And among other things it was divinely revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not die before he had seen the Great Anointed of the Lord, and his eyes had beheld the promised Messiah.
And he came under the secret, but powerful impulse of the Spirit, into the temple, just at the juncture of time when [his] parents brought in the child Jesus into the court of Israel there, that they might do for him according to the custom which the authority of the divine law had required and established in such cases. And when the pious Simeon had discovered him by his prophetic gift, and saw that well known prophecy accomplished, (Hag. ii. 7) that the Desire of all nations should come into that second temple, he was transported at the sight of this desirable Child, and took him with a sacred rapture into his arms, and praised God, and said, with the highest elevations of devotion and joy, Now, O, my Sovereign Lord and Master, I thankfully acknowledge that thou dismissest thy servant to the repose of the grave in peace; and I can
d Whose name was Simeon.] Had Simeon been, as some suppose, the president of the council, and father of the celebrated Gamaliel, St. Luke would probably have inserted so honourable a circumstance.
e The consolation of Israel.] This is a phrase that frequently is used, both by the ancient and modern Jews, for a description of the Messiah. The days of consolation is a common phrase among them, to signify the days of the Messiah; nor is there any thing more usual with them than to swear by their desire of seeing this consolation; as Dr. Lightfoot proves by several instances, Hor. Hebr. in loc. And it is easy to observe that the same way of
speaking was made use of by the prophets, who often introduce the promise of the Messiah’s coming, to comfort the people of God in their afflictions. Compare Isa. xlix. 13; lii. 9; lxvi. 13; Jer. xxxi. 13; and Zech. i. 17.
f That he should not die.] Our translation, that he should not see death, is most literal; but I did not apprehend the anti-thesis, between seeing death, and seeing Christ, to be intended as at all material and therefore did not retain the Hebraism.
g Thou dismissest thy servant in peace.] There may perhaps be an allusion here to the custom of saying, especially to an inferior, when parting, Go in peace. See note, on Luke vii. 50. sect. lx.
he prophecy o Simeon.
die with pleasure, since thou hast dealt with me according to the gracious engagements of thy word to me; For mine eyes have at length beheld him, whom thou hast appointed as the great instrument of thy long expected salvation; Even that salvation, which thou hast prepared to set before the face of all people, as the glorious object of their faith and hope; Or daining him to be a light for the illumination of the Gentiles, to reveal the way of life to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, as well as giving him to be the consolation and the glory of thy people Israel, who have the honour of being peculiarly related to him.
And when they heard this glorious testimony given to the infant Jesus, Joseph and his mother were astonished at those things which were spoken of him by so eminent a prophet; which appeared to them so much the more remarkable when compared with the miraculous circumstances which had attended his conception and birth.
And Simeon, in the warmth of his devotion, blessed them both, praying affectionately for them, that the favour of God might continually attend them; and said to Mary his mother, Behold this [Child] of thine is appointed for an occasion of the fall and rising again of many in Israel, as he in fact shall be the means of bringing aggravated ruin upon some by their rejecting him, as well as of procuring salvation and recovery to others on their believing in him; and his appearance in the world shall be such as if he was intended and set up for a mark of contradiction and reproach,h to be a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence to many, while he shall be to others for a sanctuary, (Isai. viii. 14.) Tea, with such cruel malice and indignity shall he be treated, that the time will come when a dart shall (as it were) pierce through thine own soul,i
h A mark of contradiction and reproach.] The word πημωρ seems here to be used for a mark or butt to shoot or dart at; which finely intimates the deliberate malice and hellish artifice with which the character and person of Christ was assaulted while he endured the contradiction of sinners against himself, Heb. xii. 3.
i A dart shall pierce through thine own soul.] Though φυματιπ seems often to signify a sword, as particularly, in Rev. i. 16; ii. 12, 16; vi. 8;) yet we are assured by Grotius it properly signifies a Thracius javelin. It may perhaps (as L’Enfant observes) be a beautiful allusion to the preceding figure, as if it had been told her;
The testimony of Anna.
and wound thee in the most sensible manner, when thou art witness to those agonies which shall penetrate his. But these strange revolutions shall be permitted, and these mysterious scenes of Providence be opened, that the secret thoughts and reasonings of many hearts may be disclosed; or that the real characters of men may be discovered, and the sincerity of those who are approved may be made manifest; while the hypocrisy and earthly mindedness of those, who intend only their own secular advantage, under the specious pretence of waiting for the Messiah’s kingdom, shall be exposed; who will be soon offended at the obscure form of his appearance, and at the persecutions which shall attend him and his cause.
And there was also [one] Anna a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, a person of some considerable note in the tribe of Asher. She was now very far advanced in years, having lived only seven years with a husband from the time of her virginity: And, as her husband died while she was very young, she had now been a widow about eighty four years; who, whatever estate she might have in the country, departed not from Jerusalem, but kept always so near the temple as to be able to resort thither at the hours of morning and evening sacrifice; serving [God] with frequent fastings and prayers in which this devout matron spent a considerable part of the night as well as of the day.¹ And she coming in at that very time, which was the hour of prayer, joined with Simeon in what he had done, and publicly made her acknowledgments to the Lord,² that is, to Jesus, who was now present
that the darts levelled at her son should be reflected from his breast to hers in such a manner as to wound her very heart. Whether it be rendered sword or dart it must undoubtedly refer to the part the holy virgin took in all the reproaches and persecutions which Jesus met with; but never was it so signally fulfilled as when she stood by the cross, and saw him at once so scornfully insulted and so cruelly murdered. See John xix. 25.
k Had now been a widow about eighty four years.] I know that Grotius and many others interpret this of her whole age; but I think it most natural to sup-
pose that the time of her marriage is opposed to that of her widowhood.
l In which she spent a considerable part of the night as well as of the day.] This is plainly the meaning of night and day, nor can the expression possibly signify more. Perhaps she might sometimes attend those anthems which the priests sung in the temple during the night watches, Ps. cxxxiv. 1, 2; to which David may also allude, Psal. cxix. 62.
m Made her acknowledgments to the Lord, that is, to Jesus: Ἀνθρώπους τῷ Κυρίῳ. The late English version renders it, She expressed her thanks to the Lord, and opate a
afterwards spake concerning her acquaintance in Jerusalem, like her, for the prom-Israel by the Messiah, of the earance there was an earnest among the pious and de-ted period of his coming roached.^(n) SECT. XI. Luke II. 38 of Jesus, when they had per-ccording to the law of the Lord, usalem; and full of admiration timonies that were given to some time afterwards returned own city Nazareth,^(p) which 39 and of the holy family’s retiring into Egypt; and so has taken no notice of their returning any more to Bethlehem. But there is no sufficient reason to conclude from hence, that these occurrences were antecedent to the purification of Mary, and that the holy family immediately returned from Jerusalem to Nazareth. For we have many other instances of a like kind, where events are connected by Luke, and the other Evangelists, which did not immediately follow each other; of which Luke xxiv. 50, is particularly memorable, as will be shewn in its proper place. I have expressed it therefore with some latitude, as it seems to me probable that upon leaving Jerusalem, they returned to Bethlehem, where they were visited by the wise men; and which, as they had found it to be the place appointed for the birth of Christ, they might suppose also to be the place designed for his education and abode, and might not choose to remove from thence till God had ordered them to do it. (See Lightfoot’s Harmony, Mat. ii. init.) However, if they now returned to Nazareth, it is more than possible that Providence might bring them afterwards to Bethlehem, upon some occasion or other, that when the wise men came to inquire after Jesus they might find him in the place to which they were directed. See Mr. Manne’s first Dissertation on the birth of Christ. p. 41, 42, and compare note^(n) on Mat. ii. 11, in the next section. ^(p) To their own city Nazareth.] It hath been suggested to me by a very learned and ingenious writer, since the publication of the preceding note, that the parents of Christ carried him back from Jerusalem to Bethlehem after the purification, and lived there a year of more before the M
Reflections on the testimonies
was the place of their usual residence, and where XI. (as will be seen hereafter) this Blessed Infant Luke passed the days of his childhood and youth. II. 39
IMPROVEMENT.
Who can behold the pious Simeon thus welcoming death, whilst 28 he embraced his Saviour, without wishing to pass over the intermediate moments of life to meet so peaceful a dissolution? May we, like him, approve ourselves the faithful servants of God; 29 and then we may hope that, when our dismissal comes, we shall share in his serenity and joy! 30 We may comfortably expect it, if our eyes are now opened to 31 behold with wonder and delight the great salvation he has prepared for his people; and if our hearts, with our lips, are frequently praising him for this light which he hath given to lighten the Gentiles as well as to be the glory of his people Israel. 34 As such may Christ be universally owned and adored, both by Jews and Gentiles! In the mean time, while he is set up as a mark of contradiction and contempt, let us not be ashamed of him or of his words; but rather let those indignities which are offered to him be as a sword to pierce through our own souls. Let us remember that the gospel, with all the difficulties which attend it, is the great touchstone by which God will try the characters of all to whom it comes. May our ready acceptance of it, and our zealous adherence to that sacred cause, approve the humble sincerity with which we inquire into its evidence; that Christ may not be to us a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence, but rather the means of raising us to God and happiness, even to that redemption for which they that wait shall never be ashamed! Our circumstances in life are various: There are comparatively few who have such leisure for extraordinary devotion as 36 was the privilege of the pious Anna: Where it is found let it be valued and improved: But how great and how many soever our engagements and entanglements in life may be, let the care of 37 our souls be still our chief concern. Let us be serving God, in one sense or another, night and day; with prayers, pouring out our souls before him morning and evening; and at proper seasons adding fasting to prayer, and public solemnities to private retirements!
came; Joseph probably thinking it his duty to settle there, from the persuasion he had, that this wonderful Child was the Messiah, and that the Messiah was to be educated, as well as born, at Bethlehem, David’s city. From hence he removed to Egypt; and when he was directed to come back, Joseph appears to have designed to return with Jesus to Bethle-
hem, had not God commanded him to go to Nazareth, a place which he seems to have esteemed too contemptible to be the abode of so illustrious a person. And this gentleman thinks that when Nazareth is here called the town after, their own city, it intimates an attempt to settle elsewhere in a city that was not their own.
of Simeon and Anna.
To conclude; let the example of these aged saints impress and animate those whose hoary heads, like theirs, are a crown of glory, being found in the way of righteousness. (Prov. xvi. 31.) Let those venerable lips, so soon to be silent in the grave, be now employed in shewing forth the praises of their Redeemer. Surely days should speak, and the multitude of years should teach, such wisdom. (Job xxxii. 7.) Such fruit may they produce in old age; and may they have the pleasure to see all these pious attempts most thankfully received by the rising generation, and most gratefully received by them; that they may quit the world with the greater tranquillity, in the view of leaving those behind them to whom Christ shall be as precious as he hath been to them, and who will be waiting for God’s salvation, while they are gone to enjoy it! Amen.
Luke 2:40
Jesus, at the age of twelve years, comes up to the passover at Jerusalem, and there discourses with the doctors in the temple. Luke II. 40, to the end.
LUKE II. 40.
XIV. AND the child Jesus, being returned to Nazareth, was educated in that city under the care of Joseph and his mother, and there grew up, and became strong in Spirit, discovering early marks of a sublime and heavenly genius, and visibly appearing to be filled with an uncommon portion and degree of wisdom; and it was plainly to be seen that the grace of God was eminently upon him; so that he made an extraordinary progress in knowledge and piety betimes, and was thus looked upon as a distinguished favourite of heaven. (Compare Judg. xiii. 24, 25.)
LUKE II. 40.
AND the Child grew, and waxed strong in Spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.
us goes up with his parents to Jerusalem.
Now his pious parents went early to Jerusalem at the feast of the passover; as it was usual for those families to do that were remarkably religious, though only the adult males were by the law obliged to appear before the Lord on this occasion. (Compare 1 Sam. i. 3, 7, 21.) And when he was twelve years old, and so, according to the Jewish maxims, came under the yoke of the law,² his parents, when they went up to Jerusalem, according to the usual custom of the feast, thought it proper to take him with them, to celebrate that glorious deliverance which God had so many ages ago wrought for his people when he brought them out of Egypt, the memory of which was carefully to be transmitted to every succeeding generation. (Compare Exod. xii. 26, 27.)
And when they had finished all the religious solemnities to be observed in the days of unleavened bread, and were returning home, the child Jesus, charmed with the sacred entertainments of the temple, and eagerly desirous of improving in the knowledge of his Father’s law, staid behind them in Jerusalem; and neither Joseph nor his mother were aware [of it.] But though they saw he was not with them, yet, knowing his sociable temper, they supposed he was somewhere in the company (as several families travelled together on such occasions:) And they went a whole day’s journey before they missed him; and then, in the evening, they sought for him amongst their kindred and acquaintance, who were their companions in the journey, and with whom they concluded he had been. And, not finding him with them, they returned immediately, and came back to Jerusalem, seeking him every where with great concern, and ready to suspect that some hostile assault might have been made upon him.
And, three days after their setting out,³ they
² a Came under the yoke of the law.] Though I am not satisfied of the truth of Grotius’s assertion, that the Jewish children under this age were called KETANIM, or little ones, and afterwards NEKHARIM, or children, (since it is certain that the word NEKHAR is often used for those under that V l.
age; see 1 Sam. i. 24; Judg. xiii. 24; and Hos. xi. 1, 3;) yet I think the fact asserted in the paraphrase is generally allowed by learned men. See Wotton’s Miscel. Vol. I. p. 320; and Lightf. Hor. Heb. in loc. b Three days after their setting out.] The first day was spent in their journey.
He conferreth with the doctors in the temp
ound him in an apartment of the temple, where the teachers of the law used to lecture upon it to the people; and where young persons in particular were examined, and had a liberty to ask what questions they thought proper, for their farther information.ᶜ Here was Jesus sitting in the midst of the doctors, whose profession it was to teach on these occasions; for he had placed himself among others at their feet,ᵈ and was, with all possible diligence, both attending to them, and asking them such questions as he judged proper for the further illustration of what they said.
And all who heard him, considering the tenderness of his age, were in a perfect transport of admirationᵉ at his understanding, and at the penetration which he shewed, both in the questions he put to them, and also in the answers he returned to what they asked him.
And when he was discovered by his parents, and they saw him thus employed, they likewise were struck with wonder: and his mother said unto him, O my son, why hast thou dealt thus with us? behold, this is now the third day that thy father and I have sought thee, from place to place, with inexpressible anxiety and distress.
And he said unto them, What is the cause that you have sought me with so much concern? and why is it you were at such a loss where you should find me? Did ye not know that I ought to be at my Father’s?ᶠ and that wherever I was, I
homeward, the second in their return to Jerusalem, and the third in searching after Christ there.—The word וַיִּהְיֶה, it came to pass, is a mere expletive; and not imagining that the rules of the most faithful and exact translation would oblige me always to retain it, I have frequently omitted it.
c For their farther information.] All these things are so well illustrated and confirmed by Dr. Lightfoot, in his Hor. Heb. on this place, that I cannot but refer the reader thither. See also Drusius’s excellent note on this place.
d Sitting—at their feet.] I have often thought it a great injury to the character of our Blessed Redeemer, to represent this story, whether in pictures or words, as if Christ at this tender age, went up into the seats of the doctors, and there disputed with them. Not one word is said of his
disputing by the Evangelist, but only of his asking some questions and answering others, which was a very usual thing in these assemblies, and indeed the very end of them. All was, no doubt, conducted with the utmost modesty and decorum. And if he were with others at the feet of these teachers (where learners generally sat, see Luke x. 39; and Acts xxii. 3,) he might be said to be in the midst of them, as they sat on benches of a semicircular form, raised above their auditors and disciples.
e Were in a transport of admiration.] Every learned reader must know that the word וַיִּהְיֶה here, and וַיִּהְיֶה in the next verse, are much more forcible than our translation of them, and much more literally rendered here.
f I ought to be at my Father’s; וַיִּהְיֶה שָׁמְרָה בְּשֵׁם שָׁמְרָה בְּשֵׁם שָׁמְרָה בְּשֵׁם שָׁמְרָה בְּשֵׁם שָׁמְרָה בְּשֵׁם שָׁמְרָה בְּשֵׁם שָׁמְרָה בְּשֵׁם שָׁמְרָה בְּשֵׁם שָׁ
He returns with his parents to azaret i.
should be so employed in his service as to be secure of his protection? And they did not perfectly understand the words which he spake unto them upon this occasion,⁸ as being expressed in something of a concise and ambiguous manner.
And he went down into the country with them, and came to Nazareth; and there he did not assume any air of superiority on account of the extraordinary applause he had met with from the people who had heard him in the temple, but still continued subject to his parents, and respectful to them, as a most dutiful and obedient child. And his mother kept all these sayings and occurrences in her heart, and often reflected very seriously upon them.
And Jesus advanced considerably in wisdom, as well as in age and stature,⁹ and grew proportionably in favour both with God and men; his behaviour being not only remarkably religious, but so benevolent and obliging, as to gain the friendship and affection of all that were about him.
IMPROVEMENT.
LET us, who are heads of families, take occasion from the verse story before us to renew our resolutions, that we and our house 41, 42
known ambiguity in the original. I have chosen with Grotius, Capellus, Fuller, &c. to follow the Syriac version of the words, where it is rendered in my Father’s house, which it is certain they will well bear; and so Josephus puts in τοῖς τὰ Διὰς for in Jupiter’s temple; contra Apion. lib. i. § 18. p. 449. Haverc. (Compare John xix. 27; Esther v. 10; vi. 12; vii. 9; Gr.) And indeed, though a general apprehension of his being well employed, might be a reason (as it is intimated in the paraphrase) against their excessive anxiety, yet it could not (as the words in this connection seem to imply) have directed them where to find him. It is to be remembered this was the first visit Christ had ever made to the temple since he was a child in arms; and it is no wonder therefore, that the delight he found there inclined him to prolong it.
⁸ They did not perfectly understand the words that he spake unto them.] It is strange Grotius should think συνηχθεν should here be rendered, The did not attentive
consider what he said, when the very next verse assures us Mary kept all these sayings in her heart. The phrase only implies that there was something more in Christ’s words than at first appeared. He conjectures there might be a reference to his being the Lord who was to come into his temple (Mal. iii. 1,) which, if there be, it is indeed very obscure. It seems more probable it may be an intimation that he had many other important visits to make to his Father’s house; which evidently appears by the sequel of the history.
⁹ In wisdom, as well as in age and stature.] It is well known that πλικία may signify either age or stature; but I think the latter is meant here, because the former was too apparent to need the mention. It seems a very just and important remark of Erasmus here, that all the endowments of the Man Christ Jesus we owing to the Divine beneficence, and that the Deity communicated itself in a gradual manner to that human nature which it had assumed.
Reflections on the childhood of Jesus.
will serve the Lord; and remember that it is a part of our duty, XIV. not only to God but to our domestics, to engage them with us in his public worship; the pleasures of which will surely be increased when we see them, and especially our dear children, joining with us in attendance on our great common Father.
Let children view the example of the holy child Jesus with an humble desire to copy after it. Let them love the house and ordinances of God, and thirst for the instructions of his good Verse 43,46 word. Let them think themselves happy if his servants in the ministry will bestow a part of their important time in those exercises which are especially suited for their instruction; and let them not only be careful to return the most proper answers they can, but at convenient times, with modesty and respect, ask such questions as may be likely to improve them in knowledge and grace.
Let those children, whose genius is most promising and most 51 admired, learn from the blessed Jesus to behave themselves in an humble and submissive manner to all their elders, and especially to their parents; for though he was the Lord of all, yet was he subject, not only to Mary his real mother, but to Joseph, though only supposed to be his father. Such children may well hope that 40,52 the grace of God will still be upon them; and, growing in wisdom as they do in stature, they will also advance in favour with God and men, and be the darlings of heaven as well as of earth.
And, oh, that the greatest and wisest of us, those of the longest standing, and of the most eminent stations in the church, might learn of this admirable and Divine Child; that, always re- 49 membering our relation to God, and ever intent on learning his will and promoting his glory, we might, with humble acquiescence accommodate ourselves to all the disposals of his providence! How easily could he, who discovered such early marks 47 of a sublime genius and a lively wit, have relished the most elegant delights of science, and have eclipsed all the most celebrated poets, orators, and philosophers, of that learned and polite age? But he laid all those views aside, that he might pursue the duties 51 of that humble rank of life which his heavenly Father’s infinite wisdom had assigned him; and joined, as it would seem, to assist in maintaining himself and his parents too, by the daily labour of his hands. Let us learn from hence, that it is the truest greatness of soul to know our own place and office, and to deny ourselves those amusements of the mind,¹ as well as those gratifica-
¹ Those amusements of the mind.] I hope my younger brethren in the ministry will pardon me if I bespeak their particular attention to this thought; lest, if the main part of their time be given to the curiosities of learning, and only a few fragments of it to their great work, the care of souls, they see cause in their last moments to adopt the words of a dying Grotus, perhaps with much greater propriety than he could use them: Proh! vitam perdidi, operose nihil agendo: Alas! I have thrown away life in doing nothing with a great deal of pains.
John was the Messiah’s forerunner foretold by the prophets.
tions of the senses, which are inconsistent with the proper services of our different relations and callings.