Luke 2:21

Our Lord Jesus, being made of a woman, was made under the law, Gal 4:4. He was not only, as the son of a daughter of Adam, made under the law of nature, but as the son of a daughter of Abraham was made under the law of Moses; he put his neck under that yoke, though it was a heavy yoke, and a shadow of good things to come. Though its institutions were beggarly elements, and rudiments of this world, as the apostle calls them, Christ submitted to it, that he might with the better grace cancel it, and set it aside for us.

Now here we have two instances of his being made under that law, and submitting to it.

I. He was circumcised on the very day that the law appointed (Luk 2:21): When eight days were accomplished, that day seven-night that he was born, they circumcised him. 1. Though it was a painful operation (Surely a bloody husband thou has been, said Zipporah to Moses, because of the circumcision, Exo 4:25), yet Christ would undergo it for us; nay, therefore he submitted to it, to give an instance of his early obedience, his obedience unto blood. Then he shed his blood by drops, which afterwards he poured out in purple streams. 2. Though it supposed him a stranger, that was by that ceremony to be admitted into covenant with God, whereas he had always been his beloved Son; nay, though it supposed him a sinner, that needed to have his filthiness taken away, whereas he had no impurity or superfluity of naughtiness to be cut off, yet he submitted to it; nay, therefore he submitted to it, because he would be made in the likeness, not only of flesh, but of sinful flesh, Rom 8:3. 3. Though thereby he made himself a debtor to the whole law (Gal 5:3), yet he submitted to it; nay, therefore he submitted to it, because he would take upon him the form of a servant, though he was free-born. Christ was circumcised, (1.) That he might own himself of the seed of Abraham, and of that nation of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, and who was to take on him the seed of Abraham, Heb 2:16. (2.) That he might own himself a surety for our sins, and an undertaker for our safety. Circumcision (saith Dr. Goodwin) was our bond, whereby we acknowledged ourselves debtors to the law; and Christ, by being circumcised, did as it were set his hand to it, being made sin for us. The ceremonial law consisted much in sacrifices; Christ hereby obliged himself to offer, not the blood of bulls or goats, but his own blood, which none that ever were circumcised before could oblige themselves to. (3.) That he might justify, and put an honour upon, the dedication of the infant seed of the church to God, by that ordinance which is the instituted seal of the covenant, and of the righteousness which is by faith, as circumcision was (Rom 4:11), and baptism is. And certainly his being circumcised at eight days old doth make much more for the dedicating of the seed of the faithful by baptism in their infancy than his being baptized at thirty years old doth for the deferring of it till they are grown up. The change of the ceremony alters not the substance.

At his circumcision, according to the custom, he had his name given him; he was called Jesus or Joshua, for he was so named of the angel to his mother Mary before he was conceived in the womb (Luk 1:31), and to his supposed father Joseph after, Mat 1:21. [1.] It was a common name among the Jews, as John was (Col 4:11), and in this he would be made like unto his brethren. [2.] It was the name of two eminent types of him in the Old Testament, Joshua, the successor of Moses, who was commander of Israel, and conqueror of Canaan; and Joshua, the high priest, who was therefore purposely crowned, that he might prefigure Christ as a priest upon his throne, Zac 6:11, Zac 6:13. [3.] It was very significant of his undertaking. Jesus signifies a Saviour. He would be denominated, not from the glories of his divine nature, but from his gracious designs as Mediator; he brings salvation.

II. He was presented in the temple. This was done with an eye to the law, and at the time appointed by the law, when he was forty days old, when the days of her purification were accomplished, Luk 2:22. Many copies, and authentic ones, read autōn for autēs, the days of their purification, the purification both of the mother and of the child, for so it was intended to be by the law; and our Lord Jesus, though he had no impurity to be cleansed fRom. yet submitted to it, as he did to circumcision, because he was made sin for us; and that, as by the circumcision of Christ we might be circumcised, in the virtue of our union and communion with him, with a spiritual circumcision made without hands (Col 2:11), so in the purification of Christ we might be spiritually purified from the filthiness and corruption which we brought into the world with us. Now, according to the law,

1. The child Jesus, being a first-born son, was presented to the Lord, in one of the courts of the temple. The law is here recited (Luk 2:23): Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord, because by a special writ of protection the first-born of the Egyptians were slain by the destroying angel; so that Christ, as first-born, was a priest by a title surer than that of Aaron's house. Christ was the first-born among many brethren, and was called holy to the Lord, so as never any other was; yet he was presented to the Lord as other first-born were, and no otherwise. Though he was newly come out of the bosom of the Father, yet he was presented to him by the hands of a priest, as if he had been a stranger, that needed one to introduce him. His being presented to the Lord now signified his presenting himself to the Lord as Mediator, when he was caused to draw near and approach unto him, Jer 30:21. But, according to the law, he was redeemed, Num 18:15. The first-born of many shalt thou redeem, and five shekels was the value, Lev 27:6 : Num 18:16. But probably in case of poverty the priest was allowed to take less, or perhaps nothing; for no mention is made of it here. Christ was presented to the Lord, not to be brought back, for his ear was bored to God's door-post to serve him for ever; and though he is not left in the temple as Samuel was, to minister there, yet like him he is given to the Lord as long as he lives, and ministers to him in the true temple not made with hands.

2. The mother brought her offering, Luk 2:24. When she had presented that son of hers unto the Lord who was to be the great sacrifice, she might have been excused from offering any other; but so it is said in the law of the Lord, that law which was yet in force, and therefore so it must be done, she must offer a pair of turtle-doves, or two young pigeons; had she been of ability, she must have brought a lamb for a burnt-offering, and a dove for a sin-offering; but, being poor, and not able to reach the price of a lamb, she brings two doves, one for a burnt-offering and the other for a sin-offering (see Lev 12:6, Lev 12:8), to teach us in every address to God, and particularly in those upon special occasions, both to give thanks to God for his mercies to us and to acknowledge with sorrow and shame our sins against him; in both we must give glory to him, nor do we ever want matter for both. Christ was not conceived and born in sin, as others are, so that there was not that occasion in his case which there is in others; yet, because he was made under the law, he complied with it. Thus it became him to fulfil all righteousness. Much more doth it become the best of men to join in confessions of sin; for who can say, I have made my heart clean?

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Luk_2:21

For the circumcising of the Child

Circumcision and baptism

The teaching of Jewish circumcision resembles the teaching of Christian baptism.

Both exhibit the putting away of the filth of the flesh; the first by a wounding of the body (which aptly recalls the severity of the elder dispensation); the second by an outward washing. This, which may be called the practical bearing of the present festival (Circumcision of Christ, 1st January), is brought out in the collect for the day, wherein we beseech God to grant us the true circumcision of the spirit. And it is worth observing that this was seen, from the very first, to be the mystical teaching of the rite. Thus Moses, in the book of Deuteronomy (which abounds in the loftier class of doctrine), speaks plainly (Deu_10:16; Deu_30:6) of circumcising the heart; and the prophets (Jer_4:4) use the same expression. St. Stephenslanguage, when he addressed his countrymen for the last time (Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, Act_7:51), seems to show that this continued throughout the whole history of the Jewish people to be the well-understood meaning of the rite; while St. Pauls witness on the point (Rom_2:28-29) is express. It is interesting to observe how closely this observance was connected with holy baptism, besides being typical of the Christian sacrament, and, indeed, a kind of anticipation of it: a rite performed in infancy, and made the occasion of bestowing a new name. (Dean Burgon.)

Spiritual nature of circumcision

Circumcision was the seal of the gospel covenant made by God with Abraham (Gen_17:2; Gen_17:4; Gen_17:9); which the law, added--as the apostle teaches (Gal_3:17)--four hundred and thirty years after, could not disannul. This was a covenant of faith, quite distinct from the covenant of works (Exo_24:8) made through Moses; it was an evangelical, not a legal, covenant. And it foreshadowed what was to be in the latter days, though the people knew it not, would not know it. They relied on being naturally descended from Abraham, and gave no heed to our Saviours declaration that, if they were

indeed Abrahams children, they would do the works of Abraham (Joh_8:39); in other words, that Gods promise to the patriarchs seed was a spiritual promise, fulfilled to as many as showed the like faith with himself Gal_3:7; Gal_3:29). While, therefore, our Saviours submission to be circumcised--whereby, in one respect, He fulfilled all righteousness--conveys an obvious lesson of obedience, and conformity to the laws of the Church, to which we belong; the gospel fulfilment which Christ gave to that sacred rite, and to the covenant with Abraham of which it was the seal and pledge, brings to mind the high spiritual teaching of all His other ancient laws, the design of which was to guide mans heart to the future Messiah. Gods ancient law was spiritual throughout; no dead letter, but a living reality, trying the very heart and reins. (Dean Burgon.)

The circumcision of our Lord

There is no part of our Saviours life uninteresting, or that will not yield instruction. We ask, then, why did He submit to circumcision?

1. Christ was circumcised in order to fulfil the law. By His perfect obedience to all its precepts, He abolished its force and condemning power over every transgression. For us He was circumcised and baptized; for us He exhibited entire legal obedience, that He might bring us under the tender, merciful, encouraging covenant of the gospel, by fulfilling all righteousness.

2. Christs circumcision was necessary to obtain for Him a hearing among His own people. The Jews looked upon every uncircumcised person as unclean. Christ could have had no access to them without submitting to this ceremony. To manifest Himself of the seed of Abraham, to satisfy in this respect the requisitions of His nation, to substantiate His pretentions to be their Messiah, and deprive them of what would have been an unanswerable plea for rejecting Him, He graciously condescended to endure this painful rite. What an example has He set us of the excellency of submitting to privations and pains in advancing the happiness of our fellow-beings! Did Jesus bear the marks of an humbling rite in His own precious body, that His own people, when He came to them, might not be offended in Him; and shall not we yield to all innocent compliances with the habits and feelings of others, which may facilitate our usefulness to them, and bear with contentment the labours and crosses, self-denials, expenses, and cares, which may be necessary in promoting their salvation or happiness?

3. The institution of this ceremony, and Christs compliance with it, suggests to us the propriety and efficacy of visible rites and sacraments. Here was a seal of a covenant established by God. It was to be a token for distinguishing the faithful, a sign of cleansing from pollution, and an assurance of blessing from Jehovah. Without some visible rite it is hardly conceivable how this or any Church could be preserved distinct. Some sacrament is necessary, and, if necessary, obligatory upon every one who would support the Church, for which it is hallowed, and enjoy all its privileges. Accordingly, all systems of religion have had their rites, mysteries, symbols. What circumcision was to the Jews, baptism is to Christians. Both of Divine appointment, significant of incorporation into the Church of God, requiring faith, representing purification from the defilements of sin, and implying consequent self-denial, holiness, obedience.

4. In the circumcision of Christ we are strikingly taught the propriety of submitting to all the precepts and institutions of the revelation under which we live. Christ was made under the law, consequently the law had authority over Him. With singular truth, He might have asked, Can I be benefited by this rite, and by these simple ceremonies? With peculiar force He might have inquired, What connection can there be between these outward forms and My spirit; what efficacy can they have upon My heart? With more propriety than any mortal He might have said, I can be safe and perfect without all these. But he did not stop to scruple their utility; He did not find fault with their nature. They were ordained by the Being who established the law under which He lived. This was sufficient for Him. And so throughout His life. He kept the passover; He observed the Sabbath; He went up to the feasts; He neglected no precept of the revelation which He knew came from God, and was authoritative till superseded by His new and better dispensation. In this conduct of His life our Saviour has set an example, excellent in itself, and fit for His disciples to revere. It points to us the necessity of obeying every precept, and observing every rite to which the gospel gives the seal of Divine authority. To neglect baptism or holy communion because, as men think, they may be as good and as safe without them, or because they cannot see their efficacy, is taking a ground which the all-perfect Son of God was too modest to assume. Whether men may be saved without these means, how they effect what is attributed to them, whether they are the best which might have been selected, are points with which we have nothing to do. The questions which concern us are, Whether Christ instituted baptism and the eucharist; and, if He did, whether His injunctions are binding upon us or not? On this plain ground every man may easily form a just determination concerning the propriety of observing all the precepts and institutions of the revelation under which he lives. His observance of them should be a simple act of faith and obedience, by which he should testify both to God and men. (Bishop Dehon.)

Early suffering

Thus early did Jesus suffer pain for our sakes, to teach us the spiritual circumcision, the circumcision of all our bodily senses. As the east catches at sunset the colours of the west, so Bethlehem is a prelude to Calvary, and even the Infants cradle is tinged with a crimson reflection from the Redeemers cross. (Archdeacon Farrar.)

The circumcision of Christ

(First Sunday after Christmas.)

I. THE RITE OF CIRCUMCISION WHICH, AS ON THIS DAY, WAS ADMINISTERED TO THE INFANT JESUS HAD A TWOFOLD SIGNIFICANCE.

1. Its existence was a testimony that mankind is fallen and needs purification.

2. Circumcision was not only an act of humility, it was also an act of obedience to the law of God.

II. THE CIRCUMCISION OF JESUS THUS REVEALS TO US THE FOUNDATIONS ON WHICH HIS HUMAN LIFE WAS BUILT, VIZ., HUMILITY AND OBEDIENCE. Can there be truer foundations for any human life than these? Is it not the very ideal of Christian childhood? Humility, which is the expression of our own insufficiency; obedience, which is the recognition of our dependence upon God.

III. It has been well pointed out by many devout Christian thinkers that THE HUMAN LIFE WHICH THE SON OF GOD LIVED IN THE FLESH IS THE VERY SAME AS THE LIFE WHICH HE LIVES IN US; it is produced in the same manner, and progresses according to the same law. After His spiritual birth in us comes our spiritual circumcision (Col_2:11). As this life grows within us, we shall find that it has also its epiphany, its baptism, its temptation, its active ministry, its passion, its cross, its resurrection. Enough for us to-day to consider its circumcision. Not without reason do we pray in the Litany, By Thy holy nativity and circumcision, good Lord deliver us.

IV. The circumcision was distinguished from all other acts of our Lords humiliation IN THAT IT WAS WITHOUT ANY COMPENSATING GLORY, and was accepted by Him without any protest from God or man, declaring that He needed it not for His own sake. Yet there was even in His circumcision a glory bestowed upon Him which men could not at the time recognize, but which has proved to be the greatest of all the honours of His incarnate life. IT WAS THEN THAT THERE WAS BESTOWED UPON HIM THE NAME OF JESUS, God our Saviour. The name thus given Him in His humiliation has become the name in which He has triumphed over His enemies, the name which has been blessed by millions of penitent sinners, and adored in rapture by ten thousands of His saints.

V. Trembling, anxiously, WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD INTO THE UNCERTAINTY OF A NEW YEAR. If we begin the year in the spirit of Him who began His earthly life in humility and obedience, we may know that, however galling to our natural unrenewed will may be the humility which alone becomes us, however difficult may be the obedience which God demands from us, there is yet to be manifested a glory that exalteth, in comparison with which the trials of this present life are but as nothing. (Canon V. Hutton, M. A.)

The year begins with Thee,

And Thou beginnst with woe,

To let the world of sinners see

That blood for sin must flow.

Thine Infant cries, O Lord,

Thy tears upon the breast,

Are not enough--the legal sword

Must do its stern behest.

Like sacrificial wine

Poured on a victims head

Are these few precious drops of Thin,,

Now first to offering led.

They are the pledge and seal

Of Christs unswerving faith

Given to His Sire, our souls to heal,

Although it costs His death.

Jesus, the watchword

I. FOR THE CHURCH AND FOR THE HOME.

II. FOR JOY AND FOR SORROW.

III. FOR LIFE AND FOR DEATH. (Dr. Gerok.)

The circumcision and naming of the Child

Boys were circumcised eight days after their birth. Tradition said that this day was chosen because the mother ceased to be unclean on the seventh day if she had borne a boy. He who circumcised the child used the following words: Blessed be the Lord our God, who has sanctified as by His precepts, and given us circumcision. The father of the child continued: Who has sanctified us by His precepts, and has granted us to introduce our child into the covenant of Abraham our father. The child was named the same day, because it was said that God changed the names of Abraham and Sarah when He gave the covenant of circumcision. (E. Stapler, D. D.)

The circumcision of Christ

1. It signifies purification. Christ committed no sin, but stood for sinful man.

2. It signified obedience (Gen_17:12). He was made under the law Gal_4:4).

3. It signified consecration. This ordinance was part of the covenant between God and the Jewish nation, whereby they were to be counted a peculiar treasure unto God above all people (Exo_19:5). (D. Hughes, M. A.)

New Years Day

I. CIRCUMCISION WAS A RITE WHICH TOLD OF A MISIMPROVED PAST. The first account of it occurs in the history of Abraham, in whose case Paul says it was given as a sign and seal of the righteousness which is obtained by faith (Rom_4:11). The state of uncircumcision was thus a state of unrighteousness. Paul also tells the Colossians, that they had been dead in their sins and the uncircumcision of their flesh (Col_2:13). Circumcision, therefore, carried with it the remembrance and acknowledgment of a bad and unsatisfactory past. It told of alienation from God, and of faithlessnesses and infidelities. It carried with it a retrospect of failure and sin. Even the circumcision of the holy child Jesus, was an acknowledgment of the fallen condition of the race, with which he identified Himself, in its humiliation, that He might become its perfect Saviour.

II. CIRCUMCISION WAS A SIGN OF THE CUTTING OFF AND CASTING AWAY OF SIN. The fleshly incision was a token of a spiritual one, which consisted in separation from moral impurity and evil (Rom_2:29).

III. BUT CIRCUMCISION SET APART TO OBEDIENCE, AS WELL AS SEVERED FROM IMPURITY. It was the ceremony of initiation into the covenant, and pledged the subject to obey it. It was part of the redemption-work of Christ to obey the law.

IV. CIRCUMCISION CONFERRED AND FIXED ON CHRIST HIS TRUE DESCRIPTIVE NAME.

V. But, for the encouragement of those who feel their deficiencies and miseries, there is still one other particular connected with the text. HE WHOM GOD HATH APPOINTED TO BE OUR JUDGE, TOOK THE NAME OF JESUS. He is a Saviour, and a great one. Hopefully His circumcision day so proclaims Him to us. Yea, saith the apostle, He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him (Heb_7:25). (J. A.Seiss, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 2:21. And when eight days were accomplished — That is, not when the eighth day was ended, but when it was come: for the circumcising of the child — A ceremony which the law of Moses required to be performed on every male child at that age, and to which Christ was made subject, that he might wear the badge of a child of Abraham, and that he might visibly be made under the law by a sacred rite, which obliged him to keep the whole law. It is true, he had not any corruptions of nature to mortify, which was in part represented by that institution, but nevertheless it was necessary that he should be thus initiated into the Jewish Church, and thereby be engaged to the duties, and entitled to the privileges, of a son of Abraham, according to God’s covenant with that patriarch and his seed; as also that he might put an honour on the solemn dedication of children to God.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

§ 11.—CIRCUMCISION OF JESUS, Luk_2:21; Mat_1:25.

21. Eight days—According to the Jewish laws, Gen_17:12, Lev_12:1-6.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL NOTES

Luk_2:21. The child.—The best MSS. read “Him.”

Luk_2:22. Her purification.—The true reading is, “their purification” (R.V.). The mother was ceremonially unclean by child-birth, the others of the household by daily contact. The law of purification is given in Leviticus 12. At the conclusion of forty days a lamb was to be offered as a burnt-offering, and a turtle-dove or young pigeon as a sin-offering. In case of poverty two turtle-doves or young pigeons were to be offered instead, one as a burnt-offering and the other as a sin-offering. To present Him.—As a first-born male. “The first-born male of every species was sacred to the Lord, in memory of the delivery of the first-born of the Israelites in Egypt (Exo_12:29-30; Exo_13:2). But the first-born male child was to be redeemed for money (Exo_13:11-15; Num_18:15-16), and the whole tribe of Levi was regarded as having been substituted for the first-born (Num_3:12-13)” (Speaker’s Commentary).

Luk_2:23. That openeth the womb.—Figurative for “first-born.”

Luk_2:24. A pair of turtle-doves, etc.—As no mention is made of the lamb, it has been reasonably inferred that the holy family were poor.

Luk_2:25. Simeon.—According to some the son of the famous Rabbi Hillel and the father of Gamaliel. This is scarcely possible, as the Simeon of the text seems to have been in extreme old age (Luk_2:26-29), while the other was president of the Sanhedrim some seventeen or eighteen years later. The name was at this time very common among the Jews. Just and devout.—Cf. Luk_1:6. The one epithet describes external conduct, the other the inward, spiritual character. The consolation of Israel.—A beautiful title of Christ or description of the blessings expected from His coming. Cf. Mar_15:43.

Luk_2:26. The Lord’s Christ.—I.e. the Anointed of Jehovah. Cf. Psa_2:2.

Luk_2:27. By the Spirit.—I.e. under the influence of the Spirit.

Luk_2:29. Now lettest Thou.—Death seemed near and sure since he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

Luk_2:31. All people.—Rather, “all peoples” (R.V.), divided in Luk_2:32 into Gentiles (sitting in darkness, to whom Christ was to be a light) and Jews (whose glory He was to be).

Luk_2:32. To lighten the Gentiles.—Rather, “for revelation to the Gentiles” (R.V.).

Luk_2:34. Is set.—Lit. “lies”: perhaps the figure is akin to that of the stone lying on the path, which is to some a stone of stumbling, to others a stone of support. The fall and rising again.—Rather, “the fall and rising up” (R.V.), i.e. “for the fall of many who now stand, and for the rising of many who now lie prostrate, ‘that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.’ The child was to be a touch-stone of character, of faith, and of love. God’s true but hidden servants would embrace Him; the hypocrites would reject Him” (Speaker’s Commentary). The prediction finds fulfilment in the fall of Pharisees and scribes, and the rising of publicans and sinners. A sign, etc.—That His life and teaching would provoke violent opposition—a prophecy only too abundantly fulfilled.

Luk_2:35. Yea, a sword.—Reference having been made to opposition excited by the life and teaching of Christ, it is natural to see here an allusion to the grief this would excite in the heart of His mother; the sword would pierce deepest at the cross. This idea pervades the Stabat Mater dolorosa. Any reference to Mary’s anguish for sin, or doubts concerning the Messiahship of her Son, seems out of place.

Luk_2:36. Anna.—The same name as Hannah. A prophetess.—Known as such previous to this time. Cf. cases of Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah in the Old Testament, the daughters of Philip in the New (Act_21:9). Aser.—I.e. Asher. It is interesting to note the presence of one belonging to the ten tribes in the Holy Land at this epoch. Had lived, etc.—I.e. bad been married for seven years, and was now a widow of fourscore and four years of age.

Luk_2:37. Departed not.—Probably denotes assiduous attendance (cf. Act_2:46): it may mean that her home was in the Temple, that as prophetess she lived in one of the chambers of the holy building. Fastings.—Only one fast appointed in the law, that on the great Day of Atonement. The Pharisees were in the habit of fasting twice in the week (Luk_18:12), on Mondays and Thursdays.

Luk_2:38. Looked for.—I.e. “expected.” The readings of the last clause in the verse vary: the R.V. gives it, “looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” Jerusalem regarded as the place where redemption would begin. The expectations of these devout souls would be checked by the flight into Egypt, the withdrawal to Nazareth, and the long years of silence before the prophecies concerning Christ began to find fulfilment in His public ministry.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Luk_2:21-39

The Holy Spirit testifies to Christ.—The veil which concealed the glory of Christ had for a moment been drawn aside by the angels, and the shepherds had seen in Him their Lord and Saviour. But after this revelation the veil falls again, and He takes His place among men without anything to distinguish Him from them. He is treated as ordinary Jewish children were; He is circumcised on the eighth day, presented in the Temple on the fortieth day; the Virgin offers sacrifice for her purification, and makes the offering by which He, like other first-born children not of the tribe of Levi, was redeemed from service in the Temple. The only remarkable circumstance is that the name (not in itself an uncommon one) was that appointed by the angel before His conception. But when He appears in the Temple, the veil that conceals His glory is again drawn aside: at the very moment when He is subject to the ordinances of the law, witnesses are raised up and inspired by God to declare that He is the Desired One for whose coming Israel had long waited, and who was to be the Light of the world. Special interest attaches to those who on this occasion were the organs of the Holy Spirit to make this announcement to men. We notice:—

I. Both Simeon and Anna were persons of holy character.—They had that purity of heart which enables us to see God—to have understanding of Divine things.

II. Their faith and hope were strong.—They waited for the consolation of Israel as those who expected to see it, and God rewarded the confidence they placed in His promises.

III. They were not of official rank, yet they received revelations which were denied to priests and doctors of the law. This is in accordance with the Divine procedure in the case of many who were called to be prophets. The majority of the prophets were laymen, whose words had weight from the fact of their being immediately inspired of God, and not because the speakers had a claim to be heard apart from that which their message gave them. Nor can it be without significance that the one of these witnesses was a man and the other a woman, since under the new covenant inaugurated by Christ both sexes are on an equality before God which was before but imperfectly indicated.

SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luk_2:21-39

Luk_2:21. “The circumcising of the child.”—By circumcision Jesus entered into the covenant relationship with God in which the Jewish nation stood, and of which that rite was the seal. Henceforth there rested on Him the obligation to keep the law and commandments laid upon the children of Israel. The purification from sin which circumcision symbolised was an element in the rite which had no personal significance for Him. Yet His submission to circumcision, as afterwards to baptism, was necessary to His becoming “like His brethren.” “Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people” (Heb_2:17). “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made [born, R.V.] of a woman, made [born, R.V.] under the law” (Gal_4:4). “God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom_8:3).

“Was called Jesus.”—Less stress is laid upon the fact of Jesus receiving circumcision than upon that of the significant name bestowed upon Him at the time. His Divine character and His freedom from taint of sin are implied in the title of Saviour: the name given Him by the special appointment of God distinguishes Him from all others born of woman, as One who would save the sinful, and therefore of necessity be Himself free from sin.

“Before He was conceived.”—The unique glory of Christ as one in whom the Father was well pleased is delicately implied in the name bestowed upon Him before He was conceived in the womb of the Virgin.

“When eight days were accomplished.”—Our celebration of December 25th as the day of Christ’s nativity makes the first day of the new year to correspond with the date of His circumcision and of His receiving the name Jesus. The putting away of the sinful nature, and the acceptance of obligation to obey the law of God, which are implied in circumcision, suggest appropriate thoughts for the beginning of the new year; and along with them the name of Jesus should suggest the absolution of our past offences, and the gift of spiritual strength for the time that is to come.

The Circumcision of our Lord.—As man our Lord underwent in infancy the rite which was enjoined by the Jewish law. As God He willed to undergo it. He might have ordered things otherwise. But He freely submitted to this, as to all the humiliations of His earthly life, and to death itself. Notice, in this submission—

I. Our Lord gave emphatic sanction to the principle that a feature of heathen practice or religion might be occasionally consecrated to serve the purpose of religious truth.—It is certain that from early times some heathen nations did practise circumcision. Abraham would not regard it as a new rite; for it was common, if not universal, in Egypt. With him, therefore, it was an old rite with a new meaning. The Holy Spirit lays under contribution for His high purposes various words, thoughts, arguments, customs, symbols, rites, associated before with false religions or with none; He invests them with a new and higher meaning, and thus enlists them in a holier service.

II. Our Lord became obedient to the whole Mosaic law.—“Made under the law.” This was the meaning of circumcision, so far as man was concerned; it was an undertaking to be true to everything in the covenant with God, of which it was the initial rite. Our lord voluntarily submitted to ordinances which He Himself had instituted, but to ordinances which had no purpose or meaning except as referring to Himself. He could not have done more had He been consciously ignorant or criminal. He could not have done less if He was to represent us, in His life of perfect obedience, as well as on His cross of shame. “Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.” What a lesson of obedience! When do many get into trouble with God? When they make their estimate of their wants, and not God’s declared will, the rule of conduct. Our Lord submitted, because the Father so ordered, and because we needed the bright example and moral strength of His submission.

III. Our Lord submitted to this rite in order to persuade us of the necessity of that spiritual circumcision which was prefigured by it.—Even the Old Testament teaches a moral and spiritual as well as a literal circumcision. Heart, lips, ears, must be circumcised. For us the literal rite is of no value: the real rite is spiritual. Its essence is the mortification of earthly desire. Desire no longer centres in God, but is mainly lavished upon objects of sense. Thus the soul is degraded; it becomes animalised. Hence the necessity for spiritual circumcision. The mortification of degraded desire is the most serious business of a true Christian life. “If thy right hand offend thee,” etc. Our Lord meant by these searching words the mortification of desire which no longer centres in God.—Liddon.

The Name of Jesus.

I. Why should this importance be attached to a name, even although it be the name of our Lord?—We think lightly of names. We contrast names with realities, words with things. Not so in the Bible. Names there are significant. The name of God is treated as if it were a living thing. Is this merely an orientalism? No. Is it not better to feel one language, as the Hebrews felt theirs, than to use the words of two or three as mere counters. A name is a power. Some names invigorate and illuminate; others darken and depress by reason of their associations. The choice of a child’s name is not to be left to chance. Every child possesses in his surname a social and moral inheritance; it is decided for him before his birth: but what of his Christian name, which you are to fix on him indelibly? Our Lord entering the world as a Jew, His human name was constructed on the Hebrew type. It belongs to a large class of personal titles in which the sacred name of God—Jehovah—is connected with some one of His works or attributes.

II. We might have expected that our Lord would have chosen a unique name, unshared by any of the sons of men.—But He willed it otherwise. In His name He had many forerunners, the greatest of whom is Joshua, the “saviour” of Israel, a man of “blood and iron.” This greater Joshua is a Saviour in a higher sense. Is He not the Author of all the self-restraint, the truthfulness, the courage, the purity, the disinterestedness, the sacrifice, which save society? Joshua (or Hoshea) was a name borne of old by intellectual deliverers. Jesus Christ it is who has saved the human race from ignorance of the truths which it most concerns man to know. Another Joshua was the high priest of the Restoration, an earthly anticipation of of our ascended King and Priest upon His throne. He is a Saviour who delivers us from sin’s guilt by His sufferings, and from sin’s power by His grace.—Ibid.

Luk_2:22. The Consecration of the Family to God.—The law of Moses prescribed

(1) the purification of the mother, and

(2) the presentation of the first-born son to the Lord. So close were the ties by which God and His people were bound together, every mother in the time of her newfound happiness was called to appear before God, to receive purification from the taints inseparably connected with the transmission of a sinful nature, and each first-born son was acknowledged as so specially His that he could only be redeemed from service in the Temple by payment of a fine in money. This consecration of the family to God was one of the noblest features of Judaism.

Luk_2:24. The Sacrifice of Purification.—Humble circumstances, but not abject poverty, are implied in the offering presented by Mary for the sacrifice of purification; for in the Mosaic law provision was made for those who might be too poor to afford the offering specified in the text. The considerate spirit in which that law was drawn up is manifested, not only in the scale of sacrifices to suit persons in different conditions of life, but also in the alternative of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” The turtle-doves being migratory birds might not be procurable at the time when they were needed in any particular place, and it might be difficult to catch old pigeons, so it was allowable to bring young pigeons taken from the nest.

An Appropriate Offering.—There is something in the birds themselves—the doves—characteristic of the love, purity, and meekness of Christ, anointed above His fellows with the gifts of the Divine Dove.—Wordsworth.

The Lamb of God brought into the Temple.—Mary cannot bring a lamb for an offering; she brings something better, even the true Lamb of God, into the Temple.—Van Oosterzee.

Luk_2:25-26. “A man, whose name was Simeon.”—His character is described in a few pregnant words. As regards his relation to the spirit of the law, he was “just.” In relation to God, he possessed that careful reverential spirit which is ever cautious not to offend. His heart was not wanting in that attitude of sweet expectation, that flower-like unfolding to the dews of promise, characteristic of true holiness under the older dispensation; he waited in hushed expectancy for the “consolation of Israel.” And that consolation implies a Consoler. Such influence of the Spirit was upon him as was yet vouchsafed under the first covenant. To this man God’s will stood revealed in a way which Luke describes with a sweet and subtle antithesis: “It was revealed unto him that he should not see death before he had seen the Anointed of the Lord.” Just as the Virgin and Child were coming up, Simeon “came in the Spirit into the Temple courts.” God directs the path of His faithful servants, that good may meet them on the way. We go here and there, and at times seem to ourselves as if we were floating half at random. But there is a guiding purpose. Then the Evangelist tells us with simple emphasis, “And he himself also received Him into his arms.” Now he feels that he may and must soon go home. So arises his sentinel-song.—Alexander.

“A man in Jerusalem,” etc.—The description given of Simeon may be resolved into seven distinct statements, proceeding from the general to the particular—seven concentric circles:

1. A man—his dignity consisting not merely in official standing, wealth, notoriety, or gifts, but in his manhood.

2. In Jerusalem—in the possession of special privileges as a Jew.

3. Just—upright in his outward life.

4. Devout—in spirit, as one who loved and obeyed God.

5. Animated by religious hopes—looking for the consolation of Israel.

6. An organ of the Holy Ghost—the Holy Ghost was upon him.

7. One who had received a special revelation and promise (Luk_2:26).

“Waiting for the consolation of Israel,’ or rather looking for it as something which was now close at hand, as he was assured by the infallible testimony of the Spirit that it was.

“It was revealed unto him.”—Not to the priests, or to a priest, for they as a class were at this time corrupt and unspiritual, as we see from their unsympathetic and even hostile attitude towards Christ during His public ministry. God therefore passes them by, and chooses unofficial persons, such as Simeon and Anna, to be the organs of the Holy Spirit.

Luk_2:25-32. Hope Realised.—The outward circumstances of the presentation in the Temple are devoid of anything to arrest attention or to appeal to a love of the marvellous. No miracles dazzle the senses of beholders. Nothing is seen but two parents of humble rank of life presenting their child to God and offering the sacrifice of the poor. Simeon, who greets them, is no official of high rank; his only claim to distinction is the beauty and elevation of his character—“just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel.” It is this last-named circumstance which gives significance to his action and words. He is a type of those who under the old covenant had waited for and longed for the coming of the Saviour. We see in him the Church of the patriarchs and prophets, which takes the newborn Christ into its failing arms and presents Him to the Church of the future, and says, “As for me, my task is accomplished; here He is whom I have so ardently desired to behold; here He is who is Saviour and King.”

Simeon’s Hope and Faith.—

1. The first remarkable feature in the character of Simeon was the firmness of his hope. He looked forward to the future in the firm conviction inspired by the Holy Spirit that before he saw death he would see the Lord’s Christ. The attitude he maintained was not peculiar to him, though the special prophecy in which he trusted was given to him alone—it was that of the devout in Israel in all ages of their history. Their golden age was in the future, and not in the past. And we as Christians look forward to a brighter and happier time than the present, when the kingdom of Christ shall have fully come. Our Master is absent, and we look for His return.

2. The second remarkable feature is the greatness of his faith. What was it that his bodily eyes beheld? A child a few weeks old—the child of poor and obscure parents. What appeared to the eye of his spirit? The Saviour of the world, who was to raise up the fallen nation of Israel to more than its former glory, and give light and hope to the heathen world. And can our faith languish and die when we have before us Christ, not as a helpless child, but as the Redeemer who has made atonement for sin and has ascended to the right hand of God—when we have before us His Divine teaching and holy life, and all the influence which He has exercise 1 upon human society? His hopes realised, his faith assured, he has but one emotion—that of joy; his soul enters into a holy peace. Nothing now can move him to desire to linger longer upon earth; it only remains for him to leave the post he has occupied for so many years, from which he has eagerly looked for the rising of this star, and to enter into his rest.

Luk_2:27. “Came by the Spirit into the Temple.”—It might seem accidental, but was not so. A secret impulse urged him to go into the sacred precincts at that particular moment; it was one of the great crises of his life, when all depended upon obeying the Divine intimation pointing out his course, but not compelling him to take it. Do not many of our failures and disappointments in life result from ignoring or disobeying what we believe to be good impulses?

A True Priest.—The parents brought in the child Jesus, and Simeon received Him into his arms, as a true priest appointed of God, though not anointed of man.

Luk_2:28. “Then took he Him up in his arms.”—The aged and righteous Simeon—the good old man of the law—received into his arms the child Jesus presented in the Temple, and signified his desire to depart; and thus represents to us the law, now worn out with age, ready to embrace the gospel, and so to depart in peace.—Wordsworth.

Luk_2:29-32. Hope fulfilled.—As the swan is said to sing just before its death, so does this aged saint break forth into a psalm of thanksgiving as he beholds the Saviour, whom it had been predicted he should see before he should taste of death. With devout gratitude he takes farewell of life, now that he has received the object of his hopes. The anticipation of seeing the Lord’s Christ had made him cling to life; but now that the Holy Child is within his arms, he has nothing more to wish for, and is ready to depart. “Now let me die, since I have seen Thy face.”

The Sentinel—Simeon represents himself under the figure of a sentinel whom his master has stationed upon an elevated place to watch for the appearance of a certain star and to give notice to the world of its arrival. He sees the wished-for star, and announces that it has risen, and asks to be set free from the post he has occupied so long. It is thus that, in the opening of the Agamemnon of Æschylus, the sentinel stationed to watch for the signal-fire that would tell that Troy had fallen when he at last beholds the long-expected blaze, celebrates in verse both the victory of Greece and his own release.—Godet.

A Rebuke to our Unbelief.—The faith in a Saviour who had just appeared which sustained Simeon in the near prospect of death is a rebuke to our unbelief and fears in view of that great change. We know Jesus as the conqueror of death and sin.

Luk_2:29. Nunc Dimittis.—In this apparently unremarkable little group there is something really remarkable in each of these four living souls. We recognise in the words spoken the Nunc Dimittis of eighteen centuries of the Church’s worship. What is there in these pathetic and beautiful words, suggestive of thoughts which should be our life?

I. The speaker is an Old Testament saint.—Just and devout, yet waiting for the consolation of Israel by the actual coming of “the Coming One.” He had a revelation common to him with his nation; he had also a private revelation of his own.

II. The message.—

1. The thought comes to us—Blessed is the man who has the Lord for his God, the man whose life was in the hands of an Owner. Very real and very dear to the heart of Simeon was the relationship of servant and master. It was the chosen title of the apostles; it was the secret of their success, the rest and stay of their anxious and homeless life. Later saints have felt the same thing, and expressed it in the same way.

2. Simeon has still to see the Lord’s Christ. It is a parable for all time. There are many who say, “Be just, and it shall be counted to you for righteousness.” There are many who say, “Be just and devout, fear God and pray to Him alway, and assuredly you shall lack nothing of the fitness for glory.” Simeon had both these graces, and yet he must not die till he had seen Jesus. There are many who have all else—every grace of uprightness and devoutness, every characteristic of seriousness and earnestness, of piety and charity; only Christ they have not yet realised. It does not come home to them why “Believe in God” should not suffice for them without the added clause, “Believe also in Me.” We must not idly wait for that peradventure of illumination which Simeon’s case suggests. Upon us the true Light has already shined; it is ours to see it, and to walk-in it. We cannot say the Nunc Dimittis till we can say with it, “Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.”

III. Another thought remains.—The Divine office of “dismissing.” “Thou art letting Thy servant depart.” What would these partings be, how sad, how hopeless, without a gospel—without the knowledge, such as we can only get from Jesus Christ, of a life out of sight, in which present and absent are one—of a real heaven, opened and set open to all who are travelling life’s journey in the faith of a Father, and Saviour, and Comforter who has us all in His holy keeping! With this gospel in our hearts, we can hear of each other’s deaths with no disconsolate sorrow, because in Him, living or dying, we are one. The dismissal Simeon spoke of was dismissal by death. He was ready for it now. He spoke of it as a release, a setting free, a desired change, a transition, all for good. When the great departing comes for each of us, we shall need all Simeon’s hope, and all the support of his dismissal. We know not any of us what that departure is. It is no lack of courage to confess that it is formidable in the prospect. Let us think of it now, earnestly endeavouring so to live that there may be no spectres and no voices to terrify the act of dying.—Vaughan.

Simeon’s View of Death.—It is not the removal of a reluctant, unwilling man from the scene of all his joys and all his interests; it is the releasing of a weary man at evening from the toil and heat of a long, fatiguing day; it is the desirable and peaceful dismissal of one who has done his work to a rest which toil has earned and which promise has sweetened. It is worth while so to live as that the Nunc Dimittis may express our own true thought when we die.—Ibid.

Luk_2:29-30. Christ and Old Age.—One of our Lord’s epiphanies; His epiphany to old age. A subject of pointed application to the young, for the young expect to be old. The present sowing of youth is for the reaping of age. What is a “good” old age? All old age is not good. There is an old age which mars as well as an old age which makes reputations.

I. Few men in the abstract desire old age.—Few men in their experience find it desirable. It needs practising for. A good old age comes to no man by accident. Rare, probably unexampled, is that natural and durable sweetness which could make the trials of protracted age light or enjoyable. It is bitter to feel yourself in the way, and to see no help for it; to be beyond the age of activity, of independence, of importance, of admiration; to be reminded daily that you are the survivor of a past generation; to know that the only prospect is a narrowing of action and interest, to make room for new energies and young self-sufficiencies: this is a severe trial, on the acceptance of which, for good or evil, will depend the real character and complexion of the individual old age. Well-principled and self-controlled patience is one condition of a good old age.

II. A foremost condition of a good old age is the preservation of a thorough harmony and unity with the young.—Old age is naturally impatient of the new. But still the old may succeed in being young in feeling; and where this is so they attract the young. The young delight in their experience, their mellowness, their sympathy. This special characteristic cannot be put on; it must be cultivated and lived into. Let each age be in harmony with the age below. Let the continuity never be broken. Lead by going before, help by feeling with, and old age will but complete and crown the work of the manhood and the activity.

III. There are, however, besides trials and risks, incomparable privileges in old age.—These should be faithfully treasured and “occupied.” An intelligent old age is a storehouse of precious memories, which no chronicles can rival nor libraries supersede. An old man should use his opportunities of testifying to a younger generation the living sights and sounds of his own. It is a debt due to history; it is a debt scarcely less to the verities of Christianity and Christ. And, besides, the influences of old age are incalculable. Let a man give himself to this work, and he may mould the young almost to his will. Let the old make the young feel that they are worth helping, listening to, answering. By a generous, manly interest in the coming generation who are what he was, by deep, true, noble sympathy with their difficulties, struggles, unavoidable ignorances, the old man may write himself unconsciously upon the young, and keep up the continuity of that work of God on earth which consists in the amelioration, emancipation, and transfiguration of His creatures. But such a work needs for its accomplishment the epiphany of our Lord Jesus Christ to old age. Natural gifts and graces do not suffice for this apostleship of the aged. O miserable spectacle a Christless old age! Pity, yet despise not, the old man whose testimony, rightly read, is all on the side of materialism and infidelity. How different the evidence of him whose old age has been brightened with the epiphany of Jesus Christ! He, the “Ancient of Days,” is still, as ever, young with a perpetual youth: herein lies the virtue of His epiphany to the old. He tells of a world where they reckon not by years, where past and future are not, where the weakness of old age is made strong in the first sight of the Immortal. He draws nigh to the solitude, He comforts the isolation, He calms the irritation, He inspires the languor, He fills the void of old age. He makes its age venerable, its weakness dignified, its deathbed beautiful, its last departure blessed, and its funeral “a door opened in heaven.”—Ibid.

Luk_2:29-35. Nunc Dimittis.—Simeon is the reverend type of Old Testament piety, waiting for the consolation of Israel. His inspired words

(1) express the perfect homage of his individual soul;

(2) expand into a glowing prophecy of the gospel future;

(3) through a side glance of benediction on Mary utter the first disguised prediction of the Redeemer’s darker, as well as of His brighter, destiny as the Saviour and Judge of mankind.—Pope.

The Nunc Dimittis a pre-Christian Hymn.—Our Church uses the song of the blessed Virgin and the song of Simeon as daily psalms, and applies them to Christ. But those who had seen the incarnate Lord, and who had beheld Him risen and ascending, would have spoken far more strongly. Their songs would have been more like “Rock of Ages,” or “When I survey the wondrous cross.” They would not have been echoes of the harp of David, so much as of the harps of heaven. “Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood.” Such silence as to the details of redemption could only belong to the thin border-line of a period which was neither quite Jewish nor quite Christian. A little less, and these songs would be purely Jewish; a little more, and they would be purely Christian.—Alexander.

Luk_2:29-30. Simeon.

I. Simeon himself.—

1. His character. He was just and devout, upright in his relations to men, pious towards God. And he lived in faith, “waiting for the consolation of Israel.” Doubtless the blessed prophecies of Isaiah, “Comfort ye, comfort ye, My people, saith your God,” were dear to the old man’s heart. He was one of those who were “looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” He lived in the faith of the Messiah who was to come, who was to bear our griefs and carry our sorrows, who was to make intercession for the transgressors, to justify many, who should see of the travail of His soul and should be satisfied.

2. His privileges.

(1) The promise. The Holy Ghost was upon him. That gracious Presence which is vouchsafed in a greater or less measure to all true believers rested on the faithful Simeon. Special revelations were granted to him: he was not to see death till he had seen the Lord’s Christ; he was to see in this earthly life the Messiah of whom the prophets had spoken, the Lord’s Anointed, who was to be, in the highest sense of the words, the Prophet, Priest, and King of His people—the Prophet like unto Moses, but greater far than Moses (Heb_3:3), of whom Moses spake; the great High Priest, who “is able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them”; the King of kings and Lord of lords, whose kingdom shall have no end.

(2) The fulfilment of the promise. The time was come: the Spirit led the holy man to the Temple of the Lord; “he came by the Spirit into the Temple.” So we should now come to the church by the guidance of the Spirit, led thither by the Spirit, that there we may find the Lord, and worship Him in spirit and in truth,” praying in the Holy Ghost” (Jud_1:20). They who thus come in faith and prayer ever find the Lord. Simeon found Him now. It was not perhaps what he had looked for; it was but a little Babe lying in His mother’s arms. But Simeon doubted not; the Spirit taught him that that little Babe was indeed the Christ of God, who was come into this world to save sinners, to conquer back the world from the dominion of the wicked one. He took Him up in his arms; he blessed God, and poured forth his thankfulness in the words so familiar to us all.

II. The utterance of Simeon.—

1. His view of life. It is not a prayer. We may well pray for a happy, holy death; it is the greatest of earthly blessings, the crown of a holy life. But these words are not words of prayer: it is an utterance of recognition and assent. He says (to translate the words literally), “Master, now Thou art releasing Thy slave.” He recognises the fulfilment of the Divine promise: he has seen the Lord’s Christ. That sight means that the end is close at hand: he is about to die. He recognises the intimation of the Divine will; he receives the solemn announcement with cheerful acquiescence—he is ready to depart. “Master,” he says, “now Thou art releasing Thy servant.” Life, he means, is a time of service, work to be done for God. He calls God his Master; he speaks of himself as the slave of God. Indeed, Almighty God has permitted us to address Him by another name: He bids us call Him “Father,” “our Father in heaven.” We are not worthy to be called His children, but He is our Father still. He gave His blessed Son to die for us, that through His atoning blood we might be restored to the privileges of sonship; He gives us His Holy Spirit. “He hath sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” But while we thank Him for His gracious condescension, and claim His holy promises, we must not forget that He is our Master too. The word here translated “Lord” means properly Master—a Master in relation to slaves. God is our Master; we are the slaves of God. We are not our own; we are bought with a price (1Co_6:19-20); our souls and bodies are God’s, not our own. We are His by creation: He made us. We are also His by redemption: He bought us to be His own, not with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ (1Pe_1:18). And because we are His, we have work to do for Him. He teaches us that solemn lesson in the awful parable of the talents. He “giveth to all men liberally” (Jas_1:5); He worketh in us both to will and to do; therefore we must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. All that we have comes from Him—life, health, worldly means, intellectual gifts. All these are talents intrusted to our keeping for a while. But spiritual gifts must be chiefly signified by the talents distributed among the servants; for spiritual gifts are the only coin current in the kingdom of heaven. Without the grace of the Spirit we are helpless, we can do nothing good; we cannot become “approved money-changers” (a saying attributed to our Lord by several of the Fathers), unless we have from God a portion of the heavenly treasure. All the servants in the household of the great Master receive their portion from Him; they have to use it to His glory and their own good, to work out their own salvation, to beware lest they receive the grace of God in vain (2Co_6:1). Two servants were faithful. Outwardly there was a great difference between them. One was far more highly gifted than the other; his gains were far greater; he was a man of great energy, great resources—like St. Paul, who laboured more abundantly than all the rest (1Co_15:10). But the second servant also did his best, his very best according to his power; his gains were much less than those of his fellow-servant, but they were in the same proportion to his endowments; and he received the same reward. The Lord judgeth not according to the outward appearance; he looketh on the heart. He regards not the outward work, not the amount of work done, but the inward temper of heart and mind—the faithfulness, the love with which the work is done. He saith, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” to the humblest Christian who in faith and self-denial has done his little best. The slothful servant had done nothing for his Lord; he may have worked hard for himself, but he let his Lord’s money lie unused and uncared for; he neglected the precious means of grace; he lived as if he had no Master—as if he was his own master, as if his time was his own, to waste it or to use it as he pleased; therefore he was cast into the great outer darkness, where is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Simeon had been a good and faithful servant; he was just and devout; the Holy Ghost was upon him. Now his life-work was over; the Master was releasing him from his labours; he was ready, cheerful, and happy. We may well long to be like him, to share his faithfulness and his peace.

2. Simeon’s view of death. It was not to be dreaded: it was to be welcomed; it was a release from the labours of life. Simeon’s life, we may be sure, had not been miserable. Doubtless he had had his troubles, perhaps great troubles, for God’s holiest servants are sometimes most severely tried. But the Holy Ghost was upon him; and “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace.” The faithful servant has an inner source of joy even amid tears; he is, like St. Paul, “sorrowing, yet always rejoicing.” Nevertheless, death was a release. Sometimes death is very thoughtlessly described as “a happy release”: people think only of the cessation of bodily pain; they do not think of what comes after death. Simeon looked forward to the rest that remaineth for the people of God. To the faithful servant, who has striven to work out his own salvation with fear and trembling, death is a release; for life is full of work, bodily, intellectual, spiritual work, sometimes very hard and exhausting. And that spiritual work which is of all work the most momentously important is sometimes full of fear and trembling: our past sins affright the conscience, the old temptations which once seemed overcome reassert their power, Satan is strong, we are weak, we seem to have no strength, we are tempted to fear, sometimes in very agony of soul, lest we ourselves may be castaways at the last. Therefore, to the faithful, death is a true release: it sets them free from anxiety and fear, from toil and labour. “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. Yea, saith the Spirit, for they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them.”

III. The ground of Simeon’s confidence.—

1. The promise. He was to depart, according to God’s word, in peace. He is faithful that promised. He that hath begun the good work in His people will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (Php_1:6). We might well despair if we were left to ourselves; but we have the blessed promises, and we must trust. “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” We must trust, and not be afraid.

2. The earnest, the pledge of fulfilment. “Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.” Simeon had seen the Lord’s Christ, the Saviour Jesus, whose blessed name means the salvation of Jehovah. That was his hope; and that is the hope of the faithful Christian now. We see not the Holy Babe with our outward eyes; but we may see Him still with the eye of faith, we may embrace Him with the embrace of faith, and cling to Him with our whole heart as our only Saviour and Redeemer. We have His blessed promise: “The world seeth Me no more, but ye see Me”; “I am with you all the days, even to the end of the world.” We must pray, “Lord, increase our faith”; we must pray for a strong, living, earnest faith, that seeing Christ now by faith, and living in spiritual communion with Him, we may at last, through His grace and the power of His atoning blood, depart in peace, and rest with Him for ever.—Caffin.

Luk_2:30. “Salvation.”—To see Christ is to see salvation—to see Him, as Simeon saw Him, with the eye of faith. If Simeon had not seen Him thus, he would not have seen in Him God’s salvation; for everything to the outward eye was against His being so. “Every one,” our Lord says, “who seeth the Son, and believeth on Him hath everlasting life.” We who have not “seen” may yet believe. Is this our idea of salvation—Christ Himself? If it be, are we looking for Him? When we can see Christ by faith, then we shall be fit to die.—Vaughan.

Assurance of Salvation.—This is one chord of Simeon’s swan-song. Does it not remind us that—

I. The great aim of Jesus Christ is to bring salvation?—Not simply mental light, or national renewal, or even spiritual comfort, but salvation from sin as a ruling principle, as a terrific power, and as entailing an awful penalty.

II. This salvation can be clearly realised?—Not dreamed of, talked about, expected, hoped for only, but “seen”: its purpose, method, and result “seen.”

III. This salvation should be realised in its personal relation?—

1. As saving the individual—“mine eyes.”

2. As wrought by God—“Thy salvation.”

IV. This clear consciousness prepares for death?—He who can make these words his own can sing Nunc Dimittis.—Thomas.

Preparation for Death.—No one is ready to die in peace until he has seen Christ; but when he has seen Him, he needs no further preparation for dying. He may not have carried out one of his own ambitious plans in life, nor have achieved anything great or beautiful; but no matter, the one essential achievement in life is to see Jesus.—Miller.

Luk_2:29-35. Simeon’s Twofold Prophecy.—Simeon is not expressly said to have been an old man; but he probably was so. How striking is the picture of the aged, worn face bending over the unconscious Child, whom he clasped in his withered arms! His two short prophetic songs are singularly contrasted in tone—the one all sunny and hopeful, the other charged with sad forebodings.

I. The one tells what Christ is sent to be.—The joyful welcome of the new by the expiring old. Simeon lives in the forward-looking attitude proper to Old Testament saints. Is not the ideal for us the same? We too have to base our morality on religion, and to nourish both by hope, which burns the clearer the nearer we come to the end of earthly life. When he actually touched the long-promised Hope of Israel, an infant of six weeks old, no wonder be broke into praise. But the course of his thoughts is noteworthy. His first thought—and it is a glad thought to him—is, “Here is the order for my release.” Is there not a tone of relief and of hailing a long-wished blessing in the “now”—as if he had said, “At last, after weary waiting, it has come”? He speaks as a servant getting escape from toil. The words are not a prayer, though this is the application often made of them. He teaches us what death may be to us if we hold Christ in our hearts. It may be the crowning act of obedience. Death is to Simeon the sweet rest after the day of toil, and the satisfied close of long expectancy. Life can give nothing more than the sight of the Christ. The latter part of the song tells us what the eyes of faith see in the Child in whom the eyes of sense see only weakness. This feeble suckling is the God-appointed means of salvation for all the world. The precedence given to Messiah’s work among the Gentiles is very remarkable. Simeon rejoices over a “salvation prepared” for “all peoples.” No shadows darken the glad picture. The Divine ideal and purpose are painted in unshaded colours.

II. What men’s sin will make of God’s salvation.—Can it be that the salvation prepared by God is a salvation not accepted by men? Who could suppose that in the very Israel of which Messiah was meant to be “the glory” there would be found tongues to speak against Him and hearts to reject Him? But the wonder is true, and that Child is charged with the terrible power of being ruin as well as blessing. There is no more mournful nor mysterious thought than that of man’s power to turn the means of life into the occasion of death, and that power is never so strangely and mournfully displayed as in men’s relations to “this Child.” Christ may be either of two things. One or other of them He must be to all who come in contact with Him. They can never be quite the same as before. How do we fall by contact with Christ? By the increase of self-conscious opposition, by the hardening following rejection, by the deeper condemnation which necessarily dogs the greater light with its blacker shadow. How do we rise by Christ? In all ways and to all heights to which humanity can soar. From the depth of sin and condemnation to the height of likeness to Himself, and finally to the glory of participation in His throne. He is life to those who take Him for their all, and death to those who turn from Him. Simeon further forecasts the fate of the Child as a “sign that shall be spoken against.” A sign from heaven, yet spoken against, is a paradox which only too accurately forebodes the history of the gospel in all ages. How strange to the virgin mother, in all the wonder and joy of those blissful early days, must that prediction of the sorrows that were to pierce her heart have sounded! Mary’s grief at her Son’s rejection culminated when she stood by Calvary’s cross. Her heart was to be pierced, the thoughts of many hearts to be laid open. A man’s attitude to Jesus Christ is the revelation of his deepest self. It is the outcome of his inmost nature, and betrays his whole character. Christ is the test of what we are, and our reception or rejection of Him determines what we shall be.—Maclaren.

Luk_2:32. “A light to lighten the Gentiles.”—The Gentiles are represented as enveloped in darkness, the Jews as abased and down-trodden. Christ, therefore, appears in two aspects corresponding to the conditions in which the two great divisions of the human race are placed:

1. He gives light to those in darkness.

2. He gives the promised glory to the chosen people; they derive from Him an imperishable renown, for the great claim of the Jew to honour among men is that Christ was one of His blood.

“The Gentiles … Israel.”—There seems to be some significance in the Gentiles being named before the Jews, as though Simeon had some prophetic intimation of the fact that the Jews as a nation would reject Christ. His words might be taken to imply that the conversion of the Gentiles would precede and bring about that of God’s ancient people to faith in Jesus. This seems to be the tenor of the teaching in some parts of Scripture, e.g. in Rom_11:25-26.

Luk_2:33. “Marvelled.”—Doubtless the surprise was due to testimony thus coming from all quarters to the greatness of the destiny in store for the Holy Child: the angels, the shepherds, Elisabeth, and Zacharias had all hailed His advent; and now in the Temple aged saints of prophetic rank bear witness to Him. Already the wise men from the East are on their way, as representatives of the Gentile world, to do Him honour.

Luk_2:34. “And Simeon blessed them.”—It is noticeable that Simeon pronounces a benediction on Joseph and Mary, as distinguished from Jesus, of whom he proceeds to speak. On the principle that “the less is blessed of the better” (Heb_7:7), he would naturally abstain from even the appearance of superiority to the Child whom he held in his arms. He addresses Mary with special emphasis, as though acquainted with the fact of the miraculous conception.

“Sign which shall be spoken against.”—The allusion is evidently to Isa_8:14-15, where the Messiah is represented as a rock on which the believing find a refuge, but against which the rebellious dash themselves. In many parts of the Gospels we read of violent opposition excited by the teaching and actions of Christ, and He Himself frequently speaks of divisions and conflicts arising in consequence of the proclamation of the truth—e.g. Luk_12:49-53. He is appointed to try men’s hearts and tempers, whether they will humbly and carefully examine the truth, and receive it with joy, and bring forth its fruits in their lives; and according to the result of this moral probation, He will be for their weal or woe (Joh_3:19; 2Co_2:16). As Greg. Nyssen says, the fall will be to those who are scandalised by the lowliness of His humanity; the rising will be to those who acknowledge the truth of God’s promises in Him, and adore the glory of His divinity. Other passages in which this testing of human character is described are: 1Co_1:18 et seq., Luk_2:14; Joh_9:39; 1Pe_2:7-8; Heb_4:12; Joh_12:48.

Luk_2:34. The Blessedness of the Virgin is proclaimed over and over again in the early chapter of this Gospel. The angel Gabriel salutes her as “blessed among women”; Elisabeth repeats the phrase; she says of herself, “All generations shall call me blessed”; and here the aged Simon bestows his benediction on her and on Joseph. Yet it is instructive to notice that this blessedness did not imply a life of unmixed happiness. Here, indeed, her future sorrows are spoken of in no uncertain manner: “Yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also.” The prophecy was not long in finding fulfilment. The jealousy and malice of Herod expose the life of her Son to great danger, and she is obliged to find safety for Him in flight. The fatigues and anxieties of a journey into Egypt have to be encountered by her. Then some years after she undergoes the agony of losing Him for three days at the Passover feast in Jerusalem. Nor were her sorrows at an end when He reached the years of manhood. She had the grief of seeing that He was despised and rejected of men, hated even by His own townsmen, and in risk of being murdered by them. She saw Him weary with labours for the good of others, and yet treated with ingratitude, contempt, and contumely. And finally she was witness of His death at the hands of His enemies, after an unjust and shameful trial; she saw Him expire upon the cross after hours of pain and suffering. Scarcely any griefs could be more poignant than hers, and the name by which she is frequently described—Mater dolorosa—commemorates her pre-eminence in sorrow. One great lesson we may learn from her history is that immunity from suffering is not necessarily enjoyed by those who are truly blessed of God; and the thought is one that should console us in times of trial and suffering. Outward troubles may not be a sign of God’s displeasure with us: they may be a form of discipline to which in His wisdom and love He subjects us.

Luk_2:35. “Yea, a sword shall pierce.”—Undue elation on the part of the parents, and especially of the virgin mother, must have been repressed by the ominous tone of Simeon’s words, and still more by the special reference to the sorrow which was to pierce her heart like a sword. The full meaning of this latter prophecy she must have realised as she stood beside the cross. No lamentation of hers is recorded as having been uttered in the hour of her greatest grief; but her silence is that of ineffable anguish, and not of insensibility.

“The thoughts … revealed.”—In and by Christ’s sufferings it was shown what the temper and thoughts of men were. Then Judas despairs, Peter repents, Joseph of Arimathæa becomes courageous, Nicodemus comes by day, the centurion confesses, one thief blasphemes, the other prays; men faint, and women become strong.

Luk_2:36-38. Anna the Prophetess.—God’s book is a book for all. The aged are not forgotten. They need support and comfort. This history of Anna, with many a word besides, is proof that they are not passed over by God. In the life of Anna we have—

I. The grace of God sustaining a believer in the midst of affliction.—She had met with trials—widowed in her youth; but she had learned to look beyond the blow to the Hand that had inflicted it. She had found in Him the widow’s stay through long years of sad memories; her heart renewed many a time all its grief, but she ever found fresh comfort in God. So may every aged Christian in like trying experiences. Bereavements will come, even though long delayed. The effect of trial to Anna was doubtless most blessed. One great affliction at the beginning of life may bless the sufferer to the close of it.

II. The grace of God supporting a believer in privation.—Anna had to face the world’s struggles all alone. We know not if she had relatives to advise or aid, or outward means of sustenance to depend on. If so, God’s grace was as much manifested in providing and continuing these as it would have been in maintaining her without them. It is not only those who are ever on the verge of want who illustrate God’s care. So do those who have what is called a competency. They are as surely dependent on God. They are exhorted to trust not in uncertain riches, but in the living God. In this humble trust rich and poor meet together. Anna had been thus divinely helped. So is every aged Christian. Each is a living monument of God’s faithfulness, of God’s perpetual providence. A life of fourscore years bears manifold inscriptions of the grace of God. At this advanced age He writes on her briefly told history Jehovah-Jireh, “Let thy widows trust in Me.”

III. The grace of God strengthening a believer in duty.—“Anna … served God … night and day.” A long course, but not dreary or monotonous. The spectator sees only the outward form of service, not the inward life and love that animate it. The freshness and constancy of aged Christians in the performance of duty is one of the most delightful proofs of the unfailing power of gospel truth, and of the faithfulness of the renewing Spirit. Their activity, though it differ from that of youth, will continue. “They shall still bring forth fruit in old age.” None of God’s children becomes sated with prayer or praise, with the exercise of trust and hope. In a higher sense than that of Moses “their eye is not dim nor their natural force abated.”

IV. The grace of God consoling a believer in the decline of life.—There is much externally to make the last years of life cheerless and comfortless. The bodily powers decline. The old familiar faces disappear. The sense of solitude deepens. Still the setting sun has more glorious hues than at his dawning, and autumn has a beauty which spring knows nothing of. So God’s saints may have their brightest hours at the close of life, and “the day of death be better than the day of birth.” So it was with Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Paul, and John. As the world faded their eyes saw “the King in His beauty.”

V. The grace of God sealing a believer’s parting testimony.—This aged saint gives thanks for herself, and speaks of Christ to others. God makes her useful to the latest close, and dismisses her bearing testimony to His faithfulness and mercy in the gift of His Son. It is a happy thing to be willing to serve God to the end. Aged sufferers serve by waiting. Thus, certainly, “they also do His will.” To bear, to submit meekly, to praise God in fainting and decay—this is the prerogative of earth. Let none think the time of trial too long, when the time of triumph shall be eternal. The aged Christian should be concerned to make his closing days a testimony for his Lord.—Ker.

Luk_2:37. “A widow.”—Perhaps it was in allusion to her that St. Paul depicted the manner of life of one who was a widow indeed, and desolate—“she trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day” (1Ti_5:5).

Asceticism commended.—It is impossible to overlook the fact that the Evangelist speaks with emphatic approval of the ascetic mode of life followed by Anna—her abstinence from second marriage, her residence in the Temple, and her fastings and prayers night and day. Perhaps our recoil from the abuses of a monastic life has carried us too far in the opposite direction, and blinded us to the beauty and worth of a type of piety which may have its home in a cloister. It aims at a complete and single-hearted service of God, and it is lacking in the important element of religion which concerns service of man. In our philanthropical forms of religion we are specially in danger of losing sight of the service of God in serving our fellow-men.

Luk_2:38. A Small Congregation.—But one old man and one old woman recognised the Lord when He came to His Temple. Priests and wise men and the world knew Him not. They two alone witnessed the fulfilment of Malachi’s prophecy (Luk_3:1); so it may be with other prophecies yet to be fulfilled.

Luk_2:39. “Returned into Galilee.”—The evangelists constantly speak of Galilee as a different country from Judæa. The fact that there were considerable differences between the two needs to be kept in mind, if we would understand many parts of the gospel history. The inhabitants of Galilee were despised by those of Judæa as rude, illiterate, lax in religious practices, and almost semi-heathen. The people of Judæa were more cultured, strict in religious observances, under the rule of custom, and priestridden. The ministry of Jesus was more successful in Galilee than in Judæa, and it is plainly indicated that the enthusiasm manifested on the day of His triumphal entrance into Jerusalem was largely owing to the pride of Galilæan pilgrims in the greatness of their fellow-countryman. Of the twelve apostles, eleven evidently were from Galilee, and only one—Judas Iscariot—from Judæa.

Respect for the Law.—It is significant that St. Luke, who in so many parts of his Gospel reflects the Pauline teaching, gives no indication of any contempt for the ceremonial laws of Judaism. It is only after his parents had “performed all things according to the law of the Lord” that they returned to Nazareth. The antagonism between adherents of the Old Testament economy and those of the New belongs to a later generation, and finds no justification in the inspired documents on which Christianity is based.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

THIRD SECTION

THE HISTORY OF THE GROWTH

Luk_2:21-52

A. The Eighth Day; or, Submission to the Law. Luk_2:21

(The Gospel for New Year’s Day)

21And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child [for circumcising Him],20 his name was called JESUS, which was so named of [by] the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Luk_2:21. The circumcising.—See the Exegetical Notes on Luk_1:59.

[Alford:—“The Lord was made like unto His brethren (Heb_2:17; Heb_4:15) in all weakness and bodily infirmity, from which legal uncleannesses arose. The body which He took on Him, though not a body of sin, was mortal, subject to the consequence of sin,—in the likeness of sinful flesh; but incorruptible by the indwelling of the Godhead (1Pe_3:18). In the fulfilment therefore of His great work of redemption He became subject to legal rites and purifications—not that they were absolutely necessary for Him, but were included in those things which were πρέποντα for Him in His humiliation and ‘making perfect’: and in His lifting up of that human nature, for which all these things were absolutely necessary (Gen_17:14), into the Godhead.”—Bengel remarks on πρὸ τοῦ, antequam: “Exquisite hic denotatur beneplacitum Patris in Christo, atque innuitur simul, nunc infantem circumcisione per se non eguisse. Conf. Gal_1:15.”—P. S.]

Jesus, Ἰησοῦς.—Hebr. יְהוֹשׁוּעַ, or contracted, יֵשׁוּעַ,—Jehovah auxilium. It appears from Col_4:11, and Mat_27:16-17, where the correct reading is Jesus Barabbas, that the name was not an usual one at this time. For mystical derivations of the name see Wolf and others.

Which (name) was so named (or: the name given by the angel).—The naming of our Lord was not less an act of faith in obedience to the divine command, than the naming of the Baptist (Luk_1:63). In this instance, the direction was not given to Joseph alone (Mat_1:21), but also to Mary (Luk_1:31).

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. It is remarkable that Luke relates the circumcision of the Baptist in a far more detailed and circumstantial manner than that of the Messiah. This is surely no proof that the two narratives were derived from entirely different sources (Schleiermacher); while this very brevity and simplicity offer a fresh token of the truth of the history. A mere inventor would never have omitted enhancing the occurrences of the eighth and fortieth days, by appearances of angels. The detailed account of the circumcision of John, contrasted with the brevity with which that of Jesus is narrated, is the more striking, when we consider that the first stands entirely upon Old Testament ground; while the Mosaic law, and the rite of circumcision itself, were about to be done away with by the second (Lange.)

2. In a certain point of view, circumcision had not the same meaning for the child Jesus, as it bore for every other son of Abraham. The spotless purity of His body needed no symbol of the putting off of the sinful Adam; and even without περιτομή, He would doubtless, in the eye of Heaven, have been sanctified and hallowed in a peculiar sense of the word. But the King of the Jews could not, and would not, omit the token that He belonged, according to the flesh, to that elect people; and when the Son of God appeared in the likeness of sinful flesh, He chose also to receive the emblem of purification from sin, that He might be in all things like unto His brethren, sin only excepted. The principle, afterward so prominently laid down by our Lord at His baptism, also applies in this instance, Mat_3:15. It shows a deep insight into the nature and reality of His incarnation, that the mother of our Lord never thinks of withdrawing either Him or herself from the duties of the eighth or of the fortieth day.

3. He who was ἐκ γυναικὸς γενόμενος, came also at the appointed time ὑπὸ νόμον by circumcision. His reception of this rite is an incident in the history of the self-humiliation of Him who, being originally in the form (μορφή) of God, took upon Him the form of a servant. By it He became symbolically bound to perform that will of the Father, for whose fulfilment He had come into the world. Olshausen well remarks, that “the harmony of the divine plan of salvation required His submission to even this form of human development, according to which He was received as a member of the theocracy of the Old Testament, by means of the same sacred treatment which brought all His brethren within the bonds of the covenant, in order that He might, after attaining to the perfectly developed consciousness of His higher existence, elevate to the higher degrees of His own life, that community to which He was united by so many various ties.”

4. Now that Christ is circumcised, the law is in this respect also both fulfilled and repealed. Baptism takes the place of circumcision (Col_2:10-12), as the form of admission into the new covenant; and Paul rightly opposes the judaizing zeal for the re-introduction of circumcision, as a virtual denial of Christian principle.

5. The most important fact of the eighth day, is, after all, the naming of the Saviour. What name was ever given which promised more, and which less disappointed the expectations excited, than this? Comp. Act_4:12.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

Jesus made under the law, that He might redeem us from the law.—Jesus both humbled and exalted, on the eighth day.—The circumcision of the flesh, and the circumcision of the heart, Rom_2:28-29.—Circumcision and baptism.—The first fruits of the blood of Christ, a sacrifice of obedience.—The name Jesus Isaiah , 1. a name given by God; 2. a name whereby we must be saved; 3. the only name under heaven given for this purpose.—The solemn manner in which circumcision was instituted (Genesis 17.), contrasted with the silent and almost imperceptible manner in which it disappeared, Heb_8:13.—The harmony between the name and work of Jesus.—The name Jesus: 1. The dignity with which the Lord is invested; 2. the work which He performs; 3. the homage He receives, as bearing this name.—Joseph and Mary, patterns of the unquestioning obedience of faith.—The name of Jesus, and our name.—New Year’s day, the Lord’s name-day: 1. The knowledge of the name of Jesus, the best New Year’s blessing; 2. the faithful confession of this name, the chief New Year’s duty.—The New Year considered in the light of the name of Jesus, the name of Jesus in the light of the New Year.—Our earthly destination also, is appointed by God before our birth.

Starke:—Christ was esteemed unclean, according to the law, that, by His satisfaction, He might take away our uncleanness.

Palmer:—The name of Jesus in the mouth of His believing people who are in the world: 1. All that we believe and confess in the world is summed up in this one name; 2. what we do for the world, we do in the name of Jesus; 3. what we shall take out of the world is this name alone; (or, more shortly, the name of Jesus, with respect to the faith, the works, and the hope of the Christian).

Rautenberg:—The name of Jesus, our light in the darkness of the New Year’s morning: 1. The light of grace for the darkness of our conscience; 2. the light of power for the darkness of our life.—This name on New Year’s day, 1. throws the right light on our reminiscences; 2. gives the right weight to our resolutions; 3. and provides the anchor of true confidence for our hopes.

Spritzler:—We must begin with Jesus Christ, the true “beginning.”—Through Him we have, 1. new life; 2. new hopes; 3. new righteousness; 4. new peace.

V. Gerlach:—The New Year, a year of salvation.

Stier:—The right way of beginning the New Year: 1. Not in our own name; 2. not only in the name of God alone, but in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Heubner:—The Christian resolution to lead a new life in the New Year: 1. What this resolution requires—circumcision of the heart and fulfilment of duties; 2. what gives it strength—the name of Jesus; 3. what promises its accomplishment—the protection of Providence (Luk_2:21).

Footnotes:

[20]Luk_2:21.—The Received Text reads to τὸ παιδίον, the child, to mark the chief person; but this word is unnecessary in the connection and not sustained by the best authorities and critical editions which read αὐτόν. So also Cod. Sinait. The second καί before ἐκλήθη is simply redundant, and hence properly omitted in the E. V.—P. S.]

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Circumcision and Presentation of Christ. Luk 2:21-40

The circumcision:

v. 21. And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

By His ancestry and birth, Jesus was a member of the Jewish race and of the Jewish Church. And Mary and Joseph observed all the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish law. On the eighth day of the Child’s life, therefore, the sacrament of circumcision was administered to Him, whereby He was formally declared to be a member of the Jewish Church. Incidentally, according to the custom of the Jews, He was given a name by which He should be distinguished in the congregation of God’s people. And in this instance there was no difference of opinion. As the angel had told Mary at the time of the annunciation, as he had told Joseph in a dream, Mat 1:21, so it was now done. The child’s name was Jesus. In Him there is salvation for all men. Note: Jesus here, in submitting to the ordinance of circumcision, was made under the Law, Gal 4:4-5. It was the beginning of His active obedience in behalf of all men. But it was the beginning also of His passive obedience, of His suffering. For here He paid the first drop of blood as the price of our souls, the full payment being completed when He committed His soul into the hands of His heavenly Father on the cross.

The presentation:

v. 22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord,

v. 23. (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord,)

v. 24. and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

Luke finds it necessary to explain the rites connected with the purification for the sake of his readers that were not familiar with Jewish laws. The mother was unclean, according to the ordinances of Moses, for seven days after the birth of a son, and must then remain separate for a matter of another thirty-three days. These forty days altogether denoted the days of the Levitical cleansing, or purification, Lev 12:1-8. At the close of this period the parents went up to Jerusalem with the Child to present Him to the Lord, for the firstborn of man and beast belonged to the Lord, Exo 13:2, and had to be redeemed with a sacrifice. Since Mary and Joseph were poor, they could not afford to bring a lamb. Mary therefore brought the less expensive sacrifice, Lev 12:6-8. The manner in which Mary brought her sacrifice, the sin-offering and the offering of thanksgiving, is the following. She entered the Temple through the "gate of the firstborn," waited at the gate of Nicanor while the offering of incense was being made in the Holy Place. She then proceeded to the highest step of the stairway which led from the Court of the Women to the Court of Israel. Here a priest took the sacrifice from her hand and made the offering. She was then sprinkled with the blood to indicate the cleansing. Finally she paid five pieces of silver into the Temple treasury, placing the money (about 85 cents) into one of the trumpet-shaped treasure-boxes which stood in the Court of the Women. Note: The law really concerned only such women as became mothers after the visual course of nature. The Virgin and her Child might fitly have claimed exemption. But Christ humbled Himself so completely for the sake of us sinners, so completely did He want to become flesh of our flesh, that He submitted even to this humiliating rite of purification in the Temple.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2:21 Eight days later . . . circumcised: See study note on 1:59.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Luk 2:21. Περιτεμεῖν· ἐκλήθη, that they should circumcise: He was called) The circumcision is not recorded in so direct terms as the naming of Him, inasmuch as the latter was divinely ordered by express command.—[ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀγγέλου, by the angel) ch. Luk 1:26; Luk 1:31.—V. g.]—πρὸ τοῦ, before that) There is hereby exquisitely expressed the good pleasure of the Father in Christ. [And it is implied at the same time, that this infant of (in) Himself did not need circumcision.—V. g.] Comp. Gal 1:15.—ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ, in the womb) viz. of His mother. So ἐν κοιλίᾳ is used absolutely, Jer 1:5, בבטן.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk_2:21. Τοῦ περιτεμεῖν αὐτόν] The genitive, not as at Luk_2:22; Luk_1:57; Luk_2:6, but as genitive of the aim: in order to circumcise Him, that He might be circumcised. Comp. Buttmann, neut. Gr. p. 230 [E. T. 267].

καὶ ἐκλήθη] was also named, indicating the naming as superadded to the rite of circumcision. See Nägelsbach, z. Ilias, ed. 3, p. 164. And the Son of God had to become circumcised, as γενόμενος ἐκ γυναικός, γενόμενος ὑπὸ νόμον, Gal_4:4. This was the divine arrangement for His appearing as the God-man in necessary association with the people of God (Rom_9:5). There is much importation of the dogmatic element here among the older commentators.[53]

τὸ κληθὲν κ.τ.λ.] See Luk_1:31. Comp. Mat_1:21, where, however, the legend quite differently refers the giving of the name to the angel.

[53] Calovius says that Christ allowed Himself to be circumcised tum ob demonstrandam naturae humanae veritatem … tum ad probandam e semine Abrahae originem … tum imprimis ob meriti et redemptions Christi certificationem.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 2:21-24 . Circumcision and presentation in the temple .

Luk 2:21 . ἐπλήσθησαν , as in Luk 1:57 , Luk 2:6 , and again in Luk 2:22 ; in the first two places the reference is to the course of nature, in the second two to the course prescribed by the law. τοῦ περιτεμεῖν , the genitive not so much of purpose (Meyer, J. Weiss), but of more exact definition (Schanz; vide Burton, M. and T. , § 400, on the use of τοῦ with infinitive to limit nouns). καὶ ἐκλήθη : the καὶ may be taken as “also” = He was circumcised (understood), and at the same time His name was called Jesus, or as introducing the apodosis: and = then (so Godet and Hahn). It might have been dispensed with ( superfluit . Grotius).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Sixth Narrative: Circumcision and Presentation of Jesus, Luk 2:21-40.

This narrative comprises—1. The circumcision of Jesus (Luk 2:21); 2. His presentation in the temple (Luk 2:22-38); 3. A historical conclusion (Luk 2:39-40).

1. The Circumcision: Luk 2:21.

It was under the Jewish form that Jesus was to realize the ideal of human existence. The theocracy was the surrounding prepared of God for the development of the Son of man. So to His entrance into life by birth succeeds, eight days after, His entrance into the covenant by circumcision. “Born of a woman, made under the law,” says St. Paul, Gal 4:4, to exhibit the connection between these two facts. There is a brevity in the account of the circumcision of Jesus which contrasts with the fuller account of the circumcision of John the Baptist (chap. 1). This difference is natural; the simply Jewish ceremony of circumcision has an importance, in the life of the latest representative of the theocracy, which does not belong to it in the life of Jesus, who only entered into the Jewish form of existence to pass through it.

Ver. 21. The absence of the article before ἡμέραι ὀκτώ is due to the determinative τοῦ περιτεμεῖν αὐτόν which follows. In Hebrew the construct state (subst. with complement) excludes the article.

The false reading of the T. R., τὸ παιδίον instead of αὐτόν, proceeds from the cause which has occasioned the greater part of the errors in this text, the necessities of public reading. As the section to be read began with this verse, it was necessary to substitute the noun for the pronoun. Καί, while marking the apodosis, brings out the intimate connection between the circumcision and the giving of the name. This καί is almost a τότε, then.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Christ the head of the Church, made subject to the Law, to deliver us from the curse of the Law, (as the Name of Jesus doth well declare) being circumcised, doth ratify and seal in his own flesh, the circumcision of the fathers.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 21. When eight days were accomplished] The law had appointed that every male should be circumcised at eight days old, or on the eighth day after its birth, Ge 17:12; and our blessed Lord received circumcision in token of his subjection to the law, Ga 4:4; Ga 5:3.

His name was called JESUS] See Clarke on Mt 1:21 and See Clarke on Joh 1:29.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(21) When eight days were accomplished . . .—Hence the Feast of the Circumcision in the Church Calendar comes on January 1st, and so, not without design, perhaps, came to coincide with the beginning of the civil year. The contrast between this and the narrative of John’s circumcision is striking. Here there are no friends and neighbours. Mary and Joseph were but poor strangers, in a city far from their own home. On the name of Jesus, see Note on Mat_1:21. In St. Paul’s words, “made of a woman, made under the law” (Gal_4:4), we may, perhaps, see a reference to a narrative with which his friendship with St. Luke must almost of necessity have made him familiar.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21. The Circumcision

21. for the circumcising of the child] Gen_17:12. Doubtless the rite was performed by Joseph. “Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision” (i. e. went to the Jew first) “for the truth of God to confirm the promises made unto the fathers,” Rom_15:8. Thus it became him ‘to be made like unto His brethren, and to fulfil all righteousness,’ Mat_3:15. Christ suffered pain thus early for our sake to teach us that, though He ordained for us the painless rite of baptism, we must practise the spiritual circumcision—the circumcision of the heart. He came “not to destroy the Law but to fulfil,” Mat_5:17—

“He, who with all heaven’s heraldry whilere

Entered the world, now bleeds to give us ease.

Alas, how soon our sin

Sore doth begin

His infancy to seize!”

Milton, The Circumcision.

his name was called JESUS] See on Luk_1:31. The name of the child was bestowed at circumcision, as with us at baptism. Among Greeks and Romans also the genethlia and nominalia were on the eighth or ninth day. Observe the brief notice of Christ’s circumcision compared with the fuller and more elaborate account of John’s. “In the person of John the rite of circumcision solemnised its last glories.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child,.... According to the original institution of circumcision, Gen 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, Luk 1:59 Hence the Apostle Paul reckons this among his privileges, that he could have boasted of as well as other Jews; see Gill on Phi 3:5. But it may be asked, why was Christ circumcised, since he had no impurity of nature, which circumcision supposed; nor needed any circumcision of the heart, which that was a symbol of? To which it may be replied, though he needed it not himself, it was the duty of his parents to do it, since all the male seed of Abraham were obliged it, and that law, or ordinance, was now in force; and besides, it was necessary that he might appear in the likeness of sinful flesh, who was to bear, and atone for the sins of his people; as also, that it might be manifest that he assumed true and real flesh, and was a partaker of the same flesh and blood with us; and that he was a son of Abraham, and of his seed, as it promised he should; and that he was made under the law, and came to fulfil it, and was obliged to it, as every one that is circumcised is; as well as to show a regard to all divine, positive institutions that are in being, and to set an example, that we should tread in his steps; and likewise to cut off all excuse from the Jews, that they might not have this to say, that he was an uncircumcised person, and so not a son of Abraham, nor the Messiah,

His name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb, Luk 1:31 It appears from hence, and from the instance of John the Baptist, that at circumcision it was usual to give names to children; See Gill on Luk 1:57. The Jews observe (u) that "six persons were called by their names before they were born: and these are Isaac, Ishmael, Moses, Solomon, Josiah, and the King Messiah:

the latter they prove from Psa 72:17 which they render, "before the sun his name was Yinnon", or the son: that is, the Son of God,

(u) Pirke Eliezer, c. 32.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Ver. 21. For the circumcising of the child] Christ would be circumcised, and so become bound to fulfil the law, that he might free us that were under the law, Gal 4:5. He shed his blood for us when he was but eight days old; he took us into his family by baptism when we hung on our mother’s breasts. Should we not then serve him betimes, remember him from our infancy?

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eight days ... - This was the regular time for performing the rite of circumcision, Gen 17:12.

Called Jesus - See the notes at Mat 1:21.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Should be circumcised; which might be done not only in the temple, or in a synagogue, but in any house. (Witham) --- Many reasons may be alleged why our Saviour submitted to the painful and humbling knife of circumcision: 1. to manifest to the whole world the reality of his human nature, and the difference between his divinity and humanity; 2. to shew he approved of circumcision, which he had instituted; 3. to prove that he was of the seed of Abraham; 4. to teach us humility and obedience, by observing the law to which he was not bound; 5. that by receiving the burthen of the law, he might free those that were under the law, (Galatians iii.); and lastly, that the Jews might have no excuse for rejecting him, because he was uncircumcised. (St. Epiphanius and Nicholas of Lyra)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The time prescribed by the Divine law for circumcision was the eighth day. Gen 17:12; Lev 12:3. He was indeed the lawgiver, and as such not tied to the observance of the law. But he was also made of a woman, made under the law, Gal 4:4; and the law was, Lev 12:2, that if a woman had conceived seed, and borne a man child, in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin should be circumcised. He was to make himself appear the Son of Abraham; and so this was God’s covenant, Gen 17:10, with Abraham and his seed after him; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. This law Christ was bound to fulfil, and by the fulfilling of it in this point he showed himself a debtor to do the whole law, Gal 5:3, and by his observance of it he was to teach us our duty. He was to be a minister of the circumcision, Rom 15:8, and to the circumcision, which they would never have allowed him to be, had not he himself been circumcised; upon which account Paul took Timothy, and circumcised him, Act 16:3. By his circumcision also we were to be circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, Col 2:11. It was therefore reasonable and necessary that Christ should be circumcised the eighth day.

His name was called Jesus; it was in circumcision before witnesses publicly declared to be so, for God by his angel had given him his name, Mat 1:21. We read of four under the Old Testament, to whom God gave names before they were born; Isaac, Gen 17:19, Josiah, 1Ki 13:2, Ishmael, Gen 16:11, Cyrus, Isa 44:28; and in the New Testament to John the Baptist, and to Jesus Christ. Which lets us know the certainty to God of future contingencies; for though the parents of Ishmael, and Isaac, John the Baptist, and Christ, imposed those names in obedience to the command of God, and there was but a small time betwixt the giving of these four their names and their birth, yet the case was otherwise as to Josiah and Cyrus.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vers. 21-40. Circumcision and presentation of the Child Jesus.

For the circumcising of the Child. These ancient rites circumcision and purification enjoined in the Mosaic Law were intended as perpetual witnesses to the deadly taint of imperfection and sin inherited by every child of man. In the cases of Mary and her Child these rites were not necessary; but the mother devoutly submitted herself and her Babe to the ancient customs, willingly obedient to that Divine Law under which she was born and hitherto had lived.

Vers. 21-38. The circumcision and presentation in the temple.

I THE CIRCUMCISION. With regard to the circumcision, observe:

1. The Son of God is not only "made of a woman," he is made under the Law." He is entered into all the requirements and circumstances of the covenant "with Abraham and his seed." The apostle tells us why redeem them that were under the Law." Christ took the bond under which Israel was bound, and became Israel"s Surety for it. Now it is ended. There is a new form of righteousness in which the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile is removed. The apostle adds, (Gal_4:6) "To redeem them that were under the Law, that wei.e. as many as have been baptized into Christ, Jew or Greek, bond or free receive the adoption of sons." This adoption is now the standing through grace.

2. The circumcision has its special place in the making of Jesus by God to us Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification, Redemption. It is an evidence that the Son of God was sent "in the likeness of sinful flesh." Circumcision supposed its subject to be a sinner. It supposed that a condemnation rested on him as such. The Lord Jesus, God"s beloved Son, therefore took the sinner"s place, and in the drops of blood shed on the eighth day after birth served himself, as it were, the heir to the condemnation of sin. Of this condemnation he spoke when he bowed his head on the cross and said, "It is finished!

3. The circumcision has its special meaning with regard to the spiritual history of believers. See in this connection Col_2:10, "You Christians thus we may paraphrase the sentence through your union with Christ, the reality of circumcision. When you gave yourselves to Christ, a work was done in you which was equal to the sharp and painful renunciation the putting off of the body of flesh, of that mind of the flesh with its affections and lusts which is enmity against God. It was through the repentance wrought in you that you became partakers of the remission of sins. When you were buried with Christ in baptism, your old, unbelieving self was circumcised to the Lord. You found the new position, the new life, that is complete in Christ. (For the manifold suggestiveness of the circumcision of the infant Jesus, read Keble"s hymn in his "Christian Year.")

II THE PRESENTATION. The forty days of purification prescribed by the Law of Moses having been accomplished, Joseph and Mary bring the Babe to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord. As Mary"s Firstborn, he must be formally separated. And in the narrative of this separation we are reminded of the lowly condition of the parents. Not the lamb and the pigeon, but the two young pigeons allowed in cases of poverty, constitute the sacrifice, so low had he stooped whose place is the bosom of the Father. Look at the welcome prepared for Christ as he is borne in Mary"s loving arms into his Father"s temple.

1. Think first of the man by whom the welcome is expressed. He is called simply "a man in Jerusalem." Not the priests. In connection with the infancy we trace three acts of adoration that of the shepherds, that of Simeon and Anna, and that of the heathen Magi. In all there is no representation of the circles of authority; at least, there is no dwelling on the importance of those through whom the homage is shown. The tribute of the human heart is sufficient for the Son of man. Of this man we know nothing more than is told us by St. Luke. His name is Simeon. He is (ver. 25) "righteous and devout, one of those who looked for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit is upon him." The character all that is memorable is summed up in the title he himself takes (ver. 29), "Thy servant." For years he has been looking a sharer in the expectation which had become earnest and eager among the pious. But he thinks and prays and hopes in a light that is peculiar to himself. Somehow we are not told how the intimation has been borne into his soul (ver. 26) that "he should not see death before he had seen the Lord"s Christ." Is not the picture of this "watcher for the morning "a beautiful one? Do we not seem to see him, weary of the word-wranglings, the fightings over pin-points of ceremonial, which abounded, piercing through the hypocrisies with which the religious world was honeycombed; amid confusions becoming worse confounded, breathing the prayer, "O thou Hope of Israel, come quickly"? Is not this man an example to us? Is not this present time the watch-night to Christ"s people? Are we watching as he watched asleep in sin, but diligent in the Lord"s service, and rejoicing in his praises"?

2. Regard next the scene in which the welcome is given. The watcher is in the temple there in the spirit of David"s psalm, "That I may dwell in the courts of the. Lord, beholding the beauty of the Lord, and inquiring in his temple." He is there led by the Spirit. When "two unnoted worshippers" enter, his eye fixes on the two; faster beats the heart, "It is he; that child is he the Lord"s Christ." An incident that is indelibly photographed in the heart of Christendom is that in which the venerable seer takes the Babe in his arms, and lifts his eyes to heaven "in prayers that struggle with his tears.

(1) Behold the sign of the Babe realized. To welcome the true child-nature, as Simeon welcomed Jesus; to see heaven in the Child, and open the soul to the impression, becoming child-like, and therefore Christ-like; this is to receive the kingdom of heaven.

(2) Note that in spiritual history there is a moment of discovery the discerning of the hidden glory in Jesus. This moment is typified in the conjunction of the watcher and the watched for (ver. 27) when the parents brought the Child Jesus, then he received him into his arms. We may not be able always to distinguish the very time and way; but there is the morning hour in the life, the awakenment to the claim of God on the soul, to the fact "I am a sinner, and I need the Lord"s Christ," and the answering fact, "He is the Savior, and he wants me." Would that Simeon"s joy were realized in all who read, "Mine eyes have seen thy Salvation"!

3. Observe the song, the familiar "Nunc dimittis." What sweetness, what beauty in this, the "swan-song" of the Christian Church as it has been called!

(1) How tenderly the heart asks the supreme release! What more can be desired! The servant has seen the Master. And yet it is no prayer of longing initiated by the heart itself. Had it not been revealed to him that the hour of departure would follow the vision of the Lord? The human will touches the Divine. "Let me depart... according to thy word.

(2) How the song thrills with the sense of a love free and universal as the light of God (vers. 31, 32)! So it is when the Lord"s Christ is really seen. The place of Christ is "a place of broad rivers and streams." Christian love is necessarily a missionary love. The word which it sows into the innermost desire is, "Let there be light." Christians may learn this, too, from Simeon he, the Israelite, seeks the good of the Gentiles. The salvation in which he rejoices is one "for revelation to the Gentiles." Should not we Gentiles reciprocate by embracing in our prayer and effort God people Israel? seeking that the whole thought of the venerable watcher may be fulfilled the Lord"s Christ, the Light for the Gentiles and the Glory of Israel.

(3) A soul thus filled out of the fullness of God"s love is ready, to depart. Death to it is only a departing, the dismissal of the servant from the scene of earthly toil, that he may enter more fully into the joy of the Lord. "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace." The aged servant has still another word. He has his blessing for the parents.

4. Mark the prediction addressed to Mary.

(1) The more general announcement, which seems at variance with the exalted strain of the song; but in this variance it harmonizes with the words of prophecy (e.g. Isaiah"s forecasts), and interprets the experience of the ages. For "Christ is both a Corner-stone and a Stumblingstone, and perhaps, in some sense, he is both the one and the other to us all.

(2) The more special announcement. Ah! how often the love which is the source of the purest joy is the occasion of the most poignant sorrow! Many a mother can understand the word of the seer to the mother, "A sword shall pierce through thine own soul." Well when the wound is that only of a holy sorrow! Thus

(3) the prophetic word is attached to the blessing, that, through the Lord"s Christ, "the thoughts of many hearts should be revealed." It is true: the attitude of every heart to Christ is the revelation of that heart in the roots and springs of its thinking.

5. The sketch of Anna the prophetess is the concluding and consummating feature of the day. She, too, is an interesting person. A widow, after seven years of married life, and now "advanced in many days" (ver. 36), at least four score and four. Devout, almost an inmate of the temple, and recognized as a prophetess. She, too, has her thanksgiving, as she comes in "at that very hour." But the notable circumstance in regard to her is that she is the first preacher of Christ in the city of the great King. "She speaks of him to all them that are looking for redemption." She is the pioneer of the great host of women that publish the tidings. (Psa_68:11, Revised Version) In this host may many who read or hear be included!

Vers. 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. (Ver. 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 to enter in the interests of men. There are not the same details about this circumcision that there were about John"s. The outstanding fact was that he received the name Jesus, indicating that he was to be the Savior of mankind. Into the Jewish covenant, consequently, there has entered by this circumcision a Savior, One destined, like his namesake Joshua, to lead the Lord"s people out of all bondage into glorious liberty. This was a practical identification of him with the people of God, before he could, at least humanly, decide for himself. And there is nothing better for little children than to be thus early associated with the cause of God.

II THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE. (Vers. 22-24) The circumcision constituted Jesus a member of the old covenant, but his presentation in the temple was his formal dedication to the service of the Lord. The mother was directed, at the end of forty days from the child"s birth, to appear before the Lord with two offerings one for a sin offering, the other for a burnt offering. In Mary"s case, because of her poverty, the offerings consisted of two doves or two young pigeons The one sacrifice expressed a sense of sin, the other a sense of consecration, both beautiful in the mother of our Lord. The first was entirely out of place it" she was "immaculate," as some represent her. In addition there would be paid for Jesus the redemption price of five shekels, that he might be excused from temple service, and might dedicate himself to the Lord in another capacity. When we consider all his Messiahship meant, it was really a payment that he might have the privilege of serving the Father as the Fulfiller of the ritual, and thus as the Abolisher of the ritualism of the temple. It would have altogether confused matters if he had undertaken any service about the temple as the Levites and priests did, a word, the Messiah could not well have come, like the Baptist, from the tribe of Levi; but it was better he should belong to one which was not bound to the altar. And here we must notice as a practical point that the claim made on the firstborn by the Lord as being his peculiar possession, is a claim which we should all recognize as just. We are not our own, but bought with a price, and so bound to glorify God with our bodies. (1Co_6:19, 1Co_6:20) This Jesus alone realized in fullness, but we ought to try to realize it in increasing measure.

III THE TESTIMONY OF SIMEON. (Vers. 25-35) While Jesus was being presented, an aged believer called Simeon comes, Spirit-impelled, into the temple. His character is clearly sketched for us. He was

(1) just and devout;

(2) waiting hopefully for the advent of him who was to be Israel"s Consolation;

(3) the subject of special revelation about seeing Messiah before death. And now he comes into the temple to recognize intuitively the Messiah in Mary"s little Child. The result is his appropriation of the Child for an instant, that he might fondle him in his breast. Then does he pour forth his swan-song, the "Nunc Dimittis," which has been such a pathetic word in the experience of the Church. This prayer of Simeon suggests such thoughts as these:

1. A peaceful departure is not only possible, but most desirable. Manifestly Simeon could go to his last sleep as quietly as to his nightly rest. We may commit not only the folded hours of the night to God, but also the folded hours of eternity.

2. The preliminary of such a departure is the sight of the Savior. The Child Jesus was the Divine Savior provided for the aged Simeon, and in his tender care we may also rest.

3. The peculiar joy of salvation is that it is intended for all people, Gentile as well as Jew. After all the talk about selfishness, there is no system which embraces all the world as Christianity does. But after thus speaking gratefully to God, Simeon speaks sympathetically to the wondering Joseph and Mary. He gives them an old man"s benediction. They had a mighty charge and needed great grace to fulfill it. And then he speaks special words of warning as well as of encouragement to Mary about the Child. And here we notice:

(1) That the fate of multitudes often hangs on the destiny of an individual. So was it with the Child Jesus.

(2) His fate will be one of determined opposition even unto death.

(3) It will involve Mary in desperate distress; but

(4) by the tragedy many hearts shall be revealed. The crucifixion of Jesus is the touchstone by which our spiritual condition may be best determined. According as we are attached to or repelled by a crucified Savior must be our spiritual or carnal state. ()

IV THE TESTIMONY OF ANNA. (Vers. 36-38) Anna was another respired person waiting for the advent of Messiah. An aged widow, she seems never to have left the temple, and to have risen as near the ideal of ceaseless service as one in this life could. She also gave thanks to God as with eager eye she gazed upon her Redeemer in the Person of the holy Child. And to all who, like herself, were looking for redemption, she spoke of Jesus as the Redeemer promised and now given. There is not the same melancholy tone about Anna as about Simeon. She speaks about redemption, and will wait for it, while Simeon seems inclined to reach it as speedily as possible by death (cf. Godet, in loc.).

V THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF JESUS. (Vers. 39, 40) Its sphere was Nazareth; not the place human wisdom would have selected for a holy development. A sinless life there was the greatest of all miracles. And here we are told of:

1. His development in physical strength. "The Child grew." If the Savior had never been a child, but always full-grown like our first parent, he would not have commanded so much sympathy in the world. Little children take delight in the thought of him who was once like them a little child.

2. His development in spirit and in wisdom. The reference seems to be to energy of will and to intuitive insight, and the reflective form of the verbs seems to attribute the progress to his own effort. That is to say, his will grew in force while his soul grew in insight. As a Boy he lacked no decision of character and his insight was remarkable for one of his years. ()

3. He became, consequently, the Object of Divine grace. This favor of the Father was his by right. He won his way to it, and it could not have been justly denied him. The human race was no longer in the Father"s sight utterly depraved. A redeeming feature had appeared in the person of the holy Child Jesus in Nazareth. God"s attitude towards the world was thereby altered, and justly so. There are persons who give a halo of holy attraction to the sphere in which they live. Nazareth became redeemed from universal suspicion because of one little Child who was living there.It is for us to rejoice in such a Savior as we have in Jesus, One who passed through the stages which we individually experience, and was sinless in them all. Childhood attains new interest for us, and its innocency was once a perfect reality as the little feet of the Lord of life and glory trod the streets of Nazareth. R.M.E.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

To circumcise the child - That he might visibly be made under the law by a sacred rite, which obliged him to keep the whole law; as also that he might be owned to be the seed of Abraham, and might put an honour on the solemn dedication of children to God.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Two things are here observable, 1. Our Saviour’s circumcision, and the name given him at his circumcision. There was no impurity in the Son of God, and yet he is circumcised, and baptized also, though he had neither filth nor foreskin, which wanted either the circumcising knife or the baptismal water, yet he condescends to be both circumcised and baptized; thereby showing, that as he was made of a woman, so he would be made under the law, which he punctually observed to a tittle.

And accordingly, he was not only circumcised, but circumcised the eighth day, as the ceremonial law required: and thus our Lord fulfilled all righteousness. Mat 3:15

Observe 2. The name given at our Saviour’s circumcision: His name was called Jesus; that is, a Saviour; he being to save his people from their sins. Mat 1:21 The great end of Christ’s coming into the world was to save persons from the punishment and power of their sins. Had he not saved us from our sins, we must have died in our sins, and died for our sins, and that eternally. Never let us then sit down desponding, either under the guilt, or under the power of our sins; and conclude, that they are either so great that they cannot be forgiven, or so strong that they can never be overcome.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CIRCUMCISION OF JESUS & HIS PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE

21-24. “And when the eight days for circumcising Him were fulfilled, and He was called Jesus, being called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” Gabriel brought His name down from heaven, designative of His office and character, which is to save all the people from their sins who will let Him. “And when the days of their purification were fulfilled, according to the law of Moses, they brought Him to Jerusalem; as has been written in the law of the Lord, That every male opening the matrix shall be called holy to the Lord; and to offer sacrifice according to that which has been spoken in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” The Scriptures setting forth the law of the Lord appertaining to the purification of the mother and the presentation of the child to the Lord are found in Leviticus 12, Exodus 13, and Numbers 8. Thus we see that, as Mary and Joseph were godly people, every ramification of the law was to be rigidly fulfilled, even in case of Him who made the law. Though the circumcision means sanctification by the elimination of the old man of sin, and Jesus had no sin, yet as it behooved Him to fulfill all righteousness, He received circumcision like the sinful men whom He came to save. The purification which the law required of His mother, after thirty days, was to be accompanied by the offering of a lamb; but in case of the poor, they might bring the cheaper offering — a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. Hence, the parents of Jesus being poor, they offered the cheap sacrifice. We see in everything, that our Lord, His family, prophets, apostles, and friends, rank among the lowly. Still the people all want to get up. Jesus is our Paragon. We ought to want to live and die as He did.

SIMEON & ANNA

Whereas it was the glorious privilege of all Israel to receive Christ and proclaim Him to the world — an honor above the angels — yet we see but very few; e.g., the shepherds of the field, Zacharias and Elizabeth, Joseph and Mary, Simeon and Anna, the apostles and sainted contemporaries of our Lord, constituting but a handful of the great Jewish nation, were all who enjoyed this exalted honor, the rest being blinded. Whereas it is certainly the glorious privilege of the whole Christian Church to enjoy the transcendent honor and blessing of receiving Jesus at His second coming, descending from the skies, and witnessing to His glory, yet it is highly probable that the proportion of the elect who shall enjoy this privilege will not be greater than at His first advent.

“And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem to whom was the name Simeon: the same man righteous and godly, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.” Simeon was gloriously sanctified, filled with the Holy Ghost, and on the constant outlook for the appearing of his Lord. If we are not in a similar attitude, we will certainly be without excuse, as we live in a much brighter dispensation than he. “And it had been revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before that he may see the Christ of the Lord.” O what a wonderful Pentecostal experience Simeon enjoyed, and how should his testimony put to the blush the halting Christians of the present day! Simeon was living in advance of his dispensation — i.e., up in ours; whereas so many in our day are back in the dispensation of Moses. Here we see that Simeon was not only filled with the Spirit, but led by Him, as we all ought to be. And he came in the Spirit into the temple. The critics tell us that none but the priests were admitted into the temple proper, and when we read so frequently about the temple in the biography of our Savior, it means other buildings connected with it, which were many and capacious, on the Temple Campus.

“And while the parents brought in the little child Jesus, that they may do according to that which is required of the law concerning Him; and he received Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, And now permit Thy servant, O Lord, to depart in peace, according to Thy Word; because mine eyes have seen Thy Salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all Thy people: a light unto the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.” Thus far, Israel had been the custodian of the Divine Oracles and the dispensers of truth. Now the time has come for them to propagate this heavenly benediction to all the nations of the earth, themselves being the recipients of this unearthly glory; meanwhile the Gentiles, wrapped in heathen darkness four thousand years, are to receive this “day-spring from on high,” a glorious sunburst from the throne of God, chasing away the dismal night of sin, and revealing the ineffable glory of salvation, rich, sweet, full, and free, to the old, the young, the great, the small, the rich, the poor, the wise and the unwise.

“Joseph and His mother were wondering over the things spoken by him. Simeon blest them, and said to Mary His mother, Behold, He is appointed for the fall and the rising of many in Israel, and a sign that shall be spoken against.” O how signally and sadly was Simeon’s prophecy verified! The rank and the of the great Jewish Church, both ministry and membership, rejected Him and fell; while not a few received Him, leaping into life. And O the contradiction which clamored against Him from Dan to Beersheba! How Jerusalem roared with the ejaculation, “Crucify Him!”

“And a sword shall go through thy soul.” How was this fulfilled in the case of Mary? She, like his other faithful disciples, failing to apprehend the prophecies relative to His crucifixion, believing that He was the Christ and invulnerable, expected Him to live forever. O how the sword darted through her soul when she saw her beloved Son, whom she had expected to redeem Israel, demonically murdered! Again, she was but a fallen being, like others, needing personal salvation, which she could only receive by the Sword of the Spirit. e., the Word of God — going through her soul, thus destroying all the virus of original sin.

“In order that the thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” It was absolutely necessary that Christ should come, suffer, and die, to satisfy the penalty of the violated law, in order that the Holy Spirit, the Illuminator, Electrifier, and Sanctifier of the human soul be given. Hence, you see the Holy Ghost, the Revelator of all human thoughts through the words of Christ, is given to all the world, revealing the deep things of the heart, to our unutterable astonishment, simultaneously revealing the glorious remedy, the open, flowing fountain of the Savior’s precious blood, and inspiring the consecration and faith requisite to plunge beneath the cleansing wave, and

“Rise, to walk in heaven’s own light, Above the world and sin, With heart made pure and garments white, And Jesus crowned within.”

36-38. We see here that Anna was a preacher too — i.e., a prophetess — identical with the called and sent preachers of the gospel dispensation. She was eighty-four years old; having married at maturity, and been left a widow in seven years, she devoted her life to the ministry of the Word, abiding in the temple day and night. So you see she was no backwoods preacher, but a metropolitan, enjoying a settled pastorate at Jerusalem. Her grand theme was Jesus and the expectation of His immediate appearing.

So, at the present day, the glorious theme of every true gospel preacher is Jesus and the constant watch for His appearing. The glorious dispensation of entire sanctification, in which we are permitted to live, involves the gospel message of entire sanctification, the fullness of experience, and the Constant expectancy of the Lord’s appearing.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [XII. Circumcision, Etc.].

XII. CIRCUMCISION, TEMPLE SERVICE, AND NAMING OF JESUS. (The Temple at Jerusalem, B. C. 4) cLUKE II. 21-39.

c21 And when eight days [ Gen_17:12] were fulfilled for circumcising him [The rite was doubtless performed by Joseph. By this rite Jesus was "made like unto his brethren" ( Heb_2:16, Heb_2:17); that is, he became a member of the covenant nation, and became a debtor to the law-- Gal_5:3], his name was called JESUS [see Luk_1:59], which was so called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. [ Luk_1:31.] 22 And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled [Purification took place on the fortieth day after the nativity in the case of males, and eighty days in the case of females ( Lev_12:1-5). Until it was performed the mother was not permitted to go to the temple, take part in any public service, or even to leave her house. It seems that the members of her family were also ceremonially unclean, because they came in daily contact with her], they brought him up to Jerusalem [to the temple], to present him to the Lord [When God slew the firstborn of Egypt he spared the firstborn of Israel. For this reason all the firstborn of Israel were regarded as being peculiarly the Lord's ( Exo_12:29, Exo_12:30, Exo_13:2); and the firstborn male child of each family had to be redeemed with money ( Exo_13:11-15, Num_18:15, Num_18:16). Originally the firstborn or eldest son was priest of the household after his father's death; but God chose the Levites to serve in his sanctuary in the place of these [33] firstborn or household priests ( Num_3:11-13, Num_8:14-19); but this choosing did not annul the statute which required the payment of redemption money. The redemption money for a male was five shekels of the sanctuary, or about $3.75-- Lev_27:6] 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord [for additional passages see Exo_22:29, Exo_34:19, Exo_34:20], Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord), 24 and to offer a sacrifice [By redemption money and sacrifice the life of Jesus was ceremonially redeemed from God the Father, that his consecration of it to the will of the Father might be perfect. We likewise are redeemed by the blood of Christ, but are expected nevertheless to be more consecrated than ever] according to that which is said in the law of the Lord [ Lev_12:6-8, Lev_5:11], A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. [The required offering was a yearling lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon for a sin-offering. But the law allowed a poor mother to substitute doves or pigeons for the lamb. We see here an early trace of the poverty of Him who had not where to lay his head. Knowing the greatness of the child, Joseph and Mary would never have used the lesser sacrifice if they could have afforded the regular and more costly one. Poverty is not dishonorable in God's sight; for Mary was honored of him above all women.] 25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon [the name means "Hearing." Some think that it was Rabbi Simeon, the son of the great teacher Hillel; but the context forbids such an idea]; and this man was righteous and devout [Right in outward and devout in his inward life. The first prophet to tell the world that its Messiah had come was a thoroughly good man], looking for [Waiting like Jacob ( Gen_49:18), and Joseph of Arimathæa ( Mar_15:43), he realized the truth of God's promise ( Isa_49:23). The Jews waited for a coming Prince, local, carnal, finite, temporal; we wait for a KING universal, spiritual, infinite, eternal, the Son of God. Hence the magnitude of our expected consolation is to theirs as an ocean is to a drop of [34] water] the consolation of Israel [A common name for the era of the Messiah, which was so called because the advent of the Christ would bring comfort to his people ( Isa_40:1). Jews swore by the consolation of Israel, and the phrase, "May I see the consolation of Israel," was common among them. A prayer for the coming of the Messiah was daily used by them]: and the Holy Spirit was upon him. [ Luk_1:68.] 26 And it had been revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit [probably in a dream], that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. [A remarkable favor, a notable blessing-- Luk_10:23, Luk_10:24.] 27 And he came in the Spirit [moved by the impulses of inspiration-- Mat_22:14, Rev_1:10] into the temple [those who go to church perfunctorily see little; those who go in the Spirit--according to the measure in which He is given them--see and hear much]: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, that they might do concerning him after the custom of the law, 28 then he received him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29 Now lettest thou thy servant depart [This hymn of Simeon is called the "Nunc Dimittis" from the two words with which the Latin translation of it begins. Simeon regards his death as now near, since he had seen that for which God had kept him alive. He represents as a sentinel who, seeing the rising of the day-star which is the signal that his watch is relieved, knows his weary waiting is at an end], Lord, According to thy word [God keeps his word, and never disappoints], in peace [to the living the Jews said, "Go in peace" (Leshalom), as Jethro said to Moses; to the dying they said, "Go in peace" (Beshalom)-- Gen_15:15]; 30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation [Only the eye which sees Christ is satisfied with seeing ( Ecc_1:18). To one who has Christ in his arms and salvation before his eyes the world looks poor indeed, and the loss of it appears gain-- Phi_1:21], 31 Which thou hast prepared [God prepared the gospel in his counsels before Christ came into the world ( Act_2:23), and foretold it by the [35] prophets-- Act_3:18] before the face of all peoples [The Jewish Scriptures were then scattered among all nations, and all people were acquainted with the Hebrew expectations of a Messiah. Simeon saw in the Babe the initial step of God toward fulfilling all these prophecies]; 32 A light for revelation to the Gentiles. [A reference to Isa_49:6. Christ's light has revealed the Father to the Gentiles. That Simeon should prophesy this is an evidence of the large spiritual knowledge given him, since even the apostles were slow to grasp the fullness of Christ's world-wide mission--see Psa_98:2, Psa_98:3, Isa_52:10, Isa_42:6] to the Gentiles, And the glory [ Isa_45:25. Israel is doubly glorified in Jesus, in that God chose this people to receive the Word, or divine Son, in that Jesus, as a Jew, presented to the world the picture of the perfect manhood. In his divinity and his humanity Jesus glorified Israel] of thy people Israel. [The Gentiles and Israel are here contrasted. The Gentiles refused the knowledge of God ( Rom_1:28), and Israel abused it-- Rom_3:1-9.] 33 And his father and his mother were marvelling at the things which were spoken concerning him [Not because they heard anything which was really new, but because the words caused them to see the truth in a new way. They were also doubtless surprised to find that an utter stranger should speak thus about the child. Such manifestations of inspiration were no more common then than now]; 34 and Simeon blessed them [While blessing the parents, he refrained from blessing the child, lest it might appear that he did it as a superior. He could bless God in the heavens (see Luk_2:28) without fear of being misunderstood; but to bless this little Babe might seem to be presumptuous], and said unto Mary his mother [thus distinguishing between Mary the real parent, and Joseph the supposed one], Behold, this i child is set [either as a stone of stumbling ( Isa_8:14, Rom_9:32, Rom_9:33, 1Co_1:23), or a precious cornerstone ( 1Pe_2:7, 1Pe_2:8, Act_4:11, 1Co_3:11). Jesus is the cornerstone of true religion. Those who reject him fall over him and are broken; those who accept him, build upon him, and are lifted up and edified] [36] for the falling and the rising of many in Israel [Jesus has always wrought changes which were like fallings and risings. In his own early lifetime Pharisees, Herodians, Sadducees, Nazarenes, Gadarenes, etc., sank down before his example and teaching; while fishermen, publicans and outcasts were elevated and encouraged by his sympathy. In the ecclesiastical field Jesus has brought down the powers of superstition and priestcraft, and exalted the common worshiper, giving him liberty of conscience. In the political field Jesus has brought down the pride of kings and lifted up the common people, and given them sovereign powers. In the spiritual realm this work of Jesus is most clearly displayed. Not only did he bring down the pride of Judah and lift up the despised Gentiles ( Rom_9:25); but he has worked a leveling and a lifting work in the life of each of his followers. Those proud of their manhood, he has made as children, that they might become truly men ( Mat_18:3); those wise in their own conceit, he approaches with the foolishness of preaching, that they might be instructed in true learning ( 1Co_1:26-31); those strong in self-confidence, he makes weak, that he may fill them with the divine power ( 2Co_12:10, Phi_4:13). Like Paul, we fall and rise in Christ-- Act_9:4-6]; and for a sign [Something which challenges attention, and is full of significant meaning. Signs were intended to allay controversy, and to exclude contradiction, but Jesus provoked both. When he was thus first in the temple, opposition was prophesied; when he was last there it was fully realized-- Mat_23:38] which is spoken against [during his earthly lifetime Jesus was called "deceiver," "Samaritan," "demoniac," etc., and subsequently his followers were abused ( Act_28:22); later the Jews wrote of him as "the deceiver," "that man," and "the hung." Early Christians were charged by the pagans with committing cannibalism, incest, and every conceivable atrocity, and in this day "Christian" is--after Jew--the most stringing term of reproach known to the Eastern tongue]; 35 yea and a sword shall pierce through thine own soul [Simeon had read and [37] understood the prophecies which told of the suffering Messiah ( Isa_14-43:12). Hence, to prepare the soul of Mary he touches this minor chord. By as much as the prophecies and annunciations concerning Jesus, led Mary to expect honor, and glory for her son; by so much did the rejection, persecution and cruel death of Jesus overwhelm her with piercing anguish and disappointment. It is also probable that at the time of the crucifixion Mary shared with the apostles the doubts as to the mission of Jesus, and these doubts must have been unspeakably bitter to her]; that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed. [The word here translated "thoughts" is generally used to signify bad or evil thoughts. Jesus often revealed such ( Joh_9:16); but the context shows that Simeon had in mind the evil thoughts which were revealed by the sufferings inflicted on Christ. The human heart is desperately wicked ( Jer_17:9); but its wickedness was never more manifest than when it chose a murderer and crucified its Creator ( Act_3:14, Act_3:15). Men are still revealed by their attitude toward Christ, the sincere being drawn to him, and the hypocrites being repelled from him. But at the judgment he shall shine forth as the perfect revealer of all thoughts and actions-- Mat_10:26.] 36 And there was one Anna [the same name as Hannah ( 1Sa_1:20), meaning "He was gracious"], a prophetess [like Miriam, Deborah, Huldah-- 2Ch_34:22], the daughter of Phanuel [the same as Peniel, meaning "Face of God"-- Gen_32:30], of the tribe of Asher [Asher was the second son of Jacob and Zilpah ( Gen_30:12, Gen_30:13). The name means "happy." Though the ten tribes were lost and scattered, many individuals belonging to them remained in Judah-- Act_26:7, Jam_1:1] (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity, 37 and she had been a widow even unto fourscore and four years) [She had been married seven years, and was now eight-four years old. Her long widowhood is mentioned, because young widows who did not remarry were held in especial honor. Anna was about twenty-four years [38] old when Jerusalem was conquered by Pompey, and came under the power of Rome], who departed not from the temple [This may simply mean that she was unusually assiduous in her attendance at all the temple services ( Act_2:46); or it may be taken literally, in which case we may suppose that her prophetic talents had secured for her the right of living in one of the temple chambers. Those who patiently frequent God's house will sooner or later obtain a blessing], worshipping with fastings. [Moses appointed one yearly fast, viz.: that on the day of Atonement; but the Pharisees introduced the custom of fasting twice a week to commemorate the days when Moses was supposed to have ascended and descended Mt. Sinai; viz.: on Monday and Thursday. They had also otherwise multiplied the fasts-- Luk_5:33] and supplications night and day. [In Hebrew idiom night is mentioned before day, following the example of Moses ( Gen_1:5). The Hebrew theory that "God made the world in six days and seven nights," may have given birth to this idiom. For instances of this idiom, see Act_26:7, 1Ti_5:5. There were probably night services of sacred music held in the temple, at which priests sung anthems-- Psa_134:1, Psa_134:2, Psa_119:62.] 38 And coming up at that very hours she gave thanks unto God, and spake of him [Jesus] to all them that were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. 39 And when they [the parents of Jesus] had accomplished all things that were according to the law of the Lord, they returned. [Luke here adds the words "into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth." We have omitted these words from the text here, and carried them forward to Act_9:19-26, Gal_1:17, Gal_1:18.] [39]

[FFG 33-39]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

21. When eight days were accomplished for circumcising of the child. See note on Luke 1:59. According to the law Jesus was circumcised the eight day. Born under the law of Moses, he kept it, in all things blameless, until “the handwriting of ordinances was nailed to the cross.” He was circumcised because it was then God's law, to be obeyed until it was set aside. His example does not warrant infant baptism, because he was afterwards baptized when a man, but does show that the law of God is to be observed, whatever it may be. There is no ground for the assertion that baptism came in the place of circumcision. Note, (1) circumcised Jews were also baptized; (2) only males were circumcised, while both sexes are baptized; (3) there is no scriptural ground for the statement that one rite takes the place of another. His name was called Jesus. The name was given on the eighth day, according to Jewish custom, which the angel had commanded.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

General Information:

The laws God gave the Jewish believers told them when to circumcise a boy baby and what sacrifice the parents had to bring.

When it was the end of the eighth day

This phrase shows the passing of time before this new event. (See: Introduction of a New Event)

the end of the eighth day

"the end of the eighth day of his life." The day he was born was counted as the first day.

he was named

Joseph and Mary gave him his name.

the name he had been given by the angel

This can be stated in active form. AT: "the name the angel had called him" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

circumcise

Jesus

angel

conceive

womb

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

21. THE CIRCUMCISION

21. τοῦ περιτεμεῖν αὐτόν. The genitive of the purpose. The old way of explaining it was to understand ἕνεκα or χάριν, but it is neither an ellipse nor an Hebraism, but a classic idiom resulting from the original force of the genitive, see Winer p. 408. This construction is specially common in St Luke (Luk 2:22, Luk 5:7, Luk 21:22, Luk 22:31; Act 3:2, &c.) It must be distinguished from the genitives in Luk 1:57, Luk 2:6, which depend on the substantives. Gen 17:12. Doubtless the rite was performed by Joseph. “Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision” (i.e. went to the Jew first) “for the truth of God to confirm the promises made unto the fathers,” Rom 15:8; Gal 4:4. Thus it became Him ‘to be made like unto His brethren, and to fulfil all righteousness,’ Mat 3:15. Christ suffered pain thus early for our sake to teach us that, though He ordained for us the painless rite of baptism, we must practise the spiritual circumcision—the circumcision of the heart. He came “not to destroy the Law but to fulfil,” Mat 5:17; γενόμενος ὑπὸ νόμον, Gal 4:4.

“He, who with all heaven’s heraldry whilere

Entered the world, now bleeds to give us ease.

Alas, how soon our sin

Sore doth begin

His infancy to seize!”

MILTON, The Circumcision.

καί. There is a mixture of two constructions, namely ἐπλήσθησαν … καὶ and ὅτε ἐπλ … ἐκλήθη (comp. Luk 7:12).

ἐκλήθη τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦς. See on Luk 1:31. The name of the child was bestowed at circumcision, as with us at baptism. Among Greeks and Romans also the genethlia and nominalia were on the eighth or ninth day. Observe the brief notice of Christ’s circumcision compared with the fuller and more elaborate account of John’s. “In the person of John the rite of circumcision solemnised its last glories.”

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21.] His circumcision. The second καί must not be rendered ‘also.’ It is simply redundant, as in reff. The Lord was made like unto His brethren (Heb 2:17; Heb 4:15) in all weakness and bodily infirmity, from which legal uncleanness arose. The body which He took on Him, though not a body of sin, was mortal, subject to the consequence of sin,—in the likeness of sinful flesh: but incorruptible by the indwelling of the Godhead (1Pe 3:18). In the fulfilment therefore of His great work of redemption He became subject to legal rites and purifications—not that they were absolutely necessary for Him, but were included in those things which were πρέποντα for Him in His humiliation and ‘making perfect:’ and in His lifting up of that human nature, for which all these things were absolutely necessary (Gen 17:14), into the Godhead.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21-40. The Circumcision and the Presentation in the Temple

This forms the third and last section in the second group of narratives (1:57-2:40) in the Gospel of the Infancy (1:5-2:52). It corresponds to the Visitation (1:39-56) in the first group. Its very marked conclusion has close resemblance to 1:80 and 2:52 See introductory note to vv. 1-20 (p. 46). The absence of parallel passages in the other Gospels shows that at first this portion of the Gospel narrative was less well known. An oral tradition respecting the childhood of the Christ (when hardly anyone suspected that He was the Christ) would be much less likely to arise or become prevalent than an oral tradition respecting the ministry and crucifixion. We can once more trace a threefold division, viz. a longer narrative between two very short ones: the Circumcision (21), the Presentation in the Temple (22-38), and the Return to Home Life at Nazareth (39, 40).

21. The Circumcision. The verse contains an unusual number of marks of Lk.’s style. 1. Καὶ ὅτε (vv. 22, 42, 6:13, 12:14, 23:23); 2. πλήθειν (twenty-two times in Lk. and Acts, and thrice elsewhere in N.T.); see on 1:57; 3. τοῦ; c. infin. to express aim or purpose (1:74, 77, 79, 2:24, 4:10, 5:7, 8:5, etc.); see on 1:74; 4. καί introducing the apodosis (5:1, 12, 17, 7:12, 9:51, etc.); 5. συλλαμβάνειν (eleven times in Lk. and Acts, and five times elsewhere). See on 5:1.

21. τοῦ περιτεμεῖν αὐτόν. There being no art. with ἡμέραι (contrast ver. 22), we cannot, as in ver. 6 and 1:57, make the gen. depend on all αἱ ἡμέραι or ὁ χρόνος. The ὀκτώ does not take the place of the art. As Jesus was sent “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Rom 8:3), and “it behoved Him in all things to be made like unto His brethren” (Heb 2:17), He underwent circumcision. He was “born under the law” (Gal 4:4), and fulfilled the law as a loyal son of Abraham. Had He not done so, οὐκ ἂν ὅλως παρεδέχθη διδάσκων, ἀλλʼ ἀπεπέμφθη ἂν ὡς ἀλλόφυλος (Euthym.) His circumcision was a first step in His obedience to the will of God, and a first shedding of the redeeming blood. It was one of those things which became Him, in order “to fulfil all righteousness” (Mat 3:15). The contrast with the circumcision of the Baptist is marked. Here there is no family gathering of rejoicing neighbours and kinsfolk. Joseph and Mary are strangers in a village far from home. Hastings, D.C.G. i. p. 331.

The reading τὸ παιδίον (D A G H) for αὐτόν (א A B R Ξ and versions) probably arose from this being the beginning of a lection, “Him” being changed to “the child” (AV.) for greater clearness. The same kind of thing has been done at the beginning of many of the Gospels in the Book of Common Prayer, “Jesus” being substituted for “He” or “Him”: e.g. the Gospels for the 6th, 9th, 11th, 12th, 16th, 18th, 19th, and 22nd Sundays after Trinity.

καὶ ἐκλήθη. The καί is almost our “then” and the German da: but it may be left untranslated. It introduces the apodosis, as often in Grk., and esp. in Lk. This is simpler than to explain it as a mixture of two constructions, “When eight days were fulfilled … He was called” and “Eight days were fulfilled … and He was called” (Win. liii. 3. f, p. 546, lxv. 3. c, p. 756). Comp. Act 1:10. “He was also called” is not likely to be right. The Vulgate and Luther are right. Et postquam consummati sunt dies octo ut circumcideratur vocatum est nomen ejus Jesus. Und da acht Tage um waren, dass das Kind beschnitten würde, da ward seen Name genannt Jesus. This passage, with that about John the Baptist (1:59), is the chief biblical evidence that naming was connected with circumcision: comp. Gen 17:5, Gen 17:10. Among the Romans the naming of girls took place on the eighth day: of boys on the ninth. The purification accompanied it; and hence the name dies lustricus. Tertullian uses nominalia of the naming festival (Idol. xvi. 1). Among the Greeks the naming festival was on the tenth day; δεκάτην ἑστιᾷν or θύειν.

συλλημφθῆναι This and corresponding forms, such as λήμψομαι, προσωπολημψία, and the like, are abundantly attested in good MSS. both of LXX and of N.T See on 1:31, κοιλία = “womb” is specially freq. in Lk.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.