◄ Luke 2:35 ►
so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed--and a sword will pierce your soul as well."
Study Bible
so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed—

This phrase indicates the discerning nature of Jesus' ministry. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus is shown to have the ability to perceive the true intentions and thoughts of individuals (e.g., Matthew 9:4, John 2:24-25). This revelation of hearts aligns with the prophetic role of Jesus as one who brings truth and exposes hidden motives. The context of this passage is Simeon's prophecy in the temple, where he speaks to Mary and Joseph about Jesus' future impact. The revealing of hearts can be seen as a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, such as Malachi 3:1-3, where the coming of the Lord is described as a refining and purifying process. This phrase also underscores the idea that Jesus' presence and message would challenge individuals to confront their inner beliefs and attitudes.

1Co 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time;…
Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and active.…
Jer 17:10 I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind…

and a sword will pierce your soul as well.”

This metaphorical expression is directed towards Mary, foretelling the deep sorrow and anguish she would experience, particularly at the crucifixion of Jesus (John 19:25-27). The "sword" symbolizes intense emotional pain, reflecting the personal cost of being the mother of the Messiah. This prophecy highlights the human aspect of Mary’s experience, emphasizing her role in the divine narrative and the suffering she would endure. The imagery of a sword piercing the soul can also be connected to the broader biblical theme of suffering and sacrifice, which is central to the life and mission of Jesus. This phrase serves as a reminder of the profound personal impact of Jesus' mission on those closest to Him, and it foreshadows the ultimate sacrifice He would make for humanity's redemption.

Jhn 19:25-27 Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother and her sister,…
Zec 12:10 Then I will pour out on the house of David……
Rev 1:7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Simeon
A devout and righteous man in Jerusalem who was promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. He speaks the prophecy in which this verse is found.

2. Mary
The mother of Jesus, to whom Simeon directs this prophecy, indicating the future suffering she will endure as the mother of the Messiah.

3. Jesus
The central figure of the prophecy, whose life and mission will reveal the true thoughts and intentions of many hearts.

4. Jerusalem
The city where this event takes place, significant as the religious and cultural center of Jewish life.

5. The Temple
The setting of this encounter, symbolizing the presence of God and the fulfillment of His promises.
Teaching Points
The Revelation of Hearts
Jesus' life and teachings expose the true nature of human hearts. Reflect on how your own heart is revealed in light of Christ's teachings.

The Cost of Discipleship
Mary’s experience reminds us that following Christ can involve deep personal sacrifice and suffering. Consider what sacrifices you are called to make in your own walk with Christ.

The Role of Prophecy
Simeon's prophecy highlights the importance of prophecy in understanding God's plan. Study how biblical prophecies have been fulfilled in Christ and what that means for your faith.

The Intersection of Joy and Sorrow
Mary’s joy in Jesus is intertwined with the sorrow of His future suffering. Reflect on how joy and sorrow coexist in the Christian life and how you can find hope in Christ amidst trials.

The Sword of Truth
The "sword" that pierces can be seen as the truth of the Gospel, which divides and discerns. Consider how the truth of the Gospel challenges and transforms your life.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Simeon's prophecy in Luke 2:35 relate to the broader account of Jesus' mission and ministry?

2. In what ways does the revelation of hearts, as mentioned in this verse, manifest in the Gospels? Can you identify specific instances where Jesus reveals the true intentions of those around Him?

3. Reflect on a time when following Christ required personal sacrifice. How does Mary's experience encourage you in your own journey?

4. How do the themes of joy and sorrow in Mary’s life resonate with your own experiences as a believer? How can you find comfort in Christ during times of sorrow?

5. Considering Hebrews 4:12, how does the Word of God act as a "sword" in your life, revealing and refining your heart? How can you be more receptive to its transformative power?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Hebrews 4:12
This verse speaks of the Word of God as a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, paralleling the revelation of hearts mentioned in Luke 2:35.

John 19:25-27
This passage describes Mary at the crucifixion of Jesus, illustrating the fulfillment of the prophecy that a sword will pierce her soul.

Isaiah 53:3-5
The suffering servant prophecy, which aligns with the suffering and rejection Jesus would face, revealing the hearts of many.
Sermons
The Circumcision and Presentation of JesusR.M. Edgar Luke 2:21-40
A Representative ManJ. Parker, D. D.Luke 2:25-35
Aged EvangelistsC. Stanford, D. D.Luke 2:25-35
Christ Our ConsolationH. Alford, M. A.Luke 2:25-35
It is Hard to Wait, and Few Can Do it WellStopford A. Brooke.Luke 2:25-35
Patient WaitingBishop Wm. Alexander.Luke 2:25-35
Readiness for God's WillNew Cyclopaedia of AnecdoteLuke 2:25-35
Scripture Biography of SimeonC. H. Spurgeon.Luke 2:25-35
Simeon and AnnaA. Whyte, D. D.Luke 2:25-35
Simeon and the Child JesusE. D. Rogers, D. D.Luke 2:25-35
Simeon: a Sermon for ChristmasE. Bersier, D. D.Luke 2:25-35
Simeon: Saint, Singer, and SeerF. Hastings.Luke 2:25-35
Simeon's Blessed HopeC. H. Spurgeon.Luke 2:25-35
The Consolation of IsraelG. Swinnock.Luke 2:25-35
The Consolation of IsraelJ. Jowett, M. A.Luke 2:25-35
The Expectant SimeonCanon Hoare.Luke 2:25-35
The Same Man was Just and DevoutStopford A. Brooke.Luke 2:25-35
The Waiting ChurchC. H. Spurgeon.Luke 2:25-35
Waiting for the ChariotLuke 2:25-35
Waiting for the LordAugustus Hare.Luke 2:25-35
Waiting is Good But Hard ServiceH. C. Trumbull.Luke 2:25-35
Waiting is Harder than DoingSunday School TimesLuke 2:25-35
By Their Treatment of Christ Himself Men Will Show What They AreDean Vaughan., Stopford A. Brooke.Luke 2:34-35
Christ -- the Fall and Rise of ManyC. H. Spurgeon.Luke 2:34-35
Christ is Set for the Ruin of ManyJoseph Schuen.Luke 2:34-35
Christ Reveals HeartsSunday School TimesLuke 2:34-35
Christ Set for Our Fall an UpraisingStopford A. Brooke.Luke 2:34-35
Christ Spoken AgainstJ. Wells.Luke 2:34-35
Christ the Rising and Fall of ManyJ. C. Hare.Luke 2:34-35
Christianity the Test of CharacterR. Hall, M. A.Luke 2:34-35
Christ's Knowledge of ManE. P. Hood.Luke 2:34-35
Christ's MissionA. Reed.Luke 2:34-35
Dual Aspect of Christ's AdventCanon Liddon.Luke 2:34-35
Fall and RiseJ. J. Van Oosterzee, D. D.Luke 2:34-35
Man Saved or Destroyed by the TruthA. Maclaren, D. D.Luke 2:34-35
On the Advantages of AfflictionB. Murphy.Luke 2:34-35
Simeon's PredictionS. Cox, D. D.Luke 2:34-35
Struggle and TriumphJ. J. Van Oosterzee, D. D.Luke 2:34-35
The Detector of the HeartH. F. Burder, D. D.Luke 2:34-35
The Dual Aspect of Christ's AdventCanon Liddon.Luke 2:34-35
The Exhibition of Christ Tries the Human HeartN. Emmons, D. D.Luke 2:34-35
The First Prediction of the CrossCanon Vernon Hutton, M. A.Luke 2:34-35
The Prophecy of SimeonDean Vaughan.Luke 2:34-35
The Touchstone of TruthW. Clarkson Luke 2:34, 35
This ChildE. Mellor, D. D.Luke 2:34-35
Treatment of Christ and the GospelJames Foote, M. A.Luke 2:34-35
Use and Abuse of God's GiftsJames Foote, M. A.Luke 2:34-35
What Christ was to be to Different PeopleG. Brooks.Luke 2:34-35
People
Anna, Aser, Asher, Augustus, Cyrenius, David, Jesus, Joseph, Mary, Phanuel, Simeon
Places
Bethlehem, Galilee, Jerusalem, Judea, Nazareth, Rome, Syria
Topics
Heart, Hearts, Pass, Pierce, Reasonings, Revealed, Secret, Soul, Soul-to, Sword, Thoughts, Yea, Yes
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Luke 2:1-40

     5652   babies

Luke 2:22-35

     2520   Christ, childhood

Luke 2:34-35

     2366   Christ, prophecies concerning

Library
December 25. "I Bring You Glad Tidings" (Luke ii. 10).
"I bring you glad tidings" (Luke ii. 10). A Christmas spirit should be a spirit of humanity. Beside that beautiful object lesson on the Manger, the Cradle, and the lowly little child, what Christian heart can ever wish to be proud? It is a spirit of joy. It is right that these should be glad tidings, for, "Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy which shall be to all people." It is a spirit of love. It should be the joy that comes from giving joy to others. The central fact of Christmas is …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Was, Is, is to Come
'... The babe lying in a manger...'--LUKE ii. 16. '... While He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven...'--LUKE xxiv. 51. 'This same Jesus... shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go...'--ACTS I. 11. These three fragments, which I have ventured to isolate and bring together, are all found in one author's writings. Luke's biography of Jesus stretches from the cradle in Bethlehem to the Ascension from Olivet. He narrates the Ascension twice, because it has two …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

The Boy in the Temple
'And He said unto them, How is it that ye sought Me! wist ye not that I must be about My Father's business?' --LUKE ii. 49. A number of spurious gospels have come down to us, which are full of stories, most of them absurd and some of them worse, about the infancy of Jesus Christ. Their puerilities bring out more distinctly the simplicity, the nobleness, the worthiness of this one solitary incident of His early days, which has been preserved for us. How has it been preserved? If you will look over …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

Simeon's Swan-Song
'Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word: 30. For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.'--LUKE ii. 29,30. That scene, when the old man took the Infant in his withered arms, is one of the most picturesque and striking in the Gospel narrative. Simeon's whole life appears, in its later years, to have been under the immediate direction of the Spirit of God. It is very remarkable to notice how, in the course of three consecutive verses, the operation of that divine Spirit …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

Shepherds and Angels
'And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid. 10. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

The Angel's Message and Song
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the LORD came upon them, and the glory of the LORD shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the LORD . And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

December the Nineteenth the Sun of Righteousness
"A light to lighten the Gentiles." --LUKE ii. 25-40. That was the wonder of wonders. Hitherto the light had been supposed to be for Israel alone; and now a heavenly splendour was to fall upon the Gentiles. Hitherto the light had been thought of as a lamp, illuming a single place; now it was to be a sun, shedding its glory upon a world. The "people that sat in darkness" are now to see "a great light." New regions are to be occupied; there is to be daybreak everywhere! "The Sun of Righteousness …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

December the Twenty-Fifth Christmas Cheer
"Good will toward men!" --LUKE ii. 8-20. The heavens are not filled with hostility. The sky does not express a frown. When I look up I do not contemplate a face of brass, but the face of infinite good will. Yet when I was a child, many a picture has made me think of God as suspicious, inhumanly watchful, always looking round the corner to catch me at the fall. That "eye," placed in the sky of many a picture, and placed there to represent God, filled my heart with a chilling fear. That God was …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Religious Joy.
"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."--Luke ii. 10, 11. There are two principal lessons which we are taught on the great Festival which we this day celebrate, lowliness and joy. This surely is a day, of all others, in which is set before us the heavenly excellence and the acceptableness in God's sight of that state which …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

The Wilderness: Temptation. Matthew 4:1-11. Mark 1:12, 13. Luke 4:1-13.
The University of Arabia: Jesus' naturalness--the Spirit's presence--intensity, Luke 2:45-51.--a true perspective--- the temptation's path--sin's path--John's grouping, 1 John 2:16.--the Spirit's plan--why--the devil's weakness--the Spirit's leading--a wilderness for every God-used man, Moses, Elijah, Paul. Earth's Ugliest, Deepest Scar: Jesus the only one led up to be tempted--the wilderness--its history, Genesis 13:10-13. 18:16-19:38.--Jesus really tempted--no wrong here in inner response--every …
S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks about Jesus

Joy Born at Bethlehem
In our text we have before us the sermon of the first evangelist under the gospel dispensation. The preacher was an angel, and it was meet it should be so, for the grandest and last of all evangels will be proclaimed by an angel when he shall sound the trumpet of the resurrection, and the children of the regeneration shall rise into the fullness of their joy. The key-note of this angelic gospel is joy--"I bring unto you good tidings of great joy." Nature fears in the presence of God--the shepherds …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

"Nunc Dimittis"
We shall note, this morning, first, that every believer may be assured of departing in peace; but that, secondly, some believers feel a special readiness to depart now: "Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace;" and, thirdly, that there are words of encouragement to produce in us the like readiness: "according to thy word." There are words of Holy Writ which afford richest consolation in prospect of departure. I. First, then, let us start with the great general principle, which is full of comfort; …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

Christ About his Father's Business
But now I shall invite your attention, first, to the spirit of the Saviour, as breathed in these words, "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" and then, secondly, I shall exhort the children of God, with all the earnestness which I can command, with all the intensity of power which I can summon to the point, to labour after the same spirit, that they too may unfeignedly say, "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? " I. First, then note THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST. It was …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857

The First Christmas Carol
Let us turn aside, having just thought of angels for a moment, to think rather of this song, than of the angels themselves. Their song was brief, but as Kitto excellently remarks, it was "well worthy of angels expressing the greatest and most blessed truths, in words so few, that they become to an acute apprehension, almost oppressive by the pregnant fulness of their meaning"--"Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men." We shall, hoping to be assisted by the Holy Spirit, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

Christ's Boyhood
LUKE ii. 52. And Jesus increased in wisdom, and in stature, and in favour both with God and man. I do not pretend to understand these words. I preach on them because the Church has appointed them for this day. And most fitly. At Christmas we think of our Lord's birth. What more reasonable, than that we should go on to think of our Lord's boyhood? To think of this aright, even if we do not altogether understand it, ought to help us to understand rightly the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ; …
Charles Kingsley—The Good News of God

The Christ Child (Christmas Day. )
LUKE ii. 7. And she brought forth her first-born Son, and wrapt him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger. Mother and child.--Think of it, my friends, on Christmas day. What more beautiful sight is there in the world? What more beautiful sight, and what more wonderful sight? What more beautiful? That man must be very far from the kingdom of God--he is not worthy to be called a man at all--whose heart has not been touched by the sight of his first child in its mother's bosom. The greatest …
Charles Kingsley—The Good News of God

Music (Christmas Day. )
LUKE ii. 13, 14. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. You have been just singing Christmas hymns; and my text speaks of the first Christmas hymn. Now what the words of that hymn meant; what Peace on earth and good-will towards man meant, I have often told you. To-day I want you, for once, to think of this--that it was a hymn; that these angels were singing, even as …
Charles Kingsley—The Good News of God

Of Having Confidence in God when Evil Words are Cast at Us
"My Son, stand fast and believe in Me. For what are words but words? They fly through the air, but they bruise no stone. If thou are guilty, think how thou wouldst gladly amend thyself; if thou knowest nothing against thyself, consider that thou wilt gladly bear this for God's sake. It is little enough that thou sometimes hast to bear hard words, for thou art not yet able to bear hard blows. And wherefore do such trivial matters go to thine heart, except that thou art yet carnal, and regardest …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

The Birth of Jesus.
(at Bethlehem of Judæa, b.c. 5.) ^C Luke II. 1-7. ^c 1 Now it came to pass in those days [the days of the birth of John the Baptist], there went out a decree [a law] from Cæsar Augustus [Octavius, or Augustus, Cæsar was the nephew of and successor to Julius Cæsar. He took the name Augustus in compliment to his own greatness; and our month August is named for him; its old name being Sextilis], that all the world should be enrolled. [This enrollment or census was the first step …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Circumcision, Temple Service, and Naming of Jesus.
(the Temple at Jerusalem, b.c. 4) ^C Luke II. 21-39. ^c 21 And when eight days [Gen. xvii. 12] were fulfilled for circumcising him [The rite was doubtless performed by Joseph. By this rite Jesus was "made like unto his brethren" (Heb. ii. 16, 17); that is, he became a member of the covenant nation, and became a debtor to the law--Gal. v. 3] , his name was called JESUS [see Luke i. 59], which was so called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. [Luke i. 31.] 22 And when the days of their …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

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