Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 2:18
And all they that heard [it] wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
And all they that heard it,…. What the shepherds related of what they had heard from the angel, and from Joseph and Mary, and what they had seen themselves;
wondered at those things that were told them by the shepherds: for though they expected the Messiah, and that he would be born at Bethlehem, yet they did not imagine that he would be born of such mean parents, and appear in such mean circumstances, and in so contemptible a place; and that shepherds, and not the princes of Israel, should have the first notice of it; and yet the account which these shepherd, who were plain hearted men, and could never be thought to invent such a story, and spread it, and impose on men, without any interest in it, was very surprising; so that they knew not what to say to it, neither to deny, nor believe it; accordingly, the Persic version renders the whole thus, “and whoever heard, wondering, stuck at it”; hesitated about it, and yet astonished at the particulars of it; just as Christ’s hearers were in Lu 4:22 who wondered at his ministry, and the manner of it, and yet objected the meanness of his parentage and education.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
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1)“And all they that heard it,” (kai pantes hois akousantes) “And all those who heard it,” as they told, related, or noised it abroad, Luk 2:17.
2) “Wondered at those things which were told them,” (ethaumasan peri ton lalethenton pros autous) “Marvelled concerning the things that were spoken to them,” by the lowly, yet Godly shepherds, as related by heaven’s host of angels, and what the shepherds had seen in the stable in Bethlehem, Luk 2:16.
3) “By the shepherds.” (hupo ton poimenon) “By the shepherds,” that had hurried to them from the fields, near Bethlehem, Luk 2:16-17. Yet the message of the excited shepherds must have surely comforted Mary that frustrating night.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
18. All they The Bethlehemites wondered at those statements of the angelic ministrations related by the shepherds.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
Ver. 18. Wondered at those things ] Yet made little benefit of what they heard. “All the world wondered after the beast,” Rev 13:3 . And it was a wonder there was no more wondering at the birth of our Saviour; if that were true especially, that (besides the wise men’s star, Mat 2:8-11 , and the angelic music in the air, &c.) among the Gentiles a voice was heard, The great God is now about to be born; and that at Rome, the likeness of a woman carrying a child in her arms was seen about the sun, &c. These things are told. Polydore Virgil reports out of Orosius, that on the very day of Christ’s nativity, Augustus Caesar caused proclamation that no man should style him Lord any longer, Manifesto praesagio maioris Dominatus, qui tum in terris ortus esset; as presaging a greater than himself then born.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Luk 2:18-19 . The shepherds of course told what they had seen in Bethlehem, and how they had been led to go there, and these verses state the effect produced by their story. All wondered , but Mary thought on all the wonderful things that had happened to herself and to the shepherds; keeping them well in mind ( ), and putting them together ( , conferens , Vulg [26] ), so as to see what they all meant. The wonder of the many was a transient emotion (aorist); this recollecting and brooding of Mary was an abiding habit ( , imperfect).
[26] Vulgate (Jerome’s revision of old Latin version).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
at = concerning, as in Luk 2:17.
them = to (Greek. pros, as in Luk 2:15 =) them.
by. Greek. hupo. App-104.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
wondered: Luk 2:33, Luk 2:47, Luk 1:65, Luk 1:66, Luk 4:36, Luk 5:9, Luk 5:10, Isa 8:18
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
CHRISTMAS THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS
And all they that heard it wondered. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God.
Luk 2:18-20
These three verses may suggest to us in what spirit we ought to look back to the birth of Christ.
I. Wonder.All they that heard it wondered. It was a strange tale to which they listened. And our wonder may be deeper still; for we know more clearly than they did Who Jesus was. To them this Babe was Christ, the Saviour; to us this Christ is the Incarnate Son of God. And who can fathom this mysterious union of the Divine and human natures in the Bethlehem Child?
II. Thoughtful pondering.Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart; and we may be sure that this pondering would bear its good fruits in the developing and maturing of her own spiritual character. Such pondering becomes us also, as we look back to the birth of Jesus. The celebration of Christmas is apt to degenerate into a thing of mere sentiment. Ponder, then, the meaning and purpose of the Incarnation, and its relation to your own spiritual needs, so that you may be led into faith which has made its basis, not in mere sentiment, but in earnest conviction. We all need such a faith.
III. Joyful praise.The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God. And these same feelings of gladness and gratitude ought to fill our hearts also, as we think of what Christ has done for our own souls and for human society.
Illustration
The real and fundamental difficulty in regard of the Lords virgin birth is, says Bishop Ellicott, that it involved a miraclesomething unprecedented in the whole history of the human race, something that every birth into the world showed plainly to be contradictory to all experience. If this be the real basis of the denial of the virgin birth, how much more emphatic must be a denial of all that the Evangelist tells us immediately followed itthe appearance of an angel from heaven telling humble shepherds, as they were watching over their flocks, that there was born that night in the neighbouring village of Bethlehem a Saviour, the long-promised Messiah and Lord; and furthermore, that the holy message will be verified to them, and to all who might inquire of them, by an unwonted sign, a babe lying in a manger. We cannot wonder, then, that the second chapter of Lukes Gospel is regarded by most of those who deny the virgin birth of our Lord fully as doubtful and unhistorical as the first chapter. But on this point it is not necessary for us to dwell, as it is enough for us that the early Church did plainly accept the narratives in the first two chapters of Matthew and Luke as authentic and true, and that no doubt as to their canonical authority has ever been entertained in the Church.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
8
The people .wondered about the coincidence. These shepherds could not have merely guessed at what had taken place for there were too many details in the case.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Luk 2:18. Wondered. With this natural, and probably transient, wonder of those who heard the story, the narrative contrasts the more abiding effect upon Mary. Before Jesus appeared as a teacher, thirty years afterwards, the story was probably forgotten by all but a few earnest souls. If His words and works did not prevent the mass of the Jews from rejecting Him, how little influence would this story have.