Charles Ellicott Commentary Luke 2:35

"yea and a sword shall pierce through thine own soul; that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed." — Luke 2:35 (ASV)

A sword shall pierce through thy own soul also.—The word used for “sword” here also occurs in Revelation (Revelation 1:16; Revelation 2:12, and others), but not elsewhere in the New Testament. It was the large, barbaric sword used by the Thracians, as distinguished from the shorter weapon of Roman soldiers. The announcement of the special sorrow that was to be the Virgin Mother’s portion, comes as the sequel to “the sign that is spoken against,” the antagonism that her Son would encounter. We may find fulfillments of it when the men of Nazareth sought to throw Him from the brow of their hill (Luke 4:29); when she came, in anxious fear, to check His teaching as the Pharisees charged Him with casting out devils through Beelzebub (Matthew 12:46); and when she stood by the cross and heard the blasphemies and revilings of the priests and people (John 19:26).

That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.—This was conspicuously the result of our Lord’s earthly ministry. It brought out latent good, as with publicans and harlots and robbers, rich and poor disciples, and the common people, who heard Him gladly; latent evil, as with Pharisees, scribes, and rulers. And what was true of His work then has been true in greater or lesser measure ever since. Wherever Christ is preached, there is a manifestation of the thoughts of men’s hearts: their secret yearning for righteousness, their secret bitterness against it. It may be noted, however, that the Greek word for “thought” is almost always used in Greek with a shade of evil implied in it.