Luke 2 · Verse 40

Luke 2:40

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

Luke 2:40, King James Version

Luke 2:40 in other translations

BSB	And the Child grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him.
WEB	The child was growing, and was becoming strong in spirit, being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
ASV	And the child grew, and waxed strong, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.
YLT	and the child grew and was strengthened in spirit, being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
DARBY	And the child grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and God's grace was upon him.
BBE	And the child became tall and strong and full of wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.
Webster	And the child grew, and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

What does Luke 2:40 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

40. His mental development kept pace with His bodily, and "the grace of God," the divine favor, rested manifestly and increasingly upon Him. See Lu 2:52.

Lu 2:41-52. First Conscious Visit to Jerusalem.

"Solitary flowered out of the wonderful enclosed garden of the thirty years, plucked precisely there where the swollen bud, at a distinctive crisis (at twelve years of age), bursts into flower. To mark that is assuredly the design and the meaning of this record" [Stier].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 40. Strong in spirit. In mind, intellect, understanding. Jesus had a human soul, and that soul was subject to all the proper laws of a human spirit. It therefore increased in knowledge, strength, and character. Nor is it any more inconsistent with his being God to say that his soul expanded, than to say that his body grew.

Filled with wisdom. Eminent for wisdom when a child--that is, exhibiting an extraordinary understanding, and wise to flee from everything sinful and evil.

And the grace of God, &c. The word grace in the New Testament commonly means unmerited favour shown to sinners. Here it means no more than favour. God showed him favour, or was pleased with him and blessed him. It is remarkable that this is all that is recorded of the infancy of Jesus; and this, with the short account that follows of his going to Jerusalem, is all that we know of him for thirty years of his life. The design of the evangelists was to give an account of his public ministry, and not his private life. Hence they say little of him in regard to his first years. What they do say, however, corresponds entirely with what we might expect. He was wise, pure, pleasing God, and deeply skilled in the knowledge of the divine law. He set a lovely example for all children; was subject to his parents, and increased in favour with God and man.

(w) "filled with wisdom" Isa 11:2,3, Lk 2:52

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 40 The child grew - As to his body - being in perfect health. Waxed strong in spirit - His rational soul became strong and vigorous. Filled with wisdom - The divinity continuing to communicate itself more and more, in proportion to the increase of the rational principle. The reader should never forget that Jesus was perfect man, as well as God. And the grace of God was upon him - The word χαρις, not only means grace in the common acceptation of the word, (some blessing granted by God's mercy to those who are sinners, or have no merit), but it means also favor or approbation: and this sense I think most proper for it here, when applied to the human nature of our blessed Lord; and thus our translators render the same word, Luk 2:52. Even Christ himself, who knew no sin, grew in the favor of God; and, as to his human nature, increased in the graces of the Holy Spirit. From this we learn that, if a man were as pure and as perfect as the man Jesus Christ himself was, yet he might nevertheless increase in the image, and consequently in the favor, of God. God loves every thing and person, in proportion to the nearness of the approaches made to his own perfections.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Luke 2:36-40

There was much evil then in the church, yet God left not himself without witness. Anna always dwelt in, or at least attended at, the temple. She was always in a praying spirit; gave herself to prayer, and in all things she served God. Those to whom Christ is made known, have great reason to thank the Lord. She taught others concerning him. Let the example of the venerable saints, Simeon and Anna, give courage to…

Read the full comment on Luke 2:36-40 →

Luke 2:40 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ΤὸTo<the>G3588

δὲdeAndG1161

παιδίονpaidionthe ChildG3813

ηὔξανενēuxanenwas continuing to growG837

καὶkaiandG2532

ἐκραταιοῦτοekrataioutoHe was being strengthenedG2901

πνεύματιpneumatiin spiritG4151

πληρούμενονplēroumenonbeing filledG4137

σοφίᾳ,sophiawith wisdom,G4678

καὶkaiandG2532

χάριςcharis[the] graceG5485

θεοῦtheouof GodG2316

ἦνēnwasG1510

ἐπ᾽ep᾽uponG1909

αὐτό.¶autoHim.G846

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Luke 2:40

Luke 2:52
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
Luke 1:80
And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.
Isaiah 11:1-5
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. …
John 1:14
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
1 Samuel 2:26
And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men.
Isaiah 53:1-2
Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
1 Samuel 3:19
And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.
Luke 2:47
And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
Ephesians 6:10
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Psalms 22:9
But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts.
Judges 13:24
And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.
1 Samuel 2:18
But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

the child.
52; Jud 13:24; 1Sa 2:18,26; 3:19; Ps 22:9; Isa 53:1,2
strong.
1:80; Eph 6:10; 2Ti 2:1
filled.
47,52; Isa 11:1-5; Col 2:2,3
the grace.
Ps 45:2; Joh 1:14; Ac 4:33

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Luke 2:39
And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.
Luke 2:40
And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.
Luke 2:41
Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.

Read all of Luke 2

Luke 2:40 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y el niño crecía, y fortalecíase, y se henchía de sabiduría; y la gracia de Dios era sobre él.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et l’enfant croissait et se fortifiait, étant rempli de sagesse; et la faveur de Dieu était sur lui.
German Elberfelder 1871	Das Kindlein aber wuchs und erstarkte, erfüllt mit Weisheit, und Gottes Gnade war auf ihm.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Puer autem crescebat, et confortabatur plenus sapientia: et gratia Dei erat in illo.