Sermon Tone Analysis

Three Powerful Truths for Meditation at Christmas-Time

Luke 2:19

(Gk)

η δε μαριαμ παντα συνετηρει τα ρηματα ταυτα συμβαλλουσα εν τη καρδια αυτης

19 ἡ δὲ Μαρία πάντα συνετήρει τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα συμβάλλουσα ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῆς.

Luke 2:19

Kept (συνετηρει [sunetērei]).

Imperfect active.

She kept on keeping together (συν- [sun-]) all these things.

They were meat and drink to her.

She was not astonished, but filled with holy awe.

The verb occurs from Aristotle on.

She could not forget.

But did not Mary keep also a Baby Book?

And may not Luke have seen it?

Pondering (συνβαλλουσα [sunballousa]).

An old Greek word.

Placing together for comparison.

Mary would go over each detail in the words of Gabriel and of the shepherds and compare the sayings with the facts so far developed and brood over it all with a mother’s high hopes and joy.

29.1 συντηρέωb: to exert mental effort in storing information so as to have continual access and use of it—‘to cause oneself to be fully aware of, to keep in mind, to remember.’

ἡ δὲ Μαριὰμ πάντα συνετήρει τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα συμβάλλουσα ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῆς ‘Mary kept all these things in mind and thought deeply about them’ Lk 2:19.

An equivalent of ‘to keep in mind’ may be ‘to keep thinking about’ or ‘to continue to think about’ or even ‘not to stop thinking about.’

59.23 πᾶςa, πᾶσα, πᾶν; ἅπας, ασα, αν (alternative form of πᾶς):2 the totality of any object, mass, collective, or extension—‘all, every, each, whole.’

τότε οἱ μαθηταὶ πάντες ἀφέντες αὐτὸν ἔφυγον ‘then all the disciples left him and ran away’ Mt 26:56; ἦλθεν ὁ κατακλυσμὸς καὶ ἦρεν ἅπαντας ‘the flood came and swept them all away’ Mt 24:39; ὥρμησεν πᾶσα ἡ ἀγέλη κατὰ τοῦ κρημνοῦ ‘the whole herd rushed down the side of the cliff’ Mt 8:32; οὕτως πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ σωθήσεται ‘this is how all Israel will be saved’ Ro 11:26; σοὶ δώσω τὴν ἐξουσίαν ταύτην ἅπασαν ‘I will give to you all this power’ Lk 4:6; ὁ … πᾶς νόμος ‘the whole Law’ Ga 5:14; πάντα γὰρ ὑμῶν ἐστιν ‘for everything is yours’ 1 Cor 3:21.

30.7 συμβάλλωa; ἐπιβάλλωe: to give careful consideration to various implications of an issue—‘to reflect on, to think about seriously, to think deeply about.’

συμβάλλωa: ἡ δὲ Μαριὰμ πάντα συνετήρει τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα συμβάλλουσα ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῆς ‘Mary remembered all these things and thought deeply about them’ Lk 2:19.

ἐπιβάλλωe: καὶ ἐπιβαλὼν ἔκλαιεν ‘and as he thought seriously about this, he cried’ Mk 14:72.

For another interpretation of ἐπιβάλλω in Mk 14:72, see 68.5.

Notes for 2:19

53 tn The term συμβάλλουσα (sumballousa) suggests more than remembering.

She is trying to put things together here (Josephus, Ant.

2.5.3 [2.72]).

The words “what they might mean” have been supplied in the translation to make this clear.

Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

INTRODUCTION:

συντηρέωb: to exert mental effort in storing information so as to have continual access and use of it—‘to cause oneself to be fully aware of, to keep in mind, to remember.’

ἡ δὲ Μαριὰμ πάντα συνετήρει τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα συμβάλλουσα ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῆς ‘Mary kept all these things in mind and thought deeply about them’ .

An equivalent of ‘to keep in mind’ may be ‘to keep thinking about’ or ‘to continue to think about’ or even ‘not to stop thinking about.’

πᾶςa, πᾶσα, πᾶν; ἅπας, ασα, αν (alternative form of πᾶς):2 the totality of any object, mass, collective, or extension—‘all, every, each, whole.’

τότε οἱ μαθηταὶ πάντες ἀφέντες αὐτὸν ἔφυγον ‘then all the disciples left him and ran away’ ; ἦλθεν ὁ κατακλυσμὸς καὶ ἦρεν ἅπαντας ‘the flood came and swept them all away’ ; ὥρμησεν πᾶσα ἡ ἀγέλη κατὰ τοῦ κρημνοῦ ‘the whole herd rushed down the side of the cliff’ ; οὕτως πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ σωθήσεται ‘this is how all Israel will be saved’ ; σοὶ δώσω τὴν ἐξουσίαν ταύτην ἅπασαν ‘I will give to you all this power’ ; ὁ … πᾶς νόμος ‘the whole Law’ ; πάντα γὰρ ὑμῶν ἐστιν ‘for everything is yours’ .

ῥῆμαc, τος n: a happening to which one may refer—‘matter, thing, event.’

λόγοςh: οὐκ ἔστιν σοι μερὶς οὐδὲ κλῆρος ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τούτῳ ‘you have no part or share in this thing’ .

ῥῆμαc: ἐπὶ στόματος δύο μαρτύρων ἢ τριῶν σταθῇ πᾶν ῥῆμα ‘every matter may be upheld by the testimony of two or three witnesses’ .

καρδίαa, ας f: (a figurative extension of meaning of καρδία ‘heart,’ not occurring in the NT in its literal sense) the causative source of a person’s psychological life in its various aspects, but with special emphasis upon thoughts—‘heart, inner self, mind.’1

ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ καρδίᾳ σου ‘you shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart’ ; τὰ κρυπτὰ τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ φανερὰ γίνεται ‘the secret thoughts of his heart will be brought into the open’ ; ἕκαστος καθὼς προῄρηται τῇ καρδίᾳ ‘each person (should give) what he has decided in his heart’ ; κατὰ δὲ τὴν σκληρότητά σου καὶ ἀμετανόητον καρδίαν θησαυρίζεις σεαυτῷ ὀργὴν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὀργῆς ‘because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath’ .

It is often possible to render καρδίαa by a number of different terms depending upon the immediate context, for example, ‘mind,’ ‘intention,’ ‘purpose,’ or ‘desire.’

In many languages it is quite impossible to use a term meaning ‘heart,’ since such a term may not lend itself to figurative extension in meaning.

Often the equivalent of καρδία is ‘liver,’ while in a number of languages it is ‘stomach’ or ‘bowels.’

INTRODUCTION:

Our text states that Mary diligently worked to keep all of the events (including actions, words, people, etc.) catalogued and ready for retrieval deep in her heart and mind, and thought deeply (pondered) continually about them all in order to understand what all of these things meant.

If Mary needed to give this kind of thought to the people, words, and events she experienced that first Christmas, we, too, need to do some deep level thinking on some truths in and related to the Christmas story.

Notice three of these powerful truths:

I. GOD'S GRACE WAS AMAZING - IN SENDING THE SAVIOR ()

A. We have a sin problem ()

1.

We are sinners by birth and by choice.

()

B. We are in a helpless condition ()

C. God has provided a radical remedy to our problem.

1. ()

2. ()

II.

MANKIND HAS NO ROOM FOR JESUS ()

A. There was no room when Jesus was born.

1.

Even though the birth of Jesus had been prophesied, people were not looking for him to come.

a.

Even the people who were supposed to be Jewish scholars were not looking for His arrival.

b.

A multitude of scriptures predicted the Messiah’s coming-

His birthplace ()

His Davidic linage ()

The Timing of His coming ()

B. There was no room for Jesus when he walked the earth.

1.

His own people (Israel) rejected Him ()

2. The religious leaders rejected Him.

()

C.

There is no room for Jesus in the celebration of his birth in our world.

1.

The world today ignores the significance of Jesus’ birthday, in favor of secular celebrations.

III.

GOD CHOOSES COMMON PEOPLE FOR UNCOMMON TASKS.

()

A. It is not necessary to understand God's methods.

1. Mary did not understand how God was going to accomplish the birth of the child the angel was telling her about.

2. Faith is the key.

()

a) Are you willing to trust Jesus even though you do not understand the "how-to's?"

B. It is not necessary to know where it will all lead.

1. Mary had no idea where this would lead her or her son-to-be.

2. Remember that wherever God leads, his grace is sufficient!

()

C. It is necessary to submit to his will.

()

1. God can do uncommon things through common people who will surrender to him.

a) He has used uncommon people Like Peter, James, John, Mary Magdalene, Lazarus, etc.

CONCLUSION: