Luke 11:27

My Notes

What Does Luke 11:27 Mean?

"And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked." A woman from the crowd SHOUTS a blessing — not over Jesus directly but over His MOTHER: blessed is the womb that carried You, the breasts that nursed You. The blessing praises Jesus by praising the BODY that produced Him. The woman's instinct is MATERNAL — she honors Jesus by honoring the physical experience of bearing and nursing Him.

The phrase "lifted up her voice" (eparasa phōnēn — having raised her voice) means the woman SHOUTED: this isn't a quiet comment. She raised her voice above the crowd. The blessing is PUBLIC, LOUD, and SPONTANEOUS. The woman is so moved by what Jesus is saying that she can't contain the response. The blessing erupts from the crowd.

The "blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked" (makaria hē koilia hē bastasasa se kai mastoi hous ethēlasas — blessed the womb that carried You and the breasts You nursed) praises Mary through PHYSICAL motherhood: the womb, the breasts — the specific body parts of pregnancy and nursing. The blessing is EMBODIED — it honors the physical reality of incarnation through the physical reality of motherhood.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Do you honor the physical reality of how Jesus entered the world?
• 2.What does Jesus redirecting (not denying) the womb-blessing teach about physical AND spiritual blessedness?
• 3.How does 'blessed are they that hear and keep' surpassing 'blessed the womb' redefine where true blessing lives?
• 4.What spontaneous blessing have you shouted — and did it aim at the right thing?

Devotional

A woman shouts from the crowd: BLESSED is the womb that carried You! Blessed the breasts that nursed You! The blessing bypasses Jesus and goes straight to His MOTHER — or more precisely, to His mother's BODY. The woman honors Jesus by honoring the physical experience that produced Him. The incarnation is praised through the motherhood.

The 'lifted up her voice' is the SPONTANEOUS eruption of admiration: the woman isn't called on. She isn't invited to speak. She RAISES her voice — loudly, publicly, from somewhere in the crowd. The words burst out because the admiration can't be contained. The blessing is involuntary in the best sense: the response to what she's hearing about Jesus is so strong that it finds expression before she can stop it.

The 'blessed is the womb' and 'blessed the breasts' praises Jesus through EMBODIED motherhood: the blessing goes to the specific body parts of pregnancy and nursing — womb and breasts. The woman's instinct is to honor the PHYSICAL REALITY of how Jesus entered the world. The incarnation wasn't abstract. It involved a womb. A birth. Breastfeeding. The physical is honored because the physical is how God became human.

Jesus' response (verse 28 — 'yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it') REDIRECTS the blessing: He doesn't DENY the womb-blessing. He TRANSCENDS it. The physical motherhood of Mary is real and honored — but the greater blessing belongs to ANYONE who hears God's word and keeps it. The biological blessing is surpassed by the obedience blessing. The womb is blessed. The hearer-and-keeper is MORE blessed.

Do you value the physical reality of the incarnation — AND understand that hearing and keeping God's word surpasses even that?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture