TRV
See on the biblical-era map
Study This Verse
Commentary on Luke 11 verses 27–28
We had not this passage in the other evangelists, nor can we tack it, as Dr. Hammond does, to that of Christ's mother and brethren desiring to speak with him (for this evangelist also has related that in Luk 8:19), but it contains an interruption much like that, and, like that, occasion is taken from it for instruction.
1.The applause which an affectionate, honest, well-meaning woman gave to our Lord Jesus, upon hearing his excellent discourses. While the scribes and Pharisees despised and blasphemed them, this good woman (and probably she was a person of some quality) admired them, and the wisdom and power with which he spoke: As he spoke these things (Luk 11:27), with a convincing force and evidence, a certain woman of the company was so pleased to hear how he had confounded the Pharisees, and conquered them, and put them to shame, and cleared himself from their vile insinuations, that she could not forbear crying out, "Blessed is the womb that bore thee. What an admirable, what an excellent man is this! Surely never was there a greater or better born of a woman: happy the woman that has him for her son. I should have thought myself very happy to have been the mother of one that speaks as never man spoke, that has so much of the grace of heaven in him, and is so great a blessing to this earth." This was well said, as it expressed her high esteem of Christ, and that for the sake of his doctrine; and it was not amiss that it reflected honour upon the virgin Mary his mother, for it agreed with what she herself had said (Luk 1:48), All generations shall call me blessed; some even of this generation, bad as it was. Note, To all that believe the word of Christ the person of Christ is precious, and he is an honour, Pe1 2:7. Yet we must be careful, lest, as this good woman, we too much magnify the honour of his natural kindred, and so know him after the flesh, whereas we must now henceforth know him so no more.
2.The occasion which Christ took from this to pronounce them more happy who are his faithful and obedient followers than she was who bore and nursed him. He does not deny what this woman said, nor refuse her respect to him and his mother; but leads her from this to that which was of higher consideration, and which more concerned her: Yea, rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it, Luk 11:28. He thinks them so; and his saying that they are so makes them so, and should make us of his mind. This is intended partly as a check to her, for doting so much upon his bodily presence and his human nature, partly as an encouragement to her to hope that she might be as happy as his own mother, whose happiness she was ready to envy, if she would hear the word of God and keep it. Note, Though it is a great privilege to hear the word of God, yet those only are truly blessed, that is, blessed of the Lord, that hear it and keep it, that keep it in memory, and keep to it as their way and rule.
For a certain woman had exclaimed, "Blessed is the womb that bare Thee, and the paps which Thou hast sucked!" And how else could they have said that His mother and His brethren were standing without? But we shall see more of this in the proper place.
It was in just the same sense, indeed, that He also replied to that exclamation (of a certain woman), not denying His mother's "womb and paps," but designating those as more "blessed who hear the word of God."
Besides, how could His kingdom be still standing, with its boundaries, and laws, and functions, whom, even if the whole world were left entire to Him, Marcion's god could possibly seem to have overcome as "the stronger than He," if it were not in consequence of His law that even Marcionites were constantly dying, by returning in their dissolution to the ground, and were so often admonished by even a scorpion, that the Creator had by no means been overcome? "A (certain) mother of the company exclaims, `Blessed is the womb that bare Thee, and the paps which Thou hast sucked; 'but the Lord said, `Yea, rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.'" Now He had in precisely similar terms rejected His mother or His brethren, whilst preferring those who heard and obeyed God.
“Blessed is the womb that bore you.” He took blessedness from the one who bore him and gave it to those who were worshiping him. It was with Mary for a certain time, but it would be with those who worshiped him for eternity. “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.”
(Hom. 44. in Matt.) In this answer He sought not to disown His mother, but to show that His birth would have profited her nothing, had she not been really fruitful in works and faith. But if it profited Mary nothing that Christ derived His birth from her, without the inward virtue of her heart, much less will it avail us to have a virtuous father, brother, or son, while we ourselves are strangers to virtue.
Knowing therefore these things, let us neither pride ourselves on children that are of good report, unless we have their virtue; nor upon noble fathers, unless we be like them in disposition. For it is possible, both that he who begat a man should not be his father, and that he who did not beget him should be. Therefore in another place also, when some woman had said, "Blessed is the womb that bare Thee, and the paps which Thou hast sucked;" He said not, "The womb bare me not, neither did I suck the paps," but this, "Yea rather, blessed are they that do the will of my Father." Seest thou how on every occasion He denies not the affinity by nature, but adds that by virtue?
Mary was more blessed in accepting the faith of Christ than in conceiving the flesh of Christ. To someone who said, “Blessed is the womb that bore you,” he replied, “Rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.”Finally, for his brothers, his relatives according to the flesh who did not believe in him, of what advantage was that relationship? Even her maternal relationship would have done Mary no good unless she had borne Christ more happily in her heart than in her flesh.
While the Scribes and Pharisees were tempting our Lord, and uttering blasphemies against Him, a certain woman with great boldness confessed His incarnation, as it follows, 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, &c. by which she refutes both the calumnies of the rulers present, and the unbelief of future heretics. For as then by blaspheming the works of the Holy Spirit, the Jews denied the true Son of God, so in after times the heretics, by denying that the Evervirgin Mary, by the cooperating power of the Holy Spirit, ministered of the substance of her flesh to the birth of the only-begotten Son, have said, that we ought not to confess Him who was the Son of man to be truly of the same substance with the Father. But if the flesh of the Word of God, who was born according to the flesh, is declared alien to the flesh of His Virgin Mother, what cause is there why the womb which bare Him and the paps which gave Him suck are pronounced blessed? By what reasoning do they suppose Him to be nourished by her milk, from whose seed they deny Him to be conceived? Whereas according to the physicians, from one and the same fountain both streams are proved to flow. But the woman pronounces blessed not only her who was thought worthy to give birth from her body to the Word of God, but those also who have desired by the hearing of faith spiritually to conceive the same Word, and by diligence in good works, either in their own or the hearts of their neighbours, to bring it forth and nourish it; for it follows, But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
But she was the mother of God, and therefore indeed blessed, in that she was made the temporal minister of the Word becoming incarnate; yet therefore much more blessed that she remained the eternal keeper of the same ever to be beloved Word. But this expression startles the wise men of the Jews, who sought not to hear and keep the word of God, but to deny and blaspheme it.
It happened that, as he was saying these things, a certain woman from the crowd lifted up her voice and said to him: "Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you." This woman is shown to be of great devotion and faith, who, while the scribes and Pharisees were testing and blaspheming the Lord, recognized his incarnation with such sincerity above all, confessed with such confidence, as to confound the calumny of the present nobles and the perfidy of future heretics. For just as the Jews then, by blaspheming the works of the Holy Spirit, denied the true and consubstantial Son of God to the Father, so later heretics, by denying that Mary, ever a virgin, ministered the material of flesh to the only-begotten God born from human members by the operation of the Holy Spirit's power, said that the Son of Man should not be confessed as truly consubstantial to his mother. But if the flesh of the Word of God, born according to the flesh, is proclaimed foreign to the flesh of the virgin mother, the womb that bore him and the breasts that nursed him are blessed in vain. For by what logic is he believed to have been nourished by her milk, whose seed is denied to be conceived? Since both liquids are proven, according to the natural philosophers, to emanate from the origin of one and the same source. Unless perhaps it is thought that the virgin could supply the material of her flesh to nourish the Son of God in the flesh through a lesser and familiar miracle, but could not do so for the incarnation through a greater and unusual miracle. But the Apostle counters this opinion, saying: "God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law" (Gal. IV). Nor should we listen to those who believe it should be read as "born of a woman, made under the law," but rather, "made of a woman." For conceived from the virgin's womb, he drew flesh not from nothing, not from elsewhere, but from maternal flesh. Otherwise, he could not truly be called the Son of Man, who would not have originated from a human. And so, in these words spoken against Eutyches, let us lift up our voice with the Catholic Church, of which this woman was a type, lifting up our minds from the midst of the crowds, and let us say to the Savior: "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that nursed you" (Luke XI). For truly blessed is the mother, who, as someone said, gave birth to the childbearing King. Who holds heaven and earth through the ages, whose divinity and eternal embrace encompasses all things, his empire remaining without end; who, with a blessed womb, having the joys of a mother with the honor of virginity, has neither been seen to have a first like her nor having a second to follow her.
Continue studying Luke 11:27 across the web’s major study libraries — every link below opens this exact verse, chapter, or book on the destination site.
Read & Compare
BibleGatewayThis verse in more than 200 translations and 70 languages.
Bible.comThe YouVersion reader — hundreds of translations, reading plans, and highlights.
ESV.orgCrossway's official English Standard Version reader.
NET BibleThe NET translation with 60,000+ translators' notes on every rendering decision.
STEP BibleTyndale House's free study tool — original text, vocabulary, and scholarly resources.
BibliaLogos Bible Software's free web reader.
USCCBThe New American Bible (Revised Edition) with the U.S. bishops' study notes.
Commentaries
BibleHub CommentariesDozens of classic commentaries on this verse, gathered on one page.
StudyLightMore than 100 commentary sets — the largest collection on the web.
BibleRefPlain-English commentary on what this verse means, verse by verse.
Enduring WordDavid Guzik's free commentary on this chapter, widely used by Bible teachers.
Bible Study ToolsVerse commentary alongside Greek and Hebrew study aids.
Original Language & Research
- BibleHub InterlinearThe verse word by word — original language, transliteration, and English.
- BibleHub LexiconEvery word's original-language definition and Strong's entry.
Blue Letter BibleDeep-study tools — Strong's numbers, concordance, and word studies.
CNTR CollationThe earliest Greek manuscripts of this verse, collated letter by letter.
Sermons, Hymns & Audio
TrulyRandomVerse is not affiliated with these sites and doesn’t control their content. They’re linked because they’re genuinely useful.
SUMMARY
Luke 11:27 records a spontaneous interjection from a woman in the crowd during Jesus' teaching. Amidst His powerful discourse on spiritual realities and the source of true blessedness, this woman expresses admiration for Jesus' mother, Mary, by exalting her physical role in bearing and nursing Him. Her exclamation highlights a common human tendency to honor individuals based on their lineage or physical connections, setting the stage for Jesus' subsequent redefinition of what truly constitutes blessedness.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Luke 11:27 employs several literary devices to convey its meaning and set the stage for Jesus' response. The most prominent is Interjection, as the woman's statement is an abrupt and spontaneous interruption to Jesus' ongoing discourse, drawing immediate attention to a new perspective. This creates a powerful Juxtaposition between the woman's focus on physical lineage and Jesus' consistent emphasis on spiritual obedience. Her words, while well-intentioned, highlight the earthly understanding of greatness against Jesus' heavenly redefinition. Furthermore, the phrases "womb that bare thee" and "paps which thou hast sucked" function as a form of Synecdoche or Metonymy, where a part (womb, paps) stands for the whole (Mary, the mother), emphasizing her biological role in Jesus' life. This specific, physical language contrasts sharply with the abstract, spiritual language Jesus often uses, making His subsequent redirection in Luke 11:28 all the more impactful.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
The woman's exclamation in Luke 11:27, while seemingly a simple compliment, carries profound theological implications, especially when viewed in light of Jesus' immediate response. It highlights the tension between human perceptions of blessedness, often tied to physical relationships, lineage, or earthly achievements, and God's divine standard, which prioritizes spiritual obedience and a responsive heart. Jesus does not rebuke the woman or diminish Mary's role, but He gently yet firmly redirects the focus from the physical vessel to the spiritual disposition. True blessedness, He implies, is not inherited or biologically determined, but actively chosen through hearing and obeying God's word. This redefines kinship and honor, asserting that spiritual connection with God through faith and obedience is of greater value than any earthly tie, no matter how sacred. It underscores the New Covenant emphasis on a spiritual family of believers, united by common faith and submission to God's will, rather than by bloodline or physical proximity to Christ.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Luke 11:27, particularly in conjunction with Jesus' response, serves as a profound reminder that our ultimate blessedness and honor come not from external factors—who we are related to, what accolades we receive, or what physical advantages we possess—but from our spiritual relationship with God. This passage challenges us to examine where we place our value and seek our fulfillment. Do we prioritize external recognition, familial pride, or even religious traditions over a deep, obedient walk with God? The woman's praise, though well-intentioned, represents a common human tendency to admire the outward or the inherited. Jesus, however, calls us to a deeper, more transformative blessedness: one found in actively hearing, internalizing, and obeying God's Word. This means prioritizing daily discipleship, seeking God's will, and allowing His Word to shape our lives, knowing that true joy and divine favor flow from this spiritual alignment, not from any earthly connection or achievement. Our greatest honor is to be a child of God, living in faithful obedience to Him.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why did the woman say this to Jesus?
Answer: The woman's exclamation was likely an expression of profound admiration and awe for Jesus. She had just witnessed His powerful teaching and miraculous ability to cast out demons. In her cultural context, to be the mother of such a remarkable individual was considered an immense honor and blessing. Her statement, "Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked," was a spontaneous, heartfelt tribute to Jesus by honoring His mother, reflecting the high value placed on motherhood and lineage in Jewish society.
Was Jesus disrespecting His mother, Mary, by His response to the woman?
Answer: No, Jesus was not disrespecting His mother. In Luke 11:28, Jesus responds, "Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." His response is not a rebuke of Mary or a dismissal of her unique role, but a re-prioritization of what constitutes true blessedness. He elevates spiritual obedience and a responsive heart above physical or biological connections. Jesus consistently taught that spiritual kinship and adherence to God's will were paramount, as seen also in Mark 3:31-35, where He defines His true family as those who do the will of God. He was expanding the definition of blessedness, not negating Mary's blessedness, but placing it within a larger, more profound spiritual context.
What is the main lesson of Luke 11:27 in the broader context of Jesus' teaching?
Answer: The main lesson of Luke 11:27 and Jesus' response in Luke 11:28 is the redefinition of true blessedness. Jesus shifts the focus from external, physical, or inherited advantages (like being the mother of the Messiah) to internal, spiritual obedience. True blessedness comes not from who you are related to, or what your physical circumstances are, but from actively hearing, understanding, and obeying the Word of God. This principle underscores that spiritual relationship and faithful discipleship are more significant than any earthly honor or connection.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Luke 11:27, and Jesus' subsequent response, powerfully points to Christ as the ultimate fulfillment of true blessedness and the source of spiritual life. The woman's praise of Mary's "womb" and "paps" highlights the physical, human aspect of Jesus' incarnation, reminding us that He truly became flesh (John 1:14) and experienced human birth and nourishment. However, Jesus' redirection immediately elevates the spiritual over the physical, revealing that He Himself is the living Word of God, and to hear and obey Him is the path to ultimate blessedness. He is the one who perfectly embodied hearing and keeping God's Word, living a life of complete obedience to the Father (John 8:29). Through Christ, a new spiritual family is established, where kinship is defined not by bloodline or physical proximity, but by faith in Him and obedience to His teachings (Galatians 3:26-29). He is the true spiritual nourishment, the "Bread of Life" (John 6:35), far surpassing any physical "paps." Thus, this passage, while acknowledging His humanity, ultimately directs our gaze to Christ as the one who defines and embodies the blessed life, found in a living, obedient relationship with God through Him.