Greek Study Mark 10:17-31

Greek Study Mark 10:17-31

v17 εκπορευομενου (εκπορευομαι) pres. part. "As [Jesus] started [on his way]" the participle is adverbial forming a temporal clause, as NIV.

προσδραμων (προστρεχω) aor. part. "ran up to [him]" - - idiom for “kneeling” to show respect so.

διδασκαλε αγαθε "good teacher" - nothing offensive in this statement, although Jesus uses it to remind the man that no person is good – reflecting a Pauline understanding of our fallen nature.  

ινα + subj. "to" - - a purpose clause; "what must I do in order to…"

κληρονομησω (κληρομομεω) aor. subj. "inherit". 

ζωην αιωνιον "eternal life" - For a Jew this phrase referred to the eschatological resurrection of the dead and of their ongoing participation in the life of the age to come.   

v18 …a possible allusion here to the Shema, "The Lord our God, the Lord is one", Deut.6:4. 

αγαθος adj. "good" - Here used by Jesus to mean "perfect".

ει μη "except" - All of humanity is affected by sin so that only God is good. The rich man needs to recognize his own condition and seek God's mercy. There can be no repentance without confession, no confession without conviction.

v19 μη απαστερησης (αποστερεω) aor. subj. "do not defraud" – lit. to “deprive by deception or trickery. A subjunctive of prohibition, omitted in some texts (likely by copyists who thought it an inappropriate addition to a list from the Ten Commandments!) 

v20 διδασκαλε (ος) "teacher" - Vocative.

ο .. εφη αυτω/ "he declared".

ταυτα παντα "all these" - all these things (the commandments).

εφυλαξαμην (φυλασσω) aor. "I have kept" – but since the verb is the middle tense in Greek it is actually translated "I have avoided”  - so the man may be referring to evils, not the commandments which in truth makes more sense!

v21 εμβλεψας (εμβλεπω) aor. part. "[Jesus] looked at [him and loved him]" - the prefix serves to intensify the looking, so "looked intently", "a penetrating look".

ηγαπησεν (αγαπαω) aor. "loved [him]" - How to explain this response, “great admiration", "liked him",  "prized him dearly", "his heart warmed towards him", have all been used to express an emotional response of attraction. But the verb refers to overt action, not just inner emotion, so some argue that the overt action is that of self-giving, Jesus addresses the man's problem in the terms of action on behalf of the neighbor.

εν σε υϑστερει "one thing you lack" - come short of - verb usually takes a genitive with the sense "one thing is lacking ". The accusative, as here, may be purposely intended expressing the idea that "you" is the one affected by the lack, so "one thing is missing in your life".

πωλησον και δος "sell ..... and give .." - These two imperatives are aorist and thus express punctiliar, completed action.

οσα εχεις (εχω) pres. "everything you have" - as much as you have. Jesus' call to leave everything and follow him obviously causes interpretive difficulties. It is sometimes handled as illustrative of receiving Jesus, eg. Jesus calls on us to become vulnerable, as a child, to gain everything; or Jesus calls on us to substitute what we love for a love of God or Jesus calls on us to transfer our wealth to the poor of the earth who have no wealth. (There are still a few who stand with Francis of Assisi!) None-the-less, Jesus is indeed stating the substance of neighborly law in the terms of an absolute; not to define the nature of discipleship, or make poverty a requirement, but to underline the fact that "eternal life" cannot be inherited by doing. This man, although clearly a kind and godly man, is not covenant compliant and stands condemned with everyone else. To love his neighbor with such love is beyond him, as it is beyond us all.

τοις πτωχοις adj. "to the poor".

θησαυρον εν ουρανω/ "treasure in heaven" -a common Jewish expression used to describe the blessings of God in general.

ακολουθει (αλοκουθεω) pres. imp. "follow [me]" - follow. It is likely that Jesus' call to discipleship is a call to ongoing faith, not to obedience.

  

v22 στυγηασας (στυγναζω) aor. part. "[the man's] face fell" – idiom; he became sad.

λυπουμενος (λυπεω) pres. pas. part. "[he went away] grieving” participle is adverbial, expressing the manner of his departing. Although this response is often regarded as one of rejection, it is actually the correct response for a person who has come to recognize their state of loss before God. He walks away convicted. Now confession and repentance are possibilities. One cannot make right what one does not know is wrong.

γαρ "because" - Expressing cause.

ην .. εχων "he had" – a periphrastic imperfect construction used to emphasize imperfective aspect, ie. it was not that he had great wealth, but that he was in the wealth-creating business!

κτηματα πολλα "great wealth" - many possessions. 

v23 περιβλεψαμενος (περιβλεπω) aor. part. "[Jesus] looked around" - A nice personal touch recorded by Mark; Jesus watched the man depart and then turned to his disciples to comment.

πως δυσκολως adv. "how hard" - comparative use; "with what difficulty will a person of means enter the kingdom of God". The adverb "with difficulty" is rare in the NT. 

οι .... εχοντες (εχω) "the rich" – literally “the ones having the means to create wealth” 

εισελευσονται (εισερχομαι) fut. "to enter [the kingdom of God]"

v24 εθαμβουντο (θαμβεω) imperf. pas. "[the disciples] were amazed" – a key word used by Mark to indicate a pre-faith response to Jesus words or actions. 

τεκνα (ον) "children" – refers to the disciples using an affectionate form of address.

  
v25 διελθειν (διερχομαι) "to go through" της ραφιδος (ις ιδος) gen. "[the eye] of a needle".

εισελθειν (εισερχομαι) aor. inf. "to enter" - the infinitival prepositional clause serves as the subject of the verb to-be εστιν. 

  
v26 εξεπλησσοντο (εκπλησσω) imperf. pas. "amazed" - imperfect is descriptive, expressing ongoing amazement. 

λεγοντες (λεω) pres. part. "said" - [to themselves]. 

τις "who" σωθηναι (σωζω) aor. pas. inf. "[can] be saved" - infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of "is able". "Saved" in the sense of entering the kingdom. Possibly this reaction is driven, not so much by a general understanding of the difficulty of entering the kingdom, but rather that wealth would have normally indicated that a person was under God's favor and therefore saved, so "if this man, with every advantage and indication of being near the kingdom, cannot be saved, who can?"

v27 εμβλεψας (εμβλεπω) aor. part. "[Jesus] looked at [them and said]" - Another personal stage direction by Mark.

παρα + dat. "with [men]" αδυνατον "impossible" 

αλλα "but” - adversative.

γαρ "for [all things are possible with God]".

  
v28 ηρξατο (αρχω) aor. [Peter] began [to say to him]  Peter is again functioning as a spokesman for the disciples.

λεγειν (λεγω) pres. inf. "said / spoke up"

ημεις "we" - Emphatic.

αφηκαμεν (αφιημι) aor. "we have left" - The aorist is punctiliar expressing a definite act of leaving. 

παντα neut. adj. "everything" - a bold claim, given that we know that the disciples continued to own property!! 

ηκολουθηκαμεν (ακολουθεω) perf. "to follow [you]" - the perfect, expressing a past act with ongoing consequences.

  
v29 αμην λεγω υμιν "I tell you the truth" - indicating the importance of what follows.

αφη (αφημι) imperf. "left" 

ενεκεν + gen. "for" του ευαγγελιου "[for me and] the gospel" - the important message. 

  
v30 εαν μη + subj. if [he shall] not [receive] referring back to ουδις εστιν ο}ς, "there is no one who....", 

νυν εν τω καιρω τουτω "in this present time" - usually expressed in the gospels as ο αιων ουτος - Marks construction here reflects Pauline use (Rom.3:26)

διωγμων (ος) "persecutions".

  
v31 εσονται (ειμι) fut. "[many who are first] will be [last]".