Greek Study Matthew 9:35-10:15

Greek Study Matthew 9:35-10:15

v35 περιηγεν (περιαγο) imperf. "[Jesus] went through" The imperfect expresses durative action; "Jesus made a tour… "

διδασκων (διδασκω) pres. part. "teaching" modal, expressing the manner of Jesus' going about. 

συναγωγαις (η) "synagogues" i.e. the centers of teaching. 

ευαγγελιον (ον) "good news" της βασιλειας (α) gen. "of the kingdom" Out of deference to the divine Matthew drops "God" and seems to use ευαγγελιζομαι in the technical sense of "gospel" 

μαλακιαν (α) "sickness/weakness” 

v36 ιδων (ειδον) aor. part. "when he saw" 

εσπλαγχνισθη (σπλαγχνιζομαι) aor. "he had compassion" - he was moved with pity"

ησαν εσκυλμενοι (σκυλλω)Äperf. pas. part. "they were harassed" - distressed, worried, bewildered, confused. Periphrastic pluperfect construction. The people were wondering aimlessly in the truth department – you know, like the Trump administration.

ερριμμενοι (ριπτω) perf. pas. part. "helpless" – literally prostrate, vulnerable. Periphrastic pluperfect construction. 

v37 πολυς "plentiful" - "abundant/plentiful" seems closer to the mark.. Grench soldiers were called “polloi” in WWI, it meant common.   

v38 δεηθητε (διδωμι) aor. pas. imp. "ask" - here making a prayer request. 

του θερισμου gen. "[the Lord] of the harvest" – an idiom, "Turn to the one who owns the harvest".

εκβαλη (εκβαλλω) "cast out" – a strong verb.

4:1 προσκαλεσαμενος (προσκαλεομαι) aor. part. "he called" - summoned. 

δωδεκα adj. "twelve" a new Israel (the 12 tribes) or nothing more than a significant whole number, like a dozen.

2&3 The list of the twelve is paired (sent out two by two?) The lists in the synoptic gospels always have the two sets of brothers first, with Peter at the head of the list and James set before his brother John. The placement of both indicate the relative position of Peter and James in the New Testament church. Limited knowledge is known of the rest: Philip, cf. Jn.1:43ff; Bartholomew, meaning son of Tolmai; Thomas, meaning twin; Matthew the tax collector, cf. 9:9; James son of Alphaeus, the full name serves to distinguish him from James the son of Zebadee; Thaddaeus, a little known apostle; Simon the Zealot / Cananaean; Judas, always listed last.

των ... αποστολων (ος) "of the [twelve] apostles" the sent ones - so named only in Matthew.

ο λεγομενος (λεγω) pres. pas. part. "who is called [Peter]" 

v4 παραδους (παραδιδωμι) aor. "betrayed" 

v5 αποστειλεν (αποστελλω) aor. "sent out" The sent ones are sent.

παραγγειλας (παραγγελλω) aor. part. "with the following instructions" - 

μη απελθητε (απερχομαι) aor. subj. "do not go" - Subjunctive of prohibition (as opposed to 28:16).

εις οδον εθνων "among the Gentiles" - into the road of the heathen = Gentile territory.

και .... μη εισελθητε (εισερχομαι) aor. subj. "or enter" – i.e. the mission is to Galilee, not north to Gentile or south to Samaritan territory, or theological, i.e. the gospel must first be proclaimed to the house of Israel, and then to Samaritans and Gentiles (as opposed to Acts.)

v6 δε μαλλον but rather τα απολωλοτα (απολλυμι) perf. part. [the] lost - scattered, destroyed, ruined. "Lost" seems best. 

οικου (ος) gen. "house [of Israel]" - "the sheep which belong to the house of Israel."

v7 πορευομενοι (πορευομαι) pres. part. going (cf 28:16)

κηρυσσετε (κηρυσσω) pres. imp. "preach" λεγοντες (λεγω) pres. part. "this message" 

η βασιλεια (α) "the kingdom" - the disciples are to communicate is the same one Jesus communicated in 4:17 and interestingly, the same one the Baptist communicated in 3:2. των ουρανων (ος) "of heaven" is  ηγγικεν (εγγιζω) perf. ind. act "palpable" both: now and not yet.

v8 ασθενουντας (ασθενεω) pres. part. "[heal] the weak" - 

εκβαλλετε (εκβαλλω) pres. imp. "cast out" 

δωρεαν ελαβετε, δωρεαν δοτε "Freely you have received, freely give" 

v9 μη κτησησθε (καταομαι) aor. subj. "do not take along" - a subjunctive of prohibition. In the sense of "provide for oneself", so "take along in your money-belt."

v10 πηραν (α) "bag" a traveling bag or in this context it may be a beggar's collection bag.

ραβδον "staff" - used as a weapon, so the disciples are being told not to take along weapons of self-defense (although later a "sward" is suggested, Lk.22:36 but that is an offensive weapon). 

αξιος adj. "[is] worth" worthy here the sense is "deserving”.

της τροφης "keep" – idiom = food- a missionary of the gospel; "deserves his rations".

v11 εξετασατε (εξεταζω) aor. imp. "search" - scrutinize, examine. 

αξιος adj. "worthy" – deserving - not referring to a person worthy through law-obedience but one who offers hospitality.

μεινατε (μενω) aor. imp. "stay [at his house]" - the point of this imperative addresses the temptation to accept an offer of better accommodation when having first accepted less respectable digs - the danger of upward mobility!!!! 

v12 εισερχομενοι (εισερχομαι) pres. part. "entering" ασπασασθε (ασπαζομαι) aor. imp. "give [it your] greeting" The "it" is την οικιαν the house which here means "the household". 

v13 αξια adj. "deserving" - worthy. Again I am unsure how to read this word in its context. Probably welcoming hospitality is still in mind, but extending welcoming to the message as well as the messenger. One is a duty, the other a delight

ελθατω (ερκομαι) aor. imp. act. "let [your peace] rest" is likely to refer to the continuation of the prayer for God's peace to fall on the household.

ειρηνη (η) "peace" - well-being. Referring to the peace which the disciples ask God to send upon the household.

επιστραφητω (επιστρεφω) aor. pas. imp. "let [your peace] return [to you]" – a Semitic expression which carries the idea that where something has not been effective, has not achieved its purpose, things remain as they are.

v14 ακουση/ (ακουω) aor. subj. "[or] listen [to your words]" in the sense of "believe/accept". 

εξερχομενοι (εξερχομαι) pres. mid. part. "when you leave / leave [that home or town]" action accompanying the imperative "shake off".

κονιορτον (ος) "dust" - a prophetic action illustrating total abandonment. It was the practice of Jews who, upon crossing from Gentile territory into Jewish territory, to shake the dust off their sandals.

v15 ανεκτοτερον comp. adj. "more bearable" tolerable for the twin cities of evil known for their extraordinary sinfulness, than for a household or village that rejects the gospel.

ημερα κρισεως "the day of judgment" - the lack of articles is typical for the technical expression used of God's eschatological judgment (as in opposition to the prophets who speak of historical judgment.)

You are better at this than you might think

Dont worry! You are better at this than you think. — late 90’s book on parenting infants

Today, we are reading the great missionary discourse and its prologue, Matt 9:35- 10:4. The lectionary being what it is, then launches into part of the missionary instructions but also leaves parts of them out.

To outline it simply: Jesus is immersing himself in the base needs of the people. They are hungry, sick, they are without hope because they do not know of the promises of the Kingdom of Heaven, and they have no one to tend to them. 

There are so many of them.  They are the poor that we shall always have with us. Their need will stand in contrast to the “fewness” of workers. Pray, pray that the Lord send you more workers for only the Lord can ultimately fashion them.

Jesus then bestows on them, the disciples, the church to be, and extension, a franchise, of the powers of heaven. They become not holders but humble middlemen of the powers of the king of creation. 

Now invested with these powers, how shall they carry themselves?

To begin with, they are to do exactly as he has done. 9:35 has a mirror image in 10:7-8. I note that the raising of the dead is one of the charges given. They are to give the gifts they have been bestowed “freely.” In other words: the sharing and giving of the gifts of heaven is not their choice nor is it their possession. They are not masters of the charism given. They are not freelancers. They are not shaman type people who, for a price, treat your ills. But, in mideastern 1st century society, those who received the gifts they brought would have felt themselves indebted. Yet, as they preached the Kingdom of Heaven by whose consent they healed, the indebtedness would probably be pointed to heaven, not the disciples. 

They are to carry no special provisions on their journey. In other words, they are to rely on the natural, customary sense of hospitality that was built into their culture at the time. One welcomed travelers, knowing that in doing so, one kept up a tradition that then meant one would oneself be hosted when one had to travel. Pilch points out that traveling was not at all common in the days of Jesus. The ideal was to stay in ones own place. Pilch further notes that the journeys they embark on are taken during the dry season when everyone was waiting for their crops to ripen so that people were not busy and could indeed host traveler. 

The simplest lesson of 10:8-15 might be that there is a harvest to be gathered. It must be gathered where it has grown. It makes no sense to attempt to harvest a field that is is just plain rocky ground grows no crop. Such a place will be inhospitable to the harvester and simply a waste of time.  There are, however, places that are hospitable. There are place that are ready. Go there! Let God be the judge of those places that are not hospitable. It was God who judged Gomorrah. Maybe you, like father Abraham, can beg for mercy upon it, but you have no business with it right now. Bethsaida, Chorazine, take not: The judgment on Sodom is not just a thing of the past. (11:21)

Our reading of today reads all the way to 10:23. Seems to have two minds. First it warns that there is a very personal price to be paid by the disciples as they are in mission. Our early martyrs will attest to this. They were missionaries, beginning with St Stephen, and suffered death as a result. Willibrod, Winfred, and Boniface can attest to this, all of them murdered by local chiefs who envied their good standing with the people they had ministered to.

Buried in there are two important sentences. “do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you, “ and  “When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”

To be honest, the first of these — though taken from the parallel in Luke — has rung in my ears ever since seminary. It is like the schoolyard game “Tag! You’re it!” There comes the time when everyone in the room says: “Oh, good, you’re here . .“ and leaves, leaving you behind with the teenager everyone thinks you should now fix, the old person whom no one has confided that her best friend has died, the proud elder who has slipped into dementia and no one wants to be the one saying: “This is it dear . . .” There comes the time to say: “Dad: you are done driving.” No one will take those moments from you, no one will do them for you. Sometimes you are found in these places on behalf of God. Your college roommate notes you went to church and wants to know what it is like to believe but does not know how. Tag, you are it. Don’t worry. You are better at this than you think because it is not you who vouches for God’s honor but God.

But we are more interested in having our opportunities on our terms and by our planning and brilliance. To that says the 10th chapter of Matthew: You are wasting your energy. There are more opportunities ready right now. As a matter of fact, there will be more than you can handle in a lifetime.

The Lord, Jesus Christ, is in charge of this mission, not you. Relax . . No . . Don’t relax. The harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few. Your mission is right in front of you now. Anywhere they don’t actively reject you, you are at work. Rejoice! The Lord attests that he sees the enemy falling from the sky. (Lk 10:18) Trust! All that is needed to do the work has been given. Find your Peace! For where it rests is your place in Heaven’s work.

The Text for Pentecost Day 2017

First Reading: Acts 2:1-21

1When the day of Pentecost had come, [the apostles] were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

  5Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

  14But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

 17‘In the last days it will be, God declares,

 that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,

  and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

 and your young men shall see visions,

  and your old men shall dream dreams.

 18Even upon my slaves, both men and women,

  in those days I will pour out my Spirit;

   and they shall prophesy.

 19And I will show portents in the heaven above

  and signs on the earth below,

   blood, and fire, and smoky mist.

 20The sun shall be turned to darkness

  and the moon to blood,

   before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.

 21Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ ”

Psalm: Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

 24How manifold are your | works, O Lord!

  In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full | of your creatures.

 25Yonder is the sea, great and wide, with its swarms too man- | y to number,

  living things both | small and great.

 26There go the ships | to and fro,

  and Leviathan, which you made for the | sport of it.

 27All of them | look to you

  to give them their food | in due season. R

 28You give it to them; they | gather it;

  you open your hand, and they are filled | with good things.

 29When you hide your face, | they are terrified;

  when you take away their breath, they die and return | to their dust.

 30You send forth your Spirit, and they | are created;

  and so you renew the face | of the earth.

 31May the glory of the Lord en- | dure forever;

  O Lord, rejoice in | all your works. R

 32You look at the earth | and it trembles;

  you touch the mountains | and they smoke.

 33I will sing to the Lord as long | as I live;

  I will praise my God while I | have my being.

 34May these words of | mine please God.

  I will rejoice | in the Lord.

 35bBless the Lord, | O my soul.

  Hal- | lelujah! R

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

3bNo one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.

  4Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

  12For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Gospel: John 20:19-23

19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Greek Study of Acts 2: Pentecost

Greek Study Acts  2:1-13

2:1 εν τω + inf. "When" - forms either a temporal or an instrumental clause expressing means; "since it was the day of Pentecost, they were all together." 

την ημεραν (α) της πεντηκοστης (η) gen. ""the day of Pentecost" genitive is adjectival; "the day known as Pentecost."

συμπληρουσθαι (συμπληροω) pres. pas. inf. "came" - [when the day of Pentecost] draws near, comes, is fulfilled. The present tense may express ongoing action (durative).

v2 αφνω adv. "suddenly" - unexpectedly. 

ηχος (ος) "a sound" roar in Luke 21:25 the noise is of a roaring sea, wind-like.

φερομενης (φερω) gen. pres. part. "the blowing" - "a mighty wind which was driving in on them.

επληρωσεν (πληροω) aor. "filled" "sound" or "wind"?

τον οικον (ος) "the house" Given they were "sitting" and not "dwelling", the meaning here is possibly "the room." 

νσαν καθημενοι (καθημαι) pres. part. "they were sitting" - periphrastic imperfect construction emphasizing durative aspect.

v3 ωφθησαν (οραω) aor. pas. "they saw"  a divine passive, God does the revealing, so "suddenly there came from heaven ..... and tongues were revealed to them." 

γλωσσαι "tongues/languages"  specifically a divine gift which enables the disciples to communicate to people with different dialects and languages.

ωσει "what seemed to be" not, "looked like tongues", but rather, "a manifestation of tongues which looked like πυρος (υρ υρος) gen. " fire"

διαμεριζομεναι (διαμεριζω) pres. pas. part. "that separated" i.e. tongues which looked like a spreading flame.

v4 παντες adj. "all of them" – all present received the Spirit.

επλησθησαν (πιμπλημι) aor. pas. "were filled" – punctiliar; realizing 1:5 where the gift of the Spirit is expressed in the terms, "will be baptized."

πνευματος αγιου gen. "with the Holy Spirit".

ηρξαντο (αρχομαι) aor. ind. mid. "began" i.e. the disciples did something they had not done before.

λαλειν (λαλεω) pres. inf. "to speak" 

ετεραις dat. adj. "in other [tongues]" an instrumental dative, expressing means. Isaiah 28:11, referred to by Paul in 1Cor.14:21. The translation "foreign languages" is possible, but some form of ecstatic prophecy, miraculously, or otherwise understood by the crowd, is more likely. We are left to wonder why Luke gives us so little information about this phenomenon. "They began to forcefully prophesy ecstatically."

εδιδου (διδωμι) imperf. "enabled" imperfect tense is durative. Luke does not clearly define the relationship between what is obviously a once only act whereby the Spirit is given to a believer for life, and the seeming action of the Spirit, at a specific time and for a specific purpose, to "fill" (empower?) a believer for ministry.

αποφθεγγεσθαι (αποφθεγγομαι) pres. inf. to utter out aloud - used of forceful, even inspired speech, which adds weight to the idea that this tongue-speaking had language content. We are left to wonder whether the Corinthian version of tongues had language content or bore any similarity to the Acts version.

v5 ησαν .... κατοικουντες (κατοικεω) pres. part. "there were staying" ευλαβεις adj. "God-fearing" – a word missing in some manuscripts; a technical term used by Luke, likely not in the original text as it grammatically refers to all the Jews and this obviously was not the case.

Ιουδαιοι "Jews" - Also missing in some manuscripts. Considered by some as originally a marginal notation. "Jews" in the sense of either race or religion. Possibly Jewish pilgrims from the Roman provinces visiting Jerusalem for the festival.

  
v6 γενομενης (γινομαι) aor. part. "when they heard" the speaking, not the wind.

συνεχυθη (συγχεω) aor. pas. "in bewilderment" - the word describes the total shock of those hearing the tongues.

αυτων gen. pro. "[each one]" - [each one] of them. This pronoun may go with εις εκαστος, "each one", serving as a partitive genitive, but more likely it goes with λαλουντων, so a partitive genitive must be assumed; "each one of them".

ηκουον (ακουω) imperf. + gen. "heard" - verb takes as its genitive direct object αυτων, "them = these men", or possibly an assumed "them", see above, such that the genitive substantive participle λαλουντων, "speaking", serves as an object complement; so each one of them heard these men speaking in τη ιδια διαλεκτω (ος) dat. their own language. At this point scholars divide. Was it different languages/dialects? Bruce suggests "manner of speech". The word is unclear. Was this a miracle of speech, or of hearing?

v7 λεγοντες (λεγω) pres. part. "[utterly amazed] they asked" ουχ "are not" negation is used in a question expecting an positive reply.

οι λαλουντες (λαλεω) pres. part. "[all these] who are speaking" Γαλιλαιοι "Galileans" - What identified them as Galileans? Some have suggested dress, more probably accent, which means it carried over into their tongue-speaking. 

  
v8 πως "how" - Interrogative. Serves to add a sense of confusion in the question.

εν + dat. "in [our own native language]" - clause is idomatic and takes the sense "in his own native tongue".

v9 The list of countries and races reflects common lists of the time which served to identify the extent of the diaspora.

οι κατοικουντες (κατοικεω) pres. part. "residents of [Mesopotamia]" 

  
v10 της Λιβυης (η) gen. "[the parts] of Libya"

οι επιδημουντες (επιδημεω) pres. part. "visitors from [Rome]" i.e. Roman citizens.

v11 Ιουδαιοι τε και προσηλυτοι "both Jews and converts to Judaism" - generally felt to be an early attempt to sort out a textual problem. Barrett suggests that the clause is in apposition to "Roman citizens" and intended to mean "temporarily resident in Jerusalem."

λαλουντων (λαλεω) gen. pres. part. "[we hear them] declaring" - supporting the view that the miracle is one of speech, not of hearing.

ταις ημετεραις γλωσσαις dat. "in our own tongues" dative is instrumental, expressing means; "by means of."

του θεου (ος) gen. "[the wonders] of God" a rare ablative, origin is a possible classification, again, emphasizing the language content of the tongues. The "mighty acts" are undefined, but given the context, they surely concern God's work of redemption recently completed in the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ.

v12 διηπορουν (διαπορεω) imperf. "[amazed and] perplexed" λεγοντες (λεγω) pres. part. "they asked" idiom "amazed the spoke to one another."

τι "what" on earth an interogative  θελει (θελοω) pres. "[does this]" ειναι (ειμι) pres. inf. "mean"? - infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of θελω, "I wish" 

v13 ετεροι adj. "some In v12 we are told παντες, "all", were amazed but here "some" makes fun of the situation. Some scholars claim "careless writing", others argue that the "all" is hyperbole. The point is clear; the behavior of the disciples mystifies the crowd, some of whom διαχλευαζοντες (διαχλευαζω) pres. part. "made fun of them” 

μεμεστωμενοι εισιν "they have had too much" γλευκους (ος) "wine"  so on one side people understood the prophetic nature of the "tongues", on the other there were people putting it down to intoxication - slurring of speech, mumbling – must be drunk!"

NOTE: the word for wine is used of partly fermented new wine, but this is obviously not intended here so possibly wine preserved with honey, "sweet wine" or the kind of wine most of us use for communion (who knew that Mogen David had such an early origin?)

Sorry, out of time