Greek Text Studies, Mark 13:1-8

Mark 13:1-13

v1 εκπορευομενου (εκπορευομαι) aor. part. "as [he] was leaving [the temple]" - participle is temporal, as NIV.

των μαθητων (ης ου) gen. "[one] of [his] disciples" - genitive is adjectival, partitive.

ιδε "look" - pay attention, in Koine Greek, usually an interjection standing by itself, but here it is followed by a clause indicating what to take note of.

ποταποι pro. "what magnificent" - obviously in the sense of an acclamation, "He who has not seen the temple in its full splendor has never seen a beautiful building", Josephus.

λιθοι (ος) "stones" - Josephus mentions the massive size of the stones used in the construction of the temple.

  
v2 μεγαλας adj. "[Do you see all these] great [buildings?]" - phrase may either be a statement or question. If a statement the sense may either be that the temple's greatness will soon be brought down, or the disciples should not be overawed since it will soon be brought down.

ου μη + subj. "not one" - A subjunctive of emphatic negative emphasizing the total destruction of the temple.

επι + acc. "[stone will be left] on [another]" – spacial cf. Luke 19:44 where the reference is to Jerusalem. (Other than the foundation platform upon which the temple stood, there are no stones left today!)

  
v3 καθημενου (καθημαι) gen. pres. part. "as [Jesus] was sitting" – a genitive absolute, expressing temporal "while" - grammatically inappropriate here because its subject is part of the main clause. None-the-less, Mark's construction ties Jesus' words, from v5 onward, to his prediction in v2. Jesus is explaining to his disciples his startling, but mysterious words, declared earlier to the crowd, v2.

των ελαιων (α) gen. "[mount] of olives" - genitive is adjectival, attributive, limiting "mountain" possibly emphasizing Jesus' view of the temple and therefore identifying the focus of his words as fulfilling Ezekiel 11:23, God's abandonment of the temple.

επηρωτα (επερωταω) imperf. sing. "asked" - the imperfect tense may indicate ongoing questioning, although where there is speech content the imperfect properly reflects the action associated with a series of words. The singular indicates that the questioners are being taken collectively, or that possibly Peter is doing the asking.

κατ ιδιαν "privately" 

  
v4 ποτε .... τι "when [will these things happen? and] what [will be the sign]" - The two interrogatives + the fut. ind. of the verb to-be, εσται, defy convention. The two conjoined questions direct the following discourse, in that Jesus sets out to answer them. The first part of the question is probably not seeking an actual date for the destruction of the temple, since in Aramaic idiom the next phrase in this construction serves to exegete the first, so the two questions are probably best treated as one, "what will be the end of the old order of things, ie. what signs will herald its accomplishment?" The question concerns the "what", ie. the preliminary signals that will serve to warn disciples "when" Jerusalem is about to be destroyed, cf. Dan.12:6,7.

ταυτα "these things" – this Greek word is repeated in the second half of the verse, but it is argued that it does not refer to the same event, the first being the destruction of the temple and the second, the end of the world. Matthew's account drives this view, but Mark's focus is on one event, the destruction of the temple. 

συντελεισθαι (συντελεω) pas. inf. "to be fulfilled" – brought to completion. Rather than describing the end of all things, the word serves to identify the end of a process. 

  
v5 βλεπετε (βλεπω) imp. "watch out" – idiom, look carefully. Without the direct object it means "take note, be discerning, be alert." 

πλανηση (πλαναω) aor. subj. "deceive"- cause someone to hold a wrong view and be mistaken. 

  
v6 επι + dat. "in [my name]" - spacial, “acting under the authority of”  in the sense of claiming to represent him. 

λεγοντες (λεγω) pres. part. "claiming" - attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "will come".

εγω ειμι "I am” {he}. It is unlikely that these deceivers can claim divinity by using the "I AM." It is more likely they are claiming a special association with Jesus. Josephus indicated that there were many self-proclaimed prophets before the rebellion in 66AD.

  
v7 πολεμων (ος) gen. "[rumors] of wars" - indicates hearing with understanding as against the hearing followed by the accusative πολεμους, indicating a hearing without understanding. 

θροεισθε (θροεω) imp. "do not be alarmed" - 2Thes.2:2, literally do not be "shaken in your mind" an idiom, "Don't jump to hasty conclusions."

γενεσθαι (γινομαι) aor. inf. "[such things must] happen" - infinitive serves as the subject of the verb "It is necessary".

ουπω το τελοσ "the end is not yet. Violence and sensational rumors are not a sign of the fulfilment of "these things" and so the disciple should not jump to hasty conclusions.

v8 εγερθησεται (εγειρω) fut. "will rise" future tense is not indicating a future sign, but rather that these conflicts will go on happening up till "these things" are fulfilled.

κατα τοπους "in various places" - distributive; "from place to place."

ωδινων (ιν ινος) gen. "[these are the beginning] of the birth-pains" - genitive is adjectival, partitive. The birthing imagery illustrates the sufferings of the interim. The wars etc. are but a taste of the future "abomination", not a sign of its nearness. "The birth- pangs of the Messiah" is a rabbinic expression, regarded by some as an obvious source for Jesus' words, although many commentators date the expression later than the New `Testament era.

Passages like this are more than a little weird, rather off-putting, and unfailingly difficult to preach. Our folks aren’t intimately familiar with an apocalyptic worldview but they do have a passing acquaintance with it. I would describe this phenomenon with three words: The Walking Dead. So even if we find it odd and off-putting it is not unfamiliar. The question we might ask is what drives authors –biblical times and now – to seek to peer into the future and describe the end. More often than not, the answer rests in the belief that knowing the future sheds light on the present; especially in confusing and uncertain times. Which means, among other things, that the passage for this Sunday was not intended to give concrete hints about the end of the world but rather to frame and interpret the challenges Jesus’ followers were facing in their present; including the social and religious upheavals caused by the destruction of the Temple, persecution by authorities, confusion about whether they had missed the second coming, and some good old fashion church fights. Apparently life was messy for Mark’s community, so he used the symbols and metaphors of apocalyptic to put their struggles and questions in a larger context and, in this way, offer them a measure of perspective and comfort. All of which, I think, invites us to do the same. 

One thing that draws my attention in this text is Jesus’ warning that “many will come claiming to be him” in order to lead them astray. That is an interesting caution, if you think about it, and may testify to the defection of some in community to other teachers or traditions. Perhaps we aren’t likely to be tempted away from the faith b the same things that lured Mark’s sheep from the fold, there are still many things competing for our attention and allegiance; the lure of possessions, this consumer economy, a higher position at work or acceptance at school, the dream of the perfect relationship (or just being in a relationship) or any of those “smaller” temptations like being super competent, or the ideal child, or giving our children everything we never had. But the interesting thing is that all these claimants for our allegiance have this in common: there’s nothing inherently wrong with them. In fact, there is much to be admired about some of them; yet not one of them can save us. Not one can bear the weight of meaning we ask and desperately need. Because we are at heart insecure and confused creatures, craving a level of certainty, we tend to take these good gifts of God and turn them into idols; we worship the gifts rather than the Giver.  

Living in uncertainty was hard for those first century-followers of Christ but it’s hard for us twenty-first century disciples as well. The Christian faith does not offer an end to uncertainty; no it promises we can discover who we are in relation to Whose we are; beloved children of the God who creates and sustains all things. 

The antidote to uncertainty isn’t certainty, it’s courage; and the best response to insecurity is a confidence that comes from knowing that God thinks we are worthy of His love and sacrifice in Christ.

It will not go away

Day of wrath and doom impending.

David's word with Sibyl's blending,

Heaven and earth in ashes ending. 

— “Dies Irae,” ver 1., Gregory the Great, 6 cent.

There was a CBC short documentary, more of a 5 minute news blurb, back in 2014 on “A Musical History of Death: Exit Music.” It dealt with a little known Gregorian chant known as “Dies Irae.” The chant was meant for the mass of the dead. 

Why do a documentary on this? Well, for some reason, the melody has been quoted almost countless times in modern history. The sequence is:  

 Mozart quotes it in “Requiem.” Rachmaninov wrote piano concertos around it. It appears in “It’s a Wonderful life,” in the final dramatic scene where James Steward runs to the bridge and screams for the angel, Clarence, to give him his life back. It is in “the Lion King” when Scarr orders Simba killed. It shows up in “The Lord of the Rings,” when Bilbo drops the ring, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” at the Devil’s tower scene, in “Star Wars,” when Luke, having found his aunt and uncle dead, makes the decision to follow Obi on Kanobi, and  it is embedded in Michael Oldfield’s theme music of “The Exorcist.” 

Who wrote it? Gregory reports that words and music came to him in a vision of a dove. Yes, Gregory suggests that God composed the theme, the theme of death and judgement. 

For our texts, Daniel 12 and Mark 13, I suggest that verse 6. is appropriate, though others join the theme easily as well: 

When the Judge his seat attaineth,

And each hidden deed arraigneth,

Nothing unavenged remaineth.

In both chapters, God has unfinished business with the world and announces that, indeed as prayed for by the saints under the altar (Rev 6:9-10), we shall see the spaghetti hit the fan in a meta-cosmic sense. 

In Daniel, it is Babylon that will see God fight on the side of Judah which it has exiled. Michael the angel will come and battle on the side of the people. Michael shows up again in Revelation when he does cosmic battle with Satan. In both places, the dead shall be raised and judged. That is precisely the content of Dies Irae: Judgement will come to all. What shall I, mortal sinner, plead before the judge? 

In Mark there is more tribulation as well and there shall be judgement. What shall be the judgement here? What shall plead for the temple that is ever so beautiful as the disciples note? It will not be the widow’s two copper coins, I tell you that for nothing, and if the fig tree is an indication, it will not be bushels of good fruit either. 

As in Daniel and in Revelation, the angels will do harvest and God’s elect will be gathered from all corners of the world. If Revelation and Daniel are to be heeded, “Books” will be opened and everyone’s deeds will be exposed. It would seem then, that no one will be able to comfortably and conveniently hide in their grave for all eternity from the consequence of their actions and neither will being a heap of rubble be an excuse for church or temple to have failed in mission. (Kierkegaard) 

There is a severity in Mark 13, Daniel 12 and much of Revelation that seems to have made it into the spirituality of the church that could write and sing Dies Irae, but it seems to have gone missing in our time.

I grew up with a cathedral in my town of origin that had this statue over the front door:  

Yes, you see that right: St. Michael is a robust knight in armor, he is standing on the devils back, one foot on his head, and he is about to run his lance, which is shaped like a cross, into the back of the devil’s head. Reluctant humans view the scene. Both Michael and Satan seem to look at the same woman to their right who is holding two frightened children in her arms. This is her point of view:

Someone, please, call the Hummel Figurine Company and Hallmark. They have gotten this angel thing all wrong! But then, maybe the rest of the world has gotten the whole death, resurrection, and judgment thing wrong as well. 

In our time, we read stories written by 5 year olds about their trip to heaven where they saw grandma. Never mind that when Isaiah gazed into heaven and saw the angels he pooped his pants in fear. (Is 6:1-8) A good apocalypse, a good eschatological apocalypse, ought to do exactly that. Woe to anyone or anything that falls into the hands of the zealous God. Dies Irae understands this.

As I said: God composed the theme, the theme of death and judgement. I contemplate the gaze of Michael and Satan over entrance of St. Michael Cathedral. Is this woman the church? Are both of the angels, triumphant and fallen, saying: “Whose side are you on?” 

There is nothing like a good apocalypse, the Isaiah kind, to clear the mind and focus on how we have been living. Mark 13 certainly works that way. Even the beautiful things built in faith have the blood of orphans and fallen houses of widows built into their walls. (Mk 12:40) What really is splendor? And if even the sanctuary of the almighty is passing and if even the house of prayer will be judged, will you escape?

Again, Dies Irae:

7 What shall I, frail man, be pleading?

Who for me be interceding,

When the just are mercy needing?

10 Faint and weary, Thou hast sought me,

On the Cross of suffering bought me.

Shall such grace be vainly brought me?

13 Through the sinful woman shriven,

Through the dying thief forgiven,

Thou to me a hope hast given.

18 Ah! that day of tears and mourning,

From the dust of earth returning

Man for judgement must prepare him,

Spare, O God, in mercy spare him.

CBC and various other news outlets, secular ones, have noted that this strange 1,500 year old Gregorian Chant will just not go away. It is, best I can tell, one of the best selling pieces of Gregorian Chant on iTunes. Go figure.

And neither will the sense of dread in depth of the human soul, expressed by Dies Irae, go away and maybe it should not go away either. Which angel’s side have we lived our life on? With the knowledge of good and evil came responsibility to use the ill gotten gift of the forbidden fruit. (Gen 3) “I didn’t know” no longer works. You know which angel wins in the end and even the just are in need of mercy.

Death is a little cataclysmic apocalypse for all of us individually. Even if we are underground when the spaghetti hits the cosmic fan, for all of us there is death and then comes judgement. Death and apocalypse are solidly Lutheran things. They are both occasions at which there really is nothing left to do but to cry out: “Save me Lord Jesus Christ by your holy sacrifice.”

9 Think, kind Jesu! – my salvation

Caused Thy wondrous Incarnation;

Leave me not to reprobation.

Amen! Come Lord Jesus.

The Readings for November 8, 2015

First Reading: 1 Kings 17:8-16

8The word of the Lord came to [Elijah,] saying, 9“Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 10So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.” 11As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” 13Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. 14For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.” 15She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. 16The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

The Word of the Lord

Psalm: Psalm 146

1 Hallelujah!

Praise the LORD, O my soul! 

    I will praise the LORD as long as I live;

    I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

2 Put not your trust in rulers, nor in any child of earth, 

    for there is no help in them.

3 When they breathe their last, they return to earth, 

    and in that day their thoughts perish.

4 Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help! 

    whose hope is in the LORD their God;

5 Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them; 

    who keeps his promise for ever;

6 Who gives justice to those who are oppressed, 

    and food to those who hunger.

7 The LORD sets the prisoners free;

the LORD opens the eyes of the blind; 

    the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;

8 The LORD loves the righteous;

the LORD cares for the stranger; 

    he sustains the orphan and widow,

    but frustrates the way of the wicked.

9 The LORD shall reign for ever, 

    your God, O Zion, throughout all generations.

    Hallelujah!

Second Reading: Hebrews 9:24-28

24Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; 26for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, 28so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel: Mark 12:38-44

38As [Jesus] taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! 40They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

  41He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. 42A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. 43Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. 44For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

Tow copper coins and 30 pieces of silver

Let us invest with the Lord what he has given us, for we have nothing that does not come from him: we are dependent upon him for our very existence. — Paul of Nola, 4/5th c

This is really not about the woman with the little coins. This is about Judas. 

What!? 

Let me explain slowly. We are at the end of a long day in the temple. It has begun with a prophetic act: Jesus cursed the fig tree for not bearing fruit, cleaned house at the temple courts, and has withdrawn. He comes back next day and the fig tree is withered. Prophecy has been proven. Temple and tree are judged.

A cryptic saying about telling this mountain to jump into the sea follows. Which is “this” mountain? Zion? By Faith can you imagine life without this mountain and the temple thereon? The saying is followed by a short discourse on praying and forgiving and having faith. 

After that, we argue with the scribes, pharisees and chief priests. At the end of that day, we come to the episode about the widow and her small coins. Jesus has condemned the temple — the fig tree episode — and it leadership — all the arguments in chapter 12 up to this point. Now he watches this woman give “all of her living” to the temple. 

It is not uncommon to see Jesus’ words as marveling at her faith. I am taking the tack that he is lamenting what she has been taught to do and believe. The temple is to bring forth fruit. It is to be a house of prayer. It also is to care for women like her. She ought to have more to show for that charge to the temple to take care of the widow and orphan than two copper coins. They, the temple authorities, ought to be giving to her. But they do not. Instead they invest in long flowing robes and in in the ever increasing splendor of the temple complex. (13:1) 

 Chapter 13 is a dark chapter in which Jesus predicts the downfall of the splendid temple. The destruction will be so great that heaven itself will split (15:38) open and the Son of Man will come in Glory. Another fig tree will be a signal to the faithful. The fig tree comes into leaf signaling summer. When you see it you will know that the Son of Man is on the way. Who is this fig tree and what becomes of the withered one?

By chapter 14 we are at Bethany. Another woman comes forward. She has expensive perfume worth a year’s wages, very well worth “all she had to live on,” and anoints Jesus with it. Complains immediately rise: “Why waste such expensive perfume?” they asked.  “It could have been sold for a year’s wages and the money given to the poor!” (14:4-5).

But Jesus replies: “Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me? You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time. I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.” (14:6-9) And it is at that very moment that Judas rises and goes to the chief priests to betray Jesus. 

The question lingers: “Why did he do so and why then,” and that question is asked rightly. An obvious scenario suggests itself. Judas, the revolutionary, had beef with the chief priests. Hearing of the downfall of their source of power was good news to him. Hearing Jesus lament the widow’s gift to the heartless institution was right in line with Judas thinking. However, if you do not see the Son of Man in Jesus and do not notice the greening of the second fig tree, then Jesus is merely accepting the same wasteful rewards that the chief priests accepted in retaining the widow’s coins in the treasury. In that case, he is no better than them and Judas is merely the one who called him on his hypocrisy. How can one who came not to be served but to serve (10:45) accept this extravagant action by this woman?

Both women remain silent about their motives. One gives lavishly  to a corrupt institution that will be destroyed, the other anoints a Messiah whose time on earth is by that time very limited. The first has no idea that the temple is doomed. The latter probably does not grasp that death is the means by which Jesus will accomplish his saving ministry. If there is no temple and no resurrection then both have wasted greatly. 

I am fascinated by Judas, I admit it. It is easy to dismiss him as possessed in a simple reading of Luke’s report. (22:3) But the tempter’s power is the lie so that even in Luke’s scenario the lie has taken hold of Judas. At base that lie is that God cannot be trusted. (Ge 3) How can you trust either temple or Jesus — if you believe Jesus in the first place? Maybe he is just a convenient means to an end you already have in mind. Maybe the temple is that as well.

Somehow, both women are not of that mind. Both are giving excessive and unaffordable amounts. As Mark would say: “Their whole living.” They both seem to long for something worthy to put their Faith in. If that was not true, they would not be giving so immensely. Something would have been held back. 

Judas’ betrayal is not unrewarded. 30 pieces of silver are nothing to sneeze at. They were paid to him out of the temple treasury I would think so the temple was of some use to him after all. But where does he rest his faith now? And, by the way, the two copper coins contributed to his bounty. 

Faith is an all or nothing proposition. Israel has its faith in the temple. The church has her faith in Jesus, Lord, Savior and King. If Faith is indeed utter trust in the one in whom it is placed then that utter trust is acted out with our entire living. To hedge any part is to go the Judas road in the end. The widow gave in Faith to temple. The woman at Bethany gave to Jesus. Neither had any right to think that their gift would somehow pay off. They gave and had to rely on God to be trustworthy and good, something that the Lie tries ever so hard to deny. Judas’ allegiance was conditional. In the face of all that is predicted in Mark 13 can one really hedge ones bets and is it safe to be found with 30 pieces of silver? 

The Texts for the Festival of All Saints 2015

First Reading: Isaiah 25:6-9

 6On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples

  a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,

  of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.

 7And he will destroy on this mountain

  the shroud that is cast over all peoples,

  the sheet that is spread over all nations;

  8he will swallow up death forever.

 Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces,

  and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,

  for the Lord has spoken.

 9It will be said on that day,

  Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.

  This is the Lord for whom we have waited;

  let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

The Word of the Lord

Psalm: Psalm 24

1 The earth is the LORD'S and all that is in it, *

    the world and all who dwell therein.

2 For it is he who founded it upon the seas *

    and made it firm upon the rivers of the deep.

3 "Who can ascend the hill of the LORD? *

    and who can stand in his holy place?"

4 "Those who have clean hands and a pure heart, *

    who have not pledged themselves to falsehood,

    nor sworn by what is a fraud.

5 They shall receive a blessing from the LORD *

    and a just reward from the God of their salvation."

6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, *

    of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob.

7 Lift up your heads, O gates;

lift them high, O everlasting doors; *

    and the King of glory shall come in.

8 ”Who is this King of glory?" *

    "The LORD, strong and mighty,

    the LORD, mighty in battle."

9 Lift up your heads, O gates;

lift them high, O everlasting doors; *

    and the King of glory shall come in.

10 "Who is he, this King of glory?" *

    "The LORD of hosts,

    he is the King of glory."

Second Reading: Revelation 21:1-6a

1I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 

 “See, the home of God is among mortals.

 He will dwell with them;

 they will be his peoples,

 and God himself will be with them;

 4he will wipe every tear from their eyes.

 Death will be no more;

 mourning and crying and pain will be no more,

 for the first things have passed away.”

  5And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6aThen he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.”

The Word of the Lord

Gospel: John 11:32-44

32When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35Jesus began to weep. 36So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

  38Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” 40Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 41So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” 43When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The Greek Text of John 11: 32-46

Greek Study John 11:32-46

v32 ουν "-" - therefore. Inferential, or better transitional and so left untranslated, as NIV.

ως "when" - Introducing a temporal clause.

οπου "where" - Locative use of the conjunction.

ιδουσα (οϑραω) aor. part. "and saw" - seeing. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verbηλθεν, "came ... and saw."

λεγουσα (λεγω) pres. part. "and said" - saying [to him]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "fell", "fell at his feet and said", or adverbial, modal, "fell at his feet saying."

v33 ενεβριμησατο (εμβριμαομαι) aor. mid. "he was deeply moved" - with indignation. This word is often used to express deep feelings of anger, although translators usually soften it to "groan", "sigh", sometimes joining the word with "troubled" to produce "terribly upset" or "profoundly moved".

τω πνευματι (α ατος) dat. "in spirit" - the seat of our emotions, so for us, "heart" would be the word;" his heart was εταραξεν (ταρασσω) aor. "troubled" - disturbed so literally "he troubled himself"; "he shook/shuddered" as if in rage or apoplexy.

  
v34 τεθεικατε (τιθημι) perf. "have you laid" – i.e. buried him.

v35 εδακρυσεν (δακρυω) "wept" - a hapax legomenon; i.e. a one off use,  Mary "wails" as a mourner would, but Jesus is “weeps” i.e. sheds a tear.

v36 ιδε "behold/pay attention” begins an imperatival clause. Throughotu this entire sdtory Jesus comes across as a bit bossy.

v37 ο ανοιξας (ανοιγω) aor. part. "he who opened" - participle serves as a substantive, introducing a construction standing in apposition to ουτος, "this/this man" some suggest this is a sincere comment made by those who have interpreted Jesus' tears as a sign of frustration. 

ποιησαι (ποιεω) aor. inf. "have kept" – literally “to do”- infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of the verb "was [not] able"...to do (something).

v38 εμβριμωμενος εν εϑαυτω/ "deeply moved" angry within himself. Note how "in himself" replaces "in the spirit" of v33.

σπηλαιον (ον) "a cave" - den, hideout; the common shape of a grave at this time was a vertical shaft, it is unclear whether John intends this word to describe such a hole or an actual “cave”.  In Bethany the “tomb of Lazarus” is a combination of both, a near vertical shaft with step declined steps leading to a “cave” at the bottom, akin to a well.

λιθος (ος) "stone" - to keep animals away from the corpse, so likely a cave (or a gloss).

  
v39 αρατε (αιρω) aor. imp. "take away [the stone]" –aorist implies immediacy, do it now.

του τετελευτηκοτος (τελευταω) gen. perf. part. "[the sister] of the dead man" genitive is relational.

τεταρταιος adj. "four days" – underlying the Jewish folk belief that after 3 days the spirit and the body separate (he’s not only merely dead, but really most sincerely dead!”.

οζει (οζω) "there is a bad odor" - Jews did not mummify the dead (lucky thing for Lazarus) The usual anointing of a body does not cover the smell of decomposition. This observation underlines the fact that Lazarus was dead indeed.

v40 ουκ"[did I] not" - negation expects an answer in the positive, begins a rhetorical question.

του θεου (ος) gen. "[the glory] of God" - genitive classified as ablative, expressing source, "the glory radiating from God".  John does not repeat the previous promise made to those who believe, v25-26, but restates the gist of it. "You will see how powerful God is". The power to overcomes death, even if for a season, rests solely with God.

v41 ηρεν τους οφθαλμους ανω "[Jesus] looked up" - lifted the eyes up; a common attitude in prayer, 17:1.

ευχαριστω (ευχαριστω) pres. "I thank" - continuous action of thanking, central to prayer- the request itself is not recorded.

ηκουσας (ακουω) aor. "you have heard" - aorist indicates we may be dealing with a particular prayer, past or present, that was unrecorded. The prayer would be for the raising of Lazarus. It is also possible we are dealing with a proleptic aorist where the prayer is future, but the outcome is preset5n and assured. Is the prayer, "Lazarus, come out"? Such language is typical of Jesus healings, so, Jesus gives thanks prior to his act so that "they may believe that you sent me."

v42 ηδειν (οιδα) pluperf. "knew" - Jesus was aware God would act on his call for Lazarus to rise.

δια + acc. "[I said this] for the benefit of [the crowd / people]" - causal.

ινα + subj. "that [they may believe]" - a final (purpose) clause. Jesus gave thanks for the miracle before it is performed "so that " the people might "believe". Again note, the content of belief is defined.

οτι "that [you sent me]" - a dependent statement of perception expressing the content of the belief.

v43 ειπων (λεγω) aor. part. "when he had said [this]" - The participle is adverbial, best taken as temporal, as NIV.

εκραυγασεν (κραυγαζω) "called" - shouted, cried out loudly, serving to express a forceful command by Jesus.

φωνη (η) dat. "in a [loud] voice" - dative of manner. 

δευρο εξω "come out" - a literal translation of this interjection and adverb works quite well, "Here! Outside! Now!"

  
v44 ο τεθνηκως (θνησκω) perf. part. "the dead man" - the perfect tense serving to underline a past circumstance with ongoing consequences, Lazarus died, is dead but now walks!  (How about “The Walking Dead” for a sermon title? No?  Chicken!)

δεδεμενος (δεω) perf. part. "wrapped" - having been bound. The participle forms a construction that stands in apposition to "the one having died"; “the one having had bound feet…came out." "Bound" reflects the common meaning of the verb, but the so called "with strips of linen" is actually κειριαις, "with sheets". It is obvious we carry the image of Boris Karloff doing his thing in the Mummy but this is not the image John gives, "covered" or "draped over" might work better, as in the “Shroud of Turin”. There is also reference to the typical cloth covering the face; περιεδεδετο, meaning "wrapped around" the head, these details point to Jewish funerary customs unique to Jerusalem and the surrounding area from the 1^st century BC through the first century AD, not before and not after! We know of these customs through archeology, Qumran and Rabbinic sources.

v45 οι ελθοντες (ερχομαι) aor. part. "who had come" participle servers to form a substantival participial construction standing in apposition to "Jews", "many of the Jews, those who had come to Mary, when they…” 

θεασαμενοι (θεαομαι) aor. part. "[and] had seen" – beheld, were gobsmacked.

α προ. neut. pl. "the thing which” idiom, “observed what Jesus did" not quite as dramatic.

πιστισ εισ ”believed in him” – so the content of faith is Jesus, not his miracle

  
v46 δε "but" - probably adversative, - there is always a “but” in faith. 

εξ (εκ) + gen. "[some] of [them]" meaning, "some of the people". Maybe other Jews, not those were with Martha and Mary, but more likely the "many" who were not there but only heard about it second hand and went to the Pharisees/Jewish authorities to report the incident."