Sunday, April 27, 2008

Mar 4:35 Let us pass over to the other side.
Alternative: Let us make our way through into the opposite.

It is a pleasure to find deeper meaning in even the simplest statements. While in the narrative, this statement describes a decision to go to the opposite shore of Galilee, it is entertaining to note that it follows a parable in which the very small mustard seed becomes the very large plant, which creates again the very small seed. This is a great example of going through an opposite form to complete a cycle of growth.

The productivity of this cycle comes from producing more see (fruit) than we began with despite losing a lot of the seed to "poor ground" along the way. The cycle of growth is so productive that the losses along the way do not matter.

"Let us pass over" is from dierchomai (dierchomai) which means "to go through" and "to pass through." It comes from the base, erchomai, which means "to set out," "to come," and "to go." It means both "to go" on a journey and "to arrive" at a place with the prefix dia, which means "through," "throughout," and "in the midst of" and is used to describe passage through both time and space.

"To" is from eis (eis), which means "into," "to," "towards," "in regard to," "to the limit of," and "up to (some time)."

"The other side" is from the adverb, peran (peran), which means "on the other side," "across," "over against," "opposite," and "right through."