Latest Posts on Christs Words

2008-09-09T06:22:00.000-07:00

Mar 7:14 Hearken unto me every one [of you], and understand:

Though this lines seems like a simple introduction to the next verse it is much more than that. In a sense, it is a summary of the entire lesson in his criticism of the Pharisees.

Christ uses the combination of the Greek words for "hearing" and "understanding" in several verses that I have studied (Mar 4:12 quoting Isiah, Mat 13:23 and Mat 13:19 explaining the parable of the sower). In all of these verses, he discusses a specific problem. People can hear the same words and not agree on their meaning.

The term translated here as "understand" means literally "come together." It carries the implicit idea of sharing a common understanding. Christ's goal was bringing everyone together to a common ground of shared understanding.

The context here, of course, is that the Pharisees offered their own interpretations of religious law and that these interpretations turned the common understanding of the words of Moses upside down. Christ directly condemns this twisting of the words, accusing religious leaders of doing this simply to increase their own power over regular people.

Christ is championing the common understanding of the people. He foresees that his words will be available to all people directly, without having to be channeled through religious leaders. In a sense, this looks toward the printing press and the wrestling of the Bible from those who wished to control its meaning by virtue of their position as religious leaders.

Christ's goal wasn't to enlighten a chosen few among the elite priests but to enlighten the general population.

"Harken" is from akouô (akouo), which means "hear of," "hear tell of," "what one actually hears," "know by hearsay," "listen to," "give ear to," "hear and understand," and "understand."

"Understand" is from suniêmi (suniemi), which means "bring together," "come together in agreement," and, metaphorically, "to perceive" "to hear," "to take notice of" and "to understand."

2008-08-28T10:17:00.000-07:00

Mar 7:13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which you have delivered: and many such like things do you.
Alternative: Canceling God's word by your transmission of orders that you teach and things such as this that you do.

Continuing Christ's theme that religious leaders can cancel God's intent by how they interpret it, the point of this verse is that leaders teach both in word and deed. It is not just their teaching, but, in this case, how people see them serving their own self-interest. Christ often repeats statements to emphasize the three overlapping realms--physical, mental, and emotional--in which we live. In this case, he touches on all three: "words" are the mental realm, but transmission of orders is the emotional (social) realm, and "doing" is the physical realm.

The general sense here is that people torture logic, that is, God's logos, to justify what they want in terms of social power and physical gratification.

"Making...of none effect" is from akuroô (akuroo), which means "to cancel," "to set aside," and "render powerless."

"Tradition" is from paradosis (paradosis), which means "handing down," "transmission," "that which is handed down," and "the transmission of orders." This specifically includes legends, traditions, and doctrines but it is not specific about the quality of what is handed down, only that it has been passed down.

"You have delivered" is from paradidômi (paradidomi), which means "to give over to another," "to transmit," "to hand down," "to grant," "to teach," and "to bestow."

"Many" is from polus, which means "many (in number)," "great (in size or power or worth)," and "large (of space)." As an adverb is means "far," "very much," "a great way," and "long."

"Such" is from toioutos (toioutos), which means "such as this," "so great a thing," ""such a condition," "such a reason," "and suchlike."

"Like things" is from paromoios (paromoios), which means "closely resembling," and "nearly equal."

"Do you" is from poieô ( poieo), which means "to make," "to produce," "to create," "to bring into existence," "to bring about," "to cause," "to render," "to consider," "to prepare," "to make ready," and "to do."

2008-08-22T07:42:00.000-07:00

Mar 7:12 And you suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;
Alternative: And no longer send him away doing nothing for his father and mother.

Christ's message here is that the religious leaders tolerated someone in the community who violated the commandment of honoring their father and their mother if they gave their property as a gift to the temple. They should have shunned such a person, but didn't.

If the original KJV seems a little convoluted in saying that, it seems to be because the original translators have a problem with a specific word. I know nothing of ancient Greek except a little I learned in high school and what I have picked up over the years studying the Greek of Christ's words, so I am in no position to criticize the scholars who translated the NT into English in the KJV, but it sometimes feels like they tied themselves into knots because they wanted certain words to mean certain things even when they really didn't.

In this case, the problem word is, as it so often is, aphiêmi, which is the basis for all references of "forgiving sin" in the NT. However, it actually has the meaning, as you can see below, of getting rid of something, letting it go, sending it away. When Christ referred to "forgiving sin" he was really telling us to let go of our own mistakes and the mistakes of others and to get past them (another meaning of aphiêmi). This has much more the sense of not dwelling on the past and especially of letting go and leaving behind than any sense of absolution that the word "forgive" carries.

The idea of "suffering" the sins of another is very closely connected to the idea of "forgiving" their sins, at least in the older English of the KJV, but you see how maintain that idea forces the translators to mistranslate another word, in this case, oudeis. Here they translate it as "ought" when it actually means "naught" and "nothing." It is a negative world and has no sense at all of obligation.

"You suffer" is from aphiêmi (aphiemi), which means "to let fall," "to send away," "to let loose," "to get rid of," "to leave alone," "to pass by," "to permit," and "to send forth from oneself." This is the same word that is translated as "leave" and "forgive" in the New Testament.

"No more" is from ouketi (ouketi), which means "no more," "no longer," "no further" and generally, "not now."

"Ought" is from oudeis, (oudeis) which means "no one," "not one," "nothing," "naught," "good for naught," and "no matter."

"To do" is from poieô ( poieo), which means "to make," "to produce," "to create," "to bring into existence," "to bring about," "to cause," "to render," "to consider," "to prepare," "to make ready," and "to do."

2008-08-17T17:59:00.000-07:00

Mar 7:11 But you say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, [It is] Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever you might be profited by me; [he shall be free].
Alternative: But you teach a man to tell his father or mother, Whatever I owe you is an votive offering gift.

The original here is a really convoluted translation with some poorly chosen words. The religious leaders taught people that if they declared all their property as a religious offering, they didn't have to use it to support their parents. My guess is that while they were alive, they could live off that property but that it went to the temple upon their death. Think of this as the era's version of declaring your business a non-profit corporation to avoid paying taxes only in this era, you wanted to get out of supporting your dependents because back in these primitive times that was thought of as a personal responsibility rather than the taxpayer's obligation.

"Gift" is from dôron (doron) which means "gift," "present," and specifically a "votive gift" or "offering" to a god. The simpler term without the sense of a votive offering is "dorea."

First "say" is from legô (lego) is used to describe what the scribes "say." It means literally "pick up," but it used to mean "recount," "tell over," "say," "speak," "teach," and "command."

The second "say"is epo (epo) which is from epos meaning "word." It is used like we might say "give someone the word."

"Out" is from ek, which means "out of," "away from," "from," or "by."

"You might be profited by me" is from ophellô (opheleo), which means "to own," "to pay," and "to be bound to render." This is the verb form of ôpheleia, which means "help," "aid," and "succor" as well as "profit," "advantage," or "gain from war."

2008-08-14T08:39:00.000-07:00

Mar 7:10 For Moses said, Honour your father and your mother; and, Who curses his father or mother, let him die the death:

Christ combines two old testament verses here, Deu 5:16 and Exd 21:17. His purpose is to offer a contrast of ideas, in this case, life versus death. Christ contrasts the honor due your parents for giving you life with the deadly effects of speaking evil of your parents. This contrast is typical of Christ's teaching of the Old testament.

In the Greek, there is an odd correspondence between the verbs used for "honor" and "die." The former means "value" and the later can also mean "to accomplish" in the sense of finishing a task. In the Greek, I am left with the sense that those who speak evil of their parents are honoring the accomplishment of death over the accomplishment of life. This wordplay only works in Greek.

However, there is similar contrast in the original Hebrew, which is interesting as well. The term for "honor" means "to be heavy." Here the contrast that is brought to mind is between the heaviness of birth and the heaviness of death.

On the continuing theme of the mistranslation of "good" and "evil" in the NT, here we see one of the rare references to the Greek word that actually does mean "evil," kakos, which appears in the compound, kakologeô, to speak evil. As we like to point out, despite the fondness of the English translators for the word "evil," the Greek of the NT seldom uses this Greek term that means "evil." The term usually translated as "evil" actually is closer in meaning to "worthless,"
base," and "second-rate."

(Note: The Greek and Hebrew versions of "die the death" are a little different and, interestingly, the English translation here is closer to the Hebrew, something we don't see very often. The Hebrew phrase repeats the verb muwth with its infinitive, meaning something like "kill dead" while the Greek version from the Septuagint uses to different verbs and is closer to "make dead," but the ideas are the same. As I have pointed out elsewhere, Christ was raised in Egypt, where Alexandria was the center of Jewish culture and where the Septuagint was written a few centuries before Christ. If he taught in Greek as well as Aramaic, he would have quoted from the Septuagint version, but, of course, the authors of the New Testament might also have referred to the Septuagint in translating Christ's words from Aramaic as well. )

"Honour" is from the Greek timaô , (timao) which means "to revere," "to honor," and "to value." In the original Hebrew, it is from kabad, which means "to be heavy," "to be rich," and "to be honored." Though the Greek word doesn't have the same sense of "weight" as the Hebrew, weight is often connected in Greek with value. In a commodity based society, value and weight were the same. We say that we give "weight" to an arguments in the same sense that the ancients would give "weight" to the rules of a leader or a God.

"Curse" is from kakologeô (kakologeo), which means "revile" and "abuse." It is a compound of the word that means "bad" and "evil" kakos (kakos) and the word logos (logos), which means "word," "computation," "reckoning," and "value."

"Die" is from teleutaô (teleutao), which means "to bring to pass," "to accomplish," "to finish," "to die," "to end a life," and "to make an end to life." The word in Hebew is from muwth, which means "to die" and "to kill."

"Death" is from thanatos (thanatos), which means "death" "a death sentence," and "a corpse." However, the word could be a form of the verb, thanatoô, which is the future passive of the verb meaning "to be put to death," "to be made dead." The word in Hebew is from muwth, which means "to die" and "to kill."

2008-08-13T16:04:00.000-07:00

Mar 7:9 Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition.
Alternative: Beautifully do you make divine orders ineffective so that you may guard your own transmission of orders.

When Christ seems to repeat a phrase, he never does so frivolously. He does it because it is easy to miss his meaning. My response is to look more closely at the Greek to see what I am missing.

In this case, what I found is that the word translated as "traditions" actually has a much most specific meaning in this context. The word doesn't mean "tradition" exactly. It means "to transmit," to "hand down" or "pass on" something, like legends or traditions are handed down from one generation to the next. However, in this context, it has a more specific meaning, referring specifically to the transmission of orders and the transmission of authority from one generation to the next.

What religious leaders are protecting is their ability to acts as the middlemen between God and their followers. Christ saw these middlemen as making God's message ineffective because what they emphasize is their power as priests rather than God's will. Hence, we have "house-keeping" tasks such as washing the dishes, taking precedence over more important matters.

In this discussion, it was the Pharisees who started this topic, condemning Christ's followers for not washing their hands as "handed down from the elders."

"Full well" is from kalos (kalos), which means "beautiful," "good," "of fine quality," "noble," and "honorable." It is most often translated as "good" juxtaposed with "evil" in the New Testament, but the two ideas are closer to "wonderful" and "worthless," "noble" and "base."

"Reject" is from atheteô (atheteo), which means "to deny," "to disprove," "to cancel," "to render ineffective," and to :break faith with."

"You may keep" is from têreô (tereo), which means "to watch over," "to guard," "to take care of," "to give heed to," "to keep," and "to observe."

"Tradition" is from paradosis (paradosis), which means "handing down," "transmission," "that which is handed down," and "the transmission of orders." This specifically includes legends, traditions, and doctrines but it is not specific about the quality of what is handed down, only that it has been passed down.

2008-08-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

Mar 7:8 For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men, [as] the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things you do.
Alternative: By letting go the orders of God, you get the upper hand by transmitting human orders, such as the washing of pitchers and cups and the many similar things you do.

In reading Christ's words in Greek, the concept of the "forgiveness of sin" that is emphasized in translation seems to disappear. The term that gets translated as "forgiveness" (aphiêmi) is not necessarily a good thing, like "mercy" for example. The term means simply "letting go," which can be good and also can be bad. This verse is an example of "letting go" as being a bad thing. Here, he condemns people for letting go of the God's orders.

Christ saw a serious conflict between "God's command" and "human tradition." The theme of many of his encounters with religious leaders is that they enforced a number of traditions in order to maintain their power over people, especially their power to criticize others. This lead to a meaningless formalism in religion. Something we see happening in every faith. Indeed, as Christ indicated, formalizing religion is a human tradition not the command of God.

Here, Christ trivializes these formal religious traditions, equating them to washing dishes and other tasks that have no inherent meaning.

"Laying aside" is from aphiêmi (aphiemi), which means "to let fall," "to send away," "to let loose," "to get rid of," "to leave alone," "to pass by," "to permit," and "to send forth from oneself." This is the same word that is translated as "leave" and "forgive" in the New Testament.

"Commandment" is from entolê (entole)which means "injunction," "order," and "command."

"Hold" is from krateô(krateo), which means "to rule," "to hold sway," "to be the lord and master," "to conquer," "to prevail over," "to get the upper hand," "to seize," "to control," and "to command."

"Tradition" is from paradosis (paradosis), which means "handing down," "transmission," "that which is handed down," and "the transmission of orders." This specifically includes legends, traditions, and doctrines but it is not specific about the quality of what is handed down, only that it has been passed down.

"Washing" is from baptismos (baptismos), which means "dipping in water," and "immersion."

"Pots" is from xestês (xestes), which means a "measurement of about a pint," a "pitcher," or a "cup."

"Cup" is from potêrion(poterion), which means "a drinking-cup," "a wine-cup," "a jar," and "a receptacle" for offerings in the temple.

"Many" is from polus, which means "many (in number)," "great (in size or power or worth)," and "large (of space)." As an adverb is means "far," "very much," "a great way," and "long."

"Other" is from allos (allos), which means "another."

"Such" is from toioutos (toioutos), which means "such as this," "so great a thing," ""such a condition," "such a reason," "and suchlike."

"Like things" is from paromoios (paromoios), which means "closely resembling," and "nearly equal."

"You do" is from poieô ( poieo), which means "to make," "to produce," "to create," "to bring into existence," "to bring about," "to cause," "to render," "to consider," "to prepare," "to make ready," and "to do."

2008-07-28T08:57:00.000-07:00

Mar 7:7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men.

This is one of the most unusual translations in the KJV because it ignores the line in Isaiah 29:13 that Christ is quoting. That line is translated in the OT of KJV from the Hebrew as "their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men." If you look at the Greek, you can see how it can be translated the same. The word translated as "worship" primarily means "fear." The word translated as "in vain" also means "falsely" so we easily get "but falsely do they fear me, teaching [my] instructions like human orders." The translation of the full verse of Isaiah, which is quoted in here and in the previous verse (and that we saw before in Matt 15:7-9 in the same Greek) is:

Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near [me] with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

The point is that religious leaders tend to teach the fear of God rather than the love of God. They think of God's instruction as human laws, which we must obey out of fear of punishment. They don't see them as instructions given to us out of love and a desire for us to have the best lives possible. God is a father offering advice and direction out of love not a policeman or judge threatening us with the law. This is very much in line with Christ's teaching that the Sabbath was made for men, not men for the Sabbath.

In other words, God.s instructions are not like the orders of a ruler. They are explanations of how the world works, that is, the universal rule. In a sense, they are the laws of nature. We cannot violate them without suffering the consequences any more than we can walk off a cliff without tangling with the law of gravity. God's instructions are about the nature of things not meaningless lines in the sand that he is forbidding us to cross. The commandments exist not to deprive us of pleasures but to enable us to have better lives.

"In vain" is from the Greek matên (maten)which means "in vain," "fruitless," "at random," "idly," and "falsely."

"Do they worship" is from sebomai (sebomai), which means "full of awe," "feel fear" or "feel shame," before God, "fear to do," and "worship". In Hebrew, the sense of fear is more direct. The single word, yir'ah, which means "fear," "awe," or "fear of God." In the original Hebrew, this line is translated in KJV as saying, that the fear of God comes from the teaching of men, not from God. The Greek could and should be translated this way as well.

"Teaching" is from didaskô (didasko), which means "to teach," "to instruct," "to indicate," "to explain," and "to give sign of."

"Doctrines" is from didaskalia (disaskalia) which means "teachings," "instruction," "elucidation," and "official instruction."

"Commandments" is from entalma, which means "to order). The Greek, entalma, only appears here and is not a standard word in Greek. It is translated as a local form of entolê which means "injunction," "order," and "command."

"Of men" is from anthropos , which means "men," people," and "humanity."

2008-07-23T09:25:00.000-07:00

Mar 7:6 Well has Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honor me with [their] lips, but their heart is far from me.

This verse is a reference to Isaiah 29:13 where there was originally a bit of contrasting wordplay that is not part of the Greek here in Mark. This contrasting wordplay is in the Greek in Mat 15:8, (analysis here) which is why I tend to think Matthew is closer to the original words. Christ loved to play on contrasting idea. It seems unlikely he would have not used such wordplay when it was in the text he was referencing. In the original Hebrew, the contrast is near (nagash) and far (rachaq), the nearness of lips that honor with the distance of the hearts. In Matthew's version, the contrast is between near (engizô) and far (apecho, "to be absent", porrho "at a distance"). Here in Mark, only the idea of distant and absence is preserved, not the contrasting idea of nearness.

Since we looked at the wordplay in the earlier discussion of Matthew, let us look at this verse from the perspective of Christ's use of symbols because it is also interesting in that regard.

Christ symbols refer to three aspect of our temporal lives: the physical, mental, and emotional. Hear, lips represent the mental and hearts represent the emotion. This follows from the idea that language and ideas form our mental world while our relationships with others form our emotional world.

Christ sees all three aspect of our temporal existence as important, but he describes life as a process that starts with the physical, moves to the mental, goes to the emotional, which ends at the spiritual. Christ describes the problem of life as getting stuck in one of these areas, creating an imbalance in our lives and a lack of progress. Our lives become worth less when we get so attached to life's physical aspects (physical pleasure) or its mental aspects (conceptual ideas) or its emotional aspects (social praise) that we cannot move on another aspect of life. Of course, the idea is to prepare for the bigger transition from the temporal to the spiritual.

However, there is also the sense in Christ's words that our personal emotional relationships are closer to our relationship to God. We cannot really understand God with our minds. He is too far beyond us. However, we can understand God through our relationships. This is why Christ teaches the the "pure of heart" will see God. This is the same idea using the same symbol of the heart for relationships. Of course, both Greek and Hebrew use the heart symbolically as the seat of emotions, though in Greek, it is specifically the seat of the feelings (courage, love), while the belly is the seat of the lower, more base desires (sex, food).

"Hypocrites" is from hupokrites (hupokrites) which is a great example of a word that has taken its English meaning from the Bible and its religious interpretation rather than the original Greek and Christ's original sense. The word means "one who answers," and is used in Greek to mean "interpreter" or "actor." Christ used it to mean that the scribes and Pharisees were just re-interpreting the law and play-acting their religion.

"Come near" is from the Greek engizô (eggizo) which means "to bring near," "to approach," and "to be on the point of" (doing someing). It is from the Hebrew, nagash, which means to "draw near" and "approach," but which is also used to describe sexual intercourse. Maybe combining "make advances" and "make love" into a single word might capture it.

"Honour" is from the Greek timaô , (timao) which means "to revere," "to honor," and "to value." In the original Hebrew, it is from kabad, which means "to be heavy," "to be rich," and "to be honored." Though the Greek word doesn't have the same sense of "weight" as the Hebrew, weight is often connected in Greek with value. In a commodity based society, value and weight were the same. We say that we give "weight" to an arguments in the same sense that the ancients would give "weight" to the rules of a leader or a God.

"Are far " is from the Greek, apecho ("to be absent") porrho ("at a distance"). The Hebrew is rachaq , which means "to be or become distant."

2008-07-13T16:52:00.000-07:00

Mar 6:50 Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.
Alternative: "Don't be afraid. It is I. Don't be alarmed."

I found Matthew's Gospel was surprising consistent in terms of every chapter having a specific focus or topic. Mark is not proving to be as consistent in terms of theme. This chapter began as a discussion of society and our social interactions, but it seems to have changed. The focus has changed from society to our physical needs in the last verse. In this verse, that theme is continued, asking us simply to stop being afraid of the physical universe. What happens is art of God's plan. We do not need to fear it. It all has purpose and meaning.

Perhaps the larger lesson here is that God is in everything: society and physical reality. If we simply accept God's plan, we can deal with each challenge as it comes without fear or concern. Life isn't meant to be a bowl of cherries. It is meant to challenge us so we can grow. Fear stands in the way of us learning from each setback and sadness.

"Be of good cheer" is from tharseô (tharseo), which means "fear not," "have courage," "have confidence," "have no fear," and "make bold."

"It is" is from eimi (eisi), which means "to be,""to exist," "to be the case," and "is possible."

"Afraid" is from phobeô, (phobeo) which means "to put to flight, "terrify," "alarm," "to stand in awe," and "to be afraid."

2008-07-12T15:29:00.000-07:00

Mar 6:38 How many loaves do you have? Go and see.

Bread, wine, and house are the central to Christ's symbolism representing our temporal world: bread for the physical, wine for the mental, and the house for the emotional aspects of our lives. Unlike our mental or emotional life, aspect of our physical life can be counted and measured. Our physical possessions can be held, protected, and kept safe.

Bread, like wine, is Christ's symbol for transformation. The seed creates the plant. The plant duplicates the seed into grain. The grain becomes dough. Dough becomes bread. Bread is converted to body. The physical world exists in a process of transformation. Everything is temporary. Everything is limited.

Transformation is also multiplication. Through the cycle, the seed is duplicated, yielding fruit on good ground, in Christ's words, a hundred fold. The miracle of the physical world is that though each stage is temporary, it is productive.

The word Christ uses for "see" here also is often used to me "understand."

"How much" is from posos (posos), which means "of what quantity," [in distance] "how far." [of number] how far," [of time] "how long," [of value] "how much," "how great," "how many," and "how much."

"Loaves" is from artos (artos), which means specifically a "cake of whole wheat break," and generally "loaf," and "bread."

"Do you have" is from echô (echo), which means "to have," "to hold," "to possess," "to keep," "to have charge of," "to maintain," "to hold fast," "to bear," "to keep close," "to keep safe," and "to have means to do."

"Go" is from hupagô (hupago), which means "to lead under," "to bring under," "to bring a person before judgment," "to lead on by degrees," "to take away from beneath," "to withdraw," "to go away," "to retire," "to draw off," and "off with you."

"See" is from eido (eido), which is another word that means "to see," "to examine," and "to know." It has more the sense of understanding.

2008-07-05T11:42:00.000-07:00

Mar 6:37 Give them to eat.

Perhaps the simplest of all instructions and something that is done naturally in personal relationships. When someone comes to your house, you offer them food. Here, Christ applies this same rule to the gathering of a large group of people in the desert. He sees the natural world as his home and he sees his relationship with all people as personal.

While Christ warns us about seeking status and recognition from anonymous society, taking from society, the same rule does not apply to giving to society. We ask God not other people to provide our food from the environment (the first request of the Lord's prayer), however we all work to feed ourselves by working together in the social network. We are all debtors to God, but in human society we play both roles as givers and takers. Christ sees this balance as giving so that we can receive. We give first. We offer value for others.

Since this chapter in Mark is all about our relationships with others in society, Christ is merely instructing us on what is natural. If we see a need, we should first seek to fill it.

"Give" is from didômi (didomi), which means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," and "to describe."

"Eat" is from phago (phago), which is a form of the word, phagein, which means to eat," "to eat up," and "to devour." A synonym for esthiô (esthio).

2008-07-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

Mar 6:31 Come you yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while.

Alternative: Come here everyone, separately, on your own, into an isolated place and regain a little strength.

I find it interesting that the word translated as "place" or "position" as is also a metaphor for "opening" and "opportunity." Our place is indeed the opening for our opportunities.

In the normal English translation, the sense in the Greek of separating ourselves as individuals, privately, apart from society is somewhat lost. I am reminded of how Christ teaches us to pray, off by ourselves, not in groups, but privately, in a closet. There is a sense that our work in society weakens us, but our time alone, with Christ, refreshes our strength.

This chapter began with the idea that our personal power, at least as a prophet, works only outside our family, in society. We go out into society, to do our work, becoming part of a new group. We are sometimes rejected, but we have to shake it off and march on. To regain our strength, we have to separate ourselves from society, take time for ourselves, with God alone.

"Come" is from deute (deute), which means "come here" and "come hither." It is an imperative form, indicating a command.

"Apart" is from kata (kata), which means "downwards," "down from," "down into," "against," "down toward," "opposite," "separately," "individually," "at a time," "towards," "in accordance with," "concerning," "corresponding with," "during the course of a period," and "severally."

The untranslated word that follows "apart" is idios (idios), which means "one's own," "pertaining to one's self," "private," "personal," "personally attached," "separate distinct," "strange," "unusual," "peculiar," and "appropriate."

"Desert" is from erêmoô (eremos), which means "strip bare," "desolate," "lay waste," "bereave," "abandon," "desert," "leave alone," and "keep isolated."

"Place" is from topos (topos), which means "place," "region," "position," "part [of the body]," "district," "room," and "topic." It is also a metaphor for "opening," "occasion," and "opportunity."

"Rest" is from anapauô (anapauo), which means "to make to cease," "stop or hinder," "put an end to," "bring to a close," "take rest," "sleep," "lie fallow," "regain strength," and "rest or settle [on an object]."

"Awhile" is from oligos (oligos), which means "little," "small," and "weak."

2008-06-29T14:10:00.000-07:00

Mar 6:11 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when you depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.

Alternative: And as many will not welcome you or even hear you, march on, shaking off the residue under your feet as the evidence of it. I tell you truly that it shall be more bearable in Sodom and Gomorrah in days of trial than that city.

Christ uses the word translated as "receive" here exclusively in verses referring to being welcomed by people. The word "hear" means the physical sense of hearing sounds, not necessarily listening or understanding words. The words translated as "depart" is not the word translated in the previous verse as "depart" but a different word that has more the sense of "marching out." The phrase "against them" is from a word that is simply a reflexive pronoun. Christ uses the term translated as "testimony" more like our idea of legal evidence. The word translated as "judgment" is "krisis" which means a trial or choice.

In English, this comes across as a threat and a condemnation. In spending some time with the words in Greek, it feels more like comfort and sadness. For those who are going to be rejected, it is comfort. It tells us to simply put the rejection behind us. We must march on. We shake off the residue of it, symbolically leaving the evidence behind us. We shouldn't expect to be welcomed or even physically heard. For those who reject us, it comes across as sadness. Everyone has a time of trial and these people will have less to fall back upon than those who die a quick death.

"Whosover" is from hosos (hosos), which means "as many," "as much as," "as great as," "as far as," and "only so far as."

"Receive" is from dechomai, (dechomai) which means "welcome," "accept," and "entertain" when applied to people. (It means "take," "accept," and "receive" when applied to things.)

"Hear" is from akouô (akouo), which means "hear of," "hear tell of," "what one actually hears," "know by hearsay," "listen to," "give ear to," "hear and understand," and "understand."

"Depart" is from ekporeuô (ekporeuomai), which means "to make to go out," "to fetch out," and "to march out."

"Shake" is from ektinassô (ektinasso), which means "to shake out," "to expel," "to shake off," and "to search thoroughly."

"Dust" is from chnoos (choos), which means "powder," "fine down," "dust," "any light porous substance," "the foam on the edge of the sea," and "chaff."

"Testimony" is from marturion (marturion), which means "testimony" and "proof."

"Against them" is from autos (autos), which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself," "yourself," "himself," "herself," "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him," "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of ones own accord."

"More tolerable" is anektoteros (the "more" version of anektos), which "bearable," "sufferable," "that which can be endured," or "tolerable."

"Judgment" is from krisis (krisis), which means "separating," "distinguishing," "judgment," "choice," "election," "trial," "dispute," "event," and "issue."

2008-06-28T15:16:00.000-07:00

Mar 6:10 In what place soever you enter into an house, there abide until you depart from that place.
Alternative: Anywhere you enter into a group relationship, keep with it until you advance from where you are.

There is a subtle play on words here between the term used for "enter" and "depart." The term for "enter" doesn't only means to physically enter into a place, but to enter an new role or new station. The for for "depart" also means to come out of one class and into another with the sense of dreams coming true or roles coming to an end.

The term for "house" means not only a physical house, but any clan or group association.

The general sense is very consistent with Christ's general theme of our group relationships and how seriously we must take them. Christ started this chapter with the idea that a prophet is not seen as anything special in his or her original family. This verse moves that idea forward. As we move on in life, we will be accepted into new groups and families. We must take those relationships seriously, but with the sense that we will also someday be moving on. Of course, as young people, we move from group to group until we find our place in the world. However, even when we find our place, we are eventually moving on from life itself.

"In what place soever" is from hopou (hopou), which means "somewhere," "anywhere," "wherever," "anywheresoever" and "where."

"Enter" is from eiserchomai (eiserchomai)which means both "to go into," "to come in," "to enter," "to enter an office," "to enter a charge," (as in court) and "to come into one's mind."

"House" is oikia, which means "house," "building," and "household." It was also the term that was used to describe a family or clan and the people associated with that family or clan, such as their servants and slaves.

"Abide" is from menô (meno), which means "to stay," "to wait," "to stand fast [in battle]," "to stay at home," "to remain," "to expect," and "to wait for."

"Depart" is from exerchomai (exerchomai) which means "to come or go out of, " "to come out," "to withdraw from a country," "to come out of one class to another," "to be proven to be," [of time]" to come to an end," and [of dreams] "to come true."

"Place" is from ekeithen (ekeithen), which means "from that place," "thence," "from that fact," and "thenceforward."

2008-06-13T06:37:00.000-07:00

Mar 6:4 A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
Alternative: A prophet is not worthless except among his father's [people], his kin, and his family.

The construction of the first phrase here is a repetition of three negatives ideas, both in Greek and English (not, without, but/except). It is then followed by three words than also have a very similar meanings, all indicating people with whom you have a blood relationship. The word translated as "country" means "of one's father" which can mean "fatherland" but it doesn't actually mean country.

As we have seen repeatedly, Christ uses the pattern of three to refer to our three temporal states of the physical, mental, and emotional. Though the idea of family usually relates directly to emotional relationships, this is one of several places where Christ takes one aspect of these three, in this case the emotional, and says that it too has its own physical, mental, and emotional dimensions.

In the Greek, it is much clearer that Christ is not referring to a prophet receiving honor or praised from others. The term translated as "without honor" literally means "without value." Christ is saying that because a prophet's family doesn't value the prophet's words, they can get no value from those words.

Giving value is required in order to receive value. The physical, intellectual, and emotional familiarity of family make it impossible to get physical, intellectual, and emotional values from the ideas of a prophet. They are too close to see that value.

"Prophet" is from prophêtês (prophetes), which means "one who speaks for a god and interprets his will," "interpreter," "keepers of the oracle," the highest level of priesthood in Egypt," "interpreter," and "herald."

"Without honor" is from atimos (atimos), which means "dishonored," "unhonored," "not deemed worthy," "deprived of civic rights," and "without value." It is the negative of timos which means having a set value.

"Country" is from patris (patris), which means "of one's father's" and "ones fatherland," and "country."

"Kin" is from sungenês (suggenes), which means "inborn," "character," "natural,""of the same family," "kinsfolk," "kindred," and "akin." This word is not used in Matthew, appears in Mark only here, and twice in Luke, though in different verses.

"House" is from oikia (oikia), which means "building," "house," "family," and "household."

2008-06-10T16:57:00.000-07:00

Mar 5:41 Talitha cumi; Damsel, I say unto you, arise.

The difference between the Aramaic and the Greek here gives us some insight into viewpoint of those that wrote the Gospels. The Aramaic says simply, "Little lamb, arise." The Greek adds a flourish, "Little girl, I say to you arise." This means that the Gospel writers, as you might expect, added gravitas to Christ's words, which were, at least in this example, very simple and sensitivity.

What I find most interesting about this verse, however, is that the author makes an issue of Christ speaking Aramaic. He quotes Christ's words first in Aramaic and then offers a Greek approximation, making clear he is approximating the idea. If Christ always taught in Aramaic, why would Christ's use of Aramaic be remarkable? Why make the point that the Greek was only an interpretation of the Greek?

Much of the wordplay and meaning of Christ's words only makes sense in Greek. While the standard view is that Christ spoke Aramaic, verses such as this seem to indicate that his use of Aramaic was the exception rather than the rule.

I am simply a translator doing research. I make no claims of special knowledge. My role, at least as I see it, is to bear witness to what is in the words and nothing more. My readers can draw their own conclusions.

"Damsel" is from the Greek korasion (korasion), which means "little girl" and "maiden."

"Say" is from legô, which means "to gather," "to pick up," "to count," "to tell," "to recount," "to say," "to speak," and "to call by name." It means speaking, but in the sense of connecting things together, enumerating things, recounting things.'

"Arise" is from egeirô (egeiro), which means "to awake," "to rouse," "to stir up" and "to wake up."

2008-06-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

Mar 5:36 Be not afraid, only believe.
Alternative: Fear not, only believe.

Christ sees fear as the opposite of belief. Fear is usually seen as the emotion reaction to the unknown. In all of Christ's words, fear is always the failure of believing in God, his rules, and plan. Christ understood human fear, but consistently says that it is not necessary. There is nothing to fear in life, not even death. Fear comes from belief in what we see rather than the word of God.

The hard thing is to "only" believe, but the Greek word for "only" has an additional meaning that we don't have in English. It means "one above all others," so belief only has to be the foremost of our feelings. So, while we can have many conflicting feelings, the goal is to put our feeling of faith in God above all the others.

This isn't the only time that Christ uses the term for "belief" with the term for "only." He did it in Mat 21:21 describing his power to wither a fig tree. When believe can become the strongest of our feelings, miracles become possible. We also see the word for "only" in Luk 8:50, which is another version of this same story. This is therefore another example of how two Gospel writers pick the same rarely used word to describe the same event. From this, I deduce that this exact word is important.

UPDATE: Fear not, only believe. Just read this post while I was thinking about how the sun has been cooling during a period when people fear global warming. What if God set is up the universe so as we create more greenhouse gas while transitioning to future technologies, the sun grows cooler to protect us.

"Afraid" is from phobeô (phobeo), which means "to be put to flight," "to fear," and "to be afraid."

"Only" is from monôs (monon), which means "alone," "solitary," "only," "one above all others," "made in one piece," "single," and "unique."

"Believe" is from pisteuô (pisteuo), which means "to trust, put faith in, or rely on a person," "to believe in someone's words," "to comply," "to feel confident in a thing," and "to entrust in a thing."

2008-06-02T13:13:00.000-07:00

Mar 5:34 Daughter, your faith has made you whole; go in peace, and be whole of your plague.
Alternative: Daughter, your faith has kept you alive, go away in tranquility and be healthy of your scourge.

The word that is translated as "made you whole" actually doesn't mean being cured of a disease. It means preserving or saving from death or keeping alive. It is usually translated as "save" in the Gospels but the meaning is specific to being saved from death or destruction.

So Christ is not saying that faith cures us of ills but that it preserves us through times of troubles. It was Christ's power that cures.

"Daughter" is the Greek, thugatêr (thugater), which means "daughter" or more generally a female descendant, later, it was used for "maidservant."

"Faith" is from pistis (pistis), which means "confidence," "assurance," "trustworthiness," "credit," "a trust," and "that which give confidence."

"Has made whole" is from sôizô (sozo), which means "save from death," "keep alive," "keep safe," "preserve," "maintain," "keep in mind," "carry off safely," and "rescue."

"Go" is from hupagô (hupago), which means "to lead under," "to bring under," "to bring a person before judgment," "to lead on by degrees," "to take away from beneath," "to withdraw," "to go away," "to retire," "to draw off," and "off with you."

"Peace" is eirênê (eirene), which means "time of peace," "peace," "tranquility," and "harmony." It is the name for the goddess of peace. In Hebrew, the word for peace was used in salutations and as an inquiry as to one's health.

"Whole" is from hugiês (hugies), which means "sound [in body]," "healthy," "safe and sound," "sound in mind," "virtuous," and "in good condition."

"Plague" is from mastix (mastix), which means a "whip," "lash," or a "scourge." It is used metaphorically to mean a plague of disease or of war.

2008-05-23T16:12:00.001-07:00

Mar 5:30 Who touched my clothes?

Christ feels the power go out of him when the woman touches his clothing, seeking a cure for bleeding. The interesting implication of this statement is that the curing was not voluntary or conscious on the part of Christ. He was a conduit for power, but he did not consciously control the power. It was the woman's conscious actions not Christ's that triggered the release of power.

Christ uses clothing as a symbol for power. In several places in the NT, Christ identifies kings by their clothing. It is the outer symbol of their power as the body in the outer sign of the soul. However, here his clothing isn't an intellectual symbol of social power but a physical conduit of spiritual power. The power travels though the physical instead of through the word.

The implication here is that Christ's channeling of God was a physical function of his body not just a conscious function of his mind. His clothes become a channel as well simply because they touch his body. The woman received God's power, completing a circuit of power and need, by simply touching Christ's clothing.

In the previous mental healing of the possessed man, Christ transferred his power through his words, the symbol for mental realm. Christ also cure physical ailments by speaking words as he does with the lame man who he tells to pick up his bed and return home. However, here and several other places in the Gospels, we see Christ curing physical ills though physical contact as when he rubs the blind man's eyes with mud.

"Touched" is from haptomai, which means to "fasten to," "to adhere to," "to cling to," "to have intercourse with a woman," ""to touch" and "to assail."

"Clothes" is from himation (himation), which was an oblong piece of cloth worn as an outer garment. The term generally means "clothes" and "cloth."

2008-05-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

Mar 5:19 Go home to your friends, and tell them how great things the Lord has done for you, and has had compassion on you.
Alternative: Retire to your home and to yours and report to them as much as the Lord has done for you to have pity on you.

It is an interesting coincidence that the term use for "home" appears often in stories of demonic possession. It appears in Mat 12:44, where the spirit is out looking for a home. Here, and in Mar 7:30, when Christ cures a girl of her demons and the mother finds her at home and the demons gone. There is a connection between the spirit as a home for the spirit, and the homes that we live in.

It is also interesting how Christ sends people to their homes after being cured as he did with the crippled man in Mar 2:11 and the blind man in Mar 8:26. The feeling here is that being cured from a infirmity is like going home.

This home wasn't just a "house", which is a slightly different word oikia (oikia), but the family and your personal relationships. Christ refers to the temple as "God's home" not just his house. He refers to the tribe of Israel as the home of Israel, the family of Israel.

People are sent home after they are cured because these are the people with whom the cured person has emotional relationships. In a sense, in healing these individuals, Christ is healing the entire household. People often approach Christ asking for mercy and often not for themselves, but for other people in their home. It was natural for people to share the emotion of mercy for others in their household. What was unnatural was to have people give mercy to others as Christ did. In a sense, it was his indication that we were part of his house.

"Go" is from hupagô (hupago), which means "to lead under," "to bring under," "to bring a person before judgment," "to lead on by degrees," "to take away from beneath," "to withdraw," "to go away," "to retire," "to draw off," and "off with you."

"Home" is from oikos, which means "house," "dwelling place," "room," and "home." Any dwelling place but not exclusively a separate house.

"Friends" is from sos (sos), which means "yours."

"Tell" is from anangellô (anangello), which means to "carry back tidings," "to report," "tell," and "proclaim." From the root word for "angels" meaning "messengers."

"Great" is from hosos (hosos), which means "as many," "as much as," "as great as," "as far as," and "only so far as."

"Has done" is from poieô ( poieo), which means "to make," "to produce," "to create," "to bring into existence," "to bring about," "to cause," "to render," "to consider," "to prepare," "to make ready," and "to do."

"Compassion" is from eleeô, (eleeo) which means "to have pity on," and "to show mercy to." It is from the Greek eleos, which means "mercy," "pity," and "compassion."

2008-05-15T19:22:00.000-07:00

Mar 5:9 What [is] your name?

Christ asks this question of the unclean spirit but as always I will analyze as if Christ is addressing all his words to all of us.

This raises the question of what Christ concept of a "name." Christ says that his Father's name is worth of worship, but the Father's name has a meaning, in Hebrew, it means "the being of existence" or the existence of being," which is more of a concept than a name.

In this case, the demon's name, legion (in Greek legeôn (legeon)), also has the very specific meaning of a certain size body of troops (6826 men, 6100 foot soldiers and 726 horsemen), but the sense is a troop of warrior's so large that they have no distinct individual identities.

But what is a "name" for a regular person? The Greek concept was that name was your social reputation. This was separate from the real spirit of the person. It was "just a name." The assumption was that a social reputation wasn't the real person.

Christ's system however is different. For Christ there is the four levels of spiritual, physical, intellectual, and emotional/social. The Greek sense of name exists only on the "emotional/social" level as the reputation and relationship, but the names of God and this demon exist on every level: the spiritual, physical, intellectual, and emotional/social.

In asking this question, is Christ suggesting that we each have names on all four levels as well? Names that we don't even know?

"What" is from tis, which can mean "someone," "any one," "everyone," "many a one," "whoever," and so on. In a question, it can mean "who," or "what."

"Name" is from onoma, which means "name." It means both the reputation of "fame," and "a name and nothing else," as opposed to a real person.

2008-05-12T15:47:00.000-07:00

Mar 5:8 Come out of the man, unclean spirit.

IN Christ's words, the are a interesting contrast referenced in this short line. The spirit is an awareness that is contrasted with the body. There is the regular spirit of a person, and unclean spirits, and the Holy Spirit. In the Gospels, the idea that people can lack spirit (poor in spirit) is one of the first ideas that Christ teaches. In the New Testament, person who who we would call mentally ill is describes as being possessed by an unclean spirit. It is from the Holy Spirit, that is, God's spirit, from which we gain knowledge that we cannot normally get.

Spirit is described as having an existence separate from a body. Unclean spirits can leave a body and return, but when they leave, they still exist outside of the body. They are not gone in the same sense that we think a mental condition is cured through treatment. A dead spirit can even be reborn into a new body (Elijah).

Our spirit is also separate from our mental processes. The spirit might inspire a thought or an action, but it is not the thought itself. Christ describes unclean spirits that are separate from the body as still having thoughts even though they don't have bodies. Though spirits can exist without bodies, a spirit with a body can act in the world. Christ describes people in the afterlife as having bodies as well, but of a different form, like the bodies of angels.

Christ describe his words of being of the spirit. People are born of spirit and baptized by spirit.

"Come" is from exerchomai, which means "to come or go out of " or "to come out."

"Out" is from ek, which means "out of," "away from," "from," or "by."

"Men" is from anthrôpos (anthropos), which "man," and, in plural, "mankind."

"Unclean" is akathartos (akathartos) which means "foul," "uncleansed," and "morally unclean." It was the term used to refer to a woman's menses.

"Spirit" is pneuma (pneuma), which means "blast," "wind," "breath," "the breath of life," and "divine inspiration."

2008-05-11T12:27:00.000-07:00

Mar 4:40 Why are you so fearful? how is it that you have no faith?

In the Greek, being fearful is associated with low-born and poor. In contrast, being confident (translated here as "faith") is associated with being trustworthy and gaining other people's trust. The idea is that your mental state and world view are connected to your place in society. Being low-born creates a state of fear, which is one reason the Christ's followers were to be "born again."

The world chosen for fearful here, deilos, is especially interesting. There are many Greek words that mean "fearful" that do not have the sense of low-born, for example deidêmôn. Like the Hebrew word for fearful, yare', this adjective just mean having fear. Why choose deilos? Especially since this is the only place in the New Testament (with the parallel verse in Matthew, Mat 8:26) that this term is applied to Christ's words?

There is more evidence that this is because of its connection to social standing. A very similar Greek word, deimos, means "fearful" in a directly opposite sense: being fearful, that is, generating fear in others by being strong, powerful, and clever. In a very clear sense, deilos and deimos are opposite ends of the social spectrum.

Again, as so many ideas in Christ, this is connected to the cycle that Christ describes connecting the spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional (relationship). Here, the physical storm plus a mental state, lack of faith, causes an emotional state. That emotional state is, as always, connecting to relationships with people. While Christ doesn't care about social relationships as much as personal, here the results of faithlessness and fearfulness are the same: having others not trust you and seeing no value in you.

"Fearful" is from deilos (deilos), which means "cowardly," "miserable," "wretched," "low-born," and "poor."

"How is it" is from pôs (pos) which means "in any way," "at all," "by any means," and "I suppose."

"Faith" is from pistis, which means "confidence," "assurance," "trustworthiness," "credit," "a trust," and "that which give confidence."

2008-04-29T11:13:00.000-07:00

Mar 4:39 Peace, be still.
Alternative: Be still, be silent.

The second word used here translated as"be still" and more specifically meaning "be silent" was last used in Mar 1:25 to address the demons inside of a person. Here it is used ostensibly use to address a storm, quieting the wind and the waves, or is it used to address his apostles who were frightened by the storm.

How does this thought fit into the larger context of this chapter, the parable of the sower? The parable is about how the seed of an idea, if given the proper ground, grows naturally over time. However, in this part of the chapter, it is the seed of doubt that is planted by the storm that grows until the apostles are forced to wake the sleeping Christ.

What is Christ's advice about what to do regarding this seed of doubt? He says that we must simply still our minds and quit hurting ourselves. This echoes precisely the advice to the man that was possessed by demons. Christ told that man to be silent and come out of himself.

If we live in God's kingdom, we realize that we are always safe. Pain and suffering exist for a purpose, to give us challenges to overcome and reasons to come together. Even if we die, we still survive, because we are eternal spirits. We know that this life is temporary. Its purpose is to allows us to learn, grow, and bear fruit, that is, to give us the opportunity to lead productive lives. Dangers are challenges, but the only real danger is our doubt and despair because in doubt and despair we turn on backs on what is real and divine.

"Peace" is from siôpaô (siopao), which means "keep silence," "to be still," "keep secret," and "speak not of."

"Be still" is from phimoô (phimoo), which means "to muzzle," "to be silent," and "to be put to silence."

2008-04-27T12:20:00.000-07:00

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."

2008-04-23T19:28:00.000-07:00

Mar 4:32 But when it is sown, it grows up, and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.

Here, the Greek word for "grow up" also means "ascend to higher knowledge," which is the continued theme of this section about the seed bearing fruit. The seed in knowledge and united with the earth, our relationships, we ascend to higher knowledge.

The Greek term translated as "herb" here is also an interesting choice. It means a cultivated plant as opposed to a wild plant. This is interesting because it infers the idea of cultivation, that is, work by people as opposed to a wild plant. Unlike, Matthew and Mark, Luke doesn't use this term, but the term for "tree." In northern climes, the mustard plant only grows to about three feet. In the Middle East, it can grow to fifteen feet with a thick central stalk. The seed itself is only about a sixteenth of an inch, which is very small compared to other trees of the region.

Historically, mustard was not just used as flavoring for food and wine, but it was prominently used in medicine. In the sixth century B.C., Greek scientist Pythagoras used mustard as a remedy for scorpion stings. One hundred years later, Hippocrates used mustard in a variety of medicines and poultices. This makes it even better for this analogy regarding the growth of knowledge because this knowledge isn't just about flavoring food but curing disease.

In this analogy, we also have those winged creatures that stole away the seeds in the parable of the sower making a reappearance. The same non-standard word for "birds" is used, indicating angels or demons. Here, however, those same creatures seek shelter in the shade of this tree. Interestingly, however, the term used for "shade" also means a ghost or evil spirit. What is the ghost or evil spirit of a tree of knowledge?

"Sown" is from speirô (speiro), which means "to sow a seed," "to beget offspring," "to scatter like a seed," and "to sow a field."

"Grows up" is from anabainô (anabaino), which means "go up," "mount," "shoot up" [of plants],
"rise" [of rivers], "ascend to higher knowledge," "come to an end," and "turn out."

"Becomes" is from gignomai (ginomai), which means "to become," "to come into being," "to be produced," and "to be."

"Greater" is meizôn, (meizon) which means "bigger," and "greater" and is the comparative form of megas, which means "big" and "great."

"Herbs" is from lachanon (lachanon), which means "garden herbs," and "vegetables." It is the opposite of "wild plants."

"Shoots outs" is from poieô ( poieo), which means "to make," "to produce," "to create," "to bring into existence," "to bring about," "to cause," "to render," "to consider," "to prepare," "to make ready," and "to do."

"Branches" is from klados (klados ), which means "branches," "twig," "shoot," and "branch" of a blood vessel.

"Fowls" is from the Greek, peteinos, (peteinos) which means "fully-fledged," "able to fly" or "winged." In the form used, peteinon, it refers to any winged thing. There was clearly a conscious choice here not to use the Greek word for bird, which is ornis, or, in the diminutive, ornithion. All the English words referring to birds coming from Greek begin with this "ornith" prefix, including ornithology, the study of birds. This is the same word used in the parable of the sower.

"Air" is from the Greek ouranos (ouranos), which means "heaven as in the vault of the sky," "heaven as the seat of the gods," "the sky," "the universe," and "the climate."

"May" is from the verb, dunamai (dunamai), which means "to have power by virtue of your own capabilities," "to be able," and "to be strong enough." In the previous verse, the word used was the adjective, dunatos (dunatos), which means "strong," "mighty," "possible," and "practicable."

"Lodge" is from kataskênoô (kataskenoo), which means "taking up one's quarters," "encamp," and "rest."

"Shadow" is from skia (skia), which means "shadow," "reflection," "image," "shade [of dead]," "phantom," "evil spirit," "shade [of trees]," silhouette," and "profile."

2008-04-22T14:36:00.000-07:00

Mar 4:31 [It is] like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:

Christ is differentiating here between the size of a piece of knowledge and its potential for yielding fruit. In his estimation, the basic idea of the universal rule, that is, the rules of God's reign, are not large or complex. The term he uses for "grain" is actually a metaphor in Greek for "a grain of sense."

When you put this particular grain of sense into your relationships, which is Christ's symbol for term translated as "the earth" here, it doesn't matter that it seems so small, new, and perhaps naive. (The word used here for "small," also means "young.") This small, new idea has the potential within them to mature and grow over time.

The wordplay in the verse using "grain" for "grain of sense" and "small" to also mean "young" only works in Greek. From my admittedly limited research into the Aramaic, they do not seem to have any of the similar meanings in that language. Was this wordplay original with Christ or was it the invention of the Gospel writers, who, in recording this verse, choose to use the same words in the same way either independently or working from the same text of sayings?

"Grain" is not from the Greek word for seed (sperma) used later in the verse, but from kokkos (kokkos), which means "a grain" and "a seed," a metaphor for a "grain of sense."

"Mustard seed," though translated as seed, is sinapi, (sinapi) which means simply "mustard."

"Sown" and "sow" are from speirô (speiro), which means "to sow a seed," "to beget offspring," "to scatter like a seed," and "to sow a field."

"Less" is from mikros, which means "small," "little," and "young."

"Seed" is from sperma (sperma), which means "seed," "sperm," "origin," "race," "descent," and "offspring."

"Ground" is from gê (ge), which means "the element of earth," "land (country)," "arable land," "the ground," and "the world" as the opposite of the sky.

2008-04-20T15:50:00.000-07:00

Mar 4:30 Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?
Alternative: To what shall we compare God's reign? Or what illustration can we set in parallel beside it?

This verse raises an interesting point about Christ's use of analogies or parables. He has just finished explaining what of his parables, the sower of the seed means. He also explained why and how he both hides and reveals the truth in his teaching. Elsewhere, he explains that he is emulating the father who is hidden in the universe. He gives us the choice whether or not we want to learn. We can learn from his teaching, but only if we are willing to study it and work toward understanding.

This hard-won understanding is contrast with the automatic way in which the seed yields its fruit in nature. If we sow the seed and harvest the crop, God does the rest. This is a free gift from God.

If you didn't know anything about Christ, except his words as captured in the Gospels, you would think that his main mission on earth was to describe the "kingdom of Heaven," which was can also describe as God' reign, the universal rule, or, if I may add another interpretation, God's plan. The vast majority of his parables begin with the words "the universal rule is like." Strangely enough, these parables do not involve the story of sin and redemption central to Christianity. Instead, they are always about learning, growing, and getting our priorities straight.

"Like" is from homoioô (homoioo), which means "to make like," "to become like," "to liken," and "to compare.

"Comparison" is from parabolê (parabole), which means "comparison," "illustration," and "analogy." It is most often translated in the NT as "parable."

"Compare" is from paraballô (paraballo), which means "to throw beside," "to throw to," "to expose," "to set beside," "to set in parallel," "to compare," "to throw, turn, or bend sideways," "to deposit with one," "to deceive," "to come near," "to come alongside," and "to direct one's course toward."

2008-04-18T09:12:00.000-07:00

Mar 4:29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
Alternative: But when the fruit is bestowed, immediately he dispatches the sickle to supply the harvest.

So the earth brings forth fruit from the seed automatically, but to get the benefit of the harvest, the sickle must be used to cut down the wheat. The purpose of the crop is to be productive, so once it has produced fruit, it is time for it to be cut down.

The central character in this parable is the man who sows the seed. Christ says that this man doesn't know how the information in the seed and the nature of the earth combine to bring forth is fruit. So the man in this analogy is every one of us. To survive, we sow the seeds, let the earth do its work, and then harvest the resulting crop. The process in between the sowing and the harvest are God answering our prayer, giving us our bread.

However, this story is a parallel with Christ and his apostles sowing the word. The word "apostle" is even referenced here. The verb describing "sending in" the sickle is the root word for apostle. Those sowing the word may not know how or where it will grow but know that it happens automatically. However, the parallel with the apostles sowing the word seems to seem to breaks down at the very same point the term for "apostle" is mentioned. The apostle does not send in the sickle and harvest the crop at least not in any way that is easy for us to understand.

This last part of the verse is ominous, suggesting as is does the inevitability of death. Symbolically, Christ uses the harvest in Mat 13:39 to describe "the end of the world," or, more accurately, "the end of an age." In my view, for Christ this means our personal physical deaths. Somehow, it is this death that allows the fruit to be harvested.

On the physical level, the death of one generation allows new generations to arise and what is built by one generation is inherited by the next. On the intellectual level, the ideas of one generation bear fruit in the next generation as they build on the best ideas of the previous generation. On the emotional level, the child/parent/grandparent relationship lays the foundation for all personal relationships of caring and the passing of our grandparents and parents teaches us what lives on in those relationships. On the spiritual level, we cannot know what is happening exactly except in the sense of following these parallels.

In Mat 26:46 the term translated here as "is brought forth" is translated as "betrayed" as Christ wakes the apostles when the soldiers come with Judas to arrest him.

"Fruit" is from karpos (karpos), which means "fruit," "the fruits of the earth," "seed," "offspring," "returns for profit," and "reward."

"Is brought forth" is from paradidômi (paradidomi), which means "to give over to another," "to transmit," "to hand down," "to grant," "to teach," and "to bestow."

"Immediately" is from eutheôs (eutheos), which is the adverb of euthus, which means "straight," "direct," "straightforward," and "frank." As an adverb, it means "straight," "simple," "straightway," forthwith," "immediately," "directly," and "at once."

"He puts in" is the Greek, apostellô (apostello), which is our source of the word "apostle." It means "to send off," "to send away," or "to dispatch."

"Is come" is from paristêmi (paristemi), which means "to cause to stand beside," "to place besides," "to set before the mind," "to present," "to furnish," "to supply," "to deliver," "to make good," "to show," "to present," "to offer," and "to render."

2008-04-15T19:18:00.000-07:00

Mar 4:28 For the earth brings forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
Alternative: For the earth bears fruit automatically, first the leaves, than the head, after that the mature grain on the head.

It always hits me as strange that the KJV uses the term "corn" for grain. "Corn" wasn't known in Europe, Asia, and Africa until after the discovery of the new world in the fifteenth century. Prior to that, many different grains were cultivated, but the most popular were wheat and barley.

Here, we have Christ's symbol for emotional connection, the earth, repeated again, as it has been throughout this section, starting with the parable of the sower. It is this connection that makes the idea productive. If that emotional connection exists, this conversion of the idea, the good news, is automatic.

However, notice that Christ makes a point of telling us that this magic does not happen all at once. It happens in stages. The three stages here mirror the three stages of growth in the parable of the sower. In that parable, the seed on the wayside doesn't get started, but the seed on the rocky ground sprouts before it dies and the seed among the weeds grows up. One the seed on the good ground produces fruit.

"Earth" is from gê (ge), which means "the element of earth," "land (country)," "arable land," "the ground," and "the world" as the opposite of the sky.

"Brings forth fruit" is from karpophoreô (karpophoreo), which means "to bear fruit."

"Of herself" is from automatos (automatos), which means "of one's own will," "spontaneously," "happening of themselves," "without visible cause," and "accidental."

"Blade" is from chortos (chortos ), which means "fodder," "provender," or a "green crop.

"Ear" is from stachus (stachus ), which means "scion," "progeny," "part of the crop that is reaped," and "the head of the grain."

"Corn" is from sitos (sitos), which means "grain," "wheat," "barley," "food made from grain," "bread," and, most generally, "food."

2008-04-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

Mar 4:26¶ So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;

Mar 4:27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knows not how.
Alternative: This is like God's rule. It is like someone who throws a seed onto the earth and sleeps and rises night and day as the seed sprouts and lengthens without his understanding how.

A specific parallel is made here between the growth of knowledge and the growth of God's kingdom. Unlike the growth of our personal knowledge, which requires our participation, the growth of the kingdom based on that knowledge happens whether or not an individual is actively part of it. This is one of the clearest examples of Christ describing God's kingdom, reign, and rule as having a hidden plan in which everyone plays a part, whether they know it or not.

Christ's topic until this point has been the limits of people's understanding. However, here he says that God's plan for us is working and developing whether or not we understand it. While we can use our understanding to make our lives more worthwhile and meaningful, this doesn't mean that those who lack understanding are left out of this plan. Waking or sleeping, the seed keeps growing.

As the Lord's prayer says, the universal rule is underway. It is God's desires coming into being in our lives and throughout the universe.

"Ground" is from gê (ge), which means "the element of earth," "land (country)," "arable land," "the ground," and "the world" as the opposite of the sky.

"Sleep" is from katheudô, (katheudo), which means "to lie down to sleep," "to sleep," and "to lie asleep."

"Rise" is from egeirô (egeiro), which means "to awake," "to rouse," "to stir up" and "to wake up."

"Spring" is from blastanô, (blastano) which means "to sprout," "to bud," and "to grow." It is a metaphor for "to come to light," "to shoot forth," and "to be born."

"Grow up" is from mekuno (mekuno), which means "to lengthen," and "to make long."

"Know" is from eido (eido), which is another word that means "to see," "to examine," and "to know." It has more the sense of understanding.

2008-04-11T09:46:00.000-07:00

Mar 4:25 For he that has, to him shall be given: and he that has not, from him shall be taken even that which he has.
Alternative: For those that possess [it], to them it will be given, and for those who do not possess [it], from them will be remove what they have.

The mystery of this verse is what does it refers to as being possessed, given , and taken away. A hints is that the word used for "taken" here is the same word used to describe the birds as a symbol for adversity taking away the seeds in the previous parable of the sower. This fact points to an array of meanings encapsulated in this verse.

First, those who have right situations (good earth) get the benefit of the word, that is, this knowledge, while those without a good situation not only do not get its benefit but lose it over time.

On the next level up, those who understand Christ's analogies get the more from his worlds, while those who do not understand those analogies, lose the sense of his words.

One the highest level, those who see how to apply Christ's words in their real life get even more from them while those who do not see how to apply them will eventually lose them.

Does Christ mean that we will get applause, power, and fame from applying Christ's ideas? Christ disparaged the idea of social rewards and, to a much lesser extent, worrying about physical rewards. He wants us to lead productive, meaningful personal lives. His primary concern is always our real, personal relationships as opposed to our social standing.

"Has" is from echô (echo), which means "to have," "to hold," "to possess," "to keep," "to have charge of," "to maintain," "to hold fast," "to bear," "to keep close," "to keep safe," and "to have means to do."

"Given" is from didômi (didomi), which means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," and "to describe." It is the word usually translated as "give" in the Gospels.

"Taken" is from airo, which primarily means "to lift," and also means "to raise up," "to take up," "to raise a child," "to exalt," "to lift and take away," and "to remove."

2008-04-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

Mar 4:24 Take heed what you hear: with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.

Alternative: See what you hear: with the gauge you use to measure, it shall be measured to you: and for you who hear more will be added.

The wordplay at the beginning of this verse, "see what you hear," is lost in translation. Both words are used by Christ to indicate the physical aspect of our senses, objectively perceiving the real world.

This verse refers back to the parable of the sower, but it adds something new. As you remembers, the seed was the good news. In the parable, people's ability to hear the good news depended on what type of ground they were on, but, in discussing the parable's meaning, that fact that Christ taught through analogies (which is what "parable" means in Greek) was discussed as another barrier to our ability to hear and understand.

Here, Christ is say that this understanding has yet another level. He is saying that we have to see how to apply this knowledge in the world around us. We have to connect our knowledge to our physical lives. We must connect what we hear to what we see around us.

When we do make this connection, we change the way we behave. We give others more than we would have before. We have a completely different gauge for making judgments. And, when we use that new gauge in giving to others, we receive even more in return.

"Take heed" is from blepô (blepo), which means "to look" and "to see." It is the more tangible sense of seeing, such as seeing what is right in front of you rather than understanding.

"Hear" (in both cases) is from akouô (akouo), which means "hear of," "hear tell of," "what one actually hears," "know by hearsay," "listen to," "give ear to," "hear and understand," and "understand."

"Measure" is from metron (metron), which means "that by which anything is measured," "measure," "rule," "measure of content," "any space of measurable length," "limit," and "due measure."

"Mete" and "measured" are from metreô (metreo), which means to "to measure space," "to pass over space," "to traverse space," "to count size or worth," "to measure size or worth," and "to measure out" an amount.

"Given" is from prostithêmi (prostithemi), which means "to put to," "to hand over," "to deliver," "to also give," "to impose upon," "to attribute to," "to add," "to make additions," "to side with someone," "to agree," and "to apply,"

2008-04-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

Mar 4:23 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

Christ repeats this statement nine times in the Gospels. Most recently in Mark 4:9, which is discussed here, at the end of his first telling of this parable and right before the apostles asked him to explain it.

Here, the key vocabulary is the same. There is as slight difference of phrasing. Before explaining the parable, Christ says,""Having ears to hear, hear!" After explaining it, he says "If anyone has ears to hear, hear!" The final "hear" in both is imperative, a command, but the later is phrased more as a question. However, most of the difference in meaning comes from context.

Before explaining the parable, this statement was a challenge to his listeners to think about what he was saying and try to understand it. After explaining the meaning of the parable, Christ is asking the question. Do they now have more of an understanding of what he is saying?

Christ infers in this question that, even though he has explained his symbolism, many will still not understood what he is saying. Since he defines the seed on as "the word" and the various types of ground from preventing the word from yielding fruit, he knows that many questions must remain about the nature of the word and the type of fruit he is referring to.

However, in the previous verse, he said that everything that is hidden is hidden so that it can be understood. So despite the fact that he is realizes that understanding isn't easy, he has made it clear that it is possible. The point is that there is work to do. An idea that he continues in the next verse.

"Ears" is from ous (ous), which means "ear" and things that resemble an ear, such as a handle on pitchers, cups, etc.

"Hear" is from akouô (akouo), which means "hear of," "hear tell of," "what one actually hears," "know by hearsay," "listen to," "give ear to," "hear and understand," and "understand."

2008-03-30T05:15:00.000-07:00

Mar 4:22 For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.
Alternative: For there is nothing secret which shall not be made clear, nor is it made hard to see except on its way to to making it visible.

This is one of those verses where we sense that the wordplay may have worked better in the original Aramaic, where a single word might contain elements of hidden and dark so that they could be opposed to clear and shining.

However, in the Greek, the relationship between the words for "hid" and "secret" is clearer with the later as a more extreme form of the first. The sense of the line is clearer in my alternative above where I try to get as close as possible to the original meaning of the verbs.

Christ is explaining here in more detail why he uses parables. He makes ideas hard to understand so that they can become clear over time. If he said his ideas openly, they would could become corrupted over time because the meaning of the words would change. There is a sense here that the truth must be put in a flawed, physical form in order to preserve and maintain it and allow people to discover it over time. It is like a gift that we must unwrap.

Parables, in a sense, reflect Christ's idea of the spiritual hidden inside the physical giving rise to the intellectual and emotional. In this, parables are like the human body. Our bodies are wrappers for our souls hidden within them. Our hidden thoughts and feelings are known only to God, but those thoughts and feelings can preserve our soul and set it free.

The soul is hidden, but our spirit expresses itself in everything we say or do. The spirits that have eternal life are those that hear the truth and learn to produce fruit from it.

"Hid" is kruptos (kruptos), which is an adjective meaning "hidden" and "secret."

"Manifested" is from phaneroô (phaneroo), which means "make manifest," "reveal," "make clear," "make known.," and "make famous."

"Neither" is from oude (oude), which means "but not," "and not," "nor," "not even," and "no not."

"Was anything kept" is from gignomai (ginomai), which means "to become," "to come into being," "to be produced," and "to be."

"Secret" is from apokruphos (apokruphos), which means "concealed," "hidden," "obscure," "hard to understand," and "recondite." It is a more extreme form of kruptos above.

"It should come" is from erchomai, (erchomai) which means "to start," "to set out," "to arrive at," "to come" and "to go." It generally refers to any kind of motion. It is a little like we use the phrase "he is on his way," which can mean either that he is coming or going with no direct reference to coming to or going from the position of the speaker.

"Abroad" is from phaneros (phaneros) which means "visible," "manifest," "shining," "illustrious," "conspicuous," and "open."

2008-03-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

Mar 4:21 Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?
Alternative: Is a lamp set out under a basket or under a couch? Is it not put up on a lamp stand?

Linguistically, the original Greek words were changed slightly in this verse to match what the English translators saw as more meaningful to the lives of their readers during their era. It is interesting that the word "lamp" works better now than "candle." In that respect, we are more like the Greeks of Christ time, who used oil lamps, that the British of King Jame period who used candles.

The connection of this verse to the previous parable of the sower is that Christ's use of "light" as a metaphor or symbol for knowledge. Context is important in translation. Matthew has this saying appear in the sermon soon after the Beatitudes. Here, Mark has it appear right after the parable of the sower. Luke has it appear after this parable and again during the "evil generation" sermon right after he compares himself to Jonah. In every case, the point is that those who have knowledge must spread it.

When Christ ends the previous parable talking about people producing thirty, sixth, and a hundred times more seeds, he means that they both pass on knowledge and that they add to it. The parable of the sower itself, taken more broadly is that of spreading knowledge. In the end, each seed produces more seed for more sowing.

However, there is a contradiction here. In Mar 4:11, Christ says that he speaks in parables because those on the outside are not suppose to know these things. If he want to spread this knowledge, why is does he, at the same time, keep it a mystery? Isn't he putting the lamp under a basket by using parables?

The answer is in the symbol of the seed itself. Why does the seed have a shell? To preserve it. Words can mean many things. Cbrist wanted to preserve his ideas for all generations. If he had said them plainly, the meaning of his words would change over the years. We have seen this happen, as words line "sin" and "evil" have drifted away from ihs original words of "mistakes" and "worthlessness."

However, the meaning of parables and analogies cannot be easily changed. The story stands apart for the word. In this story, for example, Christ doesn't blame those who cannot hear his ideas. Instead, he makes it clear that, in one way or another, they are simply not ready. While religions and priest, for their own reasons, may want to emphasize the idea of guilt and blame, they can put those ideas into translation, but t is not so easy to make those ideas fit into the parables.

"Candle" is from luchnos (luchnos), which means a "portable lamp," "illumination," or "lamp."

"Brought" is from erchomai, (erchomai) which means "to start," "to set out," "to arrive at," "to come" and "to go." It generally refers to any kind of motion. It is a little like we use the phrase "he is on his way," which can mean either that he is coming or going with no direct reference to coming to or going from the position of the speaker.

"Put" is from tithêmi (tithemi), which means "to put," "to place," "to propose," "to suggest," and a metaphor for "to put in one's mind."

"Bushel" is from modios (modios), which means a dry measure of 8.7 liter (a little less than 2 gallons) and containers, pottery or baskets, of that size.

The world translated as "bed" is klinê (kline), which means "that on which one lies, "couch," and a "grave-niche."

"Set" is from epitithêmi (epitithemi), which means "to lay," "to put," "to place upon," "to set upon," "to put on," and "to dispatch."

"Candlestick" is from luchnia (luchnia), which means a "lampstand."

2008-03-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

Mar 4:20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive [it], and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

Alternative: And those that are sown on quality ground, who hear the word and accepts the idea from another as truth, bears fruit, one thirty times, another sixty times, and others a hundred times.

This version differs from Mat 13:23 in a single significant word. In Matthew, those on the good ground "understand" the word. Here, Mark says that they "receive" the word, or "accept it as correct." This is the only time in the Gospels that this specific Greek word for "receive" is used.

Since the words of Christ are almost always rendered in the same Greek words, this draws my attention. The term used in Matthew for translated as "understand" is suniêmi (suniemi) which actually means "bring together" whereas the primary meaning of the term used here is "receive from another." Both carry the idea of a connection with other people that doesn't come across at all in the English.

This is important because the primary symbol in this parable is the earth. The earth is Christ's symbol from our emotional relationships with other people, specifically our personal, meaningful relationships. Not connecting Christ's ideas with relationships, having too shallow emotional relationships, or having those relationships crowded out by other concerns are the three problems described here prevent us from getting value out of Christ's ideas.

However, if we have those personal, emotional relationship and connect Christ's ideas with those relationships, and our lives become productive.

But what do we produce? Christ discusses it simply as various multiples, but what is being multiplied?

If we extend the analogy, what is multiplied is the seed, that is, Christ's ideas. So we duplicate the idea, passing it on to others. However, something more general is hinted at. Our lives become that many times more meaningful and significant in the world. This significance doesn't come from our social concerns, which work against them. Instead, it comes from building our ideas and contribution on tops of Christs ideas.

"Good" is from kalos (kalos), which means "beautiful," "good," "of fine quality," "noble," and "honorable." It is most often translated as "good" juxtaposed with "evil" in the New Testament, but the two ideas are closer to "wonderful" and "worthless," "noble" and "base."

"Hear" and "hearing" are from akouô (akouo), which means "hear of," "hear tell of," "what one actually hears," "know by hearsay," "listen to," "give ear to," "hear and understand," and "understand."

"Receive" is from paradechomai (paradechomai), which means "receive from another," "take over," "admit," "allow," and "recognize as correct."

"Brings forth fruit" is from karpophoreô, which means specifically "to bear fruit." It is also a metaphor in Greek, as in English, for virtue. It is the positive from of the term used in the previous verse, akarpos, which means barren.

2008-03-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

Mar 4:18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
Mar 4:19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
Alternative: And those who are the seeds in the thorns, they hear these ideas but this era's concerns and tricks of wealth and desires for more all come in, crowding out the idea and they become barren.

This is the final problem with people using Christ's ideas. Unlike the first two problems, this verse does not use the term for "immediately." Here, the problem is what must happen over time. Over time, other ideas about what is important crowd out Christ's ideas so that we don't get benefit from them.

In the last verse, there was too little earth to give people a foundation for understanding Christ's words beyond the initial pleasure they inspired. Here, the foundation is there, but there are too many other thoughts and concerns consuming the limited resources of our understanding.

Notice how Christ doesn't blame any of these people for not understanding what he is saying, but in this verse he makes it clear that these people are being tricked. In each case, the problem is people's nature and their situation. Some people have too much advertsity in their lives so they don't have any time to even think about Christ's ideas. Other people don't have a foundation for using Christs ideas when they are challenged. And finally, these people, who could understand Christ's ideas, are tricked over time by getting consumed by other concerns.

Christ consistently has little interest in accusing people of sin, making them feel guilty, or blaming them for their mistakes. However, the terms he uses are not judgment free. He makes it clear that people need to turn around (the idea that gets translated as "repent") and stop missing the mark ("sin"), and live a new idea. However, he understand that the conditions in our lives at any given time can make this difficult.

Christ doesn't seem particularly worried about the fact that many won't get it at any given time. Unlike preachers who feel they must convert people immediately to save them from eternal damnation, Christ simply accepts that fact not everyone is in the right place to accept his ideas at a given time. He doesn't pressure people to understand. In fact, he seems to indicate that those that use pressure to impress others with their ideas are part of the problem.

Christ never tells his apostles that they must exhort others or force them to understand. Indeed, Christ intentionally hides his ideas in analogies so that people have to work to understand what he is saying. He makes it clear that understanding is not easy and that many people simply don't have the capacity or conditions that allow understanding at any given point in time.

Given that Christ says that our errors and mistakes lead to death and understanding his ideas leads to life, you would expect him to be more like the hell-and-brimstone preachers, but instead he seems confident that God's rule is underway and that God's desire is shaping both earth and the universe. Christ's attitude might be indicate that everyone gets many chances to understand these ideas. Does he hint at reincarnation? Is the purpose of each era to give us another chance to rise about our petty social concerns and seek the eternal?

"Thorns" is from akantha (akantha), which means "thorn," "prickle," or "any thorny or prickly plant." Christ only uses it twice, in this parable and in the verse about knowing a tree by its fruits (Mat 7:16, Luk 6:44).

"Cares" is from the Greek merimna, (merimna) which means "cares," "thoughts," "solicitude," and "ambition."

"This world" is from aion (aion), which means "life," "lifetime," "age," or "generation."

"Deceitfulness" is from apatê (apate), which means "trick," "fraud," "guile," "deceit," and "treachery."

"Riches" is from ploutos (ploutos) which is used only once in Matthew to describe wealth. It means "wealth," "treasures," and "riches." It comes from the base word pletho, which means "to fill."

"Lusts" is from epithumia, (epithumia) which means "desire," "yearning," and "longing after."

"Other things" is from loipos (loipoy), which means "the remaining," "remaining over," and "the remaining."

"Entering in" is eisporeuô (eisporeuomai), which means "lead in," "go into," and "enter." It combines "eis," which means "in" with poreuô (poreuomai), which means "make to go," "carry," "convey," "bring," "go," "march," and "proceed."

"Choke" is from sumpnigô (sumnpnigo) which "to press closely" in the sense of crowding, "to choke," and "to damp down."

"Unfruitful" is from akarpos, (akarpos) which means "barren," "unfruitful," and is a metaphor for 'unprofitable."

2008-03-18T18:11:00.000-07:00

Mar 4:17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
Alternative: And having no foundation inside themselves, it [the joy] only exists temporarily; soon pressure or harassment produced by the word immediately causes them to stumble.

In original Greek, the word play works better than the common translation. The idea is that if you don't have a stable base or foundation, they you can easily stumble. None of the words here, other than the word translated as "offended" are used as symbols by Christ. The word "root" might seem to be an obvious symbol because Christ uses plants so much as analogies, but Christ only uses it in this story. He uses it hear because it works so well with the idea of stumbling.

Aside from the wordplay, this verse advances the story of what happens when people have new ideas. On the "wayside," the new idea doesn't have a chance because the adversities of life don't give it a chance to sprout. Here, however, the ideas do take root, but because new ideas naturally create resistance, you need a foundation to solidify them. Since Christ earth is Christ's symbol for relationships and emotional connections, he is saying that you have to have deeper relationships so that you aren't swayed by the crowd, which always opposes new ideas.

Again, the issue of time is important here. While the idea has time to grow here, the people with it immediately stumble at the first signs of opposition.

"Root" is from rhiza (rhiza), which means "root," "that from which anything springs as a root," "foundation," "base," "the mathematical base," and the "root of the eye."

"And" is alla (alla) which means "but," nevertheless," "rather," "moreover," and "nay." It denotes an exception.

"Endures" is from eimi (eisi), which means "to be,""to exist," "to be the case," and "is possible."

"For awhile" is from proskairos (proskairos), which means "occasional," "temporary," "opportune," and "lasting for a time."

"Afterward," is from eita (eita), which means "than," "next," "presently," and "soon."

"Affliction" is from thlipsis, which means "pressure," "crushing," and "oppression."

"Persecution" is from diôgmos, which means "the chase," "pursuit," and "harassment."
and "to scandalize."

"Arises" is from gignomai (ginomai), which means "to become," "to come into being," "to be produced," and "to be."

"Therefore" is from dia, which means "through" in space, "throughout" in time, "by this cause," "through," "thanks to," "by the aid of," "right through," and "to the end."

"Immediately" is from eutheôs (eutheos), which is the adverb of euthus, which means "straight," "direct," "straightforward," and "frank." As an adverb, it means "straight," "simple," "straightway," forthwith," "immediately," "directly," and "at once."

"Offended" is from skandalizô (skandalizo), which means "to cause to stumble," "to give offense," and "to scandalize."

2008-03-09T08:34:00.000-07:00

Mar 4:16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;

The key word here is "immediately." In the previous verse, the information was immediately lost because of adversity came instantly along. Here, when the word falls among the rocks, it is immediately causes joy.

The Greek word for "immediately" comes from the noun meaning "straight" and "direct." It is a direct, instant connection. In the Gospels, the word is used most frequently to describe Christ's actions. It is not a work that he often used, but it is the way he lived, going straight from one task to another. In looking how the evangelists used the term to describe Christ's actions, you get the sense of someone who knows exactly what to do and when.

When Christ uses the term, however, it has almost the opposite sense. In his parables, he uses it to describe an emotional reaction that results almost unexpectedly from an experience. He uses it, for example, to describe the troubles at the end of the age (Mat 24:29) or the sudden departure of the master who gave the talents of silver to his servants (Mat 25:15) or the reaction to drinking new wine (Luk 5:39) or the fall of a house built on sand (Luk 6:49).

"Immediately" is from eutheôs (eutheos), which is the adverb of euthus, which means "straight," "direct," "straightforward," and "frank." As an adverb, it means "straight," "simple," "straightway," forthwith," "immediately," "directly," and "at once."

"Take" is from lambanô (lambano) which means "to take," "to receive," "to apprehend with the senses," and "to seize." It is also specifically used to mean seized with emotion.

"Gladness" is from chara (chara), which means "joy" and "delight."

2008-03-03T22:40:00.000-08:00

Mar 4:15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan comes immediately, and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts

Alternative: But some are by the way side where the word is sown; and when they have heard, adversity begins immediately, and removes the idea that was sown in their hearts.

It is easy for the personalization of adversity, an artifact of incomplete translation, to get in the way of understanding Christ's thinking. The birds take the seeds on the wayside away because they get their first, but everyone listening knows that the seeds never had a chance on the walkway anyway. It gets too much traffic. The ground on the wayside is literally a path for adversity. Their traffic prevents any plants from growing up there because they "instantly" get trampled down.

Here, the birds are less a symbol for this adversity than they are for speed. In this parable, Christ explains different types of ground in terms of how long his ideas last on them. Christ doesn't use birds anywhere as a symbol for adversity (or evil or the devil, if you prefer to personalize adversity). Here, they are simply a rhetorical device for adversity to get to the seeds quickly. Even without this speed, these seed were doomed to adversity anyway because they were on the pathway where something was going to come along sooner or later to destroy them.

In terms of Christ's use of symbols, this is one of several where Christ connects the ground with the heart, which is his symbol for feeling and through feeling, understanding. Again, Christ teaches that we must not only see, hear, and feel, but that we must observe, listen, and understand. The term for "hear" used in this verse, is the same as the one used in Mar 4:12 to indicate physical hearing without mental listening.

"Word" is from the the Greek logos (logos), which means "word," "computation," "reckoning," and "value." It is also "an explanation," "an argument," or "a rule or principle of law."

"Sower" and "sow" are from speirô (speiro), which means "to sow a seed," "to beget offspring," "to scatter like a seed," and "to sow a field."

"Hear" and "hearing" are from akouô (akouo), which means "hear of," "hear tell of," "what one actually hears," "know by hearsay," "listen to," "give ear to," "hear and understand," and "understand."

"Satan" is from satan (satanus, satan), which means "adversary," "opponent," and
"accuser." These are Hebrew origin words, appearing in Greek only in the New Testament. The traditional Jewish view does not portray "satan" as an evil angel (explanation here). A case can be made that our personalization of Satan is largely an artifact of incomplete translation.

"Comes" is from erchomai, (erchomai) which means "to start," "to set out," "to arrive at," "to come" and "to go." It generally refers to any kind of motion. It is a little like we use the phrase "he is on his way," which can mean either that he is coming or going with no direct reference to coming to or going from the position of the speaker.

"Take away" is from airo, which primarily means "to lift," and also means "to raise up," "to take up," "to raise a child," "to exalt," "to lift and take away," and "to remove."

Heart" is from kardia (kardia), which means "heart" and which we discuss in a larger Greek context here.

2008-03-03T21:54:00.000-08:00

Mar 4:14 The sower sows the word.

There is nothing remarkable here in terms of language, but the statement is remarkable for another reason entirely.

Notice that the sower does not spread love, faith, or hope. Nor does he sow forgiveness, pardon, or atonement. He does not sow awe, obedience, or any other idea common to religious teaching.

What does he sow? He sows the "word." In Greek, the term is logos. It is the word from which we get "logic" in English. It means not only spoken words, but all works of the mind: calculations, values, and judgment. It also means a rule or principle of law.

So, if we assume that Christ is describing himself and his mission, this is the closest he comes to explaining his purpose and how people react to it. Remember, Christ's central message is usually translated as "the kingdom of heaven at hand," or, in a closer translation to the Greek, "the universal rule is underway." If Christ is teaching the "universal rule," it only makes sense that he should be spreading its logic or principles.

The second line of Christ in the Gospels says the importance of this very clearly. When Christ is tempted to turn the stones into bread, he says that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that falls from the mouth of God. In other words, our lives arise not from food, but from the rules of the universe are created by God. These are the words that Christ spreads, the basis of our lives.

"Sower" and "sow" are from speirô (speiro), which means "to sow a seed," "to beget offspring," "to scatter like a seed," and "to sow a field."

"Word" is from the the Greek logos (logos), which means "word," "computation," "reckoning," and "value." It is also "an explanation," "an argument," or "a rule or principle of law."

2008-02-29T16:27:00.000-08:00

Mar 4:13 Don't you know this parable? and how then will you know all parables?
Alternative: Don't you see the analogy? and is there any way you will learn to know all these analogies.

The translation into English loses some of this verse's connection with previous verses. The two words "know" here are actually different words in Greek. The first means "to see" and the second, "to learn to know." Again, the idea is that you must see, before you can hear, and then you can understand. The physical leads to the mental and finally to the relationship.

These two words connects Mar 4:12 where the term for "perceiving" was eido and Mar 4:11, where Christ promises that the keys of the kingdom will allow us "to know" from the term gignôskô, the mysteries of the universal rule.

Of course, we could assume that the evangelists used these terms randomly, without seeing (perceiving, understanding) and difference. I don't assume this. I believe that different words are used for a reason.

Christ is specifically making the point that there are layers of meaning in his words. There is the obvious surface. Below that, there is the meaning that you can know by thinking about it, but beneath that there is another layer that you can learn by contemplation. There may even be more layers of meaning, one more relevant to every generation and every group of people.

The purpose of this site, of course, is to help get to these layers of meaning.

The first "know" is from eido (eido), which is another word that means "to see," "to examine," and "to know." It has more the sense of understanding.

"Parable" and "parables" is from parabolê (parabole), which means "comparison," "illustration," and "analogy."

"How" is from pôs (pos) which means "in any way," "at all," "by any means," and "I suppose."

"To know," is from gignôskô (ginosko) which means "to learn to know," "to know by reflection or observation," and "to perceive."

"All" is from pas (pas), which means "all," "the whole," "every," "anyone," "all kinds," and "anything."

2008-02-21T10:22:00.000-08:00

Mar 4:12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and [their] sins should be forgiven them.

Alternate version: That their seeing sees, but doesn't perceive and their hearing hears, but doesn't listen so they cannot turn themselves around and let go of their failures.

Here, Christ is making a reference to Isa 6:9 and Isa 6:10. The first few phrases reverses the pattern of hearing and seeing used in Isaiah. Why? Because Christ uses sight as the sense of the body and hearing as the sense of the mind. The whole point here is that you can physically see and hear but not comprehend with your mind. Christ was simply putting the words in an order that is more consistent with his use of symbols. We know this reversal in intentional because Christ does it elsewhere quoting this section of Isaiah.

Strangely enough, the contrasting wordplay here works better in the Greek (and in English) than it does in the original Hebrew. The Greek words for seeing and perceiving, blepô and eido, both primarily mean "seeing" but the first is more physical and the second with the sense of understanding. In the original Hebrew, the words , ra'ah meaning primarily "to see" and yada` meaning primarily "to know," the pun connecting them to sight is not as clear. In Greek, the word for hearing and understanding, akouô and suniêmi , also are both connected to hearing and have more of a connection the the original Hebrew shama` and biyn.

Though the second part of this verse seems to reference the next verse in Isaiah, it does not do so as closely as Mat 13:15, which quotes Isa 6:10 almost directly except, again, reversing the order of eyes and ears. Here, instead of speaking of being healed, Christ speaks of letting go of mistakes rather than of being healed.

This verse is interesting when thinking about questions about original sources for the Gospels, which Gospel came first, and whether or not Christ taught originally in Greek as well as Aramaic. Here, both Matthew and Mark capture the change of word order from Isaiah, but Matthew quotes Isa 6:10 almost directly, while Mark mixes elements of Isa 6:9 and Isa 6:10 and brings in new elements. Did one get it right and the other wrong? Or did Christ himself use the quote a little differently at different times, creating more than one version? However, in both versions we see the same word play that works better in Greek. Did two different translators working with two different original versions come up with the same word choices? Or was the original from the Greek with Christ making the puns?

"Seeing" and "see" are from blepô (blepo), which means "to look" and "to see." It is the more tangible sense of seeing, such as seeing what is right in front of you rather than understanding.

"Perceive" is from eido (eido), which is another word that means "to see," "to examine," and "to know." It has more the sense of understanding.

"Hear" and "hearing" are from akouô (akouo), which means "hear of," "hear tell of," "what one actually hears," "know by hearsay," "listen to," "give ear to," "hear and understand," and "understand."

"Understand" is from suniêmi (suniemi), which means "bring together," "come together in agreement," and, metaphorically, "to perceive" "to hear," "to take notice of" and "to understand."

"Lest" is from mêpote, which as a conjunction means "lest ever" and "that at no time."

"Converted" is from epistrephô, which means "to turn around," "to turn towads," "to cause to repent," and "to be converted."

"Sins" is from hamartêma (hamartema), which means "failure," "fault," and a "sinful deed." It is midway in meaning between adikêma, which means a "wrong done" or a "wrong" and atuchêma, which means a "misfortune" or "mishap."

"Forgiven" is from aphiêmi (aphiemi), which means "to let fall," "to send away," "to let loose," "to get rid of," "to leave alone," "to pass by," "to permit," and "to send forth from oneself." This is the same word that is translated as "leave" and "forgive" in the New Testament.

2008-02-09T12:30:00.000-08:00

Mar 4:11 Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all [these] things are done in parables:
Alternative: You are granted to know the secrets of the rule of God by reflection, but for those on the outside, everything becomes illustrations.

The knowledge that is given is not obvious. It is was, the term used for "to know" would be from "to see" (eido). This is the word meaning "to know" here means knowledge that comes from reflection.

Christ's says directly that his teachings are a mystery. The only place in the Gospel that he uses this particular word is in this parable. It appears in all three Synoptic Gospels (Mat 13:11, Mar 4:11, and Luk 8:10). Historically, the Greek word for mystery is attached to hidden religious rites and the implements of those rites. It is different from the word that means simply hidden information (krupsis).

What distinguishes this verse from similar ones is the use of the term for "outside." Christ uses this term consistently to mean where things are thrown away (Mat 5:13), a place where people are excluded (Luk 13:25). These outsiders just see the surface of things, the comparisons that are made.

This idea doesn't apply to just this parable or all the parables, but to all of Christ's words.

Understanding them, to whatever degree we understand them is a gift but it is a gift that we win only upon reflection.

"Given" is from didômi (didomi), which means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," and "to describe." It is the word usually translated as "give" in the Gospels.

"To know," is from gignôskô (ginosko) which means "to learn to know," "to know by reflection or observation," and "to perceive."

"Mystery" is from mustêrion (musterion), which means "mystery," "secret doctrine," "secret rite," "mystical implements," "talisman," "magical item," and "secrets revealed by God."

"Kingdom" is from basileia (basileia), which means "kingdom," "dominion," "rule," "hereditary monarchy," "kingly office," (passive) "being ruled by a king," and "reign."

"Without" is from exô (exo), which means "out of a place," "outside," "external things," and "beyond a time."

"All" is from pas (pas), which means "all," "the whole," "every," "anyone," "all kinds," and "anything."

"Done" is from gignomai (ginomai), which means "to become," "to come into being," "to be produced," and "to be."

"Parables" is from parabolê (parabole), which means "comparison," "illustration," and "analogy."

2008-02-05T09:54:00.000-08:00

Mar 4:9 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Christ repeats this phrase about eight times in Gospels. In Christ's use of symbols, people see with their eyes (physical), hear with their ears (mental), and understand with the hearts (emotional). This is a cycle that begins with seeing and hearing, the physical and mental. If we do not see or hear, we cannot understand (Mat 13:15). Christ originally introduced this parable saying that you must both see and hear (discussed here).

Christ uses this phrase to tell people that they must think about the true meaning of what he is saying. In other words, isn't obvious. He uses the phrase specifically when he talks about John being the second coming of Elijah, a very interesting idea and when he discusses his use of parables, and in general to refer to his use of parables or analogies.

There are several ideas that come together in this one phrase. First, that Christ's words require thought and analysis. When Christ wants to indicate that an idea is obvious, he uses the sense of sight to describe it. Things you see are obvious. When Christ talks about hearing, he is saying that it requires thought. Words are always symbols, but he uses symbols purposefully to force us to think, rather than jump to the conclusion that we understand what he is saying. Next, that everyone is capable of grasping it (everyone that can physically hear, that is), but at the same time suggesting that everyone doesn't always use what the ears and mental abilities that they have.

Interestingly, this was a common enough saying in Greek to appear under the definition of "ears" in the Perseus dictionary of ancient Greek and its use in Greek literature, that I primarily use for my research.

"Ears" is from ous (ous), which means "ear" and things that resemble an ear, such as a handle on pitchers, cups, etc.

"Hear" is from akouô (akouo), which means "hear of," "hear tell of," "what one actually hears," "know by hearsay," "listen to," "give ear to," "hear and understand," and "understand."

2008-02-01T11:35:00.000-08:00

Mar 4:8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred

There four key symbols as work in this parable: the ground, the birds, the sun, and the weeds. The ground and the sun represent the two opposites of the earth and heaven. Both are required for the plant to survive. The birds are adversity. The weeds are delusion and desire.

The ground is a key element in all four sections of this parable. The ground of the wayside is too bare and hard, allowing the birds to see the seeds and eat them. The rocky ground doesn't have enough depth, so the spouts don't have enough root to prevent them from being dried up. The ground with thorns is too crowded, too much competition with the thorns prevent the plants from bearing fruit. The "beautiful" ground in this verse is free of any of these defects. (Note: in The Art of War, Sun Tzu also defined four types of ground, mountains, river, marshes, and plateaus, where the first three all have defects and the last is the one without these defects.)

Though I have described the ground elsewhere as symbolic of the emotional realm, a more accurate description for this particular Greek word (gê), would be for the whole temporal world, the dominant feature of which is society, our social relationships.

As a symbol of heaven, the sun represents not the spirit, but the universe, here, specifically, the power of the universe. Light is always symbolic of knowledge, but the focus is heat, which is physical.

"Good" is from kalos (kalos), which means "beautiful," "good," "of fine quality," "noble," and "honorable." It is most often translated as "good" juxtaposed with "evil" in the New Testament, but the two ideas are closer to "wonderful" and "worthless," "noble" and "base."

"Earth" (in both cases) is from gê (ge), which means "the element of earth," "land (country)," "arable land," "the ground," and "the world" as the opposite of the sky.

"Fruit" is from karpos (karpos), which means "fruit," "the fruits of the earth," "seed," "offspring," "returns for profit," and "reward."

2008-01-27T15:16:00.001-08:00

Mar 4:7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

The power of ideas and information comes from placing it in the right environment. This parable is a discussion of the problems with different environments.

It isn't until this verse that we get to the purpose of the seed: to produce fruit, that is, more seeds. In other words, our purpose is taking raw material from the environment and transforming it into more information. All that information is already hidden in the environment, the problem is always one of decoding it and transforming it into information that can be duplicated and passed on.

In the first part of this parable, the problem was the hardness of the ground, which made it slow to take in the seed and so the seed could be taken away entirely by the "birds of heaven."

In the second part, the problem was the lack of earth of the ground. The problem is with the lack of root and the heat of the sun.

Here, the growing conditions for the seed are fine, but it has competition from other seeds, other ideas. Though the seed may progress further than on the wayside or on rocks, it still doesn't come to fruition.

It is interesting that Christ doesn't see the word triumphing in competition with other, competing ideas. The plant arising from the good seed doesn't conquer the weeds. The weeds conquer it. What is going on? Why does Christ phrase it this way?

"Thorns" is from akantha (akantha), which means "thorn," "prickle," or "any thorny or prickly plant." Christ only uses it twice, in this parable and in the verse about knowing a tree by its fruits (Mat 7:16, Luk 6:44).

"Yielded" is from didômi (didomi), which means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," and "to describe." It is the word usually translated as "give" in the Gospels.

"Fruit" is from karpos (karpos), which means "fruit," "the fruits of the earth," "seed," "offspring," "returns for profit," and "reward."

2008-01-26T10:20:00.000-08:00

Mar 4:6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

In Christ use of symbols, the sun is always a positive one. It brings light, rising on both the beautiful and the base. Righteousness shines like the sun. The culmination of an era is marked by darkening or falling of the sun.

The root, on the other hand, is the foundation of life. Trees are cut from their root (Mat 3:10, Luk 3:9). The dead but solid rock is a good foundation for a building, for things that are made, but its roots are the foundation for living things.

Again, the "enemy" in the verse is not something evil. The sun is always something good. The problem is not the Sun nor the nature of the rocky ground. However, the end result is not what we hope. The seed might get further than that which was eaten by birds, but it fails just the same.

Is the seed any better off here than when it was eaten? It gets further, but nothing comes of it in the end.

"Sun" is from hêlios (helios), which means the "sun," "life," "day," "sunshine," "the sun's heat," "brightness," and the sun-god.

"Root" is from rhiza (rhiza), which means "root," "that from which anything springs as a root," "foundation," "the mathematical base," and the "root of the eye."

"Scorched" is from kaumatizô (kaumatizo), which means "to burn" and "to scorch." It is only used in this parable here and in Matthew.

2008-01-23T11:29:00.000-08:00

Mar 4:5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:

Stone is used symbolically by Christ throughout the Gospels. He uses the term in two different ways and, in doing so, uses two different terms. This is not apparent in English translation but it is in Greek.

The first type of stone refers to the substance of the natural world that does not give life. In his temptations, the physical temptation is turning stone into bread. In Mat 7:9, Christ again contrasts the life giving nature of bread to stone. In the second temptation, Christ is tempted by the idea of angels saving him from falling onto stone. All these uses refer to lithos, which means the substance of stone. This is not the word used here. It is the negative use of stone.

The other symbolic use of stone is as a strong foundation. This is the positive nature of stone. The parable of the houses build on rock and sand and the naming of Peter both refer to this type of stone. Here, the term for stone is petros or petra. This is the form referred to here in the adjective petrôdês.

So, like the wayside and the birds, these stony places are not evil in any sense. They are useful for a foundation. The problem is that these areas lack "depth" of "earth." So what does Christ mean by this?

He only uses the term for depth in the context of this parable, but you might be familiar with the word use, bathos. The term means "depth" in Greek, but it doesn't only mean physical depth but emotional depth. In English, it specifically means "sentimentality."

This connection to emotion and feeling is important because it is one of the three realms that Christ teaches about, the physical, the mental, and the emotional. This emotional realm specifically deals with our connections and relationships with people. True to this idea, the point here is about the depth of "earth" (gê ). Again, Christ uses a lot of different terms that are translated as "earth" in the Gospels, but this is the word that is used when Christ refers to the realms of "heaven" and "earth." This is the earth that the meek inherit (Mat 5:5)and that people are the salt of (Mat 5:13). This is the earth that has laws (at 5:18). It is the earth that is defined by the "tribes of earth" (Mat 24:30).

In other words, this is the earth of human society, not simply the physical planet.

So those with little depth of earth are those with few human connections and, because of that, little depth of emotion or character. Again, this is not an evil thing, but it does set some people apart from others.

These people can bring the word into their lives but because they have too few human connections, the word cannot grow and survive. These lives have a strong foundation, but they are too barren to give life to the word, the make it grow and pass it on. In this case, stability and solidness is not enough.

As a side not, there are both symbolic similarities and differences between these rocky areas and the wayside. Both are "hard" but one is hard because of how it has been used. The wayside can have depth of earth and many relationships, but it has been turned off to those relationships and grown hard over time. In the case of the stony areas, these areas were not changed over time. It is simply their nature not to have many relationships, to be more physical or mental rather than emotional.

"Stony ground" is from petrôdês (petrodes), which means "like rock or stone," "rocky," and "stony." Its source is petros (petros) petra (petra)which means "rock," "boulder," and "stone" as a building material. It also has the specific meaning of "rocky cliffs" of "ledges" over the sea and a "rocky peak" or "ridge." Another word for stone used in the Gospels is lithos, which means "a stone," "stone as a substance," and various specific types of stones, such as touchstones, and altar stones.

"Great" is from polus, which means "many (in number)," "great (in size or power or worth)," and "large (of space)." As an adverb is means "far," "very much," "a great way," and "long."

"Earth" (in both cases) is from gê (ge), which means "the element of earth," "land (country)," "arable land," "the ground," and "the world" as the opposite of the sky.

"Deepness" is bathos (bathos), which means "height" or "depth" measuring up or down. In Greek, it was also use as a metaphor (as it is in English) for depth of mind, e.g. "He is deep." The exact phrase here is me (no) bathos (depth), which we would describe in English as "shallowness."

2008-01-22T14:56:00.000-08:00

Mar 4:4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.

There are several messages about the nature of reality inherent in this parable that are easily overlooked.

First, the sower does not control where the seed falls. It goes were it will. Since the seed in "the word," logos, we can say simply that information spreads through society, reaching whoever it happens to reach.

Second, the message is that all "ground" is not created equal. This means that every person is not equally capable of accepting a message. In the case of the ground on the "path," it has been trampled down so that it has no cover. This allows the birds to see the seeds. .

Notice that there is no sense of blame here. Is it the ground's fault that it has been trampled down? There is no sense of that in the parable. This is consistent with most of Christ's messages regarding what goes wrong in people's lives. We are not evil. We are burdened. We miss the mark rather than sin.

Nor is there any maliciousness in the birds that eat the seed. Christ consistently uses birds as symbolic of the natural world acting as part of God's plan. Christ brands them here as our "adversaries," but do they really portray the common religious idea of Satan? No, they are the adversity that is part of nature. These birds are from heaven. The word translated as "air" here is the same word that is translated as "heaven" throughout the Gospels. Christ labels them this way to make it clear that the challenge they represent is not in opposition to God, but part of the way that God has made the world.

The term "devour" used here is one that Christ always uses to mean the complete consumption of something so that there is nothing left. So the sense is that, for some people, not only is the opportunity missed but that nothing at all is gained from it.

"Shall fall" in both cases is from piptô (pipto), which means "to fall," "to fall down," "to be cast down," and "to fall upon." It also means "to descend to a prostrate position," as one does when worshiping.

"Way side" is from hodos, which means literally "the way" or "the road" but which is used symbolically to mean "a way of doing things" or "a philosophy of life." It is interesting that a term joining a path with philosophy exists in all languages with which I am familiar.

"Fowls" is from the Greek, peteinos, (peteinos) which means "fully-fledged," "able to fly" or "winged." In the form used, peteinon, it refers to any winged thing. There was clearly a conscious choice here not to use the Greek word for bird, which is ornis, or, in the diminutive, ornithion. All the English words referring to birds coming from Greek begin with this "ornith" prefix, incluidng ornithology, the study of birds.

"Sky" is from the Greek ouranos (ouranos), which means "heaven as in the vault of the sky," "heaven as the seat of the gods," "the sky," "the universe," and "the climate."

"Devour" is from katesthiô (katesthio), which means "to eat up" and "to devour." It is a term applied to animals of prey. It also means "to corrode" or "to be gnawed."

2008-01-17T12:46:00.000-08:00

Mar 4:3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
Alternative: Hear this. You see, one who sowed went out to sow.

This is the first line to one of the few analogies in which Christ explains his use of symbols. As such, it is one of the beginning "key to the kingdom" because it illustrates a lot about how Christ uses symbolic language to express certain ideas.

It starts by calling attention to two senses: sound and sight. Hearing symbolizes mental knowledge (including the use of symbols), which only people have because it takes intelligence and awareness to comprehend. Hearing can communicate ideas that cannot be physically seen, but what you hear is not always true. Sight refers to physical understanding, which only requires eyes, that is, the physical equipment involved. It cannot communicate deeper truths that are hidden, but physical evidence is harder to fake. When Christ wants to verify the truth of something, he tells people to report both what they have heard and seen (Mat 11:4).

Christ uses the specific word used here for hearing (akouô ) to refer to what men learn from teaching. When he refers to what people learn from scripture, he uses this word (Mat 5:21-Mat 5:43). Christ, however, realizes that not everyone can understand what is said because hearing is a more challenging type of knowledge. "He that has ears to hear, let him hear. (Mat 11:15).

The word used for "seeing" here is idou , which appears frequently in the Gospels, but much more rarely does Christ use it. When he does, it is either to physically illustrate a point as he does here, to call up a mental image (Mat 23:38), or, more frequently, putting the term in the mouth of people in his parables (Mat 25:6). Christ virtually never uses it to call attention to his own works for which he uses a different term, blepō, which is an even more tangible and physical word for seeing things.

"Seeds" are Christ's symbol for information in general and spiritual information, that is, the good news, specifically. "Going out," means going out into the world.

"Hearken" is from akouô (akouo), which means "hear of," "hear tell of," "what one actually hears," "know by hearsay," "listen to," "give ear to," "hear and understand," and "understand."

"Behold" is from idou (idou), which means "to behold," "to see," and "to perceive." It is a form of the verb eido, which means "to see."

"Went forth" is from exerchomai, which means "to come or go out of " or "to come out."

"Sower" and "Sow" are from speirô (speiro), which means "to sow a seed," "to beget offspring," "to scatter like a seed," and "to sow a field."

2008-01-16T10:05:00.001-08:00

Mar 3:35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
Alternative: Those who produce what my Father in heaven wishes are my brother, sister, and mother.

For Christ, the question of which "house" or group we belong to is never resolved by how people think or feel. Our membership to a given group may be dictated by what we share with them in terms of ideas and feelings, but the test is always our actions, that is, what we physically do and create with those ideas and feelings.

"Spirit" is the intangible information (and the power that comes from that information), that comes to us God. That information go on to form our bodies, minds, and relationships. However, the body-mind-feeling human is a flickering, shifting flame of temporary wants and desires and ideas that arise when that spirit is mixed with our freedom of decision, our individual awareness of being in a specific place and time. For the sake of our freedom, the eternal is hidden from us.

The choice we make is between what is "worthless and base" (the real meaning of the wold translated as "evil" in the Gospels) and what is "beautiful." We make our decisions from moment to moment based upon the impulse our most basic instincts or we ask ourselves what we can do to make the world a more beautiful place. Those make the world a more beautiful place are following the will of God.

Knowing (and trusting) the family that we are born into is relatively easy. We know them because we grew up knowing them we know where we can trust them (and when we cannot). Knowing the will of God is much more difficult. Knowing who else to trust is more difficult. We must judge people by their actions and what those actions produce.

It is said that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," but out sense of beauty beyond physical beauty is something more eternal, arising from the spirit within us. It is our sense of balance, proportion, and rightness. Identifying desires from our base instincts and our desire for beauty is not that difficult in real life even though we cannot capture that sense of beauty in words.

"Shall do" is from poieô (poieo), which means "to make," "to produce," "to create," "to bring into existence," "to bring about," "to cause," "to render," "to consider," "to prepare," "to make ready," and "to do."

"Will" is from the noun, thelêma (thelema), which means "will" and "pleasure."

"The same" is from houtos, which is the demonstrative pronoun "those" or "these."

2008-01-14T13:42:00.001-08:00

Mar 3:34 Behold my mother and my brethren!
Alternative: Look and you can see where I come from and who is with me.

In this verse, Christ says that you can answer his last question about where he comes from and who is with him just by using your eyes and brain. The word that is translated as "behold" is eido the word he always uses to indicates something that is readily apparent to all.

There is a song verse that goes, "We've got two lives, one we're given and the other one we make." Christ is saying something very similar to referring to which "house" he belongs. We each are born into a specific family, but that is the life we are given. Over time, we each build a new family and a new life. When Christ talks about our relationships, those are the ones that really count and really determine who we are.

Again, this relates back to everything Christ said about our inner demons. Those demons cannot control us unless we give them permission. We have to "tie up" the strength within us and give them the freedom to destroy our house and our lives.

If, on the other hand, we fight adversity with the strength we are given, we create a new house, and new family.

Everyone can see, just by looking at us, what decisions we have made. Just by looking, they can see those with whom we spend our time. They can see how we spend our time. The actual binds might be spiritual in the sense that the bond of faith and belief that bind us are invisible, but we are correctly judged by our associations because we choose the ideas and beliefs about life with which we ally ourselves.

"Behold" is from eido (eido), which means "to see," "to examine," and "to know." The form used here is the second person singular imperative. This word is also occasionally translated as "to know" in the Gospel.

2008-01-13T18:33:00.000-08:00

Mar 3:33 Who is my mother, or my brethren?
Alternative version: Who do I come from? and who is with me?

Christ always used the term translated as "brethren" or "brothers" in the widest possible sense, that is, as the member of the same house or more generally, someone with whom you have a relationship. It indicates a closer relationship than the idea of "neighbor," which Christ uses to mean anyone to whom you are physically near. You can be physically close to someone without have a personal relationship with them.

Mother is the physical source of a house (Jews follow the maternal line) while fathers are the master and protector of the house.

Referring back to Christ earlier references to a house not being divided against itself, Christ is using this opportunity ask what the real meaning of a "house" is under the universal rule. He is asking us if we can see beyond our physical relationships. Just as we are joined into a physical house by the information we share in our DNA, we are also bound into a "house of ideas" with those with whom we share ideas and beliefs.

"Mother" is from mêtêr (meter), which means "mother," "grandmother," "mother hen," "source," and "origin."

"Brethren" is from adelphos (adelphos),which means "son of the same mother," "kinsman," "colleague," "associate," and "brother."

2008-01-06T19:39:00.000-08:00

Mar 3:29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
Alternative: But those that might cast blame on the sacred breath of life have no release in this age but are liable for perpetual dispute.

Christ's words incorporate a broader, bolder idea than the narrow threat of punishment. Christ is making a point here about the nature of adversity and the importance of our reaction to it. Christ has already said that we can free ourselves form blaming God, the normal interpretation of blasphemy, or others, which is part of the Greek definition, for our problems. He goes beyond that idea here.

Christ says that there is a limit to what we can blame. Beyond that, he says that those who go beyond that limit are themselves liable for the perpetual problems (the original Greek is the term krisis)of the world. The important distinction here between the terms used for what I call "blame" and "liability." The first term, blasphêmeô, means means "slander," that is false blame. The later, enochos,is the Greek term for true liability in the legal sense.

So, what causes this perpetual crisis? Casting blame on the sacred breath of life" or what is traditionally know as the Holy Ghost.
Since I do not to make statements about the nature of divinity because I am really equipped to comprehend the nature of God, I will leave discussion of the Holy Ghost as part of the triune God to others who feel they are more qualified.

Putting aside the whole phrase for a moment, let us look at its parts. Christ uses the word translated as "holy" (hagios )to refer those things which dogs cannot appreciate (Mat 7:6), holy places (Mat 24:15), holy angels/messengers (Mat 25:31, Mar 8:38, Luk 9:26), and the Father (Jhn 17:11).

Christ used the word translated as "spirit" or "ghost" (pneuma) without the "holy" to describe something people can lack (Mat 5:3), the truth from the Father that speaks within us (Mat 10:20, Mat 22:43, Jhn 3:34, Jhn 6:63, Jhn 14:17, the power of God from which Christ gets his power (Mat 12:28, Luk 4:18), as our multiple inner demons (Mat 12:45, Mar 5:8, Luk 10:20, Luk 11:26), the good desires within us (Mat 26:41, Mar 14:38), that which gives people their ideas (Luk 9:55), that what Christ gave up when he died (Luk 23:46), the appearance but not reality of a physical body (Luk 24:39), that which gives us birth into the kingdom of God (Jhn 3:5), that which is the source of spirit (Jhn 3:6, Jhn 3:8), the proper way in which to worship God (Jhn 4:23, Jhn 4:24), the source of the words of life (Jhn 6:63), and the spirit of truth (Jhn 14:17, Jhn 15:26, Jhn 16:13).

So the "breath" of life and inspiration is an invisible force within us that is separate from our physical being. This force contains information because it contains the truth. Some of Christ's earliest words in the Gospels (Mat 4:4) is that "man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." The Greek for word is "logos," that is, information. This information coming from the mouth of God is the breath of life. Information isn't just inanimate fact. It is the instruction set by which our bodies and our minds run. There is power in those instructions because the universe was designed to interact with them. An analogy might be a computer program, controlling a computer, this spirit operates within physical reality but it exists on a level beyond that physical reality. The set of instructions or ideas of information contains both good impulses (consider them subroutines) and bad impulses. The right instructions in this program give us power in the world and entry into the higher-level kingdom, the universal rule of God.

This idea of the divine breath of life goes further. Breathing is a process of reversing cycles. We must inhale and exhale. The breath of life fills us as children and empties out of us at death, but the cycle repeats in each life, in each generation. This is why Christ calls us children of God and says that they are like the kingdom of heaven (Mat 19:14). As children, we are these seeds of information coming from the breath of spirit, planted in the world (Mat 13:38).

Who are those that blaspheme against the divine breath of life? Aren't these those who believe that the material world that we can see is all there is? We can get beyond our mistakes is we blaming God for our problems. We can get beyond our mistakes if we blame other people. Where people get stuck is when they make the mistake of believing that the physical world is all there is, that there is no divine breath of life, no spiritual dimension to life, no information in life, or, to put it more simply, no meaning to life. When that happens, people are not only stuck, but they create all the disputes in the world. If there is no greater purpose on a non-materialistic level, there is no uniting force. The world is just a bunch of empty, competing egos with no moral center and no moral restraints.

How does this idea of "breath" tie to the whole previous discussion of the nature of adversity and Christ and our power over it? I would suggest that Christ is also saying, in a very consistent way, that the cycle of adversity and achievement is also part of the "breathing cycles" of life. This adversity is part of God's kingdom. It has a purpose. This purpose is also a part of the divine breath of life and its cycles. If you believe in purpose, adversity makes sense. If you don't believe meaning, all the suffering of the world is meaningless and empty and endless.

"Blaspheme" is from blasphêmeô (blasphemeo), which means "to speak profanely of sacred things," "to offer rash prayers," "to speak ill of," "to slander," and, since the NT, "to speak irreverently of God."

"Holy" is from hagios ( hagios ), which means "devoted to the gods," "pure," "holy," and on the negative side "accursed."

"Spirit" is pneuma (pneuma), which means "blast," "wind," "breath," "the breath of life," and "divine inspiration."

"Forgiveness" is from aphesis (aphesis), which means "letting go," "release," "discharge (from a group)," "relaxation," "divorce," "emission," and "leave of absence."

"In danger" is from enochos (enochos), which means "held in by," "bound by," "liable to," "subject to," "guilty," and "liable to a penalty for."

"Eternal" is from aiônios (aionios), which means "lasting for an age," "perpetual," and "eternal." From "aion" which is used in the bible to mean an "age."

"Damnation" is from krisis (krisis), which means "separating," "distinguishing," "judgment," "choice," "election," "trial," "dispute," "event," and "issue."

2008-01-05T07:57:00.000-08:00

Mar 3:28¶ Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:

Alternative: Truly I tell you, All people's mistakes will be gotten rid of, and the false accusations as much as they might blame others [for their own mistakes].

Looking at this in the context of Christ's explanation of his (and our) control over adversity, this statement charts the future progress of each of us as individuals and for human society as a whole. We will let go of our mistakes. We will leave them behind over time. Our foolish actions are not held against us in the future as long as we put them behind us.

The same is true of the way we slander others for our mistakes. Until we let go of our mistakes, it is only natural to blame others, even God, for all the adversity we have in our lives.

All this bad history will be left behind, one way or another. We don't have to keep repeating our mistakes. We don't have to keep dwelling on our past errors. God doesn't dwell on our past mistakes so neither should we.

Relating this to the previous verse about how our houses can be spoiled only if our strengths are first bound, we have authority over our own minds. Making mistakes and bad choices is inevitable and unavoidable. Accusing and blaming others, even God, for what goes wrong in our lives because of that is also inevitable. However, as long as our minds are not enslaved to our inner demons, we will get past these mistakes.

In a larger sense, being enslaved to our inner demons means not letting go of our past errors. Being possessed by evil spirits is being controlled by our bad habits, our worst thoughts, our worst deeds. It means being consumed by blaming others for what we have brought on ourselves. As long as we cannot let go of those deeds, as long as we continue to blame others, we are bound by our inner demons. God can free us but only if we accept that freedom and move on will we let go of our past errors.

"Sins" is from hamartêma (hamartema), which means "failure," "fault," and a "sinful deed." It is midway in meaning between adikêma, which means a "wrong done" or a "wrong" and atuchêma, which means a "misfortune" or "mishap."

"Forgiven" is from aphiêmi (aphiemi), which means "to let fall," "to send away," "to let loose," "to get rid of," "to leave alone," "to pass by," "to permit," and "to send forth from oneself." This is the same word that is translated as "leave" and "forgive" in the New Testament.

"Blasphemies" is from blasphêmia (blasphemia), which means a "word of evil omen," "profane speech," "slander," "defamation," and "abuse." In reading the NT, it came to mean "irreverent speech against God," but this is not what it meant when the Gospels were written.

"Wherewith" is from hosos (hosos), which means "as many," "as much as," "as great as," "as far as," and "only so far as."

"Soever" is from the particle an with no real English equivalent, which indicates that something could occur in the future. Closest idea might be something like "perchance."

"Blaspheme" is from blasphêmeô (blasphemeo), which means "to speak profanely of sacred things," "to offer rash prayers," "to speak ill of," "to slander," and, since the NT, "to speak irreverently of God."

2008-01-04T12:01:00.000-08:00

Mar 3:27 No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.

Alternative: Nothing can enter a house of strength and plunder its contents if something does not first bind its strength and then it can plunder its house.

Christ returns to the topic of "house." As we discussed here, Christ uses the term in two different ways, as a structure and to describe a subunit within the kingdom. However, Christ also uses it in a third way, as a description of a body in which an unclean spirit dwells (Mat 12:44 ). This was how I interpreted the similar verse similar to this in Matthew.

In this context, I realize that this applies to both types of houses.

We are a house of "spirits," that is, ideas, information, and a conglomerate of conflicting thoughts. If our conscious mind is strong, we can protect our private fief of interior mental territory. However, if our conscious mind is enslaved by worthless habits, dominated by thoughts tied to our "bellies" and not our hearts , our personal demons. Once our conscious mind is bound, our house can be spoiled. In Christ system, the heart (relationships, feeling) must direct the mind, not the belly (physical desires). A pure heart allows the mind to see God.

In a larger sense, organizations of people have the same weakness. Our strength is the head of our organization, which isn't necessarily a person. It can be the values that unite and organization that gives it a purpose. A house cannot be divided against its ideals, its meaning. However, once we tie up those ideas, bind the master of our house, then something, perhaps anything, can plunder the house, that the strong man, its strength protected. As with our bodies, our higher desires (our loyalty, our mission, our goals) must direct and organization, not its lower physical desires (pleasure, wealth, etc.). Organizations that follow their higher mission create value the brings wealth. Those that betray their mission for the sake of short-term gains, lose everything.

"No man" is from oudeis, (oudeis) which means "no one," "not one," "nothing," "naught," "good for naught," and "no matter."

"Can" is from the verb, dunamai (dunamai) which means "to have power by virtue of your own capabilities," "to be able," and "to be strong enough." In the previous verse, the word used was the adjective, dunatos (dunatos), which means "strong," "mighty," "possible," and "practicable."

"Enter" is from eiserchomai (eiserchomai)which means both "to go into," "to come in," "to enter," "to enter an office," "to enter a charge," (as in court) and "to come into one's mind."

"A strong man" is ischuros (ischuros), which means "strong," "mighty," and "powerful." It is from ischus, meaning strength. Here is seems as though it is used to refer to demons that control people.

"House" is from oikia (oikia), which means "building," "house," "family," and "household."

"Spoil" is from diarpazô (diarpazo), which means "to tear into pieces," "to efface," "to spoil," and "to plunder."

"Goods" is skeuos (skeuos)which means "a vessel," "an implement," "a piece of equipment," "household furnishing," and "an inanimate object."

"Bind" is deô (deo) which means "to bind," "to keep in bonds," "to tie," "to hinder from," and "to fetter. "

2008-01-03T09:39:00.000-08:00

Mar 3:26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.
Alternative: And if adversity rouses to action up against itself and is minimized, it cannot last but it has a purpose.

In the standard translation, this line seems to just rephrase the previous few verses, but it does much more than that. It doesn't talk about adversity casting out adversity or how kingdoms and houses cannot be divided between two warring authorities. It brings in the new concepts, of "rousing people to action" and, most importantly, the idea of telos, that is, purpose. In this verse, Christ is simply telling us the purpose of adversity, that is, explaining the need for problems and suffering. Of course, much of this is lost in the desire to personalized "Satan" instead of simply translating the word into what it means, which is "adversity."

Adversity cannot eliminate itself (Mar 3:23 discussed here). Nor is adversity caused by some war between the gods (a pagan view that unfortunately touches many versions of Christianity) as Christ explains in Mar 3:24 (discussed here). Adversity is subject to God's will as a "house" within his kingdom (Mar 3:25 discussed here).

The key for me in understanding this verse is the use of the world telos, which means "end," but not only in the simple sense of a finish to something. It carries with it a strong sense of purpose, bringing something to completion to meet a goal. Its "light weight" translation simple as "end" misses one of Christ's key points throughout the Gospels: events and especially suffering have a purpose. Understanding this sheds important light on critical ideas such as "the end of the age" prophecies that Christ makes (discussion of that section of Matthew starts here).

Instead, adversity wakes up opposition in us against it. It exists to call us to action. Though the ideas seem at first similar to the words in the previous verses, the idea of adversity "rising up" against itself is added here, not to deny that it happens but to explain its purpose. In the previous verses, Christ describes the impossibility of adversity ejecting itself or dividing itself. However, those similar words are changed here

This opposition to adversity ends up dividing or minimizing it. In the process, we learn and grow. This make each individual problem temporary, and adversity as a whole cannot stop us. This is the purpose of adversity in the end.

"Rise up" is from anistêmi (anistemi), which means "to make stand up," "to raise up," "to raise from sleep," "to wake up," "to raise from the dead," "to rouse to action," "to put up for sale," "to make people rise," "to emigrate," "to transplant," and "to rise and leave the sanctuary."

"Against" is from epi , which means "on," "upon," "at," "by," "before," "across," and "against."

"Divided" is from merizô (merizo), which means "divide," "distribute," "assign," "sever," "cut-off," (passive) "to be divided," "to be dispersed," and "to be reckoned a part."

"Can" is from the verb, dunamai (dunamai) which means "to have power by virtue of your own capabilities," "to be able," and "to be strong enough." In the previous verse, the word used was the adjective, dunatos (dunatos), which means "strong," "mighty," "possible," and "practicable."

"Stand" is from histêmi (histemi), which means "to make to stand," "to stand," "to set up," "to bring to a standstill," "to check," "to appoint," "to establish," "to fix by agreement," "to be placed," "to be set," "to stand still," "to stand firm," "to set upright," "to erected," "to arise," and "to place." Like the English words "put" and "set," it has a number of specific meanings from "to put down [in writing]," "to bury," "to establish," "to make," "to cause," and "to assign."

"End" is from telos, which means "come to pass," "performance," "consumation," "result," "product," "outcome," "end," "achievement," "attainment," "goal," "state of completion," "maturity," "services rendered," "something done," "task," "duty," "toll," and "custom."

2008-01-02T12:13:00.000-08:00

Mar 3:25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

The only difference in this verse from the previous is the use of the term "house." Lest we forget, but Christ and his earthly father Joseph were house-builders so the idea of a "house" had a rich symbolism for him. (The Greek term describing Christ and translated as "carpenter" is actually closer in meaning to "mason" and refers specifically to someone who builds houses as opposed to working with wood, for example, building furniture.)

As a housebuilder, Christ sees a house as two things.

First, he sees it as a structure whose architecture matters. His first major parable using the idea of a house deals with building it on a solid foundation (Mat 7:24). For him, a house that cannot stand is in a very physical sense, no house at all.

Second, he sees a "house" as a family or a clan, encompassing all the people in the house and headed by the master of the house. For Christ, the world of men is divided into kingdoms and kingdoms are divided into houses (Mat 24:43). Belonging to a given "house" is a matter of personal allegiance (Mat 19:29) to the master. The house can be judged as a group (Mat 10:13). The role of the master of the house is to protect the people and property within the house. (Mat 12:29, Mat 24:43).

So, from Christ's viewpoint, a kingdom has one leader and must be united behind him. Beneath the kingdom, a nation is divided into "houses" where allegiance goes to the master of the house. However, the king has authority over all the houses below him.

On one level, this verse is a simple logical statement about what makes up a house. A member of a house cannot be against the master of the house because his membership in a house depends on his allegiance to the master. Nor can a master of a house be against his (or her, widow's also have houses Mat 23:14) house's members because his authority comes from the responsibility of protecting those members from outsiders. The violation in either half of this contact, the leader's or a follower's, destroys the house itself as a unit.

However, the larger topic here is about adversity and who has authority over it. This is the third level on which Christ has answered this question. His first statement was on the conceptual level, that adversity cannot destroy adversity. His next was about whether God's kingdom was divided between God and His adversaries. Christ also answer this in the negative. Such a kingdom would not be a kingdom at all. Finally, we come down to the third level, where "adversity" could be seen as a "house" within God's kingdom. Again, Christ denies that the leader of that house (Beelzebub) could act against the other members of that house (the demons who are caste out) because that would destroy the very nature of the contract that creates the house.

Who can command a house and its master? Only one person, the king. Christ makes this clear in another verse when he say that the choice between Christ and your "house" is a higher level choice: choosing your king over the master of your house (Mat 19:29). Christ has authority over adversity because it represents a "house" within his kingdom. It is NOT a division within his kingdom not does he represent the house of adversity for the master of adversity.

So, does this mean that adversity can be personified in Beelzebub and spiritual demons who inhabit the house of adversity in the spirit world? Christ doesn't say that and his first statement seems to deny it. He is merely responding to the problem of suffering into the terms that it was presented to him. In this case, what he denies is more important than what he affirms. In other verse, he makes it clear that the type of demons he is talking about can only live within people separately on the spiritual plain.

He first denies that the concept of adversity can be divided into individuals that can be against each other. This seems to mean that adversity should not be personified, but it doesn't go that far.

Next, he denies that adversity represented a division in God's kingdom. He denies that "the adversary" is somehow are war with God.

Finally, he denies that house of adversity is divided against itself: that his authority over adversity comes from the master of the house of adversity. Instead, Christ's authority comes from the kingdom to which the house of adversity belongs.

This tells us that adversity (or what is known as the problem of suffering or evil) is part of God's plan and, as such, Christ has authority over it. What does this mean? That aversity has a role in creation and a job to do. Like the Sabbath, which was made for man, adversity is also made for mankind, though we might not recognize the role it plays. Christ actually explains that job very well elsewhere in the Gospels, but his clear explanation is easily misinterpreted. A hint: he symbolizes the role of adversity in our lives as the same as the role of fire in baking bread.

"House" is from oikia (oikia), which means "building," "house," "family," and "household."

2007-12-31T12:42:00.000-08:00

Mar 3:24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
Alternative: And if a rule is divided against itself, that rule cannot be established.

The general discussion is about the nature of power over adversity. Is adversity caused by a group of evil spirits who fight against good or by the nature of the universe?

What kingdom is Christ referring to here? Christ only recognizes one kingdom, one rule, the rule of the God. Those who teach that the rule of God is somehow divided between good and evil do not understand the nature of power and the nature of authority. The universal rule is not at conflict with itself.

When rules are at conflict with themselves, they are not rules at all. In making human rules, for example, we run into problems when laws can be interpreted in different ways, so broadly to make everything a crime or so narrowly to make nothing a crime. The rule cannot stand because it contradicts itself.

However, a real kingdom is not divided against itself. It has clear rules and one rule-maker. The universal kingdom Christ teaches about is just that kind of place. There is no separate authority over good and evil, but one authority over all. Can you think of another place where Christ says this specifically? That God doesn't treat the good and evil any differently at least on earth?

"Kingdom" is from basileia (basileia), which means "kingdom," "dominion," "hereditary monarchy," "kingly office," (passive) "being ruled by a king," and "reign."

"Divided" is from merizô (merizo), which means "divide," "distribute," "assign," "sever," "cut-off," (passive) "to be divided," "to be dispersed," and "to be reckoned a part."

"Stand" is from histêmi (histemi), which means "to make to stand," "to stand," "to set up," "to bring to a standstill," "to check," "to appoint," "to establish," "to fix by agreement," "to be placed," "to be set," "to stand still," "to stand firm," "to set upright," "to erected," "to arise," and "to place." Like the English words "put" and "set," it has a number of specific meanings from "to put down [in writing]," "to bury," "to establish," "to make," "to cause," and "to assign."

2007-12-30T10:12:00.000-08:00

Mar 3:23 How can Satan cast out Satan?

Alternative: By what means can adversity eject adversity?

Did Christ see "Satan" as a real person or did he, as the Hebrew word is generally interpreted in the Jewish tradition, use the term to address the nature of adversity? In this verse and those that follow, we get a clearer idea.

Elsewhere, Christ refers to the personalization of evil with the term Beelzebub (Beelzeboul). This discussion always starts, as it does here, with his opponents using that concept. In response, Christ refers to others using the term (and the concept), aiming it at him as a person:
"If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub..." (Mat 10:25)
"And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils..." (Mat 12:27) (Luk 11:19)
"...ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub." Luk 11:18

For Christ, the problems of adversity make much more sense when we take the "persona" of Satan out of the equation. Christ is trying to explain that the approach of identifying adversity as a group of demons, headed by a chief demon, as used by his opponents, doesn't make sense. In the next few verses, he makes this point specifically, as the Gospel writer explains, by analogy ("parables," parabole). In this verse, he starts by saying that while a person might have the authority over others who are subject to him that doesn't make sense if you address reality as it is. It isn't caused by a hierarchy of demons who can be ordered around. Adversity isn't a person. It is a fact of nature.

For Christ, his "authority" over physical disease and mental disorder is identical. In line with his general teaching, both forms of disability arise from a natural, if spiritual cause. While in the modern era, we may see "nature" as solely materialistic, but Christ's view was that the physical was only what was apparent while the spiritual is what hidden, at least temporarily. The spiritual is what persists over time. (Note: While those with mental problems are described in the Gospels as "having demons," this usage is the same as modern expressions where we describe people as battling their "inner demons." ) His authority over people's disabilities and inner demons comes from the "Holy Spirit" that addressed adversity.

For Christ, the concept of adversity persists eternally even though individual instances of adversity come and go. An individual adversary, say a thief (as used later in this verse), might be stopped by another adversary, say a competing thief, but this does not destroy the nature of adversity itself. This anthropomorphizing of adversity takes us away from what Christ is trying to explain about what is really going on in the universe.

"How" is from pôs (pos) which means "in any way," "at all," "by any means," and "I suppose."

"Can" is from the verb, dunamai (dunamai) which means "to have power by virtue of your own capabilities," "to be able," and "to be strong enough." In the previous verse, the word used was the adjective, dunatos (dunatos), which means "strong," "mighty," "possible," and "practicable."

"Cast out" is from ekballô (ekballo) and means "throw out," "cast out of a place,"and "expose." Ek means "out of," "from," and "away from." Ballo is "to throw" or "to scatter." The general idea of ballo is "to throw without caring where something falls," so it isn't like putting something into a specific place. This term is always used when Christ speaks of casting out spirits or ejecting someone from a place where they are unwanted.

"Satan" is from satan (satanus, satan), which means "adversary," "opponent," and
"accuser." These are Hebrew origin words, appearing in Greek only in the New Testament. The traditional Jewish view does not portray "satan" as an evil angel (explanation here). A case can be made that our personalization of Satan is largely an artifact of incomplete translation.

2007-12-23T09:38:00.000-08:00

Mar 3:5 Stretch forth your hand.
Alternative: Extend your abilities.

Christ used the hand, both in his actions and words, as symbolic of an invidivual's personal power. Every time he used the word (or used his hands), they were an expression of power. Being "in someone's hands" means being in their power (Mat 17:22). He said that we are better off losing our abilities as symbolized by our hands (Mat 5:30) than misusing them.

The Greek word for "stretch" has the same meaning as the word in English with all its related ideas of extending yourself and your abilities. This extension of abilities has the same sense of being work and a struggle.

Though the immediate context is healing a man with a withered hand, the man represents everyone with limited abilities. Notice that Christ heals the man, but immediately after doing so asks him to demonstrate those abilities. We are given our abilities by God, but it is up to use to work to extend them. This demonstrates what God has done for us and our desire to use those abilities.

In terms of the larger discussion about religion and the Sabbath, Christ answers his own question about the priority of doing good in the context of religious tradition. He has said clearly that religious tradition is our servant not our master. It is meant to give us power and ability not to take it away. Not only does Christ demonstrate his own power in the context of religious tradition, but he asks those that he heals to do so as well.

"Stretch forth" is ekteinô (ekteino), which means "to stretch out," but also means "to offer food," "to prostrate yourself," and "to extend." Its root is teinô, which means "to stretch," "to pull tight," "to strain," "to spread," "to aim at," "to extend," "to struggle," "to exert oneself," and "to reach."

2007-12-19T15:55:00.000-08:00

Mar 3:4 Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill?
Alternative: Is it allowed to do good on the Sabbath or to injure? to keep a soul alive or to slay?

Here, Christ uses the words that mean "good" and "evil" in Greek, which is rare. The terms normally translated as "good" and "evil" are more accurately translated as "beautiful" and "worthless." (More on this topic here.) In this case, Christ is clearly referring to morale ideas and their relationship to religious teaching.

The question about the Sabbath could be applied to any religious restriction. The issue here is purpose: what is the purpose of religion? Christ asks very simply whether or not the ultimate purpose is to do good or to do evil, and, to clarify how he defines "good" and "evil," he goes on to specific saving life or taking life.

This question obviously lies at the heart of all religious questions. Christ has said that the Sabbath, and by extension religion, exists for humanity. Religion is a servant not a master. Any faith that seeks to make religion a master is contrary to Christ's teaching.

By Christ's logic, the purpose of religion is to preserve life, that is, do good. Religion can and does save lives by teaching ways to life that preserve life. By extension, we can never justify taking a life on religous grounds. The only reason for taking a life is to save other lives.

"Lawful" is exesti (exesti), which means "to be allowed," "is possible," and "to be in one's power."

"Do good" is from agathopoieô (agathopoieo), which means "to do good," "to do well," "to act rightly," and "to exert a beneficial influence."

"Do evil" is from kakopoieô (kakopoieo), which means "to do ill," "to play the knave," and "to do mischief," and "to injure."

"Save" is from sôizô (sozo), which means "save from death," "keep alive," "keep safe," "preserve," "maintain," "keep in mind," "carry off safely," and "rescue."

"Life" is from psuchê (psuche), which means "breath," "life," "self," "spirit," and "soul." It has the clear sense of the conscous self. It is also used to describe "the spirit" of things. It is often translated as "soul."

"Kill" is apokteinô (apokteino), which means "to kill," and "to slay" but it is a stronger form than the normal verb kteino. It is more like our "destroy."

2007-12-18T08:37:00.000-08:00

Mar 3:3 Stand forth.

Alternative: Rise up halfway! or Wake up halfway!

When Christ describes his works to John the Baptist's followers (Mat 10:8), he describes "awakening the dead" or "raising the dead." The Greek term used in the Gospels to describe "waking" and "rising" is the same term that is used here.

We saw this term before when Christ healed the lame man and now here again, when he heals the man with the withered hand.

Christ views humanity as asleep, especially in understanding our physical nature. As we learn, we wake up. As we wake up, our lives rise up and improve. Christ doesn't expect us to wake up entirely, but if we just wake up halfway and rise to meet God halfway, God can cure much of what inflicts us.

"Arise" is from egeirô (egeiro), which means "to awake," "to rouse," "to stir up" and "to wake up."

"Forth" is from two words. The first is eis (eis), which means "into," "to," "towards," "in regard to," "to the limit of," and "up to (some time)." The other word is mesos (mesos), which means "middle," "in the middle," "central," "impartial," "intermediate," "middling," midst," "difference," "moddle state," and "between."

2007-12-17T12:27:00.000-08:00

Mar 2:28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

Christ first refers to himself as the "son of man" in Mat 8:20. He uses it in Matthew over 30 times, in Mark 15 times, in Luke 25 times, and in John a dozen times. No one else uses it in the Gospels except the people in Joh 12:34 who want to know what the term means. Christ answers metaphorically, referring to himself as the light who allows people to see where they are going and to those who trust in the light as "children of the light."

This metaphorical answer fits nicely into the purpose of this blog.

Christ discusses the parent-child relationship many different times in the Gospels. In all his uses, sons are subject to their parents, servants who do their bidding. Here, Christ uses the word for "master" to contrast it with the idea of a son. In Mat 22:45, Christ uses this same contrast of terms to question how a "son of David" could be also his "master" since the terms have opposite meanings. By calling himself, a "son of Man," Christ was saying that he wasn't humanity's master but its servant.

Christ also uses the parent-son relationship to indicate shared and inherited knowledge (Mat 11:27) and power (Mat 5:45). In a sense, this verse itself falls into this category. The Sabbath was made for mankind so Christ is the master of the Sabbath because he is the son of man. Christ doesn't get this ability from God but from a prior gift of God to man.

Finally, Christ also uses the parent-son relationship to indicate one of trust. A parent only wants what is best for the son and a son trusts in his parent's love (Mat 7:9). In identifying himself as a son of humanity, Christ is expressing his trust in the human race. He was saying that we, the human race, loves him and that he ultimately trusts in our love.

Since Christ recognized God as his Father (and our Father), how can "man" also be his father? Mankind wasn't his father but rather his mother, through Mary obviously, but there is a symbolic marriage here between God and Mankind, where the result is Christ.

"Son" is from huios (huios), which means a "son," and more generally, a "child."

"Lord," is from kurios (kurios), which means "having power," "being in authority" and "being in posession of." It also means "lord," "master of the house," and "head of the family."

2007-12-12T11:10:00.000-08:00

Mar 2:27 The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

Since the sabbath is the day set aside for worship, we learn something about Christ view of public worship and worship in general. First, we worship God for our own good not because he needs worship. This entire section is about our human needs while we are temporarily separated from God during this life. One of those needs is the need to worship, to recognize that we are not alone, that we are part of something bigger.

God gave us the law, starting with the law of Moses, for our own good. Keeping the Sabbath is something that we need to do because we cannot be consumed by our worldly cares. We need to spend some serious time considering God and our place in the universe.

This rule about this one law of Moses can be extended to the entire ten commandments and from that to all human laws. If divine authority must be obeyed for our own good, so does legitimate human authority. The laws of human authority, like our religious tradition, are made for our own good and it is good to obey them because they are meant to do us good.

However, these laws are only justified when they are good for us. Law is not justified by itself, but by the way it serves humanity. If this is true for religious traditions, which come ultimately from God, it is even more true of human laws.

The logical entension of this idea is that the state as an instrument of law is not our master but our servant. It's laws are justified by their service to us. As God does not make laws for his own needs, the state does not make the law for its own needs. If God's laws are made to serve us, the state, as an artificial creation of mankind, is even more purely a servant and not a master.

From this thinking arises all modern government, especially the limits on government. If there is not God, then the state is the supreme power and all rights come from the state and all laws are meant to support the state. However, if God is the supreme power, all laws are designed to serve us as individuals. Our rights as individuals come from God not the state. Those who promote atheism do not understand how critical this distinction is.

Christ was the first to teach this idea. It is the heart of the good news, the universal rule, and the kingdom of heaven.

"Was made" is from gignomai (ginomai), which means "to become," "to come into being," "to be produced," and "to be."

2007-12-12T08:26:00.000-08:00

Mar 2:26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?

This verse balances our physical needs (symbolized by the bread of the temple) against social prohibitions. Notice that while Christ accepts religious authority, he sees it as a legitimate social power not as necessarily representing God's will. Christ never condemns the rules of tradition but he is putting them into a larger framework of virtue consisting of our physical responsibilities, our intellectual responsibilities, and our emotional responsibilities, which include our social responsibilities.

Christ in many parts of the Gospels defines a virtuous man as one who honors the law, both civil law and religion traditions. However, his "good news" is that the law isn't all that there is. We have an eternal life beyond our temporal one. Our temporal life has physical, mental, and emotional needs, but the real purpose of our temporal life is to make progress in our eternal life, that is, our new life under the universal rule or kingdom of heaven. The good news is we can be freed from our errors in our temporal life by getting our priorities straight.

Christ is saying that we can act locally, accepting the local prohibition in our physical life, and globally, accepting that God wants us to realize that there are higher goals, which upon certain occasions, can and should come first.

These higher goals are not just "serviing God," which is always a mystery and an egotistic claim made by those who don't understand that our personal relationship with God is a private matter. Sometimes those higher goals are simply our physical needs, which, even though they are our most basic and common desire, are no less God given. The need for bread is surpassed by our need from God, but the life in the bread is also a gift from God and makes it different thant a plain stone. This is not about our desires (thelo in Greek) but our needs (chreia , see the previous verse), which are necessities.

Christ separates religion, that is, the public expression of a specific tradition from our true faith which is express only in our personal relationship with God. Our personal relationship is hidden as God is hidden and as our personal thoughts are hidden from all but God. The "shewbread" of this verse is literally the bread that was put on public display in the temple as an offering to God but which was eaten by the priests. The word used in Greek to describe it means "to place in public." In this verse, our private needs and the private needs of our fellows both are given a priority over such public displays. Christ does not ever say that public religious displays are worthless (poneros, the word translated as "evil" in the Gospels) and more than he says social law is worthless. They are simply of a lower priority.

What is worthless is respecting neither religious tradition, social law, or our physical, mental, or emotional needs for other desires.

"Bread" is from artos (artos), which means specifically a "cake of whole wheat break," and generally "loaf," and "bread."

"Shew" is from prothesis (prothesis), which means "to place in public," "to lay out," "proposed," "purpose," "public notice," "supposition," "calculation," and "proposition."

"Eat" is from phago (phago), which is a form of the word, phagein, which means to eat," "to eat up," and "to devour." A synonym for esthiô (esthio).

"Lawful" is exesti (exesti), which means "to be allowed," "is possible," and "to be in one's power."

2007-12-09T17:41:00.000-08:00

Mar 2:25 Have you never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?

Though this response is to an accusation regarding Christ and his followers picking grain on the Sabbath, this particular verse again identifies Christ and his followers as separate from the traditions of the Jews. Christ did not fast like John the Baptist because the wedding party does not fast when the groom is with them.

Like the verses prior to it in this chapter, Christ is uses food (usually in the form of bread) as symbolic of our human body and its needs. Bread is the symbol of the body with its needs. Eating the bread is symbolic of physical pleasure and survival. Pleasure is not separate from survival but part of it. Food symbolizes the whole feast, the celebration of the wedding.

The cup (or wineskin) is symbolic of the mind which holds knowledge as a cup or wineskin holds drink. Drinking from the cup is symbolic of making a commitment, choosing a path. While we think of tasting as a test (as the water that was converted to wine at Cana was tested), Christ reverses that: what we choose to drink tests us because it is symbolic of a commitment. Think of how we toast the bride and groom at a wedding as a symbol of their commitment.

As the cup is a vessel for the wine, so is our minds the vessels of knowledge but our knowledge is not a passive thing. In Christ's cycle, the mental leads to the physical, knowledge leads to action. Therefore, the cup we choose to drink from is a commitment to a certain action. In this verse, Christ reminds those who challenge him of what they should know or have read, because that knowledge justifies his action.

Clothing (or a cloak, the outer garment) symbolizes our emotions and relationships. Our emotions come from our connections with each other At the wedding feast, the guest without a wedding garment is thrown out. In this verse, the relationship is between David, the king, and his followers. Our position is defined by our relationships. Christ did not come to patch up the Jewish relationship with God, but to define a new relationship.

"Read" is from anagignôskô (anaginosko), which means "to recognize," "to know well," "to know certainly," "to know again," "to own," and "to acknowledge."

"Need" is from chreia (chreia ), which means "need," "want," "poverty," "a request of a necessity," "business," "military service," "a business affair," "employment," "familiarity," "intimacy," and "maxim."

"Hungry" is peinaô (peino), which means "to be hungry" or "to be starved," and it is a metaphor for desire and cravings.

2007-12-04T18:41:00.000-08:00

Mar 2:22 And no man puts new wine into old bottles: else the new wine bursts the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.

In Christ's use of symbols, the cycle of liquids is from water (physical), to wine (mental) to blood(emotional ). When you realize that the word translated as "bottles" actually means "skin" as in "wineskin," this verse has a very interesting transposition: "Noone puts new blood into old skin else the blood bursts the skin and the blood is spilled and the skin is destroyed, but new wine must be put into new skin."

Here, Christ is referring again to the relationship between the old teaching of Judaism (specially, the topic of fasting) as an old skin that cannot contain the new wine, which represents ideas, or the new blood, meaning relationships. His new teaching (specifically, the topic of eating and drinking but beyond that enjoying life) is a new skin that is necessary to contain the new ideas and the new relationships created by Christianity.

As an aside, a minister recently wrote me suggesting that the words of Christ in the Bible were no different from any other words because they were all inspire by the Holy Ghost. I cannot offer an opinion on this idea because I readily admit that I don't try to comprehend the nature of divinity and discussion of the Trinity fall into that arena.

My writing is based on a simpler idea: that Christ was human on a real level and like all humans, he had a unique viewpoint on reality. As God in human form, that viewpoint is something more that our viewpoints, because it sees the whole story, not just a part. I think that those who wrote the Gospels tried to capture the words that Christ used to express his viewpoint as well as humanly possible. We can say that they were inspire by the Holy Spirit, but I believe that Christ really said this words or words that we as close as humanly possible to the ones that were recorded. Here, the Spirit's work wasn't to inspire a human mind to divine ideas, but simply to properly record the words in which those ideas were expressed.

Others may think that the words of Paul or Job or whoever have the same exact weight in communicating God's viewpoint to us, but I do not. Christ was not just a sacrifice. He was first and foremost a teacher.

"Bottles" is from askos (askos), which means "skin," "hide," "skin made into a bag," "wineskin," "belly," "paunch," and "human skin."

"Wine" is from oinos (oinos), which means "wine" and "fermented juice of any kind."

"Marred" is from apollumi, which is a very string form of "to destroy," "to kill," "to slay," and "to lose." It is translated as "lost" and "perish" elsewhere in Matthew. It means "to destroy utterly." It also means "to ruin" a woman.

2007-12-02T17:51:00.000-08:00

Mar 2:21 No man also sews a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up takes away from the old, and the rent is made worse.
Alterantive: Also, noone sews a piece of unprepared wool onto an old garment: else the new piece, as it become fuller, pulls away from the old and the tear is made worse.

The exact same language is used in Mat 9:16. As then, the context is the difference between Christ and John the Baptist. The analysis of that verse is here and the vocabulary and concepts discussed apply here as well.

"New" is from agnaphos (agnaphos), which means literally "not fulled" referring to the process of abrading cloth so that it becomes fuller, softer, and warmer,. This process is used specifically for wool. Abrasion pulls the hairs in the woven cloth ("felting" is a similar process for unwoven wool) and tangles them. As the fibers are pulled together, the cloth gets smaller. When you wear, use, and wash a wool garment, it is naturally "fulled," which also make is shrink. Fulling is usually part of preparing the wool before it is sewn into garments because wear alone will full the wool, shinking it. However, in the simpler clothing of Christ's era, which required much less cutting, sewing, and fitting, clothes could be made with raw cloth and fulled by wear.

Christ used clothing as a complex symbol. It represents both wealth, which makes it a part of the mental realm, but it also represents a person's place on society, which is part of the emotional realm. However, wine, the symbol in the next verse, is also symbolic of the mental realm but is also has an emotional component.

The contrast of ideas from the mental realm are also here: the old Jewish tradition of holy men fasting and the new Christian tradition of eating and drinking, satisfying the body and the mind. There is also a contrast of emotions here: the sadness of the old traditional mourning of atonement and the new joy of the celebration of a bridal ceremony. The taking of Christ from his followers is a return to mourning, but it is only temporary because Christ rises again.

There is a strong sense here that things, in this case, wool cloth, get better with age, in this case, because it is made fuller. However, there is also a sense that things wear out over time, as in a piece of clothing that gets a tear in it.

Christ is saying that his message is new and his mission not complete. Fasting, suffering, and mourning is part of the process that will finish his mission, but that process will take time. He is also suggesting that the Jewish tradition had served its usefulness but that its time was at an end. It could be patched, but not with Christ's new ideas, which had yet to be completed.

Interestingly enough, the word translated here as "takes away," referring to the patch being torn away from the cloth, is the same word Christ used describing the bridegroom being taken away in the previous verse.

So Christ is saying that he is not a patch on the old garment of traditional Judaism. Because when the patch is taken away, it would rip the cloth. He is saying that he is something new entirely, new ideas and new emotions, which means new relationships. When he is taken away, his followers will mourn, but only for awhile, because his resurrection will complete something entirely new.

"Garment" is from himation (himation), which was an oblong piece of cloth worn as an outer garment. The term generally means "clothes" and "cloth."

"Take away" is from airo, which primarily means "to lift," and also means "to raise up," "to take up," "to raise a child," "to exalt," "to lift and take away," and "to remove."

2007-11-26T08:10:00.000-08:00

Mar 2:20But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

Christ uses fasting, going without eating, and mourning the loss of someone as closely connected ideas. This is seen more clearly in the verse related to this in Mat 9:15 (discussed here). The the physical loss of giving up food is connected with the emotional loss of losing a relationship. Happiness depends on our relationships and our physical and mental well-being. All three parts of life are closely connected.

All three parts of life are also temporary because much is hidden from us in this life. Though Christ promises to be with us on all days (Mat 28:20), he also recognizes that he is not physically apparent (Mat 26:11) as he is in life. To be alive is to have nothing permanently: not satisfaction from hunger or satisfaction from our relationships. Even the most perfect relationships are marked by absences.

Notice that Christ does not refer to people moving through time, but the times (in this case the "days") as moving toward us and then away from us. We are like God in the sense that we are in essence timeless and eternal, but we are placed in the path of time, in lives of temporary things: our bodies, our thoughts, and our relationships are all temporary. Our actions and choices are temporary. All of these things move, but at our core we are still, centered, unmoving. We experience life as a parade of days. It is the stream we are lost in, the water that we must be pulled from in order to wake up and turn ourselves around.

"Will come" is from erchomai, (erchomai) which means "to start," "to set out," "to arrive at," "to come" and "to go." It generally refers to any kind of motion. It is a little like we use the phrase "he is on his way," which can mean either that he is coming or going with no direct reference to coming to or going from the position of the speaker.

"Shall be taken" is apairô (apairo), which means "to lead off," "to lift off," "to carry off," "to remove," "to get rid of," and "to lead away."

2007-11-17T09:34:00.000-08:00

Mar 2:19 Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
Alternative: Is the wedding party strong enough to diet when the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they are not capable of going on a diet.

Fasting is a form of penance, a way of making up for past sins. Even in our secular age, dieting is a form of penance. Eating, of course, is a form of celebration. In Christ's use of symbols, a wedding feast is the only symbol for celebration. It is also one of his analogies for the kingdom of heaven.

In an earlier post on the analogous verse in Matthew, I wondered who the bride to Christ's bridegroom was. After going through all of Christ's words in Matthew, I find myself thinking that Christ's real bride was life, existence, and self-awareness. The good news that Christ brought is that human death is an illusion, that we are really eternal creatures, and the burdens and mistakes of this life are only temporary. This life is meaningful because it affects our eternal life, but this life is not all that there is. This is good news indeed.

This theme of happiness and joy is of course the traditional Christian theme of the Christmas season, but it seems somewhat muted in much of the Gospel because of the emphasis in translation of the Gospels is sin, evil, and repentance. Yet, in reading the Greek, such harsh language is never used. Christ talks about mistakes, burdens, and turning around. The language of the Gospel writers uses the classical Greek words for evil rarely.

As the scribes and Pharisees of Christ's own time, too often today's religious leaders find their own interests rooted in creating fear rather than joy among believers. This means emphasizing the laws and obedience to the rules. Christ didn't have much patience for this line in the religious leaders of his own time. It is hard to believe that he would judge today's religious leaders any less harshly for their focus on sin, evil, repentance, and obedience rather than joy and loving one another. The English translation of the Gospels is, of course, heavily influenced by the traditional religious viewpoint that Christ is criticizing.

Christ announced his mission as wanting us to believe that there is a reward for bringing good news. We are here reminded that his role as a healer and, in Mark thus far, his healing of the possessed man, the leper, and the paralytic are occasions for happiness not sorrow. Christ's telling the paralyzed man that he has been freed from his errors is also an occasion for celebration.

Seen from another point of view, all of Christ's acts thus far in Mark are designed to demonstrate that the burdens of this life, even the errors we make, are purely temporary. We are given life to make the most of it. While we cannot do that if we continue to make errors, the idea is to turn around and leave our errors behind, to live in a new way, an way that is eternally meaningful and not meaningful only in terms of this life.

"Can" is from the verb, dunamai (dunamai) which means "to have power by virtue of your own capabilities," "to be able," and "to be strong enough."

"Bridechamber" is from numphôn (numphon), which means "bridechamber" and refers to the temply of Dionysus and a word related to what is sacred to nymphs.

"Bridegroom" is from numphios (numphios ), which means "bridegroom" and "son-in-law."

"Fast" is from nêsteuô (nesteuo), which means "fast" and "to abstain from."

2007-11-15T09:34:00.000-08:00

Mar 2:17 They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Alternative: The strong have no need of a healer, but the bad have. I set out not to summon those observant of the rules but those who err to change their minds.

In the narrative, Christ has healed three times at this point in Mark so his statement is perfectly in context with the action thus far.

Christ here divides humanity not once but twice.

He says some people are "whole" while others are "sick" or, in a more direct translation, "strong" and "bad." Interestingly, the Greek word used for "ill" here has much more the sense of "evil" than the world usually translated as "evil" in the Gospels. While the word can mean physically ill, this is not its usual use. The contrast with "strong" conveys the idea that evil is a form of weakness, a sickness of the spirit like the sicknesses of the mind, body, and relationships that Christ has already addressed in the three healings he has performed thus far.

He also says that some people are righteous while others are sinners, or, translating more directly, those observant of the rules and erroneous. In setting up this dual dichotomy, Christ tells us that observing the rules is the same as being strong, that is, that following the rules is difficult while ignoring the rules is easy. Virtue, in the sense of following the rules Christ is talking about, isn't easy nor is it mean to be. However, making bad choices and errors, though it may be easier, leads to a type of spiritual sickness.

While none of us are perfect, Christ does say that some people are strong and virtuous and were before his coming. He did not introduce virtue to the world but to spread it to those who are weak and sick. Strength is not a permanent condition for anyone. Even the strongest fall sick. Similarly, virtue is not a constant. Even the most virtuous people make mistakes. So we all need Christ. The question is one of when.

Christ would agree with those who say his teachings are for weaklings. The real question here is if those who think they are strong are truly the strong. The test Christ proposes is simple: do you obey God's rules or do you make mistakes. The honest will admit that they fall into the latter category as often as the former. Interestingly, those who accuse the religious of being weak are also those most likely to think of virtue itself as a weakness. Christ the healer would diagnose them to be among those that are the most ill and the most need of healing.

Letting Christ into our lives is an admission of weakness, and admission that we need Christ and healing. We may admit this only in times of need, but Christ can only help us if we recognize that we need help. Since we are drowning in a sea of illusion, we often don't recognize our need, but the need is always there, especially with those who least recognize it.

Note hear that the word translated throughout the Gospels as "kingdom" also means "rule" and "reign." When Christ talks about observing the rules, these are the rules he is talking about. "Observant of the rules" means not only that you keep the rules, but that you recognize what they are. This is the hardest task when talking about God's laws. Some of these laws are easy to recognize but others are subtle and mysterious. For example, it is not only easy but unavoidable to observe certain laws of nature, like gravity, in one sense, but observing what gravity really is and how it really works is very difficult. Everyone obeyed the law of gravity until Newton, but Newton was the first to really observe what that law was. The same is true for all of God's laws. You can obey them without really observing them and understanding them. It is the understanding that is difficult.

"They that are whole " is from ischuô (ischuo), which means "to be strong in body," "to be powerful," "to prevail," and "to be worth."

"Need" is from chreia (chreia ), which means "need," "want," "poverty," "a request of anecessity," "business," "military service," "a business affair," "employment," "familiarity," "intimacy," and "maxim."

"Physician" is from iatros (iatros), which means "one who heals," "physician," and "surgeon."

"Sick" is from kakos (kakos), which means "bad," "mean," "base," "ugly," "ill-born," "evil," "worthless," "sorry," "pernicious," and "ill."

"Come" is from erchomai, which means "to come" and "to go." It means "to set out" and "to arrive at." It is a little like we use the phrase "he is on his way,"or "to be under way," which can mean either that he is coming or going with no direct reference to the position of the speaker.

"Call," is from kaleô (kaleo), which means "call," "summon," "invite," "invoke," "call by name," and "demand."

"Righteous" is from dikaios (dikaios) which means "observant of rules," "observant of customs," and "observant of duty." Later it means "well-balanced," "impartial," and "just." In Matthew, it is first translated as "the just" and later always as "the righteous."

"Sinners" is from hamartôlos (hamartolos) which means "erroneous," and "of bad character."

"Repentance," is from metanoeô (metanoia), which literally means "to perceive afterward," "to perceive too late," "to change one's mind," "to change one's purpose," and "to repent."

2007-11-14T19:46:00.000-08:00

2007-11-12T12:52:00.000-08:00

Mar 2:14 Follow me.

Christ doesn't ask those he has cured to follow him. He has cured three people and each of them were told, in a variety of ways, to get on with their lives. Instead he asks the tax collector, Levi Matthew, who was working at the time and we assume successful.

Christ is teaching that there is an certain order to our priorities. If we are mentallhy confused, estranged from our families, or having health problems, our first priority is getting our lives together. We look to him for healing, to be made clean so that we can get on building our lives.

However, once we have our lives together, have a family, a career, we cannot get lost in them. We must think about our spiritual life, which is the purpose of our temporary lives. The spiritual path is not for those who cannot cope with every day life. It is the next step for those who realize that there is more to life than our everyday life.

"Follow" is from akoloutheô (akoloutheo), which means "to follow," and "to go with." It also means "to be guided by" and means following a leader as a disciple.

2007-11-10T11:49:00.000-08:00

Mar 2:9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, [Your] sins be forgiven you; or to say, Arise, and take up your bed, and walk?
Mar 2:10 But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins,
Mar 2:11 I say unto you, Arise, and take up your bed, and go your way into your house.
Alternative: What is easier to keep saying to the paralyzed, "Mistakes are left behind," or to say, "Wake up and lift up your mattress and walk around? But so you see that the power of the son of man on earth is to let loose mistakes, I say, "Wake up and take your mattress and go away to your house."

Christ is addressing us all as "the paralyzed." His message in Mark so far has repeated the idea that we are drowning, possessed, and rotting. Here he adds the further idea that we are paralyzed. Like someone paralyzed, we worry about words and the past instead of waking up, acting, and getting back to our relationship with one another.

Notice the pattern. These three cure stories cover the three areas that of our lives that Christ repeats again and again: the mental, the emotional, and the physical. The possessed man was handicapped mentally. The leper was the social outcast, cut off from relationships. Here, the paralyzed man is physically handicapped.

Christ here is again demonstrating that words and ideas must lead to action and action to relationships. Words that enable action have power. In this case, Christ's words lead to the paralyzed man being able to walk. Where must he walk to? He must return to his home, that is, to his family. Note that the leper was not sent home because to be welcomed back into society, he had to go through the cleansing ritual. So he was sent to the priest. Our words and thoughts about past mistakes serve no purpose. It is what we do from now on that matters.

What is the paralyzed man instructed to do? First, he must wake up, come alive mentally. Then he must pick up his mattress. The man's mattress is what keeps him comfortable while talking no action. When he actually takes action, it become a physical burden. Then, he must go home, get back to his relationships.

As with the man cleansed leprosy, Christ tells him to go away, to get on with his life. He asked none of these three men to stay with him and learn more. In having their ability to act and live in society returned to them, they have what Christ provides. It isn't the knowledge. It is the understanding that life is more than it seems and that we must take advantage of our ability to live.

Notice that nowhere so far is Christ preaching that these men must believe in God or believe in him. He is preaching the belief in the rewards of bringing good news to others, being productive in our lives, creating value for others. Faith is important, but Christ was definitely not a faith healer, asking people to believe so that they may be cured.

As in the other Gospels, religious authorities, the scribes, are part of the problem, not part of the solution. In curing the leper, that priest played an important role of cleansing the man for his return to society. Here, however, we see the fault of religious leaders, worrying more about what is said than what is accomplished through action.

"Whether" is from tis, which can mean "someone," "any one," "everyone," "many a one," "whoever," and so on. In a question, it can mean "who," or "what."

"Easier" is from euphulaktos (euphulaktos), which means "easy to keep," or "easy to guard."

"Say" is from the word epo, which means "to speak" or "to say" (from epos, which means "word').

"To the sick with palsy" is from paralutikos (paralutikos) which means "paralytic."

"Arise" is from egeirô (egeiro), which means "to awake," "to rouse," "to stir up" and "to wake up."

"Take up" is from airo, which primarily means "to lift," and also means "to raise up," "to take up," "to raise a child," "to exalt," "to lift and take away," and "to remove."

"Bed" is from krabbatos (krabbatos), which means "couch," "mattress," and "pallet."

"Walk" is from peripateô (peripateo), which means "to walk up and down," "to walk about," and "to walk about while teaching."

"Know" is from eido (eido), which means "to see," "to examine," and "to know." Not to be confuses with another word translated as "to know," gignôskô (ginosko) which means "to learn to know," "to know by reflection or observation," and "to perceive."

"Power" is from exousia ( exousia ), which means "control," "the power of choice," "permission," "the power of authority," "the right of priviledge," "abundance of means," and "abuse of power."

"On" is from epi (epi), which means "upon," "at," "by," "to," "over," "against," "in the time of," and "for."

"Forgiven" is from aphiêmi (aphiemi), which means "to let fall," "to send away," "to let loose," "to get rid of," "to leave alone," "to pass by," "to permit," and "to send forth from oneself." This is the same word that is translated as "leave" and "forgive" in the New Testament.

"Sins" is from the Greek hamartia, which means "to miss the mark," "failure," "fault," and "error." Only in religious uses does it become "guilt" and "sin."

"Go your way" is from hupagô (hupago), which means "to lead under," "to bring under," "to bring a person before judgment," "to lead on by degrees," "to take away from beneath," "to withdraw," "to go away," "to retire," "to draw off," and "off with you."

2007-11-09T17:58:00.000-08:00

Mar 2:8

Why do you reason these things in your hearts?

Alternative: Why do you calculate these things in your hearts?

For Christ, feeling is the realm of relationships. The heart is Christ's metaphor for our feelings regarding our relationships both our personal relationships and our social position. (In an earlier post, we discuss the concept of desires of the heart as opposed to desires of the belly.)

In this specific situation, the scribes were attacking Jesus to defend their position as religious authorities, but if we take the narrative away and look at this line in the larger context of this chapter of Mark, a different message emerges.

First, Christ tells us to let go of our errors, leave our mistakes behind us.

Then he asks us to think about it: why do we try to justify ourselves and attack our opponents? What does all our mental gymnastics win us? When we use our thoughts to justify our emotions, we accomplish nothing. Christ is making the order clear. We use our thoughts and ideas to chose our actions. Our actions should determine our feelings and relationships. When we try to form our relationships without actions, it is meaningless.

The previous command about letting go of our mistakes, or as regularly translated, being forgiven of sin is about the same thing. We cannot let our mistakes drive our emotions and thoughts. We must let them go. Worthless actions and bad habits must be abandoned in action, thought, and feeling.

In the next verse, Christ will demonstrate this idea in a tangible way. Words lead to action leads to relationship.

"Reason" is from dialogizomai, which means "to calculate exactly," "to add up account," "to debate," and "to argue."

"Heart" is from kardia, which means "heart" and which we discuss in a larger Greek context here.

2007-11-09T09:18:00.000-08:00

Mar 2:5 Son, your sins be forgiven you.
Alternative: Child, your errors have fallen away.

Our modern sense of sin, guilt, and forgiveness is not the sense of the Greek words used in the Gospel. The choice of words is extremely significant because most of the reason that people criticize Christianity today is because they see it as harshly judgmental. Christ's words do not have that feeling at all in the original Greek.

The word translated as sin, hamartia, and all associated words, carries the sense of failure and error but not the sense of intentional wrong-doing. In Greek, the Gospel writers would use the many words related to alitria (sinfulness)--including alitoxenos, alitêrios=sinning, alitainô=sinful, aleitês=sinner, adikeô=sinned, alitros=sin, sinner, sins, alêtheia=sincerity--which all carry more of our modern sense of sinning and wrong-doing. Similarly, the word translated in the Gospels as Christ talking about "evil" means "burden" and "worthless." In Greek, another word, kakia, seldom used by Christ's, means evil in the sense of malicious.

In a similar vein, the word translated here as "forgiven" is used very broadly in Greek and the Gospels for a number of different ideas. It basically means to get rid of something. A number of other word for letting go and loosening can also be use to mean "forgive," but this was not a common idea in the Greek. The word for "give," didômi was used more commonly for giving pardon or condoning an action.

"Son" is teknon (teknon), which means "that which is born," "child," and "the young."

"Sins" is from the Greek hamartia, which means "to miss the mark," "failure," "fault," and "error." Only in religious uses does it become "guilt" and "sin."

"Forgiven" is from aphiêmi (aphiemi), which means "to let fall," "to send away," "to let loose," "to get rid of," "to leave alone," "to pass by," "to permit," and "to send forth from oneself." This is the same word that is translated as "leave" and "forgive" in the New Testament.

2007-11-08T08:37:00.000-08:00

Mar 1:44 See you say nothing to any man: but go thy way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
Alternative: See that you say nothing to no one. Instead go away, reveal yourself to the priest, and pay for your cleansing what Moses ordered as proof to them.

Christ again repeats the idea of being silent and going away that we saw in Mrk 1:25. Christ knew that the leper would not heed his direction, but Christ wanted to take a stand again broad, public, anonymous communication. The cleansing that Christ is bringing is a personal, private awareness not a social movement. Cleansing changes society one person at a time.

Why does Christ want the leper to show himself to the priest? Because the law of Moses commanded a specific ritual upon the healing of a leper (Lev 14:2). Such a healing was to be followed by a ceremony of cleansing that involved several sacrifices over several days time, along with certain good, public health practices, such as saving, washing, and washing clothes. The end of the disease was separated from this cleansing, which allowed time to pass and proved to the public that the victim was clean and could be welcomed back into society.

So we have two cleansings, the real physical one and the second social one, bringing the victim back into society. Christ provided the real healing, but the second one depended upon the traditions of the people involved. Christ did not come to change those traditions. Rather his job was to put them into perspective.

We learned from the beginning of Matthew that Christ saw our temporary life on earth as consisting of three components: the physical, the mental, and the emotional. The emotional components involves our relationships with one another, both personal and social. For Christ, all three components were important as part of a process.

Words, that is the intellectual part of life, affect the physical and social. Words and ideas can improve our lives. Learning can alleviate suffering. Christ's words here heal the leper. But the power of words has a limitation: they should not be used to change emotions. Emotions and relationships must depend on actions, in this case, the actions dictated by tradition. Thought (words) directs action. Action directs feeling. Feelings direct thoughts. Spirit (or information) must direct all of these components. As productive as words are in the intellectual world, they are destructive in the emotional world. Our emotional relationships should depend on actions, not words. Our relationships should not be based upon what happens moment to moment but upon what happens over time.

Ideas can physically change our lives in a moment, but our actions over time are the proof of our healing and feeling.

What would Christ think of public religious healings held for show? What would Christ think of the instant verbal professions of healing for the crowd? All we can say is that this is is not what he recommends here.

"Say" is from the word epo, which means "to speak" or "to say" (from epos, which means "word').

"Nothing" and "any man" are from a repitition of the word mêdeis (medeis), which means "nobody," "no one," "not even one," "naught," "good for naught," and "nothing."

"See" is from horaô (horao), which means "to see," "to observe," "to look," "to take or give heed," "to look out for," and "to see visions."

"Go your way" is from hupagô (hupago), which means "to lead under," "to bring under," "to bring a person before judgment," "to lead on by degrees," "to take away from beneath," "to withdraw," "to go away," "to retire," "to draw off," and "off with you."

"Priest" is from hiereus (hiereus), which means "priest," "sacrificer," and "diviner."

"Show" is from deiknuô (deiknuo), which means "to bring to light," "to show forth," "to show," "to point out," "to make known," "to prove," "to display," and "to offer."

"Brought" is from prospherô (prospero), which means "to bring to," "to add," "to apply to," "to present," "to offer," "to contribute," "to pay," and "to bear in addition."

"Commanded" is from prostassô (prostasso), which means "to place," "to post," "to attach to," "to command," "to prescribe," "to enjoin," and "to order."

"Witness" is from marturion (marturion), which means "testimony" and "proof."

2007-11-07T19:41:00.000-08:00

Mar 1:41 I will; be clean.
Alternative: I want you to be cleansed.

What does Christ want us to be cleansed of? How does he want us to "turn around" (Mat 1:15)? What water does he want the Apostle's to pull us out of as "fishers of men" (Mat 1:17)? What change is he heralding (Mat 1:38)?

First, Christ came to put our suffering in this life into a large perspective. Our temporary suffering in this life is not only temporary, but it serves a purpose. Christ came to awaken us to that purpose and the meaning of human suffering. As certain physical constants in the universe are necessary for life to exist, evil and suffering are necessary conditions for a meaningful life. Christ is truly saying what he means: though suffering is necessary we can be cleanse of its burden.

There are two kinds of evil: suffering cause by nature (sickness, disaster, death), the kind of suffering that Christ is dealing with here, and evil caused by the actions by humans. If evil actions by humans were not possible, we would have no meaningful choices. If no suffering (ours or that of others) resulted as consequence of our decisions, all choices would be equally good and therefore meaningless. First, Christ wants us to be cleanse of our misconceptions that by doing evil we can somehow gain from it. Any short-term gain becomes a long-term loss.

This brings us to the suffering Christ is addressing here, the suffering that is cause by the nature of things, disease, aging, and eventual death. If there were no natural suffering, we would have no reason to care for one another and no incentive to learn more about the world and how it works. Awareness of death itself puts our life into a greater perspective. As Christ says in the Beatitudes, those who mourn on being "summoned," summoned to a greater awareness.

Christ wanted us to focus on what our suffering demands of us: caring for one another and learning about the world. Like children complaining that their parents won’t let them eat candy for every meal, we have to realize that this world has suffering of both types as necessary conditions for our freedom and growth. Christ wants us to be cleansed of our misconceptions about life. He wanted us to realize that our choices involve real freedom and real consequences.

"I will" is from thelô (thelo), which means "to be willing," "to wish," "to ordain," "to decree," "to be resolved to a purpose" and "to desire."

"Be clean" is from katharizô (katharizo), which means "to clean," :to clear the ground of weeds,""prune away," "to remove dirt," and "to remove impurities." It is also used to describe the removal of the inedible parts from grain (winn0wing), clearing weeds from a field, pruning a plant and so on.

2007-11-06T11:13:00.000-08:00

Mar 1:38 Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.
Alternative: We carry on into the towns that are close so that I be a herald there too: because I came out for this.

Christ doesn't describe himself as a preacher. He describes himself as a herald. He is heralding the beginning of a new age. Everything his says makes it clear that he understood his pivotal role in human history.

Even when the Gospels were written, it was not clear that Christ's teaching would go onto change the thinking of the world, but he clearly understood this from the beginning. While those who worked with him and wrote his story thought that he was the herald of the end times, judgment day, Christ himself talked about the advent of the kingdom and the end of an age.

Strangely enough, Christ also knew that he could accomplish this change without traveling to the capitals of Asia and Europe. Here we see that his decision to work within his region. During his whole life, he never travelled more than thirty miles from where he was born. He left it to the apostles to travel to the reaches of the known world.

The question is why?

His life was a message to us all. These words are aimed at us today. Being a missionary is not about going to far away places. Few are called to travel far. We are called to be a witness from whereever we are, to those who are near us.

This is consistent with Christ's message about loving your "neighbor." What counts is how we treat each other face-to-face, person-to-person. Christ did not want us to love our neighbors as some distant, vague abstraction. We do not discharge our responsiblities simply sending money to to a distant charity that helps the anonymous, faceless "needy" or, must worse, thinking we are being righteous when we vote for laws and lawmakers that force faceless crowd to pay to help these faceless needy. This type of distant, arms length self-righteousness that ignores each person's individuality is exactly the opposite of what Christ taught in word and deed.

His message is simple here. You can change the world. You can do it from where you are. I am reminded of Christ's first words in Matthew to John the Baptist, where he says that we must accept things as they are now, the duties that are in front of us, in order to have everything end in perfection.

"Let us be go" is from agô (ago), which means "to lead," "to fetch," "to carry," "to bring," "to take with one," "to draw on," "to bring on," "to lead towards," "to lead on," "to manage," "to guide," "to draw out," "to keep [a date]," and so on.

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

"Next" is from echô (echo), which means "to have," "to hold," "to possess," "to keep," "to have charge of," "to keep," "to maintain," "to hold fast," "to bear," "to keep close," "to keep safe," and "to have means to do."

"Preach" is from kêrussô (kerusso), which means means "to be a herald," "to officiate as an herald," "to be an auctioneer," "to make a proclaimation as a herald," "to proclaim," "to announce," "to preach," and "to teach publically."

"I came forth" is from exerchomai, which means "to come or go out of " or "to come out."

"Therefore" is two words. The first is eis (eis), which means "into," "to," "towards," "in regard to," "to the limit of," and "up to (some time)." The other word is toutô (touto), which means "from here," "from there," "this [thing]," or "that [thing]."

2007-11-04T08:45:00.000-08:00

Mar 1:25 Hold your peace, and come out of him.
Alternative: Shut up and get out of yourself.

This line is address to a man "with an unclean spirit" (pneumati akatharto - literally "foul breath" and "impure breath of life"). In reading the narrative, the nature of an "unclean spirit" can be interpreted many ways, from possession by a demon to simply having a seriously troubled mind. After this command, the phrase that describes what happens next can be translated,. as it usually is, as the spirit coming out of him, or as saying that "the man convulsed, cried out, and came out of it," which I think is closer to how we would describe this today.

Our goal here is thinking about all of Christ's words as though they were address to us today. Taking Christ's words out of the narrative, they clearly have a deeper message to us.

Christ is telling us to stop talking, both out loud and in our heads, and to come out of ourselves. He is telling us to stop being consumed by the every day issues of our lives. He wants us to look at our lives from the perspective of being an eternal spirit rather than a temporary being in a singular life.

Christ's statement to the Apostles about being "fishers of men" suggested this idea. Their job or rather our job, is to pull people out of the sea, or, as Shakespeare described it, "this sea of troubles." We want to encourage each other to come out of our selves, stop being so caught up in our problems and egos, and come to our senses, seeing the greater reality of our lives.

Why is being quiet important? You know before I even write about. When we are talking to others or worrying inside our heads, we are drawn into the moment and away from the eternal. Contemplation is always quiet, both quiet of mouth and quiet of heart. It is in stillness we sense the eternal.

In stillness, we can reflect on our unique position in the world, our existence at the center of our own reality. We can see the great conflict in existence. In the great scheme of the world, much less the near infinity of time and space, our particular lives seeming so insignificant. At the same time however, we are all we know. Your self-awareness is all you truly know. From your perspective, the only self-awareness you can know is your own. From your awareness, you infer mine, but you can know my self-awareness directly. Each of us, from our individual perspectives, are at the center of everthing and in control of nothing. What happens to us each from moment to moment is at once all important subjectively while seemingly meaningless objectively. Where is the truth: in our importance or our insignificance?

This quiet contemplation of the paradox at the core of our existence leads either to God or to insantiy. Yet, in our day-to-day interaction with each other and in listening to the chatter of our minds, we are distracted from it. We have other issues to deal with. Yet, in getting lost in the temporary distractions, we find another kind of insanity: our denial of our unique self-awareness.

"Hold your peace" is from phimoô (phimoo), which means "to muzzle," "to be silent," and "to be put to silence."

"Come" is from exerchomai (exerchomai), which means "to come or go out of " or "to come out."

"Out" is from ek, which means "out of," "away from," "from," or "by."

"Him" is from autos (autos), which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself," "yourself," "himself," "herself," "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him," "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of ones own accord."

2007-11-03T13:41:00.000-07:00

Mar 1:17 Come after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
Alternative: Follow me and I will prepare you to become sailors of mankind.

As I pointed out in the look at the similar verse in Matthew, (Mat 4:19) the terms translated as "fisher" is more commonly used to simply mean "sailor" or "seaman." However, looking more closely at the other terms that specifically mean "fisherman," they are not as common as halieus and another term, nautês, is much more commonly used to refer to a "sailor." As always, I prefer to think that both ideas, that of being both a fisherman and a sailor are intended.

What does it mean to be sail upon the seas of humanity? It means not being tied to one place or group. It means to move where the wind (the real meaning of the Greek word for "spirit) takes you. It means to be at the mercy of the weather but to have a course and a purpose. No one wanders the sea as one might wander the desert.

A "fisher of men" for me is a somewhat more clumsy metaphor but it works on another level. It means catching men, or as they did in Galilee, in nets, and pulling them from the sea. If we think of the sea as a metaphor for the world of men and the air as the world of the spirit, it means bringing them up from a limited world to a bigger world. Before Christ, all men were under water, lost in the depth. The role of the apostles was to pull them from the depths, up to the light. Of course, the fish would die out of water, but the men would be reborn.

This metaphor gives more meaning to the symbol of baptism. Though the term in Greek means being dunked in water, the real rebirth here is the rising from the water, rising from the depths. It isn't a ritual washing, but a coming out of the depths into the air.

"Come" is from deute (deute), which means "come here" and "come hither." It is an imperative form, indicating a command.

"After is from opisô (opiso), which means "back," "behind," "hearafter," and in the special case with deute as here, "follow me."

"I will make" is from poieô (poieo), which means "to make," "to produce," "to create," "to bring into existence," "to bring about," "to cause," "to render," "to consider," "to prepare," "to make ready," and "to do."

"Become" is from gignomai (ginomai), which means "to become," "to come into being," "to be produced," and "to be."

"Fishers" is from halieus (halieus), which means "one who has to do with the sea," "seaman," "sailor," and "fisher."

"Men" is from anthrôpos (anthropos), which "man," and, in plural, "mankind." The use here is in plural.

2007-10-22T21:33:00.000-07:00

Mar 1:15 The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent you, and believe the gospel.
Alternative: The measure is full and the kingdom of God is brought near; you can change your mind and believe in the reward for bringing good news.

These are Christ's first words in Mark. They are more forceful and direct than Christ's first words in Matthew. Here he provides a simple summary of his mission.

The first idea, that is that the time has come and the measure is full (both ideas are the same) suggests that human history had to get to a certain point before it was ready for Christ's message. That time was predicted to come and it did. Of course, the big issue is what that change entails.

Next it moves to the very difficult idea of "the kingdom of God." (Interestingly, Mark starts with this formulation referring to "God" instead of the more common phrase of "the kingdom of heaven." I don't know that the two phrases means exactly the same thing.) In either case, this is a central idea because Christ spends most of his time in Matthew explaining this idea and a difficult one. While this idea may encompass aspects of the afterlife, it clearly is more than that: a state of being that is aligned with God, an idea and culture spreading through human civilzation.

Finally, it ends with a statement that I think has been mistranslated. "Good news" has come to mean the Christ story itself, i.e. the Gospel, but Christ doesn't seem to use it that way at all. He used it more simply. The phrase doesn't mean the "good news itself." Instead it means "the reward for bringing good news." For Christ, changing our mind means believing that trusting in the future and specifcially in a future that is increasingly close to God, will have its own rewards. This is at one level, a statement about optimism generally.

Christ is saying that the world starts to get better when we believe that we will be rewarded for bringing good news instead of punished for it. This goes beyond simply optimism because the good news he brings is specific: that God is changing the world through each of us.

"Time" is from kairos, which means "due measure," "proportion," "fitness," "exact time," "season," "opportunity," "time," "critical times," "advantage," and "profit."

"Fulfilled" is plêroô (pleroo), which mean "to fill," "to fulfill," "to make complete," "to pay in full," "to make pregnant," and "to fill full."

"Is at hand" is from engizô (eggizo), which means "to bring near," "to approach," and "to bring up."

"Good news" is from euangelion (euaggelion) a "reward of good tidings," a "thank offering for good tidings, " "good news," and "good tidings." Originally, this terms described a reward, like a tip, given to a messenger who brought good news.