“Now, the Greek word used here means….”

The pastor says “Now, in the original Greek, this word means….” and church members roll their eyes.  Oh brother, some are thinking.

Or, he might say,  “In the original Hebrew, that word is…..and it means…..”

To the pastors among us, I ask: Is this necessary?

I find a great many church members are completely turned off by this little one-upsmanship of the preacher.  It feels to many like he’s showing off, bragging that he knows some Greek.

I’m not one to say the preacher is showing off.  After all, if he studied the language for a few years, clearly learning the Bible in its original forms is important to him, he is now capable of bringing in some of the finer insights from the Word.

But he must not overdo it by trying too hard or expecting too much.

I fear I’ve done this so many times in the past. Forgive me, members of the six churches I’ve served.

When a pastor says, “Now, the verb tense in the Greek is aorist, which indicates the action has already happened and is over with, so therefore….” you can bet people are looking at their watches, wondering how much more of this they have to endure.

Church members simply do not care what tense the verb is in.  They do not care that this is the only place in the New Testament where this word is used.  They do not care for the finer points of the language study which you the pastor have mastered in Bible school or seminary.

The man in the pew is worrying about his teenage daughter and some of the friends she’s been running with.  The woman in the pew is worried about her husband who seems too involved with his job and negligent of the home responsibilities.  The grandparents in the pews are thinking about health issues, about financial matters, and about the uncertain future.  The teens are thinking about each other.

What they are not thinking about is what tense that Greek verb is in.  In fact, it’s a sign of the disconnect that we pastors have with our congregations that we think they are interested.

Five people are.  Ninety-five could not care less.

Having said that, I now need to retract some of this. Once in a while, a wonderful insight from the Greek is worth the trouble.  And even then, at least half the congregation will take a minivacation and skip out on the language study.  And that’s all right.  Sometimes, an insight is so good, so amazing, it’s worth the trouble to get the riches to just a few of the sharper, more eager, members even if it does bypass the rest of the flock.

Here is one such insight from the Greek, a very favorite of mine….

In the same way the Spirit helps our weakness.  For we do not know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.  –Romans 8:26.

In the Greek, the little word translated helps is a compound word made up of 17 letters.  synantilambanomai.

Here is how the word breaks down…

–syn is the prefix for “together,” or “with.”

–anti means “in front of,” or “against.”

–lambanomai is a form of the Greek verb meaning “to lift.”

Put them together and you get a wonderful picture of what the Holy Spirit does for the child of God who “does not know how to pray as he should.”

He gets on the other side (anti) and together with us (syn) gets under the burden and helps us lift it.

Think of making up a bed by yourself.  But what a difference when a friend gets on the other side and helps us.

Ask any man if he has ever tried to pull a crosscut saw alone?  But with a friend on the other end, the work gets done.

So, when we go to pray, we are hampered by a great weakness: We do not know how to pray as we should.  But the Holy Spirit picks up the slack.  He gets on the other side of our prayer burden, and together with us, lifts it to the Throne of Grace.

If that’s not an encouragement to pray, there is none.

You’re not alone when you go to pray.  You’re not doing this alone. The Spirit is on the job, assisting you.

And that’s the last Greek lesson you’ll hear from me.  Until the next time.

 

 

 

10 thoughts on ““Now, the Greek word used here means….”

  1. I am one of the five. As a teenager, it was always a favorite to me when you would give us a Greek word. I can’t tell how many I have written in my bible from that time in my life.
    As an adult, and regular cantor for our local synagogue, the reading of the Torah, and the Rabbi relating its meaning is a blessing to my spirit.
    As usual, the message of your article speaks to us all, including the five.

    • The way the rabbi’s sermon immediately followed the reading of the Torah and Prophets meant that the reading could be explained to both the wise and the simple. I found it interesting to hear a rabbi say that not that long ago, the congregants would shout out questions for the rabbi right before the Torah reading. Most dealt with dilemmas. One was how to handle, in light of the Torah, an employer who would not pay his employees.

  2. Perhaps the 95 should care more. It is God’s Word. I would also add our preaching is to be God centered not man centered. Perhaps the best thing the preacher could do for the guy with the teenage daughter is remind him Who God is and what God can do…in whatever tense.

    • One of our friends on Facebook pointed out that when we keep insisting that the Greek or Hebrew says something different or additional, we undermine people’s faith in the English translation they hold in their hands. The last thing they need is more reason to leave the Bible on the shelf.

      • Recently, attending a Bible study for men at a local church , the instructor crowed often about the “bad” translation and his grasp of the Greek NT—-I had the same thought as you–
        “After hearing his words, who would want to read the Bible in their poor, old English translation!”

  3. Some English translation s do the Greek and Hebrew a disservice in places. In the Episcopal church, a deacon or priest reads the gospel. I know one priest who knew Greek and would translate the gospel on his own and alter a word or two if he thought the English did not convey the idea well enough. Most people had so much respect for him that they appreciated it.

    • And in doing so, he personally overruled the work of thousands of Greek and Hebrew scholars who had given years to translating the text and finding the best way to express the concepts found in the manuscripts.

  4. I think we are leaving out the very important fact that we are in the dispensation of the “Helper”(Holy Spirit) having seen through scripture the dispensations of the Father and the Son. Jesus at the end of His ministry here on earth specifically commanded His deciples to tarry in Jerusalem until they be empowered with the Holy Ghost as they could not do the assignment ahead in the flesh.
    The Holy Spirit is the complete package to not just help with prayer alone but every aspect of the life of the believer to achieve God’s purpose for our lives here on earth.
    The 95% you refer to is unfortunately a reflection of the Church at large today who have chosen to replaced kingdom principles and the undiluted Word of God with the principles of the world.
    The mistake here is that the Church today thinks the work of ministry is only limited to the “ordained ministers” as supposed to the fact that the “ordained ministers” are to “perfect the Church for the work of ministry”
    The Word of God must be studied by every believer from the original texts (Greek and Hebrew) for us to have a full grasp of what it’s saying and what it has the capacity to do when spoken in faith or applied to any given situation or circumstance of life. God will not lower His standards for anyone or any generation. (Matt 4:4 “man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” and 2 Tim 3: 16 – 17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness : That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works”

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