Exploration, Part 9

For our freedom Christ has us set free.1 Jesus promised this freedom from slavery to sin: I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth2the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.3 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.4 If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.5 [T]herefore you stand firm and cannot entangle yourselves in a yoke of slavery again.6

Why? The fruit ( καρπὸς) or “result” of this freedom—which is God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit taking up residence within us—is (Galatians 5:22b, 23 ESV):

…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law [Table].

One who experiences his love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control like a spring of water welling up to eternal life,7 recognizes the source of this fruit (result). The Spirit’s result is mine only in that sense that he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.8 This is why Jesus could promise (Matthew 5:48 EXP8):

You will be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect [Table].

I quoted the EXP1 translation of Galatians 5:1 above because I choose to understand the verb στήκετε, a form of στήκω, in the indicative mood (EXP1: you stand firm) rather than as an imperative (ESV: stand firm).9 Either is permissible according to the Koine Greek Lexicon online, but the indicative mood jibes better with the freedom for which Christ has us set free. And I am working out [my] own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in [me], both to will and to work for his good pleasure [Table].10 But why was it even necessary to quote the EXP8 translation of Matthew 5:48?

According to the Koine Greek Lexicon online the verb ἔσεσθε, a form of εἰμί, is in the future tense and indicative mood (EXP8: will be) rather than the imperative mood (ESV: must be). But the ESV translation is (Matthew 5:48 ESV):

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect [Table].

According to Arthur Carr in Volume 1 of the Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges Commentary online, there is still a choice to make here:

ἔσεσθε τέλειοι. Lit. ‘ye shall be perfect.’ Either (1) in reference to a future state, ‘if ye have this true love or charity ye shall be perfect hereafter’; or (2) the future has an imperative force, and τέλειοι is limited by the preceding words = perfect in respect of love, i.e. ‘love your enemies as well as your neighbours,’ because your Father being perfect in respect of love does this. This use of the future is in accordance with the Hebrew idiom.11

With a bit of decoding I favor option (1): “if ye have this true love or charity ye shall be perfect hereafter.” You have this love or charityBut the fruit of the Spirit is love12—supplied by God through his indwelling Holy Spirit to all who believe Jesus. This love—his own love (as opposed to some emotion I try to conjure out of gratitude)—is the fulfilling of the law.13 You (ὑμεῖς) will be (ἔσεσθε) perfect (τέλειοι, a form of the adjective τέλειος): “mature, complete, perfect, full-grown; morally perfect; impeccable, faultless in beliefs and practice; maximum, utter” (Ephesians 1-3; cf. 3:19).

When? when the Lord brings you to the place of recognizing who you are in Christ: the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.14 I have been crucified with Christ, Paul described God’s salvation, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. (But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.15) So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me,16 on the cross, yes, but beyond the cross and forever (εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα).

As Jesus prayed to his Father (John 17:20-23 ESV):

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe17 in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me [Table]. The glory that you have given me I18 have given to them, that they may be one even as we are19 one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so20 that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

The Greek word translated perfectly above was τετελειωμένοι, a middle/passive participle of the verb τελειόω: “to die; to be perfect; to be consecrated to; to be initiated into.”

In the past a statement like—“This use of the future is in accordance with the Hebrew idiom”21—might have hypnotized me into compliance with option (2).

[T]he future has an imperative force, and τέλειοι is limited by the preceding words = perfect in respect of love, i.e. ‘love your enemies as well as your neighbours,’ because your Father being perfect in respect of love does this.22

But Jesus continues to draw me to Himself. Since I began to understand that He (as a human child) learned what He taught (as an adult) from the Holy Spirit’s instruction in the Old Testament Scriptures, and that He expected the teacher of Israel to understand the Scriptures as He did, I’ve become much more critical of this kind of nonspecific assertion. And so I ask: Is the “Hebrew idiom” that seeks to transform a Greek verb in the indicative mood (e.g., a statement of fact) into an imperative (e.g., “a command or instruction given to the hearer, charging the hearer to carry out or perform a certain action”23) simply because it is in the future tense, a “Hebrew idiom” as God the Father and Holy Spirit intended and as Jesus understood it? Or is that “Hebrew idiom” the understanding of those in Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness [but] did not succeed in reaching that law? [Table]. Why? [Why did they not succeed in reaching that law?] Paul asked rhetorically, and then answered: Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works [Table].24

A few words about the Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges Commentary seem to be in order. In the introduction to Matthew’s Gospel the Preface by the General Editor states: “THE General Editor of The Cambridge Bible for Schools thinks it right to say that he does not hold himself responsible either for the interpretation of particular passages which the Editors of the several Books have adopted, or for any opinion on points of doctrine that they may have expressed.” In the Editor’s Preface which follows that of the General Editor—dated December 21, 1880—Arthur Carr listed the lexicons, grammars and various “works principally consulted,” and he acknowledged “several friends who have helped me with suggestions.” The Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges Commentary appears to be a collection of the works of individual authors who were described, and described themselves, as editors.

Since the translators of the ESV seem to have gone with option (2), and in lieu of an answer to my question about that “Hebrew idiom” from the late Mr. Carr, I’ll consider the ESV translations of the other occurrences of ἔσεσθε in the New Testament.

And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.25

The phrase you must not be was οὐκ ἔσεσθε in the critical text (NET parallel Greek and NA28) or ουκ εση in the received text (Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text). Both ἔσεσθε and εση are forms of the verb εἰμί in the future tense and indicative mood: “you will not be.” The former is a 2nd person plural verb; the latter is a 2nd person singular verb. Mr. Carr explained:

προσεύχησθε οὐκ ἔσεσθε, instead of the singular προσεύχῃ οὐκ ἔσῃ, the singular introduced to harmonise with context ὅταν ποίῃς Matthew 6:2, ὅταν προσεύχῃ Matthew 6:6.

Mr. Carr revealed his preference26 for the originality of the critical text by stating that “the singular [was] introduced [later] to harmonise with context.” (The factual content of this assertion is based presumably on the dating of extant manuscripts.) Likewise, the translators of the ESV reveal at least an affinity for the idea that “the future [tense] has an imperative force”27 by rendering “you will not be” (οὐκ ἔσεσθε or οὐκ ἔσῃ) you must not be.

Mr. Carr did not reiterate the two options he presented for understanding ἔσεσθε in Matthew 5:48. He did, however, present further evidence of his preference for the critical text as he hinted that ἔσεσθε created a rule:

5. προσεύχησθε [e.g., προσεύχησθε in Matthew 6:5 rather than the singular προσευχή]. Plural, because here the reference is to public worship. It is a rule for the Church.

So Mr. Carr’s claim, that Καὶ ὅταν προσεύχησθε οὐκ ἔσεσθε ὡς οἱ ὑποκριταί “is a rule for the Church,” seems supported by the ESV translators: And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites.28 The Greek words translated the hypocrites were οἱ ὑποκριταί, a form of ὑποκριτής: “hypocrite, pretender, impious person.” According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary online, however, these are all relatively late meanings of the Greek word:

A number of different things might pop to mind when we hear the word hypocrite. Maybe it’s a politician caught in a scandal; maybe it’s a religious leader doing something counter to their creed; maybe it’s a scheming and conniving character featured in soap operas. But it’s likely that the one thing that doesn’t come to mind is the theater.

The word hypocrite ultimately came into English from the Greek word hypokrites, which means “an actor” or “a stage player.” The Greek word itself is a compound noun: it’s made up of two Greek words that literally translate as “an interpreter from underneath.” That bizarre compound makes more sense when you know that the actors in ancient Greek theater wore large masks to mark which character they were playing, and so they interpreted the story from underneath their masks.

The Greek word took on an extended meaning to refer to any person who was wearing a figurative mask and pretending to be someone or something they were not. This sense was taken into medieval French and then into English, where it showed up with its earlier spelling, ypocrite, in 13th-century religious texts to refer to someone who pretends to be morally good or pious in order to deceive others. (Hypocrite gained its initial h- by the 16th century.)

It took a surprisingly long time for hypocrite to gain its more general meaning that we use today: “a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.” Our first citations for this use are from the early 1700s, nearly 500 years after hypocrite first stepped onto English’s stage.

Strong’s Concordance still referenced the original meaning: “lit: a stage-player.” But even Strong’s offered meanings for this word that probably didn’t exist for a thousand or more years from the time Jesus spoke, or Matthew recorded, it. Be that as it may, translating an indicative verb ἔσεσθε as if it were an imperative has a dulling effect on Jesus’ commands (Matthew 6:6 ESV):

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you [Table].

Here, the Greek word translated go into actually is a verb in the imperative mood: εἴσελθε, a form of εἰσέρχομαι. It is completely acceptable to translate εἴσελθε go into; it still means you must go into: “a command or instruction given to the hearer, charging the hearer to carry out or perform a certain action”29 Contrasted to you must not be like the hypocrites, however, go into may not quite convey how dramatic a gesture Jesus commanded. “When you pray, you must go into” (not the synagogue of actors nor street corners where actors pray, but into) your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.

The Greek word translated will reward in the next clause was ἀποδώσει, a form of ἀποδίδωμι in the future tense and indicative mood, another word like ἔσεσθε, though not translated, “And your Father who sees in secret must reward you.” Neither did Mr. Carr offer “must reward” as another option to will reward. He was more preoccupied with other matters:

ταμεῖον has high authority (אBDE) for ταμιεῖον; cp. the late form ὑγεία for ὑγίεια.

6. ταμιεῖον. A private oratory or place of prayer. These were usually in the upper part of the house; in classical Greek ‘storehouse’ or ‘treasury’, the meaning of the word Luke 12:24. See Matthew 24:26.

Πρόσευξαι τῷ πατρί σου τῷ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ. Christ was the first to enjoin clearly secret and silent prayer. Certainly to pray aloud and in public appears to have been the Jewish practice (see however 1 Samuel 1:13); it is still the practice with the heathen and Mahommedans. The Roman looked with suspicion on private prayer: ‘quod scire hominem nolunt deo narrant’30 (Seneca). Cp. Hor. Ep. I. 16. 59–62, where see Macleane’s note. Cp. also Soph. Electra 638, where Clytemnestra apologises for offering up a secret prayer.31

Here, again, I favor option (1), to treat the indicative mood like the indicative mood, a statement of fact, a promise to Jesus’ hearers/followers. It is true in their near future that Jesus’ hearers/followers will not be like the actors who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others,32 because Jesus’ hearers/followers will be actors who obey his commands instead: [you must] go into your room and shut the door and [you must] pray to your Father who is in secret.33 And Jesus’ promise will be true in their not too distant future because his hearers/followers will cease to be actors, portraying a certain character by obeying rules, to actually be those who are joined to the Lord [and become] one spirit with him.34

They will be crucified with Christ. It [will] no longer [be they] who live, but Christ who lives in [them]. And the life [they will then] live in the flesh [they will] live by faith in the Son of God, who loved [them] and gave himself for [them]. [They will] not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.35 They will be those who do what is true [who come] to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that [their] works have been carried out in God.36 They will be those who are released from the law, having died to that which held [them] captive, so that [they] serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.37

(This prompts me to wonder how a “Church” governed by “a rule”—you must not be like the hypocrites—relates to the ἐκκλησία of God in Jesus Christ. It sounds as if this “Church,” rather than being free to serve in the new way of the Spirit, is consigned instead to serve in the old way of [a new] written code.)

I’ve lumped the next four occurrences of ἔσεσθε together because of their similarities, but none was translated as an imperative in the ESV (Matthew 10:21, 22; 24:9; Mark 13:13; Luke 21:17).

Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be (ἔσεσθε) hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be (ἔσεσθε) hated by all nations for my name’s sake.

And you will be (ἔσεσθε) hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

You will be (ἔσεσθε) hated by all for my name’s sake.

The only author of the Cambridge Commentary to mention ἔσεσθε specifically in his notes on these verses was Alfred Plummer, Volume 3, in his comments to Mark 13:13.

καὶ ἔσεσθε μισούμενοι. Verbatim the same in all three. The analytical fut. marks the hatred as a process continually going on…

I might ask whether the continuity of this hatred owes more to the present participle μισούμενοι, a form of μισέω in the middle/passive voice: “to hate, despise, detest (esp. to persecute); to strongly dislike; to refuse to have any further interest in.” Surely, the breadth of meaning of μισούμενοι lends credence to the factual content of Jesus’ statement (ἔσεσθε) in the indicative mood well into any humanly foreseeable future. At any rate, Mr. Plummer asserted no “imperative force” for the future tense here: “you must be hated.”

Jesus’ promise that his hearers/followers will be sons of God follows (Luke 6:35 ESV):

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be (ἔσεσθε) sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil [Table].

Though I may be tempted in isolation like this to think that Jesus held up my works—loving my enemies, doing good, lending, expecting nothing in return—as the cause which effected my becoming a son of the Most High, the rest of Scripture and my own life assure me that I am one of the ungrateful and evil people who has benefited from his kindness.

Here, again, I understand the truth of ἔσεσθε in Jesus’ hearers’/followers’ near future as a demonstration of faith. As they put on the character of God like actors obeying Jesus’ commands, He receives their act as faith in his word. And in their not too distant future—after Jesus’ death, resurrection, ascension and the giving of his Holy Spirit—their reward will be (ἔσται, a singular form of εἰμί in the future tense and indicative mood) great: They will be born from above, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.38 And they will love with his love, do good by his goodness, be kind through his kindness, for the fruit [result] of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law [Table].39

F. W. Farrar, the author of Volume 4 of the Cambridge Commentary didn’t mention an imperative option for ἔσεσθε (or any other verb in the future tense and indicative mood) here (e.g., “you must be sons of the most high,” or “your reward must be great”). He simply reiterated the phrase in Greek with an instruction to compare it to Sirach.

Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Sirach 4:10 (Elpenor Septuagint)

ἔσεσθε υἱοὶ ὑψίστου. Comp. Sir 4:10.

ἔσῃ ὡς υἱὸς ῾Υψίστου

Luke 6:35 (ESV)

Sirach 4:10 (English Elpenor)

you will be sons of the Most High

shalt thou be as the son of the most High

Aside from the differences of number, the most notable difference is the word ὡς in Sirach: “Deliver him that suffereth wrong from the hand of the oppressor; and be not fainthearted when thou sittest in judgment. Be as a father unto the fatherless, and instead of an husband unto their mother: so shalt thou be as [ὡς] the son of the most High, and he shall love thee more than thy mother doth.”40 This is the work of an actor. By doing xyz the actor becomes as or like the character he or she portrays.

But the Son of the Most High said: love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.41 Here, again, the works are those of an actor until the promise is fulfilled, but the promise—you will be (ἔσεσθε) sons of the Most High—is not something an actor’s works can achieve. The actor’s works are received by the Most High as a demonstration of the actor’s faith in the Son of the Most High. The fulfillment of the promise—you will be (ἔσεσθε) sons of the Most High—is the work of God. As Jesus prayed: that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.42

The next occurrence is a direct reference to the freedom in Christ which is the overarching theme of these essays (John 8:36 ESV):

So if the Son sets you free, you will be (ἔσεσθε) free indeed.

Alfred Plummer, the author of Volume 5 of the Cambridge Commentary asserted no “imperative force” to the future tense in John 8:36: “you must be free indeed.” He made no direct reference to ἔσεσθε at all here:

ἐὰν οὖν υἱός. As before, any son is meant. ‘If the son emancipates you, your freedom is secured; for he is always on the spot to see that the emancipation is carried out.’ The statement is general, but with special reference to the Son of God, who frees men by granting them a share in His Sonship. If they will abide in His word (John 8:31), He will abide in them (John 6:56), and will take care that the bondage from which He has freed them is not thrust upon them again.

This insight seems particularly interesting in the light of For our freedom Christ has us set free; therefore you stand firm and cannot entangle yourselves in a yoke of slavery again.43 Mr. Plummer continued by highlighting the adverb ὄντως (ESV: indeed):

ὄντως. Here only in S. John: comp. Luke 23:47; Luke 24:34; 1 Timothy 5:3; 1 Timothy 5:5; 1 Timothy 5:16. It expresses reality as opposed to appearance; ἀληθῶς (John 8:31; John 4:42; John 6:14; John 7:40) implies that this reality is known.44

The next occurrence of ἔσεσθε is found in Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit’s power to perform the works of God through those who are one spirit with Him (Acts 1:8 ESV).

But you will receive45 power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be (ἔσεσθε) my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth [Table].

The Greek word translated you will receive was λήμψεσθε, a form of the verb λαμβάνω in the future tense and indicative mood, but J. R. Lumby, the author of Volume 6 of the Cambridge Commentary, didn’t offer an option (2) for interpreting either λήμψεσθε or ἔσεσθε in the imperative mood (e.g., “you must receive,” or “you must be”) because “the future has an imperative force.”46

The next occurrence of ἔσεσθε is found in Paul’s instruction about speech (1 Corinthians 14:9 ESV):

So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be (ἔσεσθε) speaking into the air.

The note addressing ἔσεσθε by J. J. Lias in Volume 8 of the Cambridge Commentary reads:

ἔσεσθελαλοῦντες. Not precisely equivalent to λαλήσετε. The condition of the persons rather than the nature of the action is indicated, ‘Ye shall be as men who are speaking into (or unto) the air.’

Frankly, the “condition of the persons” is a more interesting insight to consider in Matthew 5:48 and 6:5 than transforming “a statement of fact” into “a command or instruction given to the hearer, charging the hearer to carry out or perform a certain action”47 For our freedom Christ has us set free; therefore you stand firm and cannot entangle yourselves in a yoke of slavery again.48

The next occurrence of ἔσεσθε is in Paul’s paraphrase of some Old Testament promises (2 Corinthians 6:18 ESV).

and I will be a father to you, and you shall be (ἔσεσθε) sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.

Some tables comparing the Greek of Paul’s paraphrase to that of the Septuagint can be found in Christianity, Part 2. The Greek word translated I will be was ἔσομαι, a 1st person singular form of the verb εἰμί. Like ἔσεσθε, ἔσομαι is in the future tense and indicative mood. Here again, Alfred Plummer, the author of Volume 9 of the Cambridge Commentary, didn’t offer an option (2) for interpreting either ἔσομαι or ἔσεσθε in the imperative mood (e.g., “I must be,” or “you must be”). Mr. Plummer did offer a plausible explanation for Paul’s addition to the Old Testament text: καὶ θυγατέρας, and daughters (ESV).

The recognition of daughters of God as well as sons of God is found in Isaiah 43:6 : but it was the Gospel which first raised woman to her true position in God’s family. At Corinth, where the degradation of women in the name of religion was so conspicuous, it might be specially necessary to point out that women are God’s daughters. Comp. Acts 2:17-18 from Joel 2:28.

The final occurrence of ἔσεσθε is found in Peter’s quotation from Leviticus (1 Peter 1:16 ESV):

since it is written, “You shall be49 (ἔσεσθε) holy, for I am holy.”

The received text (Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text) had γενεσθε (KJV: Be ye) here (rather than ἔσεσθε), a form of the verb γίνομαι in the 2nd aorist tense and imperative mood: “a command or instruction given to the hearer, charging the hearer to carry out or perform a certain action.” G. W. Blenkin, the author of Volume 18 of the Cambridge Commentary, favoring apparently the critical text even as he retained the flavor of the received text, wrote:

Generally in the N.T. the title ἅγιος describes the Christian’s privilege, as one whom God has “set apart” for Himself, rather than the Christian’s character. But such consecration to God demands a corresponding character, and here St Peter emphasizes that demand by quoting the standard laid down in the “Law of Holiness,” “Ye shall be holy, for I am holy,” Leviticus 11:44-45; Leviticus 19:2. In the former passage the words are connected with things which were to be regarded as clean or unclean, but in the latter they are connected with various moral laws.

I’ve quoted some English translations of these verses from Leviticus from both the Hebrew of the Masoretic text and the Greek of the Septuagint in three tables below.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Leviticus 11:44 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 11:44 (NET)

Leviticus 11:44 (NETS)

Leviticus 11:44 (English Elpenor)

For I am HaShem your G-d; sanctify yourselves therefore (וְהִתְקַדִּשְׁתֶּם֙), and be ye (וִֽהְיִיתֶ֣ם) holy (קְדשִׁ֔ים); for I am holy; neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of swarming thing that moveth upon the earth.

for I am the Lord your God, and you are to sanctify yourselves (qāḏaš, והתקדשתם) and be (hāyâ, והייתם) holy (qāḏôš, קדשים) because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any of the swarming things that creep on the ground,

For it is I who am the Lord your God, and you shall be sanctified (καὶ ἁγιασθήσεσθε), and you shall be holy (καὶ ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε), for I am holy, I the Lord your God. And you shall not defile your souls with any of the creeping things that stir on the earth.

For I am the Lord your God; and ye shall be sanctified (καὶ ἁγιασθήσεσθε), and ye shall be holy (καὶ ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε), because I the Lord your God am holy; and ye shall not defile your souls with any of the reptiles creeping upon the earth.

The Hebrew word וְהִתְקַדִּשְׁתֶּם֙ (qāḏaš) was translated sanctify yourselves therefore (Tanakh), and you are to sanctify yourselves (NET) and, Consecrate yourselves therefore (ESV) from the Masoretic text. The Tanakh on chabad.org rendered it and you shall sanctify yourselves, which is interesting since it captures some sense of promise. The rabbis who translated the Septuagint chose καὶ ἁγιασθήσεσθε, a passive form of ἁγιάζω in the future tense and indicative mood, a promise to you from the Lord your God: and you shall be sanctified (NETS), and ye shall be sanctified (English Elpenor).

The Hebrew וִֽהְיִיתֶ֣ם (hāyâ) followed by קְדשִׁ֔ים (qāḏôš) was translated and be ye holy (Tanakh), and be holy (NET, ESV) from the Masoretic text, the result apparently of sanctifying oneself. In the Septuagint, however, this was clearly another promise to you from the Lord your God: καὶ ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε, and you shall be holy (NETS), and ye shall be holy (English Elpenor).

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Leviticus 11:45 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 11:45 (NET)

Leviticus 11:45 (NETS)

Leviticus 11:45 (English Elpenor)

For I am HaShem that brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your G-d; ye shall therefore be (וִֽהְיִיתֶ֣ם) holy (קְדשִׁ֔ים), for I am holy.

for I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God, and you are to be (hāyâ, והייתם) holy (qāḏôš, קדשים) because I am holy.

For it is I who am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; you shall be holy (καὶ ἔσεσθε ἅγιοι), for I am holy, I, the Lord.

For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God; and ye shall be holy (καὶ ἔσεσθε ἅγιοι), for I the Lord am holy.

This time, the Hebrew, וִֽהְיִיתֶ֣ם (hāyâ) followed by קְדשִׁ֔ים (qāḏôš), was translated ye shall therefore be holy (Tanakh), You shall therefore be holy (ESV) from the Masoretic text, wafting a scent of promise, rather than the more consistently imperative and you are to be holy (NET). But again, in the Septuagint καὶ ἔσεσθε ἅγιοι, you shall be holy (NETS) and ye shall be holy (English Elpenor), is unequivocally a promise to you from the Lord your God, the result of his own holiness.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Leviticus 19:2 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 19:2 (NET)

Leviticus 19:2 (NETS)

Leviticus 19:2 (English Elpenor)

Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them: Ye shall be (תִּֽהְי֑וּ) holy (קְדשִׁ֣ים); for I HaShem your G-d am holy.

“Speak to the whole congregation of the Israelites and tell them, ‘You must be (hāyâ, תהיו) holy (qāḏôš, קדשים) because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

Speak to the congregation of the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them; You shall be holy (ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε), for I am holy, the Lord your God.

Speak to the congregation of the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Ye shall be holy (ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε); for I the Lord your God [am] holy.

Here the Hebrew of the Masoretic text, קְדשִׁ֣ים (qāḏôš) followed by תִּֽהְי֑וּ (hāyâ), was translated as a promise, Ye shall be holy (Tanakh), You shall be holy (ESV), except for You must be holy (NET). And again, the Greek translation of the Septuagint was ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε, You shall be holy (NETS), Ye shall be holy (English Elpenor), a promise to you from the Lord your God.

A note (60) in the NET on Matthew 5:48—So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect—reads:

This remark echoes OT statements in Lev 11:44-45 and Lev 19:2: “you must be holy as I am holy.”

I’ll continue to quote the EXP8 translation of Matthew 5:48—You will be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect [Table]—Arthur Carr’s contention that “the future has an imperative force”50 notwithstanding. The mere possibility that περιπατεῖτε in the phrase πνεύματι περιπατεῖτε was intended to be understood as a statement of fact (“by the spirit you walk”) rather than as “a command or instruction…charging the hearer to carry out or perform a certain action”51 (“by the spirit you must walk”) has revolutionized my walk these past two months. Everyday since, that little faith has made it so much easier to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.52

What marvelous wonders will faith in Jesus’ promise of perfection bring?

A table of the occurrences of ἔσεσθε in the ESV and the corresponding entries from the Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges Commentary follows.

Examples of ἔσεσθε in the New Testament

Reference

ESV

Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Matthew 5:48, Arthur Carr

You therefore must be (ἔσεσθε) perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect [Table].

ἔσεσθε τέλειοι. Lit. ‘ye shall be perfect.’ Either (1) in reference to a future state, ‘if ye have this true love or charity ye shall be perfect hereafter’; or (2) the future has an imperative force, and τέλειοι is limited by the preceding words = perfect in respect of love, i.e. ‘love your enemies as well as your neighbours,’ because your Father being perfect in respect of love does this. This use of the future is in accordance with the Hebrew idiom.

Matthew 6:5, Arthur Carr

And when you pray, you must not be (οὐκ ἔσεσθε or ουκ εση) like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward [Table].

προσεύχησθε οὐκ ἔσεσθε, instead of the singular προσεύχῃ οὐκ ἔσῃ, the singular introduced to harmonise with context ὅταν ποίῃς Matthew 6:2, ὅταν προσεύχῃ Matthew 6:6.

5. προσεύχησθε. Plural, because here the reference is to public worship. It is a rule for the Church.

Matthew 10:21, 22, Arthur Carr

Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be (ἔσεσθε) hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

ὁ δὲ ὑπομείνας εἰς τέλος κ.τ.λ. The parallel expression Luke 21:19 is made clear by this verse, ἐν τῇ ὑπομονῇ ὑμῶν κτήσεσθε τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν, ‘by your patience ye shall win for yourselves your souls,’ i.e. win your true life by enduring to the end. Comp. Romans 5:3-5, καυχῶμεθα ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσιν εἰδότες ὅτι η θλίψις ὑπομονὴν κατεργάζεται ἡ δὲ ὑπομονὴ δοκιμὴν, ἡ δὲ δοκιμὴ ἐλπίδα ἡ δὲ ἐλπὶς οὐ καταισχύνει.

σωθήσεται. ‘Shall be saved,’ shall win σωτηρία. In classical Greek σωτηρία means, ‘safety,’ ‘welfare,’ i.e. life secure from evil, cp. Luke 1:71; in the Christian sense it is a life of secured happiness, hence ‘salvation’ is the highest sense. So σώζεσθαι = ‘to live securely’ with an additional notion of rescue from surrounding danger, οἱ σωζόμενοι means those who are enjoying this life of blessed security.

Matthew 24:9, Arthur Carr

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be (ἔσεσθε) hated by all nations for my name’s sake.

θλίψιν. Rare in the classics, the figurative sense is late in the noun but appears in the verb, Aristoph. Vespæ 1289 and elsewhere. In Philippians 1:17 the literal ‘pressure’ of the chain is thought of: θλίψιν ἐγείρειν, ‘to make my chain gall me’ (Bp. Lightfoot). θλίψις is preferable to θλίψις, though the latter is the Attic accentuation. The tendency of later Greek was to shorten the penultimate. See Winer, pp. 56, 57 and Dr Moulton’s note.

Mark 13:13, Alfred Plummer

And you will be (ἔσεσθε) hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

καὶ ἔσεσθε μισούμενοι. Verbatim the same in all three. The analytical fut. marks the hatred as a process continually going on; cf. Mark 13:25. It will have its compensations, τὸ γὰρ ἕνεκεν αὐτοῦ μισεῖσθαι, ἱκανόν ἐστι πάσας ἐπικουφίσαι τὰς συμφοράς (Theoph.). On the causes of this universal hatred of Christians see Plummer, Church of the Early Fathers, pp. 150 f.

ὁ δὲ ὑπομείνας εἰς τέλος, οὗτος σωθήσεται. Mt. has the same, but Lk. interprets, “In your endurance ye shall win your souls.” Not εἰς τὸ τέλος, the end spoken of in Mark 13:7, but εἰς τέλος, “finally” or “to the uttermost,” which is better here, as in 1 Thessalonians 2:16. See on John 13:1 and Ryle and James on Ps. Song of Solomon 1:1. In the Epp. and in Rev. ὑπομονή is freq. as a special virtue of Christians, and it cannot be won without affliction (Romans 5:3). It means courageous endurance without despondency. See Lightfoot on Colossians 1:11; Trench, Syn. § 53. With this use of οὗτος comp. that in Mark 13:11; Mark 6:16; Mark 12:10; that of ἐκεῖνος in Mark 7:20 is similar. For σωθήσεται in the spiritual sense see Mark 8:35; Mark 10:36.

Luke 6:35, F. W. Farrar

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be (ἔσεσθε) sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil [Table].

μηδὲν� ABD. μηδένα א.

πολύς. A adds the explanatory gloss ἐν οὐρανῷ.

35. πλήν. ‘However.’ This conjunction is used by St Luke much more frequently than by the other N. T. writers. From this passage we see that ‘interest’ and ‘usury’ are not here contemplated at all.

μηδὲν . Vulg[138] nihil inde sperantes. See Psalms 15:5, with the Rabbinic comment that God counts it as universal obedience if any one lends without interest. The words may also mean ‘despairing in nothing;’ or (if μηδέν’ be read) ‘driving no one to despair.’ The verb only occurs again as the varia lectio of D in Ephesians 4:19. It is a late Greek word and generally means ‘to despair.’ Hence our R. V[139] renders it “never despairing” with the marginal reading “despairing of no man” (μηδέν’). Comp. Romans 4:18, παρ’ ἐλπίδα ἐπ’ ἐλπίδι ἐπίστευσεν.

[138] Vulg. Vulgate.

[139] R. V. Revised Version.

ἔσεσθε υἱοὶ ὑψίστου. Comp. Sir 4:10.

χρηστός ἐστιν ἐπὶ τοὺς . See the exquisite addition in Matthew 5:45.

Luke 21:17, F. W. Farrar

You will be (ἔσεσθε) hated by all for my name’s sake.

ἐπηρώτησαν. The questioners were Peter and James and John and Andrew, Mark 13:3.

πότε … καὶ τί τὸ σημεῖον; Our Lord leaves the former question unanswered (see on Luke 17:20) and only deals with the latter. This was His gentle method of discouraging irrelevant or inadmissible questions (comp. Luke 13:23-24).

John 8:36, Alfred Plummer

So if the Son sets you free, you will be (ἔσεσθε) free indeed.

ἐὰν οὖν ὁ υἱός. As before, any son is meant. ‘If the son emancipates you, your freedom is secured; for he is always on the spot to see that the emancipation is carried out.’ The statement is general, but with special reference to the Son of God, who frees men by granting them a share in His Sonship. If they will abide in His word (John 8:31), He will abide in them (John 6:56), and will take care that the bondage from which He has freed them is not thrust upon them again.

ὄντως. Here only in S. John: comp. Luke 23:47; Luke 24:34; 1 Timothy 5:3; 1 Timothy 5:5; 1 Timothy 5:16. It expresses reality as opposed to appearance; ἀληθῶς (John 8:31; John 4:42; John 6:14; John 7:40) implies that this reality is known.

Acts 1:8, J. R. Lumby

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be (ἔσεσθε) my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth [Table].

μου. The Text. recept. is the result of a conformity to the more common construction.

8. δύναμιν. The Vulgate renders ‘virtutem,’ and makes it govern the words in the genitive which immediately follow, ‘Ye shall receive the influence of the Holy Spirit which shall come upon you.’ It is better, with A.V., to render the genitive as genitive absolute, because of the participle included in the expression. The phrases δύναμις τοῦ πνεύματος and δ. πνεύματος ἁγίου do occur (Luke 4:14; Romans 15:13; Romans 15:19), but not constructed as in this verse. The effect of this gift was to be something different from the profitless speculations to which they had just desired an answer, even ‘a mouth and wisdom which their adversaries could neither gainsay nor resist’ (Luke 21:15).

Ἱερουσαλὴμ κ.τ.λ. The order here appointed for the preaching of the Gospel was exactly observed. At Jerusalem (Acts 2-7), Judæa and Samaria (Acts 8:1), and after the conversion of Saul, in all parts of Asia, Greece, and last of all at Rome.

ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς. The precise expression occurs several times in the LXX. of Isaiah (Isaiah 48:20; Isaiah 49:6; Isaiah 62:11). See also Acts 13:47.

1 Corinthians 14:9, J. J. Lias

So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be (ἔσεσθε) speaking into the air.

εὔσημον. Related to σῆμα, σημεῖον. Literally, well marked, i.e. intelligible.

ἔσεσθε … λαλοῦντες. Not precisely equivalent to λαλήσετε. The condition of the persons rather than the nature of the action is indicated, ‘Ye shall be as men who are speaking into (or unto) the air.’

2 Corinthians 6:18, Alfred Plummer

and I will be a father to you, and you shall be (ἔσεσθε) sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.

18. This again seems to be a mosaic of several passages; 2 Samuel 7:14; Isaiah 43:6; 2 Samuel 7:8 : And I will be to you a Father, and ye shall be to Me sons and daughters. For ἔσομαι εἰς = γενήσομαι comp. Ephesians 5:31; Hebrews 8:10 : but the εἰς may = ‘to serve as, for.’ This is probably a Hebraism: comp. Acts 7:21; Acts 13:22; Acts 13:47. Simcox, Language of the N.T., pp. 80, 143. The recognition of daughters of God as well as sons of God is found in Isaiah 43:6 : but it was the Gospel which first raised woman to her true position in God’s family. At Corinth, where the degradation of women in the name of religion was so conspicuous, it might be specially necessary to point out that women are God’s daughters. Comp. Acts 2:17-18 from Joel 2:28.

λέγει Κύριος Παντοκράτωρ. This represents the O.T. formula, ‘saith the Lord of Hosts’ (2 Samuel 7:8; 1 Chronicles 17:7; Haggai 1:2; Haggai 1:5-7; Haggai 1:9; Haggai 1:14, &c.). In the O.T. παντοκράτωρ is frequent; but in the N.T. it is found only here and in Revelation (2 Corinthians 1:8; 2 Corinthians 4:8; 2 Corinthians 11:17, &c.). Westcott (The Historic Faith, pp. 36, 37) points out that παντοκράτωρ is ‘All-sovereign’ rather than ‘Almighty’; the title is descriptive of exercised dominion rather than of abstract power. Scripture speaks of powers of evil as ‘world-sovereign’ (Ephesians 6:12), but it proclaims God as ‘All-sovereign.’ The All-sovereign One can, the Lord will, fulfil his promises, whatever men may do. Si vos ejecerint, si vos parentes abdicaverint infideles, Me patrem habebitis sempiternum (Primasius). See Charles on the Book of Jubilees i. 24.

1 Peter 1:16, G. W. Blenkin

since it is written, “You shall be (ἔσεσθε) holy, for I am holy.”

ατὰ τὸν καλέσαντα ὑμᾶς ἅγιον (cf. Ephesians 1:4; Ephesians 4:1; Ephesians 5:1, etc.). After the model of Him that called you, Who is holy. Here we have the true model (εἰκών) to which men’s lives are to be conformed (σύμμορφοι, cf. Romans 8:29; Colossians 3:10). The original purpose of God in creation was that man made in His image should grow into His likeness. “By divers portions and in divers manners” culminating in the Incarnation the divine likeness has been gradually revealed, and those who are “called” into covenanted relationship with God are bidden to be “imitators of God as beloved children,” Ephesians 5:1.

ἅγιος, like the Hebrew קָדו̇שׁ, meant originally “set apart,” distinct from ordinary things. It was at first applied to persons (e.g. Exodus 22:31), places (Exodus 3:5, etc.) or things (1 Kings 7:51) which were “set apart” for religious use, regarded as being connected with the presence or service of God. It is not easy to decide how the same word came also to be applied to God Himself. Some would suggest that it was because God was regarded as “set apart,” separated from what was common or unclean. Others think that as things set apart for God were required to be without stain or blemish, the word ἅγιος applied to them acquired the meaning of “pure,” “unblemished,” and, as applied to persons, moral purity as well as physical would gradually be understood as being necessary. In this sense (the idea of “set apart” being lost sight of) the word might be applied to God. And in proportion as the conception of God became elevated and purified so the idea of (God’s Holiness would acquire a more awful purity (e.g. Isaiah 6:3). But in either case, when once the word ἅγιος had come to be applied to God, the idea of what “holiness” must mean in God would react upon all the lower applications of the word to men. Those who claimed a special relationship to God would be understood as requiring to have a moral character conformable to that of God.

Generally in the N.T. the title ἅγιος describes the Christian’s privilege, as one whom God has “set apart” for Himself, rather than the Christian’s character. But such consecration to God demands a corresponding character, and here St Peter emphasizes that demand by quoting the standard laid down in the “Law of Holiness,” “Ye shall be holy, for I am holy,” Leviticus 11:44-45; Leviticus 19:2. In the former passage the words are connected with things which were to be regarded as clean or unclean, but in the latter they are connected with various moral laws.

γενήθητε. Shew yourselves to be, prove yourselves worthy of the title which you claim in every detail of your dealings with other men. ἀναστροφή = your converse or intercourse with those around you.

According to the note in the Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges Commentary Peter referenced Leviticus 11:44, 45 and Leviticus 19:2, and according to a note (34) in the NET, Peter quoted from Leviticus 19:2 in 1 Peter 1:16. Tables comparing the Greek of that quotation with that of the Septuagint follow.

1 Peter 1:16b (NET Parallel Greek)

Leviticus 11:44b (Septuagint BLB) Table

Leviticus 11:44b (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε, ὅτι ἐγὼ ἅγιος [εἰμι]

ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε ὅτι ἅγιός εἰμι

ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε, ὅτι ἅγιός εἰμι

1 Peter 1:16b (NET)

Leviticus 11:44b (NETS)

Leviticus 11:44b (English Elpenor)

“You shall be holy, because I am holy.”

you shall be holy, for I am holy

ye shall be holy, because I…am holy

1 Peter 1:16b (NET Parallel Greek)

Leviticus 11:45b (Septuagint BLB) Table

Leviticus 11:45b (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε, ὅτι ἐγὼ ἅγιος [εἰμι]

ἔσεσθε ἅγιοι ὅτι ἅγιός εἰμι

ἔσεσθε ἅγιοι, ὅτι ἅγιός εἰμι

1 Peter 1:16b (NET)

Leviticus 11:45b (NETS)

Leviticus 11:45b (English Elpenor)

“You shall be holy, because I am holy.”

you shall be holy, for I am holy

ye shall be holy, for I…am holy

1 Peter 1:16b (NET Parallel Greek)

Leviticus 19:2b (Septuagint BLB) Table

Leviticus 19:2b (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε, ὅτι ἐγὼ ἅγιος [εἰμι]

ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε ὅτι ἐγὼ ἅγιος

ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε, ὅτι ἅγιος ἐγὼ

1 Peter 1:16b (NET)

Leviticus 19:2b (NETS)

Leviticus 19:2b (English Elpenor)

“You shall be holy, because I am holy.”

You shall be holy, for I am holy

Ye shall be holy; for I…[am] holy

Tables comparing Leviticus 11:44; 11:45 and 19:2 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Leviticus 11:44; 11:45 and 19:2 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing 1 Peter 1:16; John 17:20 and 17:22, 23 in the KJV and NET follow.

Leviticus 11:44 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 11:44 (KJV)

Leviticus 11:44 (NET)

For I am HaShem your G-d; sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am holy; neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of swarming thing that moveth upon the earth. For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. for I am the Lord your God, and you are to sanctify yourselves and be holy because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any of the swarming things that creep on the ground,

Leviticus 11:44 (Septuagint BLB)

Leviticus 11:44 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν καὶ ἁγιασθήσεσθε καὶ ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε ὅτι ἅγιός εἰμι ἐγὼ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν καὶ οὐ μιανεῖτε τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἑρπετοῖς τοῖς κινουμένοις ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ὑμῶν, καὶ ἁγιασθήσεσθε καὶ ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε, ὅτι ἅγιός εἰμι ἐγὼ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ὑμῶν, καὶ οὐ μιανεῖτε τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἑρπετοῖς τοῖς κινουμένοις ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς

Leviticus 11:44 (NETS)

Leviticus 11:44 (English Elpenor)

For it is I who am the Lord your God, and you shall be sanctified, and you shall be holy, for I am holy, I the Lord your God. And you shall not defile your souls with any of the creeping things that stir on the earth. For I am the Lord your God; and ye shall be sanctified, and ye shall be holy, because I the Lord your God am holy; and ye shall not defile your souls with any of the reptiles creeping upon the earth.

Leviticus 11:45 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 11:45 (KJV)

Leviticus 11:45 (NET)

For I am HaShem that brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your G-d; ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. for I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God, and you are to be holy because I am holy.

Leviticus 11:45 (Septuagint BLB)

Leviticus 11:45 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι κύριος ὁ ἀναγαγὼν ὑμᾶς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου εἶναι ὑμῶν θεός καὶ ἔσεσθε ἅγιοι ὅτι ἅγιός εἰμι ἐγὼ κύριος ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι Κύριος ὁ ἀναγαγὼν ὑμᾶς ἐκ τῆς Αἰγύπτου εἶναι ὑμῶν Θεός, καὶ ἔσεσθε ἅγιοι, ὅτι ἅγιός εἰμι ἐγὼ Κύριος

Leviticus 11:45 (NETS)

Leviticus 11:45 (English Elpenor)

For it is I who am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; you shall be holy, for I am holy, I, the Lord. For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God; and ye shall be holy, for I the Lord am holy.

Leviticus 19:2 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 19:2 (KJV)

Leviticus 19:2 (NET)

Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them: Ye shall be holy; for I HaShem your G-d am holy. Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy. “Speak to the whole congregation of the Israelites and tell them, ‘You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

Leviticus 19:2 (Septuagint BLB)

Leviticus 19:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)

λάλησον τῇ συναγωγῇ τῶν υἱῶν Ισραηλ καὶ ἐρεῖς πρὸς αὐτούς ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε ὅτι ἐγὼ ἅγιος κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν λάλησον τῇ συναγωγῇ τῶν υἱῶν ᾿Ισραὴλ καὶ ἐρεῖς πρὸς αὐτούς· ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε, ὅτι ἅγιος ἐγὼ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ὑμῶν

Leviticus 19:2 (NETS)

Leviticus 19:2 (English Elpenor)

Speak to the congregation of the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them; You shall be holy, for I am holy, the Lord your God. Speak to the congregation of the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Ye shall be holy; for I the Lord your God [am] holy.

1 Peter 1:16 (NET)

1 Peter 1:16 (KJV)

for it is written, “You shall be holy, because I am holy.” Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

1 Peter 1:16 (NET Parallel Greek)

1 Peter 1:16 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

1 Peter 1:16 (Byzantine Majority Text)

διότι γέγραπται [ὅτι] ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε, ὅτι ἐγὼ ἅγιος [εἰμι] διοτι γεγραπται αγιοι γενεσθε οτι εγω αγιος ειμι διοτι γεγραπται αγιοι γινεσθε οτι εγω αγιος ειμι

John 17:20 (NET)

John 17:20 (KJV)

“I am not praying only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony, Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

John 17:20 (NET Parallel Greek)

John 17:20 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

John 17:20 (Byzantine Majority Text)

Οὐ περὶ τούτων δὲ ἐρωτῶ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ τῶν πιστευόντων διὰ τοῦ λόγου αὐτῶν εἰς ἐμέ ου περι τουτων δε ερωτω μονον αλλα και περι των πιστευσοντων δια του λογου αυτων εις εμε ου περι τουτων δε ερωτω μονον αλλα και περι των πιστευοντων δια του λογου αυτων εις εμε

John 17:22, 23 (NET)

John 17:22, 23 (KJV)

The glory you gave to me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one— And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

John 17:22 (NET Parallel Greek)

John 17:22 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

John 17:22 (Byzantine Majority Text)

καγὼ τὴν δόξαν ἣν δέδωκας μοι δέδωκα αὐτοῖς, ἵνα ὦσιν ἓν καθὼς ἡμεῖς ἕν και εγω την δοξαν ην δεδωκας μοι δεδωκα αυτοις ινα ωσιν εν καθως ημεις εν εσμεν και εγω την δοξαν ην δεδωκας μοι δεδωκα αυτοις ινα ωσιν εν καθως ημεις εν εσμεν
I in them and you in me—that they may be completely one, so that the world will know that you sent me, and you have loved them just as you have loved me. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

John 17:23 (NET Parallel Greek)

John 17:23 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

John 17:23 (Byzantine Majority Text)

ἐγὼ ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ σὺ ἐν ἐμοί, ἵνα ὦσιν τετελειωμένοι εἰς ἕν, ἵνα γινώσκῃ ὁ κόσμος ὅτι σύ με ἀπέστειλας καὶ ἠγάπησας αὐτοὺς καθὼς ἐμὲ ἠγάπησας εγω εν αυτοις και συ εν εμοι ινα ωσιν τετελειωμενοι εις εν και ινα γινωσκη ο κοσμος οτι συ με απεστειλας και ηγαπησας αυτους καθως εμε ηγαπησας εγω εν αυτοις και συ εν εμοι ινα ωσιν τετελειωμενοι εις εν και ινα γινωσκη ο κοσμος οτι συ με απεστειλας και ηγαπησας αυτους καθως εμε ηγαπησας

1 Galatians 5:1a (EXP1) Table

2 John 14:16, 17a (ESV) Table

3 John 14:26 (ESV) Table

4 John 14:18 (ESV)

5 John 14:23b (ESV) Table

6 Galatians 5:1b (EXP1) Table

7 John 4:14b (ESV) Table

8 1 Corinthians 6:17 (ESV)

9 Some of my reasons are found in Exploration, Part 1, with more explanation in Exploration, Part 2.

10 Philippians 2:12b, 13 (ESV)

12 Galatians 5:22a (ESV)

13 Romans 13:10b (ESV)

14 Ephesians 4:24b (ESV)

15 1 Corinthians 6:17 (ESV)

16 Galatians 2:20 (NET)

17 The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text had πιστευόντων here, a participle of the verb πιστεύω in the present tense (NET: believe), where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had πιστευσοντων (KJV: shall believe) in the future tense.

19 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εσμεν, a 1st person plural form of the verb εἰμί here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

20 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the conjunction και (KJV: and) joining these clauses. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

22 Ibid.

24 Romans 9:31b, 32a (ESV)

25 Matthew 6:5 (ESV) Table

26 This preference for the critical text was stated explicitly in Matthew’s Introduction – On the Greek Text: “IN undertaking an edition of the Greek text of the New Testament with English notes for the use of Schools, the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press have not thought it desirable to reprint the text in common use*[1]. To have done this would have been to set aside all the materials that have since been accumulated towards the formation of a correct text, and to disregard the results of textual criticism in its application to MSS., Versions and Fathers.”

28 Matthew 6:5a (ESV) Table

30 From X. Seneca Says His Health to Lucilius [5], translated into English by Google: “But as I am wont to send a letter with some small gift, it is true what I found in Athenodorus: ‘Then know that you are free from all desires, when you have come to the point of asking nothing of the gods except what you can ask openly.’ For now, what madness is there in men! They whisper the most shameful vows to the gods; if anyone puts his ear to them, they will be silent, and what they do not wish a man to know they tell a god. See, therefore, that this cannot be prescribed healthily: live with men as if a god were to see, speak with a god as if men were to hear. Farewell.”

32 Matthew 6:5b (ESV) Table

33 Matthew 6:6b (ESV) Table

34 1 Corinthians 6:17b (ESV)

35 Galatians 2:20, 21 (ESV)

36 John 3:21 (ESV)

37 Romans 7:6 (ESV)

38 John 1:13b (ESV)

39 Galatians 5:22, 23 (ESV)

40 Sirach 4:9, 10 (English Elpenor)

41 Luke 6:35 (ESV) Table

42 John 17:22b, 23 (ESV)

43 Galatians 5:1 (EXP1) Table

45 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had λήμψεσθε here, a form of the verb λαμβάνω, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ληψεσθε. These appear to be alternate spellings for the same part of speech.

48 Galatians 5:1 (EXP1) Table

49 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἔσεσθε here, a form of the verb εἰμί in the future tense and indicative mood, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had γενεσθε (KJV: Be ye), a form of the verb γίνομαι in the 2nd aorist tense and imperative mood.

52 Ephesians 4:24 (ESV)

Romans, Part 68

This will conclude my consideration of Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer[1] as a description of love rather than as rules to obey.  I’ll continue with the aftermath of the war between Israel and Benjamin.

So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, האלהים) until evening, weeping loudly and uncontrollably.[2]  They had a foretaste of eternal life, not pie in the sky by and by nor tears without end but an amazing opportunity to know yehôvâh intimately.  The brotherhood had joined together to purge evil from Israel.  The Benjaminites joined together to withstand them.  The brotherhood prevailed, then they mourned the loss of so many of their brother Benjaminites.

They said, “Why, O Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) God (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהי) of Israel, has this happened in Israel?”[3]  They regretted (nâcham, וינחמו) what had happened to their brother Benjamin. They acknowledged their part in it, saying, Today we cut off an entire tribe from Israel![4]  The text acknowledged yehôvâh’s complicity: And the people grieved (nâcham, נחם) for Benjamin, because the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) had made a void in the tribes of Israel.[5]  But they missed their moment to know Him.  I know this because Phinehas didn’t preach on the text: Then the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) relented (nâcham, וינחם) over the evil (raʽ, הרעה [H7451]) that he had said he would do to his people.[6]

Israel missed this eternal moment (as I’ve missed my own so often) because they treated it, not as a glorious insight and revelation to be savored but, as a problem to be solved.  How can we find wives for those who are left?[7]  Why was that a problem?  The Israelites had taken an oath in Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will allow his daughter to marry a Benjaminite.”[8]   “After all, we took an oath in the Lord’s name,” the victorious brotherhood admitted, “not to give them our daughters as wives.”  So they asked, “Who from all the Israelite tribes did not assemble before the Lord at Mizpah?”[9]

The victorious brotherhood’s focus was not on eternal life, knowing yehôvâh, but on justifying themselves before yehôvâh: This is what the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) has commanded [Table]: If a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath of binding obligation on himself, he must not break his word, but must do whatever he has promised [Table].[10]  They had made two thoughtless oaths at Mizpah: They had made a solemn oath that whoever did not assemble before the Lord at Mizpah must certainly be executed.[11]  So from the beginning there was no real hope that the incident at Gibeah would be settled as a police matter: The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah,[12] but apparently did not attend.

And I, before I realized that I had the timing of events reversed, would have laid all that happened next on Jephthah.  I thought he was the brotherhood’s inspiration, a kind of butterfly effect, rather than someone overwhelmed by a massive wave of popular precedent.  That popular precedent might have become, if not the image of knowing yehôvâh, the image and meaning of obeying Him, if not for the precious words appended to its retelling: Each man did what he considered to be right.[13]   

Now it just so happened no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the gathering.  When they took roll call, they noticed none of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead were there.[14]  Jabesh Gilead was east of the Jordan River in the land that Phineas had insinuated might be tainted.  I’ve written elsewhere about the cost of acknowledging a thoughtless oath.  But the victorious brotherhood had “good” reason not to confess the thoughtless oath that “justified” exterminating the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead, namely, their other thoughtless oath not to give their daughters as wives to the surviving Benjaminites (Judges 21:10, 11a NET):

So the assembly sent 12,000 capable warriors against Jabesh Gilead.  They commanded them, “Go and kill with your swords the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead, including the women and little children (ṭaph, והטף; Septuagint: the translators seem to have edited out the part about killing children).  Do this: exterminate every male, as well as every woman who has had sexual relations with a male.  But spare the lives of any virgins.”

They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young girls (naʽărâh, נערה; Septuagint: νεάνιδας) who were virgins (bethûlâh, בתולה; Septuagint: παρθένους)…[15]  The Benjaminites returned at that time, and the Israelites gave to them the women they had spared from Jabesh Gilead.  But there were not enough to go around.[16]

So, they commanded the Benjaminites, “Go hide in the vineyards, and keep your eyes open.  When you see the daughters of Shiloh coming out to dance in the celebration, jump out from the vineyards.  Each one of you, catch yourself a wife from among the daughters of Shiloh and then go home to the land of Benjamin.[17]  The Benjaminites did as instructed.  They abducted two hundred of the dancing girls to be their wives.[18]  Then the brotherhood disbanded, after having become as great a menace (to more women) as the children of Belial they exterminated.

“There is no one righteous, not even one, Paul gathered the judgments of yehôvâh on the wicked and unbelieving scattered primarily throughout the Psalms of David (also Isaiah) and applied them to all, “there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God.  All have turned away, together they have become worthless; there is no one who shows kindness, not even one.”

“Their throats are open graves, they deceive with their tongues (See Septuagint comparison below), the poison of asps is under their lips.”

“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”

“Their feet are swift to shed blood, ruin and misery are in their paths, and the way of peace they have not known (See Septuagint comparison below).”

“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”[19]

How can I rejoice (χαίροντες, a form of χαίρω) in hope here?  And I don’t mean simply in the face of ancient history.  For all our laws, all our police and all our courts, our “justice” is ultimately as puerile as theirs was.  It seems more like a time to endure (ὑπομένοντες, a form of ὑπομένω) in suffering than to rejoice in hope, but that is my point.

The same love which endures (ὑπομένει, another form of ὑπομένω) all things,[20] does not rejoice (χαίρει, another form of χαίρω) in iniquity (ἀδικίᾳ, a form of ἀδικία), but rejoices (συγχαίρει, a form of συγχαίρω) in the truth (ἀληθείᾳ, a form of ἀλήθεια);[21] love is the true justice which does no wrong to a neighbor in the first place; it is the fulfillment of the law,[22] rather than some vain effort to stuff the toothpaste back in the tube after injustice (ἀδικίᾳ, a form of ἀδικία) has prevailed.  And this love without hypocrisy, The love unfeigned, is what I think Paul continued to describe: Rejoice in hope (ἐλπίδι, a form of ἐλπίς), endure (ὑπομένοντες, a form of ὑπομένω) in suffering (θλίψει, a form of θλίψις), persist in prayer.[23]

Now may the God of hope (ἐλπίδος, another form of ἐλπίς) fill (πληρώσαι, a form of πληρόω) you with all joy (χαρᾶς, a form of χαρά) and peace (εἰρήνης, a form of εἰρήνη) as you believe in him, Paul wrote his benediction to the Romans, so that you may abound in hope (ἐλπίδι, a form of ἐλπίς) by the power (δυνάμει, a form of δύναμις) of the Holy Spirit.[24]  And by his power and the continuous infusion of his joy (χαρὰ) and his peace (εἰρήνη) [not to mention the other aspects of the fruit of the Spirit[25]], the apostles, after they had been beaten, left the council rejoicing (χαίροντες, a form of χαίρω) because they had been considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name[26] (e.g., Ἰησοῦ, a form of Ἰησοῦς, understood as yehôvâh).

So is this χαρὰ from the Holy Spirit like some kind of drug that overcomes reality?  On the contrary, it is an aspect of the truth (ἀλήθεια) that overcomes the injustice (ἀδικίᾳ, a form of ἀδικία) that masquerades as reality.  Set them apart in the truth (ἀληθείᾳ, a form of ἀλήθεια), Jesus prayed to his Father, your word is truth (ἀλήθεια).[27]  We understand in some sense that we are not to focus on the manmade muck we see around us.  We are keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith instead.  For the joy (χαρᾶς, a form of χαρά) set out for him he endured (ὑπέμεινεν, another form of ὑπομένω) the cross[28]  And the one who endures (ὑπομείνας, another form of ὑπομένω) to the end (τέλος) will be saved.[29]

As I considered all this I read an article in MSN News online:[30]

An Islamic State Jihadist killed his mother in a public square in the Syrian city of Raqa who begged him to leave the organization, a monitor said Friday.  Ali Saqr, 20, had reported his mother, Lina, to IS authorities in Raqa because “she tried to persuade him to leave IS and flee the city,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.  Authorities subsequently arrested the woman and accused her of apostasy, the monitoring group said.  On Wednesday, she was shot to death by her son “in front of hundreds of people close to the mail service building in Raqa city,” the Observatory added.

Ali Saqr is a comtemporary example of Jephthah or any of the brotherhood who judged and condemned the Benjaminites in Gibeah.  He cannot go home to consider what he has done.  He has been judged and condemned by Superpowers who care nothing for him.  If the entry to hell is marked by the words—Abandon all hope, ye who enter here—then the entry to our synagogues and churches should read—yehôvâh relented over the evil that he had said he would do to his people—and the churches can add his most profound words—Follow Me!

Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice (καυχώμεθα, a form of καυχάομαι) in the hope (ἐλπίδι, a form of ἐλπίς) of God’s glory.  Not only this, but we also rejoice (καυχώμεθα, a form of καυχάομαι) in sufferings (θλίψεσιν, another form of θλίψις), knowing that suffering (θλῖψις, another form of θλίψις) produces endurance (ὑπομονὴν, a form of ὑπομονή), and endurance (ὑπομονὴ), character, and character, hope (ἐλπίδα, another form of ἐλπίς) .  And hope (ἐλπὶς) does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.[31]

“Repent,” Peter said, “and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.”  With many other words he testified and exhorted them saying, “Save yourselves from this perverse generation!”  So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added.  They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.[32]

It seems fitting to end this essay with Paul’s instruction to Timothy on prayer (1 Timothy 2:1-6 NET):

First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanks be offered on behalf of all people, even for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.  Such prayer for all is good and welcomed before God our Savior, since he wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.  For there is one God and one intermediary between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself as a ransom for all, revealing God’s purpose at his appointed time.

Below are two tables comparing Old Testament quotations in Paul’s letter to the Romans to the Septuagint.

Romans 3:13 (NET)

Romans 3:13 (Greek Text)

Psalms 5:9b; 140:3b (Septuagint)

Their throats are open graves,

they deceive with their tongues,

τάφος ἀνεῳγμένος ὁ λάρυγξ αὐτῶν, ταῖς γλώσσαις αὐτῶν ἐδολιοῦσαν, τάφος ἀνεῳγμένος ὁ λάρυγξ αὐτῶν ταῖς γλώσσαις αὐτῶν ἐδολιοῦσαν
the poison of asps is under their lips. ἰὸς ἀσπίδων ὑπὸ τὰ χείλη αὐτῶν ἰὸς ἀσπίδων ὑπὸ τὰ χείλη αὐτῶν διάψαλμα
Romans 3:15-17 (NET) Romans 3:15-17 (Greek Text)

Isaiah 59:7a, 7c, 8a  (Septuagint)

Their feet are swift to shed blood, ὀξεῖς οἱ πόδες αὐτῶν ἐκχέαι αἷμα, οἱ δὲ πόδες αὐτῶν ἐπὶ πονηρίαν τρέχουσιν ταχινοὶ ἐκχέαι αἷμα
ruin and misery are in their paths, σύντριμμα καὶ ταλαιπωρία ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτῶν, σύντριμμα καὶ ταλαιπωρία ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτῶν
and the way of peace they have not known. καὶ ὁδὸν εἰρήνης οὐκ ἔγνωσαν (a form of γινώσκω). καὶ ὁδὸν εἰρήνης οὐκ οἴδασιν (a form of εἴδω).

[1] Romans 12:12 (NET)

[2] Judges 21:2 (NET)

[3] Judges 21:3a (NET)

[4] Judges 21:6 (NET)

[5] Judges 21:15 (NKJV)

[6] Exodus 32:14 (NET)

[7] Judges 21:7a (NET)

[8] Judges 21:1 (NET)

[9] Judges 21:7b, 8a (NET)

[10] Numbers 30:1b, 2 (NET)

[11] Judges 21:5b (NET)

[12] Judges 20:3a (NET)

[13] Judges 21:25b (NET)

[14] Judges 21:8b, 9 (NET)

[15] Judges 21:12a (NET)

[16] Judges 21:14 (NET)

[17] Judges 21:20, 21 (NET)

[18] Judges 21:23a (NET)

[19] Romans 3:10b-18 (NET)

[20] 1 Corinthians 13:7d (NET)

[21] 1 Corinthians 13:6 (NKJV)

[22] Romans 13:10 (NET)

[23] Romans 12:12 (NET)

[24] Romans 15:13 (NET)

[25] Galatians 5:22, 23 (NET)

[26] Acts 5:41 (NET) Table

[27] John 17:17 (NET)

[28] Hebrews 12:2a (NET)

[29] Mark 13:13b (NET)  I assume that this endurance is achieved by the patience (μακροθυμία) that is another aspect of the fruit of the Spirit not some act of will or human effort.

[30]Syria jihadist ‘kills mother’ after she asked him to leave IS

[31] Romans 5:1-5 (NET)

[32] Acts 2:38-42 (NET) Table1; Table2

Romans, Part 60

Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer.[1]  I want to look at this as a description of love rather than as rules to obey.  To begin I’ve made the following table.

The Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22, 23 (NET)

Joy (χαρὰ)

I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.

John 15:11 (NET)

I have great confidence in you; I take great pride on your behalf.  I am filled with encouragement; I am overflowing with joy in the midst of all our suffering.

2 Corinthians 7:4 (NET)

Love (ἀγάπη) is…

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NET)

…not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth.

1 Corinthians 13:6 (NET)

 

[Love] hopes all things, endures all things.

1 Corinthians 13:7b (NET)

And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

Matthew 18:13 (NET)

Returning home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, telling them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost.’

Luke 15:6 (NET)

Set them apart in the truth; your word is truth.

John 17:17 (NET)

This Love Without Hypocrisy…

Romans 12:9-21 (NET)

Rejoice (χαίροντες, a form of χαίρω) in hope (ἐλπίδι, a form of ἐλπίς), endure (ὑπομένοντες, a form of ὑπομένω) in suffering (θλίψει, a form of θλίψις)…

Romans 12:12a (NET)

…persist (προσκαρτεροῦντες, a form of προσκαρτερέω) in prayer.

Romans 12:12b (NET)

So they left the council rejoicing because they had been considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.

Acts 5:41 (NET) Table

 

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in him, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13 (NET)

But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Mark 13:13b (NET)[2]

 

Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

2 Corinthians 1:3, 4 (NET)

They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Acts 2:42 (NET)

The Greek word translated rejoice is χαίροντες (a form of χαίρω).  The aspect of the fruit of the Spirit that fulfills this rejoicing is joy (χαρὰ).  Joy (χαρά) and gladness will come to you,[3] an angel of the Lord prophesied to Zechariah the priest.  He and his wife Elizabeth did not have a child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both very old.[4]  Zechariahyour prayer has been heard, the angel said, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son; you will name him John.[5]

Clearly χαρά was used to name this ordinary joy, but I won’t spend much time on that.  I don’t have any problem rejoicing when I get my way, when I get what I want.  To rejoice in hope indicates that I rejoice prior to that time.  For the joy (χαρᾶς, a form of χαρά) set out for him [Jesus] endured (ὑπέμεινεν, a form of ὑπομένω) the cross, disregarding its shame.[6]

I’ve misunderstood this verse often enough, thinking that joy was simply a euphemism for a seat at the right hand of the throne of God.[7]  And so, enduring difficulties was a rational calculation based on faith in a given outcome (e.g., I can endure the University because in the end I will get a degree and a higher paying job).  I have no real reason to ignore faith (πίστις) here.  Faith is another aspect of the fruit of Christ’s Spirit.  But I’m not a fun guy to be around when I’m enduring difficult circumstances by faith in a rational outcome.  And I certainly won’t do any rejoicing until I get what I want.

More to the point, perhaps, a seat at the right hand of the throne of God offered Jesus no upward mobility: And now, Father, He prayed, glorify me at your side with the glory I had with you before the world was created.[8]  It was simply a matter of getting back to where He belonged, not much incentive to endure the cross, disregarding its shame.  It leads me to believe that the joy set out for him was much more than a euphemism for something else.

I have told you these things so that my joy (χαρὰ) may be in you, and your joy (χαρὰ) may be complete (πληρωθῇ, a form of πληρόω).[9]  Here is a statement, if I will hear it, that the joy set out for Jesus may be in me, and his joy will πληρωθῇ (or, fulfill) my joy.  Interestingly, this statement resides in a passage about bearing fruit (John 15:5, 7-9 NET Table).

I am the vine; you are the branches.  The one who remains in me – and I in him – bears much fruit (καρπὸν, a form of καρπός), because apart from me you can accomplish nothing…If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you.  My Father is honored by this, that you bear much fruit (καρπὸν, a form of καρπός) and show that you are my disciples.  Just as the Father has loved (ἠγάπησεν, a form of ἀγαπάω) me, I have also loved (ἠγάπησα, another form of ἀγαπάω) you; remain in my love (ἀγάπῃ, a form of ἀγάπη).

But the fruit (καρπὸς) of the Spirit is love (ἀγάπη), joy (χαρὰ), peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness (πίστις), gentleness, and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.[10]  I would love to say that I heard these words and was transformed by them.  But what I heard was, If you obey my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.[11]  And I reasoned that there was no way around it, a sinner like I am must man-up and out-Pharisee the Pharisees or burn[12] in hell for all eternity: For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.[13]

Failing that, I heard, My commandment is this – to love (ἀγαπᾶτε, another form of ἀγαπάω) one another just as I have loved (ἠγάπησα, another form of ἀγαπάω) you.[14]  Eureka!  I found it, I thought.  A sinner like I am can’t out-Pharisee the Pharisees by trying to keep rules; a sinner like I am out-Pharisees the Pharisees by trying to love like Jesus: Love (ἀγάπη) does no wrong to a neighbor.  Therefore love (ἀγάπη) is the fulfillment (πλήρωμα) of the law.[15]

No one has greater love (ἀγάπην, a form of ἀγάπη) than this, Jesus continued, that one lays down his life for his friends.[16]  As a hypocrite I thought like an actor: I should imitate Jesus’ love.  Failing that, I began to hear again (John 15:14-17 NET).

You are my friends if you do what I command you.  I no longer call you slaves, because the slave does not understand (οἶδεν, a form of εἴδω) what his master is doing.  But I have called you friends, because I have revealed (ἐγνώρισα, a form of γνωρίζω) to you everything I heard from my Father.  You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit (καρπὸν, a form of καρπός), fruit (καρπὸς) that remains, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.  This I command you – to love (ἀγαπᾶτε, another form of ἀγαπάω) one another.

There it was again, to go and bear fruit.  Okay, if imitation isn’t the sincerest form of flattery, what do You want?  to love one another just as I have loved you.  How did You love?  I made known your name to them, Jesus prayed to his Father, and I will continue to make it known, so that the love (ἀγάπη) you have loved (ἠγάπησας, another form of ἀγαπάω) me with may be in them, and I may be in them.[17]   But the fruit (καρπὸς) of the Spirit is love (ἀγάπη)…[18]

There it was, hiding in plain sight.  It wasn’t a “modern” translation: And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.[19]  It was there from the beginning of the translation of the Bible into English.  Why was it so difficult to hear?  Why did I doubt it?  My answer to that question is the religious mindThere is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way that leads to death.[20]

I have great confidence (παρρησία, a form of παῤῥησία) in you; I take great pride (καύχησις) on your behalf, [21] Paul wrote the Corinthians.  The confidence he wrote about was a “freedom in speaking” an “unreservedness in speech,” according to the definition of παρρησία in the NET.  I think this refers to the boasting he wrote about later in the same letter: I keep boasting (καυχῶμαι, a form of καυχάομαι) to the Macedonians about this eagerness of yours, that Achaia has been ready to give since last year, and your zeal to participate has stirred up most of them.[22]

What really interests me in this context is what he wrote next:  I am filled with encouragement (παρακλήσει, a form of παράκλησις); I am overflowing with joy (χαρᾷ, a form of χαρὰ) in the midst of all our suffering (θλίψει, a form of θλίψις).[23]  So even as he was concerned whether the Corinthians’ haste would be timely enough—if any of the Macedonians should come with me and find that you are not ready to give, we would be humiliated[24]—he was overflowing with the joy set out for Jesus.  The Greek word παρακλήσει (a form of παράκλησις) translated encouragement relates to the παράκλητος as κλητός relates to κλῆσις and καλέωBut the Advocate (παράκλητος), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and will cause you to remember everything I said to you.[25]

Love (ἀγάπη) is not glad (χαίρει, another form of χαίρω) about injustice.[26]  I’ll spend some time here focused on the injustice (ἀδικίᾳ, a form of ἀδικία) love is not glad (or, does not rejoice)[27] about (ἐπὶ, a form of ἐπί).  The person who speaks on his own authority, Jesus said, desires to receive honor for himself; the one who desires the honor of the one who sent him is a man of integrity, and there is no unrighteousness (ἀδικία) in him.[28]  In Greek it reads, ὁ ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ λαλῶν τὴν δόξαν τὴν ἰδίαν ζητεῖ (literally, “this from himself speaks the honor his own seeks”).

I realize Jesus is the one who desires the honor of the one who sent hima man of integrity, and there is no unrighteousness in him..  Still, I find some guidance here for Bible study.  School is easy if you seek to make good grades.  All that stuff the professor jabbers on about all semester is the answer to the questions on the tests.  Remember it, feed it back, get a good grade.  The kiss of death is to actually become interested in the subject matter.  When that happens to me I get my own ideas about the questions and their answers, and I tend to speak from myself.  In other words, I disagree with the professor’s answers to his or her own questions on tests.

The academic alternative to speaking from myself is to quote recognized authorities.  That’s how I began my Bible study adventure.  But eventually it dawned on me that the Ἰουδαίοις (a form of  Ἰουδαῖος) did that faithfully.  The problem with that procedure was that Jesus appeared and declared their recognized authorities wrong.

Matthew Mark
Then Pharisees and experts in the law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and said, “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders?  For they don’t wash their hands when they eat.”

Matthew 15:1, 2 (NET)

 

The Pharisees and the experts in the law asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with unwashed hands?”

Mark 7:5 (NET)

He answered them, “And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?

Matthew 15:3 (NET)

He also said to them, “You neatly reject the commandment of God in order to set up your tradition.

Mark 7:9 (NET)

For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’  But you say, ‘If someone tells his father or mother, “Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,” he does not need to honor his father.’  You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition.

Matthew 15:4-6 (NET)

For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’  But you say that if anyone tells his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you would have received from me is corban’ (that is, a gift for God), then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother.  Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down.  And you do many things like this.”

Mark 7:10-13 (NET)

Hypocrites!  Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, and they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

Matthew 15:7-9 (NET)

He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.  They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrine the commandments of men.

Mark 7:6, 7 (NET)

Having no regard for the command of God, you hold fast to human tradition.”

Mark 7:8 (NET)

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil.[29]  On the surface it sounds like a simple enough works religion, until I hear one of his judgments: On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do many powerful deeds?’ [Table] Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you.  Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’[30]

What’s a sinner saved by grace to do?  My best answer to date is, be a sinner saved by grace.  Yes, I’m speaking from myself as opposed to quoting recognized authorities.  But I’m not seeking honor for me.  I am seeking honor for Jesus and his Father, Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God – he has seen the Father.[31]  Still Jesus said, No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.[32]  I have come to Jesus.[33]  I’m not entirely comfortable saying I am a man of integrity, and there is no unrighteousness (ἀδικία) in me, except in that sense that Paul wrote about of faith in the God who makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do.[34]   I am on that path.

I’ll pick this up again in the next essay.

[1] Romans 12:12 (NET)

[2] Also: Matthew 10:22; 24:13 (NET)

[3] Luke 1:14a (NET)

[4] Luke 1:7 (NET)

[5] Luke 1:13 (NET)

[6] Hebrews 12:2b (NET)

[7] Hebrews 12:2c (NET)

[8] John 17:5 (NET)

[9] John 15:11 (NET)

[10] Galatians 5:22, 23 (NET)

[11] John 15:10 (NET)

[12] John 15:6 (NET)

[13] Matthew 5:20 (NET)

[14] John 15:12 (NET)

[15] Romans 13:10 (NET)

[16] John 15:13 (NET)

[17] John 17:26 (NET)

[18] Galatians 5:22a (NET)

[19] John 17:26 (KJV)

[20] Proverbs 14:12 (NET)

[21] 2 Corinthians 7:4a (NET)

[22] 2 Corinthians 9:2b (NET)

[23] 2 Corinthians 7:4b (NET)

[24] 2 Corinthians 9:4 (NET)

[25] John 14:26 (NET)

[26] 1 Corinthians 13:6a (NET)

[27] 1 Corinthians 13:6 (NASB)

[28] John 7:18 (NET)

[29] 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NET)

[30] Matthew 7:22, 23 (NET)

[31] John 6:46 (NET)

[32] John 6:44a (NET)

[33] modus ponens

[34] Romans 4:17b (NET)