Tag Archives: Matthew 13:19

The New Covenant, Part 2

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I shared the first essay of this series with two friends.  Both preferred the judgment focus of my Pastor’s sermon, what I called “an invitation to do-it-yourself religion.”[1]  To one it was a desirable limit to “grace,” which was seen as a come on to an open-ended commitment to do whatever a preacher says.  The other saw it as the only path to righteousness since “grace” is just an excuse for indulging whatever sins one wants and then saying, “I’m sorry,” at the end to get into heaven (i.e., to avoid hell).  The unifying thread between these two beliefs is the current understanding of the grace of God.

When I think, speak or write about grace what I mean at the very least is the power to become the righteousness of God.  God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.[2]  In practical terms I think we become the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, receiving his indwelling Holy Spirit and walking in the continuous supply of his own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.[3]

My Pastor objected to the word power for grace.  The connection to grace is made for me when Paul asked the Lord three times about [a thorn in the flesh], that [this messenger of Satan] would depart from [him]:[4]  But [the Lord] said to me, “My grace (χάρις) is enough for you, for my power (δύναμις) is made perfect in weakness.”  So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power (δύναμις) of Christ may reside in me.[5]

I’ve grown up around people who feel that saying too much about the Holy Spirit robs Jesus of some of his glory.  Jesus said (John 16:7-14 ESV):

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I[6] do not go away, the Helper will not come to you.  But if I go, I will send him to you.  And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the[7] Father, and you will see me no longer;[8] concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears[9] he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.  He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you [Table].

In the story of the raising of Lazarus Jesus hints at a proximity effect to his grace: Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and I am glad for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe.”[10]  “Lord, if you had been here, Martha seems to confirm this proximity effect, my brother would not have died [Table].  But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will grant you.”[11]  At the risk of angering hardcore Trinitarians the Holy Spirit is Jesus omnipresent, Jesus without a proximity effect, Jesus unleashed throughout all space and time.

Here, too, my Pastor objected to my description of the Holy Spirit citing Jesus’ words: Then I will ask the Father, and he will give you another (ἄλλον, a form of ἄλλος) Advocate to be with you forever.[12]  I asked whether—If anyone loves me, he will obey my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and take up residence with him[13]—should be understood as “over and above” the indwelling Holy Spirit.  He said, no, and settled on the word through.  So, I’ll amend my original statement: Through his Holy Spirit Jesus is omnipresent, without a proximity effect, unleashed throughout all space and time.

A more expansive definition of grace is God so loved…that He gave.  Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things that are freely given (χαρισθέντα, a form of χαρίζομαι) to us by God.[14]  For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son.[15]  Ultimately Jesus is the grace of God.

My faith needs some of the nuts and bolts, how Jesus is the grace of God to me.  And here again Paul associated power with the grace that is Jesus: I pray that according to the wealth of his glory [the Father] will grant you to be strengthened (κραταιωθῆναι, a form of κραταιόω) with power (δυνάμει, a form of δύναμις) through his Spirit in the inner person [Table], that Christ will dwell in your hearts through faith.[16]

I want to consider this grace of God and the new covenant in the light of my own experience as the types of ground Jesus described in the parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-9).  The first type of ground He described was the path (Matthew 13:19 NET).

When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand (συνιέντος, a form of συνίημι) it, the evil one comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; this is the seed sown along the path.

This describes me fairly accurately from about five years old to seventeen.  When I said a sinner’s prayer to escape hell, I meant that I disobeyed my parents sometimes.  I was many years and a considerable psychic distance from acknowledging that I was from [my] father the devil, and [I] want to do what [my] father desires.[17]  I was like those who loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.  For everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed.[18]

I didn’t know my deeds were evil.  Quite the contrary, I resented anyone who called what I wanted “evil.”  “What I wanted” was the epitome of righteousness in my mind, though I would not have used the term.  I realized as I grew that what adults called righteousness was often not anything I wanted at all.

I don’t recall ever hearing Jesus’ saying—You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires—as if it applied to me.  It was relatively recently that I realized He spoke to those…who had believed him.[19]  It was relatively recently that I recognized this saying as one of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.[20]  I was like one of the outsiders who heard most of Jesus’ sayings as parables: Although they see they do not see, and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand (συνίουσιν, another form of συνίημι).[21]

This period of my life, being the path, came to an end when I chose to be an atheist.  For a time I actively opted out of being any kind of soil for the seed of God’s word.  Even if I have treated it like some sort of necessity in these essays, atheism was not a foregone conclusion.  I had an alternative at seventeen.

I was driven back to the Bible when God didn’t punish me for the “sin of premarital sex.”  But I rejected the Bible if it didn’t agree with what I “knew” it was supposed to say from years of church and Sunday school, when I was the path, one who heard about the kingdom but didn’t understand it, one who whatever he heard was snatched away by the evil one.

I didn’t realize I was that kind of ground at the time.  There was a tacit assumption among those I knew that the three types of ground that didn’t produce consistent fruit were destined for the lake of fire.  I had said a sinner’s prayer to Jesus to avoid hell.  I was, therefore, good ground by definition.

I have described my time as an atheist as a “decline that is such a cliché, it is too embarrassing to mention in detail.”[22]  There was an upside to becoming a cliché: I could no longer imagine myself to be the unique individual courageously forging my own path into the unknown.  My path was well known and well-worn, most notably well known in the Bible, not that I acknowledged that consciously at the time.

My flirtation[23] with atheism ended when I prayed, “If you’re really out there, I really want to know you.”[24]  Though I had an immediate hunger for the Bible from that moment on, I didn’t study the Bible to know…the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He] sent.[25]  I studied to know the rules to obey to keep my end of the bargain.

When I mentioned this to my Pastor, he thought it was a good way to start.  For me it was possibly the only way to start.  But I can’t help wondering: what if I had believed Jesus saying that I was from my father the devil and wanted to do what my father desired?  What if I had let his words create a healthy skepticism in me about those desires and thoughts, those feelings and reasons that came “naturally” to my heart and mind?  What if I had taken Him at his word at five or ten or twenty or even forty-years-old rather than compelling Him to prove to me for sixty-five years that I was from my father the devil and wanted to do what my father desired?

Would it have helped me believe that his grace was enough for me? Could it have shortened the time I spent as the next type of ground Jesus described (Matthew 13:20, 21 NET)?

The seed sown on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.  But he has no root in himself and does not endure; when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.

This ground describes me between the ages of twenty-three and forty-three.  As I searched the Bible for rules to obey to keep my part of the contract and then disobeyed them anyway, I heard Paul’s lament (Romans 7:22-24 NET):

For I delight in the law of God in my inner being.  But I see a different law in my members waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members [Table].  Wretched man that I am!  Who will rescue me from this body of death?

Paul believed that Jesus had rescued him: Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord![26]  I didn’t understand how at first, even though I was more curious than I had ever been before.  Though now I might be more inclined to translate χάρις δὲ τῷ θεῷ διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν[27] “grace from God through Jesus Christ our Lord” and while I might appreciate more now that Paul may have given a very direct answer to his own rhetorical question, I wouldn’t have understood it any better then.  I didn’t know God or his grace—not yet.

Twenty years of springing up with joy only to fall away again, twenty years of being picked up, dusted off and put back together by Jesus one more time, slowly began to teach me to know Him and his grace.  Paul wrote to Timothy (2 Timothy 2:11-13 NET):

This saying is trustworthy: If we died with him, we will also live with him.  If we endure, we will also reign with him.  If we deny[28] him, he will also deny us.  If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, since[29] he cannot (οὐ δύναται) deny himself.

Sometimes when I tell this story people want to credit me for continuing to study the Bible over those twenty years.  I also ate food over that time, whenever I was hungry.  Granted, eating food was instrumental in keeping me alive, but the hunger comes from God as did the food.  Eventually, I began to understand that the one bringing forth in [me] both the desire and the effort—for the sake of his good pleasure—is God.[30]

The Greek words translated desire and effort were not nouns but infinitive verbs: θέλειν (a form of θέλω) and ἐνεργεῖν (a form of ἐνεργέω).  Eventually, I was able to make this connection to the hunger, the food and the eating.  The hunger, θέλειν, and the food, the Bible, are from God.  The eating, doing his will, ἐνεργεῖν, becoming the righteousness of God in Him, is the outcome of his grace.  And eventually I trusted Him and his grace more than I trusted myself—good ground at last?

Jesus continued (Matthew 13:22 NET):

The seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly[31] cares and the seductiveness of wealth choke the word, so it produces nothing.

This type of ground characterizes me from about forty-four years of age to perhaps fifty-three.  I got a fulltime job again with a steady paycheck.  I married a woman with two children.  I left all the “spiritual stuff” to the grace of God while I attended to more mundane matters.  This period of my life ended when my wife divorced me.

So from about the age of fifty-four to the present, sixty-eight, have I finally become what Jesus called good soil (Matthew 13:23 NET)?

But as for the seed sown on good soil,[32] this is the person who hears the word and understands[33] (συνιείς, another form of συνίημι).  He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.”

Who knows?  I can’t even imagine how to measure such a thing.  My Pastor treated these measurements like ordinary agricultural yields.  And he’s right.

If I think of a kernel of corn (maize) growing to maturity, one ear of corn would easily be thirty times what was sown.  When I think about the time and attention, the forgiveness and patience, the mercy and grace the Lord has lavished upon me, what I share with others is a tiny fraction rather than a multiple.

I planted, Paul wrote the Corinthians, Apollos watered, but God caused it to grow (ἠύξανεν, a form of αὐξάνω).[34]  After all we’ve been through together I can trust Him with that growth.

Tables comparing John 16:7; 16:10; 2 Timothy 2:12, 13; Matthew 13:22 and 13:23 in the NET and KJV follow.

John 16:7 (NET)

John 16:7 (KJV)
But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I am going away.  For if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἀλλ᾿ ἐγὼ τὴν ἀλήθειαν λέγω ὑμῖν, συμφέρει ὑμῖν ἵνα ἐγὼ ἀπέλθω. ἐὰν γὰρ μὴ ἀπέλθω, ὁ παράκλητος |οὐκ ἐλεύσεται| πρὸς ὑμᾶς· ἐὰν δὲ πορευθῶ, πέμψω αὐτὸν πρὸς ὑμᾶς αλλ εγω την αληθειαν λεγω υμιν συμφερει υμιν ινα εγω απελθω εαν γαρ μη απελθω ο παρακλητος ουκ ελευσεται προς υμας εαν δε πορευθω πεμψω αυτον προς υμας αλλ εγω την αληθειαν λεγω υμιν συμφερει υμιν ινα εγω απελθω εαν γαρ εγω μη απελθω ο παρακλητος ουκ ελευσεται προς υμας εαν δε πορευθω πεμψω αυτον προς υμας

John 16:10 (NET)

John 16:10 (KJV)
concerning righteousness because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
περὶ δικαιοσύνης δέ, ὅτι πρὸς τὸν πατέρα ὑπάγω καὶ οὐκέτι θεωρεῖτε με περι δικαιοσυνης δε οτι προς τον πατερα μου υπαγω και ουκ ετι θεωρειτε με περι δικαιοσυνης δε οτι προς τον πατερα μου υπαγω και ουκετι θεωρειτε με

2 Timothy 2:12, 13 (NET)

2 Timothy 2:12, 13 (KJV)
If we endure, we will also reign with him.  If we deny him, he will also deny us. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
εἰ ὑπομένομεν, καὶ συμβασιλεύσομεν· εἰ ἀρνησόμεθα, κακεῖνος ἀρνήσεται ἡμᾶς ει υπομενομεν και συμβασιλευσομεν ει αρνουμεθα κακεινος αρνησεται ημας ει υπομενομεν και συμβασιλευσομεν ει αρνουμεθα κακεινος αρνησεται ημας
If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, since he cannot deny himself. If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
εἰ ἀπιστοῦμεν, ἐκεῖνος πιστὸς μένει, ἀρνήσασθαι γὰρ ἑαυτὸν οὐ δύναται. ει απιστουμεν εκεινος πιστος μενει αρνησασθαι εαυτον ου δυναται ει απιστουμεν εκεινος πιστος μενει αρνησασθαι εαυτον ου δυναται

Matthew 13:22 (NET)

Matthew 13:22 (KJV)
The seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth choke the word, so it produces nothing. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ δὲ εἰς τὰς ἀκάνθας σπαρείς, οὗτος ἐστιν ὁ τὸν λόγον ἀκούων, καὶ ἡ μέριμνα τοῦ αἰῶνος καὶ ἡ ἀπάτη τοῦ πλούτου συμπνίγει τὸν λόγον καὶ ἄκαρπος γίνεται ο δε εις τας ακανθας σπαρεις ουτος εστιν ο τον λογον ακουων και η μεριμνα του αιωνος τουτου και η απατη του πλουτου συμπνιγει τον λογον και ακαρπος γινεται ο δε εις τας ακανθας σπαρεις ουτος εστιν ο τον λογον ακουων και η μεριμνα του αιωνος τουτου και η απατη του πλουτου συμπνιγει τον λογον και ακαρπος γινεται

Matthew 13:23 (NET)

Matthew 13:23 (KJV)
But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands.  He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.” But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν καλὴν γῆν σπαρείς, οὗτος ἐστιν ὁ τὸν λόγον ἀκούων καὶ συνιείς, ὃς δὴ καρποφορεῖ καὶ ποιεῖ ὃ μὲν ἑκατόν, ὃ δὲ ἑξήκοντα, ὃ δὲ τριάκοντα ο δε επι την γην την καλην σπαρεις ουτος εστιν ο τον λογον ακουων και συνιων ος δη καρποφορει και ποιει ο μεν εκατον ο δε εξηκοντα ο δε τριακοντα ο δε επι την γην την καλην σπαρεις ουτος εστιν ο τον λογον ακουων και συνιων ος δη καρποφορει και ποιει ο μεν εκατον ο δε εξηκοντα ο δε τριακοντα

Addendum: February 6, 2022
I can’t say that a sermon like the following wasn’t preached to me when I was five or ten or twenty or forty-years-old. I can say I heard it today.

[1] The New Covenant, Part 1

[2] 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NET) Table

[3] Galatians 5:22b, 23a (NET) Table

[4] 2 Corinthians 12:8 (NET) with phrases in brackets from 2 Corinthians 12:7 (NET) Table

[5] 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NET) Table

[6] The Byzantine Majority text had εγω here.  The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

[7] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μου (KJV: my) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[8] The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text had οὐκέτι here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had ουκ ετι (KJV: no more).

[9] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἀκούσει here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αν ακουση (KJV: whatsoever he shall hear).

[10] John 11:14, 15a (NET)

[11] John 11:21b, 22 (NET)

[12] John 14:16 (NET) Table

[13] John 14:23 (NET) Table

[14] 1 Corinthians 2:12 (NET)

[15] John 3:16a (NET) Table

[16] Ephesians 3:16, 17a (NET)

[17] John 8:44a (NET) Table

[18] John 3:19b, 20 (NET)

[19] John 8:31a (NET)

[20] Matthew 13:11b (NET)

[21] Matthew 13:13b (NET)

[22] Who Am I? Part 3

[23] I called it a flirtation not to minimize its seriousness but to highlight how I was not serious enough about it to maintain such a demanding faith for any prolonged period of time.

[24] Who am I? Part 3

[25] John 17:3b (NET)

[26] Romans 7:25a (NET) Table

[27] Romans 7:25a NA28  This is what the editors of the NA28 currently believe to be the original text.

[28] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἀρνησόμεθα here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αρνουμεθα.

[29] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had γὰρ here.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[30] Philippians 2:13 (NET)

[31] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τουτου following αἰῶνος (KJV: this world).  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[32] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article την preceding soil (KJV: ground).  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[33] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had συνιείς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had συνιων (KJV: understandeth it).

[34] 1 Corinthians 3:6 (NET) Table

Westworld, Part 1

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Man: Bring her back online.[1]

A disembodied voice we’ll soon recognize as the voice of Bernard Lowe (Jeffrey Wright), head of programming at Westworld, speaks.  Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood) sits naked in a chair.  She is an android at Westworld, a host as androids are called there.

“It doesn’t get cold, doesn’t feel ashamed, doesn’t feel a solitary thing that we haven’t told it to.”[2]

In other words, Dolores sits naked because she is a slave.

Man: Can you hear me?

Dolores: Yes.  I’m sorry.  I’m not feeling quite myself.

Man: You can lose the accent.  Do you know where you are?

Dolores: I’m in a dream.[3]

She is not.  She is in one of the maintenance workrooms under Westworld.

Man: That’s right, Dolores.  You’re in a dream.  Would you like to wake up from this dream?

Dolores: Yes.  I’m terrified.

Man: There’s nothing to be afraid of, Dolores, as long as you answer my questions correctly.  Understand?

Dolores: Yes.[4]

This inquisition determines whether Dolores is allowed to serve above ground in the park or is confined to cold storage on sub-level 83, or not so cold storage as it turns out.  (The air conditioning is broken and no one is complaining.)

Man: Good.  First, have you ever questioned the nature of your reality?

Dolores sleeps in her bed as her inquisition continues as a voiceover.

Dolores: No

Dolores awakens.

Man: Tell us what you think of your world.

Dolores: Some people choose to see the ugliness in this world-

Dolores, dressed, descends the stairs.

Dolores: -the disarray.  I choose to see the beauty.  To believe there is an order to our days: a purpose.

Man: What do you think of the guests?

Dolores: You mean the newcomers?

An unnamed guest arriving at the park on the train talks to his unnamed companion.

Guest: First time I played it white hat.  My family was here.  We went fishing, did the gold hunt in the mountains.

Companion: And last time?

Guest: I came alone, went straight evil.  It was the best two weeks of my life.

Dolores: I like to remember what my father taught me: that at one point or another, we were all new to this world.  The newcomers are just looking for the same thing we are, a place to be free, to stake out dreams, a place with unlimited possibilities.[5]

Thus begins a three season reverie on human sin and freedom of choice by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy.  It prompted my own reverie about my own programming.

“You have to control people,”  Dad used to say.  Written down it seems like an imperative.  Perhaps it had something to do with my early attempts to control my younger brother and sister when Dad came home from work.  Perhaps that was just my own evil desire to dominate others and make them play by my rules.  It’s all too dim and dark for me to know for sure now.

By the time I actually recall my own memories of Dad’s saying, I didn’t hear it as a command for me to obey.  It was said with such bitterness, resentment or sarcasm I assumed he lamented a freedom to believe, to think, to say and to do whatever he wanted, a freedom of choice denied by a rule that people must be controlled.

Dolores was controlled even as an adult by the love of her father Peter Abernathy (Louis Herthum).  He in turn was controlled by her existence as his daughter.  He wanted her home before dark.

Dolores: Oh, I’m not a child anymore.  I’ll be just fine.

Peter: When I was a law man…

Dolores: Yes, Daddy, I know all about when you were a law man.  I know all your stories and so does every boy that ever came courting.

Peter: I know how boys think.  Was one myself once, given to all manner of drinking and mischief.

Dolores: Whatever happened to that fearsome ne’er-do-well?

Peter: He vanished the day I became your father.  I am what I am because of you, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Dolores: I know Daddy.  I’ll be home before dark.[6]

This particular form of control was programmed into human beings from the very beginning (Genesis 2:18-25 NET):

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.  I will make a companion for him who corresponds to him.”  The Lord God formed out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air.  He brought them to the man to see what he would name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.  So the man named all the animals, the birds of the air, and the living creatures of the field, but for Adam no companion who corresponded to him was found.  So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he was asleep, he took part of the man’s side and closed up the place with flesh.  Then the Lord God made a woman from the part he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.  Then the man said, “This one at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and unites with his wife, and they become one family [Table].  The man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed [Table].

Together under most normal circumstances the man and his wife will produce a family to love and care for, and in a very real sense to be controlled by.  But why is such control necessary?  It seems to me that the freedom to believe, to think, to say and to do whatever I want is only workable as a way life if I’m alone on a tropical island.  Even there it could become a way of death.

Alone on a tropical island I would lie naked on the beach.  If I do nothing but lie naked on the beach I will die.  Fortunately, I was programmed by someone wiser than I am.  Eventually, the pain of sunburn or a sensation of thirst will drive me inland seeking shelter and fresh water.  In time I’ll have a sensation of hunger and search for food.  If my searches are successful, my time will be divided between lying naked on the beach and those searches for shelter from the sun, water to drink and food to eat.  Who, knows, I might even spend some time washing the sweat and grime off my naked body.

So, is it my choice to search for shelter, water and food?  Or am I enslaved to the cravings of my body?  Or, what becomes even more apparent in the context of three seasons of Westworld, am I enslaved to the Programmer who created me (Genesis 1:27 NET)?

God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.

How I’ll react is determined in large part by how I feel about my Creator.  Am I grateful for his wisdom, punctuating my sunbathing with searches for shelter, water and food?  Or am I angry and resentful about it?

Theoretically, if I have the willpower, I remain free to lie stubbornly on the beach until I die.  If I do not lie naked on the beach until I die yet remain angry and resentful, it probably means I want to live in an imaginary world, a world where I never have any pain from sunburn and where slaves bring me water and food on demand.  You know, like “heaven,” or Westworld where Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy explore what life is like for slaves whose creator is less than love (1 John 4:7, 8 NET):

Dear friends, let us love one another, because love (1 Corinthians 13) is from God, and everyone who loves has been fathered by God and knows God.  The person who does not love does not know God because God is love.

By day Dolores paints near the river that marks the boundary of the family-friendly area of the park.  Her “purpose,” like the catcher in the rye, is to warn children who might stray too close to that boundary.  At night she has a very different “purpose.”

After a day of coy flirtation with what seems like a returning guest, Theodore (Teddy) Flood (James Marsden), a more gentlemanly man than some, the sweet Dolores’ returns home to find her mother and father murdered.  Teddy kills the androids that killed them.  A mysterious Man in Black (Ed Harris) shows up to rape and possibly murder Dolores.  When Teddy intervenes, we learn that he, too, is an android, programmed to lose to the Man in Black or any other guest who happens along.

Dolores’ and Teddy‘s creator, Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins), is not love but merely a man as innately evil as any guest at the park.  In a maintenance session Ford (the god of this brave new world) confirmed to Teddy:[7]

Your job is not to protect Dolores, it’s to keep her here.  To ensure that the guests find her if they want to best the stalwart gunslinger and have their way with his girl.

Then this truth was erased from Teddy’s memory before he was put back in service in this man-made “heaven” called Westworld, that the rape of Dolores would be all the more appealing to sinful men night after night after night.  Love acted differently toward those He created (1 John 4:9, 10 NET):

By this the love of God is revealed in us: that God has sent his one and only Son into the world so that we may live through him.  In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Jesus, God’s one and only Son, believed the evil one comes and snatches truth from someone’s memory (Matthew 13:19 NET):

When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches what was sown in his heart…

A more realistic vision of a true heaven (a more sustainable heaven, at least) is a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, every moment of every day (and night) forever.  That should frighten even the least self-aware.  Paul wrote (2 Corinthians 5:14, 15 NET):

For the love of Christ controls us, since we have concluded this, that Christ died for all; therefore all have died [Table].  And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised.

I’m going to cut to the chase here.  The righteousness given to those who trust Jesus is the fruit of his Holy Spirit: God’s own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control springing up within us to eternal life from his own Spirit dwelling in us.  The mission, should you choose to accept it, is to learn to be led by his Spirit, his love, his joy, his peace, his patience, his kindness, his goodness, his faithfulness, his gentleness and his self-control, rather than having some righteousness of your own derived from some law, his or anyone else’s, including your own.

So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away—look, what is new has come [Table]!  And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation [Table].  In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us the message of reconciliation.  Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his plea through us.  We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God!”  God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God [Table].[8]

Paul wrote to people in Philippi who believed Jesus (Philippians 2:12-16a NET):

So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed (ὑπηκούσατε, a form of ὑπακούω), not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence, for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort—for the sake of his good pleasure—is God [Table].  Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish[9] though you live in[10] a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world by holding on (ἐπέχοντες, a form of ἐπέχω) to the word of life…

Tables comparing Genesis 2:18; 2:19; 2:20; 2:21; 2:22; 2:23 and 1:27 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Genesis 2:18; 2:19; 2:20; 2:21; 2:22; 2:23 and 1:27 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and a table comparing Philippians 2:15 in the NET and KJV follow.

Genesis 2:18 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 2:18 (KJV)

Genesis 2:18 (NET)
And HaShem G-d said: ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.’ And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.  I will make a companion for him who corresponds to him.”

Genesis 2:18 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 2:18 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν κύριος ὁ θεός οὐ καλὸν εἶναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον μόνον ποιήσωμεν αὐτῷ βοηθὸν κατ᾽ αὐτόν Καὶ εἶπε Κύριος ὁ Θεός· οὐ καλὸν εἶναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον μόνον· ποιήσωμεν αὐτῷ βοηθὸν κατ᾿ αὐτόν

Genesis 2:18 (NETS)

Genesis 2:18 (English Elpenor)
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man is alone; let us make him a helper corresponding to him.” And the Lord God said, [It is] not good that the man should be alone, let us make for him a help suitable to him.

Genesis 2:19 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 2:19 (KJV)

Genesis 2:19 (NET)
And out of the ground HaShem G-d formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto the man to see what he would call them; and whatsoever the man would call every living creature, that was to be the name thereof. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. The Lord God formed out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air.  He brought them to the man to see what he would name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

Genesis 2:19 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 2:19 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἔπλασεν ὁ θεὸς ἔτι ἐκ τῆς γῆς πάντα τὰ θηρία τοῦ ἀγροῦ καὶ πάντα τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἤγαγεν αὐτὰ πρὸς τὸν Αδαμ ἰδεῗν τί καλέσει αὐτά καὶ πᾶν ὃ ἐὰν ἐκάλεσεν αὐτὸ Αδαμ ψυχὴν ζῶσαν τοῦτο ὄνομα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔπλασεν ὁ Θεὸς ἔτι ἐκ τῆς γῆς πάντα τὰ θηρία τοῦ ἀγροῦ καὶ πάντα τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἤγαγεν αὐτὰ πρὸς τὸν ᾿Αδάμ, ἰδεῖν τί καλέσει αὐτά. καὶ πᾶν ὃ ἐὰν ἐκάλεσεν αὐτὸ ᾿Αδὰμ ψυχὴν ζῶσαν, τοῦτο ὄνομα αὐτῷ

Genesis 2:19 (NETS)

Genesis 2:19 (English Elpenor)
And out of the earth God furthermore formed all the animals of the field and all the birds of the sky and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them, and anything, whatever Adam called it as living creature, this was its name. And God formed yet farther out of the earth all the wild beasts of the field, and all the birds of the sky, and he brought them to Adam, to see what he would call them, and whatever Adam called any living creature, that was the name of it.

Genesis 2:20 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 2:20 (KJV)

Genesis 2:20 (NET)
And the man gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a help meet for him. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. So the man named all the animals, the birds of the air, and the living creatures of the field, but for Adam no companion who corresponded to him was found.

Genesis 2:20 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 2:20 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐκάλεσεν Αδαμ ὀνόματα πᾶσιν τοῗς κτήνεσιν καὶ πᾶσι τοῗς πετεινοῗς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ πᾶσι τοῗς θηρίοις τοῦ ἀγροῦ τῷ δὲ Αδαμ οὐχ εὑρέθη βοηθὸς ὅμοιος αὐτῷ καὶ ἐκάλεσεν ᾿Αδὰμ ὀνόματα πᾶσι τοῖς κτήνεσι καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς πετεινοῖς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς θηρίοις τοῦ ἀγροῦ· τῷ δὲ ᾿Αδὰμ οὐχ εὑρέθη βοηθὸς ὅμοιος αὐτῷ

Genesis 2:20 (NETS)

Genesis 2:20 (English Elpenor)
And Adam gave names to all the cattle and to all the birds of the sky and to all the animals of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper like him. And Adam gave names to all the cattle and to all the birds of the sky, and to all the wild beasts of the field, but for Adam there was not found a help like to himself.

Genesis 2:21 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 2:21 (KJV)

Genesis 2:21 (NET)
And HaShem G-d caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the place with flesh instead thereof. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he was asleep, he took part of the man’s side and closed up the place with flesh.

Genesis 2:21 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 2:21 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐπέβαλεν ὁ θεὸς ἔκστασιν ἐπὶ τὸν Αδαμ καὶ ὕπνωσεν καὶ ἔλαβεν μίαν τῶν πλευρῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνεπλήρωσεν σάρκα ἀντ᾽ αὐτῆς καὶ ἐπέβαλεν ὁ Θεὸς ἔκστασιν ἐπὶ τὸν ᾿Αδάμ, καὶ ὕπνωσε· καὶ ἔλαβε μίαν τῶν πλευρῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνεπλήρωσε σάρκα ἀντ᾿ αὐτῆς

Genesis 2:21 (NETS)

Genesis 2:21 (English Elpenor)
And God cast a trance upon Adam, and he slept, and he took one of his ribs and filled up flesh in its place. And God brought a trance upon Adam, and he slept, and he took one of his ribs, and filled up the flesh instead thereof.

Genesis 2:22 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 2:22 (KJV)

Genesis 2:22 (NET)
And the rib, which HaShem G-d had taken from the man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. Then the Lord God made a woman from the part he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

Genesis 2:22 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 2:22 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ᾠκοδόμησεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς τὴν πλευράν ἣν ἔλαβεν ἀπὸ τοῦ Αδαμ εἰς γυναῗκα καὶ ἤγαγεν αὐτὴν πρὸς τὸν Αδαμ καὶ ᾠκοδόμησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὴν πλευράν, ἣν ἔλαβεν ἀπὸ τοῦ ᾿Αδάμ, εἰς γυναῖκα καὶ ἤγαγεν αὐτὴν πρὸς τὸν ᾿Αδάμ

Genesis 2:22 (NETS)

Genesis 2:22 (English Elpenor)
And the rib that he had taken from Adam the Lord God fashioned into a woman and brought her to Adam. And God formed the rib which he took from Adam into a woman, and brought her to Adam.

Genesis 2:23 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 2:23 (KJV)

Genesis 2:23 (NET)
And the man said: ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’ And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Then the man said, “This one at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”

Genesis 2:23 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 2:23 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν Αδαμ τοῦτο νῦν ὀστοῦν ἐκ τῶν ὀστέων μου καὶ σὰρξ ἐκ τῆς σαρκός μου αὕτη κληθήσεται γυνή ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς αὐτῆς ἐλήμφθη αὕτη καὶ εἶπεν ᾿Αδάμ· τοῦτο νῦν ὀστοῦν ἐκ τῶν ὀστέων μου καὶ σὰρξ ἐκ τῆς σαρκός μου· αὕτη κληθήσεται γυνή, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς αὐτῆς ἐλήφθη αὕτη

Genesis 2:23 (NETS)

Genesis 2:23 (English Elpenor)
And Adam said, “This now is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of her husband she was taken.” And Adam said, This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of her husband.

Genesis 1:27 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 1:27 (KJV)

Genesis 1:27 (NET)
And G-d created man in His own image, in the image of G-d created He him; male and female created He them. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:27 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 1:27 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον κατ᾽ εἰκόνα θεοῦ ἐποίησεν αὐτόν ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐτούς καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, κατ᾿ εἰκόνα Θεοῦ ἐποίησεν αὐτόν, ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐτούς

Genesis 1:27 (NETS)

Genesis 1:27 (English Elpenor)
And God made humankind; according to divine image he made it; male and female he made them. And God made man, according to the image of God he made him, male and female he made them.

Philippians 2:15 (NET)

Philippians 2:15 (KJV)
so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἵνα γένησθε ἄμεμπτοι καὶ ἀκέραιοι, τέκνα θεοῦ ἄμωμα μέσον γενεᾶς σκολιᾶς καὶ διεστραμμένης, ἐν οἷς φαίνεσθε ὡς φωστῆρες ἐν κόσμῳ ινα γενησθε αμεμπτοι και ακεραιοι τεκνα θεου αμωμητα εν μεσω γενεας σκολιας και διεστραμμενης εν οις φαινεσθε ως φωστηρες εν κοσμω ινα γενησθε αμεμπτοι και ακεραιοι τεκνα θεου αμωμητα εν μεσω γενεας σκολιας και διεστραμμενης εν οις φαινεσθε ως φωστηρες εν κοσμω

[1] Westworld, Season 1, Episode 1: “The Original”

[2] Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins), Westworld, Season 1, Episode 3: “The Stray”

[3] Westworld, Season 1, Episode 1: “The Original”

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Westworld, Season 1, Episode 3, “The Stray”

[8] 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (NET)

[9] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἄμωμα here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αμωμητα (KJV: without rebuke).

[10] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had μέσον here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εν μεσω (KJV: in the midst).

He Takes Away, Part 1

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He takes away every branch that does not bear fruit in me.[1]  I would like to say that I was blindsided by the suggestion that takes away may not be the best translation of αἴρει (a form of αἴρω) here.  But a quarterback searching downfield for an open receiver knows when he has been tackled from behind.  This was more like being blindsided by a gnat, annoying, but insufficient to shake the well established truth that poor job performance is just cause for termination.

Matthew 3:10 (NET)

 Matthew 7:19 (NET)

Luke 3:9 (NET)
Even now[2] the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good (καλὸν, a form of καλός) fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Every tree that does not bear good (καλὸν, a form of καλός) fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good (καλὸν, a form of καλός) fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Nothing clicked until I examined the meaning of καθαίρει (a form of καθαίρω), translated he prunes in: He prunes every branch that bears fruit so that it will bear more fruit.[3]  I chuckled then, and quipped, “The translators seem to have been a little too enamored with a gardening metaphor and a little too careless with the meaning of the words.”  The gnat was buzzing around my face then.

It wasn’t until later that day, walking and praying, that it dawned on me that I wasn’t merely accusing the Johnny-come-lately translators of the NET (my contemporaries) of carelessness, but the translators of the KJV as well, not to mention anyone else who ever translated John 15:2 into English.  This gnat was not about to be easily brushed away.  It deserved to be entertained or crushed.

Here are the first two occurrences of αἴρει in the New Testament.

Matthew 9:16 (NET)

Mark 2:21 (NET)
No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, because the patch will pull away (αἴρει) from the garment and the tear will be worse. No[4] one sews[5] a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment;[6] otherwise, the patch pulls away from[7] it, the new from the old, and the tear becomes worse.

The KJV rendered it: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away (αἴρει) from the old,[8] virtually identical to Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away (αἴρει).[9]  So can I crush this pesky gnat?  Actually, it slipped through my fingers.

Here is a table comparing Mark 2:21b to John 15:2a.

Mark 2:21b

John 15:2a

 NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus  NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus
αἴρει τὸ πλήρωμα ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ τὸ καινὸν τοῦ παλαιοῦ αιρει το πληρωμα αυτου το καινον του παλαιου πᾶν κλῆμα ἐν ἐμοὶ μὴ φέρον καρπὸν αἴρει αὐτό παν κλημα εν εμοι μη φερον καρπον αιρει αυτο

NET

 KJV NET

KJV
the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old He takes away every branch that does not bear fruit in me. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away:

In the NET the patch was a very clever and concise translation of τὸ πλήρωμα relative to the accurate but somewhat awkward the..piece that filled..up in the KJV.  The translators assumed here that τὸ πλήρωμα was in the nominative case rather than the accusative case: the patch pulls away from it (NET), the..piece that filled it up taketh away (KJV) rather than “he pulls away the patch from it” or “he taketh away the piece that filled it up.”  The translators assumed the Greek word αὐτοῦ, translated it, was an adverb referring back to the old garment (ἱματίῳ παλαιῷ in the Setphanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text; see Table2 below).

Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away [from me], the KJV translators left me to assume.  The NET translators simply made it explicit: He takes away every branch that does not bear fruit in me.  But what does αυτο mean here?

Surely, it’s not to be understood in the nominative case.  Jesus didn’t refer to the gardener (ὁ γεωργός) his Father with a neuter pronoun.  Surely He (KJV: he) was derived from the 3rd person singular verb αἴρει, and αυτο then was to be understood in the accusative case referring back to every branch that does not bear fruit in me or Every branch in me that beareth not fruit.

So in the NET it was redundant: He takes [it] away every branch that does not bear fruit in me.  The NET translators didn’t translate αυτο in the second clause either: He prunes [αυτο] every branch that bears fruit so that it will bear more fruit.  The KJV translators did, however, translate αυτο in the second clause: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it (αυτο), that it may bring forth more fruit.[10]  So what’s up with the first clause?  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh [it] away, is not that bad.

I compared this construction to the first occurrence of another form of αἴρω.  The devil said to Jesus (Matthew 4:6 NET):

“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.  For it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ and ‘with their hands they will lift you up (ἀροῦσιν, another form of αἴρω), so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Here is a table comparing Matthew 4:6b to John 15:2a.

Matthew 4:6b

 John 15:2a
 NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus  NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus
ἐπὶ χειρῶν ἀροῦσιν σε επι χειρων αρουσιν σε πᾶν κλῆμα ἐν ἐμοὶ μὴ φέρον καρπὸν αἴρει αὐτό παν κλημα εν εμοι μη φερον καρπον αιρει αυτο

NET

 KJV NET

KJV
with their hands they will lift you up in their hands they shall bear thee up He takes away every branch that does not bear fruit in me. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away:

Here the future tense 3rd person plural verb ἀροῦσιν was translated they will lift…up (NET) and they shall bear…up (KJV).  The 2nd person accusative pronoun σε, translated you (NET) or thee (KJV), is what they will lift up with or in their hands.  The main reason ἀροῦσιν was translated will lift or shall bear up here instead of “will take away” was because it is itself a translation in the Septuagint of ישׁאונך (nâśâʼ) from Psalm 91:12.  But I also noticed that there is no place mentioned anywhere near the verb where you might be taken away from, only a reason given why they will lift you up, so that (μήποτε) you will not strike your foot against a stone.

This caused me to wonder if ἐν ἐμοὶ, translated in me, in John 15:2 was really a place to be taken away from, or a description of πᾶν κλῆμα, translated every branch.  Perhaps, a better way to frame the question is: does the gardener prune every branch that bears fruit or only those ἐν ἐμοὶ that bear fruit?  The phrase πᾶν κλῆμα ἐν ἐμοὶ wasn’t repeated in the second clause, only the word πᾶν a form of πᾶς, “every, all.”  So did Jesus say that every branch that bears fruit will be pruned by the gardener (his Father) so that it will bear more fruit whether that branch is ἐν ἐμοὶ or not?

The answer to that question seems fairly obvious a couple of verses later: Remain in me (ἐν ἐμοί), and I will remain in you.  Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me (ἐν ἐμοὶ).[11]  That means that the text should be understood a little differently than it might be read literally.

John 15:2 read literally…

John 15:2 understood…
πᾶν κλῆμα ἐν ἐμοὶ μὴ φέρον καρπὸν αἴρει αὐτό, καὶ πᾶν τὸ καρπὸν φέρον καθαίρει αὐτὸ ἵνα καρπὸν πλείονα φέρῃ πᾶν κλῆμα ἐν ἐμοὶ μὴ φέρον καρπὸν αἴρει αὐτό, καὶ πᾶν [κλῆμα ἐν ἐμοὶ] τὸ καρπὸν φέρον καθαίρει αὐτὸ ἵνα καρπὸν πλείονα φέρῃ
He takes away every branch that does not bear fruit in me.  He prunes [anything] that bears fruit so that it will bear more fruit. He takes away every branch that does not bear fruit in me.  He prunes every branch [in me] that bears fruit so that it will bear more fruit.

So if ἐν ἐμοὶ was meant to distinguish πᾶν κλῆμα from all branches in both clauses, the gardener does two different things for every branch that is ἐν ἐμοὶ, depending on whether it bears fruit (τὸ καρπὸν φέρον) or does not bear fruit (μὴ φέρον καρπὸν) presently.

It seemed unlikely then to me that the gardener’s action could be to remove the branch from the modifier (ἐν ἐμοὶ) that distinguished it from all branches in the first place.  But then, I don’t know Greek as well as those who have translated the New Testament into English.  So I continued.

Jesus explained a parable:

Mark 4:15 (NET)

Luke 8:12 (NET) Table
These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: Whenever they hear, immediately[12] Satan comes and snatches (αἴρει) the word that was sown in[13] them.[14] Those along the path are the ones who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away (αἴρει) the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

There is a third account of this explanation which didn’t contain the word αἴρει: When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; this is the seed sown along the path.[15]  The Greek word translated snatches was ἁρπάζει (a form of ἁρπάζω) here: “to seize, snatch, catch, pluck, pull, take (by force); to plunder, rob, steal, carry off, raven; to tear away, forcibly remove, drag away; to seize, grab hold; to captivate, allure.”

Here is a comparison of Mark 4:15b to John 15:2a.

Mark 4:15b

John 15:2a

 NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus  NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus
εὐθὺς ἔρχεται ὁ σατανᾶς καὶ αἴρει τὸν λόγον τὸν ἐσπαρμένον εἰς αὐτούς ευθεως ερχεται ο σατανας και αιρει τον λογον τον εσπαρμενον εν ταις καρδιαις αυτων πᾶν κλῆμα ἐν ἐμοὶ μὴ φέρον καρπὸν αἴρει αὐτό παν κλημα εν εμοι μη φερον καρπον αιρει αυτο

NET

 KJV NET

KJV
immediately Satan comes and snatches the word that was sown in them. Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. He takes away every branch that does not bear fruit in me. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away:

The first clause begins with an adverb, εὐθὺς in the NET parallel Greek text and ευθεως in the Stephanus Textus Receptus, both translated immediately.  Next is a verb ἔρχεται, translated comes (NET) or cometh (KJV).  The subject, who comes or cometh, follows that verb: ὁ σατανᾶς, translated Satan.

The beginning of the second clause is marked by the conjunction καὶ, translated and.  This lets me know that Satan comes and snatches (NET) or Satan cometh…and taketh away (KJV).  There is no need to derive or supply he as a subject for the second 3rd person singular verb αἴρει.  The direct object, what Satan snatches or taketh away, follows that verb: τὸν λόγον, translated the word.

That direct object is modified by τὸν ἐσπαρμένον, translated that was sown, pointing back to: The sower sows the word (ὁ σπείρων τὸν λόγον σπείρει).[16]  Finally, εἰς αὐτούς (NET: in them) or εν ταις καρδιαις αυτων (KJV: in their hearts) specifies where the word was sown, and consequently from where Satan snatches or taketh it away.

The parallel account in Luke 8:12 is very similar:

Luke 8:12b

 John 15:2a
 NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus  NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus
εἶτα ἔρχεται ὁ διάβολος καὶ αἴρει τὸν λόγον ἀπὸ τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν, ἵνα μὴ πιστεύσαντες σωθῶσιν ειτα ερχεται ο διαβολος και αιρει τον λογον απο της καρδιας αυτων ινα μη πιστευσαντες σωθωσιν πᾶν κλῆμα ἐν ἐμοὶ μὴ φέρον καρπὸν αἴρει αὐτό παν κλημα εν εμοι μη φερον καρπον αιρει αυτο

NET

 KJV NET

KJV
then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. He takes away every branch that does not bear fruit in me. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away:

The beginning of the clause is marked by an adverb εἶτα, translated then.  The verb ἔρχεται (translated comes or cometh) is the same as in Mark’s account, but the subject here is ὁ διάβολος, translated the devil.  The next clause begins identically to Mark’s account: conjunction, verb, direct object, καὶ αἴρει τὸν λόγον.  Then things change a bit.

Rather than τὸν ἐσπαρμένον specifying which τὸν λόγον, Luke’s Gospel narrative is explicit where the devil takes away the word from: ἀπὸ τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν, translated from or out of their hearts.  A reason follows that, why the devil does this: ἵνα μὴ πιστεύσαντες σωθῶσιν, so that they may not believe and be saved (NET) or lest they should believe and be saved (KJV).

I had to admit that compared to Mark 4:15b and Luke 8:12b, the construction of the Greek in John 15:2a was more like Matthew 4:6b above.  It nudged me further along the path to considering that αἴρει in John 15:2a should have been translated some other way than takes away or taketh away.  But Paul wrote believers in Rome, Then you will say, “The[17] branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.”[18]

I’ll pick this up in another essay.  Tables comparing Matthew 3:10; Mark 2:21; 4:15 and Romans 11:19 in the NET and KJV follow.

Matthew 3:10 (NET)

Matthew 3:10 (KJV)
Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἤδη δὲ ἡ ἀξίνη πρὸς τὴν ρίζαν τῶν δένδρων κεῖται· πᾶν οὖν δένδρον μὴ ποιοῦν καρπὸν καλὸν ἐκκόπτεται καὶ εἰς πῦρ βάλλεται ηδη δε και η αξινη προς την ριζαν των δενδρων κειται παν ουν δενδρον μη ποιουν καρπον καλον εκκοπτεται και εις πυρ βαλλεται ηδη δε και η αξινη προς την ριζαν των δενδρων κειται παν ουν δενδρον μη ποιουν καρπον καλον εκκοπτεται και εις πυρ βαλλεται

Mark 2:21 (NET)

Mark 2:21 (KJV)
No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear becomes worse. No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
Οὐδεὶς ἐπίβλημα ράκους ἀγνάφου ἐπιράπτει ἐπὶ ἱμάτιον παλαιόν· εἰ δὲ μή, αἴρει τὸ πλήρωμα ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ τὸ καινὸν τοῦ παλαιοῦ καὶ χεῖρον σχίσμα γίνεται και ουδεις επιβλημα ρακους αγναφου επιρραπτει επι ιματιω παλαιω ει δε μη αιρει το πληρωμα αυτου το καινον του παλαιου και χειρον σχισμα γινεται και ουδεις επιβλημα ρακους αγναφου επιρραπτει επι ιματιω παλαιω ει δε μη αιρει το πληρωμα αυτου το καινον του παλαιου και χειρον σχισμα γινεται

Mark 4:15 (NET)

Mark 4:15 (KJV)
These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: Whenever they hear, immediately Satan comes and snatches the word that was sown in them. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
οὗτοι δέ εἰσιν οἱ παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν· ὅπου σπείρεται ὁ λόγος καὶ ὅταν ἀκούσωσιν, εὐθὺς ἔρχεται ὁ σατανᾶς καὶ αἴρει τὸν λόγον τὸν ἐσπαρμένον εἰς αὐτούς ουτοι δε εισιν οι παρα την οδον οπου σπειρεται ο λογος και οταν ακουσωσιν ευθεως ερχεται ο σατανας και αιρει τον λογον τον εσπαρμενον εν ταις καρδιαις αυτων ουτοι δε εισιν οι παρα την οδον οπου σπειρεται ο λογος και οταν ακουσωσιν ευθεως ερχεται ο σατανας και αιρει τον λογον τον εσπαρμενον εν ταις καρδιαις αυτων

Romans 11:19 (NET)

Romans 11:19 (KJV)
Then you will say, “The branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἐρεῖς οὖν· ἐξεκλάσθησαν κλάδοι ἵνα ἐγὼ ἐγκεντρισθῶ ερεις ουν εξεκλασθησαν οι κλαδοι ινα εγω εγκεντρισθω ερεις ουν εξεκλασθησαν κλαδοι ινα εγω εγκεντρισθω

[1] John 15:2a (NET)

[2] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και (KJV: also) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[3] John 15:2b (NET)

[4] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και (KJV: also) at the beginning of this clause.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[5] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἐπιράπτει here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had επιρραπτει (KJV: seweth).

[6] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἱμάτιον παλαιόν here in the nominative case, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ιματιω παλαιω in the dative case.

[7] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἀπ᾿ here.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[8] Mark 2:21b (KJV)

[9] John 15:2a (KJV)

[10] John 15:2b (KJV)

[11] John 15:4 (NET) Table

[12] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had εὐθὺς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ευθεως.

[13] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had εἰς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εν.

[14] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had αὐτούς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ταις καρδιαις αυτων (KJV: their hearts).

[15] Matthew 13:19 (NET)

[16] Mark 4:14 (NET)  Here the direct object τὸν λόγον (in the accusative case) precedes the verb σπείρει.  It was not ὁ σπείρων τοῦ λόγου σπείρει (The sower of the word sows) in the genitive case, but the placement of the direct object makes me feel like I should understand that the sower of the word sows the word.

[17] The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article οι preceding branches.  The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[18] Romans 11:19 (NET)