Category Archives: logos

Mē or μή

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Mē or μή is a Greek word (Strong’s G 3361) and is used over 1000 times in the New Testament. While using the Mounce translation and website I saw this word in Matthew 5:17 – Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (NIV) I was actually studying the word “think” in the passage, but that is for another time.

Mē is the first of the two words translated as no in the passage. The second one is G3756 which is also used many times in the New Testament. Both words carry a negative thought and mean no or not.

My thought on the word Mē is very simple and has little to do with Greek grammar or tenses. When “me” takes center stage in what I am doing it translates into a big NO. We all have talents and abilities from the Father we are to use to bring glory to Jesus. The Holy Spirit may even have given you a spiritual gift for building up the Church. But when the “me” factor starts to shadow the glory, we are to give the Father and Jesus a mē and a οὐ has to come in. Another time when me needs a Mē is in dealing with other people, that “as yourself “part is easy to ignore.

So, Jesus = Yes and me = no. Father begin your reign on earth as it is in Heaven. Come Lord Jesus.

Anaginōskō – To Read

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Anaginōskō translates in English “to read”. It is in the Strong’s under G314 where you find it means to read, decern, or gather knowledge. Yes, there are several forms and tenses of this compound word in Greek, good luck with all of those. This study started with Luke 10:26 – He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? (KJV) It then led me to a very loose look at reading and gathering knowledge. (Thank you, Bible Gateway, and Mounce.) In Hebrew qara means to read.

I will flip back a few pages in the Bible to see how the written word and the transmission of its knowledge would take place.

  1. Exodus 24:7 – Moses wrote down the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people.
  2. Deuteronomy 17:19 – When a king started to rule, he was to write a copy of the Law and read it so he would fear the Lord and keep the commandments. We never read of one king doing that.
  3. Deuteronomy 31:11 – When Israel came together (At the Feast?) the Law was to be read to them. Nehemiah made this happen.   

Our God who loves righteousness and wants people to choose to follow Him needs people to be able to write, read, and hear His love Letter to them. That means two things:1. We have to read, hear, and study His word to know Him better. 2. The people who translate His word for us better do a faithful job. Isaiah 29:11-13 speak to this, if you cannot read or do not read His word, we will have man-made rules that do not honor the Father.

Jesus as our Master Teacher asks six times in the Book of Matthew, “Have you not read”. I see the meaning of Anaginōskō here as “Have you not gathered understanding by reading”. Those references are 12:3, 12:5, 19:4, 21:16, 21:42, and 22:31. In His Sermons from the Two Mounts He requires the learner/reader to decern the ‘abomination of desolation’ spoken by the prophet Daniel in verse 24:15.

On your own. Anaginōskō or Strong’s G314 is used 32 times in the New Testament. Find and read the other times it is used and see what information and understanding you can gather.

Renewal, Regeneration, and Born Again

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This word study began in a “last to first” post in Matthew 9:28. That inquiry also generated a study for some other great words. Translators and dictionary makers have a demanding job, especially if they are keeping politics out of the final product. The words and phrases that caught my attention are very close in usage in our modern vernacular, I wonder what they were in the first century.

Strong: G3824 palingenesia a new birth; regeneration, renovation, Matthew 19:28; Titus 3:5.

Matthew 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (KJV)

Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; (KJV)

Strong: G342 anakainōsis renovation, renewal – Romans 12:2; Titus 3:5 

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (KJV)

Titus contains both of the first two words, which I found interesting. Paul is very careful with his words; I don’t think this was a mistake. More study on my part is required. This led me to the idea in John 3:3 and how it compares with the first two words.

Strong: G1080 and G509 gennaō anōthen birth from above or born-again John 3:3

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (KJV)

Mounce did a doctorial paper on the topic of new birth. I could only access the introduction. There seem to be other writers who have pondered this. For me, it is amazing that these few words occupy so much of our theology.

The verse in Matthew made me reflect on exactly what happened when Jesus came out of the tomb. Christianly has used many words to describe Jesus’ new state of being. For all practical purposes, He was born anew, with a glorified body and several new titles and responsibilities.

Sources were Mounce Interlinear and Strong’s Concordance.

Last to First with Some Great Words

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Matthew 19:28 to 20:16 is a formal lesson on last/first. Matthew recorded four great words Jesus used in this teaching. I have used Strong’s Concordance for many years, recently I found Mounce’s Greek Interlinear to help in my studies, like this one. Which for me is great because the New Testament can be Greek in my mind at times. Tools like these can expand your study, but they are just two of many helpful resources. Go outside your box every now and then and let the Spirit expand your knowledge.

The four words that caught my attention have limited use in the New Testament, are important to the tone of the lesson, and/or I thought they were funny.

Palingenesia – Strong: G3824 is used by Jesus, in verse 28, to introduce and set the tone for His answer to Peter and to give a timeframe for His teaching. Regeneration is maybe the best translation for this word, but you may see new birth, renewal, or renovation in some translations. It is used twice in the New Testament; the other time is in Titus 3:5. Jesus includes the disciples and gives it a heavenly tone, but contrasts this against the thought that part of the receiving will be done here on earth.

Hama – Strong: G260. In 29:1 it is “early in the morning”. Hama is used 10x in the New Testament, in most of the other verses it is “at the same time”. Since the landowner is hiring workers at various times that is okay. If you reflect on the second usage, I believe it can change how view the Father’s desire and consistent practice of getting laborers into His field. 

Misthoō – Strong: G3409. It means to hire out. This word is used only twice in the New Testament- Matthew 20:1, 7. These refer to the first and the last workers to be hired, the third, sixth, and ninth-hour workers are offered payment and told to go. The first ones the owner went to hire and the last men no one had hired.

Ouchi – Strong: G3780. It appears in Matthew 20:13 and means “not or no”, the no is emphasized. The first hired are complaining and the owner says he is not unfair on the wages. Ouchi is used many times in the New Testament.

I believe these four great words, that Jesus uses, demonstrate how important the first to last and last to first concept is in the Kingdom.

Last and First

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The words first and last are found together in many verses in the New Testament. The passage that started this study is 1 Corinthians 15: 45-48. Paul is explaining the resurrected body to the church in Chapter 15. He uses the body of Jesus as the example of how His earthy (dust) body was sown in the tomb and a spiritual body came out of it. Paul compared the “first Adam” to the “last Adam” and then changed terms and said the first man and second man (referring to Jesus). In this set of verses first is some form of protos. The word second is deuteros. The word last is eschatos. Sorry, those are English-to-Greek translations (Mounce).  

This first study led to a second one, and this last study provide some surprises. I will use Matthew as the reference book. These stories are also found in the other Gospels and the words and uses of them seem consistent among several major translations of the Bible.

Bad to Worse – These two stories are on different topics but the last to first concept is the same. In 12:45 Jesus is responding to a demand from the Pharisees for a miraculous sign. The final part of the teaching is about a demon that leaves a man and then returns with seven others. The man had it bad at first, but his last condition was worse. The second story has the Pharisees demanding a guard be posted by the tomb of Jesus (27:64). They argued that the first lie from Jesus would be worse than the last lie of the disciples. They said the lie was Him rising from the dead in three days. (No surprises here.)

Shall, First, Last – As a parent, coach, and teacher I have used the iconic saying “the first shall be last” many times in dealing with people. Jesus, the Master Teacher, surprised me by switching the order of the saying on the same day in two different circumstances to deliver two different meanings. This day of teaching occurred before Jesus started His victory parade into Jerusalem during Holy Week, He was on the east bank of the Jordan.

The rich young ruler was the object of the story in 19:30. He had money, and I am sure he was always allowed to be first in line wherever he went. He did not want to give up his money. The end of his part of the story was – the first shall be last and the last shall be first (those who gave up their money).

As Jesus expanded this teaching, He told the parable of a landowner hiring workers – Chapter 20, especially Verse 16. At the end of the day, the owner paid the last workers the same as he paid the first workers. Here the last workers are the object of the action, and they got what was promised them – the last shall be first, and the first last. (Attitude is part of the issue here.)

My surprise came in because of the switch in the order and the condition of whom He was talking about. The phrase still signals a change in position, but apparently, I need to think before slinging around who is first and last, why they are there, and whether they should be moving.

This is my first day writing on this topic, it will not be my last. The thoughts on a first day can be changed after studying, so these mat not be my last thoughts on the subject.