Christ’s Words

Mar 10:39 You shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall you be baptized:
Alternative: Truly, the cup from which I drink, you will drink and the drowning in which I am washed, you will be washed.

In the Greek, the word play between the first person present forms of the verbs and the second person future forms has more force. The strong sense of this verse is that what happens to Christ now, happens to us all eventually.

While the previous verse was a question having the power (or the will) to pursue Christ’s specific path, this verse is about the inevitability about certain aspects of that path. The cup is the symbol of suffering and  death that arises directly from the pleasures of life (see previous verse for more on this). Baptism is the symbol of rebirth.

Why does Christ repeat this verse twice, first as a question and second as a statement? To parallel the questions that we have about our fate in dying followed by the certainty of rebirth. That certainty is emphasized here with the use of the first word in the sentence, “indeed.”

“Indeed” is from men (men), which is generally used to express certainty and means “indeed,” “certainly,” “surely,” and “truly.”

“Drink” is from pinô (pino), which means “to drink.”

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

“Baptize” is from baptizô (baptizo), which means “to dip,” “to plunge,” “to be drenched,” “to be drowned,” and “getting in deep water.”

“Baptism” is from baptisma, (baptisma) which is only in the New Testament and means “baptism.”

Mar 10:38 You know not what you ask: can you drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
Alternative: You do not see what you are asking: do you have the power to drink from the cup that I drink from and be washed by the drowning by which I am washed?

The first part of this verse is that statement of a simple truth. Since we do not know where we come from or where we are going, we never know what to ask for and what our desires mean.

More interesting are the symbols of drinking from the cup and and being washed by baptism. From the context, we can tell that both are difficult (requiring power) and are a type of testing. They are important symbols of Christ’s major theme of the transformation process.

Baptism is the easier of the two because it was introduced by John as a ritual washing and rebirth of water.  Here, however, this washing is equated with drowning (another meaning for the word baptizo) of our old life and literally dying to be reborn to a new life. Turning ourselves over to another, being submerged, and emerging to see the world anew encapsulates all three aspects of the temporal life: the emotional, the physical, and the mental.

“Drinking from the cup” is more interesting because it is an older Jewish symbol. In the OT, God forces the evil to drink from the cup so that they lose their senses and are humiliated (see Psa 75:8, Isa 51:22, Jer 25:15-17, Jer 49:12, Eze 23:32, and Hab 2:16).  Again, if you read these verse, the process of drinking cover the three aspects of temporal life: physical pleasure, mental disorientation, leading to pubic humiliation. So, as death is the effect of drowning, humiliation is the effect of drinking.

However, while baptism carries its message of rebirth in emerging from the water, drinking from the cup carries no such message of transformation in the OT testament sense. This is an idea that Christ added: that all that falls to humiliation from faith and duty will also rise.

“You know” is from eidon (eidon), which means “to see,” “to perceive,” “to behold,” “to experience,” “to look,” “to see mentally,” “to examine,” “to investigate,” “to see with the mind’s eye,” and “to know how.”

“Ask” is from aiteô (aiteo), which means “to ask,” “to demand,” “to beg,” and “to ask for one’s own use.”

“Can” is from the verb, dunamai (dynamai), which means “to have power by virtue of your own capabilities,” “to be able,” and “to be strong enough.”

“Drink” is from pinô (pino), which means “to drink.”

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

“Baptize” is from baptizô (baptizo), which means “to dip,” “to plunge,” “to be drenched,” “to be drowned,” and “getting in deep water.”

“Baptism” is from baptisma, (baptisma) which is only in the New Testament and means “baptism.”

Mar 10:36 What would you that I should do for you?
Alternative: What do you wish me to make you?

This is a question we should all be thinking about in the context of our own lives.  Christ’s message is that our lives on earth are not about being (the eternal), but about becoming.  In the Lord’s prayer, Christ describes the universe and the earth as the “becoming” of God’s will.  Here, Christ asks us what we want that becoming to be.

We know what we will become in the temporal world, dust to dust. The larger question is what do we becoming spiritually, in that part of us that survives death and exists forever.

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

“Would” is from thelô (thelo), which means “to be willing,” “to wish,” “to ordain,” “to decree,” “to be resolved to a purpose” and “to desire.”

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

Mar 10:34 And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.

Again, we see the pattern of three plus one but now applied to Christ fate. There are three temporal forms of torture, one from each of the realms of life (physical, intellectual, emotional).  Mocking is intellectual torture (words). Scourging is the physical torture (the body). Spitting upon him is the emotional/social torture (rejection). Killing takes torture into the spiritual realm, but that final action is reversed by Christ rising again.

“Mock” is from empaizô (empaizo), which means “to mock” and “to sport in.”

“Scourge” is from mastigoô (mastigoo), which means “to whip” and “to flog.”

“Spit upon” is from emptuô (emptyo), which means “spit into” and “spit onto.”

“Kill” is from apokteinô, which is a stronger form of kteinô, which means “to slay.” It means to “condemn to death” and “put to death.”

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

Mar 10:33 [Saying], Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:

Alternative: For see we are going up to Jerusalem and the child of humanity shall be given to the chief priests and scribes and sentenced to death and given over to the nation.

When Christ seems a little wordy in his construction, it is because he so often follows the three plus one form. Notice the basic three-part construction of the transitory action: going up, handed over, and being judged. The three actions represent the three temporal realms: the physical (going up), the emotional/social  (being handed over) and the intellectual (being judged). The initial verb “see” plays the role of the plus one, representing the eternal perspective.

In a similar way, Christ mentions three groups of temporary people: the gentiles (the physical), the priests (the emotional/social), and the scribes (the intellectual). Christ himself as the Son of man becomes the plus one, the realm of the eternal.

This statement can be also seen as an extension of the previous verse. Christ will be delivered for judgment and execution as a result of the best being the worst.

“[Saying]” is from hoti (hoti), which means “for what,” “because,” “since,” and “wherefore.”

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

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

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

“Men” is from anthrôpos (anthropos), which “man,” and, in plural, “mankind.” It also means “humanity” and that which is human and opposed to that which is animal or inanimate.

“Delivered” and “deliver” are from paradidômi (paradidomi), which means “to give over to another,” “to transmit,” “to hand down,” “to grant,” “to teach,” and “to bestow.”

“Chief priests” is from archiereus (archiereus), which means “arch-priest” and “chief priest.”

“Scribes” is from grammateus (grammateus), which is generally a “secretary,” “recorder,” and “scholar,” but specifically means someone who uses gramma which is Greek for “drawings,” “a letter,” (as in an alphabet)”diagrams,” and “letters” (as in correspondence).

“Condemn” is from katakrinô (katakrino), which means “to give a sentence against,” “to codemn,”  “to judge against,” and in the passive, “to be judged.”

“Death” is thanatos (thanatos), which means “death” and “a death sentence.”

“Gentiles” is from ethnos (ethnos), which means “a number of people living together,” “company,” “body of men,”  “tribe,” “a people,” “nation,” and (later) “foreign, barbarous nations.”

Mar 10:31 But many [that are] first shall be last; and the last first.
Alternative: But the great, foremost shall be the lowest and the lowest the foremost.

The context of this chapter is about human relationships. It starts discussing the exclusivity of marriage and importance of children. It them moves to a discussion about possessions and how the possession of things can be a handicap to our spirits, but the possessions of relationships is not. On the contrary, the spirit gets us more relationships despite the rejection of society.

This idea continues here. While the normal English translation emphasizes the use of these words in terms of order, in the context of relationships, Christ is talking about social order and who we see as the highest and the lowest. Those with many personal, caring relationships are rich not matter how physically costly such relationships are. Having children may be costly, but they provide the wealth that counts.

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

“First” is from prôtos (protos). In place, this means “the foremost.” Of time, it means “the initial.” In order, it means “the first.” In math, it means the prime numbers. Of rank or degree, it means “the highest” or “the best.” This was the word used to mean “the first” in the parable of the landowner hiring workers.

“Shall be” is from eimi (eimi), which means “to be,” “to exist,” “to be the case,” and “is possible.” (The form used here is the future form esomai.)

“Last” is from eschatos (eschatos). In space, this means “furthest.” In degree, it means “uttermost” and “highest.” In persons, it means “lowest” and “meanest.” Of time, it means “last” and “ending.”

Mar 10:30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

Alternative: If not,  he may know now in this moment a hundred forms of houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and countries amid the harassment and, in this age, the coming life, lasting for ages.

Notice, that as Christ lists the relationships in this verse, he doesn’t simply repeat the list in the previous verse. He leaves out two relationships. Do you notice which ones? It obviously wasn’t an accident was it?

In that previous verse, Christ says that getting the rewards of the good news doesn’t require us giving up our relationships. Here, he goes on to say that if we do have to let go of our relationships, we will get them back a hundred times in an ageless life.

The word play here between “in this age” and “lasting for ages” are lost in English, where the Greek words (aion and aiônios) are translated as “this world” and “eternal.”  The concept in Greek translated as “eternal life” can also be understood as living outside or beyond of our own era, escaping from our own limited time emotionally.

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

“Hundredfold” is from hekatontaplasiôn (hekatontaplasion), which means “a hundred times as much or many.” We say “a hundred-fold” but the Greek said “a hundred forms.” The first part of this word is for a hundred, hekaton, and the last part is from plassô, which describes the molds used for casting and means “mold,”"form,” “form an image (in the mind),” “fabricate,” and “forge.”

“Now” is from nun (nyn), which means “now,” “at the present moment,” “at the present time,” “just now,” “presently,” and “as it is.”

“This” is from toutô (touto), which means “from here,” “from there,” “this [thing],” or “that [thing].”

“Time” is from kairos, which means “due measure,” “proportion,” “fitness,” “exact time,” “season,” “opportunity,” “time,” “critical times,” “advantage,” and “profit.” It is the concept of time as a moment as opposed to a measurement. The ideas of good times or bad times as a part from seconds, minutes, and hours.

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

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

“Sister” is from adelphê (adelpe), which means “sister,” and “kinswoman.”

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

“Children” is from teknon (teknon), which means “that which is born,” “child,” and “the young.”

“Lands” is from agros (agros), which means “field,” “lands,” or “country.”

“With” is from meta (meta), which means “in the midst of,” “among,” “between,” “in common,” “along with,” “by the aid of,” “in one’s dealings with,” “into the middle of,” “coming into,” “in pursuit of,” “after,” “behind,” “according to,” and “next afterward”

“Persecution” is from diôgmos, (diogmos), which means “the chase,” “pursuit,” and “harassment.”
and “to scandalize.”

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

“Come” is from erchomai (erchomai), which means to start,”  “to set out,” “to come,” “to go,” and any kind of motion. It means both “to go” on a journey and “to arrive” at a place.

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

“Life” is from  zoê (zoe), which means “living,” “substance,” “property,” “existence,” and, incidentally, “the scum on milk.” It has the sense of how we say “make a living” to mean property. Homer used it more to mean the opposite of death.

Mar 10:29 Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,
Alternative: I repeat the truth to you: There is no one that lets go of his house or brothers or sisters or father, mother or wife or children or country for the sake of me and the reward of good tidings.

This verse seems to cover all aspects of the realm of relationship, which Christ deems the most important area of our temporary life on earth. (More on the concept of “a house” and family at Mar 3.33.)

The list of eight types of relationships also indicates the use of the pattern of three plus one, repeated twice as it was in the Beatitudes.  If the symbol pattern is the same, we get an extended key of Christ’s symbolic system. House and mother symbolize the spiritual realm. Father and lands symbolize the physical realm. Brother and wife symbolize the emotional realm, and sister and children symbolize the mental realm.

This larger key is consistent with Christ’s symbol of the Father as the physical aspect of the eternal as the Creator, the Son (child) as the mental aspect of the eternal as the Word, and, interestingly, and the Spirit as the relationship aspect of the eternal.

While at first glance, this verse seems to be saying that we should sacrifice our relationships for the reward of the good news, a closer reading seems to say that opposite: that no one lets go of these relationships for the sake of Christ and the reward he offers. More on the concept of the reward of the “good news” at Mar 8:35.

“Verily” is from amên (amen), which is from the Hebrew, meaning “truly,” “of a truth,” and “so be it.” It has not history in Greek before the NT.

“Say” is from legô (lego) means literally “pick up,” but it used to mean “recount,” “tell over,” “say,” “speak,” “teach,” and “command.”

“Is” is from eimi (eimi), which means “to be,” “to exist,” “to be the case,” and “is possible.” (The future form is esomai. The 3rd person present indicative is “esti.”)

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

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

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

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

“Sister” is from adelphê (adelpe), which means “sister,” and “kinswoman.”

“Father” is from pater (pater), which means “father,” “grandfather,” “author,” “parent,” and “forefathers.”

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

“Wife” is from gunê (gyne), which means “woman (as opposed to man),” “wife,” “spouse,” “mortal woman (as opposed to a goddess),” and “female mate (among animals).”

“Children” is from teknon (teknon), which means “that which is born,” “child,” and “the young.”

“Lands” is from agros (agros), which means “field,” “lands,” or “country.”

“For this cause” is from heneka (heneka),  which means “on account of,” “as far as regards,” “in consequence of,” and “because.”

“Gospels” is from euangelion (euaggelion) a “reward of good tidings,” a “thank offering for good tidings, ” “good news,” and “good tidings.” Originally, this terms described a reward, like a tip, given to a messenger who brought good news.

Mar 10:27 With men [it is] impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
Alternative: Incapability issues from humanity but not from God. Because God is all capable.

In the alternative above, we get closer to the sense of this phrase is Greek. Para, translated as “with,” means “beside,” but it also means “from” and “issuing from.” It is interesting that in English, the prefix “para” has come to primarily means “beyond,” as in “paranormal.”

“With” is from para (para), which means “beside,” “from the side of,” “from beside,”, “from,” “issuing from,” “near,” “by,” “with,” “along,” “past,” “beyond,” “parallel (geometry),” “like (metaphor),” “a parody of (metaphor),” “precisely at the moment of (time),” and “throughout (time).”

“Men” is from anthrôpos (anthropos), which “man,” and, in plural, “mankind.” It also means “humanity” and that which is human and opposed to that which is animal or inanimate.

“Impossible” is from adunatos (adynatos), which means “unable to do a thing,” “without power,” “powerless,” “impossible,” and “unrealizable.”

“God” is from theos (theos), which means “God,” the Deity.”

“For” comes from gar (gar) which is the introduction of a clause explaining a reason or explanation:  “for,” “since,” and “as.” In an abrupt question it means “why” and “what.”

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

“Possible” is from dunatos (dynatos), which means “strong,” “mighty,” “possible,” and “practicable.”

Mar 10:25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Alternative: It is happier work for a rope to go through the eye of a needle than for the opulent to enter into divine rule.

For the first part of this phrase, there is a number of explanations offered here. The two most popular ideas are that it refers to a camel going through a narrow gate in Jerusalem or that the word for “camel” also means “rope” in Aramaic. In any case, the idea of something too large going into something small is the same, an idea consistent with Christ’s teaching the the entrance to divine rule is narrow.

In the last part of the phrase, Christ advances his description of the wealthy. While in two previous verses, Christ talked about “men with property” and then “men persuaded by property,” here those people are described as the opulent, plousios, those who are abundantly supplied with wealth.  These three repetitions follow three aspects of our temporal life. Men with property represent the physical aspect. Men persuaded by property is the mental aspect. The display of the opulent is the relationship/emotional aspect.

The overall message is consistent with the idea that those who have too much invested in the temporal world cannot find their way in the spiritual world. If any of the three aspects of our our temporal life dominate us, we cannot escape from them into the spiritual.

“Easier” is from eukopos (eukopo), which means “easy.” The word is used primarily in the New Testament.  It is a compound  eu, the word for “well,” “thoroughly,” “competently,” “fortunately,” and “happily,” and kopos, which means “striking,” “beating,” “toil and trouble,” “fatigue,” and “work.”

“Camel” is from kamêlos (kamelos), which means “camel.” It is originally of Hebrew or Aramaic origin (gamal).

“To go” is from eiserchomai, which means both “to go into,” “to come in,” “to enter,” “to enter an office,” “to enter a charge,” (as in court) and “to come into one’s mind.”

“Through” is from dia (dia) which means “through,” “in the midst of,” “in a line (movement),” “throughout (time),” “by,” “among,” and “between.”

“Eye” is from trymalia (trymalia), which means “hole.”

“Needle” is from rhaphis (rhaphis), which means “needle.”

“Rich man” is from plousios (plousios), which means “rich,” and “opulent.” It very much has the sense of ostentatiously rich.

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

“God” is from theos (theos), which means “God,” the Deity.”