{Word Study} Good Shepherd
WORD STUDY: GOOD (SHEPHERD)
John 10:11: “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd gives
his life for his sheep.”
Good: Greek: kalos – beautiful, fine, excellent, blameless,
high moral character. Aramaic: tawa’ – A relationship with
someone or something that is harmonious and in sync.
Jesus calls himself a good shepherd. There are a few words in
Greek which are rendered as good and about four words in
Aramaic rendered as good.
The Aramaic words Hana
(pleasurable, beautiful, find) and Taqan (honest, blameless,
high moral character) would best match the Greek word kalos
that is used in John 10:11.
However, the Aramaic New
Testament uses the word tawa (perfect harmony) instead.
Jesus spoke these words in Aramaic and John heard them in
Aramaic and perhaps translated them into Greek if he did not
write them down in Aramaic first.
So why was the word kalos chosen? I reviewed all the words I
could find in the Greek that could be rendered as good and
none really expressed the basic idea of tawa’ which is similar
to the Hebrew word tov. Hence the Greek writer could only
choose the best possible Greek word for tawa’ and even that
falls short.
The Aramaic word tawa’ is rooted in a relationship.
In review
of all the Greek words I could not find any that would
actively speak of a relationship. All, more or less, address
one’s character, courage or appearance.
Yet, the whole idea
of Jesus illustrating Himself as a shepherd carries the idea
of a relationship and really speaks little of his appearance,
moral character or courage. Perhaps the word “good” is not
our best rendering although I for one would never be a part in
tearing down this iconic expression. I like calling Him the
Good Shepherd, but we really need to define “good.”
There were two types of shepherd in Jesus day. There were the
hired shepherds and the self-employed shepherds who owned
their own sheep. In the ancient Eastern culture a shepherd
was a highly respected occupation.
Women desired to see
their sons become shepherds. If a man had no sons he would be
forced to hire a stranger to watch his sheep. This was not
the best option as shepherding was a very hazardous job. A
shepherd had to protect a bunch of senseless animals from
attack by wolves, bandits, hostile weather and any number of
threats. The first sign of a bunch of knife welding thieves
and a hired shepherd will say: “Risk my life for room and
board? I’m out of here.”
However, if a man’s personal
livelihood is threatened, that is a threat to his wife,
children and his future, he would take the risk.
I remember
a movie where the director of a hospital was locked out of his
hospital by armed radicals. The director pointed to a couple
security guards and said: “Ok, come on, we’re going to take
these guys.”
you crazy?”
The security guard said: “At $7.50 an hour, are
There were plenty of courageous, honorable hired shepherds,
but they did not have a relationship with their sheep, their
relationship was with their paycheck. Get fired from one
shepherd job they just move to another community; background
checks were difficult in those days.
Jesus is not only our Good Shepherd, or the Shepherd who is
not into it for the paycheck and will abandon his sheep first
time one wanders off a dangerous cliff or faces hungry wolves,
but He has also set Himself up as a role model for Christian
leaders. How many pastors would walk into a crack house and
bodily pick up one of the young people from his church and
drag him home. How many pastors would get up in the middle of
the night during a snow storm and drive to the bedside of
church member who needs his hand held and prayer. How many
pastors would take a pay cut during a recession so members of
His congregation would not be burdened with dipping into their
unemployment checks.
In other words how many pastors and church leaders are truly
tawa’ shepherds (good shepherds) and not hired shepherds who
will abandon his sheep at the first sign of trouble or the
offer of a bigger church and more pay?
{Word Study} Agreement
WORD STUDY – AGREEMENT
Matthew 18:19-20: “Again I say unto you that if two of you
shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask
it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there
I am in their midst.”
“Where two or three are gathered together to study Torah, the
Divine Presence is in their midst.”
The Talmud
Agreement – Greek: sympahonesosin – to be in harmony, in
perfect tune Aramaic – shwa: to spread, wipe smooth, be equal,
and cover the entire surface.
The expression: “Where two or three are gathered together…”
was a very well known and common expression among the Jewish
people of that day.
The first question that comes to my mind when I read Matthew
18:19-20 is why we need two people to give a request to the
Lord. Is not one sufficient? Is God more easily persuaded if
two people are praying for something rather than one?
Doesn’t that contradict what it tells us in James 5 that the
prayer of a (that is one) righteous man can avail much?
Then
Jesus says where “two or three are gathered together in my
name there I am in the midst.”
I am alone right now, does
that mean that Jesus is not in my midst?
I read about a
persecuted Christian who spent months in solitary
confinement. According to this verse, you need at least two
people present for God to be in your midst. Does that mean
that this person suffering for the name of Jesus would not
have Jesus in his midst because he is lacking a companion.
Does that mean his prayers will go unanswered because he has
no one agreeing with him?
Matthew 18;19-20 is not as a formula to get our prayers
answered but a teaching by Jesus as to the importance of
praying according to His will or “in His name.”
The reason
the Talmud says “Where two or three are gathered together…”
and most likely why Jesus used this common expression is that
when you study Scripture alone you may interpret a passage
wrongly, hence the Talmud encourages you to have a study
partner. If the two studying together disagree a third person
is called in to arbitrate. Jesus is saying the same can happen
when you pray. You may make a request to God that is not in
His will. A second or third person may be needed to help you
understand God’s will in a matter so you truly pray “in Jesus
name” or in accordance with his will.
The word agreement in the Greek is symphonesosin. You can
guess the English word that comes from that – symphony which
means to be in tune, in perfect harmony. A wind instrument
entirely different than a stringed instrument, when in tune
with each other, form a harmonic sound. So too, when two or
three people from different backgrounds are in tune to God’s
will, Jesus is in their midst or in tune with them.
The
Aramaic word gives even more detail, it is shwa which means to
spread and wipe smooth. It is like spreading butter on toast
or spreading concrete, you keep running the knife over and
over it until it is smooth over the entire surface. So too
when you come together to pray, you keep going over and over
the request until you are all equal in thought, desire, and in
harmony with God. Then when you make your request to God,
Jesus is in the middle of that request, in other words, He is
the bread that is entirely covered with your request that is
according to His will. Such a request will be granted.
Devotional Psalms 86: 1
Good Morning Yamon Ki Yesepar and Nevim Arith Hayomim:
Psalms 86: 1: “Bow down thine ear O Lord hear me; For I am
poor and needy. Do preserve my soul, for I am holy; O thou my
God save thy servant who trusts in Thee.”
Do you ever feel like your soul is under attack.
Like
Shakespeare said: “When sorrows come they come not single
spies but in battalions.” Hamlet, Act IV Scene V. I mean like
old Job, one messenger after another comes with bad news and
your soul is so troubled you cry our like David: “O Lord
preserve my soul.”
David, however, adds one other thing:
“For I am holy.” The word for “holy” is “chasad” which means
righteous. Hey, I’m righteous, I am saved, born again, washed
in the blood, bless be the ties that bind and all that. So
why does my soul not feel preserved?
I look outside and groan, it is not raining, I guess I need to
mow the lawn.
Another bother. I can’t figure it, if God
created grass to grown, why not let it grown. Seems to me
this grass cutting stuff is just to keep the lawn mower
manufacturers and landscapers in business. But when you can’t
afford to pay someone to mow your lawn, another bother.
So I am mowing the lawn, feeling pretty sorry for myself when
standing in the middle of my lawn is Resh.
“Go on,” I shout,
“Get out of here, I don’t need you around right now.”
Resh
just stood his ground grinning at me. “Look,” I continue,
“You and your friends make me out to be just as loony as that
guy who predicted the rapture last Saturday, and where were
you, I could have used a good rapture, but here I am mowing
the lawn when I could be feasting at that marriage supper of
the….”
“I have something I want to show you.”
said Resh
calmly. “Oh, you do, do you? Well if you don’t move you will
end up in my clipping bag just a bunch of shinning little
glowing slivers.” I start to chase Resh across the lawn and
notice my neighbor staring at me. Well, let him stare, he
probably has me pegged as one of those wacky people who
expected the world to end last… Oh my gosh where did my
looking glass come from, wait, hold it….”
Before I could stop I and my lawn mower went right through
it. My lawn mower became buried in a foot of snow and I in
just my T-shirt am freezing.
I struggle over to a pole
sticking out of the ground, it has a sign on it.
“North
Pole.”
Great, I’m in the North Pole of Esoteric Land
freezing.
I notice Resh sitting on top of the pole. Well,
that’s makes sense, Resh does represent the top of something.
“Hey Resh, what gives, I’m freezing.” Resh pointed off in the
distance and there I saw the sun.
It look so warm and
comfortable. I started off toward the sun. Resh, called out:
“Wait a minute, you can’t…”
but I was on my way.
As I
approached the sun I noticed it kept getting dimmer and I was
not getting warmer.
I turn around and there is Resh standing
there shaking his head. “You are like all the other scholars
who believe Shin is a descendant from the ancient
hieroglyphics which used the sun as one of it’s pictures.
Although there may be some basis to it, actually the shin with
it’s three points is a picture of the glory of God. It’s
three points are like a sparkler which is what the light on
the face of Moses was like and the light that Paul saw on the
road to Damascus and the light that some see on the face of
the righteous or the pure in heart.” “Oh, you mean like a
halo,” I suggest. “Yes,” said Resh only it is not a little
circle over one’s head, it is a sparkling, flashing light and
that is what the Shin represents.” “Ok, then why don’t I see
it on you?” I question.
“Because,” answered Resh patiently,
“You are not pure in heart.”
“Don’t tell me I’m not pure in heart.” I shout back. “I’m
saved, born again, washed in the blood, bless be the tie that
binds and all that.:”
“Well” answered Resh, “You can be
saved, born again, washed in the blood, bless be the ties that
bind and all that, but that doesn’t make you pure in heart.
You see that is why the Shin is fading as you approach, you
are not pure in heart.”
“Well, what am I missing” I demand.
“You’re missing me!”
I turn and there is Teth smiling at me.
Teth goes on to explain: “I represent goodness or harmony with
God. You are not in harmony with God right now. You feel
abandoned, useless, not accomplishing anything. You are not
getting the recognition you feel you deserve, you are getting
older and dreams are fading.
These feelings are not in
harmony with God. Yet, you call out to Him to preserve your
soul, but you fail to say like David: ‘I am holy’ or righteous
or totally in harmony with God. Only when you are in harmony
with Him will Shin take it’s rightful place with us.”
I suddenly found myself back mowing the lawn.
I stop and
think: “What did Teth mean about Shin taking his rightful
place. Then I remembered.
“guard and protect”
is
The Hebrew word for “preserve”, or
Shin, Teth, Resh (shatar).
The
protection of the glory of God (Shin) will come only from
those who are in harmony (Teth) with God and that only comes
from – I get it.
It comes from the Resh who represents
repentance. If I repent of my self centered, selfish, poor me
motives, I can then be in harmony with God who will ShaTaR or
preserve my soul.
Word Study: Willing
WORD STUDY – WILLING
Willing – Hebrew: ‘avah – willing, incline, desirous, wishing.
Isaiah 1:19: “If you be willing and obedient, you will eat the
good of the land.
“One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons.”
Dietrich Bonhoffer
The word for “willing” is “’avah” which is spelled “Alep,
Beth, Hei.”
Jewish literature teaches that the aleph
represents the yoke of the oxen. The ancient Phoenician form
of the letter “aleph” is shaped like an ox’s head. Proverbs
14:4 tells us that a rich harvest comes through the strength
of an ox. Ancient sages saw the ox as a representation of the
spiritual power of God inside of us. The yoke symbolizes the
disciplines to harness this power.
Willingness or “’avah” is
harnessing the power of God or yoking ourselves to the power
of God (Aleph) so that our hearts (Beth) are filled with His
presence (Hei).
When we do this then we will hear. Eating
the good of the land is the produce that comes from yoking
ourselves to the “ox” or the “Aleph” and that is “good” or
“tov” in harmony with God and proper to be eaten or
consumed.
The produce is the “shama” what we hear from
God.
The point is that unless we are harnessed to the power
of God and have a heart filled with His presence, we will not
“shama” or hear the voice of God.
When a farmer yoke’s oxen together, he first choses a very
aggressive ox and then yokes it to an ox that is not
aggressive. Thus the non aggressive ox will just follow the
lead of the aggressive ox. If he
together they would likely try to
and he would get nothing plowed.
God he is the aggressive one and
yokes two aggressive oxen
go in different directions
When we yoke ourselves to
we are the ones that just
yield to that aggression. The result is that we end up going
wherever God wants to go. The hearing comes naturally and the
result is a field that produces what is good (in harmony with
God).