Matt. 8:7-8 and the issue of lexical overlap

Some teachers & commentators like to make a big deal about the interplay of the verbs for love based on agape and phileo in John 15. I am not convinced that there is much (if any) exegetical significance in this interplay, as the objects also change in this passage, and more importantly there is a lot of evidence that agape was taking over the usage of phileo in the 1st century.



I think that astute students of scripture rightly take note of interesting lexical changes like this, especially when such shifts aren’t reflected in the English translation. Potentially, such nuances of the Greek might shed some interesting insights into the passage’s meaning. However, while there is this important possibility, we also need to exercise care and not assume that this is always the case (viz. Carson's "Exegetical Fallacies"). I think John 15 is a good example of this problem… the lexical evidence just doesn’t support anything exegetically significant.

After all, we are all instinctively aware that people use the same language in vastly different ways. My boss uses far more pronouns in a sentence than I ever would, and my wife regularly will casually use a word that I’ve never even heard of. There is something to our own personal expression of our selves that also involves how we phrase and word our ideas.

I came across a good example of this today while reading Matthew. In Matthew 8, Jesus is approached by a Centurion appealing to Jesus to heal his servant. Jesus responds in v. 7 with “I will come and heal him”, (which, it appears that it’s actually a question: “Should I come and heal him?”, probably due to the fact that Jesus is a Jew and this is a Gentile military leader). Jesus uses the verb therapeuo.

However, the Centurion replies that he isn’t worthy for Jesus to be in his house, and adds “but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed”. The Centurion however uses a different word for heal, iaomai. Jesus then responds in praise for the Centurions faith, and lamenting Israel’s lack of such faith. The narrative then adds, that the Centurions servant was healed (iaomai) that hour.

Therapeuo is a common word in the NT (43x), and Matthew uses it a lot (17x). Iaomai is less frequently used in the NT (26x), and even less frequent in Matthew (4x, two of which are in this passage). BDAG lists both words with similar senses of “to heal, to restore”, (although therapeuo can also be used as “service”, which doesn't fit this context).

Should we make a big deal of this? Doubtful. It looks like the evidence is pretty clear that this is just a stylistic change in vocabulary. Luke also echoes the Centurion’s use of iaomai, so I’m guessing it is either a more “proper” word fitting for his class, or it was just a stylistic difference. It is interesting that both Luke and Matthew echo the Centurion’s word for heal in describing the actual healing of the servant, but again this seems hardly exegetically significant.

In any case, in our quest for interesting exegetical nuggets, I think we have to be careful not to let our ambition for presenting the text in a fresh or new way to overplay the evidence. Good exegesis doesn’t always result in “newness”, after all most of us pale in comparison with the great exegetes who came before us.


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How do I know that I’m a Christian?

Most believers, if honest, struggle with this question from time to time. It’s not always an easy question to satisfy, because behind it are many emotions related to doubt, and sometimes intellectual problems / frustrations.

How can we be assured that we are a Christian?




A first problem relates to understanding of “being in”. Do we view our salvation as something that happened entirely in the past? Something that defines us positionally? There certainly are themes in Scripture that fit this description, but there are a lot of passages that describe out salvation as present and future. The present sense is the ongoing work of the Spirit in our lives, molding and shaping our character to be more like God’s. This is something that is a daily part of the Christian life, and it won’t be completed until Christ returns.

The future tense though (I believe) occupies the majority of passages talking about salvation. Even though we experience regeneration, justification, and sonship today, we haven’t been completely saved from sin. We’re free from sin, alive and not dead, but we still fight sin. We have to struggle against the powers of this world to abide in Christ daily… and we look forward to the completion of our salvation when He returns.

This is an important theme to understand when we think of our own salvation. Our understanding should be less of “I became saved”, and more of “I’m journeying towards salvation”. We know Christ, we can experience his love and salvation, but we are on a path towards his completed salvation. I think this can not only alleviate the frustration when we see failure in our lives (I’m a work in progress), but also can bring clarity to oversimplifications (here are 10 signs you are not saved, and 15 signs you are).

With this in mind, what does Scripture offer as identifications of those in Christ, his disciples, his church?

First, our Actions. This one is simple enough, do our lives demonstrate evidence of the Spirit working in our lives? Are we abiding in Christ, and allowing his love, grace, and mercy to poor through us to others? Are we remaining in the Vine, and bearing lots of fruit?

This isn’t the only test, scripture offers a second: Beliefs. Do we believe the right things about who God is? There certainly are “secondary” and “primary” beliefs (these terms bother me, but I cannot think of a better way of describing it). Both matter and are important, but only one category is especially vital to being a Christian. For example, if we believed God liked to eat kittens for breakfast and puppies for lunch, that would be a significant difference from the Bible’s presentation of God. If we believe that Jesus isn’t the only way to God, this would be a significant departure. However, whatever we believe (from Scripture!) about the end times, it doesn’t affect the center of our Faith (which should be Christ!).

But even those who do great miracles and have effective ministries, those who know a lot about God from his Word, might hear the painful news on that day “depart from me, for I never knew you”. Scripture offers a final test: have we had an encounter with Christ? This isn’t as easy to quantify or prescribe, because no encounter is the same. Some of us have an instant, life changing encounter like Paul did on the road to Damascus, others have a slow, but progressively unfolding encounter where their eyes are slowly opened (like a newborn getting the first glimpses of the world) and their lives are progressively changed, sort of like the disciples had.

I’ve been reflecting a lot on this latter category: what has my own encounter with Christ looked like? I can rest assured in my salvation based on the first two (though less of the first than I’d like), but sometimes it’s very easy to forget who Christ has been in my life. That I know that he is concerned for me, that he loves me and wants me to grow. That has been faithful countless times, even when I had no faith. That I know and can trust that his ways are better than mine, even though my emotions regularly steer me in a different direction. That his ways are true, that he is always there forgiving me when I’ve fallen, and that his Kingdom is real.

I don’t know if this is the best description of it… but these aren’t just mere words or reciting church formula. I think it’s healthy to regularly reflect on how we’ve personally encountered Christ in our lives, not only in generalizations, but in specific times and places. Sometimes it’s very easy to forget when we pray that we’re praying to the almighty, sovereign, creator of the universe. Sometimes I think I have the mental image of Santa Clause or a parent, and not the person of Jesus. The more we can remember who Christ has been in our lives, I think the closer we can grow to him and the greater assurance we can have of our salvation, not as something we have, but as someone we know.

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And the Lord Said....

I had an idea for our fall Worship night to try to retell the story of Scripture from the perspective of God speaking. I wanted to focus on key points in the biblical story when God spoke…

In any case, Steve (the worship leader for the night) liked it and we started working on it. The night will revolve around a number of “narratives” where either God is speaking or fictional characters are responding. I had the fortune of writing the first drafts, and even though they required some pretty heavy revising and rewriting by me and Steve, below is the “final” draft:



And the Lord Said… God’s Story of Hope

Act 1: The Beginning His Word Revealed

God speaking:
In the beginning, God Spoke and the story of life began.

For the first time ever, my creation, though only moments old, is enjoying life. Small creatures dart through the grass, the trees sway to the power of the wind, the air is thick with the sweet smells of flowers, the birds have stretched out their wings and soared higher than mountains, the horses charge through the fields worshipping me with their speed. My creation sings with one voice, glorifying me and enjoying the life that I have given. The story of this world has begun, and a wonderful story it is.

Genesis 1:31 God looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good!


Act 2: The Promise His Plan Revealed

God speaking:
The story has only begun, and already the crown of my creation has forgotten me. They have rejected their Creator for created things, and yet… I love them. I have not given up on them, I have a plan to remind them of who their God is. I will make a great nation for my name’s sake, a people who will love me and know me. I will poor out my love and blessing on these people, and I will give them my law so that they can honor me. I will be with them and they will worship me. And all the nations will see how blessed and glorious they are because of me, and they will be drawn to glorify and know me. All the people of the world will gather with the children of Abraham to worship the God of Israel.

Character Responses:
In the time of Abraham
I was Abram, son of Terah, I am now Abraham God’s chosen servant. I had wealth, land, and status, but my God had something greater in store for me: a part to play in his story. He called me to leave my people and travel to a land he would show me. He promised to make my family a great nation, a beacon to the world of God’s mercy and love. Yet, I am old and have no heirs. God said go, so I went, but the land is full of evil. I cannot see how God’s promise will be fulfilled. Still…. my hope is in God.

In the time of David
My God is truly glorious. He has made his nation great, he has defeated our enemies, given us wealth, land, glory, and honor. His glorious king David sits on the throne, and God promises that his son will build us a temple that will be worthy of His name. Our generation is blessed to know the fullness of God’s promise; we live in our promised land, something our forefathers only longed for from a far. Israel is great, God’s covenant is here, and the nation has faith. The people are blessed beyond all measure, our hope is in God.

In the time of Daniel
All seems lost. We had blessing and lived in the covenant, but we forgot our God and turned to idols and sinful pleasures. Our shepherd’s led their people astray. God had a plan for us, and all we had to do was trust in him. But we didn’t, and now the land is desecrated, the temple and city are in ruins, and the nation is scattered. Israel has fallen, her enemies have triumphed, and our glory is ruined.

It is in this darkness that I am beginning to actually listen to God. Even in the days of Abraham God’s promise was about something more than a mere city. God’s plan always pointed to a Messiah who would save us, not just from our enemies but from our sin and pride. Perhaps God blessed Israel not so that we could just be a great nation, but so that all would bow their knee to him. Our glory was lost, but my hope is in God.

Hebrews 8:6-12 But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises. 7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said:
The time is coming, declares the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.
This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God, and they will be my people.
No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,'
because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."


Act 3: Immanuel His Son Revealed

God speaking:
This was the plan. It always was. Even as I formed you, my children, I knew my Son would have to come. When I sent my servant Abraham to the promised land I saw the advent of the Promised One. When Isaac was conceived, and Jacob was born, I saw my beloved in Mary’s womb. When I drew my people out of Egypt and raised up my servant David, I saw him nailed to the tree. I saw how he would fulfill my promise. He is the Promise. The eternal Word. Born to deliver my people, not from the bondage of any nation, but from the bondage of sin. The Messiah! Greater than Abraham, Moses, David, and the Prophets. The Great High Priest. Mighty King. Lamb of God. My Son. It is our will that he be crushed.

John 19:30 It is Finished


Act 4: The New Beginning His Kingdom Come

A new voice
It is finished. All you who are weary, all you who have heavy burdens, know me! Look at my hands. Feel my side. I am risen! Death is conquered! The promise has been fulfilled. You have wept because of your sins and you have wept because of my love. It is good that you remember the cross, but do not mourn as one who does not know. Let your sorrow pass and receive our forgiveness completely. You have crossed from death to life.

Now is a new beginning, a new chapter in the story of our creation. You are now children of the Most High. You are my brothers and sisters. Rejoice! For I am with you today, and will never leave you. We have much work to do, you and I.

Rejoice! Your King has triumphed. His Kingdom has come. The end is near, and the wedding feast is about to begin. But listen. Once again all creation sings in one mighty melody; my Holy Angels lift their voices; join them. Worship your King.


Rev. 5:11-14 11Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12In a loud voice they sang:
"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!"
13Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:
"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!" 14The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Revelation 21:1-8 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." 6 And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

Acts 1:7-8 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."



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