stood still

May 23, 2019

Jesus meets the blind beggar (Lk 18:40-18:40)

“Jesus stood still.

He ordered

The man

To be brought

To him.”

 

σταθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐκέλευσεν αὐτὸν ἀχθῆναι πρὸς αὐτόν.

 

Luke indicated that Jesus stood still (σταθεὶς δὲ).  He ordered them (ἐκέλευσεν αὐτὸν) to bring that blind man to him (ἀχθῆναι πρὸς αὐτόν).  Both Mark, chapter 10:49, and Matthew, chapter 20:32, had something similar.  Mark said that Jesus stopped or stood still (καὶ στὰς ὁ Ἰησοῦς) when he heard all this noise.  In a saying that is unique to Mark, Jesus then said (εἶπεν) to his disciples that they should call Bartimaeus to him (Φωνήσατε αὐτόν).  Then Jesus’ disciples called this blind man (καὶ φωνοῦσιν τὸν τυφλὸν).  They told him to have courage or take heart (λέγοντες αὐτῷ Θάρσει) and get up (ἔγειρε,) because Jesus was calling him (φωνεῖ σε).  Matthew simply stated that Jesus stopped or stood still (καὶ στὰς ὁ Ἰησοῦς) when he heard all this noise.  In all three synoptics, Jesus stopped in his tracks and wanted to see this blind man or men who were calling out to him.  Do you stop when someone calls out to you?

 

February 8, 2019

Jesus tells the young man to rise up (Lk 7:14-7:14)

“Then the Lord

Came forward.

He touched the bier.

The pall bearers

Stood still.

The Lord said.

‘Young man!

 I say to you!

Arise!’”

 

καὶ προσελθὼν ἥψατο τῆς σοροῦ, οἱ δὲ βαστάζοντες ἔστησαν, καὶ εἶπεν Νεανίσκε, σοὶ λέγω, ἐγέρθητι.

 

Luke uniquely said that the Lord Jesus came forward (καὶ προσελθὼν) and touched the funeral bier (ἥψατο τῆς σοροῦ).  The pall bearers stood still (οἱ δὲ βαστάζοντες ἔστησαν).  The Lord told the young man (καὶ εἶπεν Νεανίσκε) with a solemn pronouncement of I say to you (σοὶ λέγω), rise up (ἐγέρθητι).  Luke used the pronoun he to speak about the Lord.  This would have been a shocking thing to touch the funeral bier, since it made people unclean to touch a dead person.  Thus, the pall bearers were taken back.  However, the command of Jesus telling the young man to get up meant that he was not dead.  This is the first instance of a man being raised from the dead, but it is only found here in Luke, not elsewhere.  This would be a big deal, not just curing people of illness and diseases, or chasing demons out of people.  This was a raising from the dead, a foretaste of the resurrection.  Have you ever heard of a young man getting up from a funeral casket?

October 15, 2018

Jesus calls the blind man (Mk 10:49-10:49)

“Jesus stood still.

He said.

‘Call him here!’

They called

The blind man.

They said to him.

‘Take heart!

Get up!

He is calling you.’”

 

καὶ στὰς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν Φωνήσατε αὐτόν. καὶ φωνοῦσιν τὸν τυφλὸν λέγοντες αὐτῷ Θάρσει, ἔγειρε, φωνεῖ σε.

 

Both Matthew, chapter 20:32, and Luke, chapter 18:40, have something similar.  Mark said that Jesus stopped or stood still (καὶ στὰς ὁ Ἰησοῦς) when he heard all this noise, since he seemed to stop in his tracks.  In a saying that is unique to Mark, Jesus then said (εἶπεν) to his disciples that they should call Bartimaeus to him (Φωνήσατε αὐτόν).  Then Jesus’ disciples called this blind man (καὶ φωνοῦσιν τὸν τυφλὸν).  They told him to have courage or take heart (λέγοντες αὐτῷ Θάρσει) and get up (ἔγειρε,) because Jesus was calling him (φωνεῖ σε).

June 4, 2018

The healing of the two blind men (Mt 20:32-20:34)

“Jesus stopped.

He called them.

Saying.

‘What do you want me

to do for you?’

They said to him.

‘Lord!

Let our eyes be opened!’

Moved with compassion,

Jesus touched their eyes.

Immediately,

They regained their sight.

They followed him.’”

 

καὶ στὰς ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐφώνησεν αὐτοὺς καὶ εἶπεν Τί θέλετε ποιήσω ὑμῖν;

λέγουσιν αὐτῷ Κύριε, ἵνα ἀνοιγῶσιν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ ἡμῶν.

σπλαγχνισθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἥψατο τῶν ὀμμάτων αὐτῶν, καὶ εὐθέως ἀνέβλεψαν καὶ ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ.

 

Both Mark, chapter 10:49-52, and Luke, chapter 18:40-43 have a more elaborate explanation.  Jesus stopped or stood still (καὶ στὰς ὁ Ἰησοῦς) when he heard all this noise.  He then called (ἐφώνησεν αὐτοὺς) the two blind men.  He wanted to know what they wanted him to do for them (καὶ εἶπεν Τί θέλετε ποιήσω ὑμῖν).  They then called Jesus Lord (λέγουσιν αὐτῷ Κύριε).  They wanted their eyes opened (ἵνα ἀνοιγῶσιν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ ἡμῶν) so that they could see.  Jesus was moved with compassion and pity on them (σπλαγχνισθεὶς δὲ), so that he touched their eyes (ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἥψατο τῶν ὀμμάτων αὐτῶν).  Immediately (καὶ εὐθέως), they regained their sight (ἀνέβλεψαν) and followed him (καὶ ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ).  These two blind men then became disciples of Jesus.  However, Matthew did not mention their faith explicitly as in Mark and Luke.

December 14, 2017

The sun and the moon (Hab 3:11-3:11)

“The sun stood still

In its exalted place.

The moon stood still

In its exalted place.

There was the light

Of your arrows

Speeding by.

There was the gleam

Of your flashing spear.”

As the sun and the moon stood still in the heavens, the speeding arrows and the flashing spears provided gleams of light.