the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Language Studies
Greek Thoughts
proskuneo - Part 1 - προσκυνεω (Strong's #4352)
To kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of
reverence.
Our word this week is the Greek word proskuneo, which has an intriguing historyit was "used to designate the custom of prostrating oneself before a person and kissing his feet, the hem of his garments, the ground, etc.; the Persians did this in the presence of their deified king, and the Greeks before a divinity or something holy."F1 In addition, Joseph H. Thayer makes this observance that by the time of the NT proskuneo denotes a "kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication."F2 Our word proskuneo is used some 60 times in the Greek NT. This article, however, will not give a detail look at every occurrence of proskuneo. Rather, it will consider a few key passages, with the intent that it will encourage us to adore and worship the God of heaven.
In John 4:23,24, in response to the Samaritan woman, Jesus says, "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers [proskunetai] will worship[proskunesousin] the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers[proskunountas]. God is spirit, and those who worship [proskunountas] Him must worship [proskunein] in spirit and truth." Essentially, Jesus was offering this Samaritan woman a theology of worship that was not confined to either Jerusalem or Mount Gerizim. Rather, this new theology of worship will be concerned with the worship of God "in worship in spirit and truth," from the heart of His "true worshipers."
In a Western culture where the name of God has become offensive to some, the believer must recapture the wonder of worship. A.W. Tozer rightfully observes, "We have lost the art of worship."F3 Like righteous Lot who was oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men, so is my soul, when I think about the way unprincipled men who continue to spurn the name of our holy God. I appeal to all believe to recapture the wonder of worship!
Following the birth of the baby Jesus, Matthew records the narrative of the inquisitive nature of King Herod and his desire to worship the baby Jesus. He summoned the magi and inquired about the birth of the baby Jesusthe king's intent was not to worship but have the baby Jesus killed.
"When they [magi] saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy" (echaresan charan megalen sphodra). The vision of the star meant the discovery of the baby Jesus. One can only imagine what the magi's great joy felt likeit must have been a moment to remember. And Matthew adds, "After coming into the house they [magi] saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell (pesontes) to the ground and worshiped (prosekunesan) Him" (Matthew 2:11). The magi were engulfed in an act of obeisance that most of the world seems to be losingthe magi worshiped the Savior. The journey was not too arduous, and the gifts that they presented to the baby Jesus from their treasures were not too costly. In fact, I believe they would have repeated it a million times more, if they had to. Yes, they captured the wonder of worship!
Following His glorious resurrection, our Lord and Savior appeared to His eleven disciples. Matthew records that when they saw Him, they worshiped (prosekunesan) Him; but some were doubtful (28:17). Can you believe that? Mixed emotions among the very people that He spent His earthly life with, they were His friends. And I am glad that some of them worshiped Him.
Sadly, but I think that scene Matthew documented characterizes this world of ours. Some are will to accept the claims of the resurrect Lord and worship Him, while others are still doubting. At this juncture, I welcome the words of one of the greatest Christian apologists of any era, C.S. Lewis, "You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him lord and God."F4 Yes, you can worship Him. He is not a hoax.
If is only fitting for the last book of the Scripture, as we know it, to end with a command to worship God. Listen the inspired writer, "I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. But he said to me, 'Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and those who heed the words of this book. Worship God'" (to theo proskuneson, Revelation 22:8,9). This is the second time John records his desire to worship an angel (the first time being Revelation 19:10). But the angel swiftly rebuked him at pointed the apostle to the God of heaven.
Sometimes I wonder why we are like this today. We have made gods out of celebrities. We pay them millions to entertain us and then we turn around and worship them. And who is to tell us that we are in error? Who is to tell us that we are committing idolatry? Who is to tell us that God alone is to be worshiped and praised? Who? Who? Who? I think we all know what the answer is.
Finally, with the mood of command, the angel said to John, "Worship God." And I say, "Amen." And I leave these fitting words from R.C. Sproul, "No one should come into the presence of the God of glory in a flippant and cavalier manner. If we really understand who God is and that we're in His presence, we will be on our faces before Him, giving Him the honor and the magnificence that He deserves."F5 Let us recapture the wonder of worship!
FOOTNOTES:
F1: W.F. Arndt, F.W. Gingrich, and F.W. Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2000), p. 716.
F2: Joseph H. Thayer, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), p. 548.
F3: A. W. Tozer as quoted by Mark Water, in The New Encyclopedia of Christian Quotations (Grand Rapids: Baker House, 2000), p. 1141.
F4: C.S. Lewis as quoted by Mark Walter, p. 181.
F5: R.C. Sproul, Five Thing Every Christian Needs to Grow (Nashville, TN: W Publishing Group, 2002), p. 54.
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Bill Klein has been a pastor, counselor, and educator for the past 41 years. He has had extensive training and education in biblical languages, and has authored a Biblical Greek course.
He is currently serving as Professor of Biblical Greek at Master's Graduate School of Divinity, and president of BTE Ministries - The Bible Translation and Exegesis Institute of America, a non-profit organization located in California that provides Bible study tapes and Greek study materials through their website BTEMinistries.org.
