Language Studies

Greek Thoughts

TAPEINOS* - Part 1 - εχηγεομαι (Strong's #1834)
Humble, lowly, poor

Please note that all Biblical quotes are presented from the Literal Translation.

In the last five studies, we concentrated on the verb ταπεινὸω (Strong's #5013), which expresses the action of the humbling or leveling process. This week we begin a study of the adjective form ταπεινὸς (Strong's #5011), which describes the condition or state of one who is humble or lowly.

We begin our study in Matthew 11:25-30. These verses uniquely describe the believer's relationship with the Lord. In the Greek text, Matthew 11:25-30 is divided into three sections: verses 25-26 comprise the first, verse 27 stands alone for the second, and verses 28-30 make up the last section.

The first section, verses 25,26, describe what Jesus has done in response to the lack of repentance in cities where He has ministered. He tells the Father that He hid the truth of Christ "from the wise and understanding, and revealed it to babes."

The second section, verse 27, gives us Jesus' proclamation of the Son's relationship with the Father: "All things were delivered to me by My Father; and no one fully-knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone fully-know the Father except the Son, and to whomever the Son should will to reveal Him."

The third section, verses 28-30, gives the most descriptive and detailed account in all of God's Word as to salvation and our relationship with the Lord. Here, Jesus clearly sets forth the way to the father. This section is the focus of today's study. It is divided into two parts by the Greek text. The first is the calling of the Lord in verse 28; the second treats the conditions of discipleship and is taken from verses 29-30.

Matthew 11:28-30

28)

Come to Me, all the ones who are laboring, and have been burdened, and I Myself will cause you to rest.

29)

Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, because I am meek and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls.

30)

For My yoke is useful and My burden is light.

In verse 28, we see that the Lord calls people to Himself. The Word of God teaches that all who come to Christ are those who have been called by the Lord. They have responded to His call. Paul, in Romans 1:6, describes the believers as the "… called of Jesus Christ." Paul said, in 1 Corinthians 1:2, "to the church of God existing in Corinth, who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, with all the ones calling upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, both theirs and ours." Notice that the Literal Translation does not say, "called to be saints," but "called saints," or "saints by calling." "Calling" is a description of the type of saint who belongs to the Lord.

Notice the people whom Jesus calls. They are described as "the ones who are laboring, and have been burdened." The word translated "laboring" is the present active participial form of κοπιὰω (Strong's #2872), which means, "to labor to the point of exhaustion." The use of the active voice designates that this exhaustive labor is produced from the personal efforts of the people. The participial form of κοπιὰω tells us that these people are in a condition or lifestyle of laboring. The second word used to describe the people Jesus is calling is the perfect passive participial form of φορτὶζω (Strong's #5412), which means to "place a load on someone." The passive voice used here designates that others are placing the load upon people. Again, the participial form expresses that this is a continual condition.

In summary, people who are called by Jesus are those who are laboring, to the point of exhaustion, to carry the load of the keeping of the Law so that they might attain the forgiveness of their sin. Jesus mentioned this activity in Matthew 23:4 where He said the teachers of the Law are, "... binding heavy and hard to carry burdens, and they are laying them upon the shoulders of men; but they do not desire to move them with their finger." Jesus is clearly depicting the heavy burden placed upon those seeking the forgiveness of their sin through the keeping of the Law, but the teachers themselves will not help to carry the burden with even one of their own fingers.

As regards to the calling of the Lord, we also see that there is a promise given to those who respond to His call. Jesus said, "…and I Myself will cause you to rest." The word translated "rest" in this verse is ἀναπαὺω (Strong's #373), which means to rest in the sense of to be "refreshed." This word is the equivalent of the English expression, "to rest up." The grammatical function of the word in this sentence is the causative active voice denoting that the person providing the refreshment is causing the recipients to be at rest. The person described as providing this rest is stated as being the Lord. Jesus Himself refreshes those who come to Him, causing them to be at rest from the weariness of laboring under the Law in order to find forgiveness for their sin.

Jesus presents the conditions of discipleship in verses 29-30. He expresses them in two commands: "Take My yoke," and "learn from Me." The yoke (ζυγὸς, Strong's #373) is a wooden harness binding two oxen together. The most experienced stands in the front right position. The one "yoked" to that one follows its lead. Rabbi's used the term "yoke" to symbolize submission as they called for their students to take upon themselves the yoke of the Law. In Matthew 11: 29, Jesus calls for people to take His yoke upon them, and to learn from Him. The word translated "learn" is the aorist imperative (command) form of the word μανθὰνω (Strong's #3129) which is the verb form of the noun μαθητὴς (Strong's #3101), meaning "disciple," or "learner." Jesus goes on to use the preposition ἐπὶ (Strong's #1909) to express that a learner or disciple is to learn "from Me," not "of Me." Therefore, those who respond to the calling of the Lord are commanded to take the Lord's yoke upon them, to be yoked to Christ, and then to learn from Him.

There is a promise given to those who follow and learn from the Lord: "and you will find rest for your souls." The word for "rest" in this verse is the noun form (ἀνὰπαυσις, Strong's #372), "rest," or "refreshment." Remember, the Lord "causes" or gives rest to those who respond to His call. In discipleship, in following the Lord, people "find" rest for their souls. Here "rest" is a promise experienced by those who have taken the yoke of the Lord upon themselves and are learning from Him. The Lord then tells of the benefits that come to those who respond to His call.

The first benefit derived from being yoked to Jesus is that He tells us the direction in which He will lead us. This understanding comes from a perception of His heart. Matthew 11:29 describes the condition of Jesus' heart as being "meek and humble" (ταπεινὸς). The Greek word translated "meek" is πραύ̈ς (Strong's #4239) and carries the idea of "openness," or "receptivity." The word for "humble" is our word of study for this week, ταπεινὸς. From this we see that those yoked to Jesus will be led into receptivity to all that God has planned for their lives. They, too, will be led down the humble, or low road, the path of submission to the Father, in this earthly life.

Another benefit for taking the Lord's yoke upon ourselves is that His yoke is "useful." This word in the Greek text is χρηστὸς (Strong's #5530). Most English translations render this as "easy," but χρηστὸς means something far different. It actually means that the yoke is "profitable," or "useful." The yoke will not be a burden, but is, instead, something useful in relieving the stress of the load.

An additional benefit of being yoked to Christ is that, "...His burden is light." Jesus never promises that we will not have burdens to carry. But He does promise that His burden, or load, is light. The load will be light because He, as the lead Teacher, will carry the stress of the load so that it is light for those depending on Him.

This text is unique in its detailed description of the relationship between the Lord and the ones who respond to His call, "Come to Me." To take His yoke upon ourselves and learn from Him means to surrender and to submit to Him as Lord. His heart is described as "receptive" and "humble," or "lowly" with respect to the Father. In like manner, those who are yoked to Him are being led to become the same, "receptive" and "humble," or "lowly" in heart toward God. This description of the genuine Christian's relationship with Christ exposes the real problem many believers experience today. Much of the time, we are not fighting with Satan, but are rather pulling against the yoke of the Lord as He leads us down the path of receptivity and lowliness. Obviously, our flesh does not want to be receptive to the Lord's will, since it involves denying ourselves and taking up our cross. Our flesh wants the comforts of the inn instead of the stark harshness of the stable. It wants to reign as king in our lives instead of functioning as a servant to the Lord. The pride of the flesh demands to be glorified and struggles against surrendering to the cross of Christ. However, by being yoked to Christ, we are receiving the revelation of the Father from the Lord, as Jesus taught in verse 27: "All things were delivered to me by My Father; and no one fully-knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone fully-know the Father except the Son, and to whomever the Son should will to reveal Him."

If we do not find rest for our souls in the midst of life's storms, it is not because Jesus is failing to provide rest for us. It is most likely because we are pulling and straining against the yoke of the Master who is leading us down the meek and humble road — a road that the flesh does not want to take. However, in the Lord, we have provision even when the flesh wrestles against God's leading. Paul, in addressing the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 10:13), used the verses of our study today (Matthew 11:28-30) as the basis of his teaching on dealing with the flesh: "Temptation has not taken you except what is human; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but He will make with the temptation the way out, so that you may be able^F1 to carry it." When yoked to the Lord, God allows us to be tempted as He leads us down the low road. Our flesh fights against it. However, He does not allow us to be tempted with anything beyond our ability to withstand. He not only gives us a way out, but it is actually His strength that allows us to continue on the path of following Him.

Next week we will study, from James 4:6, the reason Jesus leads us down the lowly or humble road.

* TAPEINOS is the English font spelling of the Greek word ταπεινὸς.

Technical Notes:

F1: The articular infinitive τοῦ͂δὺνασθαι, "the to be able," is translated by ὥστε͂νὰ͂δὺνασθε, "so that you may be able."

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