Tag: sorrow

Romans 9:2 – Continual Heartache

Posted on by Will

that my sorrow is great and I have continual grief in my heart.

Truth to Learn

Paul had deep seated and continual emotional pain because of his unbelieving brothers in the flesh (Jews).

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “sorrow” is lupē, which means “sadness, grief, heaviness, or sorrow.” But this is not just common sorrow, Paul says it is megas, meaning “great or large.”

“Grief” is translated from odunē, meaning “grief, pain, or distress.” And he says that this grief is adialeiptos. This word is made up of a, meaning “not” and a form of dialeipō, meaning “to leave spaces,” that is “to be intermittent.” Hence, we can see that Paul has unceasing or continual grief in his heart. Now this doesn’t mean that every waking moment of Paul’s life is filled with sorrow; it means that it is a constantly recurring event for him.

The word “heart” is from the Greek word kardia (from which we get our English word cardiac). It refers to the seat and center of human emotion and life.

 

Meaning Explained

We saw in the previous verse that Paul is declaring an oath to the Jews. The current verse is the content of that oath. The thing he is swearing an oath about is his continual sorrow and great grief. He will tell us in the next verse that this great grief and unceasing sorrow are for his kinsmen in the flesh, that is, Jews. He will also say in the opening of the next chapter that his heart’s desire and prayer for Israel is that they be saved. Paul is saying that he cannot shake this feeling of grief and sorrow whenever he thinks about the lost condition of many, many Jews. After all, they are the ones that God separated out and who received the books of Moses and the Prophets. God has given special attention to them and special revelation of Himself to them as well.

But, alas, Paul knows that many of them are lost because they are relying on satisfying a set of legal requirements to be saved. Paul has spent a great deal of time and effort in the earlier chapters of this letter explaining that obeying the rules will not produce righteousness. Only the grace of God through faith in the Anointed One (the Messiah, the Christ) will produce the righteousness they seek.

 

Application

Now, let me ask you, are you relying on obedience to a set of rules or on certain church doctrines to save you? Are you depending on your baptism or your membership in the church to save you? If you are, you have missed the whole point of what Paul has been teaching in this letter to the Roman Christians. Paul will tell us in the next chapter “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” We will get into exactly what this means when we come to that verse. For now, my message to you is to not depend on your church or your behavior to save you because they will fail you. Instead, fall on your knees confessing your inability to save yourself, believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins, and confess Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, as your Savior and your Lord (Master).

Only then will you be saved and know that you have been chosen. Then, get off your knees and praise God for His mercy and His grace, for He is worthy!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

1 Thessalonians 4:13 – Dead, But Still Alive

Posted on by Will

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

Truth to Learn

For Christians, physical death is not the end of existence.

Behind the Words

“I … want” is translated from the Greek verb thelō, which means “to want” or “to desire.” But it carries more weight than simply a wish, because it involves volition and purpose, seeing one’s desire to its completion. It could be translated as “I am determined.” It is expressed here in the first person singular (I), but the best manuscripts have it as first person plural (we).

The word translated “ignorant” is agnoeō, which is made up of a, meaning “not” and noeō, meaning “to know, to recognize, or to understand.” Thus, agnoeō means “to not know.”

The words “have fallen asleep” is from a form of koimaō, which literally means “to cause to lie down to sleep.” It is used metaphorically as a reference to those who have died physically. It is expressed in the perfect tense indicating past action completed at a point in time with an ongoing effect, the emphasis being on the ongoing effect.

“Sorrow” is translated from the verb lupeō, which means “to grieve” or “to be sorrowful.” It is expressed as a present tense, subjunctive verb, indicating the possibility of something happening in an ongoing manner.

Meaning Explained

In this fourth chapter of his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul has switched from comforting and encouraging the saints, to teaching doctrine to them (us). He started by teaching that we are to avoid fornication (sexual activity outside of marriage). Then he taught the importance of increasing our demonstration of brotherly love.

For the remainder of this chapter and the first half of the next chapter, Paul is teaching about events that will occur at the end times. First he will teach us about the rapture of the church. Then he will teach about the day (time period) of the Lord, when God will judge the world and its ungodly inhabitants. He makes it very clear that the rapture, which is referred to as “the day of Christ” or “the day of Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:8; Philippians 1:6, 10; Philippians 2:16; and 2 Thessalonians 2:2) and “the day of the Lord” are not the same.

He says that he is determined that the Christians in Thessalonica not be ignorant. That’s Paul’s polite way of saying “you are ignorant about something and I want to inform you.” He tells them, and us, something interesting about Christians who have died physically (those who have fallen asleep). He says, “Don’t be overly filled with sorrow like unbelievers who have no hope.” The reason we are not to grieve too much is because we have a hope that the unsaved don’t have. He will explain this hope in the next few verses.

Application

When a loved ones pass through the door of physical death, it is natural for us to grieve. We grieve because they are no longer in our presence physically and we will greatly miss them. But, if they were believers in Jesus Christ, they are not gone from existence, they have simply moved from the physical world to paradise, where they are in the presence of God. We who are Christians will see them again someday and together we will be in God’s presence, eternally.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2012 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Mark 14:32-34 – Man of Sorrows

Posted on by Will

 

32Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, "Sit here while I pray." 33And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. 34Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch."

Truth to Learn

Jesus felt terrified and intensely sad before His death.

Behind the Words

The name “Gethsemane” is of Chaldean origin and is transliterated from the Aramaic gath, meaning “a press” and shemen, meaning “oil.” Thus, it is called “oil press garden.”

The word “troubled” in verse thirty-three is translated from ekthambeō, meaning “to be utterly amazed or astonished.”

“Distressed” is from the Greek word adēmoneō, which implies a “feeling of terrified surprise.”

“Exceedingly sorrowful” in verse thirty-four is translated from perilupos, which is made up of peri, meaning “around” and a form of lupē, meaning “sorrowful or sadness.” Hence this word means “grieved all around” or “intensely sad.”

Meaning Explained

When Jesus took his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane for the last time, he knew he was about to offer his life as a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus is completely God, so in His divinity He knew exactly what was about to transpire. But, He is also completely man, subject to the same emotions that we are. He knew that His obedience to the Father was about to undergo the supreme test and His human emotions surfaced. He was not surprised because He hadn’t known what was coming. He knew what was coming because He is God. But, in his humanity, He may have been surprised by the intensity of emotion He was experiencing.

Perhaps, while He was in the upper room only minutes before, He was so occupied with caring for His disciples that He didn’t really think about the abuse and torture that was about to come upon Him. Once in the garden, however, He knew that it was only a matter of time before the humiliation and physical suffering began. Even worse, His closest friends were sleeping in His time of sorrow and they would soon desert Him.

The Prophet Isaiah foretold this sorrow:

He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. (Isaiah 53:3)

Mark tells us that He was not merely troubled, but astonished. Perhaps it was the thought of all the sin He was about to take on at the cross. Perhaps it was the wrath of His Heavenly Father that was about to be poured out on Him. Or, perhaps it was the knowledge that on the following day His Father, too, would turn His back on Him for three hours! He was about to face the worst time of His life –  completely alone.

Application

The next time you are very sad or even terrified about the prospects of the future, think about Jesus and pray. He knows what it feels like. He can identify with you and comfort you.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2012 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:2 – Continual Heartache

Posted on by Will

Romans 9:2 – Continual Heartache

that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart.

Truth to Learn

Paul had deep seated and continual emotional pain because of his unbelieving brothers in the flesh (Jews).

Behind the Words

The word translated “sorrow” is lupē, which means “sadness, grief, heaviness, or sorrow.” But this is not just common sorrow, Paul says it is megas, meaning “great or large.”

“Grief” is translated from odunē, meaning “grief, pain, or distress.” And he says that this grief is adialeiptos. This word is made up of a, meaning “not” and a form of dialeipō, meaning “to leave spaces,” that is “to be intermittent.” Hence, we can see that Paul has unceasing or continual grief in his heart. Now this doesn’t mean that every waking moment of Paul’s life is filled with sorrow; it means that it is a constantly recurring event for him.

The word “heart” is from the Greek word kardia (from which we get our English word cardiac). It refers to the seat and center of human emotion and life.

Meaning Explained

We saw in the previous verse that Paul is declaring an oath to the Jews. The current verse is the content of that oath. The thing he is swearing an oath about is his continual sorrow and great grief. He will tell us in the next verse that this great grief and unceasing sorrow are for his kinsmen in the flesh, that is, Jews. He will also say in the opening of the next chapter that his heart’s desire and prayer for Israel is that they be saved. Paul is saying that he cannot shake this feeling of grief and sorrow whenever he thinks about the lost condition of many, many Jews. After all, they are the ones that God separated out and who received the books of Moses and the Prophets. God has given special attention to them and special revelation of Himself to them as well.

But, alas, Paul knows that many of them are lost because they are relying on satisfying a set of legal requirements to be saved. Paul has spent a great deal of time and effort in the earlier chapters of this letter explaining that obeying the rules will not produce righteousness. Only the grace of God through faith in the Anointed One (the Messiah, the Christ) will produce the righteousness they seek.

Application

Now, let me ask you, are you relying on obedience to a set of rules or on certain church doctrines to save you? Are you depending on your baptism or your membership in the church to save you? If you are, you have missed the whole point of what Paul has been teaching in this letter to the Roman Christians. Paul will tell us in the next chapter “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” We will get into exactly what this means when we come to that verse. For now, my message to you is not to depend on your church or your behavior to save you because they will fail you. Instead, fall on your knees confessing your inability to save yourself, believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins, and confess Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, as your Savior and your Lord (Master).

Only then will you be saved and know that you have been chosen. Then, get off your knees and praise God for His mercy and His grace, for He is worthy!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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