THIS MAN HAS DONE NOTHING AMISS

THIS MAN HAS DONE NOTHING AMISS

I was struck by the word for "amiss" in the Greek of Luke 23:41.

‘Outos de ouden atopon epraxen Houtos ouden atopon epraxev.

All five words are full of significance.

Houtos

Standard masculine singular pronoun, this one, equivalent to he. Also used to mean the same, as in Acts 1:11, "This same Jesus …" ‘Outos ‘o Ihsous

Significant in the Last Supper Discourse of John 13-16 is the related masculine pronoun ekeinos which is placed with the neuter noun pneuma, pneuma spirit. This is against expected grammar to show beyond doubt that the Spirit is a person, He, not a thing, It. Houtos and Ekeinos, This and that.

But. But in this case, it pairs with another word, men, men, for the logical statement, "We however are punished justly, but this man did nothing wrong." (Like a verbal logical see-saw balancing two parts of an argument.)

Ouden

Nothing. Not one thing.

Atopon

Literally, "without a place." More than just "Out of Place." Jesus not only did nothing out of place, but everything He did had its place. This is where we struggle to grasp the significance. Most of us do something which is totally without place at some time in our lives. How often that something out of place is a thing we wish we had never done. That is not just something which would have had its place at another time, but something which is totally unnecessary. Jesus lived a life of perfect economy, and nothing was wasted because nothing He ever did was without its place.

Epraxen

Not the normal word for "do" as of one single action, but rather the word for habitual practice. So we are not considering here just one deed, but a whole life. Acts 10:38

This leads us to consider the perfect life which our Lord Jesus Christ lived here upon earth. Let us look in greater detail in the light of these words of our text.

R J Higginson 9 November 1999

Home Theology List

List of studies;