Matthew 5:17 ...and slowing down our experience of the New Testament

"Think not that I came to down-loose the law or the before-staters: I came not to down-loose, but to make full."

What was Jesus' relationship to the older ways of seeing the Torah?  In the verse above, he makes clear that we should not think that he came to "down-loose" the law.  The Etymological New Testament translates ultra-literally with this two part word to reflect both components of the Greek.  The word KATA is often used to intensify the verb it precedes.  In this case, LUO, "to loose" becomes more intense, or as typically translated, "destroy."  The Greek word often translated "perish" is usually "from-loose" or "from-whole-loose" in the ENT.  Jesus goes on to say that he understood his teaching to be bringing the Torah to fullness. The ultra literal etymologies don't change the meaning of the text, but they do allow one to quickly note relationships between families of words.  They also allow us to see how the same Greek word has a broad semantic range in different contexts.  

And, the literal language has at least one more effect on a reader of the New Testament.  In the Special Note to the Reader of the ENT, it is observed that the ENT allows the reader "some additional perspective, to slow down and consider some other possible readings  that the Greek text offers."  And as we slow down and think through a passage, we gain "some space...where we might hear from the living Placer."   

Matthew 5:14

"You are the light of the system. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden."

The Etymological New Testament consistently distinguishes between two Greek words: "land" which refers to the planet or parts of it; and "system" which refers to any organized arrangement.  The latter includes human culture as well as the clothing that we wear.  1 Peter 3:3 notes that we are not to wear "system-garments." In the verse above, we are not said to be the light of the land or earth, but of the cultural systems that human beings have constructed.

And the greatest initial need that this system has is to be enlightened.  The world's corrupt governments and regimes most fear the light.  They thrive on darkness.  But those who sincerely put Jesus' teaching into practice, who embrace the spirit of what he taught, cannot remain invisible.  The system is very much aware of the light that shines from within us. 

Matthew 5:12

"Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in upward-vision: for so they persecuted the before-staters who were before you."

Taking a stand on these principles of Jesus' teaching can be tough.  The rewards can seem long in coming.  But Jesus affirms good cause for immediate rejoicing: upward-vision is enriched.  The Etymological New Testament consistently translates OURANOS, "heaven", from its two literal components: UP and to SEE, as "upward-vision."  

In a similar way, the word prophet is a two part word in Greek.  The ENT always translates as "before-stater", those who state or speak beforehand.  Warnings, consolations, encouragement, or visions of the future: these are all part of what a "before-stater" may see and speak of.  May our sense of the highest, upward vision in Anointing be clear: these principles of "The Sermon on the Mount" are worth building a life and a new world upon.