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John 1.1: Grammatical Points
September 5, 2017
The God of Jesus by Kegan Chandler
October 5, 2017Jesus’ use of the Divine Passive means he is not God!
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R. Martin, Approaches to NT Exegesis, p. 237:
“[The divine passive became] customary, with an extended usage, on Jesus’ lips. He uses it over 100x [Mat 5.4; Luke 12.7].”
Jeremias, NT Theology, p 11:
“The divine passive occurs round about 100 times in the sayings of Jesus.”
N.T. Wright, The Epistles of Paul to the Colossians & to Philemon, p. 71:
“The [divine passive denotes] in a typically Jewish fashion, the activity of God the Father, working in the Son.”
Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the NT, p 437:
“The passive is also used when God is the obvious agent. Many grammars calls this a divine passive (or theological passive), assuming that its use was due to the Jewish aversion to using the divine name [So BDF, 71 (§130.1); Zerwick, Biblical Greek, 76 (§236); Young, Intermediate Greek, 135-36. Cf. also J. Jeremias, NT Theology 9 -14, especially finds it on the lips of Jesus].”
“Jesus’ Avoidance of the Divine Name,” Soulen, Jesus and the Divine Name:
The “divine passive” is so typical of Jesus that a full survey basically amounts to a recapitulation of his public teaching.
• 19x in Mark 2.5, 9, 20;
3.28;
4.11-12, 24-25;
8.12, 17
9.31, 45, 47, 49;
10.40;
12.10
13.11, 13
14.41
• 34x in Luke 4.25, 43;
6.21, 37-38;
7.47
10.15, 20
11.2, 9-10, 50-51
12.2, 7, 10, 31, 48;
13.28, 32, 34-35
14.11, 14
16.25-26
17.10, 34-35;
18.14
19.42
22.16, 22
24.7
• 41x in Matthew 5.4, 6-7, 9, 29;
6.7, 33;
7.1-2, 7-8, 19;
8.12
9.29
10.19, 26, 30;
12.31-32, 37, 39
13.11-12;
15.13;
16.4, 19;
18.18
19.11;
20.23;
21.43;
23.12, 37-38;
24.13, 40-41;
25.29, 34, 41;
26.42
28.18
• 2x in John 3.18;
16.11