Hang around me for more than five minutes and you’ll probably figure out that I really like Greek verbs at the present moment. Actually, I really enjoy word studies in both Greek and Hebrew and, if opportunity presents, will spend hours digging into musty (but fortunately digital) lexicons, dictionaries, and commentaries. Nuances especially intrigue me (for example, the nuance of “government” in the word “creation” in Romans 8:19 is especially intriguing).
Yesterday at church Bill Perdue, Rhondie and I were talking about the “narrow gate” in Matthew 7:13,14. The funny thing about that gate is as you walk, it gets narrower and narrower!
Bill commented that he’d done a word study on the word “narrow” and it literally means to squeeze, to pass through it minus some skin…
I looked it up this morning and sure enough, that’s what it means. Ever narrowing, to press as grapes, to contract… and get this… a related root word means (my favorite thing)… to shatter.
Another interesting thing is that the verse reads like this in the KJV*: “Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life…”
The word for “strait” (straight) is stenos. It’s an adjective that describes the gate.
Looking at this passage in English it’s easy to assume that “straight” and “narrow” are both adjectives. Straight describes gate, narrow describes way… right?
Not quite that simple.
Narrow (greek tethlimmen?, from thlib?) is a verb. Well, a verbal adjective. It’s a perfect passive participle. Now, I’m not the best at parsing Greek (I can’t even parse English! LOL), but if I’m understanding this correctly, “perfect” means it’s an action that begins at one point and then the effect of the action is ongoing… passive means the action is done TO the subject, not BY the subject (gate is the subject), and a participle usually ends with “-ing”…
And so maybe this would be better translated as, “narrowing is the way…”
Which is exactly what happens in our walk with the Lord… as we learn and grow in relationship with Him, He expects more (to whom much is given, much is required…) Usually when we first come to the Lord, there’s a “sorting out” where obvious sins get chucked out the window. Less obvious things get weeded out over time. Then He goes after matters of the heart… areas of pride and religion, things we’ve “always done”, unhealed wounds… and as we walk, that way narrows and becomes more and more focused upon Him…
It’s not an easy process. Indeed, it’s left me shattered, shattered more, shattered again… I’ve come to love it. In fact my new favorite word is ????? … and the best part is, He doesn’t leave us shattered. He sets those who are shattered at liberty… 
*People who have hung around for a while will remember that I really dislike the KJV. Well, I do. For everything but word studies.
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