Let’s talk ancient Greek word studies on Good Friday :)

As I was reading through Matthew 26-27, about the events leading up to Jesus’ death, the verse, “Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit” (27:50) stood out to me.

How did Jesus “yield his spirit?” I wondered. This prompted an investigation.

I looked up the verse in my Greek New Testament, then went to my Greek lexicon, then found some references of where this phrase occurs in other Greek texts. I thought I would share my findings with you.

Matthew 27:50 in the Greek:

ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς πάλιν κράξας φωνῇ μεγάλῃ ἀφῆκεν τὸ πνεῦμα.

It’s interesting to note that this is an unusual use of this phrase, compared with other Greek texts, as it substitutes τὸ πνεῦμα for τὴν ψυχήν.

Why τὸ πνεῦμα instead of τὴν ψυχήν?

πνεῦμα is often used in Matthew to mean the Holy Spirit, but it is also used in Matthew 12:43 to refer to an unclean spirit (demon), and when Jesus chastises his disciples for falling asleep in Matthew 26:41, saying their spirits are willing while their flesh is weak.

This word has a range of meanings, but in Matthew it just has two: (1) the Holy Spirit or (2) the spirit of a person or demon.

ψυχὴν, however, also occurs in Matthew. It means “soul” or “life” in these contexts.

In Matthew 2:20, it is used when the angel tells Joseph that, “those who sought the child’s life are dead,” referring to Herod and his men, who were trying to kill the baby Jesus.

In Matthew 10:28, however, it is used twice to mean “soul,” as Jesus tells his followers that though people might be able to kill their bodies for speaking on his behalf, they cannot kill their souls. Instead, they should fear the death of their soul (along with their body) in hell.

What is Matthew doing here?

What I infer from this is that Matthew may be using πνεῦμα to differentiate the death of Jesus from ordinary men. He wasn’t giving up an ordinary human spirit, as he was fully man and fully God.

I have to be careful here, because there are theological mysteries in Jesus’ death that are beyond my current knowledge and comprehension. I don’t want to simply read theology into the text here, either. Instead, I’ll use another scripture to help illuminate:

“I lay down my life that I might take it again. No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” John 10:17-18

Jesus predicted his death in all the gospels, but John’s gospel gives us an explicit explanation of the “how.”

Jesus is giving up His spirit, willingly and through his power. No one else caused him to die.

Jesus could have hung on the cross for days and then climbed off to show everyone his invulnerability. The irony in the mocking by the chief priests and elders (Matthew 27:42), that he “saved others,” and so why doesn’t he “save himself?” is that He could have.

Herodotus, The Histories 4.190

Here is an example of the phrase being used with τὴν ψυχήν in a Greek text from the late 400s BC:

θάπτουσι δὲ τοὺς ἀποθνήσκοντας οἱ νομάδες κατά περ οἱ Ἕλληνες, πλὴν Νασαμώνων: οὗτοι δε κατημένους θάπτουσι, φυλάσσοντες, ἐπεὰν ἀπιῇ τὴν ψυχήν, ὅκως μιν κατίσουσι μηδὲ ὕπτιος ἀποθανέεται. οἰκήματα δὲ σύμπηκτα ἐξ ἀνθερίκων ἐνειρμένων περὶ σχοίνους ἐστί, καὶ ταῦτα περιφορητά. νόμοισι μὲν τοιούτοισι οὗτοι χρέωνται.

English Translation:

The dead are buried by the nomads in Greek fashion, except by the Nasamones. They bury their dead sitting, being careful to make the dying man sit when he releases his spirit, and not die lying supine. Their dwellings are constructed of asphodel stalks¹ twined about reeds; they can be carried here and there. Such are the Libyan customs.

1 Asphodel is a long-stalked plant. The name has acquired picturesque associations; but Homer’s “asphodel meadow” is in the unhappy realm of the dead, and is intended clearly to indicate a place of rank weeds.

***Texts above from Perseus.tufts.edu

1 Esdras 4.21

Here is an example from the greek Aprocryphal book of 1 Esdras (possibly from 2nd Century BC):

²¹ καὶ μετὰ τῆς γυναικὸς ἀφίησι τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ οὔτε τὸν πατέρα μέμνηται οὔτε τὴν μητέρα οὔτε τὴν χώραν

English Translation: (CEB Biblegateway)

²¹ With his wife he departs this life, with no memory of his father or mother or country.

Greek Septuagint, Genesis 35:18

This passage is talking about Rachel, one of Jacob’s wives and the mother to Joseph and Benjamin. She is dying in childbirth, after bearing Benjamin, and the phrase is used to signal that her soul is moving on.

ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν τῷ ἀφιέναι αὐτὴν τὴν ψυχήν— ἀπέθνῃσκεν γάρ— ἐκάλεσεν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Υἱὸς ὀδύνης μου· ὁ δὲ πατὴρ ἐκάλεσεν αὐτὸν Βενιαμιν.

ESV English Translation:

And as her soul was departing, for she was dying, she called his name Ben-oni but his father called him Benjamin.

Application:

Matthew arguably could have had this phrase in mind from these texts, or rather simply known the ordinary Greek usage of it. Therefore, I think there is a purposeful use of τὸ πνεῦμα.

The fact that Jesus gave up his spirit when he didn’t have to shows His dedication to the purpose the Father had for Him and His desire to save us.

We should mourn what Jesus had to suffer, but we can also see His sacrificial love. Praise God for the gift He has given us, and the price He was willing to pay so that we could be with Him!

Also, here’s my one-verse meditation on John 19:30 for Good Friday from my Youtube channel: