Pragmateuomai: A Time to Do Business

Word of the Week

August 3, 2024

Pragmateuomai: A Time to Do Business

 

And he called his ten servants, and delivered to them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

 Luke 19:13 KJV

 

As our kids were growing up, our family ran on a tight budget.  Generous allowances were not an option, so if they wanted spending money, they had to work for it.

Necessity motivated them to get involved in a wide range of side hustles:  detailing cars, cleaning houses, grooming dogs, producing wedding cakes.  We were glad that they learned how to work hard at productive tasks.

Jesus once told a story that highlighted a similar virtue in the world of His kingdom.  A nobleman went on a trip and entrusted ten of his servants with a sum of money and a set of instructions.  This week we are going to scrutinize the Greek word that he used to tell them exactly what to do.

In the story, the wealthy owner gave each servant a mina, about two days wages.  The King James Bible says that he distributed “ten pounds,” referring to the British currency system.  And then it summarizes the assignment:  “Occupy till I come.” (Luke 19:13).

When I hear the word “occupy,” it sounds like a way of saying, “Keep yourself busy while I’m gone; fill your time with something.”

The Greek word, however, is more specific.  It is the verb pragmateuomai [prahg-mah-TYOO-oh-mye] which occurs nowhere else in the New Testament.  Compare more recent translations and you can see the flavor of the word:

Do business (NASB; NKJV)

Engage in business (CSB, ESV)

Put this money to work (NIV)

Classical Greek used pragmateuomai in a broad sense.  It might mean to devote your time to affairs of state or to invest your time in writing a book or drama.

It was built on the noun pragma [PRAHG-mah], which means “a thing or matter, an action” – even a lawsuit.  Whatever the project, a person would devote purposeful effort to it.

In Christ’s parable, the context makes it clear that he was taking about money – taking the cash and engaging in trade or some other business venture to make it grow.

Two verses later, Jesus used a more intense version of the word, diapragmateuomai  [dee-ah- prahg-mah-TYOO-oh-mye] which adds the idea of producing gain.  The goal is not just to do something with the money; it is to use that resource to make it grow.  The nobleman eventually came back and summoned his servants ”that he might know how much every man had gained by trading” (Luke 19:15).

What was the point Jesus was making in this parable?

Well, Luke tells us that he used it because he was getting ready to make a triumphal entry to Jerusalem and His followers were under the illusion that he was going to launch the kingdom of God immediately (Luke 19:11).  They envisioned a glorious takeover that would lead to Christ on the throne of Israel, putting them in line for positions of power.

On the contrary, Jesus points that they must look forward to a period when their king will be absent and they will have the responsibility to promote the kingdom in His absence.  He has entrusted them with resources, which they can use to accomplish His purposes.

The parable provides a sketch of God’s big program for this age, but it also reminds us of some truths crucial for our individual walk as believers.

• God has entrusted us with spiritual resources. We have spiritual gifts, natural skills, circles of influence, supporting clusters of fellow believers, the word of God, the indwelling Spirit, and the gospel itself.
• He expects us to use our resources to produce spiritual gain. Mere busyness is not enough; we aim to make a difference in the lives of people around us.  Our goal is to see the Lord glorified because of what He does through us.
• He gives specific assignments to each individual. The parable doesn’t specify one kind of activity.  Ephesians 2:10 says that God has prepared “good works” for each of us to do for His glory.

We can start with simple questions:

What resources has God entrusted to me?  What is one thing I could do that would advance the interests of His kingdom?

Don’t be afraid to think small!

Study Hint:

Words that appear only once in the New Testament require a slightly different study strategy.  You can’t look up all the verses where they appear, because you only have the one verse.  What do you instead?

1. Lean on lexicons – take advantage of any Bible study tool available to you. You will have to depend on the research of experts who can compare the meaning of your word in other eras of history.
2. Consider cognates – look at other words in the same family. In this study, we included related terms like pragma (“matter, thing”), and diapragmateuomai (“engage in business for gain”).
3. Scrutinize synonyms – check out the three main words for work or accomplishment: ergazomai (“work”), poieō (“do, make”), and prassō (“practice, do”).

 

Coming Up

David Jeremiah has said that we could aptly say that a general contractor is in the “edification” business.  We normally use that term for preachers.  To find out how that connection can make sense, join us next week for a construction-related word in Greek

©Ezra Project 2024