Zogreo: Caught!

Word of the Week

September 27,  2025

Zōgreō: Caught!

 

And they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

2 Timothy 2:26 NASB

 

We live at a time when civil discourse has turned decidedly uncivil.

People on The Other Side are seen as idiots (“How could they say something so senseless?”) or villains (“They’re scheming to take over and destroy everything!”).

Conflict flares on the Internet, in the workplace – even in the church.

That raises a practical question: how should believers view their opponents?

When Timothy, a first century church leader, faced people who attacked the gospel, he was surely tempted to charge into battle to crush these troublemakers.  However, his mentor Paul urged a different approach.

Correct those who promote error but do so with a gentle spirit (see 2 Timothy 2:24-25). According to Paul, the goal was not to win the argument but to win the person.  Our goal is to win the person, not the argument.

He goes on to remind us that the loudmouthed troublemaker is not the real enemy. No, Satan is the enemy, and your opponent is merely his pawn.

Paul uses a colorful Greek word to provide a clear picture of the situation.  In 2 Timothy 2:26, he describes the rival as someone who “has been held captive by him [Satan] to do his will.”  The word “held captive” comes from the Greek word zōgreō [zoh-GREH-oh], usually translated as “to ensnare, trap, take alive.”

This word comes from two Greek roots:  zōē (“life”) and agreuō (to hunt, catch off guard).  That suggests two observations:

1. In ancient warfare, the goal was to kill the enemy. However, zōgreō means to capture him alive.  Roman armies often took large numbers of prisoners and put them to use as slaves.  Every Roman victory brought in a fresh wave of workers to build the roads and work the fields.
2. People were often taken captive by deception, rather than brute force. Just as hunters set snares, army leaders would use deception to lure the enemy into a vulnerable position.  You can see this in Mark 12:13, which tells how the Jewish leaders sent some Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus “in order to trap Him [agreuō] in a statement.”

Do you see how this matches the description of Satan’s tactics in 2 Timothy 2:26?

Timothy’s troublesome opposition were people who have been tricked by Satan’s snare.  They blundered into his control and they can’t get out.  And he doesn’t wipe them out.  He keeps them around to do his work.

It’s not our job to destroy those who oppose the gospel.  Our ambition is to set them free!

And that takes us to the only other verse in the New Testament which uses the word zōgreō.  In Luke 5, we read about the day that Jesus called Peter, James and John from their fishing boats to follow Him.  He had just produced a miraculous catch of fish for them, and now He had a new plan for them.

“Do not fear,” He told Peter, “from now on you will be catching people” (Luke 5:10).  He uses the same word zōgreō for the great task of bringing men and women to Jesus.

Why would Jesus use the same word that describes Satan’s deadly hunt for captives?

First, our goal is to take people who are committed to a life of serving Satan and do whatever is necessary to rescue them.  We don’t use deception or trickery, but we use love, tact, and truth to get around their mental defenses.

Second, the goal of evangelism is to see people living for God’s kingdom, available for His service.  As Colossians 1:13, “He delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.”

I am reminded of the waiting area at our local Red Lobster restaurant. Which features a large glass tank.  In the water, a collection of lobsters lie around waiting for someone from the kitchen to reach in, grab them, and toss them in a pot of boiling water so that some hungry diner can tear their carcass open and eat the flesh.  Being ensnared by Satan is like the lobster.

Wouldn’t it be great if somebody could reach in, grab those lobsters, and transfer them back to the freedom of the open sea?  That’s what we are doing when we share the gospel of Christ with those on the other side of the issues.

 

Study Hint:

The ideal way to determine a word’s meaning is to look at the ways it is used in the New Testament.  This is easy to do when a word occurs a dozen times, because you can look at all twelve verses.  When a word occurs 200 times, it’s not practical to look at all those verses, so you should consult commentaries to get help.  However, when a word occurs only one or two times, you will want to look at study tools that tell how it was used in settings outside the Bible.  This is also a time when you can pay special attention to the etymology or origin of a word.  That’s what we have done this week.

 

Coming Up

With all this emphasis on taking a gentle approach to conflict, is there ever a time when it’s appropriate to go into battle?  Next week we will examine a verse from book of Jude that provides a balancing truth.

Ezra Project 2025