Mar 11:3 And if any man say unto you, Why do you this?...
Mar 11:3 And if any man say unto you, Why do you this? say you that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.
Alternative: And if someone says to you: What are you doing there? Say that the Master has need of him and immediately he will send him here.
The general lesson for us today from this passage is that when we are serving God others will respect and help us in our mission. Though the vocabulary in Greek is very straight forward, as in the previous verse, there is a subtle lesson in the verbs pattern used and this time that pattern in extended to the "mood" of the verbs.("Mood" is a characteristic of verbs telling us if they are a simple statement, a command, a question, and so on. The verbal moods in Greek are part of their physical formation.)
Notice again that there are four verbs, the pattern of three plus one, (say=mental, do=physical, have=emotional/relationship, send=spiritual) but "say" is repeated creating five separate actions, two of them mental. The mood pattern of these five actions (say, do, say, have, send) is possibility (subjunctive mood), simple action (indicative mood), command (imperative mood), action (indicative mood), future action ((indicative mood, future tense).
This undercurrent of mood connect these mental states with the pattern of three plus one. Our mind worries about the future (the subjunctive mood) and the physical challenge. The Word commands us to act on the basis of a certain emotional connection between people. If we do, something spiritual will happen.
"Any man" and "Why" are from tis (tis) which can mean "someone," "any one," "everyone," "many a one," "whoever," and so on. In a question, it can mean "who," "why," or "what."
"Say" is from eipon (eipon), which means "to speak," "to say," "to recite," "to address," "to mention," "to name," "to proclaim," "to plead," "to promise," and "to offer."
"Do" is from poieô ( poieo), which means "to make," "to produce," "to create," "to bring into existence," "to bring about," "to cause," "to render," "to consider," "to prepare," "to make ready," and "to do."
"This" is from toutô (touto), which means "from here," "from there," "this [thing]," or "that [thing]."
"Lord," is from kurios (kyrios), which means "having power," "being in authority" and "being in possession of." It also means "lord," "master of the house," and "head of the family."
"Have" is from echô (echo), which means "to have," "to hold," "to possess," "to keep," "to have charge of," "to maintain," "to hold fast," "to bear," "to keep close," "to keep safe," and "to have means to do."
"Need" is from chreia (chreia ), which means "need," "want," "poverty," "a request of a necessity," "business," "military service," "a business affair," "employment," "familiarity," "intimacy," and "maxim."
"Straightway is from eutheôs (eutheos), which is the adverb of euthus, which means "straight," "direct," "straightforward," and "frank." As an adverb, it means "straight," "simple," "straightway," forthwith," "immediately," "directly," and "at once."
"He will send" is the Greek, apostellô (apostello), which is our source of the word "apostle." It means "to send off," "to send away," or "to dispatch."
