Most Embarrassing Verse

Jesus Is Quite Emphatic

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When Jesus made this prediction of that present generation not passing away, before all that He had said came to pass, He did not stutter, nor was He making an educated guess. It was not a wishful or hopeful thought. He could not have been more sure or emphatic in what He said.

Below is the Greek of Matt. 24:34, with its English translation

34 Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, οὐ μὴ παρέλθῃ ἡ γενεὰ αὕτη, ἕως ἂν πάντα ταῦτα γένηται.

34 Truly I say to you, in no way shall this generation pass away, until all these things take place.

Some have made a deal of the fact that both “pass way” and “take place” are verbs in the subjunctive mood. The subjunctive is a mood that expresses either possibility or probability. Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) renders this verse in this way, “Verily I say to you, this generation may not pass away till all these may come to pass.”

This translation denies the force of the double negative οὐ μὴ, supplanting it with the force of the subjunctive mood of the verb. Are you scratching your head yet? Okay, lets break it down, because this is important.

“The subjunctive mood is the mood of mild contingency; the mood of probability. It is the first step away from that which is actual in the direction of that which is only conceivable, and, therefore, properly leads the list of potential moods.” (Dana and Mantey, A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, 1955. p. 170)

If Jesus had expressed Himself only using the subjunctive mood of these verbs, minus the double negatives, then it could mean what YLT says it means. However, the use of the double negative cannot be ignored. It will overcome any thought of doubt or possibility expressed by the subjunctive. Again, Dana and Mantey informs us of the weight of importance this double negative οὐ μὴ, expresses. Both οὐ μὴ are negative particles in their own right, and can be used alone to express some degree of negation.

With regard to οὐ, it

“Denies the reality of an alleged fact. It is the clear-cut, point-blank negative, objective, final.”

With regard to μὴ, it

“Is just the negative to use when one does not wish to be too positive. Mὴ leaves the question open for further remarks or entreaty. οὐ closes the door abruptly.” (ibid., p. 265)

With regard to the double negative, οὐ μὴ, Dana and Mantey states,

“With the light that the papyri have thrown upon this doubling of the negatives we can now say unreservedly that the negatives were doubled for the purpose of stating denials or prohibitions emphatically. (ibid., p. 266)

From Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, we read,

“The particles οὐ μή in combination augment the force of the negation, and signify not at all, in no wise, by no means.”

Another helpful quote regarding this double negative, is this,

These two words are also often used together in the form, ou me, (οὐ μὴ). Unlike the double negative in English, in Greek, the effect is to intensify the meaning. It is sometimes translated as "never" in the NT, but it is also usually translated as a "no" or "not". The sense is "no, you don't even want to think that”.
(https://www.christswords.com/main/content/greek-no-and-not-two-different-negatives)

As we can see, Jesus could not have been more sure of His words. Using these two negatives together, He says in essence, “I am speaking to you in all truthfulness and reliability, There is no possible way that this generation will pass away, before and until all these things I just told you about comes to pass.”

So, was Jesus mistaken in what He said? Did He mislead His apostles, to expect something that was not going to happen? God Forbid! Whenever we superimpose our own understanding on a verse, a phrase, or a word in the Bible, we are going to get it wrong. When we don’t allow the Bible to interpret itself, we will come out on the wrong side of things, every time.

This is what Mr. Lewis, Mr. Russell, and many others have done. They have placed their own understanding on what Jesus said, instead of allowing the Bible to explain it for them.