I HAVE SET MY FACE LIKE A FLINT.

Introduction.

Isa 50:3-7. I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering.
4 The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
5 The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.
6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
7 For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. (KJV)

Luke 9:51-56. And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
52 And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
53 And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village. (KJV)

4741 sterizo (stay-rid'-zo); from a presumed derivative of 2476 (like 4731); to set fast, i.e. (literally) to turn resolutely in a certain direction, or (fig.) to confirm: KJV fix, establish, steadfastly set, strengthen.

4383 prosopon (pros'-o-pon); from 4314 and ops (the visage, from 3700); the front (as being towards view), i.e. the countenance, aspect, appearance, surface; by implication, presence, person:
KJV-- (outward) appearance, X before, countenance, face, fashion, (men's) person, presence.

7760 suwm or siym. to put, to place, to set, to appoint, to make

The Hebrew paniym 6440, (paw-neem'); plural (but always as singular) of an unused noun [paneh (paw-neh'); from 6437]; the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.):

"Ekthambeo," occurs four times in the N.T., Mk9v15. 14v33. 16v5,6.

Mark 9:14-29
14 And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them.
15 And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.
16 And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them?
17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.(KJV)

1568 ekthambeo (ek-tham-beh'-o); from 1569; to astonish utterly: KJV-- affright, greatly (sore) amaze.

1568 ekthambeo-
1) to throw into terror or amazement to alarm thoroughly, to terrify
2) to be struck with amazement a) to be thoroughly amazed, to be astounded b) to be struck with terror

Mark 9:15. And straightway all the multitude, when they saw him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.
[Were greatly amazed] [exethambeetheesan (grk 1568)]. First aorist passive ingressive aorist with perfective compound [exThe sudden and opportune appearance of Jesus in the midst of the dispute when no one was looking for him turned all eyes to him. He would not fail, however the disciples might do so. The people were awed for the moment and then running began to welcome him [prostrechontes (grk 4370) eespazonto (grk 782)]. Present participle and imperfect middle indicative.
(from Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament)

Mark 10:32-45
32 And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him,
33 Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:
34 And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.
35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.
36 And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?
37 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.
38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
39 And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:
40 But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.
41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.
42 But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.
43 But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:
44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.
45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (KJV)


Mark 10:32. And they were on the way, going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus was going before them: and they were amazed; and they that followed were afraid, [ethambounto (grk 2284)]. Imperfect tense describing the feelings of the disciples as Jesus was walking on in front of them 2284 thambeo (tham-beh'-o); from 2285; to stupefy (with surprise), i.e. astound: KJV-- amaze, astonish.
And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them the things that were to happen unto him,

[And they were amazed] [kai (grk 2532) ethambounto (grk 2284)]. Imperfect tense describing the feelings of the disciples as Jesus was walking on in front of them [en (grk 1722) proagoon (grk 4254) autous (grk 846), periphrastic imperfect active), an unusual circumstance in itself that seemed to bode no good as they went on through Perea towards Jerusalem. In fact, "they that followed were afraid" [hoi (grk 3588) de (grk 1161) akolouthountes (grk 190) efobounto (grk 5399)] as they looked at Jesus walking ahead in solitude. The idiom [hoi (grk 3588) de (grk 1161)] may not mean that all the disciples were afraid, but only some of them. "The Lord walked in advance of the Twelve with a solemnity and a determination which foreboded danger" (Swete). Cf. <Luke 9:5>. They began to fear coming disaster as they neared Jerusalem. They read correctly the face of Jesus.

[And he took again the twelve] [kai (grk 2532) paralaboon (grk 3880) tous (grk 3588) doodeka (grk 1427)]. Matthew has "apart" from the crowds and that is what Mark also means. Note [paralaboon] (grk 3880), taking to his side.

[And began to tell them the things that were to happen to him] [eerxato (grk 756) autois (grk 846) legein (grk 3004) ta (grk 3588) mellonta (grk 3195) autoo (grk 846) sumbainein (grk 4819)]. He had done it before three times already <Mark 8:31; 9:13; 9:31>. So Jesus tries once more. They had failed utterly heretofore. How is it now? Luke adds <Luke 18:34>: "They understood none of these things." But Mark and Matthew show how the minds of two of the disciples were wholly occupied with plans of their own selfish ambition while Jesus was giving details of his approaching death and resurrection.

Mark 10:33-34. (saying), Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him unto the Gentiles:.

Mark 10:35. And there come near unto him James and John, the sons of Zebedee, saying unto him, Teacher, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall ask of thee.

[There come near unto him James and John] [kai (grk 2532) prosporeuontai (grk 4365) Iakoobos (grk 2385) kai (grk 2532) Iooannees (grk 2491)]. A dramatic present tense. Matthew has [tote] (grk 5119), then, showing that the request of the two brothers with their mother <Matt. 20:20> comes immediately after the talk about Christ's death.

[We would] [thelomen (grk 2309)]. "We wish, we want," bluntly told.

Mark 10:36. And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?

Mark 14:32-39.
32 And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.
33 And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;
34 And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.
35 And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
37 And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?
38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.
39 And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words.(KJV)


Mark 14:33. And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly amazed, and sore troubled.

[Greatly amazed and sore troubled] [ekthambeisthai (grk 1568) kai (grk 2532) adeemonein (grk 85)]. <Matt. 26:37> has "sorrowful and sore troubled." See the notes at Matt. about [adeemonein] (grk 85). Mark alone uses [ekthambeisthai] (grk 1568) (here and in <Mark 9:15>). There is a papyrus example given by Moulton and Milligan's Vocabulary. The verb [thambeoo] (grk 2284) occurs in <Mark 10:32> for the amazement of the disciples at the look of Jesus as he went toward Jerusalem. Now Jesus himself feels amazement as he directly faces the struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane. He wins the victory over himself in Gethsemane and then he can endure the loss, despising the shame. For the moment he is rather amazed and homesick for heaven. "Long as He had foreseen the Passion, when it came clearly into view its terror exceeded His anticipations" (Swete). "He learned from what he suffered," <Heb. 5:8> and this new experience enriched the human soul of Jesus.
(from Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament)

Mark 16:5-6. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
6 . And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. (KJV)

[Entering into the tomb] [eiselthousai (grk 1525) eis (grk 1519) to (grk 3588) mneemeion (grk 3419)]. Told also by <Luke 24:3>, though not by Matthew.

[A young man] [neaniskon (grk 3495)]. "An angel" in <Matt. 28:5>, "two men" in <Luke 24>. These and like variations in details show the independence of the narrative and strengthen the evidence for the general fact of the resurrection. The angel sat upon the stone <Matt. 28:2>, probably at first. Mark here speaks of the young man "sitting on the right side" [katheemenon (grk 2521) en (grk 1722) tois (grk 3588) dexiois (grk 1188)] inside the tomb. Luke has the two men standing by them on the inside <Luke 24:4>. Possibly different aspects and stages of the incident.

[Arrayed in a white robe] [peribebleemenon (grk 4016) stoleen (grk 4749) leukeen (grk 3022)]. Perfect passive participle with the accusative case of the thing retained (verb of clothing). <Luke 24:4> has "in dazzling apparel."

[They were amazed] [exethambeetheesan (grk 1568)]. They were utterly [ex (grk 1537) in composition) amazed. <Luke 24:5> has it "affrighted." <Matthew 28:3> f tells more of the raiment white as snow which made the watchers quake and become as dead men. But this was before the arrival of the women. Mark, like Matthew and Luke, does not mention the sudden departure of Mary Magdalene to tell Peter and John of the grave robbery as she supposed <John 20:1-10>].

Mark 16:6. [Be not amazed] [mee (grk 3361) ekthambeisthe (grk 1568)]. The angel noted their amazement <Mark 16:5> and urges the cessation of it using this very word.

[The Nazarene] [ton Nazareenon (grk 3479)]. Only in Mark, to identify "Jesus" to the women.

[The crucified one] [ton (grk 3588) estauroomenon (grk 4717)]. This also in <Matt. 28:5>. This description of his shame has become his crown of glory, for Paul <Gal. 6:14>, and for all who look to the Crucified and Risen Christ as Saviour and Lord.

[He is risen] [eegerthee (grk 1453)]. First aorist passive indicative, the simple fact. In <1 Cor. 15:4> Paul uses the perfect passive indicative [egeegertai] (grk 1453) to emphasize the permanent state that Jesus remains risen.

[Behold the place] [ide (grk 2396) ho (grk 3588) topos (grk 5117)]. Here [ide] (grk 2396) is used as an interjection with no effect on the case (nominative). In <Matt. 28:6> [idete] (grk 1492) is the verb with the accusative. See Robertson, Grammar, p. 302. (from Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament)