The word for this week is "hail". We find it in these verses in the New Testament:
Matthew 26:48 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. 49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him. KJV
Matthew27:29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! KJV
Mark 15:17 And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, 18 And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! KJV
Luke 1:28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. KJV
Matthew 28:9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. 10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me. KJV
In the first three examples we see the soldiers mocking JESUS with these words. Little did they know that He WAS the King of the Jews AND the soon to be Saviour of the world. They said the words mockingly, but also prophetically! We see this same word used by the angel Gabriel when he approached Mary to give her the message that shew had been chosen to carry the Son of the living God! In the last example we see the resurrected JESUS addressing the ladies who had run to the tomb. These are all the Greek word "chairo". Strong's Concordance says: to be cheerful, calmly happy or well off, especially as a salutation (be well). Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: to rejoice, to thrive. The Theological Dictionary says: Full of joy, rejoice, be merry. There have been other songs that use this word in praise and adoration of JESUS as Lord, but this new song by Hillsong Worship called "Awake My Soul" does it right! "Awake My Soul":
Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!
