“Ti emoi kai soi?”

2Co 1:19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. 20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.  (ESVST)

Jn 2:4 And Jesus said to her, “ Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”  (ESVST)

What do these passages have in common?  “Yes” of course.

Confused?  Let me see if I can walk you through this.  The revelation is powerful.  What does Paul say in 2 Corinthians?  He says that promises of God find their Yes in Him.  As discussed in the last post God’s language is Yes.  His word to us is Yes.  He has made so many promises that we add “maybe” when He has already said Yes.  Our circumstance, our experience and especially our disappointment adds a big fat “maybe” to everything of God.  We are poisoned, fallen humans that demand our lists and laws (our yes and no).  We are conditional creatures in search of confirmation in circumstance.  God just wants us to believe what He has said.  This is why He places such an importance on His “word.”  He wants us to know what He has said about us.  He wants us to understand what His “yes” looks like.  He doesn’t want us to “study our Bibles so we ‘know’ more stuff and facts and figures and rules and laws and lists.”  He wants us to find His “yes” for our circumstance so we don’t agree with the enemy or situations experienced within a fallen world that is ruled by the devil.  He wants us to believe and trust in Him.  That is called faith.  It is how we know we are right with God and how we know He is a rewarder of those that seek Him.  Can you see His “yes?”

So what is it that Jesus is saying to His mother Mary and what does it have to do with His “yes?”  Everything.  Here is the verse in context:

John 2: 1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” (ESV)

This phrase “what does this have to do with me?” is a Hebrew idiom.  It is the phrase “Ti emoi kai soi.”  Literally it means “what to me with(and) to you.”  Here is the phrase used by Elisha in 2 Kings:

2Ki 3:13 And Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No; it is the Lord who has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” (ESVST)

The Kings of Israel and Judah and  Edom were sneaking up on the Moabites and had run out of water in the desert.  God brought water from the Earth and filled the dry streams.  Before that happened the Kings came to the man of God and asked for help.  Elisha asks them “what is it to me and to you?”

This is an amazing phrase.  It is actually an intimate way of cutting through the junk and getting to the root of the conversation.  Think of it like this:

“What is your question?  What is it to us?  What is common between us?  Let’s cut through the garbage and have a real conversation.  Let’s skip the small talk and ask the hard questions.  Show me your heart in this issue.  Be transparent with me.  Ask me the hard question.”

Mary comes to Jesus and asks for help.  Our “help me Jesus” is the most intimate expression we can ever utter.  It declares our inability in our power and brings forth His “YES” in His power.  Jesus is confirming with Mary her understanding of His “Yes.”  He even presents to her a good argument for a “maybe” or a “no” instead of a “yes.”  He reminds her of the human limitations of timing.  She is having none of it.  Her response is her “amen” to His “yes.”  She doesn’t hesitate but tells the servants to get ready.  She understood the promises of God.  She gave birth to and lived with God.  She knew the “yes” of Jesus.  She knew His heart towards her.  She didn’t care about timing or ministry limitations  or any other distraction.  She needed help and Jesus was the answer.  Here are a few other translations of the same verse.  Check it out:

Jesus saith to her, ‘What — to me and to thee, woman? not yet is mine hour come (Young’s Literal Translation)

Jesus saith to her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? my hour is not yet come (Webster’s Bible Translation)

Yeshua said to her, “What do we have in common, woman? My hour has not quite yet come (Aramaic Bible in Plain English)

When He says yes we can’t help but say amen. We just agree with His yes. My self-effort, my selfish intentions, my stubborn independence is a “yes” that produces dead fruit and dead works. Even my best intentions are empty and hollow and filled with old stale wine apart from His yes. When I agree with His yes the impossible moves into the possible and become my new experience. His yes creates worlds. His yes is the stuff of freedom.  When I agree with Him, His yes is my “certainty” not a “probably or maybe.” His yes is my hope. His hope never fails or disappoints or puts us to shame. When we meet His yes with our amen, we are never the same. Our world goes from a limiting endurance race on the treadmill of purgatory purposed pursuits to a limitless flight of adventures in the impossible realm of His yes. Wheelchairs lose their slaves. Sickness loses its victim. Cancer loses its surrogate. Death loses its power. Sin is no longer a master. Circumstance is no longer truth. Jesus is King. It is that easy. It is that simple. It is just three little letters, YES.

Jesus is always asking us “Ti emoi kai soi?”  He is asking us if we agree with Him.  He is asking us for our amen.  This is what Jesus prayed to Abba His last night before the cross.

Jn 17:21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  (ESVST)

This phrase “are in me and I in you” is the same phrase “emoi kai soi” with the added word “in.”  Jesus is saying  “what we are to Him and what He is to us is such a powerful yes and amen that we are actually one (in) with each other.”  Come on!  Isn’t that powerful?  We are in such agreement with Him that we are joined to Him.

It is time for us to believe His promises and scream “amen” to His “yes.”  That is our answer to “Ti emoi kai soi.”  We get to agree with our Abba.  We get to sing with the Holy Spirit.  We get to be one with Jesus.  This is our walk.  This is our reality.  “Maybe” and “yeah buts” are not of God.  They are from the enemy.  Say YES.  Just say YES to Jesus.

Yay God!

Lance