INTRODUCTION
Outline.
1. The Art of Greek Parsing
Introductory Remarks.
1. We will conduct a Greek Parsing Exercise to discover who received the Holy Ghost Baptism with Empowerment on the Day of Pentecost.
2. Many claims have been made today regarding this subject. Besides the 12 apostles, 1) the 120 disciples, 2) the multitude, 3) the 3000 baptized, and 4) many in some denominations today have claimed they received the Holy Ghost baptism with empowerment: quite a list, and it is growing.
3. However, we propose that only the 12 apostles were baptized and empowered by the Holy Spirit of promise. We will permit an exercise in Greek Parsing to settle the matter. The exercise will use Luke’s Chronological Narrative of the events on Pentecost as our scriptures of discovery. Let’s begin by defining the term “Greek Parsing.”
BODY OF LESSON
I. THE ART OF GREEK PARSING
A. Definition of Greek Parsing. Greek Parsing means to divide (a sentence) into grammatical parts and identify the parts and their relationship to each other. In this case, they are examining a word or phrase in a sentence from Greek to determine which adjective or verb it modifies and to which definite article, noun, or pronoun it agrees within the text (in case, number, and gender). We will allow the case, number, and gender of a word or phrase in a sentence to define their relationship in the text.
B. A review of Greek Parsing. We will now review several sentences in light of Greek Parsing to settle these claims taught by other religious leaders. I know some will still disagree with Luke's chronological narrative and our summary of the events on Pentecost. However, all will see and know the truth. Observe,
1. Our hypothesis or aim remains the same: "Only the 12 apostles received power and the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost." This truth is substantiated by Luke’s chronological narrative in Acts 2:1-14. We will now confirm it again through the art of Greek Parsing. Before beginning the exercise, we have some,
2. Preparatory work. Below, we have listed several passages where we will review words and phrases from Acts 2:1-4. The word or phrase can help validate the definite articles, adjectives, nouns, pronouns, and participles that make up our discovery sentences in the Greek text. These words and phrases will be correlated with our discovery text in our Greek Parsing exercise. They are,
a. The phrase “they were” in Acts 2:1 is a Verb—Imperfect (no voice stated), combined with a pronoun, Indicative—3rd Person Plural (in case, number, and gender). These phrases' case, number, and gender will become valuable as we analyze the "who" or the "subject" in this and other sentences in Acts. See BLB.org, Acts 2:1. The question before us now is this: “Who are they?” Right now, this is undiscoverable. However, the 3rd person pronoun is incomplete. Personal pronouns are always in the Nominative Case. They are generally linked to a Noun presented earlier in a section of scripture.
QUESTION: Could the “they were” be referring to “Matthias and the eleven apostles?” See Acts 1:26. There are two prepositional phrases we must review before proceeding in our exercises. They are first,
1) The text: “And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias,” Acts 1:26a. BLB.org.
a) Preposition in English: “And the lot fell upon Matthias.”
b) Preposition in Greek: “kai ho klepos pipto epi matthias.”
c) Greek Parsing: “And the lots fell upon Matthias.”
c1) kai | o | kleros | epesen | epi | Matthias
c2) and | the | lots | fell | upon | Matthias
c3) kai | ho | kleros | pipto | epi | matthias
c4) G2532 | G3588 | G2819 | G4098 | G1909 | G3159
c5) CONJ | T-NSM | N-NSM | V2AAP-NSM | PREP | N-NSM
d) Corrections: Observe that we changed the name “Matthian” to “Mathias?” for it to be in the Nominative Case as a proper name or noun. Proper names and nouns should appear in the NC, and especially within a prepositional phrase. The verb “V-2AAI-3S” should be “V2AAP-NSM” or “Second Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine.” It was “the lot” that fell upon Matthias, not lots. This verb has a participle P-NSM, which links it to “the lot, and Matthias, or T-NSM, N-NSM, and N-NSM, respectively. Therefore, we also placed Matthias in the NC. Now, the article, nouns, and participle all agree in case, number, and gender (CNG).
REFERENCES: EGNT, Page 313, and the Stephens’ 1550, GNT, Page 210.
And second,
2) The Text: “And he was numbered with the eleven apostles,” Acts 1:26b. BLB.org.
a) The preposition in English: “He…with the eleven apostles.”
b) The preposition in Greek: “kai autos en katarithmeo meta ho hendeka apostolos.”
c) Greek Parsing: “And He was numbered with the eleven apostles.”
c1) kai | autos | en | katarithmeo | µeta | oi | hendeka | apostolos
c2) and | he | was | numbered | with | the | eleven | apostles
c3) kai | autos | en | katarithmeo | meta | ho | hendeka | apostolos
c4) G2532 | G846 | G2258 | G2674 | G4862 | G3588 | G1733 | G652
c5) CONJ | P-NSM | V-IXI-3S | V-RPP-NSM | PREP | T-NPM | A-NPM | N-NPM
d) Corrections: Observe that BLB.org has the words “he, was, and numbered” as one word or “sugkateyaphiotha” and coded as V-API-3S or Verb - Aorist Passive Indicative - 3rd Person Singular, but should be V-IXI-3S, or Verb - Imperfect (No voice stated) Indicative - 3rd Person Singular. We found earlier in this chapter these words: “av katapithmamenos,” or “he was numbered with us,” Acts 1:17. Peter was speaking of Judas, he that betrayed Jesus. He was “numbered with us, or Judas and the eleven apostles.”
d1) I separated “he, was, and numbered” as they appear above. The Verb “suykayryaphiotha” combined them into a single word and was improperly coded as such. We changed it to “katarithmeo” or “numbered,” a V-RPP-NSM, or Verb - Perfect Passive Participle - Nominative Singular Masculine. This verb has a participle that refers back to Matthias, who is “numbered with the eleven apostles.”
d2) He or “autos” is a P-NSM or Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative Singular Masculine. The verb “was” is V-IXI-3S, or Verb - Imperfect (No voice stated) Indicative - 3rd Person Singular. Next, the verb “numbered” should appear in as V-RPP-NSM, or Verb - Perfect Passive Participle - Nominative Singular Masculine. This verb has a participle, which links back to the pronoun “he” or P-NSM. Observe that the participle modifies “he,” the subject, in the preposition.
d3) The preposition “µeta” was clearly defined in the Greek, so we left it as it appears above.
d4) We had to change the definite article from “ton” T-GPM to “oi.” T-NPM, and endeka, “A-NUI” or Adjective – Indeclinable Numeral (Adjective), to Adjective – NPM or Nominative Plural Masculine.
d5) And finally, we changed “apostolon" from N-GPM to “apostolos,“ “N-NPM.” The article, nouns, pronoun, adjective, and participle are in the Nominative Case, and agree in case, number, and gender (CNG). With these necessary corrections, we are ready to begin our GP exercise in earnest. The preparatory work above will help us in the remaining exercises. Here we go!
b. The phrase “they were” and “sitting” in Acts 2:2 is a Verb – Imperfect (No voice stated), combined with a pronoun, Indicative – 3rd Person Plural. To align this personal pronoun with the correct verb, we looked at the word “sitting.” It is coded: V-PNP-NPM or Verb - Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle - Nominative Plural Masculine. Observe that the participle is referring back to a pronoun, or “they,” who were sitting. The participle is nominative plural masculine. Therefore, what it connects to must also be NPM. “They” is like “them” or P-NPM, -Personal/Possessive Pronoun – Nominative Plural Masculine.
c. The phrase “unto them,” in Acts 2:3a, is a Personal/Possessive Pronoun – Nominative Plural Masculine (in case, number, and gender). We changed the Dative case to the Nominative case. The Greek word is “autos” or P-NPM, as indicated in d2) above. This is a little “dry,” but it is necessary.
d. The phrase “of them,” in Acts 2:3b, is a Personal/Possessive Pronoun – Nominative Plural Masculine (in case, number, and gender). We changed the Dative case to the Nominative case. Again, the Greek word is “autos” or P-NPM, as indicated in d2) and c. above.
e. The phrase “they were,” and verb “filled” in Acts 2:4a, is verb – Aorist Passive Indicative – 3rd Person Plural (in case, number, and gender). Observe, b. Above is just like e. here. But not coded the same. If we can correct “they were” here, it will also correct b. above. The correct phrase and verb here is: V-AAP-NPM, or Aorist Active Participle - NPM. The participle connects “they were” with “all filled” with the Holy Ghost.
f. The word “them,” in Acts 2:4b, is a Personal/Possessive Pronoun – Nominative Plural Masculine. We changed the Dative case to the Nominative case. Again, the Greek word is “autos” or P-NPM. Therefore, all nouns, pronouns, and participles agree in CNG. We are ready to begin the exercise.
NOTE: Time does not permit us to define all these parts of speech, such as case, number, and gender, for each phrase and word in our preparatory work. I listed the references to obtain the site for this work below and in the Reference Section. You would benefit greatly from studying these terms later on your own. I will leave it to you to discover. However, for now, let's consider three sentences that bear examination in our exercise as we move to a conclusion.
3. Please open The BlueLetterBible’s Interlinear before you proceed in this exercise. Use the link below to open the BLB’s Interlinear.
NOTE: Copy and paste this link into your browser: https://www.blueletterbible.org/. Once opened, type into the search Window Acts 2. Click on the search Arrow to begin. Then, scroll down to verse one. Select and click on Act 2:1 to open the BLB’s Interlinear (the blue tab at the top left of the page). You must do this to review every verse mentioned in the exercise. Spend some time reviewing the application and other tabs.
NOTE: In the Interlinear View, you have these headings.
Textus Receptus: It provides the Greek text listed below the heading (this is the default page).
Highlighted headings. English [KJV] [?]; Strong’s; Inflection, Root & Transliteration; and Parsing [?].
Put your mouse (Arrow or Hand) on: “And,” then G2532, then “kai,” and “CONJ.” Select other words and review them in the same manner. [A link or “pop-up screen” will appear; review it.]
NOTE: If you select a link, you will transition from the page; use the back arrow to return to it.
Please become familiar with these tabs and their information. We will use them later in this exercise. The BLB.org has a Tutorial Page that you can review for further information about their App.
C. Exercise sentences for review. We will use three sentences for our exercise in this lesson. They will firmly establish who the “subject” of Luke’s chronological narrative was in Acts 2:1-4. Let’s begin our exercise. Recall that Luke wrote,
1. First, “Matthias was numbered with the eleven apostles,” Acts 1:26. After the disciples came together to elect another person (man) to replace Judas (who had betrayed Christ), they cast forth their "lots" after praying to the Lord. Their lots "fell on Matthias." And He was numbered with the 11 apostles. The question before us now is this: Could "Matthias and the eleven apostles" be the "who" or the "subjects" of the "they" and "them" in Acts 2:1-4? In Greek Parsing,
a. The sentence: “Matthias and the eleven apostles” can be mapped in this fashion:
1) The name “Matthias” is a proper name or noun | N-NSM.
2) The word “and” is a conjunction | CONJ.
3) The word “with” is a preposition | PREP.
4) The word “the” is a definite article | T-NPM.
5) The number “eleven” is an adjective | *A-NUI. We changed it to A-NPM.
NOTE: A-NUI means Indeclinable Numeral (Adjective), BLB.org.
6) The title “apostles” is a noun | N-NPM.
b. Is there an article, adjective, or noun that can be linked to the pronoun: “they” or “them" in Acts 2:1-4? In Greek Parsing, does “they” or “them” refer to an article, adjective, noun, pronoun, or participle mentioned earlier in Acts 1:26? Let’s locate them by connecting this “pronoun” to this sentence.
SPECIAL NOTE: Refer to the preparatory work done before we corrected those CNG for the phrases in 2. Preparatory work, a. above.
1) In Acts 2:3b, the phrase “them" is a pronoun | P-NPM.
2) In Acts 1:26, the title "apostles” is a noun | N-NPM.
3) In MGNT-NASB95, the number “eleven” is an adjective | *A-GPM. TR, A-NPM.
NOTE: MGNT means the Morphological Greek New Testament. BLB.org.
NOTE: GPM means Genitive in case, Plural in number, and Masculine in gender.
NOTE: We changed all the references to the Genitive case to the Nominative.
4) The article, proper names, nouns, pronouns, and adjectives all agree in case, number, and gender.
5) Therefore, the phrase "of them" in Acts 2:3b refers to the “eleven apostles” in Acts 1:26.
c. Conclusion: The “cloven tongues like as of fire, sat upon each of them (Matthias, and the eleven apostles) on the Day of Pentecost. This evidence in Greek Parsing is undeniable. The pronoun "them," in Acts 2:3b; refers to the definite article, adjective, and noun; of “the eleven apostles,” mentioned, in Acts 1:26. Let's consider another text that mentions the 12 apostles. Here we have,
2. Further, “Peter, standing up with the eleven,” Acts 2:14. We will permit Peter to make his defense of himself and the other apostles, who were being accused of being "full of new wine," Acts 2:13. In Greek Parsing,
a. The sentence: “Peter, standing up with the eleven” can be mapped in this fashion:
1) The name “Peter” is a proper name or noun | N-NSM.
2) The phrase “standing up" is a verb | V-APP-NSM.
3) The word “with” is a preposition | PREP.
4) The word “the” is a definite article | T-NPM.
5) The word “eleven” is an adjective | *A-NUI. TR, A-NPM.
NOTE: In MGNT-NASB95, “eleven" is an adjective | *A-DPM.
NOTE: MGNT means the Morphological Greek New Testament. BLB.org.
6) The phrase “unto them” is a pronoun | P-NPM. (*Inferred, but not included in the sentence). The BLB.org has “unto them” in Acts 2:3a, as P-DPM, or Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative Plural Masculine. We changed it to P-NPM, as you see above. We then asked:
b. Is there an adjective, pronoun, or participle that is linked to the noun in this sentence, Acts 2:14? In our first exercise,
1) The adjective “eleven” has already been linked to the “they” or “them,” the 12 apostles.
2) Is there a pronoun or participle that links to the proper name or noun | N-NPM, in our text?
3) Recall that Peter defends his and the other apostles’ actions as not being “full of new wine.”
4) In Acts 2:3a, we find the pronoun that links back to the proper name or noun | N-NSM, in Acts 2:14. Yes, the participle in V-APP-NSM links back to Peter, N-NSM, “standing up with the eleven.”
a) In Acts 2:14, the word “the” is a definite article | T-NPM.
b) The word "eleven" is an adjective | A-NPM. Changed from A-NUI, BLB.org, to A-NPM.
c) In Acts 2:3a, unto “them” is a pronoun | P-NPM.
NOTE: NPM means Nominative in case, Plural in number, and Masculine in gender.
5) The definite article, adjective, and pronoun agree in case, number, and gender.
6) Therefore, the phrase “unto them" in Acts 2:3a refers to the “eleven” in Acts 2:14. There can be no mistake about it! The definite article, adjective, and pronoun agree in case, number, and gender. They connect the phrase "unto them" to “Peter and the eleven apostles.” Are you seeing this?
c. Conclusion: The “cloven tongues that appeared unto them, like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them, was (Peter, and the eleven apostles), on the Day of Pentecost. This evidence in Greek Parsing is undeniable. The definite article “the” and its pronoun, “unto them," refer to the adjective and noun the “eleven apostles” in Acts 1:26 and Acts 2:14. Although the noun "apostles" is absent in the sentence, Luke inferred it. As we conclude, let's consider our final sentence in this exercise.
3. Finally, some repentant believers inquired of: “Peter and the rest of the apostles,” Acts 2:37, as the apostle, Peter, concluded his sermon on Pentecost. Some from the audience, touched in their hearts by the guilt of crucifying Jesus, said unto: “Peter, and the rest of the apostles, Men, and brethren, what shall we do?" Acts 2:37. In Greek Parsing,
a. The sentence: “Peter and the rest of the apostles" can be mapped in this fashion:
1) The name “Peter” is a proper name or noun | N-NSM.
2) The word “and” is a conjunction | CONJ.
3) The word "the” is a definite article | T-NPM.
4) The word “rest” is an adjective | A-NPM.
5) The phrase “of the apostles” is a noun | N-NPM.
NOTE: The BLB.org has all the nouns, adjectives, and articles in the Accusative Case. We changed these to the Nominative Case, as required. Proper names, nouns, adjectives, and participles should appear in the Nominative Case to function in modifying or connecting to the “subject.”
b. Can some definite article, adjective, or noun link this sentence to our previous exercises? In Greek Parsing,
1) In Acts 2:37, the investigation's sentence, we corrected all articles, adjectives, verbs, nouns, and pronouns.
2) The name Peter stands alone, just like Matthias, in Acts 1:26.
3) The phrase "rest of the apostles," their article, adjective, and noun, all agree in case, number, and gender.
NOTE: NPM means Nominative Plural Masculine. Therefore, as in the other two sentences, in this exercise, the gender of all “the subjects” mentioned has been male, N-NSM, or N-NPM, respectively.
c. Conclusion: Only the 12 apostles received the baptism, or the "outpouring" of the Holy Spirit, with power on Pentecost. There was no mention of any other persons (male or female) in our final exercises or in Luke's chronological narrative of the events that occurred that day.
D. Final summation. Our aim in this exercise was to establish that only the 12 apostles received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with power on the Day of Pentecost. We worked methodically through Luke's chronological narrative to establish this fundamental truth.
1. Our eyes were intensely affixed to every sentence, phrase, and word as we reviewed Luke’s report on the events at Pentecost. Luke, Paul's beloved companion, depicted a graphic narrative of all the events that occurred on the Day of Pentecost.
2. We worked carefully through Luke’s record of it, opening our Bibles at each junction of his narrative.
3. Our only goal was to reveal what was written in the text—not to prove a point but to establish the truth. If this lesson has angered anyone, I pray that God grants you the spirit of humility and reverence for His holy and divine word.
4. You have been patient and cooperative. This exercise should have helped you understand and appreciate the Art of Greek Parsing. I have other lessons on SermonCentral.com. Search for them using this tag: “Sermons on Greek Parsing.”
NOTE: Download the sermon: “Luke’s Narrative of the Day of Pentecost” from SermonCentral.com. You can review Luke’s narrative and his conclusion regarding the subject.
CONCLUSION
A. Outline.
1. The Art of Greek Parsing
B. Summarize Main Points.
1. We conducted a Greek Parsing Exercise to discover who received the Holy Ghost Baptism with Empowerment on the Day of Pentecost.
2. Many claims have been made today regarding this subject. Besides the 12 apostles, 1) the 120 disciples, 2) the multitude, 3) the 3000 baptized, and 4) many in some denominations today claim they have received the Holy Ghost baptism with empowerment: quite a list, and it is growing. All of these were proven false through this exercise.
3. However, our proposition that only the 12 apostles were baptized and empowered by the Holy Spirit of promise was the absolute truth. We allowed the Greek Parsing exercise to settle the matter. We used Luke’s Chronological Narrative of the events on Pentecost as our scriptures of discovery. The outcome was settled through the exercise of “Greek Parsing.”
4. When you have faith concerns that need to be rightly discovered, remember to refer to this exercise as a starting point to resolve these spiritual matters. We can trust the Word of God! There are lessons on SermonCentral.com that we have done ourselves to bring closure to religious doubt and error. Feel free to download them for use as a guide and an answer that will stand up to critique.
C. Invitation. Present God’s pattern of conversion. Jesus said: “Come unto me all ye that labor,” Matthew 11:28-30. [Explain the POC, i.e., hearing and believing the gospel; repentance of all past sins, Luke 24:44-47; confessing faith in Christ, as the Son of God, Matthew 10:32-33; and then, by obeying the gospel, Romans 10:16-18; Romans 6:17-18; that is to: “repent and be baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost,” Acts 2:38; Acts 5:31-32; Ephesians 1:13-14].
D. Exhortation. “With many other words did he testify and exhort, saying: save yourselves from this untoward generation,” Acts 2:40.
E. Motivation/Persuasion. We love you here at this congregation of God’s people and want the best for your life and your family. We invite you now to come and respond to the love of God through the death of his Son. What you do today will have lasting benefits for you and perhaps those you love, whether family or friends.
Acknowledgments and Commendations
To: "Render therefore to all their dues: tributes to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; and honor to whom honor (is due),” Romans 13:7. I acknowledge my consultation with these distinguished authors.
References
1. Merriam-Webster, since 1828, by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated (Merriam-Webster.com), 2017.
2. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible, by Matthew Henry, Christian Classics Ethereal Library, Grand Rapids, MI, 1706.
3. The People's New Testament, by B. W. Johnson, Christian Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI, 1891.
4. The New Greek-English Interlinear New Testament; United Bible Societies, Fourth, Corrected Edition, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL, 1990.
5. Textus Receptus, taken from the Greek Text of Stephens 1550, The Englishman’s Greek New Testament, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, First Zondervan Printing, 1970.
6. Clarke Commentary on the Bible, Eight Volumes, Published 1810-1826, New York, Published by J. Emory and B. Waugh, for the Methodist Episcopal Church, at the conference office, 13 Crosby-Street, J. Collord, Printer, 1831.
7. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, by W. E. Vine, Fleming H. Revell Company, Old Tappan, NJ, Copyright, 1981.
8. The BlueLetterBible.org (BLB’s) Interlinear, Textus Receptus; and the Morphological GNT, Copyright 2022, by the Blue Letter Bible. This tool allows you to access the Greek New Testament in both manuscripts. http://www.blb.org/The BLB also provides tutorials to help you learn how to use it. Link, (www.BLB.org).
We thank the entire BLB.org staff for their work and dedication to helping ministers and teachers better understand the Word of God. Become familiar with this tool of study and assistance in preparing your messages that will encourage and strengthen those who hear you expound upon the word of God.
Note: Review my other lessons, which include the Art of Greek Parsing. Use “Greek Parsing Exercise” to search for them when you visit SermonCentral.com or on the Internet. We also thank the workers and staff at SermonCentral.com for helping those who preach and teach the word of God.
Visit and worship with the Church of Christ at Pickensville, AL, every Sunday at 11:00 AM and Wednesday at 6:00 PM. The call-in number is 1-302-202-1110, and the PIN is 214733. These men "know the Shepherd!"
Contact Information
Ron Freeman, Evangelist
wwmcoc@earthlink.net
https://wwmchurchofchrist.org/
Website: https://en.gravatar.com/refreeman
Sermon updated by Ron Freeman, Evangelist, on 11/25/2025.
