What Does Matthew 12:6 Mean in the King James?
But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The temple points toward the sacred, but Jesus says the greater one is already here.
THE MEANING
Jesus is here as one greater than the temple, so the sacred building does not contain the full measure of God’s presence or authority. The verse speaks to you now by placing living presence above the place built to signify it.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that God’s presence and authority are bounded by a sacred building.
THE ROOT
ἱεροῦ
hierou
GROWS FROM
ἱερ-
hier-
Sacred, consecrated; the stem behind ἱερός (hieros), meaning sacred.
English “temple” can sound like one building; Greek ἱερόν (hieron), meaning temple or sacred precinct, belongs to a word family that also names priest and priesthood. The claim therefore exceeds the sacred precinct’s status, not merely its architecture.
ALSO GROWS
hiereus: Priest; one who serves in sacred matters.
ἱερεύς
The shared stem carries the sacred from the precinct to the person serving there, showing that the temple belongs to a wider sacred order.
hierateia: Priesthood; priestly service.
ἱερατεία
The word family extends from sacred place to its service, clarifying why the one greater than the temple exceeds the order it represents.
THE PATTERN
The sacred place points beyond itself to a presence no building can contain.
But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;THE THREAD
Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?Both verses use ἱερόν (hieron, temple): verse 5 points to the priests’ service in the temple, and verse 6 declares that someone greater than the temple is here. The argument moves from an exception tied to the sacred place to the presence that exceeds it.
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