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The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.  Matthew 12:30  NASB

Not – “Are you with Jesus?”  That seems to be a rather common spiritual question in these times.  But what does it mean?  Yeshua offered an oblique answer, an answer that requires just as much probing as our modern equivalent.  Perhaps we should start by asking, “Why does he use the weaker form of the negative?”  You see, there are two words for “no” and “not” in both Greek and Hebrew.  One of them, the Greek mē and Hebrew ʾayin, express conditional negatives, that is, things that may or may not happen, whereas the Greek ŏu and the Hebrew lōʾ express absolute negatives, that is, things that may never happen.  So, we find lōʾ in the Decalogue, but ʾayin in many historical passages.  In Greek, Paul uses mē when he writes about circumstances but he uses ŏu when he offers halakha to his readers.

With these nuances in mind, we must ask, “Why does Yeshua use the conditional negative rather than the stronger absolute?”  Does he intend to imply that following him is subject to circumstances, that being with him is sometimes correct and sometimes not?  We have been taught that alignment with the Master is the ultimate objective of discipleship, and so we read this English translation as if it is the unqualified, absolute “not.”  But the grammar says otherwise.  How are we supposed to understand this subtle difference?

Before we can answer this question, we need to look at another grammatical issue in this verse.  Our translation, “against Me,” is the Greek kat’ emou (from kata and egṓ).  Kata has a very wide range of meanings:

κατά kata, kat-ah´; a prim. particle; (prep.) down (in place or time), in varied relations (according to the case [gen., dat. or acc.] with which it is joined):—about, according as (to), after, against, (when they were) × alone, among, and, × apart, (even, like) as (concerning, pertaining to, touching), × aside, at, before, beyond, by, to the charge of, [charita-] bly, concerning, + covered, [dai-] ly, down, every, (+ far more) exceeding, × more excellent, for, from … to, godly, in (-asmuch, divers, every, -to, respect of), … by, after the manner of, + by any means, beyond (out of) measure, × mightily, more, × natural, of (up-) on (× part), out (of every), over against, (+ your) × own, + particularly, so, through (-oughout, -ougbout every), thus, (un-) to (-gether, -ward), × uttermost, where (-by), with. In composition it retains many of these applications, and frequently denotes opposition, distribution or intensity.^[1]

As you can see, context must determine the exact meaning.  Translators have expressed it according to the most frequent meaning, but the overtones might also be present.  Perhaps Yeshua meant “the one who has not joined me” in the present circumstances, not a timeless value statement.  Then this statement would apply only to the historical moment, in particular to those who followed, or did not follow, Yeshua.  This understanding offers an insight into the conditional negative.  As such, Yeshua’s statement is simply a comment on his present situation.  Some of the crowd would choose to stick with him.  Some would not.  The circumstances and personal choices would make the difference, and therefore, the “not” is conditional.  If, however, we read this as a timeless requirement of discipleship, then we would expect the absolute “not,” and we end up with the grammatical problem.

It’s often difficult to change our perspective on Yeshua’s role.  Having been taught that he is God incarnate, we tend to read his statements as if they are the eternal utterances of the One True God.  But the grammar (and other considerations) pushes us to reconsider this theological perspective.  If Yeshua is a human being, a special human being chosen to be the full representative agent of the One Ture God, but not God Himself, then the conditional “not” can be understood within the context of human circumstances, just as we would understand it with any other person.  This small example asks us to rethink our underlying assumptions.

Topical Index: not, mē, ʾayin, ŏu, lōʾ, against me, Matthew 12:30

^[1] Strong, J. (2009). In A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Vol. 1, p. 39). Logos Bible Software.