If we examine our own devotion to our Lord in how we walk through each day, do we really entrepō Him as we should? Instead of putting ourselves to shame and completely bearing ourselves to God, entertainment is demanded. If the “worship style” is not exciting or upbeat enough then we get bored and look for another church. We want what we want and, in this, we are doing the opposite of entrepō.

37 But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ Matthew 21:37 (LSB)

37 ὕστερον δὲ ἀπέστειλεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ λέγων· ἐντραπήσονται τὸν υἱόν μου. Matthew 21:37 (NA28)

In the Old Testament the Hebrew word translated “reverence” is usually שׁחה or shâchâh. It is the same word used for worship as well because it speaks of assuming a humble posture before royalty for instance. However, in the New Testament we find a most remarkable word translated as respect or reverence or even shame. It is found in the passage above (Matthew 21:37). Look at the Greek passage of the same verse I placed below it.  Here we have ἐντραπήσονται the plural, future tense, indicative mood, passive voice form of ἐντρέπω or entrepō, which literally means “to turn into oneself, to put self to shame, to feel respect or deference toward someone else.” If you are at all familiar with the parables of our Lord then I am sure you recoginze from where I drew the passage above. You may be asking yourself, what has this got to do with worship? Let’s see… 

In the Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers from Matthew 21:33-40, Mark 12:1-9, and Luke 20:9-16, a vineyard owner hired men to tend his vineyard, but they were wicked. When the owner sent servants to collect the harvest, the tenants beat them and stoned them, even killing some. He finally sent his son, thinking the tenants would “reverence” or “respect” him, but instead they killed him. When Jesus told this parable, the Jewish religious leaders knew that He spoke it against them and it only angered them even more against Him. The parable is, of course, about the Lord Jesus and the many servants of God who came before Him.

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