ἐξίστημι—When God Leaves Us Speechless

existémi: To amaze, to astonish, to be beside oneself, to be out of one's mind

​This week’s Greek word is exestemi, which shows up in Mark 5:42 to capture how the crowd responded when Jesus healed Jairus’s daughter: “they were immediately overcome with amazement.” Exestemi goes beyond simple surprise—it’s about being completely taken aback, even thrown off-balance, by something extraordinary. She was said to be dead- that's why the mourners & flute players were already gathered! But, Jesus shows up and says, "she's only sleeping" because in the kingdom of God, not even death makes God pause.

In Scripture, exestemi is used for moments when people are stunned by God’s miracles. Over and over again in the Gospels, people have this kind of reaction when they witness what Jesus does. Exestemi points to those times when the wonder of what God is doing stirs something deep within us.​

It is supposed to make us ask, "what do we do now?" Are we just entertained? Are we just inspired? Or do we really believe He really is the promised Messiah? How will you respond to Him?

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​Scriptures where we find "existémi":

Mark 5:42 — "they were completely astounded."

Matthew 12:23 — “the crowds were amazed, and were saying,"
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​Luke 2:47 — "who heard Him were amazed at His understanding"