Of Saints & Shepherds

Quick Facts

• Pronunciation: ä’r-khō
• Strongs Concordance: #G757
  • to be chief, to lead, to rule
• Appears 85 times in  85 verses in the New Testament
• Common translations
  • “began” (62x)
  • “begin” (7x)
  • “beginning” (8x)
  • “begins” (2x)
  • “begun” (1x)
  • “proceed” (1x)
  • “rule” (1x)
  • “rulers” (1x)
  • “starting” (2x)

How archō is used in the New Testament

1. Matthew 4:17 NASB – “17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.””

2. Matthew 11:7, 20 NASB – “7 As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? … 20 Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent.”

3. Matthew 12:1 NASB – “1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat.”Matthew 14:30 NASB – “30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!””

4. Matthew 16:21-22 NASB – “21 From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.””

5. Matthew 18:24 NASB – “24 “When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.”

6. Matthew 20:8 NASB – “8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.'”

7. Matthew 24:49 NASB – “49 and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards;”

8. Matthew 26:22, 37, 74 NASB – “22 Being deeply grieved, they each one began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?” … 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. … 74 Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed.”

9. Mark 1:45 NASB – “45 But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.”

10. Mark 2:23 NASB – “23 And it happened that He was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain.”

11. Mark 4:1 NASB – “1 He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land.”

12. Mark 5:17, 20 NASB – “17 And they began to implore Him to leave their region. … 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.”

13. Mark 6:2, 7, 34, 55 NASB – “2 When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? … 7 And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits; … 34 When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. … 55 and ran about that whole country and began to carry here and there on their pallets those who were sick, to the place they heard He was.”

14. Mark 8:11, 31-32 NASB – “11 The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him. … 31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.”

15. Mark 10:28, 32, 41-42, 47 NASB – “28 Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.” … 32 They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, … 41 Hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John. 42 Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. … 47 When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!””

16. Mark 11:15 NASB – “15 Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves;”

17. Mark 12:1 NASB – “1 And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT, AND DUG A VAT UNDER THE WINE PRESS AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey.”

18. Mark 13:5 NASB – “5 And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.”

19. Mark 14:19, 33, 65, 69, 71 NASB – “19 They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, “Surely not I?” … 33 And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. … 65 Some began to spit at Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers received Him with slaps in the face. … 69 The servant-girl saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, “This is one of them!” … 71 But he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this man you are talking about!””

20. Mark 15:8, 18 NASB – “8 The crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them. … 18 and they began to acclaim Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!””

21. Luke 3:8, 23 NASB – “8 “Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. … 23 When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli,”

22. Luke 4:21 NASB – “21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.””

23. Luke 5:21 NASB – “21 The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?””

24. Luke 7:15, 24, 38, 49 NASB – “15 The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother. … 24 When the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? … 38 and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. … 49 Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?””

25. Luke 11:29, 53 NASB – “29 As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah. … 53 When He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to question Him closely on many subjects,”

26. Luke 12:1, 45 NASB – “1 Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. … 45 “But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk;”

27. Luke 13:25-26 NASB – “25 “Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ 26 “Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’;”

28. Luke 14:9, 18, 29-30 NASB – “9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place. … 18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’ … 29 “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.'”

29. Luke 15:14, 24 NASB – “14 “Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. … 24 for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.”

30. Luke 19:37, 45 NASB – “37 As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, … 45 Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling,”

31. Luke 20:9 NASB – “9 And He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time.”

32. Luke 21:28 NASB – “28 “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.””

33. Luke 22:23 NASB – “23 And they began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing.”

34. Luke 23:2, 5, 30 NASB – “2 And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.” … 5 But they kept on insisting, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee even as far as this place.” … 30 “Then they will begin TO SAY TO THE MOUNTAINS, ‘FALL ON US,’ AND TO THE HILLS, ‘COVER US.'”

35. Luke 24:27, 47 NASB – “27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. … 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

36. John 8:9 NASB – “9 When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court.”

37. John 13:5 NASB – “5 Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.”

38. Acts 1:1, 22 NASB – “1 The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, … 22 beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us–one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.””

39. Acts 2:4 NASB – “4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”

40. Acts 8:35 NASB – “35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.”

41. Acts 10:37 NASB – “37 you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed.”

42. Acts 11:4, 15 NASB – “4 But Peter began speaking and proceeded to explain to them in orderly sequence, saying, … 15 “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning.”

43. Acts 18:26 NASB – “26 and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.”

44. Acts 24:2 NASB – “2 After Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying to the governor, “Since we have through you attained much peace, and since by your providence reforms are being carried out for this nation,”

45. Acts 27:35 NASB – “35 Having said this, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all, and he broke it and began to eat.”

46. Romans 15:12 NASB – “12 Again Isaiah says, “THERE SHALL COME THE ROOT OF JESSE, AND HE WHO ARISES TO RULE OVER THE GENTILES, IN HIM SHALL THE GENTILES HOPE.””

47. 2 Corinthians 3:1 NASB – “1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you?”

48. 1 Peter 4:17 NASB – “17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

My observations and perspective

In the 84 instances where the word archō, it is almost always used in a way synonymous with the english concepts of “beginning” or “starting”. It is only used to denote rule/rulers (2% usage) and in those contexts never speaks of a local church leadership context.