Lexical Summary apostelló: To send, to send forth, to dispatch Original Word: ἀποστέλλω Strong's Exhaustive Concordance send forth, set at liberty. From apo and stello; set apart, i.e. (by implication) to send out (properly, on a mission) literally or figuratively -- put in, send (away, forth, out), set (at liberty). see GREEK apo see GREEK stello HELPS Word-studies 649 apostéllō (from 575 /apó, "away from" and 4724 /stéllō, "send") – properly, send away, i.e. commission; (passive) "sent on a defined mission by a superior." As an intensification of 4724 /stéllō ("send"), 649 (apostéllō) focuses back to the source (the one sending), strongly connecting the sender to the one sent (His mission). This verb is used of closely connecting the Lord (the sender) to the believers He personally commissions – as with John the Baptist (Mk 11:2) and the twelve apostles (Mt 10:5; cf. also with His holy angels, Mk 13:27). NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom apo and stelló Definition to send, send away NASB Translation puts (1), send (17), send forth (3), sending (3), sends (1), sent (104), sent...away (1), set (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 649: ἀποστέλλωἀποστέλλω; future ἀποστελῶ; 1 aorist ἀπέστειλα; perfect ἀπέσταλκα (3 person plural ἀπέσταλκαν Acts 16:36 L T Tr WH (see γίνομαι at the beginning); passive, present ἀποστέλλομαι); perfect ἀπεστάλμαι; 2 aorist ἀπεστάλην; (from Sophocles down); properly, to send off, send away; 1. to order (one) to go to a place appointed; a. either persons sent with commissions, or things intended for someone. So, very frequently, Jesus teaches that God sent him, as Matthew 10:40; Mark 9:37; Luke 10:16; John 5:36, etc. he, too, is said to have sent his apostles, i. e. to have appointed them: Mark 6:7; Matthew 10:16; Luke 22:35; John 20:21, etc. messengers are sent: Luke 7:3; Luke 9:52; Luke 10:1; servants, Mark 6:27; Mark 12:2; Matthew 21:36; Matthew 22:3; an embassy, Luke 14:32; Luke 19:14; angels, Mark 13:27; Matthew 24:31, etc. Things are said to be sent, which are ordered to be led away or conveyed to anyone, as Matthew 21:3; Mark 11:3; τό δρέπανον i. e. reapers, Mark 4:29 (others take ἀποστέλλω here of the putting forth of the sickle, i. e. of the act of reaping; cf. b. The place of the sending is specified: ἀποστέλλειν εἰς τινα τόπον, Matthew 20:2; Luke 1:26; Acts 7:34; Acts 10:8; Acts 19:22; 2 Timothy 4:12; Revelation 5:6, etc. God sent Jesus εἰς τόν κόσμον: John 3:17; John 10:36; John 17:18; 1 John 4:9. εἰς (unto, i. e.) among: Matthew 15:24; Luke 11:49; Acts (Acts 22:21 WH marginal reading); c. The object of the mission is indicated by an infinitive following: Mark 3:14; Matthew 22:3; Luke 1:19; Luke 4:18 (Isaiah 61:1 (on the perfect cf. Winers Grammar, 272 (255); Buttmann, 197 (171))); Luke 9:2; John 4:38; 1 Corinthians 1:17; Revelation 22:6. (followed by εἰς for: εἰς διακονίαν, Hebrews 1:14. followed by ἵνα: Mark 12:2, 13; Luke 20:10, 20; John 1:19; John 3:17; John 7:32; 1 John 4:9. (followed by ὅπως: Acts 9:17.) followed by an accusative with infinitive: Acts 5:21. followed by τινα with a predicate accusative: Acts 3:26 (εὐλογοῦντα ὑμᾶς to confer God's blessing on you (cf. Buttmann, 203ff (176ff)); Acts 7:35 (ἄρχοντα, to be a ruler); 1 John 4:10. d. ἀποστέλλειν by itself, without an accusative (cf. Winers Grammar, 594 (552); Buttmann, 146 (128)): as ἀποστέλλειν πρός τινα, John 5:33; with the addition of the participle λέγων, λέγουσα, λέγοντες, to say through a messenger: Matthew 27:19; Mark 3:31 (here φωνοῦντες αὐτόν R G, καλοῦντες αὐτόν L T Tr WH); John 11:3; Acts 13:15; (Acts 21:25 περί τῶν πεπιστευκότων ἐθνῶν ἡμεῖς ἀπεστείλαμεν (L Tr text WH text) κρίναντες etc. we sent word, giving judgment, etc.). When one accomplished anything through a messenger, it is expressed thus: ἀποστείλας or πέμψας he did so and so; as, ἀποστείλας ἀνεῖλε, Matthew 2:16; Mark 6:17; Acts 7:14; Revelation 1:1; (so also the Greeks, as Xenophon, Cyril 3, 1, 6 πέμψας ἠρώτα, Plutarch, de liber. educ. c. 14 πέμψας ἀνεῖλε τόν θεοκριτον; and the Sept. 2 Kings 6:13 ἀποστείλας λήψομαι αὐτόν). 2. to send away, i. e. to dismiss; a. to allow one to depart: τινα ἐν ἀφέσει, that he may be in a state of liberty, Luke 4:18 (19), (Isaiah 58:6). b. to order one to depart, send off: Mark 8:26; τινα κενόν, Mark 12:3. c. to drive away: Mark 5:10. (Compare: ἐξαποστέλλω, συναποστέλλω. Synonym: see πέμπω, at the end) Strong’s 649 gathers the family of verbs that describe purposeful dispatch. Whether the sender is God, an angel, a prophet, a governing authority, or an ordinary believer, the act always carries intention, authority and accountability between sender and messenger. The One who sends retains ownership over the mission and message; the one sent becomes a representative whose success or failure reflects on the sender (Matthew 10:40; Luke 10:16; John 13:20). Old Testament Roots The Septuagint consistently employs the cognate verb to render Hebrew šālaḥ (“send”). Prophets, priests and kings are repeatedly “sent” by God (Isaiah 6:8; Jeremiah 1:7). This background frames New-Testament usage: every act of sending springs from covenant purposes already established in Israel’s Scriptures. The Father Sending The Son John’s Gospel makes the motif explicit (over forty occurrences). The mission of Jesus is grounded in the Father’s initiative: The repeated formula safeguards both Christ’s divine origin and His submissive obedience (John 8:42). Rejection of the Son is rejection of the Father who sent Him (John 15:21). The Spirit-Anointed Messenger Luke 4:18 cites Isaiah: “He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the captives”. Jesus reads this in Nazareth, announcing that His sending is Spirit-empowered. Luke therefore links Strong’s 649 with the inauguration of the gospel era. Formation Of The Twelve Mark 3:14 records that Jesus “appointed twelve, whom He designated as apostles, to accompany Him and to send them out to preach.” Their title (ἀπόστολος) is a noun cognate with 649; their identity is inseparable from being sent. Matthew 10:5-16 presents their first trial mission: they go only to Israel now, foreshadowing a wider mandate later (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). Broader Discipleship And Mission Luke 10:1 notes that the Lord “sent them two by two ahead of Him.” The seventy-two show that sending is not limited to the Twelve. John 20:21 universalizes it: “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” The church inherits a sent identity; mission is not an optional program but the very expression of life in Christ. Parables Of Sending Jesus’ parables employ 649 to expose human response to divine initiative: These narratives underscore accountability: rejecting messengers invites severe consequences. The Book Of Acts: Gospel Advance Acts uses the verb to chart movement from Jerusalem to Rome. Key moments include: Human and divine sendings intertwine, showing God guiding His church through willing agents. Pauline Usage And Apostolic Authority Paul appeals to 649 in defending his integrity: “Did I exploit you through any of the men I sent to you?” (2 Corinthians 12:17). His argument presumes that those he dispatches share his authority and ethos. Romans 10:15 cites Isaiah 52:7: “How can they preach unless they are sent?” Authentic gospel proclamation requires true sending, not self-appointment. Petrine And Johannine Epistles 1 Peter 1:12 reports that the gospel was “preached by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.” 1 John 4:9-14 ties God’s love to divine sending: the Father “sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.” Love is mission in action. Angelic And Eschatological Sending Revelation frames history with heavenly dispatch: The end of the age features the Son of Man who “will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call” (Matthew 24:31), gathering the elect. Themes Of Provision And Protection Luke 22:35 recalls earlier itinerant missions: “When I sent you without purse or bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” The disciples answer, “Nothing.” Dependence on the Sender brings sufficiency. Judgment On Rejection Matthew 23:37 laments Jerusalem: “How often I have longed to gather your children… and you were unwilling.” God’s persistent sending of prophets met stiff-necked refusal, highlighting human culpability and ensuing desolation (Matthew 23:38). Practical Implications For The Church Today 1. Mission springs from God’s character; believers participate in His sending nature. Summary Strong’s 649 threads Scripture together from creation promise to consummation glory. The Father sends the Son; the Son sends the Spirit-empowered church; angels are sent to serve; judgment and salvation alike arrive through sent agents. To read the Bible attentively is to encounter the relentless initiative of a God who sends. Englishman's Concordance Matthew 2:16 V-APA-NMSGRK: λίαν καὶ ἀποστείλας ἀνεῖλεν πάντας NAS: enraged, and sent and slew KJV: wroth, and sent forth, and slew all INT: greatly and having sent forth he put to death all Matthew 8:31 V-AMA-2S Matthew 10:5 V-AIA-3S Matthew 10:16 V-PIA-1S Matthew 10:40 V-APA-AMS Matthew 11:10 V-PIA-1S Matthew 13:41 V-FIA-3S Matthew 14:35 V-AIA-3P Matthew 15:24 V-AIP-1S Matthew 20:2 V-AIA-3S Matthew 21:1 V-AIA-3S Matthew 21:3 V-FIA-3S Matthew 21:34 V-AIA-3S Matthew 21:36 V-AIA-3S Matthew 21:37 V-AIA-3S Matthew 22:3 V-AIA-3S Matthew 22:4 V-AIA-3S Matthew 22:16 V-PIA-3P Matthew 23:34 V-PIA-1S Matthew 23:37 V-RPM/P-AMP Matthew 24:31 V-FIA-3S Matthew 27:19 V-AIA-3S Mark 1:2 V-PIA-1S Mark 3:14 V-PSA-3S Mark 3:31 V-AIA-3P Strong's Greek 649 |
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