What Does “Maranatha” Mean?
What makes the phrase Maranatha so important
What makes this phrase so important to Christians? In any case, it speaks to some of the most important aspects of our faith: Christ has come, and Christ will come again!
Believers of Jesus Christ, live in light of the fact that He will return at any time. This is something we should look forward to every day. The wisdom of Maranatha reminds us to focus on the things that are eternal instead of dwelling on material things. Worldly things cause turmoil. As we look up, we see that the Lord Jesus Christ is soon to come which gives us hope.
A collection of the best articles has been compiled to shed light on the story and the meaning of this phrase.
Oppressed Believers’ Common Greeting
Get Question wrote a brief explanation of the meaning of Maranatha. This term was evidently used to give hope to the people during the Roman era when Christian life was a struggle.
Maranatha is an Aramaic word that means “the Lord is coming” or “come, O Lord.” The early church faced much persecution, and life for a Christian under Roman rule was not easy. The Romans required everyone to declare that Caesar was god. The early Christians knew that there is only one God and one Lord—Jesus Christ—and in all good conscience, they could not call Caesar “Lord,” so the Romans looked upon them as traitors, persecuted them, and put them to death.
Living under those adverse conditions, the believers’ morale was lifted by the hope of the coming of the Lord. “Maranatha!” became the common greeting of the oppressed believers, replacing the Jewish greeting shalom (“peace”).
Faithful followers of Jesus Christ know that He will come again at any moment. We need to be prepared when that time comes. Check this link for the full article:
https://www.gotquestions.org/maranatha.html
Meaning In The Bible
The author of the next article is Jessica Udall, a Bible major, and an Intercultural Studies master's degree holder. At present, she is working on her PhD in intercultural studies. Among the topics she focuses on are the Christian life and intercultural communication at lovingthestrangerblog.com. In her blog she explained the different interpretations of the phrase and why it’s important:
Depending on how it’s translated, the phrase “Maranatha” can mean “Our Lord has come,” “Come, Lord!” or “Our Lord is coming.” Scholars have debated which meaning is most accurate, but all are congruent with Paul’s understanding of Christ’s first and second coming, each bringing out a unique aspect of His past, present, or future work.
Jesus’ first coming gave hope, and his second coming will bring a joy that will last forever for those who are following him. We live in the messy middle between these two points. We look back and praise God that Christ has come. And we look forward and trust God that Christ will come again. By balancing our lives between these two comings, we find perspective for this momentary existence we find ourselves in, and we find ourselves moved to pray, “Come, Lord Jesus!” and feel glorious anticipation with each beat of our hearts that gets us closer to the day that “we shall see [him] face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Read the full article here:
https://www.christianity.com/wiki/christian-terms/what-does-maranatha-mean-in-the-bible.html
Christian Perspectives in The Middle East
Ken Bailey wrote a blog illustrating how Christians in the Middle East understand the Aramaic phrase maranatha:
Over the last fifteen hundred years Chrysostom’s interpretations of Scripture have been highly regarded across the Middle East, and they continue to impact the church there. Furthermore, Syriac, Arabic and Hebrew translations have consistently read maranatha as maran atha and translated it “our Lord has come.” The Syriac Peshitta is particularly important, and its witness cannot be easily dismissed. Syriac is a sister language to Aramaic, and the roots of the Syriac Peshitta are very early. Some of the early Arabic versions leave the two Aramaic words in the text and divide them like the Syriac, meaning “Our Lord has come.” Others have translated the two words into Arabic or written the Aramaic and then added an Arabic translation that reads, “Our Lord has come.”
Here's the complete blog:
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-wax/the-meaning-of-maranatha/
Genuine love for Jesus
We should remind ourselves that as we wait for Jesus to come, the evidence of our love for Him is in the way we live. The feeling of being truly loved by Jesus cannot be confined to simply singing worship songs. The way to love Jesus is to live for him.
“If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha!”
Maranatha is a single word formed out of two Aramaic words—and its meaning differs slightly depending on how you think maranatha should be divided into its two parts.
Discover the meaning of maranatha and why it was used as explained here:
https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/what-does-maranatha-mean
Spiritual Ray shared some interesting and inspiring insights about the word maranatha. One of the statements there says:
Although most versions of the Bible translate the phrase maranatha as a command for Him to come, such as, “Come, Lord” or “Our Lord, come”, the Aramaic Bible in Plain English, translates it as “Our Lord has come.” Similar translation can be seen in some other versions too; however, the Weymouth New Testament translates maranatha in a different tense, “OUR LORD IS COMING.”
It is a great blessing to be born at a time when Christ is coming. In fact, He will come to us when we least expect Him. We should be waiting for Him to come at any time as His faithful followers. It is only through Him that we will be taken to our true home, the Kingdom of Heaven.
Find out what the Bible says about 'Maranatha':
https://spiritualray.com/what-is-meaning-of-maranatha-in-bible
Our faith can sometimes be shaken by Satan's efforts. Death, famine, plagues, and war will devastate the world. Having our Savior protect us should not cause us anxiety. By chanting "maranatha", we must continually remind ourselves that "Our Lord is coming", or to ask Him "O Lord, come". Maranatha to all who are discouraged and worried today! Loving prayers go out to those experiencing anxiety over the issues they are facing - Our Lord is coming!