Exploring the Meaning of Ago in Greek

ἄγω expresses the action of bringing, whether people, animals, or oneself, into a new place or situation. In the passages below it appears in settings ranging from travel and public arrest to compassionate care and spiritual leading.

Occurrences

Matthew 10:18 — “Yes, and you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the nations.”

Here the verb frames the disciples’ future as an acted-upon movement into a formal setting: they are “brought before” rulers. The bringing is not presented as voluntary travel but as compelled conveyance into a courtroom-like encounter, and its result is a platform “for a testimony.” The word therefore contributes a sense of being conveyed into visibility and scrutiny, with the destination (“before governors and kings”) defining the weight of the action.

Matthew 21:2 — “saying to them, “Go into the village that is opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them, and bring them to me.”

Jesus’ instruction turns “bring” into a concrete task: animals are located, untied, and then transferred to his presence. The movement is purposeful and directed (“to me”), and the command binds the bringing to preparatory steps already specified in the verse. The verb supplies the final stage of obedience: the animals are not merely found; they are relocated into Jesus’ immediate sphere.

Matthew 21:7 — “and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their clothes on them; and he sat on them.”

This occurrence narrates fulfillment of the earlier command. The bringing is the hinge between obtaining the animals and making them ready (“laid their clothes on them”). In this scene, “brought” signals successful conveyance to the point where further action becomes possible; the result is that Jesus can sit on them, showing the bringing as a preparatory transfer that enables the next event.

Matthew 26:46 — “Arise, let’s be going. Behold, he who betrays me is at hand.”

In this urgent summons, the verb sits in an exhortation to move: “let’s be going.” The bringing idea appears as self-initiated movement—Jesus and the disciples are to get up and proceed into the next moment, under the pressure that betrayal is near. The word contributes momentum: a transition from waiting to deliberate advance.

Mark 1:38 — “He said to them, “Let’s go elsewhere into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because I came out for this reason.”

Here “go” is tied to mission and destination. The movement is outward (“elsewhere”) and plural (“into the next towns”), with a clear purpose clause (“that I may preach there also”). The verb’s contribution is directional relocation that serves a stated aim; the bringing is not of an object but of the group’s presence into new towns for proclamation.

Mark 13:11 — “When they lead you away and deliver you up, don’t be anxious beforehand, or premeditate what you will say, but say whatever will be given you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.”

The action of “lead you away” places the disciples under external control, anticipating arrest or forced transfer. The verb contributes the sense of being conducted from one place to another as part of hostile proceedings (“deliver you up”). Against that backdrop, the verse contrasts physical leading with empowered speech: as others bring them into crisis, the Holy Spirit supplies words “in that hour.”

Mark 14:42 — “Arise! Let’s get going. Behold: he who betrays me is at hand.”

As in Matthew’s parallel command, the verb functions as a brisk call to depart. The doubled urgency (“Arise!” followed by “Let’s get going”) uses movement to meet an approaching threat. The word contributes readiness—bringing oneself out of stillness into immediate action because the betrayer is near.

Luke 4:1 — “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness”

This instance presents bringing as divine leading. Jesus is “led by the Spirit,” and the destination is stark: “into the wilderness.” The verb contributes the idea of guided movement under the Spirit’s agency, shaping the scene as purposeful conveyance rather than wandering. The leading also follows a prior movement (“returned from the Jordan”), so the verb marks the Spirit’s initiative in directing the next stage.

Luke 4:9 — “He led him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from here,”

Here the leading is personal and targeted: “to Jerusalem,” then even more precisely to “the pinnacle of the temple.” The verb contributes the controlled relocation of Jesus to a specific setting designed for a challenge. The movement is not incidental travel; it is a bringing to a place that frames the ensuing temptation (“cast yourself down from here”).

Luke 4:29 — “They rose up, threw him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill that their city was built on, that they might throw him off the cliff.”

In this violent sequence, “led him” is part of escalating aggression. The crowd’s actions progress: they expel Jesus from the city and then bring him to a precarious edge (“the brow of the hill”) with lethal intent (“that they might throw him off the cliff”). The verb contributes the sense of forced escort to a chosen site, making the bringing an instrument of harm.

Luke 4:40 — “When the sun was setting, all those who had any sick with various diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.”

This occurrence depicts bringing as compassionate initiative. People convey the sick “to him,” and the result is direct, individual care: “he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.” The verb contributes the communal movement of need toward a healer, turning households and sufferers into a gathered line of approach at sunset, where bringing becomes the gateway to restoration.

Luke 10:34 — “came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”

In the Good Samaritan’s care, “brought him to an inn” names the decisive relocation that secures safety and ongoing help. The verb is embedded in a chain of practical mercy—bandaging, treating, lifting onto an animal—culminating in conveyance to a place suited for recovery. The bringing is personal and costly: the helper transports the wounded man and then “took care of him,” so the verb anchors the transition from roadside vulnerability to sheltered attention.

Sense and Usage

Across these scenes, ἄγω consistently marks an action that moves someone or something from one sphere to another, with the destination or resulting situation carrying the weight of the moment. In Matthew 21:2 and 21:7, the bringing is tangible and task-oriented—animals are transferred to Jesus and immediately become part of what follows. In Luke 4:40 and Luke 10:34, bringing is relational and restorative: the sick are conveyed to Jesus for healing, and a wounded traveler is conveyed to an inn for care.

Other occurrences highlight the same action under pressure and compulsion. Matthew 10:18 and Mark 13:11 present being brought or led as an element of persecution: movement into the presence of authorities or into custody-like situations. Luke 4:29 intensifies this into mob violence, where leading becomes a method of putting a person in harm’s way. Alongside those, Luke 4:1 and Luke 4:9 show that bringing can also be guided and purposeful under a personal agent’s direction—one leading into the wilderness, another leading to Jerusalem and a specific height within it.

Finally, the imperatives in Matthew 26:46, Mark 1:38, and Mark 14:42 show the verb in the voice of decision: “let’s be going,” “let’s go elsewhere,” “let’s get going.” In these, the action is not about escorting an object but about initiating movement of a group. The word thus spans commanded bringing, narrated bringing, and being brought—each time presenting movement as a meaningful transfer into the next setting, whether mission, trial, danger, or mercy.

Imagery in Context

The passages paint ἄγω with vivid places and paths: a village where a donkey and colt are untied, “the next towns” reached for preaching, a courtroom-like appearance “before governors and kings,” and stark destinations such as “the wilderness,” “Jerusalem,” “the pinnacle of the temple,” and “the brow of the hill.” The same verb that carries animals to Jesus also carries sufferers to healing and carries the faithful into testimony under pressure, making movement itself the stage on which conflict, care, and calling unfold.

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).