Exploring the Meaning of Chairo in Greek

χαίρω means “to rejoice.” In the passages cited here, it appears both as a description of joy that arises in response to events and as an address or imperative that calls for rejoicing in a given moment.

Occurrences

Matthew 2:10 — “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.”

Here χαίρω portrays an immediate, outwardly exuberant response to what is seen: the star. The wording piles up intensity (“rejoiced,” “exceedingly,” “great joy”), so the verb frames rejoicing as a reaction that can surge and be amplified when the occasion warrants it.

Matthew 5:12 — “Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

χαίρω is an imperative: rejoicing is commanded rather than merely reported. The call comes in the setting of persecution (“that is how they persecuted the prophets”), and the reason given redirects attention to a promised outcome (“great is your reward in heaven”). Rejoicing functions here as a deliberate stance taken in light of future reward and continuity with earlier suffering servants.

Matthew 18:13 — “If he finds it, most certainly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.”

In this comparison, χαίρω measures the shepherd’s emotional valuation: finding the one that “have gone astray” produces a rejoicing that surpasses the satisfaction connected with the ninety-nine safe ones. The verb therefore helps mark a hierarchy of joy—rejoicing “over it” is tied to recovery and restoration, not simply possession.

Matthew 26:49 — “Immediately he came to Jesus, and said, “Hail, Rabbi!” and kissed him.”

χαίρω appears as a greeting (“Hail, Rabbi!”). In this moment, the greeting is paired with an immediate approach and a kiss, so χαίρω functions not as a report of inner joy but as a conventional spoken act addressed to Jesus. The scene’s actions load the greeting with relational force, whatever the speaker’s intent.

Matthew 27:29 — “They braided a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and a reed in his right hand; and they kneeled down before him, and mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!””

Again χαίρω stands in a greeting (“Hail”), but the verse explicitly frames it as mockery. The physical staging—crown of thorns, reed, kneeling—creates a parody of homage, and the greeting becomes part of the ridicule. Within this setting, χαίρω contributes the form of honor-language used as a weapon.

Matthew 28:9 — “As they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” They came and took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.”

Here χαίρω is a direct utterance from Jesus: “Rejoice!” The imperative coincides with his sudden meeting of the women on their way to report to the disciples. Their response—grasping his feet and worshiping—shows the command landing in a moment of awe and recognition; rejoicing here is bound up with encounter and worship.

Mark 14:11 — “They, when they heard it, were glad, and promised to give him money. He sought how he might conveniently deliver him.”

χαίρω describes the emotional response of “they” upon hearing something: “were glad.” The gladness is immediately linked to a decision and an offer (“promised to give him money”), and the narrative moves to plotting (“He sought how he might conveniently deliver him”). The verb thus marks a satisfaction that accompanies and perhaps energizes a concrete, morally charged plan.

Mark 15:18 — “They began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!””

χαίρω again functions as a salutation (“Hail”). The repeated address “King of the Jews” makes the greeting part of a public, performative interaction with Jesus. Even without further description in this single verse, the verb’s contribution is clear: it supplies the spoken gesture of greeting that frames their address.

Luke 1:14 — “You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.”

χαίρω is future and plural in effect: “many will rejoice.” The verse distinguishes between the addressed person’s “joy and gladness” and a wider circle’s rejoicing “at his birth.” Rejoicing is presented as a communal response to an arrival, spreading beyond an individual to “many.”

Luke 1:28 — “Having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!”

χαίρω is used as a spoken address: “Rejoice.” The imperative is anchored in declared favor and presence (“you highly favored one,” “The Lord is with you”), and it is accompanied by blessing language. In this greeting, rejoicing is summoned as the fitting response to divine favor and nearness.

Luke 6:23 — “Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven, for their fathers did the same thing to the prophets.”

Here rejoicing is time-specific (“in that day”) and embodied (“leap for joy”). As in Matthew 5:12, the command stands in a context of opposition aligned with prophetic suffering (“did the same thing to the prophets”), and it is grounded in promised reward (“your reward is great in heaven”). χαίρω, then, can name a joy that is practiced in the very moment of hardship and expressed physically.

Luke 10:20 — “Nevertheless, don’t rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

This saying sets boundaries on rejoicing by placing two possible objects side by side. χαίρω is first prohibited with one focus (“don’t rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you”) and then commanded with another (“rejoice that your names are written in heaven”). The verb highlights that rejoicing is not only an emotion but also an evaluative choice: it attaches to what one counts as the true ground for joy.

Sense and Usage

Across these occurrences, χαίρω operates in three closely related ways within its single sense of rejoicing. First, it depicts spontaneous response to an event perceived as good or significant. The clearest examples are reactions to sights and happenings: “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy” (Matthew 2:10), and “many will rejoice at his birth” (Luke 1:14). In these, rejoicing is the fitting affective outcome of an arrival, a sign, or a birth—something that happens to people as the weight of the moment registers.

Second, χαίρω appears as an imperative that summons rejoicing as a chosen posture. The commands “Rejoice” and “Rejoice in that day” (Matthew 5:12; Luke 6:23) show that rejoicing can be required even when circumstances are adverse, with reward in heaven given as rationale in both texts. This use does not merely report that joy exists; it calls for it in a context where it may be counterintuitive. The command in Matthew 28:9 (“Rejoice!”) differs in tone: it stands in a moment of encounter that naturally evokes worship, so the imperative functions like an authoritative welcome into joy at what they are experiencing.

Third, χαίρω can function as a greeting formula: “Hail” (Matthew 26:49; Matthew 27:29; Mark 15:18). In these verses the spoken act is foregrounded, and the surrounding actions determine its moral color. In Matthew 26:49 the greeting is joined to a kiss; in Matthew 27:29 it is explicitly mockery, staged with props and posture; in Mark 15:18 it is a salutation addressed to “King of the Jews.” Within the same verb, then, rejoicing can be expressed as inner delight, commanded joy, or conventional greeting—yet each use still belongs to the sphere of rejoicing, whether sincere, performative, or weaponized as ridicule.

Luke 10:20 shows a further feature: rejoicing takes an object, and the object matters. The verse contrasts two grounds for joy, rejecting rejoicing in power (“the spirits are subject to you”) and directing rejoicing toward a different basis (“your names are written in heaven”). Rejoicing is therefore morally and theologically oriented; it can be misplaced or rightly placed, and instruction can redirect it.

Imagery

The passages give rejoicing a vivid range of textures: exuberant celebration at a sign in the sky (Matthew 2:10), the shepherd’s heightened joy over recovery (Matthew 18:13), embodied leaping in a day of opposition (Luke 6:23), and a spoken “Rejoice!” that stands alongside grasping feet and worship (Matthew 28:9). Alongside these, the greeting “Hail” can be tender in form yet darkened by betrayal or mockery (Matthew 26:49; Matthew 27:29), showing that the language of rejoicing can be placed on the lips even when the heart and actions contradict the honor the words appear to convey.

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).