Exploring the Meaning of Logizomai in Greek

λογίζομαι expresses the act of counting, whether in evaluating, assigning, or treating something as belonging in a certain category. In the passages cited here, it appears in narratives about Jesus’ fate, in public and political reasoning, and in Paul’s arguments about how God counts righteousness and sin.

Occurrences

Mark 15:28 — “The Scripture was fulfilled, which says, “He was counted with transgressors.””

Here λογίζομαι places Jesus within a tally or classification: he is counted “with transgressors.” The point is not merely proximity but reckoning—his case is entered among those regarded as lawbreakers, presenting his death as fulfilling a written pattern by the way he is counted.

Luke 22:37 — “For I tell you that this which is written must still be fulfilled in me: ‘He was counted with transgressors.’ For that which concerns me has an end.””

In Luke’s setting, Jesus quotes the line about being counted “with transgressors” and anchors it to what “must still be fulfilled in me.” λογίζομαι contributes the idea of an impending reckoning that will sort him into a category in the public eye and in the unfolding of what is “written,” bringing “that which concerns me” to its conclusion.

John 11:50 — “nor do you consider that it is advantageous for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.””

The verb is used within a calculation of advantage: “you consider that it is advantageous for us.” λογίζομαι frames the speaker’s argument as a counting-up of outcomes, weighing the death of “one man” against the survival of “the whole nation,” and pressing a conclusion based on what is reckoned beneficial.

Acts 19:27 — “Not only is there danger that this our trade come into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be counted as nothing and her majesty destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worships.””

In the uproar at Ephesus, λογίζομαι depicts reputational loss in terms of being evaluated at zero: the temple “will be counted as nothing.” The fear expressed is that the community’s object of devotion will be entered, in the public accounting of worth, as worthless—an act of counting that would accompany the destruction of “her majesty” and threaten both trade and worship.

Romans 2:3 — “Do you think this, O man who judges those who practice such things, and do the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?”

Here λογίζομαι drives a pointed question: “Do you think this…that you will escape the judgment of God?” The counting is internal reasoning—an assumption someone tallies up for himself while judging others. The verb exposes a self-made calculation about escape that Paul challenges in light of divine judgment.

Romans 2:26 — “If therefore the uncircumcised keep the ordinances of the law, won’t his uncircumcision be accounted as circumcision?”

λογίζομαι is used for treating one status as equivalent to another: “uncircumcision” being “accounted as circumcision.” The sentence imagines an accounting that recognizes obedience (“keep the ordinances of the law”) and then counts the uncircumcised person’s condition as standing in the place of circumcision for the purposes of evaluation.

Romans 3:28 — “We maintain therefore that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.”

Although λογίζομαι is not translated with an explicit “count” here, the verse functions as a stated conclusion (“We maintain therefore”) that belongs to the same argumentative mode: drawing up a settled reckoning about justification. The verb undergirds the act of concluding—counting the evidence and asserting a determination about how a man is justified.

Romans 4:3 — “For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.””

In Paul’s citation, λογίζομαι describes a decisive reckoning: belief is “accounted…for righteousness.” The action is not Abraham’s self-evaluation but what is credited to him. Counting is relational and declarative—faith is entered as righteousness in God’s accounting.

Romans 4:4 — “Now to him who works, the reward is not counted as grace, but as something owed.”

Here λογίζομαι distinguishes how the same “reward” may be reckoned. If it follows “works,” it is “not counted as grace,” but instead enters the ledger “as something owed.” The verb marks the category under which reward is counted, clarifying the difference between gift and obligation by the way it is classified.

Romans 4:5 — “But to him who doesn’t work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.”

λογίζομαι again ties faith to righteousness, but now with an explicit contrast: “doesn’t work” yet “believes.” The counting is attached to the character of the one who justifies—“him who justifies the ungodly”—so that faith is counted as righteousness precisely in the setting where righteousness is not being calculated as wages for labor.

Romans 4:6 — “Even as David also pronounces blessing on the man to whom God counts righteousness apart from works,”

This verse places λογίζομαι in God’s action: “God counts righteousness apart from works.” The counting is not a human estimate but divine reckoning that produces “blessing.” The key feature is separation (“apart from works”): righteousness is counted without being tallied as the product of performed deeds.

Romans 4:8 — “Blessed is the man whom the Lord will by no means charge with sin.””

Here λογίζομαι appears in the negative form of accounting: the Lord will “by no means charge with sin.” The counting metaphor intensifies—sin could be entered against a person, but the blessing is that the Lord does not reckon it to him, refusing to place it on his account.

Sense and Usage

Across these texts, λογίζομαι consistently operates as a verb of reckoning—counting that results in placement, valuation, or conclusion. In the passion sayings of Mark 15:28 and Luke 22:37, the counting is social and judicial in effect: Jesus is placed “with transgressors,” showing how a reckoning can brand someone by the category he is counted among. The focus is not on numerical calculation but on the decisive act of being entered into a class that shapes how a person is treated.

In John 11:50 and Romans 2:3, λογίζομαι highlights reasoning that runs ahead to outcomes. “You consider that it is advantageous for us” (John 11:50) shows counting as political cost-benefit judgment, a weighing of death and survival. “Do you think this…that you will escape the judgment of God?” (Romans 2:3) exposes a moral miscalculation: a person counts on escaping judgment while practicing the same wrongs he condemns. In both, the verb belongs to deliberation—an inward tally that yields a position.

Acts 19:27 uses the verb for valuation in the public sphere: the temple “will be counted as nothing.” Counting here is what society may do to an object’s status, reducing it to zero worth. This use sits naturally beside Romans 4:4, where reward can be counted under different headings—either “as grace” or “as something owed.” In each case, the verb does classificatory work: it assigns what something is counted as, and that assignment governs its perceived meaning and consequences.

Romans 2:26 and Romans 4:3–6, 8 concentrate λογίzomai in the domain of reckoning persons before God. “Uncircumcision…accounted as circumcision” (Romans 2:26) shows that counting can treat one condition as standing in the place of another, based on a criterion stated in the verse (“keep the ordinances of the law”). Romans 4 repeatedly uses the verb to describe how faith and righteousness relate: faith is counted as righteousness (Romans 4:3, 5), and God counts righteousness apart from works (Romans 4:6). The contrast in Romans 4:4 sharpens the logic: what is counted depends on whether the framework is wage or gift. The blessing in Romans 4:8 brings the same accounting concept to sin—not counted against a person by the Lord. Together these uses form a coherent picture: λογίζομαι describes the decisive act of reckoning that assigns a status (righteousness, debt, blessing, or charged sin) by the way something is counted.

Imagery and Effect

The passages repeatedly cast human and divine evaluation in the language of accounts. Jesus is “counted with transgressors” (Mark 15:28; Luke 22:37), a sobering image of being entered into the wrong column. In Acts 19:27, a revered temple is feared to be “counted as nothing,” as though erased by a public reassessment. Romans 4 turns the same accounting imagery toward blessing: righteousness is counted, reward is counted, and sin is not charged—depicting a reckoning that can either bind a person under what is owed or declare him blessed by what the Lord refuses to enter against him.

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).