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January 25th, 2025

1/25/2025

This Sunday’s title is somewhat similar to last week’s; it is now the “Third Sunday after the Epiphany”. And a similar title to this one will continue for several weeks.

The Gospel reading for this Sunday is Luke 4:1-30. And each reading of this season will feature an epiphany or a revelation regarding the Christ. In each text, people will be affected. And their lives will be significantly different from that point on.

Within these website writings we are also currently looking at the Gospel according to Luke, giving a very literal translation a section at a time, but the text is given in the order in which the writer laid it out many centuries ago. With that in mind, it may be helpful to note at this point that it was originally written without chapter and verse divisions. The following text as it is given to you does not use these divisions, and this is meant to give a bit more appreciation for the structure of the work as a whole and to use the more natural divisions that are within the text.

If you made it through last week’s writing, congratulations are certainly in order. Last week’s writing covered the genealogy within the Gospel according to Luke, and it may have been considered by some as one of the most boring texts of the New Testament. Last week’s giving of that genealogy in groups of seven generations may have helped to keep your attention. Such a thing may not have been possible if the division of the text into verses had been used.

What follows is an extremely literal, word-for-word(s) translation of Luke 4:1-13 (and if this is the first time reading such a text, it will be helpful to know that the hyphens connect the words in English which are the same word in the text of the New Testament; and even if you are familiar with this section of the text, it may be helpful to look at other translations and/or a study bible):

Now  Jesus,  full  of-Spirit,  Holy,  he-returned  from  the  Jordan,  and  he-was-led  in  the  Spirit  in  the  desert,  days  forty,  being-tempted  by  the  Diabolical.  And  not  he-ate  nothing  in  the  days,  those,  and  having-been-completed,  they,  he-hungered.  Now  he-said  to-him,  the  Diabolical,  “If  Son  you-are,  of-the  God,  say  to-the  stone,  this,  that  it-become  bread.”

And  he-answered  toward  him,  the  Jesus,  “It-has-been-written, ‘Not  upon  bread  only,  he-will-live,  the  man.’”

And  having-led-up  him,  he-showed  him  all  the  kingdoms  of-the  inhabited-earth  in  a-stigma  of-chronology.

And  he-said  to-him,  the  Diabolical,  “To-you  I-will-give  the  authority,  this,  all,  and  the  glory  of-them,  because  to-me  it-has-been-given-over  and  to  whomever  I-want,  I-give  it;  therefore  you,  if  you-worship  before  me,  it-will-be  of-you,  all.”

And  having-answered,  the  Jesus,  he-said  to-him,  “It-has-been-written,  ‘Lord,  the  God  of-you,  you-will-worship,  and  to-him  only,  you-shall-serve.’”

Now  he-led  him  into  Jerusalem,  and  he-stood  upon  the  winglet  of-the  temple,  and  he-said  to-him,  “If  Son,  you-are,  of-the  God,  throw  yourself  from-here,  down;  for  it-has-been-written,  ‘The  angels  of-him  he-will-command  concerning  you,  of-the  to-guard-thoroughly  you,’  and  ‘Upon  hands  they-will-lift-up  you,  lest  you-strike-toward  toward  a-stone,  the  foot  of-you.’”

And  having-answered,  he-said  to-him,  the  Jesus,  “It-has-been-said,  ‘Not  you-shall-test-out,  Lord  the  God  of-you.’”  And  having-finished  every  temptation,  the  Diabolical  he-stood-off  from  him  until  a-time.

One of the most difficult things in translating is to have the translation of one word in a very unfamiliar language into one word in another language that is very familiar to the person reading the text. That is the reason that other translations and study bibles may be helpful in reading through the above text.

An interesting bible study would be to compare the above text to the most similar text in the Gospel according to Matthew. Here, again, the use of chapter and verse may be helpful to a quick overview of the text, but a closer look at its placement within the context of the entire Gospel account may be helpful.

In the Gospel according to Matthew, the three temptations are given in what is called Matthew 4:1-11. It is interesting to note that the three temptations are in a different order. Much could be said about this, but to be brief, it could be said that the order in Matthew is a more Hebrew order where the significant temptation, the one of Satan wanting Jesus to jump off the temple is in the middle. In the Gospel according to Luke, that temptation is the last one.

Why was Jesus born? To get people to follow him? To show his power? Jesus jumping off the temple and floating slowly down onto the ground would have given him a huge following.

You may have noted that the word “led” appears three times within the above text. At the very beginning it is the Spirit. At the start of the second and third temptations, it is the devil. (It could be noted that, at this point, Jesus very much fits with the living creature that has often been connected to this Gospel account, that of the obedient ox. And with an ox, the important point is that the ox continues to lead the plow in the direction where the farmer wishes the ox to go.)

Jesus is led. Jesus responds three times to the devil’s temptations, and at the final time you may have noticed that God’s Word was not just written, but it SAID something. God’s Words are special. God’s Words say things. They say things about sin first of all. (Spoiler alert!) And the extremely interesting thing about this account of this very special person is that Jesus ends up being “desert-ed”, just outside of Jerusalem, on the cross, to pay for all sins, for you. (Now THAT’S power.)

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January 18th, 2025

1/18/2025

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This Sunday’s title is somewhat easy to remember, “Second Sunday after the Epiphany.” And that method of titling will continue throughout this season, until we come to its final Sunday.

As the manifestation or revelation continues throughout the Epiphany season, that idea of revealing things about Jesus within the different Gospel accounts continues within these website writings as well. Currently we are looking at the Gospel according to Luke, a section at a time, in the way that the writer laid it out. And as last Sunday looked at the baptism of Jesus in the Gospel reading, last week’s blog also looked at that text, and this week we are looking at what comes after that text.

If you are reading thus far, and now it is revealed to you that the next section in this Gospel account is a genealogy, this writer would think that there would be a good chance that this is the extent of your interest with such a writing. You may very well give this a click and be done with it. How interesting could a genealogy be? How interesting would it be to know someone’s great-great-great-etc.-grandfather? That a genealogy already exists in the Gospel according to Matthew may be another reason to avoid continuing with this text.

A good next point for this writing may be the following: Since the writer of the Gospel according to Luke acknowledged other accounts in his introduction, a brief comparison to the genealogy that is within the Gospel according to Matthew may be helpful in pointing out its importance. You may wish to look at that genealogy in further detail at the beginning of that account, but a memorable point within that genealogy may be the importance of the number fourteen.

In the Gospel according to Matthew, the writer divides the genealogy into three “sets” of fourteen. (And you may wish to check his counting of the third section; you would think that a tax collector would know how to count!) The importance of the number fourteen does not only connect to the Hebrew name of David, but since the following sentence in that Gospel account has fourteen syllables, such a sentence lays out a way to see a structure to the text, especially since it originally did not have chapter and verse divisions like we have in all our texts today.

You may want to look at more detail in commentaries or in other translations of the text. But the following genealogy will be laid out in groups of seven. This is an important number, a number which, quite obviously for most people, is the sum of three and four. It is also half of fourteen. And perhaps you have already known the importance of seven from other parts of the scriptures, where the number three is connected to God in terms of the Trinity, and the number four is connected to the world, in terms of the four directions of the compass. God connects with this world in some not-so-obvious ways.

What follows is a very literal, word-for-word(s) translation of Luke 3:23-38 (if this is the first time reading such a text, it will be helpful to know that the hyphens connect the words in English which are the same word in the Greek, the language of the New Testament; and it also should be pointed out that the names in Greek may be slightly different from the way that they were learned and from the way that they were in the Old Testament; a common example of this is that the name Joshua in the Old Testament is the name Jesus in the New):

And  himself,  he-was  Jesus,  beginning  about  years,  thirty,  being  son,  as  it-was-supposed,  of-Joseph,  the-of  Eli,  the-of  Matthat,  the-of  Levi,  the-of  Melchi,  the-of  Jannai…

the-of  Joseph,  the-of  Mattathias,  the-of  Amos,  the-of  Naum,  the-of  Hesli,  the-of  Naggai,  the-of  Maath…

the-of  Mattathias,  the-of  Semein,  the-of  Josech,  the-of  Jodah,  the-of  Joanan,  the-of  Rhesa,  the-of  Zorobabel…

the-of  Salathiel,  the-of  Neri,  the-of  Melchi,  the-of  Addi,  the-of  Kosam,  the-of  Elmadam,  the-of  Er…

the-of  Jesus,  the-of  Eliezer,  the-of  Jorim,  the-of  Matthat,  the-of  Levi,  the-of  Simeon,  the-of  Juda…

the-of  Joseph,  the-of  Jonam,  the-of  Eliakim,  the-of  Melea,  the-of  Menna,  the-of  Mattatha,  the-of  Natham…

the-of  David,  the-of  Jesse,  the-of  Jobed,  the-of  Boos,  the-of  Sala,  the-of  Naasson,  the-of  Aminadab…

the-of  Admin,  the-of  Arni,  the-of  Hesrom,  the-of  Phares,  the-of  Juda,  the-of  Jacob,  the-of  Isaac…

the-of  Abraham,  the-of  Thara,  the-of  Nachor,  the-of  Seruch,  the-of  Rhagau,  the-of  Phalek,  the-of  Eber…

the-of  Sala,  the-of  Cainam,  the-of  Arphaxad,  the-of  Sem,  the-of  Noe,  the-of  Lamech,  the-of  Mathusala…

the-of  Henoch,  the-of  Jaret,  the-of  Maleleel,  the-of  Cainam,  the-of  Enos,  the-of  Seth,  the-of  Adam…

the-of  God.

You made it to the end! Good job.

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January 11th, 2025

1/11/2025

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We are now into the season of Epiphany. Where did the time go? This Sunday has the title of the First Sunday after the Epiphany. Since that rarely used word “epiphany” means a revelation or manifestation, it would make sense that the first Sunday of Epiphany looks at the start of Jesus’ public ministry, the act of his baptism. It certainly was a special thing, and that one action makes a huge difference even in today’s quite complicated world. And the most often used title for this Sunday fits quite well with the purpose of the season, “The Baptism of Our Lord”.

That action of Jesus’ baptism will be the last few verses of the section that is translated below. To help with the understanding of the text, how it is constructed, and to whom it ultimately points, it is given in what could be called a very literal translation. This means that a word in the Greek language (the language of the New Testament) may be translated into English into more than one word, but the hyphens are used to indicate that. It could also be said that this is a word-for-word(s) translation. Hopefully it is helpful to you.

To be honest, it may be helpful to look at other translations of the text, a study bible, or even a commentary on the text, to help you with the understanding. The writer of this Gospel account used a lot of words that the other writers did not use. Some more details regarding such a text may be helpful, especially if one is unfamiliar with the following verses.

Each of this website writings takes a small but significant part of the scriptures, and we have most recently started looking at the Gospel according to Luke. So, enough of an introduction, and what follows could be called a very literal translation of the section of Luke 3:1-22 (but please do not forget that there are still many other ways this text could be very literally translated):

Now  in  year  fifteenth  of-the  leadership  of-Tiberius  Kaiser,  leading  Pontius  Pilate  of-the  Judea,  and  tetrarch-being  of-the  Galilee  Herod,  now  Philip,  of-the  brother  of-him,  tetrarch-being  of-the  Ituraea  and  Trachonitis  land,  and  Lusanius  of-the  Abilene,  tetrarch-being,  upon  archpriest  Anna  and  Caiaphas,  it-happened,  a-word  of-God  upon  John,  the  of-Zachariah  son,  in  the  desert.

And  he-came  into  all  the  surrounding-area  of-the  Jordan,  proclaiming  a-baptism  of-repentance  into  forgiveness  of-sins,  as  it-had-been-written  in  a-bible  of-words  of-Isaiah,  the  prophet:  “A-voice  of-yelling  in  the  desert:  ‘Prepare  the  way  of-Lord,  straight  make  the  paths  of-him;  all  ravine  will-be-filled  and  all  mountain  and  hill  will-be-brought-low  and  it-will-be  the  crooked,  into  straight,  and  the  rough  into  ways,  smooth;  and  it-will-see  all  flesh,  the  salvation  of-the  God.’”

Therefore  he-was-saying  to-the  going-out  crowds  to-be-baptized  by  him,  “Offspring  of-vipers,  who  showed  to-you  to-flee  from  the  about-to-be  wrath?  Therefore,  make  fruits  worthy  of-the  repentance,  and  do-not  begin  to-say   in  yourselves,  ‘Father,  we-have,  the  Abraham,’  for  I-am-saying  to-you  that  he-is-able  the  God,  out-of  the  stones,  these,  to-raise  children  to  Abraham.  Now  already  also,  the  axe  toward  the  root  of-the  trees  it-lies;  therefore  all  tree  not  making  fruit,  good,  it-is-cut-off,  and  into  fire  it-is-thrown.”

And  they-were-questioning  him,  the  crowds,  saying,  “Therefore,  what  shall-we-do?”
Now  having-answered,  he-was-saying  to-them,  “The-one  having  two  tunics,  let-him-give-over  to-the-one  not  having,  and  the-one  having  foods,  likewise  let-him-do.”

Now  they-came  also  tax-collectors  to-be-baptized,  and  they-said  toward  him,  “Teacher,  what  shall-we-do?”

Now  the-one  said  toward  them,  “Nothing  more  than  the-thing  having-been-thoroughly-arranged  for-you  you-do.”

Now  they-were-questioning  him  also,  the-ones-soldiering,  saying,  “What  shall-we-do  also  we?”

And  he-said  to-them,  “No-one  shake-thoroughly  nor  accuse-falsely,  and  be-satisfied  with-the  pay  of-you.”

Now  expecting  the  people  and  dialoguing  all  in  the  hearts  of-them  concerning  the  John,  perhaps  he  he-might-be  the  Christ,  he-answered,  saying  to-all,  the  John,  “I  on-the-one-hand  with-water  I-baptize  you;  on-the-other-hand,  he-is-coming  the-one  stronger  than-I,  of-whom  not  I-am  worthy  to-loosen  the  strap  of-the  sandals  of-him;  he,  you,  he-will-baptize  in  Spirit,  Holy,  and  fire.  Of-whom  the  winnowing-fork  in  the  hand  of-him  to-clean-thoroughly  the  threshing-floor  of-him  and  to-synagogue  the  wheat  into  the  barn  of-him,  now  the  chaff  he-will-burn-up  with-fire  asbestos.”

Therefore,  many-things  on-the-one-hand,  and  different-things  exhorting,  he-evangelized  the  people;  on-the-other-hand,  the  Herod,  the  tetrarch,  being-exposed  by  him  about  Herodias,  the  wife  of-the  brother  of-him,  and  about  all-things  which  he-did,  evil,  the  Herod,  he-added  also  this  upon  all,  and he-shut-up  the  John  in  prison.

Now  it-happened  in  the  to-be-baptized  all  the  people,  and  Jesus,  having-been-baptized  and  praying,  to-be-opened  the  heaven,  and  to-come-down  the  Spirit,  the  Holy,  in-a-bodily  form  as  a-dove  upon  him,  and  a-voice  out-of  heaven  to-happen,  “You,  you-are  the  Son  of-me,  the  loved-one;  in  you  I-was-thought-well-of.”

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January 4th, 2025

1/4/2025

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The season of Christmas continues! The topic of the twelve days of Christmas could be discussed, but there are more important things. These writings have been focusing on the four Gospel accounts, translating them a little bit at a time, in the order in which they given by the writers. Last week’s writing looked at Luke 2:1-20, the famous Christmas narrative.

The Gospel Reading for this Sunday is Luke 2:40-52, and it is rare that this is the text in each of the three years of the three-year series. That is just a bit farther along than we are in our study of this special gospel account. But this week’s writing will try to make up that difference.

So, what is below is a very literal translation of Luke 2:21-52. It is admittedly a longer text than the writings of other weeks, but hopefully this is also helpful. The context of a Sunday text is a very important aspect. (And when this is being written, the weather forecast in this part of the world looks quite bad for this Sunday, so this writing may help if worship gets cancelled on Sunday.) The first verses of the text already combined the act of circumcision—which happened on the eighth day—with the act of purification or cleansing—which happened on the fortieth day—so it was not much to add when Jesus was twelve years old. Very special things continue to happen on special days with special numbers, and so it is with the number twelve. (And you may have already noticed that the word ‘teenager’ is not biblical.)

The hyphens and the double spaces between the words are given to help the reader see what one word in the language of the New Testament is given in the English. And hopefully that is also a helpful thing. This writer used a lot of big and rare words. And there are a LOT of ways this text could be translated. You will probably want to look at a study bible or the text in other translations to help you through this very long text.

As promised, here is Luke 2:21-52 in a very literal translation (and the word in brackets is a word in the Greek that is usually not translated into English; it denotes a look at the future of the event happening, something that has not happened as of yet; it is hinted at below in the words ‘should’ and ‘may’):

And  when  they-were-fulfilled,  days  eight,  of-the  to-circumcise  him,  and  it-was-called,  the  name  of-him,  Jesus,  the-one  having-been-called  by  the  angel,  before  the  to-be-conceived  him,  in  the  womb.

And  when  they-were-fulfilled,  the  days  of-the  catharsis  of-them,  according-to  the  Law  of-Moses,  they-led-up  him  into  Jerusalem,  to-stand-along  to-the  Lord,  as  it-has-been-written  in  Law  of-Lord,  “Every  male  opening  a-womb,  holy  to-the  Lord,  he-will-be-called,”  and  of-the  to-give  a-sacrifice,  according-to  the-thing  having-been-said  in  the  Law  of-Lord,  “A-pair  of-turtledoves  or  two  young-birds  of-pigeons.”

And  look,  a-man  was  in  Jerusalem,  to-whom  name  Simeon,  and  the  man,  this,  righteous  and  devout,  expecting  consolation  of-the  Israel,  and  Spirit  was,  Holy,  upon  him.  And  it-was  to-him,  having-been-warned  by  the  Spirit,  the  Holy,  not  to-see  death,  before  which  [contingency]  he-should-see  the  Christ  of-Lord.

And  he-came  in  the  Spirit  into  the  temple,  and  in  the  to-bring-in,  the  parents,  the  child,  Jesus,  the  to-do,  them,  according-to  the  things-having-been-made-a-custom  of-the  Law  concerning  him,  and  he,  he-received  him  into  the  arms,  and  he-blessed  the  God,  and  he-said,  “Now,  you-are-releasing  the  slave  of-you,  Despot,  according-to  the  word  of-you  in  peace;  because  they-saw,  the  eyes  of-me,  the  salvation  of-you,  which  you-have-prepared  according-to  face  of-all  the  peoples,  a-light  into  an-apocalypse  of-nations,  and  a-glory  of-people  of-you,  Israel.”

And  he-was,  the  father  of-him,  and  the  mother  marveling  upon  the-things  being-spoken  concerning  him.  And  he-blessed  them,  Simeon,  and  he-said  toward  Mariam,  the  mother  of-him,  “Look,  this-one  is-appointed  into  fall  and  rising  of-many  in  the  Israel,  and  into  a-sign  antilegomenon,  and  of-you,  now,  self,  the  soul  it-will-go-through,  a-sword,  so-as  [contingency],  they-may-have-an-apocalypse  out-of  many  hearts,  dialogues.”

And  she-was  Anna,  a-prophetess,  daughter  of-Phanuel,  out-of  tribe  of-Asher,  this  having-advanced  in  days,  many,  having lived  with  a-husband  years,  seven,  from  the  virginity  of-her,  and  she  a-widow  until  years,  eighty  four,  who  not  she-withdrew-from  the  temple,  with-fastings,  and  petitionings,  serving  night  and  day.  And  in-that  the  hour,  having-stood-upon,  she-was-giving-thanks  to-the  God,  and  she-was-speaking  about  him  to-all  the-ones  expecting  redemption  in-Jerusalem.  And  when  they-finished  all-things  the  according-to  the  Law  of-Lord,  they-returned  into  the  Galilee,  into  a-city  of-themselves,  Nazareth.  Now  the  child,  he-was-growing,  and  he-was-being-strengthened,  being-filled  with-wisdom,  and  grace  of-God  was  upon  him.

And  they-went,  the  parents  of-him,  according  to-year,  into  Jerusalem,  in-the  feast  of-the  Pascha.  And  when  he-became  of-years  twelve,  going-up  they,  according-to  the  ethos  of-the  feast,  and  having-completed  the  days,  in  the  to-return,  they,  he-remained-behind,  Jesus,  the  boy,  in  Jerusalem,  and  not  they-knew,  the  parents  of-him.  Now  supposing  him  to-be  in  the  synod,  they-went  a-day  way,  and  they-were-seeking  him  in  the  relatives  and  the  known-people,  and  not  having-found,  they-returned  into  Jerusalem,  seeking  him.

And  it-happened  after  days,  three,  they-found  him  in  the  temple,  sitting  in  midst  of-the  teachers  and  hearing  them  and  questioning  them;  now  they-were-standing-out,  all  the-ones  hearing him,  upon  the  intelligence  and  the  answers  of-him.  And  having-seen  him,  they-were-struck-out,  and  she-said  toward  him,  the  mother  of-him,  “Child,  why  you-do  to-us  so?  Look,  the  father  of-you  and-I  suffering-pain,  we-were-seeking  you.”

And  he-said  toward  them,  “Why  that  you-were-seeking  me?  Do-not  you-know  that  in  the-ones  of-the  Father  of-me,  it-is-necessary  to-be,  me?”  And  they  not  they-did-understand  the  matter  which  he-spoke  to-them.  And  he-went-down  with  them,  and  he-came  into  Nazareth,  and  he-was  being-put-under  to-them.  And  the  mother  of-him  she-was-keeping-thoroughly  all  the  matters  in  the  heart  of-her.  And  Jesus,  he-was-progressing  in  the  wisdom  and  maturity  and  grace  by  God  and  men.

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A Sabbath Day's Journey

January 25th, 2025

January 18th, 2025

January 11th, 2025

January 4th, 2025

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