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August 8th, 2026

8/8/2026

This Sunday, with what is known as the three-year series, is what is known as the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost. And with this year being the “A Series” of that three-year series, the Gospel Reading is from the Gospel according to Matthew (14:22-33), and the text follows immediately after last week’s text.

With the writings of this website, we have currently been going through the Gospel according to John, a significantly different Gospel account when compared to the other three, but also one with a lot of good news. And we are much farther along in that account, getting closer to Jesus’ arrest in Gethsemane. Jesus had been talking a lot about the “Paraclete”, the Holy Spirit who was to come after him. In the last writing of this website, a connection had been made between the Gospel accounts and the four verbs of that second Paraclete, the Holy Spirit. And connections were made to the four accounts from other things in both the Old and New Testaments. If the reader has not seen last week’s writing, it may be helpful to see a bigger picture or perspective.

When we take a little bit of a Gospel account at a time, we study it carefully, in the order in which it has been laid out, and we are also not skipping any parts. In last week’s part of the Gospel according to John, Jesus talked about his death and resurrection. But with the writing for this week, we are beginning what is usually called Jesus’ high-priestly prayer. So this is a slightly different thing. But a death is certainly involved in the matter. And it may be helpful to see the entire prayer with this week’s writing. It is certainly longer than the typical length of these writings, but hopefully seeing it as a whole will be helpful.

It should also be mentioned that we are going through that Gospel account with a unique translation called an EXTREMELY literal translation. If you are familiar with this style of translation, then you may wish to skip the next two paragraphs.

The first significant thing to mention regarding the description of this type of translation is that the chapter and verse numbers will not be included within the text itself. Both numbers were added quite later after the text was written, and they are certainly useful when someone is searching for a particular text, but the structure they imply is not always helpful. This pair of numerical designations makes the very beginning of the text important. There is always a first verse, and there is not always a thirtieth verse. With this structure, the focus tends to be on the beginning of the writing. The act of writing those verses is probably not the most important thing that the writer wants to get across to the reader. The biblical writers basically wanted the readers to focus on God and not on themselves. And the words are much more important than the numbers, and often those words lead the reader near the middle and/or the end of the text in some way, to give to the reader some structure to all the words being read. (In this case a progression may be seen with Jesus’ use of the word Father, then holy Father near the middle, then righteous Father near the end.)

It should also be noted that the words with hyphens occur when more than one English word is used to describe a single word of the ancient Greek. And it should also be noted that some of the words chosen below are meant to point out the close connection that often occurs between the English and Greek languages. It is also important to mention that the order of the words below is also the same order that is in the ancient Greek. This may help to show the important words, especially when another word besides the verb is first in the sentence or phrase. Sometimes this emphasis will be shown with a “(!)”. Recently the things that Jesus has just spoken have been emphasized in this way. The exception to this translation order is that there are just a small number of words (like “therefore”, “now”) that are usually second in a sentence that are meant to be first when translated. And although it should be obvious, it should be said that repetition of words should be noted as another type of emphasis. One more thing to mention, although it does not happen in this chapter, is that the verbs in capital letters are called HISTORICAL PRESENTS.  Historical presents are somewhat frequent within all the Gospel accounts. It is when a verb in a past tense is expected, but a verb in the present tense is given. More detail regarding the historical present has been explained elsewhere in these writings, and it may be helpful to read some of the other writings of this website. With all of the above things to consider, it will probably be helpful to have another translation or a study bible nearby as you read the text below.

What follows is an EXTREMELY literal translation of the second part of the what has been called the seventeenth chapter of the Gospel according to John (17:1-26). As was mentioned above, this is Jesus’ high-priestly prayer, and it is an important one. He is about to go to death. He is about to sacrifice himself. He is not sacrificing a sheep or a goat. The Son of God is about to be sacrificed. These words are important, and it is certainly a nice gift that we have. And these words immediately follow some words to his disciples. To help with the context, his VERY last words before this text were that Jesus “conquered the cosmos”.

These-things(!)  he-spoke,  Jesus,  and  having-lifted-up,  the  eyes,  his,  into  the  heaven,  he-said,  “Pater,  it-has-come,  the  hour;  glorify  of-you(!),  the  son,  in-order-that  the  son  may-glorify  you,  just-as  you-gave  to-him  authority  of-all  flesh,  in-order-that  all  which  you-have-given  to-him,  he-may-give  to-them  life  eternal.  Now  this  is  the  eternal  life,  that  they-would-know  you,  the  mono  true  God,  and  whom  you-sent-out,  Jesus  Christ.  I,  you,  I-glorified  upon  the  land,  the  ergon,  having-completed,  which  you-have-given  to-me,  in-order-that  I-may-do.  And  presently,  glorify  me,  you,  Father,  beside  yourself,  in-the  glory  which  I-had  pro  the,  the  cosmos,  to-be  beside  you.”

“I-manifested  of-you,  the  name  to-the  anthropoids  whom  you-gave  to-me  out-of  the  cosmos.  Yours(!)  they-were  and-to-me,  them  you-gave,  and  the  logos  of-you  they-have-kept.  Presently  they-have-known  that  all  as-much-as  you-have-given  to-me,  from  you  they-are;  because  the  messages  which  you-gave  to-me,  I-have-given  to-them,  and  they,  they-received,  and  they-have-known  truly  that  from  you  I-came-out,  and   they-believed  that  you,  me,  you-sent-out.  I,  about  them,  I-am-asking,  not  about  the  cosmos  I-am-asking,  but-on-the-contrary,  about  whom  you-have-given  to-me,  because  yours  they-are,  and  the  my-things,  all  yours  it-is,  and  the  your-things,  mine,  and  I-have-been-glorified  in  them.”

“And  no-longer  I-am  in  the  cosmos,  but  they,  in  the  cosmos,  they-are,  and-I  toward  you,  I-am-coming.  Pater,  holy,  keep  them  in  the  name  of-you  which  you-have-given  to-me,  in-order-that  they-may-be  one,  just-as  we.  While  I-was  with  them,  I,  I-was-keeping  them  in  the  name  of-you  which  you-have-given  to-me,  and  I-guarded,  and  no-one  out-of  them,  he-perished,  if  not  the  son  of-the  perdition,  in-order-that  the  writing  might-be-fulfilled.  Now  presently,  toward  you  I-am-coming,  and  these-things  I-am-speaking  in  the  cosmos,  in-order-that  they-may-have  the  joy,  the  my,  having-been-fulfilled  in  themselves.  I,  I-have-given  to-them  the  logos  of-you,  and  the  cosmos  hated  them,  because  not  they-are  out-of  the  cosmos,  just-as  I,  not  I-am  out-of  the  cosmos.  Not  I-ask  in-order-that  you-would-take  them  out-of  the  cosmos,  but-on-the-contrary,  that  you-would-keep  them  out-of  the  evil-one.  Out-of  the  cosmos,  not  they-are,  just-as  I,  not  I-am  out-of  the  cosmos.  Sanctify  them  in  the  truth;  the  logos,  the  your,  truth  it-is.  Just-as  me,  you-sent-out  into  the  cosmos,  and  I,  I-sent-out  them  into  the  cosmos;  and  for-the-sake-of  them,  I,  I-sanctify  myself  in-order-that  they-may-be  also,  they,  having-been-sanctified  in  truth.”

“Now  not  for  these  I-am-asking  mono,  but-on-the-contrary,  also  for  the  ones-believing  through  the  logos  of-them  into  me,  in-order-that  all,  one,  they-may-be,  just-as  you,  Pater,  in  me  and-I  in  you,  in-order-that  also  they,  in  us,  they-may-be,  in-order-that  the  cosmos,  it-may-believe  that  you,  me,  you-sent-out.  And-I,  the  glory  which  you-have-given  to-me,  I-have-given  to-them,  in-order-that  they-may-be  one,  just-as  we,  one.  I  in  them,  and  you  in  me,  in-order-that  they-may-be  having-been-perfected  into  one,  in-order-that  it-may-know,  the  cosmos,  that  you,  me,  you-sent-out,  and  you-loved  them,  just-as  me,  you-loved.  Pater,  the-one  you-have-given  to-me,  I-desire  that  where  I-am,  I,  those-also  they-would-be  with  me,  in-order-that  they-may-behold  the  glory,  the  my,  which  you-have-given  to-me,  because  you-agape-loved  me,  pro  foundation  of-cosmos.  Pater  righteous,  also  the  cosmos,  you,  not  it-knows;  now  I,  you,  I-know,  and  these,  they-know  that  you,  me,  you-sent-out;  and  I-made-known  to-them  the  name  of-you,  and  I-will-make-known,  in-order-that  the  agape-love  which  you-agape-loved  me,  in  them,  it-may-be,  and-I  in  them.”

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August 1st, 2026

8/1/2026

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This Sunday continues the tradition of having the title of the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost. And with this Sunday being the “A Series”, the Gospel Reading is from the Gospel according to Matthew (14:13-21), and compared to the reading of last Sunday, a significant number of verses were skipped.

With the writings of this website, we have currently been going through the Gospel according to John, a significantly different Gospel account when compared to the other three, but also one with a lot of good news. And we are much farther along in that account, getting closer to Jesus’ arrest in Gethsemane. Jesus had been talking a lot about the “Paraclete”, the Holy Spirit who was to come after him.

In the last writing of this website, a connection had been made between the Gospel accounts and the four verbs of that second Paraclete, the Holy Spirit. In some of the other writings of this website, more connections have been made between the four accounts in their usual order and other sets of four. To give the reader somewhat of an overview, some of the connections to the four accounts are mentioned in this next paragraph.

There are different ways in which the angel of the Lord did some significant actions in the book of Genesis: the angel of the Lord teaches Hagar in Genesis 16, the angels of the Lord attack Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19, an angel of the Lord leads someone to a ”significant other” in Genesis 24, and at the end of chapter 32, God wrestled with Jacob so that something significant is done (“to this day” occurs in the last verse of the chapter). Interestingly enough, you may be able to note similar actions in the book of Exodus: the Lord’s teaching of Moses, the Lord fighting against the Egyptians, the Lord leading his people out of Egypt, and the Lord giving some very significant words on Mt. Sinai. There are also the four prohibitions that are listed in Acts 15 that come from the centrally located section of the Pentateuch, the book of Leviticus. There are also the four significant sermons that are found in the book of Acts, in chapters 2, 3, 10, and 13. And there are also the first four epistles of the New Testament, from Romans to Galatians (and they are normally ordered by length, but Ephesians is slightly longer than Galatians and should have been put before it if length were the most important thing), and they deal with congregations at various stages with the Gospel, a much more important factor than the length of the writing. It should almost go without saying that there are significant connections between the four accounts and the four living creatures of the Lord’s throne that show up in book of Revelation. And they show up much earlier in the book of Ezekiel, in chapters 1 and 10; and the confusing thing is that they appear in a different order each time. These connections between living creatures and the four gospel accounts may especially be seen when taking into account the HISTORICAL PRESENTS within the accounts. Unfortunately some have tried to make connections between the creatures and the way in which the accounts started. The beginnings can be important in giving the structure of the work, but in this case, they also can make the connections a bit confusing.

In this part of the Gospel according to John, Jesus talks about his death and resurrection. And we are taking a little bit of that account at a time, in the order in which it has been laid out, and we are also not skipping any parts.

It should also be mentioned that we are going through that Gospel account with a unique translation called an EXTREMELY literal translation. If you are familiar with this style of translation, then you may wish to skip the next two paragraphs.

The first significant thing to mention regarding the description of this type of translation is that the chapter and verse numbers will not be included within the text itself. Both numbers were added quite later after the text was written, and they are certainly useful when someone is searching for a particular text, but the structure they imply is not always helpful. This pair of numerical designations makes the very beginning of the text important. There is always a first verse, and there is not always a fiftieth verse. With this structure, the focus tends to be on the beginning of the writing. The act of writing those verses is probably not the most important thing that the writer wants to get across to the reader. The biblical writers basically wanted the readers to focus on God and not on themselves. And the words are much more important than the numbers, and often those words lead the reader near the middle and/or the end of the text in some way, to give to the reader some structure to all the words being read.

It should also be noted that the words with hyphens occur when more than one English word is used to describe a single word of the ancient Greek. And it should also be noted that some of the words chosen below are meant to point out the close connection that often occurs between the English and Greek languages. It is also important to mention that the order of the words below is also the same order that is in the ancient Greek. This may help to show the important words, especially when another word besides the verb is first in the sentence or phrase. Sometimes this emphasis will be shown with a “(!)”. The exception to this translation order is that there are just a small number of words (like “therefore”, “now”) that are usually second in a sentence that are meant to be first when translated. And although it should be obvious, it should be said that repetition of words should be noted as another type of emphasis. One more thing to mention is that the verbs in capital letters are called HISTORICAL PRESENTS.  Historical presents are somewhat frequent within all the Gospel accounts. It is when a verb in a past tense is expected, but a verb in the present tense is given. More detail regarding the historical present has been explained elsewhere in these writings, and it may be helpful to read some of the other writings of this website. With all of the above things to consider, it will probably be helpful to have another translation or a study bible nearby as you read the text below.

What follows is an EXTREMELY literal translation of the second part of the what has been called the sixteenth chapter of the Gospel according to John (16:16-33). As was mentioned, Jesus is continuing to talk, and he had already mentioned the other “Paraclete” who will be helping after Jesus does his job of a death and resurrection. Those things are important, and those things continue to be important. And therefore, it should not be surprising that there is an HISTORICAL PRESENT. There are similar issues to today that distract us from the all-important things. And there has often been a “(!)” to emphasize the importance of “these things” that Jesus continues to say. And hopefully the following translation of this text will be helpful. And Jesus is starting the conversation:

“A-micron(!),  and  no-longer  you-behold  me;  and  again,  a-micron,  and  you-will-see  me.”

Therefore  they-said,  out-of  the  disciples  of-him,  toward  one-another,  “What  is  this,  which  he-is-saying  to-us,  ‘A-micron,  and  not  you-behold  me,  and  again,  a-micron,  and  you-will-see  me,’  and  ‘Because  I-am-going-away  toward  the  Father’?”  Therefore  they-were-saying,  “What  is  this  which  he-is-saying,  the  ‘micron’?  Not  do-we-know  what  he-is-speaking.”

He-knew,  the  Jesus,  that  they-were-wanting  him  to-question,  and  he-said  to-them,  “Concerning  this  are-you-seeking  with  one-another,  because  I-said,  ‘A-micron  and  not  you-behold  me,  and  again,  a-micron,  and  you-will-see  me’?  Amen,  amen,  I-am-saying  to-you  that  you-will-weep  and  you-will-lament,  you;  now  the  cosmos  will-rejoice;  you,  you-will-be-grieved,  but-on-the-contrary,  the  sorrow  of-you,  into  joy,  it-will-become.  The  woman,  when  she-gives-birth,  sorrow  she-has,  because  it-came,  the  hour  of-her;  now  when  she-gives-birth  to-the  child,  no-longer  she-remembers  the  distress,  because-of  the  joy  that  he-was-born,  an-anthropoid,  into  the  cosmos.  Therefore  also  you,  presently,  on-the-one-hand,  sorrow  you-have;  on-the-other-hand,  again  I-will-see  you,  and  it-will-rejoice  of-you,  the  cardiac;  and  the  joy  of-you,  no-one  takes  away-from  you.  And  in  that,  the  day,  me,  not  you-will-question  nothing.”

“Amen,  amen,  I-am-saying  to-you,  what  ever  you-ask  the  Father  in  the  name  of-me,  he-will-give  to-you.  Until  presently,  not  have-you-asked  nothing  in  the  name  of-me;  ask,  and  you-will-receive,  in-order-that  the  joy  of-you  may-be  having-been-filled.  These-things(!)  in  allegories  I-have-spoken  to-you;  it-is-coming,  an-hour,  when  no-longer  in  allegories  I-will-speak  to-you,  but-on-the-contrary,  in-plainness  concerning  the  Father  I-will-declare  to-you.  In  that,  the  day,  in  the  name  of-me  you-will-ask,  and  not I-will-say  to-you  that  I,  I-will-request  the  Father  concerning  you;  for  He,  the  Father(!),  brotherly-loves  you,  because  you,  me,  you-have-brotherly-loved,  and  you-have-believed  that  I,  from  the  God,  I-came-out.  I-came-out,  from  the  Father,  and  I-have-come  into  the  cosmos;  again  I-am-leaving  the  cosmos,  and  I-am-travelling  toward  the  Father.”

THEY-ARE-SAYING,  the  disciples  of-him,  “Behold,  presently  in  plainness  you-are-speaking,  and  an-allegory,  not  you-are-saying.  Presently  we-know  that  you-know  all-things,  and  no  need  you-have  in-order-that  anyone,  you  he-should-question;  in  this  we-believe  that  from  God  you-have-come-out.”

He-answered  them,  Jesus,  “Presently  you-believe?  Behold,  it-is-coming,  an-hour,  and  it-has-come  that  you-are-scattered,  each-one,  into  the  own-things,  and-me  mono,  you-would-leave;  and  not  I-am  mono,  because  the  Father,  with  me,  he-is.  These-things(!)  I-have-spoken  to-you  in-order-that,  in  me,  peace  you-may-have.  In  the  cosmos,  distress  you-have;  but-on-the-contrary,  have-courage,  I,  I-have-overcome  the  cosmos.”

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