July 25th, 2026

If you have been following these writings, or if you have been going to church, you probably would know that this Sunday’s title is the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost. And with this year being the “A Series”, you probably would also know that the Gospel Reading is from the Gospel according to Matthew. And with all the verses that have been skipped from time to time, you might be a bit surprised that the text for this Sunday follows right after last week’s reading, and it is just one text (13:44-52). And with this text Jesus is continuing with his parables.

The plan is for this website to focus on the Word of God. 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. 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.

Jesus has been doing a lot of talking recently. And this is unusual in the Gospel accounts at this time in Jesus’ life. The focus in those accounts at this point in time is usually the institution of the Lord’s Supper. For Jesus to talk so much within the Gospel according to John is significant, and his words are certainly important.

We are currently focusing on the words of Jesus that he uses nowhere else. He has been mentioning another “Paraclete” that is coming. That title literally means “to call alongside”, and the implication is that someone who is called to go alongside of you is helpful. That is who Jesus was, and that is also who the Holy Spirit is now. This will be the fourth time that this Paraclete is mentioned, and after the text below we will look at the “bigger picture” of those times he was mentioned, and you may see a structure within those times he was mentioned.

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. (More will be said about this later.)

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, although it does not happen in the text below, is that the verbs in capital letters are called HISTORICAL PRESENTS.  Historical presents are 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 first part of the what has been called the sixteenth chapter of the Gospel according to John (16:1-15). As was mentioned, Jesus is continuing to talk, and it was also mentioned that this is the last time he will be mentioning the other “Paraclete”. As was also mentioned, these times the Spirit was mentioned will be all put together. And hopefully that will be helpful. Again, these are Jesus’ words right before he was arrested and killed; you can imagine that he probably has a few important things to say:

“These-things(!)  I-have-spoken  to-you  in-order-that  not  to-be-scandalized.  Apo-synagogue  they-will-make  you;  but-on-the-contrary,  it-is-coming  an-hour,  that  every  the-one  having-killed  you,  he-thinks  a-service  to-offer  to-the  God.  And  these-things(!)  they-will-do  because  not  do-they-know  the  Father  nor  me.  But-on-the-contrary,  these-things  I-have-spoken  to-you,  in-order-that  when  it-comes,  the  hour  of-them,  you-may-remember  them,  that  I,  I-told  you.  Now  these-things  to-you,  out-of  the-beginning  not  I-said,  because  with  you  I-was.” 

“Now  presently  I-am-going-away  toward  the-one  having-sent  me,  and  not-one  out-of  you  asks  me,  ‘Where  are-you-going-away?’  But-on-the-contrary,  because  these-things  I-have-spoken  to-you,  the  grief  has-filled  of-you  the  cardiac.  But-on-the-contrary,  I,  the-truth,  I-am-telling  to-you,  it-is-expedient  for-you  in-order-that  I,  I-should-come-away.  For  if  not  I-come-away,  the  Paraclete  not  he-will-come  toward  you;  now  if  I-travel,  I-will-send  him  toward  you.  And  having-come,  that-one,  he-will-convict  the  cosmos  concerning  sin  and  concerning  righteousness  and  concerning  judgment.  On-the-one-hand,  concerning  sin,  because  not  they-believe  into  me;  on-the-other-hand,  concerning  righteousness,  because  toward  the  Father  I-am-going-away,  and  no-longer  you-behold  me;  on-the-yet-another-hand  concerning  judgment,  because  the  ruler  of-the  cosmos,  this-one,  he-has-been-judged.”

“Still  many-things(!)  I-have  to-you  to-tell,  but-on-the-contrary,  not  you-are-able  to-bear  presently;  now  when  he-comes,  that-one,  the  Pneuma  of-the  truth,  he-will-guide  you  into  the  truth,  all;  for  not  he-will-speak  from  himself,  but-on-the-contrary,  what-things  he-will-hear,  he-will-speak,  and  the  coming-things  he-will-announce  to-you.  That-one(!),  me,  he-will-glorify,  because  out-of  the  thing-of-me,  he-will-take,  and  he-will-announce  to-you.  All-things  which  he-has,  the  Father,  mine  are;  on-account-of  this,  I-said  to-you  that  out-of  the  thing-of-me  he-takes,  and  he-will-announce  to-you.”

What follows are the verses that mention the Paraclete (and this is so easy to relate by using the chapter and verse designations; this can be seen as a benefit of those numbers), if you are interested in looking at them in more detail and the verbs that are connected to them: 14:26 (teach; remind), 15:26 (witness), 16:8 (convict)

The placement of these four Paraclete verbs is given within chapters 14 through 16. And their approximate presence is summarized in the line below. Each set of two verses is represented by an underline (“_”). And if there is just one verse left in the chapter, it will also be indicated with a line. A capital X indicates when one of those four verbs is within the two verses. Each period (“.”) indicates the beginning of a chapter.

.____________XX__.____________X_.___X_____________

A good question to ask is the following: So what? What this fully means will never be fully known. But hopefully the above layout was helpful in seeing a type of tabernacle or temple structure. Without the structure of chapter and verse, this type of a one-third and two-thirds structure, or of a halfway-endpoint structure, these two structures may be helpful. They may remind the Israelites of the layout of the tabernacle or temple, and it may be a good reminder of what else is in the scripture reminds God’s people of his special presence within this wilderness of sin. Both a one-third and a two-third’s position may be helpful as one moves along the way toward the goal; and the halfway and final positions are certainly good points as well. It may also be a good picture to have in the back of the mind as the text progresses.

The tabernacle and the temple were very special places. There was a place of sacrifice (where the two XX’s are), sort of the bad news, but having that allowed a person to go even farther, to the “holy of holies”, the most holy place (where the third and fourth X’s designate a structure, like the tabernacle or the temple). The Epistle to the Hebrews has a similar structure, and the first part of the epistle helps the reader to see that upcoming structure within in the text. (You may wish to look at Hebrews 1:1-4 and see how the mention of the significant words of “Son” and the “cleansing of sins” are near the one-third and two-thirds places in that first, run-on sentence.)

The above point gives some structure to the text, especially since there were no chapter and verse divisions when the writing first happened. Another good question to be asked at this point is the following: So what? It could again be said that what this means will never be fully known.

Jesus is taking some time out of his busy schedule to talk. And he is talking to some very special people. He is getting closer to his death, his sacrifice. With all that in mind, it is not too surprising that the next chapter is sometimes called Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer”. After the structure of the place of sacrifice, after the movement to an EXTREMELY special place, Jesus is going to do his job, acting like the “go-between”, a high priest, someone who is between the Father and the world. And that is a wonderful perspective. And more could be said about that when these words are examined in greater detail.

The thought of a wonderful perspective may be also seen in the four verbs that the Holy Spirit accomplishes. That the Spirit teaches, reminds, witnesses, and convicts, those are four significant verbs. Why those four verbs, and why that order?

It is unfortunate that some people believe that there are four gospel accounts because of a lack of communication amongst the followers of Jesus after his ascension. Why else would there be such repetition? At the heart of the matter, the basic problem is that the four accounts are often treated as a history lesson, to help know what happened. With that perspective comes an EXTREMELY optimistic view of human nature. Some people believe that they do not need a Savior; they just need a good history teacher. And they rarely get one in a public school.

When something important happens, it is repeated. When God comes down, that is a significant event. And the normal order of the four gospel accounts is Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, mainly because of the order of their corresponding living creatures of the Lord’s throne of a man, lion, ox, and eagle (see Ezekiel 1). A throne is an EXTREMELY significant chair.  With those living creatures being connected to the Lord’s throne, and with a throne comes glory or significance or some ramifications, the four Gospel Accounts have great significance. It is not just a history lesson; it is a salvation story, a story that REALLY happened. And Jesus really rescues.

There is a more “Hebrew” way of ordering the accounts, and this is done in at least one of the New Testament manuscripts. The authors are put first, the longer one first, and the secretaries are second, with the same issue regarding their length. With this ordering, basically the second and fourth accounts switch places: Matthew, John, Luke, Mark. (And this ordering is the reason behind an additional and significantly more positive ending being given to the Gospel according to Mark in some manuscripts; see 16:9-20.)

It may be hard to see an entire Gospel account summarized as one verb, but the lack of a numerical chapter-and-verse structure may help to see a special order within the accounts and both a purpose and a summary when it comes to their differences. Much could be said about the connections between these two things, but the comments will be kept to a minimum, and the reader may have a LOT more thoughts on the topic. Please feel free to share them.

Matthew and the Spirit teaches. Jesus does a LOT of teaching in this account. With the living creature of this account being a man, there is a close connection to teaching here.
John and the Spirit reminds. Jesus does a LOT of the same things that he did in the other accounts, his miracles, his words, and his actions as he headed toward the cross—being lifted up. And with the living creature of this account being the eagle, there is a connection to reminders, but with a slightly higher perspective.

Luke and the Spirit witnesses. Jesus does a LOT of things that support other people. With the living creature of this account being an ox, Jesus is certainly a strong one, but one who is gentle and willing to help others who are needing some help. And help is needed by all people. In this account, Jesus is “setting his face” toward Jerusalem, and the variety of people he helps along the way is significant.

Mark and the Spirit convicts. Jesus does a LOT of things to remind the people around them that they are sinners, to get back a proper perspective. It is interesting that, in this account, where in Luke (8:25), while Jesus is in the boat with the disciples during the storm, he asks them, “Where is the faith of you?”, in the Gospel according to Mark (4:40), he asks them a question with a slightly more negative perspective, “Not yet do you have faith?” One can see in Jesus a more pessimistic view of the disciples. Jesus needs to convict them (and us) regarding the made-up definitions of sin and righteousness and judgment. All of us naturally have our own definitions of these things. Jesus wants us to have better definitions, the right definitions, his definitions.

To compare the accounts is one benefit that is easy to accomplish because of the great and wonderful invention of the codex (a fancy name for “book”). Can you imagine having four long scrolls that need to be unrolled and rolled to their proper places to compare similar events? One thing that also happened that was helpful in keeping it a reverent observation was that the titles of Jesus and God-related words were that they were abbreviated, a reminder that something special is happening. We do not fully understand it. But we can certainly fully receive it as a gift. And Jesus is the Father’s gift to you.