May 30th, 2026

This Sunday’s title may be the First Sunday after Pentecost, but it is more widely known as Trinity Sunday. This is the Sunday which is given as a reminder of the foundational teaching that God is certainly one God, yet he is also three “Persons”, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The word “triune” tries to get across this amazing point of the three in one. The Gospel Reading for this Sunday is commonly known as the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20). It contains the mandate to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is also the Sunday when the Athanasian Creed is confessed, and much could be said about that Creed, especially since it is not well known. Fortunately there are some helpful introductory words about that Creed in the Lutheran Service Book.

Within the writings of this website, we are currently going through the Gospel according to John, translating a section of the text at a time in a unique way, in the order in which it appears in the text, without skipping any parts. We are currently in what has been called chapter twelve of that Gospel account.

If you are familiar with the writings of this website, you would know that it has been stated many times that the texts are translated in an EXTREMELY literal fashion. There are certainly countless ways to translate a text. That particular type of translation will be defined in the next two paragraphs. If you are familiar with this style of translation, you may bypass the next two paragraphs.

The first significant thing to mention regarding the description of this type of translation is that the verse numbers will not be included within the text itself. Both the chapter numbers and verse numbers were added quite later after the text was written, and they are certainly helpful when someone is searching for a particular text, but the structure they imply is not always helpful. These numerical designations tend to focus the reader on the very beginning of the text, where the writer started, and that is usually not be the most important thing that the writer wants the reader to remember. The words are much more important than the numbers, and often those words lead the reader near the middle and/or the end in some way.

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 some of the words chosen below are meant to point out the close connection that often occurs between the English and Greek languages. (The word “phone” will come up again; hopefully that is not too distracting.) 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. (The verb is usually first in Greek.) Sometimes this emphasis is 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. 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. That is when a verb in a past tense is expected, but a verb in the present tense is given. This special characteristic of some of the verbs 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.

So what follows is an EXTREMELY literal translation of a part of what has been called the twelfth chapter of the Gospel according to John (12:20-36), with Jesus just having entered Jerusalem on what is now known as Palm Sunday. We are getting very near the end:

Now  they-were  Hellenists,  some  out-of  the-ones  going-up,  in-order-that  they-might-kiss-toward  in  the  Feast;  therefore  these(!),  they-came-toward  to-Philip,  the-one  from  Bethsaida  of-the  Galilee,  and  they-were-asking  him  saying,  “Lord,  we-want  the  Jesus  to-see.” 

HE-COMES,  the  Philip,  and  HE-SAYS  to-the  Andrew;  HE-COMES  Andrew  and  Philip,  and  THEY-SAY  to-the  Jesus.  Now  the  Jesus(!),  HE-ANSWERS  them  saying,  “It-has-come,  the  hour,  in-order-that  he-may-be-glorified,  the  Son  of-the  Anthropoid.  Amen,  amen,  I-am-saying  to-you,  if  not  the  grain  of-the  wheat,  having-fallen  into  the  ground,  it-dies;  it,  alone,  it-remains;  now  if  it-dies,  much  fruit  it-bears;  the-one  brotherly-loving  the  psyche  of-him,  he-loses  it,  and  the  one-hating  the  psyche  of-him  in  the  cosmos,  this  into  life  eternal  he-will-guard  it. If  me,  anyone  deacons,  me  let-him-follow,  and  where  I-am,  I,  there  also  the  deacon,  the  my,  he-will-be;  if  anyone,  me  deacons,  he-will-honor  him,  the  Father.  Presently  the  psyche  of-me  it-has-been-troubled,  and  what  may-I-say?  Father  save  me  out-of  the  hour,  this?  But-on-the-contrary,  on-account-of  this  I-came  into  the  hour,  this.  Father,  doxa  of-you,  the  name.”

Therefore  it-came,  a-phone  out-of  the  heaven,  “Both  I-doxated,  and  again  I-will-doxa.”  Therefore  the  crowd(!),  the-one  standing,  and  having-heard,  it-was-saying  “Thunder  to-have-happened.”  Others  were-saying,  “An-angel(!)  to-him  he-has-spoken.”

He-answered,  Jesus,  and  he-said,  “Not  on-account-of  me,  the  phone,  this,  it-has-happened,  but-on-the-contrary,  on-account-of  you.  Presently  judgment  is  of-the  world,  this;  now  the  ruler  of-the  cosmos(!),  this,  it-shall-be-thrown-out,  outside.  And-I,  if  I-am-lifted-up  out-of  the  earth,  all(!)  I-will-drag  toward  myself.”  Now  this  he-was-saying,  signing  by-what-kind-of  death  he-was-about  to-die. 

Therefore  it-answered  him,  the  crowd,  “We,  we-heard  out-of  the  Law  that  the  Christ  remains  into  the  eon,  and  how  do-you-say,  you,  that  it-is-necessary  to-be-lifted-up,  the  Son  of-the  Anthropoid?  Who  is  this,  the  Son  of-the  Anthropoid?” 
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Therefore  he-said  to-them,  the  Jesus,  “Still  a-micron  time,  the  light  in  you  it-is.  Walk-around  as  the  light  you-have,  in-order-that  not  darkness  you,  it-overtakes;  and  the-one  walking-around  in  the  darkness  not  he-knows  where  he-is-going-away.  As  the  light  you-have,  believe  into  the  light,  in-order-that  sons  of-light  you-may-become.”  These-things  he-was-speaking,  Jesus,  and  having-come-away,  he-was-hidden  from  them.