October 18th, 2025

The season of Pentecost continues on, and this Sunday is commonly known as the “Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost”. The Gospel Reading for this Sunday continues on with the Gospel according to Luke. The Gospel Reading for this week is Luke 18:1-8, and this is the first time that an appointed reading comes from this chapter. The writings of this website are also going through the Gospel according to Luke, we have been looking at a little bit at a time, and we are getting EXTREMELY close to the end. Jesus has been arrested, and he will be going to the cross and the grave in the text below.

This is a very well-known part of Jesus’ life. And it is seen by many as being very negative. The idea of power is important in today’s modern society. And Jesus both on the cross and in the grave does not show too much power for those immersed in today’s culture. (You will find the women below who were striking themselves as a sign of sorrow, and even in that ancient culture, that action gives an idea as to the power that is perceived in people who are still alive and have not been condemned to death.)

Today’s culture often praises smartphones which have a lot of power, and that is an interesting synonym for electricity. But God, the almighty God, the God who is the maker of heaven and earth—and that includes EVERYTHING—sometimes he wants to show his boundless power in a much more loving and gentle way. And it then becomes a boundless love. The way of the world is power, and that is a very limited power; the way of our God is love.

There are a lot of ways in which the biblical texts could be translated. If this is the first time with these writings, it will be helpful to know that what follows is an EXTREMELY literal translation. The most significant thing is to note that the order of the words in the translation below is the order in which they appear within the Greek, the language of the New Testament. To get a clearer translation, it may be helpful to look at another translation or a study bible.

It may be also helpful to note that the hyphens below are meant to show how many English words are in a single Greek word. And the English words that are often chosen are designed to show how often the Greek words are somewhat similar to the English. And some of the words in English were chosen to show how rare some of the words in Greek were. And just like you would expect from a doctor, this gospel writer—who was a doctor—used a lot of rare words.

Jesus is going to his place of sacrifice in the text below. And for that we are grateful. What follows is that EXTREMELY literal translation of what is usually called the twenty-third chapter of the Gospel according to Luke (verses 26-56):

And  as  they-led-away  him,  having-taken-upon  Simon,  a-certain  Cyrenian,  coming  from  country,  they-placed-upon  him  the  cross,  to-carry  behind  the  Jesus.  Now  it-was-following  him,  a-large  multitude  of-the  people,  and  of-women  who  were-striking-themselves,  and  they-were-singing-dirges-for  him.  Now  having-turned  toward  them,  the  Jesus  said,  “Daughters  of-Jerusalem,  not  do-weep  upon  me;  nevertheless,  upon  yourselves  weep  and  upon  the  children  of-you,  because,  behold,  they-are-coming,  days,  in  which  they-will-say,  ‘Blessed  the  barren,  and  the  wombs  which  not  gave-birth,  and  breasts  which  not  nourished.’  Then  they-will-begin  to-say  to-the  mountains,  ‘Fall  upon  us,’  and  to-the  hills,  ‘Cover  us.’  Because  if  in  moist  wood,  these-things  they-do,  in  the  dry,  what  may-happen?”

Now  they-were-being-led  also,  hetero,  evildoers,  two,  with  him,  to-be-taken-up.  And  when  they-came  upon  the  place,  the-one  being-called  “Cranium,”  there  they-crucified  him  and  the  evildoers,  on-the-one-hand,  one  from  right,  on-the-other-hand,  one  from  left.  Now  the  Jesus  was-saying,  “Father,  forgive  them,  for  not  they-know  what  they-are-doing.”  [This last sentence does not appear in some of the oldest manuscripts. See below for more information.]

Now  dividing-for-themselves  the  garments  of-him,  they-threw  lots.  And  it-stood,  the  people,  beholding.  Now  turning-the-nose-up-from  also,  the  rulers  saying,  “Others  he-saved,  let-him-save  himself,  if  this-one  is  the  Christ  of-the  God,  the  eclectic-one.” 

Now  they-played  with-him  also  the  soldiers,  coming-toward,  vinegar  bearing-toward  to-him,  and  saying,  “If  you,  you-are  the  king  of-the  Jews,  save  yourself.”  Now  there-was  also  an-epigraph  over  him:  THE  KING  OF-THE  JEWS,  THIS-ONE.  Now  one  of-the  having-been-hanged  evildoers  was-blaspheming  him.  Yes-not  you,  you-are  the  Christ?  Save  yourself  and  us!”

Now  having-answered,  the  hetero,  dishonoring  him,  he-replied,  “Not  do-you-fear,  you,  the  God,  because  in  the  same  judgment  you-are?  And  we,  on-the-one-hand  justly,  for   worthy  of-what  we-practiced,  we-are-receiving-back.  On-the-other-hand,  this-one  nothing  atopic  he-practiced.”  And  he-was-saying,  “Jesus,  remember  me  when  you-come  into  the  kingdom  of-you.”

And  he-said  to-him,  “Amen,  to-you  I-am-saying,  today,  with  me,  you-will-be  in  the  Paradise.”

And it-was  already  about  hour,  sixth,  and  darkness  happened   over  whole  the  land  until  hour,  ninth,  the  sun  having-eclipsed;  now  it-was-schismed,  the  thing-spread-thoroughly  of-the  temple,  middle.  And  having-called,  with-a-voice,  mega,  the  Jesus  said,  “Father,  into  hands  of-you  I-place-over  the  spirit  of-me.”  Now  this,  having-said,  he-breathed-out. '

Now  having-seen,  the  captain-of-a-hundred,  the-thing  having-happened,  he-was-doxologizing  the  God  saying,  “Really  the  man,  this,  righteous  he-was.”  And  all  the  having-arrived-together  crowds,  upon  the  beholding,  this,  having-beheld  the-things  having-happened,  beating  the  chests,  they-were-returning.  Now  they-stood,  all  the-ones  known  to-him,  from  a-macro-place,  and  women,  the-ones  following-with  him  from  the  Galilee,  seeing  these-things.

And  behold,  a-man  with-name  Joseph,  an-advisor  being,  and  a-man  good  and  righteous,  this-one  not  he-was  having-put-down-the-same-vote-with  the  advice  and  the  practice  of-them,  from  Arimathea,  a-city  of-the  Jews,  who  was-approving-toward  the  kingdom  of-the  God;  this-one  having-come-toward  the  Pilate,  he-asked-for-himself  the  body  of-the  Jesus,  and  having-taken-down,  he-wrapped-in  it  in-linen,  and  he-placed  him  in  a-tomb,  scraped-in-stone,  where  not  was  no-one,  not-yet  lying.  And  day  it-was,  of-preparation,  and  a-sabbath  was-lighting-upon.  Now  having-followed-after  the  women,  who  they-were  having-come-with,  out-of  the  Galilee  with-him,  they-observed  the  tomb  and  how  it-was-placed,  the  body  of-him;  now  having-returned,  they-prepared  spices  and  ointment,  and  the,  on-the-one-hand,  on-the-Sabbath  they-rested,  according-to  the  commandment.

The words of Jesus above while he is on the cross, when they are put together with the other words of Jesus in all the other gospel accounts, all of them together make a total of seven statements, and that is an important number that is often used throughout the scriptures. The number seven is a combination of three and four, numbers connected to both God and the world respectively. With such an important event, and with the four accounts working together so well, it would be hard to leave the number of sayings of Jesus at that “central time” to be six. Although these words are not in some of the oldest manuscripts, they most certainly can be taken as GOSPEL TRUTH. Jesus and forgiveness go together quite well. Now THAT is a powerful love.