September 12th, 2026

Things continue on, and the number of Sundays after Pentecost continues to increase. With the three-year series, this Sunday’s title is the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, and this time the Gospel Reading is the very next section after last week’s reading. This week’s text is Matthew 18:21-35.

With the writings of this website, we have currently been going through the Gospel according to John. It may be said that it is a significantly different Gospel account at times when compared to the other three, but it is also one with Jesus on the cross, and it may be said that literally Jesus on the cross is the heart of the good news. (And the mention of both blood and water coming out of Jesus is an important fact.) We are EXTREMELY far along in that Gospel account, and with this writing deals with what comes after that death of Jesus on that cross.

It should also be mentioned that with these writings we have been going through all four Gospel accounts with a unique translation called an EXTREMELY literal translation. If you are familiar with this style of translation, 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 thirty-fifth 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. 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. Now this happens a lot more often than we think. 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” and “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. And although it does not happen in this section below, 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, but they are especially frequent in the Gospel according to John. (And they will become frequent again within the resurrection accounts.) The historical present is when a verb in a past tense is expected, but a verb in the present tense is given. More details regarding the historical presents have been explained elsewhere in these writings, so 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 very 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 last part of the what has been called the nineteenth chapter of the Gospel according to John (19:31-42). The Son of God was on the cross for his people. This was an important place. And the last words of the previous section were that Jesus “gave over” his spirit. The way that is described is a good reminder that Jesus always had the power as God. And he still has that power.

Therefore  the  Jews(!),  since  Preparation  it-was,  in-order-that  not  it-might-remain  upon  the  cross,  the  bodies  in  the  Sabbath,  for  it-was  mega,  the  day  of-that,  the  Sabbath;  they-questioned  the  Pilate  in-order-that  they-might-be-broken  of-them,  the  legs,  and  they-might-be-taken.  Therefore  they-came,  the  soldiers,  and  of-the,  on-the-one-hand,  proto,  they-broke  the  legs,  and  of-the  other,  of-the-one  having-been-crucified-with  him;  but-on-the-other-hand,  upon  the  Jesus  having-come,  as  they-saw  already  him  having-died,  not  they-broke  of-him  the  legs,  but-on-the-contrary,  one  of-the  soldiers  with-a-spear  of-him,  the  side  he-pricked,  and  it-came-out  immediately,  blood  and  water. 

And  the-one(!)  having-seen,  he-has-martyred,  and  true  of-him  is  the  martyr,  and  that-one  knows  that  truth  he-is-telling,  in-order-that  also  you,  you-may-believe.  For  it-happened,  these-things,  in-order-that  the  graphay  might-be-fulfilled,  “An-osteon  not  will-be-broken  of-him.”  And  again,  another  graphay  says,  “They-will-look  into  him-whom  they-pierced.” 

Now  after  these-things  he-questioned  the  Pilate,  Joseph,  the-one  from  Arimathea,  being  a-disciple  of-the  Jesus,  now  having-been-hidden  because-of  the  phobia  of-the  Jews,  in-order-that  he-might-take  the  soma  of-the  Jesus;  and  he-turned-over,  the  Pilate.  Therefore  he-came,  and  he-took  the  soma  of-him.
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Now  he-came  also,  Nicodemus,  the-one  having-come  toward  him  of-the-night,  the  proton,  bearing  a-mixture  of-Smyrna  and  aloes,  as  Roman-pounds,  a-hundred.  Therefore  they-took  the  soma  of-the  Jesus,  and  they-bound  it  in-linen-cloths  with  the  aromatics,  just-as  ethos  it-is  with-the  Jews  to-enwrap-for-burial.  Now  there-was  in  the  place  where  he-was-crucified,  a-garden,  and  in  the  garden,  a-tomb,  new,  in  which  not-yet  no-one  was  having-been-put;  therefore  there(!),  because-of  the  Preparation  of-the  Jews,  since  near  was  the  tomb,  they-put  the  Jesus.