The text of John 3:16-18 is included in the context formed by 3:9-21. Nicodemus, not understanding how one is born "in water and Spirit" receives an explanation that is centered on the role of the "One from heaven" (see v. 13), the "Son of Man" (v. 13.14) who is further identified in these verses as "God's only Son" (v. 16), "the only Son of God" (v.18). Verses 16-18 is an explanation of vv. 14-15: "And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life ."

Introduction

The Commissioning of the Apostles is the last scene that Matthew gives us in his gospel.  There is no account of an Ascension here since Jesus tells his disciples "I will be with you always.¹"  Rather, the Ascension is already a past event, occuring in the Resurrection.  In Matthew's gospel, this is the first time that Jesus appears to his disciples after rising from the dead (see 28:10).  The setting of the narrative is a mountain in Galilee which had been pointed out to them by Jesus earlier (v.16).  Below is an outline of the narrative

In John 14:1 Jesus begins to console his disciples. Judas had just left and Peter's denial has just been foretold and the disciples know that Jesus will be separated from them. Below is an illustration of how John 14:1-14 is placed within the Last Supper Discourses.

John 10:1-21 continues the conversation Jesus was having with the Jews in Jn. 9:40-41. Jn. 10:19-21 recalls 9:16 as to the "schism"; the mention of the opening of the blind man's eyes as a defense for Jesus cements the relationship. Below is a diagram illustrating the relationship of the Good Shepherd discourse with the preceding chapter and how the parts of the discourse cohere to make 1-21 a literary unit.

Right after Jesus gives the third and last prediction about the fate he was going to undergo in Jerusalem, Mark tells us that John and James, probably anticipating a Messianic coup d'etat in Judaism's capital, wanted to be assured of special places beside Jesus "in his glory" (cf. Mark 10:37). There is a pattern in the section that goes from Mark 9:31-10:45 in which each time Jesus predicts his passion, the issue of "glory" comes out.

After Jesus dies on the cross and before he was brought down from it for burial, John narrates to us a detail that is not mentioned in the Synoptic gospels: the piercing of Jesus' side. The reason for this is given in v. 31. Crucifixions did not immediately kill the crucified. Since the Jews didn't want the bodies of the executed to stay hanging on the cross till the following day, a Sabbath, they asked Pilate that the death of the hanging criminals be hastened. Thus the breaking of the legs. Once the legs of the crucified was broken, he can no longer raise himself up to breathe and he eventually dies suffocated by the blood filling up his lungs. Jesus was already dead by then, but the soldiers had to be sure that he was so. So instead of breaking up his legs, a soldier pierced his side with a spear. Here is how a doctor describes the process.

The story of the calming of the storm continues from 4:1-2 where Jesus sits on a boat and teaches a crowd in parables. After the seaside speaking engagement, he invites the disciples to cross over to the other side of the Sea (of Galilee). On the way, a storm arose that caused even fishermen to be concerned. Jesus was at the place where the boat steersman should be; and he was asleep. The disciples wake him up, he rebukes the wind and a great calm descended upon them. The miracle astounded the disciples so much that they began asking themselves who this is whom the winds and waves obey. That is how the main lines of the story go. Let us go into detail...

John's Gospel begins the resurrection accounts with the discovery of the empty tomb in the wee hours of "the first day of the week" by Mary Magdalene. She discovers that the tomb has been opened and so goes back to Simon and the "other disciple" and reports it. In turn, both Simon Peter and the other disciple ("the one Jesus loved") went to the tomb and saw -- one after the other -- that the linen cloths (the one for the body and the one for the head) were lying in place, but the body was no longer there. The disciple whom Jesus loved "saw it and believed"; nothing is said about Simon Peter. The narrator explains that "they still did not understand from Scriptures that Jesus had to rise from the dead" (v.9)

I saw a replay of the National Geographic special of the Gospel of Judas on Holy Thursday between 2AM and 4AM (GMT +8). The account of the authentication of the papyrus presented no problem to me since whether the document is a "Gospel of Judas" does not depend on antiquity. We know that even the canonical gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John did not come to us with the title "Gospel According to x". The way NG presented the contents of the Gospel of Judas, however, is a different matter.

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The National Geographic presented a special a few days ago on a purported "Gospel" of Judas in Coptic.  They also have it in their website.  The publication of their "findings" on this lost gospel has caught the imagination of reporters.  The NY Times even has a catchy title for it:  'Gospel of Judas' Surfaces After 1700 Years.