# verses

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‘They will cause the <i>Son of Man</i> to have a lot of pain’, he went on to say. ‘The leaders of the <i>Jews</i> will be against him. The important <i>priests</i> and teachers of God’s rules will also not accept him. They will kill him, but three days later God will cause him to be alive again.’ <n>Jesus told his friends what would happen to him. This is the first time that he told them. 


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Then Jesus spoke to all the people that were there. ‘Perhaps someone wants to obey me’, he said to them. ‘That person must say no to what he wants for himself in this life. He must live every day like a person that has only one day to live. He must obey me and he must become like me.


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After all, whoever wants to keep his own life will lose it. But whoever gives up his life for me will save it. 


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Perhaps you want to get the whole world and all that is in it. You might do that but lose yourself. Then you will have nothing at all. You will have destroyed yourself in the end. 


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Perhaps you are now ashamed of me and of my words. If you are, I will be ashamed of you. I will be ashamed of you when I return. When I come back again, everyone will see me. I will <i>look</i> as great and beautiful as my Father God. The good <i>angels</i> of God will be with me, too. They will also <i>look</i> very great and beautiful.’ <n>Jesus <i>looks</i> different and he meets Moses and Elijah</n>


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‘Listen!’ said Jesus. ‘Some people that are standing here will soon see how God rules. They will see this before they die. They really will.’


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About 8 days after Jesus had said these things, he went up a mountain to pray. And he took Peter, John and James with him. 


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While he was praying, his face began to <i>look</i> different. His clothes also became very white and shining. 


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Then two men appeared and they were talking with him. They were Moses and Elijah. <n>Matthew says in Matthew 17:2 that Jesus’ face shone like the sun. Moses was a leader of the people of God. He died about 1400 years before Jesus was born. We can read about him in the book called Exodus. <n>Elijah was a man that spoke messages from God. He lived about 850 years before Jesus was born. God took Elijah up to his home while he was still alive. We can read about him in 1 Kings. 


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Moses and Elijah <i>looked</i> very great and beautiful. They talked with Jesus about how he would soon die in Jerusalem. This was how God wanted him to leave this world.


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While this was happening, Peter was very, very tired. And those that were with him were very, very tired too. Then they really woke up and they saw Jesus. He <i>looked</i> very great and beautiful. They also saw the two men that were standing near to him. 


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Then the two men began to leave. So, Peter spoke to Jesus. ‘Teacher’, he said, ‘it is very good that we are here. We should build three huts. One hut will be for you, one hut for Moses and one hut for Elijah.’ He did not really know what he was saying. <n>Peter wanted these important men to remain on the mountain. That is why he wanted to build the huts. This would not have been the right thing to do. 


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While Peter was speaking, a cloud appeared. And it covered them all. When the shadow covered them, they were afraid. 


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Then they heard a voice from the cloud. ‘This is my Son’, the voice said. ‘I have chosen him. So listen to him.’


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The voice stopped speaking. Then the three men saw that they were alone with Jesus. They did not tell anyone at this time about what they had seen. <n>Jesus makes a boy well</n>


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The next day, Jesus and the three men that were with him came down from the mountain. A large crowd met him. 


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Then a man from the crowd shouted to him. ‘Teacher, please, I ask you to be kind to my son. He is my only child. 


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Sometimes a bad <i>spirit</i> quickly takes hold of him and he screams. The <i>spirit</i> throws his body first one way then another and <i>foam</i> comes out of his mouth. When the <i>spirit</i> leaves him in the end, it has always hurt him. 


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‘You people today do not believe in God’, Jesus said to the crowd. ‘You have turned away from him. I have already been with you a long time. But you still do not believe in him. It is difficult to be patient with you.’ Then he spoke to the man. ‘Bring your son here.’


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While the boy was coming, the bad <i>spirit</i> threw him to the ground. It pulled the boy first one way and then the other. ‘Stop!’ Jesus said to it. He then made the boy well and he gave him back to his father.


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Everybody was very surprised at what they saw. They knew that God was very powerful. <n>Jesus speaks again about his death</n> <n>The people were still thinking about everything that Jesus was doing. Then he began to talk to those that always followed him. 


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‘Be careful. And do not forget what I am telling you. People will give the <i>Son of Man</i> to powerful men to kill him.’ 


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But they did not understand what he had said. It was still a secret, so they could not understand his words. But they were afraid to ask him, ‘What do you mean?’ <n>Who will be the most important?</n>


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Then those that followed Jesus began to argue with each other. ‘Which of us is the most important?’ ‘I am’, they were each saying. 


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Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he picked up a small child. He made the child stand at one side of him. 


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‘If someone accepts this child because of me’, he said, ‘he accepts me. And he also accepts him who sent me. After all, the person who makes himself the least important is really the greatest.’ <n>Jesus’ friends were thinking that a child was not important. Jesus showed them that a child is important to God. The way that they receive a child shows if they understand this. We should not think that we are more important than other people. 


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‘Teacher’, John then said, ‘we saw a man. He was speaking to people that had bad <i>spirits</i> in them. “Jesus says that you must come out”, he was saying. We told the man that he must not do this. We said that because he is not in our group.’


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‘Do not try to stop him’, Jesus said to him. ‘If someone is not against you, he is working with you.’ <n>People in a village in Samaria do not accept Jesus</n>


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Time was passing and soon Jesus would go back to God. He knew this, so he began to go to Jerusalem. 


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He arrived near a village in the country of Samaria. Then he sent some people to the village with a message. They went to ask for a place to stay for the night. 


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But the people in the village would not let him stay there. This was because he was going to Jerusalem. <n>The people in Samaria did not like <i>Jews</i> to stay in their village. 


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Then James and John heard about what had happened. ‘Jesus’, they asked, ‘do you want us to ask God to send fire down from the sky? Do you want us to kill these people?’


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When they continued on their journey, a man spoke to Jesus. ‘I will follow you. And I will go where you go.’


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‘Wild animals’, he replied, ‘have a place to sleep. Wild birds also have their own places to live. But I, the <i>Son of Man</i>, have no regular place to lie down and rest.’


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‘Come with me!’ Jesus then said to another man. ‘First’, he replied, ‘let me go home and bury my father. Then I will come with you.’


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‘No!’ said Jesus, ‘let dead people bury their own dead people. You go. And tell other people about how God rules.’ <n>The man wanted to wait until his father had died. Then he would follow Jesus. Jesus did not agree. He called people that did not obey him ‘dead’. Those people could bury someone that had died. Jesus needed people now to tell the good news about how God rules. 


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‘Sir’, said another man, ‘I will come with you. But please let me first go to say goodbye to my family.’


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‘A man that ploughs a field must continue to look in front of him’, replied Jesus. ‘If he looks behind him, he cannot plough well. You are like a man that wants to look behind him. People like that cannot show other people how God really rules.’


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After this, Jesus sent out another 72 men that always followed him. He sent them on in front of him in pairs. They went to every town and village that he would visit soon. 


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‘Many people are wanting to believe God’s message’, he said to them before they went. ‘They are like a field with many plants with <i>ripe</i> seeds. But there are very few workers to bring in the <i>ripe</i> seeds. So, you must pray to God to send out workers. They will go and tell his message.’ <n>Jesus is using a picture to tell those that he was sending out about their job. Many people in the towns and villages are like the <i>ripe</i> seeds. They are ready to hear about how God rules. When they hear, they will believe in him. Then they will want him to rule their lives. There are not many people ready to go out and tell the good news about Jesus. We should ask God to send more. 


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‘I am sending you out’, Jesus went on to say. ‘So go! But listen! You will be like young sheep among wild animals. 


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Do not carry a purse or bag. Do not take extra shoes. When you meet other people on the road, do not waste time in long conversations.’ <n>Jesus is telling them that their journey would be dangerous. God will give them everything that they need. They must believe that. And they must hurry. 


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Someone in the house may believe what you say. If he does, it will be well with him. But if nobody accepts your kind words, take them back. 


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While you are in the town, you should stay in the same house. Accept the food and drink that the people in the house give to you. This is for the work that you are doing. Do not go from one house to another to get food. 


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Make the sick people well in that town. Give this message to all the people there: “We bring the news that God wants to rule in your lives now.” 


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Sometimes when you go into a town, the people will not accept you. You should then go into the streets of that town and you should say to the people, 


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“There is dirt from your town on our feet. We will clean it off to show that you have not accepted the message from God. Listen! God wants to rule in your lives, but you have refused him.” 


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One day God will <i>judge</i> everyone. At that time, he really will <i>punish</i> the people from that town. Yes, he will <i>punish</i> them more than the people that lived in Sodom.’ <n>We can read about the city called Sodom in Genesis, chapters 18 and 19. <n>Some towns where people did not believe</n>


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‘It will be bad for you, people of Chorazin’, Jesus went on to say. ‘It will be bad for you, people of Bethsaida. I have done great things in your cities. If I had done such great things in Tyre and Sidon, the people there would have listened to me long ago. They would then have put on clothes made from the hair of a goat. They would also have put ash on their heads. This would show God that they were sorry. They would have stopped doing bad things and they would have started to obey him. 


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Yes, when God <i>judges</i> everyone, he will <i>punish</i> the people of Tyre and Sidon. But he will <i>punish</i> more the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida.


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And the people in Capernaum, they try to lift themselves up to God’s place. But he will throw them down to <i>hell</i>!’ <n>One day, God will <i>punish</i> those that do wrong things. Jesus was telling this to those that followed him. God will <i>punish</i> some people more than other people. He will <i>punish</i> the people in Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum more than the people in Sodom. The people in Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum had heard Jesus speak and they had seen his power. But they did not believe him. The people in Sodom had never seen Jesus or heard his message. God will <i>punish</i> those people. But he will <i>punish</i> those people who refuse his message more. 


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‘The person that listens to you, listens to me’, Jesus told those that he was sending out. ‘The person that does not accept you does not accept me. And the person that does not accept me also does not accept someone else. He does not accept him who sent me.’ <n>The 72 men return</n>


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Later, the 72 men that Jesus sent out returned to him. They were very happy. ‘Master’, they said, ‘even bad <i>spirits</i> obey us. We use your name and we say, “Leave!” Then they leave.’


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‘I was watching and I saw the <i>devil</i> fall’, replied Jesus. ‘He fell very fast, like <i>lightning</i> from the sky. 


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Listen! I have given authority and power to you. You will even stand on dangerous snakes and insects and you will have authority over all the power of the <i>devil</i>. Nothing will hurt you. 


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But do not be happy just because you have authority over bad <i>spirits</i>. Your names are in the book where God is. That is why you should be happy.’ <n>Jesus is very happy</n>


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At this moment, the <i>Holy Spirit</i> made Jesus very happy. ‘Father’, he said, ‘you rule all things above and on the earth! I thank you for this. You have taught people that do not know many things. Now they can understand this. But you have hidden all these things from other people. They think that they understand everything. And they think that they are <i>wise</i>. Yes, Father, this is how you chose it to happen.’


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‘My Father has given me all things’, he then said. ‘Only the Father knows who I am. Nobody else really knows that I am the <i>Son of God</i>. Only I know who the Father is. Nobody else knows, except those people that I choose to tell.’


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Then he turned. And he spoke only to those that always followed him. ‘Be happy! God has helped you to see the things that you see. 


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Listen! There have been many rulers. Many men have received messages from God. Those people all wanted to see the things that you are seeing. But they did not see them. They wanted to hear what you are hearing. But they did not hear it.’ <n>This is a picture story about a good man from Samaria</n>


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A man that taught God’s rules then stood up. He wanted to show that Jesus really did not know the rules well. So he asked a question. ‘Teacher, what must I do to live for all time?’


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‘It says that we should <i>love</i> the <i>Lord</i> our God’, he replied. ‘We should <i>love</i> him very much, with every part of our body and of our mind. We should also love people that live near to us. We should love them as much as we love ourselves.’


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But the man wanted to show that he had been right to ask a question. So he asked, ‘Who are the people near to me that I must love?’


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Jesus answered by telling a picture story. ‘A man was going down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho town. On the way, some men attacked him. They took away all his clothes and they hit him with sticks. He was almost dead when they left him. 


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But it happened that a <i>priest</i> was going down that road. He saw the man, who was lying there. But he walked past him on the other side of the road. 


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A <i>Levite</i> was also going down the road. He came to the place where the man was lying. He saw him. But he also walked past on the other side of the road.’ <n>A Levite was a man from the <i>family</i> of Levi. Levi was one of the sons of Jacob. We can read about this <i>family</i> in Exodus and Leviticus, and in 1 Chronicles 23:28-32. Levites worked in the <i>Great House of God</i>, but they were not <i>priests</i>. 


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‘But a man from Samaria was also travelling along the road. And he came to the place where the man was lying. When he saw him, he felt very sorry for him. 


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He went across to him. He poured oil and <i>wine</i> on the places where he was bleeding. Then he tied those places with clean cloths. After that, he put the man on his own animal. They arrived at a small hotel. He took him in and he was kind to him.’ <n>The <i>Jews</i> did not like people from Samaria. Jesus told this story to show them that they must love everyone. It was not important what country they came from. <n>The man from Samaria poured <i>oil</i> on to the man’s body to make the pain less. He poured the <i>wine</i> on the parts of his body that were bleeding to clean them. 


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‘The next day, the man from Samaria took out two <i>silver</i> coins from his purse. He gave the money to the man that was taking <n>care</i> of the hotel. “Be kind to this man for me”, he said. “I will return. This money may not be enough. I will pay you for any more that you have spent on him.” ’ <n>A man would pay another man two <i>silver</i> coins if he worked for two days. This money would pay for the man to stay at the hotel for two months. 


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Then Jesus asked the man that taught God’s rules a question. ‘Three men passed the man that was lying on the road. Which of them showed love to him?’


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‘It was the man that was kind to him’, he answered. <n>Then Jesus said to him, ‘Yes, you are right. So go and do the same for other people.’ <n>Jesus visits the home of Martha and Mary</n>


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Jesus and those that always followed him continued their journey. They arrived at a certain village. There, a woman called Martha asked Jesus to come into her house. 


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This woman had a sister called Mary. Mary sat down near Jesus. She was listening to the things that he was teaching. 


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But Martha was thinking to herself, ‘I cannot do all this work alone.’ So she came to Jesus. ‘Master’, she said, ‘my sister is not helping me with the work. She has left me to do it alone. You cannot really believe that this is right! Say to her that she must help me!’


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But only one thing is really important. And Mary has chosen it. Nobody will take it away from her.’ <n>Mary and Martha lived in a village called Bethany. It is about 3 kilometres (2 miles) from Jerusalem. Jesus was telling Martha about what was most important. It was important to listen to Jesus. It was not so important to do a lot of work in the house. 


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One day, Jesus was praying in a certain place. He finished praying. Then, one of those that always followed him came to him. ‘Master’, he said, ‘John taught those that followed him how to pray. Please teach us as he did.’


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‘When you pray’, he replied, ‘you should say this: <n>“Father, we want all people to know that you are good and important. <n>You will rule everyone one day. We pray that that day will come soon.


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<i>Forgive</i> us for all the wrong things that we have done. <n>After all, we also <i>forgive</i> everyone that has done wrong things to us. <n>Do not let us agree to do wrong things.” ’


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He then told a picture story to teach them how to pray. ‘Let me tell you about someone that goes to a friend at midnight. “My friend”, he says, “please give me three loaves of bread. 


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Another friend of mine is on a journey and he has arrived at my house. But I have no food to give him.” 


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But his friend answers from inside his house. “Do not cause problems for me! I have locked my door. My children and I have gone to bed. So, I cannot get up and give you any bread.” 


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I will tell you what will happen. Perhaps the friend will not give him anything because they are good friends. But if he continues to knock, he will get up. If he continues to ask for bread, his friend will give him bread. He will give him everything that he asks for.


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So I tell you this. Continue to ask for what you need. And you will receive it. Continue to look for what you need. And then you will find it. Continue to knock at the door and God will open it for you. 


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After all, everyone that asks for something will receive it. Everyone that looks for something will find it. God will open the door for everyone that knocks on it. 


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You are bad. But you know how to give good things to your children. And your Father above knows much better than you do how to give good things. So he will send the <i>Holy Spirit</i> to those people that ask him.’ <n>Jesus is telling us that we must pray. We must continue to pray, and then God will listen to us. He will give us the good things that we ask for. The most important thing to ask for is the gift of his <i>Holy Spirit</i>. He sends him to those that ask. <n>Jesus teaches the people about the <i>devil</i></n>


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One day, Jesus was <i>ordering</i> a bad <i>spirit</i> to come out of a man. Because of the bad <i>spirit</i>, the man could not speak. But after it had gone out of him, the man could speak. All the people that were watching were surprised at this. 


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But some people in the crowd were not happy with Jesus. ‘Yes, this man can cause bad <i>spirits</i> to come out from people’, they said. ‘But the <i>devil</i> works with him, because the <i>devil</i> rules all the bad <i>spirits</i>.’


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Some other people in the crowd did not believe in Jesus. They wanted to show that his power was not from God. ‘Do something powerful’, they were saying. ‘If you do, we will believe. We will believe that God has sent you.’ <n>Jesus only used the power that he had from God to help people. He only did something special when his Father asked him to. He would not use it to cause people to believe in him. He had already done many powerful works. But they chose not to believe that he was the <i>Messiah</i>. In verse 15, the people used the name Beelzebul when they spoke about the <i>devil</i>. This is another name for the devil. 


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But Jesus knew what those people were wanting. ‘If groups of people in a country fight each other’, he said to them, ‘they will destroy their own country. If people in one family fight with each other, they will destroy their family. 


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The <i>devil</i> is the same. The people who obey him must not fight each other. If they do, he will soon not have anybody to rule. But you say that the <i>devil</i> helps me to send bad <i>spirits</i> out of people. If this were true, the <i>devil</i> would be fighting himself. He would soon not have anybody to rule. 


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You say that the <i>devil</i> helps me to cause bad <i>spirits</i> to leave. But some men obey what you teach. And they also cause bad spirits to leave. So think about who helps them to do that. That shows that you are wrong. 


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So when I cause bad <i>spirits</i> to leave people, I use the power of God. This shows that God is ruling among you.


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When a strong man has all his arms for war, he can take <n>care</i> of his own house. Nothing bad will happen to his things inside the house. 


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But someone may come that is stronger than he. Then the stronger man attacks him and beats him. The stronger person then takes away all his arms for war. These arms had made him feel safe. The stronger man will also give away all the things that he had taken.’ <n>The strong person is the <i>devil</i>. The stronger person that comes is Jesus. He fought the <i>devil</i> and he beat him. When he <i>orders</i> bad <i>spirits</i> to leave people, they do. This shows that he is stronger than the <i>devil</i>. So it was wrong to think that the <i>devil</i> was helping him. 


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‘If someone is not helping me, he is against me. If a person is not working with me to bring people together, he is causing them to run away from me.’ <n>People are either helping Jesus, or they are helping the <i>devil</i>. They are helping the <i>devil</i> if they do nothing to help Jesus. 


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‘When a bad <i>spirit</i> goes out of a person, it travels through dry places. It goes to look for a new place to live. If it does not find anywhere, it says to itself, “I will return to the house where I lived before.” 


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It goes back to that house. But it finds that it is clean. Everything inside is in the right place. 


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So it goes out and it brings back 7 worse <i>spirits</i>. They all go into the house and they live there. Now the man is worse than he was at the beginning.’ <n>When the <i>Jewish</i> leaders <i>ordered</i> a bad <i>spirit</i> to leave a person, it often came out. But later it went back to live inside the person again. Because the <i>Holy Spirit</i> did not fill him, there was room for bad <i>spirits</i> to come in. 


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While Jesus was saying this, a woman in the crowd shouted out. ‘How happy is the woman that gave birth to you! How happy is the woman that fed you from her breasts!’


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‘How happy, rather’, he replied, ‘are the people that hear the message from God. That is if they obey it.’ <n>Jesus talks about Jonah</n>


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The crowd round Jesus was growing larger, so he began to speak to them. ‘The people that are alive today are very bad. They want God to show them some powerful work. But God will not show them anything. They will only see the same powerful thing that happened to Jonah. 


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Something happened to him. It showed the people in Nineveh that God had sent him. The same thing will happen to me, the <i>Son of Man</i>. I will be like Jonah to the people that are living today. Then they will know that God sent me.’ <n>We can read about Jonah in the book called ‘Jonah’. God sent him to a town called Nineveh. He told the people in the town that they must stop doing bad things. He had been inside a big fish for three days. They could see that God had made him alive again. Jesus also would become alive again, three days after he died. 


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‘Many years ago’, Jesus then said, ‘the queen of a country in the south travelled a long way to see King Solomon. She went to listen to the <i>wise</i> ideas that he taught. Listen! There is someone here today that is greater than Solomon. But you will not listen to him. So, when God <i>judges</i> all people, that queen will stand in front of him. And she will speak against the men that are alive today. After all, she travelled a long way to hear the <i>wise</i> ideas of Solomon.’ <n>We can read about this queen in 1 Kings 10:1-10. The Queen of Sheba came to visit Solomon. He was a <i>wise</i> and important king. 


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‘Jonah is the same. When he spoke to the people in Nineveh, they stopped doing bad things. And they obeyed God. Listen! There is someone here today that is greater than Jonah. But you will not obey him. God will <i>judge</i> all people. Then those men that lived in Nineveh will stand in front of him. They will also speak against the people that are alive today. After all, when Jonah spoke to the people in Nineveh, they stopped doing bad things. And they obeyed God.’ <n>Jesus talks about being full of light</n>


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‘When someone lights a <i>lamp</i>, he does not hide it. Nor does he put a pot over it. Instead, he puts it in a high place, so that people will see the light. They will see it when they come in. 


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Your eyes are like a <i>lamp</i>, and your body is like a room. If a <i>lamp</i> is clean, the whole room has light. But if it is dirty, the whole room is in the dark. 


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So, be sure that your eyes are not like a dirty <i>lamp</i>. If they are, you will be bad, like a dark room. 


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So, your eyes should be like a clean <i>lamp</i>. There will be nothing bad in you. You will be like a room that is full of light.’ <n>If a person lets Jesus rule his life, there will be nothing dark or hidden. Those that do not believe the messages of Jesus are like a person in the dark. 


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While Jesus was speaking, a <i>Pharisee</i> asked him to eat a meal with him. So, he went to his house and he sat down at the table. 


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So the <i>Lord</i> Jesus spoke to him. ‘You <i>Pharisees</i> are like someone that only cleans the outside of a cup and plate. You only clean the part that people can see. But inside, your mind is full of very bad thoughts. You think about taking valuable things from other people. 


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What fools you are! The God that made the outside of you also made the inside. He sees everything inside you. 


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So give to poor people with good thoughts. So then God will say that everything inside and outside of you is clean.’ <n>Jesus was speaking about the things about a person that everybody can see. And he was speaking about the things that other people cannot see. The <i>Pharisees</i> thought about the part that other people could see. But God sees the reason why we do things. 


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‘You <i>Pharisees</i> give to God one tenth of the little plants that have a nice smell. You also give him one tenth of the little plants that cause food to taste nice. You are right to give them. But trouble will happen to you, because you do not also do the most important things. You do not <i>love God</i>. And you do not do what is right. You should do these. And you should also give him a tenth of what you grow.


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Trouble will happen to you <i>Pharisees</i>, because you like to have the best seats in the meeting place. And people speak to you in the market place as they speak to an important person. You like that too.


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Yes, you want to seem good but you are not. So trouble will happen to you. Sometimes, when people bury a dead body, they do not put a mark there. Because of that, other people walk on that ground. You are like that ground. You seem good but, inside, you are not.’ <n>The <i>Jews</i> put a mark at the place where they had buried a dead person. They put white paint on it. They did this so that people would see it. So then they would not touch it. If they did touch it, they would stop being <i>clean</i>. God’s rules told them what they should do to be <i>clean</i> again. Jesus was saying that people might copy the <i>Pharisees</i>. If they did, they also would not be <i>clean</i>. 


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Then one of those that taught God’s rules spoke out. ‘Teacher’, he said, ‘when you say these things, you are also saying bad things about us.’


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‘Trouble will also happen to you that teach God’s rules’, Jesus replied. ‘You give rules to people to obey. They are like things that are too heavy to carry. You put them on their backs, but you do not help them to carry them. Not even with one finger do you help them!’ <n>These heavy things were all the rules that the teachers had made. The people tried to obey all these rules, but it was too difficult for them. The teachers did not show the people how to obey the rules. 


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‘Yes, trouble will happen to you that teach God’s rules! A long time ago, your <i>fathers</i> killed the men that spoke for God. Now, you build up beautiful stones to remember the place where they buried them. 


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You know that your <i>fathers</i> killed these men. You build up these stones. So you show that you agree with your fathers. You agree with what they did. 


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God is <i>wise</i>. That is the reason that he said, “I will send men that I choose. I will also send other men that receive messages from me. They will speak my messages. But people will kill some of them. They will do bad things to some of them.” 


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People have killed those that speak for God since the beginning of the world. But he will <i>punish</i> the people alive today for all those murders. 


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Abel was the first to die and Zechariah was the last. They killed him between the <i>Great House of God</i> and God’s special table. The <i>priests</i> kill and burn animals as a gift to God on that special table. Yes, God will <i>punish</i> the people who are living today for all those murders.


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Trouble will happen to you that teach God’s rules. You have not taught other people to understand the messages from God. They wanted to find out what is true. You yourselves have not found out. And you have also stopped the people that wanted to know. So they could not find out.’


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Then Jesus left that place. The <i>Pharisees</i> and those that taught God’s rules started to be very much against him. They were asking him many difficult questions. 


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They were trying to cause him to say something wrong. They were waiting to take hold of him if he did.


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While all this was happening, many thousands of people were present. There were so many people that they were almost walking over each other. Jesus began to talk first to those that always followed him. ‘Do not become like the <i>Pharisees</i>. They want other people to think that they are good. But they are not. They are like <i>yeast</i> that causes bread to grow.’ <n>People put <i>yeast</i> and water into flour to make bread. The <i>yeast</i> grows in the bread and it causes it to rise. It only needs a little bit of <i>yeast</i> to cause a whole loaf to rise. People copied what the <i>Pharisees</i> did. So it was like <i>yeast</i> that was growing. One bad person can cause many other people to do wrong things. 


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‘People do things secretly, but everybody will know about those things. And people say things secretly, but everybody will know about those things. 


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You have said things in the dark of the night. But people will hear those things in the light of day. You have said things into someone’s ear behind a door that you have shut. But people will shout out all those things from the tops of the houses.


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You are my friends, so I tell you this. Do not be afraid of those people that can kill your body. After that, they can do nothing worse to you. 


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I tell you that you should be afraid of God. He has the power to kill and to throw people into <i>hell</i>. Once more I am telling you, be afraid of him.


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People sell 5 small birds for 2 coins of little value. But each little bird is valuable to God. He takes <n>care</i> of them all. 


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He does the same for you. He even knows how many hairs there are on your head. So, do not be afraid of people. You are of more value to God than very many small birds.


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I also say this to you. Say to other people, “I obey Jesus.” If you do, I, the <i>Son of Man</i>, will say to the <i>angels</i> of God, “That person is someone that obeys me.” 


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But another person who knows me will say, “I do not know Jesus. I do not obey him.” If he does, I will say to the <i>angels</i> of God, “I do not know this person. He does not obey me.”


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Somebody may speak against the <i>Son of Man</i>, and God will <i>forgive</i> him. But somebody may speak against the <i>Holy Spirit</i>. And he may say that the Holy Spirit is bad. God will never <i>forgive</i> that person.’ <n>Jesus will <i>forgive</i> people that speak against him. They must say that they are sorry. And they must stop speaking in that <i>way</i>. The <i>Holy Spirit</i> shows them that they have spoken badly about Jesus. But some people will not listen to the <i>Holy Spirit</i> and they will speak against him. There is no <i>way</i> for God to <i>forgive</i> those people. 


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‘People will take you into places for meetings. They will cause you to stand in front of rulers and other people that have authority. These men will ask you questions. But do not be afraid of them. Do not think, “I do not know how to answer them.” 


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When the time comes, the <i>Holy Spirit</i> will teach you. He will tell you what to say.’ <n>Jesus tells a picture story about a rich fool</n>


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Someone in the crowd spoke to Jesus. ‘Teacher’, he said, ‘I have a problem with my brother. Our father died. <i>Tell</i> my brother to give me my part of what our father left us.’


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‘It is not my job to say which of you is right or wrong’, he replied. ‘And it is not my job to say what each of you should have.’ 


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Then he spoke to all the people. ‘Think well and be very careful! Do not want more than you need. The life of a person is worth more than the things that he has. Even if he is very rich, that is still true.’ <n>When a man died, the older son received twice as much as his younger brother. People were often not happy with this. The ruler in the meeting place sometimes talked with people to decide what was right. It was not right for Jesus to do this. 


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He then told them a picture story. ‘A man had some very good ground, where he planted seeds. The plants grew very well. And he had much more than he planted. 


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He thought about how much he would soon have. “I have nowhere to store all the seeds from my plants”, he said to himself. 


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But then he decided what to do. “I will pull down the building”, he said to himself, “where I now store my seed. Then I will build a bigger building to store it all. There I will also keep everything else that is mine. 


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Then I will say to myself: <n>You have plenty of things stored away. These will be enough for you for many years. Now you can live an easy life. Eat and drink. Enjoy yourself.”


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But God said to the man, “You are a fool. Tonight you will die. You will have to leave everything behind. Think about all your things that you have stored away. Think about what will happen to them. Think about who will have them.” ’


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‘Some people think only about having many things for themselves’, Jesus went on to say. ‘That picture story is for those people. But God says about them, “They have nothing of value at all.” ’ <n>Do not have troubles in your mind</n>


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‘So I tell you that you should not be always thinking about things’, Jesus then said to those that always followed him. ‘Do not be always thinking about the food that you need to stay alive. Nor be always thinking about the clothes that you need to wear. 


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After all, your life is more important than your food. Your body is more important than your clothes.


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Think about the birds. They do not plant seeds in the ground, nor cut down plants to eat. They have no buildings to store food. But they do not go hungry. God gives them food. You are of much more value than the birds.


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Your life is the same. Even if you are always thinking about your life, you cannot make it any longer. 


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No, you cannot do a small thing like that. So, do not always be thinking about the things that you need. 


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Think about how the wild flowers grow. They do not work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you this about them. It is true that King Solomon wore very beautiful clothes. But even one wild flower is more beautiful than he was. 


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It is God that gives beautiful clothes to wild flowers and grass. And they are alive in the field for a very short time. After that, people burn them. Yes, God gives clothes to those flowers, so he will do much more for you. He will give you all that you need. You do not yet believe in him very well.’ <n>People burned dry grass and wild flowers to cook food. 


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People that do not know God are always thinking about these things. That is true. But your Father, God, knows that you need them. 


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Instead, always be thinking about the things that are important to him. Let him rule you. So then he will also give you the things that you need. 


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Yes, you are only a small group of people, but do not be afraid. After all, your Father, God, has chosen you to rule with him. 


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Sell what you have and give the money to poor people. Do good things. So you will have things of great value when you live in God’s home. There your things will never become old. Their value will never decrease. Nor can anyone take them from you. No insect can destroy them there. 


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After all, you will want to be in the same place as the things that are of value to you.’ <n>If something is of value to you, you think about it all the time. Valuable things in this world may wear out. People may take them from you. Insects may destroy them. It is better to have stored valuable things where God is. They will be safe there. We should do what Jesus says. So then we will have valuable things where God lives. <n>Be ready for Jesus to return</n>


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‘Always be ready for my return. Be like those that are ready to start work. They have put on their clothes so that they are ready for work. And they have lit their <i>lamps</i>.


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You must be like servants that are waiting for their master to arrive. When he returns home from the marriage party, he will knock on the door. His servants should be ready to open it for him immediately. 


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Those servants will be very happy if their master finds them awake. If he does, he will do this. He will tie his belt so that his clothes are short. He will say to them, “Sit at the table. I will come and I will give you some food.” ’ <n>In those days, everybody wore long clothes. To be ready to work, they pulled up the lowest part of their skirt. They then fastened it to their belt, so that they could move easily. 


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‘The master may arrive in the middle of the night. He may even arrive just before the sun rises. But, if the master finds them awake and ready, the servants will be happy.


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You must also understand this. The master of a house does not know when a robber will try to get in to his house. If he knew, he would keep awake. He would not let the robber come in and take away his things.


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You also must be ready. The <i>Son of Man</i> will come at a time when you are not thinking, “He will come now.” ’ <n>A robber takes things from someone, when that person is not watching. Jesus is telling those that obey him to be ready for his return. Nobody knows when that will be. <n>Be a good servant</n>


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Peter then asked Jesus. ‘Master, are you only talking to us that follow you? Or is this picture story for everyone to hear?’


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‘Be <i>wise</i>. And be a man that the master can <i>trust</i>’, said Jesus. ‘The master will choose a man like that. He will say to him, “I want you to rule my house and the other servants. Give them food at the right time.” 


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This servant will be very happy when his master comes home. His master sees that he has done everything well. So he is happy. 


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I will tell you what will happen. The master will let the servant rule over everything that he has. 


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But perhaps the servant says to himself, “My master will not come yet.” So, he begins to hit the other servants. He hits both the men and the women. He eats too much. He also drinks too much and he becomes a drunk.


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The master of that servant will come home and he will surprise the servant. He did not think that his master would come home on that day or at that time. Then the master will <i>punish</i> him a lot. He will put the servant with those people that do not obey him.


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A servant may know what his master wants him to do. He should get ready and obey. If he does not, his master will <i>punish</i> him. He will hit him a lot. 


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But another servant perhaps did not know what his master wanted him to do. So he did the wrong things. The master will hit him because he did the wrong things. But he will not hit him as much. He did not know that those things were wrong. If masters give much to their servants, they will want a lot in return. And God wants much from the person to whom he has given much.


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I have a <i>baptism</i> of pain to receive. I cannot rest until this has happened.’ <n>Jesus is using pictures to tell them about future events. The fire means the time when God will <i>judge</i> bad people. The <i>baptism</i> means the pain that Jesus will have. He will have this pain when he dies. 


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‘I did not come so that everyone will agree. Do not think that I came for that reason. No, that is not true. Instead, I came to make people into separate groups. 


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From now on, because of me, 5 people in a family will become 2 separate groups. 2 will be against the other 3. 3 of them will be against the other 2. 


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The father will be against his son and the son will be against his father. The mother will be against her daughter and the daughter will be against her mother. The mother will be against her son’s wife. And the son’s wife will be against his mother.’ <n>Some people in a family will obey God. Some will not. Some people will not like those that obey Jesus. 


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‘You see a cloud that is rising in the west’, Jesus then said to the crowd. ‘Immediately you say, “It will rain.” And the rain does come. 


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Sometimes you know that the south wind is blowing. So you say, “It will be very hot weather.” And the hot weather does come. 


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You want other people to think that you understand many things. So, you look at the earth and the sky. And you say what weather will come. Yes, you know how to do that. So look at the things that are happening near you now. They show you what will soon happen. But you do not understand what they are showing you. And you should know it.’ <n>The things that were happening were showing something. They showed that Jesus was the <i>Messiah</i>. He would soon die. 


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After all, something like this may happen to you: Someone says, “You have a debt and you have done something wrong.” So he takes you to the <i>judge</i>. Before you arrive at the office of the <i>judge</i>, try to agree with this man. If you do not agree together about the matter, it may be bad for you. He will say to the <i>judge</i>, “This man has not paid me back my money.” So the <i>judge</i> will say to his officer that he should put you in prison. 


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I tell you what will happen then. You will not leave there until you have paid back all the debt.’ <n>A <i>judge</i> listens to what people say against each other. He then decides who is right or wrong. Jesus is telling the people that everyone is in debt to God. They do not obey him as they should. Jesus says that we should agree with God now. And we should do something about our debt. If we do not, God will be our <i>judge</i>. He will <i>punish</i> us when we stand in front of him. 


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At that time, some people were standing near to Jesus. They told him what happened to some people from Galilee. They were burning animals as a gift for God. Pilate sent some soldiers to kill them. <n>Pilate was the head of the <i>Roman</i> government in Jerusalem. 


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‘So think about these people from Galilee’, Jesus replied. ‘Perhaps you think that they had done more bad things than other people from Galilee. And so that is why they had to die. 


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No, they were not worse than other people. All of you have also done many bad things. So, you must turn away from all bad things and you must turn to God. If you do not, I tell you this. You will also die as they did.


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And you remember what happened to those 18 people in Siloam. A high building fell and it killed them. Perhaps you think that they had done more bad things than the other people in Jerusalem. 


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No, they had not. All of you have also done many bad things. So, you must turn away from all bad things and you must turn to God. If you do not, I tell you this. You will also die as they did.’ <n>Jesus tells a picture story about a <i>fig</i> tree</n>


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Then he told this story. ‘A man had a garden where he grew fruit. He had planted a <i>fig</i> tree there. But when he came to look for fruit, he could not find any.


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“Look”, he then said to his gardener, “For three years, I have come to look for fruit on this tree. But I have never found any. So cut the tree down! I do not think that it should be here. It is wasting the ground.”


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“Master”, the gardener replied, “leave the tree in the ground for one more year. Let me dig round it and let me put some dirt from animals on it.” ’ <n>This will make the ground good to grow things. 


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‘ “If I do that, next year, the <i>fig</i> tree may have some fruit on it. If it does not, I will cut it down for you.” ’ <n>The people are like a tree that has no fruit. But God wants them to believe. And he wants them to obey Jesus. If they do that, they will be like a tree with fruit. If they refuse to believe in Jesus, they will die. <n>Jesus makes a sick woman well again</n>


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There was a woman there that had a bad <i>spirit</i> inside her. It had lived there for 18 years and it had made her ill. She had to bend her back all the time. She could not stand up straight. 


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He put his hands on her and immediately she could stand up straight. ‘How great you are!’ she said to God. ‘How good and powerful you are!’


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But the leader of the meeting house was angry. He was angry because Jesus had made a sick person well on their day for rest. So he spoke to the people. ‘There are 6 days each week when we should work’, he said to them. ‘Come on any of those days and get well. But you should not come on our rest day to get well.’


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‘You are wrong’, the <i>Lord</i> Jesus said to him. ‘You say one thing and you do something different yourselves. You each take your <i>ox</i> or your <i>donkey</i> outside on the day for rest. You then give them water to drink.’ <n>An <i>ox</i> is like a large cow. Because it is very strong, people use it to work for them. It can pull many things in a <i>cart</i>. A <i>donkey</i> is like a small horse. People also use <i>donkeys</i> to carry heavy things. They tie them up at night in a special place. 


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‘Look at this woman’, he went on to say. ‘She is in the <i>family</i> of Abraham. But it is like a bad <i>spirit</i> from the <i>devil</i> has kept her tied up for 18 years. So it is certainly right to make her <i>free</i> on our day for rest.’ 


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These words caused the leaders of the meeting place to feel ashamed of themselves. But all the people there were very happy. They were happy because they had seen Jesus do many good and powerful things. <n>Jesus tells picture stories about seeds and <i>yeast</i></n>


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it is like a very small seed. A man takes it and he plants it. He puts it in his garden and it grows. It then grows into a tree. It is so big that birds can make a place to live among the branches.’


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‘It is like <i>yeast</i>. A woman takes some and she puts it in three large bowls of flour. Then the <i>yeast</i> grows and it goes through all the flour.’ <n>This is a picture story about a narrow door</n>


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Jesus was continuing his journey to Jerusalem. On the way, he went through towns and villages. In each one, he taught the people. 


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‘Do your best to go in by the narrow door’, he said to the people. ‘I tell you that many people will want to go in. But they will not be able to get in. 


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Soon the master of the house will get up and he will shut the door. And then you may still be standing outside the door. You will knock and you will say, “Master, open the door for us to come in.” <n>“I do not know where you come from”, he will reply. “I do not know you.” 


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“But Master”, you will begin to say, “we had meals with you. You taught us in the streets of our villages.”


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“No!” he will tell you, “I do not know you. All of you have done very bad things, so go away from me.”


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Then you will cry because you are outside. You will bite on your teeth because you are in pain. You will see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the place where God rules. You will also see all the people that brought messages from God there. But God will shut you outside. 


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At that time, people will come from the east and from the west. They will also come from the north and from the south. They will all come to the place where God rules. There they will sit down together to eat a special meal. 


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At that time, some people that are now last will be first. Some people that are now first will be last.’


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At this moment, some <i>Pharisees</i> came to Jesus. ‘Go away from here’, they said to him. ‘Go somewhere else because Herod wants to kill you.’


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‘Herod is a bad man’, replied Jesus. ‘Tell him that I am still causing bad <i>spirits</i> to come out of people. I am still making sick people well again. I will continue to do all these things for a little longer. Then I will have finished my work. 


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But I need to continue my journey for a little longer. After all, only in Jerusalem do people kill those that speak messages from God.


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Oh, you poor people of Jerusalem! You kill those that speak God’s messages to you. And you throw stones to kill those that God has sent to you. Many times, I have wanted to bring all of you near to me. A female bird brings all her babies together and she covers them with her body. But you would not let me keep you from danger, as she keeps her babies. 


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So listen! The place where you live will become like a <i>desert</i>. I tell you this. One day you will say, “Happy is the man that God sends here with his authority.” But until you say that, you will not see me again.’ <n>God will leave his house in Jerusalem. He will let their enemies kill very many people in Jerusalem. This happened 40 years later when an enemy attacked them. The enemy killed very many people. 


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One <i>Jewish</i> day for rest, Jesus went into the house of a leader of the <i>Pharisees</i>. This man had asked him to come and to eat a meal with him. They were all watching him carefully. 


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A sick man came up to him. His arms and legs had become too large, because they were full of water. 


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So Jesus spoke to those that taught God’s rules. He also spoke to the <i>Pharisees</i>. ‘If we make someone well on our day for rest, are we obeying the message of God or not?’


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But they would not say anything. So, he took the sick man and he made him well again. Then he let him go away. 


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‘Think’, said Jesus. ‘You have a son or an animal that falls into a well on a day for rest. Think about what you do. You pull the animal out of the well immediately. Do you not do that even on a rest day?’


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Jesus then told a picture story to those that were sitting at the meal. He had watched how the people chose the best places to sit. <n>The best places were the seats nearest to the man that had asked them to come. The most important people sat there and they received their food first. 


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‘When someone asks you to come to a meal’, he said, ‘do not sit in the best place. After all, a man that is more important than you may come later. 


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Then this might happen if you are sitting in the best seat. The man that asked you to the meal might say to you, “Give your place to this man.” Then you will feel ashamed that you sat there. You will have to move to the lowest place and sit there. 


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Instead, when someone asks you to a meal, you should do this. Go and sit in the least important place. So the man that asked you will see you there. And he may say to you, “Friend, move up to a better place.” Everyone who is sitting at the table will see this happen to you. So they will know that you are an important person. 


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It will be the same where God rules. Some people may put themselves in an important place. God will send them all down lower. But he will send the man that puts himself in a low place to a higher one.’


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Jesus also spoke to the man that had asked him to the meal. ‘When you give a meal at midday or in the evening, do not ask your friends to come. Do not ask your brothers or your family. And do not ask the rich people that live near you. If you do, they will later ask you to eat at their house. This will pay you for the meal that you gave to them. 


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Instead, when you give a big meal, you should ask the poor people to come. Ask people that have lost an arm or a leg. And ask people that cannot walk very well. And ask people that cannot see. 


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Do this because they cannot later ask you to eat at their houses. So you will be happy because they cannot pay you for the meal. Instead, God will pay you. One day, people that have obeyed God will become alive again. On that day, God will pay you for what you did for those poor people.’ <n>Jesus tells a picture story about a big meal</n>


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The men at the table heard what Jesus said. ‘One day, there will be a big meal in the place where God rules. How happy are those people who will eat together at that big meal’, one of the men said.


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Jesus answered him by telling a story. ‘One day an important man made a big meal. He asked many people to come to eat in his house. 


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When the meal was ready, he sent his servant out to tell them. So, the servant went to those that his master had asked. “Come now”, he said. “The meal is ready for you.” 


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But each person gave a reason why he could not come to the meal. “I have bought a field”, said the first man. “So I must go out and see it. Please say that I am sorry. Tell your master why I cannot come to his meal.” 


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“I have bought 5 pairs of <i>oxen</i>”, the next man said. “So I am just going to see if they work well together. Please say that I am sorry. Tell your master why I cannot come to his meal.” 


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“I have just married”, said the third man. “That is why I cannot come to the meal.” ’ <n>This great meal is like a picture. God asks all people to come to a great meal where he rules. They should be ready when he tells them to come. The people that said ‘No’ were really saying ‘No’ to Jesus. 


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‘The servant went back to his master. He told him what everyone had said. Then the master of the house was very angry. “Go out quickly to every street in the town”, he said to his servant. “Bring the poor people here. Bring those that have lost an arm or a leg. And bring those that cannot walk well. And bring those that cannot see.” 


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The servant did that. Then he came back to his master. “Sir”, he said, “I asked all these people to come to your meal. But there are still some empty places at the table.” 


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The master spoke to his servant again. “Go out to the roads outside the town. Look for people by the side of the road. <i>Order</i> them all to come, so that my house is full. 


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But I tell you this. None of the people that I asked at the beginning will eat the meal.” ’ <n>What it will be like to obey Jesus</n>


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‘If someone wants to obey me’, he said, ‘he must live like this: He must love his own father and mother less than he loves me. He must love his wife and his children less than he loves me. He must love his brothers and sisters less than he loves me. He must even love himself less than he loves me. If he does not do that, he cannot obey me. 


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He must live like a person that will die very soon. Yes, if he is not ready to die for me, he cannot obey me. So think about what it will be like to obey me.’ <n>Jesus used this example to say how disciples should think about their lives. Disciples are those people that obey Jesus. They should say ‘No’ to everything except what Jesus wants. So then they can do what Jesus wants. 


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‘Here is an example. One of you wants to build a tall building. Before he starts to build, he will sit down. He will decide how much it will cost. He needs to know if he has enough money to finish the building. Think about it. 


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If he does not do this, he may not have enough money. He can put the lowest stones in the ground, but he cannot finish the building. If he then has to stop, other people will <i>laugh at</i> him. They will say to each other, 


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Then Jesus gave them another example. ‘A king wants to fight a war against another king. But before he goes to fight, he sits down. He thinks to himself. “Can I win this war? My army is large, but the other king has twice as many soldiers in his army. 


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No, I cannot do it. I know I cannot beat the other king.” So, while the stronger king is far away, he sends a man with a message. He tells the king that he does not want to fight. He wants to know what he can do to become a friend of the stronger king. 


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It is like that for all of you’, Jesus then said. ‘You must leave everything behind you. Only then, can you come and obey me.


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So remember this. Salt is good. But if you mix the salt with something else, it is no longer any good. You cannot cause it to taste like salt again. 


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You would not put it on your field. It cannot make the ground good. You would throw it away. You have ears. So, listen well to what I am saying.’ <n>Those that obey Jesus are like salt. If we leave everything behind us, we are of use to him. But we might love other people or things more than we love him. And if we do, we are of no use to him. 


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One day, all the people that had done many bad things were coming round Jesus. Some were people that took money on behalf of the government. They all wanted to hear what Jesus was saying. 


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The <i>Pharisees</i> and those that taught God’s rules did not like this. They thought that it was wrong for him to be friendly to people like that. ‘This man is friendly to people that have done bad things’, they said. ‘He even eats with them in their homes.’ <n>Jesus tells a picture story about a sheep that a man has lost</n>


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‘Think about a man that has a hundred sheep’, he said. ‘He may lose one of them. Think about what he does. He leaves all the other sheep in the country where nobody lives. Then he goes. And he looks for the sheep that he has lost. He looks until he finds it. 


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Then he carries it back home. He speaks to all his friends and to the people that live near him. He asks them to come to his house. “I have found the sheep that I lost”, he says. “So come here and we can all be happy together.” 


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The same happens when one person turns away from doing wrong things. This makes those that live above with God very happy. They will be happier about him, than about the many people that already obey God.’ <n>Jesus is speaking to the <i>Pharisees</i> and to those that taught God’s rules. Many of them did not want to say sorry to God. In this story, a person that was not obeying God is like the sheep. The man that went out to look for his sheep is like God. God looks for him. He wants him to turn away from doing wrong things. He is happy when the person returns to him. <n>Jesus tells a picture story about a coin that a woman has lost</n>


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‘Now think about a woman that has ten valuable coins. She may lose one of them. Think about what she does. She lights a <i>lamp</i> and she sweeps inside her house. She looks carefully until she finds the coin. 


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Then she speaks to all her friends and to those that live near to her. She asks them to come to her house. “I have found the coin that I lost”, she says. “So come here and we can all be happy together.”


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The same happens when a person turns back to God. This makes the <i>angels</i> of God very happy.’ <n>In this story, a person that was not obeying God is like the coin. The woman is like God. She is happy when she finds her coin. And God is happy when someone turns back to him. <n>Jesus tells a picture story about two sons</n>


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The younger son went to his father. “Father, please give me now my part of your things”, he said. So, the father gave both sons their part of his things. 


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After a few days, the younger son sold what his father had given to him. Then he left home. He took with him the money and everything that he had. He went on a long journey to a country far away. He wasted all his money there and he did many bad things. 


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Then after he had spent everything, something bad happened in that country. There was almost no food anywhere. So, the young man had nothing to eat. 


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He went to a man from that country and he asked for work. The man sent him into his fields to watch his pigs. 


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Then the son began to think about what he had done. “My father has many servants”, he said to himself, “and they have plenty of food to eat. They even have extra food. But I shall die here because I do not have any food. 


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So I will go to my father. ‘I have done bad things against God’, I will tell him. ‘And I have done them against you. 


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So I am not good enough for you to call me your son any longer. Instead, please accept me as one of your servants.’ ”


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So he stood up and he returned to his father. But he was still a long way from the house when his father saw him. He felt very sorry for his son and he ran towards him. Then he put his arms round him and he kissed him. 


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“Father”, the son said, “I have done bad things against God and against you. So I am not good enough for you to call me your son.” 


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But the father shouted to his servants. “Hurry!” he said. “Fetch the most beautiful coat that we have. Put it on him and put a ring on one of his fingers. Put shoes on his feet. 


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Fetch the young cow that we keep ready to eat on a special day. It is already fat. Kill it and prepare it. We shall eat a big meal and we shall be happy together. 


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I thought that this son of mine was dead. But now he has returned to me alive. I thought that he had left me for all time. But now he has come home.” Then they began to be happy together.


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While these things were happening, the older son was working in the field. On his way back to the house, he heard music. He heard people who were dancing. 


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“Your brother has returned”, the servant replied. “Your father has killed the young fat cow for him. He did this because your brother is alive and well.” 


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When he heard this, he was very angry. He would not go into the house, so his father came out. “Please come in”, he said. 


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“Listen”, replied the older son, “I have worked for you for many years. I have always obeyed you. But you never even killed a young goat for me. If you had done that, I could have been happy with my friends. We could have had a meal together. 


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But now this other son of yours has returned. He has wasted all the money that you gave to him. He has spent it on women of the streets. But you have killed the young fat cow just for him.” 


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We thought that your brother was dead. But now he has returned to us alive. We thought that he had left us for all time. But now he has come home. So we must be happy together.” ’ <n>In this story, the father is like God. He lets us do what we want. We may do many bad things, but he waits for us to come back. He waits for us to turn away from bad things. When we turn back to him, he is very happy. The older brother was like the <i>Pharisees</i>. Many of them thought that they had never done anything wrong. So, they were not happy when bad people came to Jesus. 


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Jesus then told another story to those that followed him. ‘A rich man had a servant who worked for him. The servant took <n>care</i> of the money that the man had. Then some people came to tell the rich man about his servant. They said that he was wasting his master’s things. 


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So the master sent someone to fetch his servant. “I am hearing bad stories about you”, he said. “So write down everything that you have done with my money and my things. After you have done this, you will stop working for me.”


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“I must think about what I can do”, the servant said to himself. “My master will not let me work for him any longer. I am not strong enough to dig. And I would be ashamed to ask other people for money. 


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I must stop working for my master. I know what I can do then. If I do it, people will accept me into their homes.”


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Many people had a debt that they had not paid back to the master. So, the servant asked those people to come to him. “How big is your debt to my master?” he asked the first man. 


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“I have to give him 100 <i>barrels</i> of <i>oil</i>”, he replied. “Here is the paper with your debt written down on it”, said the servant. “Take the paper. Sit down and write quickly on the paper - 50 <i>barrels</i>.” ’ <n>The man had a big debt to pay, but the servant made it only half. 


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‘ “And how big is your debt to my master?” he asked the next man. “I have to give him 100 baskets of <i>wheat</i>”, he replied. “Here is the paper with your debt written down on it. Take the paper and write on it - 80 baskets.” ’ <n>The debt was large but the servant made it smaller. 


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‘The servant was not honest. But his master spoke well about what he had done. What he had done would help him later. People that do not obey God think carefully. They know how to do well with people like themselves. People that obey God often think less carefully.


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I tell you this. People may get money in wrong ways. But you should use it to be good to those who need help. You will die, one day. Then those people will be happy to see you in that place where people live for all time.


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If you can <i>trust</i> a person with a very small thing, you can also <i>trust</i> him with bigger things. And if you cannot <i>trust</i> a person with a very small thing, you cannot <i>trust</i> him with big things. 


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So if people cannot <i>trust</i> you with money in this world, nobody will <i>trust</i> you with really valuable things. 


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And if people cannot <i>trust</i> you with other people’s things, nobody will give you things for yourself.


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A slave cannot work for two masters. If he does, he will only like one of them. He will work well for one master and he will think bad things about the other one. God and money are like masters. You cannot work for both of them.’


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The <i>Pharisees</i> heard all this. They loved money, so they <i>laughed</i> at him. ‘You are wrong’, they said to Jesus. 


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‘You like it when people look at you’, he replied. ‘You want them to think that you are good people. But God sees inside you. He knows what you are thinking. People think that it is important for other people to think well of them. But God thinks that this is wrong.’ <n>People thought that the <i>Pharisees</i> were important people. They thought that the <i>Pharisees</i> were very good people. They thought that they obeyed God. But God knew that it was not true. They wanted people to think well of them. This was more important to them. But what God thought was not important to them. 


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‘Moses wrote down the rules that God gave to him. Other men wrote down messages that the <i>Holy Spirit</i> gave to them. Those books were the only authority until John the <i>Baptist</i> began to speak. From the time when John started to tell them about it, people have also heard the good news. The good news is about how God rules. Since then, everyone is really trying to get into where God rules.


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But this does not mean that anyone can destroy God’s rules. One day, God will destroy the earth and the sky. But everything that God’s men have written in the book of rules must happen. 


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Sometimes, a man sends away his wife, and then he marries another woman. If he does this, he is very bad. And sometimes, a husband sends away his wife and she marries another man. This other man is also doing something wrong.’ <n>Jesus tells a story about a rich man and a poor man</n>


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‘At one time, there was a rich man that also had expensive clothes. Some of the clothes were <i>purple</i>. And some of them were soft and white. This man had large meals every day. 


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There was also a poor man called Lazarus. He had <i>sores</i> all over his skin. He lay at the gate of the rich man. 


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He was very hungry. He even wanted to eat the bits of food that the rich man threw away. And even the dogs came and they put their <i>tongues</i> on the <i>sores</i> on his body. 


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The poor man then died and <i>angels</i> carried him away. They put him at the side of Abraham. The rich man also died and his family buried him. 


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He went to a bad place called Hades. He was in a lot of pain there. He saw Abraham. He was far away from him. He also saw Lazarus at the side of Abraham. 


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So he shouted out, “Father Abraham, please be kind to me. Please send Lazarus to me. I am in great pain because I am in a fire. Let him put the end of his finger into some water. Let him use the water to make my mouth cool.” 


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“My child”, replied Abraham, “remember the time when you were alive on earth. Remember what happened then. You had lots of good things and Lazarus had lots of bad things. Now I am taking <n>care</i> of Lazarus, and you are in pain. 


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But that is not everything. Between you and us, there is a hole. It is wide and long and deep. There is a reason why this hole is there. Nobody can cross from here to where you are. And nobody can cross from where you are to come here.” 


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I have 5 brothers that are still alive. He can <i>tell</i> them not to do the same things as I did. So they will not also come here when they die. They will not be in great pain, as I am.”


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“They have the books that Moses wrote”, said Abraham. “They have all the messages that other men wrote. The men that heard from God wrote them. Your family should listen to them.” ’ <n>The men of God wrote down the messages that they received. An officer read these messages aloud in their meeting places. They explained them to the people. If the people listened, they could understand them. And then they could obey God. 


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‘ “No, Father Abraham”, he said, “they will not listen to the messages that Moses and the other servants of God wrote. But if someone goes to them from among the dead people, they will listen. So then they will turn away from doing wrong things. And they will turn back to God.”


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“You say that they do not believe. They do not believe what Moses and the other servants of God said. So also they will not believe someone that comes back from among the dead people.” ’ <n>Jesus came back after he had died. But many of the <i>Pharisees</i> and the other people still did not believe. 


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‘Some people will try to cause other people to do wrong things. You can be sure about that’, Jesus said to those that always followed him. ‘But God will <i>punish</i> every person that tries to do that. 


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So he must stop doing it. If not, he should ask someone to hang a big stone round his neck. Then people should throw him into the sea with the stone. So he will not cause one of these little people to do wrong things.’ <n>The little people here may be children. They may be people that do not believe strongly in Jesus. They may be those that have only just started to obey him. Jesus is not telling a person that he should kill himself. But he is <i>telling</i> us to think very seriously about the result if we cause someone else to do wrong things. 


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‘Be careful how you think. If your brother does something wrong, talk to him about it. Your brother may say, “I am sorry for what I did. I will not do it again.” If he says that, you must <i>forgive</i> him. 


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Your brother may do a bad thing to you many times in a day. He may turn to you many times and say, “I am sorry for what I did. I will not do it again.” If he does that, you must <i>forgive</i> him.’


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‘The amount that you believe in me is not even as big as a small seed’, the <i>Lord</i> replied. ‘If it was as big as that, you could say to this tree, “Pull yourself out of the ground and plant yourself in the sea.” And the tree would obey you.


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Think about this. You have a servant that is ploughing. Or you have a servant that is taking <n>care</i> of your sheep. When he comes in from his work, you would not say to him, “Sit down and eat.” 


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No, you would not say that. You would say to him, “Prepare the evening meal for me. Get yourself ready and bring the food to me. I will eat and drink first. You can eat when I have finished.” 


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Servants should do what their masters <i>order</i> them to do. Their masters do not thank them when they do that. 


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It is the same with you. The Master tells you what you should do. And you do it. “We are not <i>special</i> servants”, each of you should say to himself. “We have only done what we should do.” ’ <n>The 10 men that had <i>leprosy</i></n>


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When he was going into a village, 10 men came towards him. These men had an illness of the skin. They stopped some way away from Jesus 


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Jesus saw them standing there. ‘Go and show yourselves to the <i>priests</i>’, he answered. <n>While they were going there, they became well again. 


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Then one of these 10 men saw that Jesus had made him well. He turned back and he started to shout out, ‘God is very good. He has made me well.’ 


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He went down on his knees in front of Jesus. ‘Thank you, Master’, he said. This man was from Samaria.


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Only this one man came back to thank God, and he is from Samaria. There should be other men that came from <i>Israel</i>.’


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Then he spoke to the man. ‘Stand up again and go on your way. You believed in me, so now you are really well.’ <n>Jesus talks about the time when God will rule</n>


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Then some <i>Pharisees</i> asked Jesus a question. ‘When will God begin to rule here?’ <n>‘You will not see anything different when God begins to rule here’, Jesus replied. ‘People will not see it happen. 


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Nobody will say, “Look everyone! God is ruling here”, or “Look! God is ruling over there.” No, it is not like that. God is already ruling in the lives of his people.


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The days are coming when you will really want to see me return’, he said to those that always followed him. ‘But you will not see me. 


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At that time, people will say to you, “There he is!” or “Here he is!” But do not go out with them to look. 


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After all, when <i>lightning</i> shines, it makes the whole of the sky light. It will be like that when I return. Everyone will see me. 


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Before this happens, the people alive now will say, “We do not want Jesus to be our king. Kill him!” And I will feel much pain.’ <n>Jesus calls himself the <i>Son of Man</i> in Luke 17:22, 24 and 25. 


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‘Remember the report about the time when Noah was alive. Remember what happened then. My return will happen quickly too. 


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While Noah was making his boat, people were eating food. And they were drinking. Men and women were marrying. They continued to do all this until the day when Noah went into his boat. Then it rained for a long time and the deep water killed all the people.’ <n>We can read about Noah in Genesis, chapter 6. 


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‘The same things happened when Lot was alive. People in the city called Sodom were eating. And they were drinking. They were buying and selling things. They were planting seeds and they were building houses. 


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But then, Lot went away from Sodom. On that same day, God caused it to rain fire and burning stones from the sky. This killed all the people in Sodom. 


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On that day, this is what people must do. If they are outside their house, they must not go back inside to get their things. In the same <i>way</i>, people that are working in the fields must not return to their house. They must not go back for the things that were in the house. No, they must just run away from Jerusalem. 


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Remember what happened to Lot’s wife.’ <n>Before God destroyed Sodom, Lot and his wife ran away from the city. But she stopped running away and she looked back at the city. She became a rock made out of salt. We can read about this in Genesis, chapter 19. 


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I tell you this. At that time, two men will be sleeping in bed at night. The <i>angels</i> will take one of them and they will leave the other one behind. 


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Two women will be working together in the same place. The <i>angels</i> will take one of them and they will leave the other one behind.’


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‘Where will this happen?’ those that followed Jesus asked him. ‘If a dead body is lying somewhere, <i>vultures</i> will come together’, he said to them. <n>A <i>vulture</i> is a large bird that eats dead animals. Jesus did not give them a clear answer. Sometimes, people would see several <i>vultures</i> flying above a certain place. So they knew that there was a dead or dying animal below. The things that Jesus talked about will start to happen. Then people can know that the time is near. 


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Then Jesus told those that always followed him a picture story. It taught them that they must not get tired. But they must go on praying. 


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‘In a certain city’, he said, ‘there was a <i>judge</i>. He did not think that either God or people were important.’ <n>A <i>judge</i> is an important man. People go to see him when they have a problem. He says who is right. He says who is wrong. 


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‘A woman lived in that same city. Her husband had died. She continued to come to the <i>judge</i> with a problem. “Please keep me safe from the person that is against me”, she was saying. 


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For a time, the <i>judge</i> would not do anything for her. Later, he thought about himself. “I do not think that either God or people are important. 


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But this woman causes me trouble. If I do not do anything for her, she will continue to come to me again and again. She will make me very tired. So, I will help her. I will say that she is right.” ’


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‘This <i>judge</i> was not a good man’, Jesus said. ‘But you should think about what he said to himself. He will only help because the woman causes him trouble. 


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But God always helps those that he has chosen to be his children. When they continue to ask him for help, he will answer them immediately. He will not wait. 


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I tell you this. He will say that they are right. He will help them quickly. I shall return to earth. But I will not find many people that still believe in me then.’ <n>Jesus tells a story about two men that were praying</n>


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Jesus also told another picture story to teach people. Some people thought that they were very good. They also thought that they were better than other men.


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‘One day, two men went into the <i>Great House of God</i> to pray. One man was a <i>Pharisee</i>. The other man received money on behalf of the government. 


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The <i>Pharisee</i> stood by himself. And he prayed where other people could see him. “Thank you, God, that I am different from all these other people. They rob. They are bad. They have sex with women that they have not married. Thank you also that I am different from this man. He receives money on behalf of the government. 


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But the other man stood very far away. He would not even look up to the sky. <n>He was hitting his body with his hands to show how sorry he was. “Please, God, be kind to me”, he was saying. “I have done many bad things.” ’


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‘Let me tell you about these men when they went home’, said Jesus. ‘The man that received money on behalf of the government was now right with God. But the <i>Pharisee</i> had not made anything right with God. Some people say that they are good. God will say to them, “Go away from me. You are not good.” Other people know that they are not good. God will say to them, “Come up here. I have made you good.” ’ <n>Jesus is with little children</n>


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People were even bringing little children to Jesus. They were doing this so that he could touch the children. But those that always followed Jesus saw this. So they said to them, ‘Stop bringing all these children here.’


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Then Jesus shouted out to them. ‘Let the children come to me. Do not try to stop them. God rules in the lives of people that are like these children. 


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Let me tell you something important. You must receive God as a child does. If you do not, God will never rule in your life.’ <n>Jesus meets a rich ruler</n>


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A <i>Jewish</i> ruler came to Jesus. ‘Good teacher’, he asked, ‘what should I do so that I can live for all time?’


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You know the rules of God. Do not have sex with anyone that is not your wife. Do not kill anyone. Do not rob anyone. Only say true things about people. Love your father and your mother.’


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Jesus heard what he said. ‘You still need to do one thing’, he said. ‘You must sell everything that you have. Give the money to the poor people. So, then you will have many valuable things in the place above, where God lives. Then come back and obey me.’


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Jesus saw that the ruler had become sad. ‘It is very difficult for rich people to ask God to rule in their lives’, he said. 


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‘After all, it is difficult for a big animal to pass through the hole in a <i>needle</i>. But it is even more difficult for a rich man to ask God to rule in his life.’


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‘Let me tell you something important’, replied Jesus. ‘Some people leave their home to obey God and to let him rule in their lives. They may leave their wife, their brothers, their parents and their children. 


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These people will receive, in this life, very much more than they left. And after they die, they will have something else. They will have a life that does not have an end.’


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Jesus took the 12 men that he had chosen away from the other people. ‘Listen!’ he said. ‘We are going to Jerusalem. When we are there, many bad things will happen to me. A long time ago the servants of God wrote down messages from the <i>Holy Spirit</i>. Everything that he told them about the <i>Son of Man</i> will now happen to me. 


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This is what he said. The <i>Jews</i> will give me to those that are not <i>Jews</i>. They will <i>laugh at</i> me. They will do bad things to me. They will <i>spit</i> on me. 


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They will hit me with a <i>whip</i> and then they will kill me. But after three days, I will become alive again.’


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The 12 men that Jesus had chosen did not understand any of these things. Something hid these things from them. So they did not know what Jesus was talking about. <n>Jesus makes a man well that cannot see</n>


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When Jesus was getting near to Jericho, a man was sitting by the side of the road. This man could not see and he was asking people to give him money. 


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Then he heard a large crowd of people who were passing by him. So, he asked the people near him what was happening.


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The people that were walking in the front of the crowd tried to stop him. ‘Be quiet!’ they were saying to him. <n>But he started to shout even louder. ‘<i>Son of David</i>, please be kind to me!’


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Then Jesus stood still. ‘Bring that man to me’, he said. Then when the man came near, Jesus spoke to him.


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Immediately the man could see again. He started to follow Jesus. He was saying, ‘God, you are very great and powerful.’ <n>Many people saw what had happened. ‘God, how great and important you are’, they also said.


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There was an important man there called Zacchaeus. He took money on behalf of the government and he had become very rich. 


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He was trying to see who Jesus was. There was a big crowd there and he was a small man. So he could not see him. 


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So he ran on in front of the crowd and he climbed up a tree. He could see Jesus more easily from the tree, because he would walk along that way. 


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When Jesus came to the tree, he looked up. ‘Zacchaeus, come down quickly’, he said. ‘Today I must stay in your home.’


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The people saw what had happened. And they were not happy. ‘Jesus has gone to stay in the home of a man that does bad things’, they were saying.


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Zacchaeus then stood up in front of everyone and he spoke to the Master. ‘Listen, Master’, he said. ‘I will give half of all that I have to poor people. I have taken too much money from some people. I will give them 4 times as much as I took from them wrongly.’ <n>


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‘Today’, said Jesus to him, ‘God’s <i>salvation</i> has come to this home. After all, I came to look for people that God has lost. And I have come to save them. And Zacchaeus is also part of the <i>family</i> of Abraham.’ <n>Jesus tells a picture story about 10 servants</n>


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While the people were still listening, he told them a story. He did this because he was getting near to Jerusalem. He knew that the people had wrong thoughts. They had wrong thoughts about what would happen there. They were thinking that God would begin to rule his people immediately after that.


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‘An important man left his home and he travelled a long way to another country’, he told them. ‘There he would receive authority to rule his own country. After that, he would return as king. 


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Before he left, he asked 10 of his servants to come to him. He gave each of them 10 pounds of <i>silver</i>. “Use this money to get more money for me while I am away”, he said.’ <n>A man would receive 10 pounds of <i>silver</i> if he worked for 100 days. It was a lot of money. 


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‘The people who were living in his country did not like the man. So, they sent a group of people after him with a message. That message was: “We do not want this man to rule over us.”


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When the king returned, he asked those 10 servants to come to him. He wanted to know how much more money they had made from his money. They should have bought things with it and then they should have sold those things again for more money.


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The master was happy. “You have done well. You are a good servant that I can <i>trust</i>. You have used a small amount of money well. So you will rule over 10 cities.”


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Then another servant came. “Master”, he said, “here is your money. I put it away in a piece of cloth. 


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I did this because I was afraid of you. After all, you tell people what they should do all the time. You take things that you did not work for. You do not put seeds in the ground, but you take the plants from the fields.”


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“You are a bad servant”, the Master replied. “I will use your own words to show you that you have done the wrong thing. You said that you know about me. That I tell people what they should do all the time. That I take things that I did not work for. That I do not put seeds in the ground, but I take plants from the fields. 


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You should have put my money into the bank. When I came home, I might have had my money back again with extra.” 


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Some other servants were standing near to their master. “Take the money from this servant”, he said to them. “Give it to the servant that has 10 pounds.”


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“Let me tell you this”, the Master said. “Some people have something. To them I give more. Other people have nothing. From them I take away even the small thing that they have. 


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Now I must <i>punish</i> these other people that did not want me to rule over them. Bring them here and kill them in front of me.” ’ <n>Jesus was telling people that God gives gifts to us. We must use the gifts that he gives to us. One day we will have to tell him how we used them. Some people may not have used them. He will say that those people have done the wrong thing. <n>In the picture story, Jesus also tells them that he is going away. And he tells them that he will return. The people that do not want Jesus to rule over them now will meet him again. Jesus was telling them what would happen to those people. <n>Jesus goes into Jerusalem</n>


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And he was getting near to two villages called Bethphage and Bethany. They were at the hill called the Mount of <i>Olives</i>. So, he sent two of those that always followed him into one of the villages. <n>Bethphage and Bethany were on the east side of the hill called the Mount of <i>Olives</i>. The Mount of <i>Olives</i> is very near Jerusalem, on the east side of the city. Many <i>olive</i> trees grow on it. 


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‘Go into the village that is in front of you. When you go in, you will find a young <i>donkey</i>. Someone has tied it up there. Nobody has ridden on it before. Remove the tie and bring the donkey here to me. 


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Someone may ask, “Why are you taking the <i>donkey</i>?” If they do, tell them: “The Master needs to use it.” ’


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The two men that Jesus sent went into the village. They found everything there that Jesus had told them about. 


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While they were taking the young <i>donkey</i>, some men spoke to them. It was their <i>donkey</i>. They asked, ‘Why are you taking the young <i>donkey</i>?’ 


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They brought it to Jesus, and they put their coats on top of it. Then they helped Jesus to get on to it. 


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Jesus got near to the lowest part of the hill called the Mount of <i>Olives</i>. The whole crowd of those that followed him became very happy. ‘God, how great and powerful you are’, they were shouting out. ‘You are very powerful. Thank you for all the great things that we have seen. 


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Happy is the King that comes with the authority of God. We want all to be well in the place above where God lives. We pray that it will be. He is beautiful. He has all power and authority.’


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Some of the <i>Pharisees</i> in the crowd spoke to Jesus. ‘Teacher’, they said, ‘stop those people that are following you from saying these things.’


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‘Let me tell you this’, replied Jesus. ‘If these people were quiet, the stones of the city would shout out instead!’


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When Jesus got near to the city, he looked at it in front of him. He cried because he felt very sorry for the people in it. 


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‘You need to know what you should do, to live without trouble’, he said. ‘You need to be well with God. But now, something is hiding these things from you. 


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As a result, bad days will come to you. Your enemies will build a wall round you. They will shut you in completely, and they will not let you leave. 


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You did not understand that God had come to save you. So your enemies will kill you and they will destroy your city. They will break down your walls and they will not leave one stone in the right place.’ <n>The people did not understand that Jesus had come from God with his authority. He had come to save them. Because they did not understand this, enemies would destroy their city. This happened about 40 years later. The <i>Romans</i> destroyed Jerusalem in the year <i>AD</i> 70. <n>Jesus teaches in the <i>Great House of God</i></n>


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Jesus went into the <i>Great House of God</i>. Some people were selling things there. He began to cause them to leave. 


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‘This is what God has said in his book’, Jesus said. ‘God has said, “My house will be a place where people come to pray.” But you have made it into a place where people rob each other.’


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Jesus was teaching every day in the <i>Great House of God</i>. The leaders of the <i>priests</i> and those that taught God’s rules wanted to kill him. The leaders of the people also wanted to kill him. 


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But all the people were listening to him. They wanted to hear all that he was saying. So, the leaders did not know how to kill him.


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One day, Jesus was teaching in the <i>Great House of God</i>. He was telling people the good news about how God rules. Then the leaders of the <i>priests</i> and the teachers of God’s rules came to him. With them were some other <i>Jewish</i> leaders. 


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They all came to speak to him. ‘Tell us what authority you have to do these things’, they said. ‘Who gave you this authority?’


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John had authority to <i>baptise</i> people. Did this authority come from God or did someone else give it to him?’


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The <i>Jewish</i> leaders talked to each other about his question. ‘We could say that God gave John authority. But if we say that, Jesus will say to us, “So why did you not believe him?” 


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Or we could say that someone else gave him that authority. Then all the people would throw stones at us to kill us. After all, they are sure that John received messages from the <i>Holy Spirit</i>.’ 


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‘So, I will not tell you who gave me authority to do these things’, Jesus replied. <n>Jesus tells a picture story about farmers</n>


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Then Jesus began to tell this story to the people in the <i>Great House of God</i>. <n>‘A man planted a field with <i>vine</i> plants. He let some farmers take <n>care</i> of the plants. Then he went away to another country and he stayed there for a long time.


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When it was time to pick the fruit, the man sent a servant to the farmers. The servant said to them, “Please give me part of the fruit for my master.” <n>But the farmers hit him with sticks and they sent him away with nothing.


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The master then sent another servant to the field. They also hit him with sticks and they did other bad things to him. They also sent him away with nothing. 


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The master sent a third servant to the field. The farmers hurt him badly too and they threw him out of the field.


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Then the master of the field said to himself, “I must think about what I should do. I know what I will do. I will send my son that I love very much. Perhaps they will be kind to him.” 


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But the farmers saw him coming. “This is the son of our master”, they said to each other. “When our master dies, he will have the field. We should kill him and then the field will be ours.”


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So they threw him out of the field and they killed him.’ <n>‘This is what the master will do to the farmers’, said Jesus. 


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‘He will come to those farmers. He will kill them and he will give the field to other farmers.’ <n>‘That must not happen!’ replied the people when they heard this. 


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Jesus then looked at the people. ‘You say that this must not happen. But this is what is in God’s book. <n>“The builders refused to use one special stone. <n>But that stone is now the one that makes the corner of the wall strong.


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When a person falls on to that stone, it will break their body into pieces. But when that stone falls on top of someone, it will destroy him completely.” ’ <n>The <i>special</i> stone that the <i>Jews</i> did not want to use means Jesus. ‘The builders’ means the leaders that would not let Jesus rule them. <n>In this story, God is the master of the field and Jesus is his Son. The people are like the <i>vines</i>. And their leaders who refused to obey God are like the farmers. The servants are the men that received messages from God for his people. Jesus said that God would destroy those important leaders. Those leaders did not like it when he said that. <n>The leaders ask Jesus a question</n>


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The teachers of God’s rules and the <i>priests</i> wanted to take hold of Jesus immediately. They knew that Jesus was talking against them in the story. But they did not do it, because they were afraid of the people.


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So this is what they did to catch Jesus. They gave money to people to ask him a difficult question. These people seemed to be good, but they were not honest. Instead, they wanted to hear Jesus say something wrong. Then they would take him to the ruler of the city for him to <i>punish</i> Jesus. 


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This is what these people asked: ‘Teacher, everything that you say is right. And everything that you teach is right. We know that. You do not say something different to an important person to make him happy. Instead, you teach everyone the same message. And you say what God really wants them to do. 


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Jesus knew that the men wanted him to say the wrong thing. He knew that they only seemed to be good people. 


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‘They are the picture and the name of the <i>Roman</i> ruler’, they replied. <n>‘So give to the <i>Roman</i> ruler the things that are his’, said Jesus. ‘And give to God the things that are his.’


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So the <i>Jewish</i> leaders could not cause Jesus to say wrong things about the <i>Roman</i> ruler. They were very surprised at his answer to their question. This caused them to stop speaking. <n>The <i>Sadducees</i> ask Jesus a question</n>


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Then some of the <i>Sadducees</i> came to see Jesus. These men did not believe that any dead people will become alive again.


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They asked him a question. ‘Teacher’, they said, ‘Moses wrote this rule for us to obey. A man may die. If his wife has no children, the brother of her husband must marry her. We should call their children the children of the man that died. 


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But once there were 7 men that were brothers. One of the brothers married. Then he died but they had no children. 


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Then the third brother married the woman. The same thing happened to all 7 brothers. None of them had any children before they died. 


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People say this about those that have died. They say that one day they will live again. So, when that happens, whose wife will she be? After all, she had been wife to all 7 of them.’


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‘But dead people that live again do not marry. God has chosen some people to live again with him. He says that they are good. They do not marry 


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and they cannot die any more. This is because they live as the <i>angels</i> live. They are children of God. He has made them alive again.


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It is true that dead people live again. Moses showed us this in the report about the burning bush. He told us that our God said this: “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”


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But God is not a God of dead people. He is God of living people. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are alive to him. Really, he sees all people as alive.’ <n>We can read about this in Exodus, chapter 3. 


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They were afraid to ask him any more questions. <n>The <i>Messiah</i> is someone that David calls Master</n>


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Jesus said to them, ‘Why do people say this, “The <i>Messiah</i> will be someone from the <i>family</i> of David”? 


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After all, David himself said this in the book called <i>Psalms</i>: <n>“Our God said to my Master: <n>Sit at the place of importance, at my right side.


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So David calls him Master. So how can he also be from the <i>family</i> of David?’ <n>Be careful not to do the same as those that teach the rules</n>


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‘Be careful not to do the same as the teachers of God’s rules. They like to wear long clothes to show how important they are. They like people to speak to them in front of many people, as they would speak to an important person. They like to have the best seats at meetings. They like to sit in the most important places at special meals. 


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They cause women whose husbands have died to supply them with money. They use this for themselves. They pray in front of many people for a long time. This causes people to think that they are good. Because they do these things, God will <i>punish</i> these people a lot. It will be worse for them than for people that have not done these things.’


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Then Jesus looked at what was happening in the <i>Great House of God</i>. There was a box for money there. Many rich people were putting their gifts of money into it.


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Then he saw a woman. Her husband had died. She was very poor. She put two very small coins of little value into the box. 


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‘Let me tell you this’, said Jesus. ‘This poor woman has put more money into the box than everyone else. 


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The rich people put in money that they do not need. They have plenty more. This woman has less money than she needs. She needs money to buy bread to eat. But she put all of that money into the box.’ <n>Jesus talks about things that will happen</n>


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Some of those that followed Jesus were talking about the <i>Great House of God</i>. They spoke about the many beautiful and valuable stones in the walls. They pointed out the many beautiful gifts to God that people had put on it. 


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‘You can see all these beautiful things just now’, Jesus said. ‘But a day is coming when enemies will destroy it all. They will throw down every stone. Not one will remain on top of another.’


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‘Be careful’, he replied. ‘Do not believe things that are not true. After all, many people will come and they will say, “I am Jesus.” They will say that the right time for God is soon. Do not follow those people.


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And when you hear about wars, do not be afraid. Also, do not be afraid when people are fighting against their governments. These things must happen first. But the end will not happen immediately.’


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‘Yes’, he was saying, ‘people from one country will fight people from another country. And kings will send their people to fight other kings and their people. 


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The ground will move so much that people will be afraid. In many different places, plants for food will not grow; so, many people will go hungry. Illnesses will go from one person to another; so, many people will die. Many things will also happen in the sky that will frighten people. 


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But before all those things happen, these things will happen: People that <i>hate</i> me will take hold of you. They will do bad things to you because you are obeying me. They will take you to their meeting places. They will bring you in front of kings and rulers. And they will ask them to put you in prison or to kill you. 


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After all, I will give you the right words to speak so that nobody can argue with you. They will just be quiet. 


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Even your parents and other people in your family will bring you in front of kings and rulers. They will kill some of you. 


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One day you will see Jerusalem with armies all round it. Then you will know that enemies will soon destroy Jerusalem. 


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People in Judea must then run to the hills and hide. People that are inside the city must leave it. People that are outside the city must not go back into it. 


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This is when God will <i>punish Israel</i>’s people. Then all the things will happen that his servants wrote about. 


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That time will be a very bad time for women that have a baby inside them! It will be very bad for those women that have little babies! Yes, very bad things will happen to all the people of this country. God will be very angry with them. 


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At that time, enemies will kill many people with sharp knives. They will take some people and they will cause them to leave their country. They will live in many other countries and they will not be <i>free</i> to return to this country. People that are not <i>Jews</i> will destroy Jerusalem. They will rule here until it is time for them to stop.’ <n>People that were not <i>Jews</i> ruled Jerusalem until 1948. 


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‘You will see strange things happen to the sun and moon and stars. On earth, the things that happen will make people in many countries very afraid. The sea will make a lot of noise and there will be big storms at sea. 


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This will cause trouble. And it will frighten people because they do not understand these things. The powerful things in the sky will move from their usual places. Then people will be afraid about what will happen next in the world. They will be so afraid that they will become very, very weak. 


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It is then that they will see the <i>Son of Man</i>. I will come in a cloud with a lot of power. I will <i>look</i> very important and very beautiful. 


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Jesus then explained to them what this time would be like. ‘Think about the <i>fig</i> tree or any other tree. 


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You see new leaves on the tree. Then you know that summer will come soon. Nobody needs to tell you that. 


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It will be the same when you see all these things happening. You will then know that God will soon begin to rule.


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But be careful. And watch how you live. Do not eat or drink too much. Do not waste your time like that. Do not waste time by having troubles in your mind about your life. If you do, that day will surprise you. It will come when you are not looking. 


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So watch all the time! Continue to pray for power to get out of all these things! So then you will stand in front of me. And you will not be afraid of me.’ 


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Jesus was teaching every day in the <i>Great House of God</i>. Each night he went out of the city and he stayed on the <i>Mount</i> of <i>Olives</i>. 


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He returned to the <i>Great House of God</i> each morning. All the people were going there early to hear him.


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The day was coming soon when the <i>Jews</i> would eat a special meal of bread without <i>yeast</i>. This time is called <i>Passover</i>. <n>We can read about the <i>Passover</i> meal in Exodus, chapter 12. 


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The leaders of the <i>priests</i> and the teachers of God’s rules wanted to kill Jesus. They were thinking about how they could do this. It was difficult because they were afraid of the people. They wanted to kill him secretly.


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Then the <i>devil</i> began to live inside Judas Iscariot. He was one of the 12 men that Jesus had chosen. 


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Judas went away and he talked to the leaders of the <i>priests</i>. The police that worked at the <i>Great House of God</i> were also there. They talked about how Judas could give Jesus to them secretly. 


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So Judas said that he would do it. He then began to watch for the right moment to catch Jesus. He wanted to do it when the crowd was not round Jesus. <n>Jesus eats his last meal with those that he had chosen</n>


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The day came for the meal of bread without <i>yeast</i>. The people had to kill the young sheep for the <i>Passover</i> meal on this day. 


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So Jesus sent Peter and John. ‘Go and prepare the <i>Passover</i> meal’, he said. ‘Then we can all come and eat it.’


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‘Listen’, he replied, ‘When you start to go into the city, a man will meet you. He will be carrying a jar of water. Follow him until he goes into a house. 


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You must then say to the master of that house, “Our Teacher sends this message to you: <n>‘Where is the room for visitors? I will eat the <i>Passover</i> meal there with those that always follow me.’ ”


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The man will show you a large room upstairs. It will have all that you need in it. Prepare the <i>Passover</i> meal there for us all.’


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So Peter and John went into the city. They found everything that Jesus had told them about. And they prepared the <i>Passover</i> meal.


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When it was time to eat it, Jesus arrived. He sat down. The men that he had chosen sat down with him. 


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‘I have wanted very much to eat this <i>Passover</i> meal with you’, Jesus said to them. ‘It has to happen before I die. 


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Yes, I will not eat another <i>Passover</i> meal after this one. I will not eat it again until God begins to rule.’


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Then he took a cup and he thanked God for the <i>wine</i>. ‘Take this cup’, he said to them. ‘Each of you drink some <i>wine</i>. 


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Then he took a loaf of bread and he thanked God for it. He broke the bread into small bits and he gave it to each of them. ‘This is my body. I am offering it up to God for each of you. When you do this from now on, remember me.’


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Jesus did the same after the meal. He took a cup of <i>wine</i> and he gave it to them. ‘This is about the new promise. It is between God and his people. I will let people kill me and pour out my blood. Then this promise can start to happen.’ <n>Most people that obey Christ still meet for special meals. They remember what Jesus did for them. They eat bread and they drink <i>wine</i> together. They are obeying him when they do that. 


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I shall die, as God wants me to. That is true. But it will be very bad for the man that causes it to happen.’


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‘Who is the man that would do this thing?’ they asked each other. <n>Jesus tells who is most important</n>


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Then they began to argue among themselves. They were arguing about which of them was the most important. 


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‘Kings of countries have great authority over their people’, Jesus said to them. ‘Kings want people to say good things about them. And kings want people to say that they are their friends. 


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You must be different. The most important person among you must become the same as the least important person. The person that is master must become the same as the servant. 


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After all, which person is the most important? Is it the person that sits at the table? Or is it the servant that puts out the meal? Yes, it is the person that sits at the table. But I am here to be your servant.


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And now, I say that you will rule with me. My Father has said that I will rule with him. So, I also say to you that you will rule with me. 


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You will be at my table where I rule. You will eat and drink with me. You will sit on rulers’ chairs. You will <i>judge</i> the people of the 12 <i>families</i> of <i>Israel</i>.’ <n>Jesus tells Peter what will happen</n>


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‘Simon, Simon, be careful to listen to me! The <i>devil</i> has asked to have you all. He wants to cause all of you to stop obeying me. He will <i>shake</i> you as a farmer <i>shakes</i> seeds.’ <n>The <i>devil</i> wants to do bad things to those who obey Jesus. He wants them to stop obeying Jesus. 


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‘But I have prayed for you, Simon, that you will continue to believe in me. And you, when you have turned back to me, you must help your <i>brothers</i> to be strong again.’


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‘Let me tell you this, Peter’, Jesus replied. ‘Three times tonight, you will say that you do not know me. You will say it before the <i>cockerel</i> makes a noise in the morning.’


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Jesus then asked the men that he had chosen a question. ‘When I sent you out without a purse, a bag or shoes, did you need anything?’ ‘No’, they replied, ‘nothing.’


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‘Now it is different’, he said. ‘If you have a purse or bag, take it with you. If you do not have a long sharp knife, sell your coat. Use the money to buy a knife. 


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Let me tell you why. In the book of God, people wrote down everything that will happen to me. It says, “People will include me with other bad men.” And this must happen to me soon.’


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‘Master’, they said, ‘Look, we have two long sharp knives here.’ <n>‘It is enough’, he replied. <n>Jesus did not mean that they had enough sharp knives. They had not understood him, so he said, ‘It is enough.’ He meant, ‘We have spoken enough about this.’ <n>Jesus prays on the hill called the Mount of <i>Olives</i></n>


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Jesus left the city. And he went to the hill called the Mount of <i>Olives</i>. This is what he usually did. Those that always followed him went with him.


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He arrived at the place where he wanted to go. Then he said to them. ‘Ask God to keep you from wanting to do wrong things.’


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He went away from them about as far as you can throw a stone. He bent his knees to the ground and he prayed. 


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‘Father’, he said, ‘if you want, you can take away this time of pain from me. But do not let me do what I want. I want to do what you want.’


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Jesus began to have troubles in his mind. He prayed again even more strongly. The <i>sweat</i> on his head became like large amounts of blood that fell to the ground.


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He then stopped praying and he stood up again. He returned to the 11 men. And he found that they were sleeping. They were very tired because they were so sad. 


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‘You should not be sleeping’, he said. ‘Get up and pray! Ask God to keep you from wanting to do wrong things.’ <n>The soldiers catch Jesus</n>


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While Jesus was still speaking, a crowd of people and soldiers came towards him. Judas led the crowd. He was one of the 12 men that Jesus had chosen. He came near to Jesus to kiss him. 


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Then those that followed Jesus saw what was happening. ‘Should we use our long sharp knives, Master?’ they asked him.


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Then Jesus spoke to the people that had come to catch him. They were the leaders of the <i>priests</i>, and the leaders of the police in the <i>Great House of God</i>. Other important <i>Jewish</i> rulers were also there. <n>‘You seem to have come out here with sharp knives and heavy sticks. You seem to have come to catch me as you would catch a dangerous robber. 


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I was with you every day in the <i>Great House of God</i>. You did not try to get hold of me then. Yes, this really is the time and the place for you to work. Now it is dark, and the <i>devil</i> rules in the dark.’ <n>Peter says that he does not know Jesus</n>


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Then they took hold of Jesus. They took him away and they brought him to the house of the leader of the <i>priests</i>. Peter was following, but he did not get near them. 


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A servant girl then saw Peter in the light from the fire. She looked carefully at him. ‘This man was also one that followed Jesus’, she said.


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After a short time, a man looked at him. ‘You also are in their group’, he said. <n>‘Man’, Peter replied, ‘I am not one of them.’


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After about an hour, someone else spoke. ‘I am sure that this man was also with Jesus. He also is from Galilee.’


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‘Man’, said Peter, ‘I do not know what you are talking about.’ <n>While Peter was still speaking, a <i>cockerel</i> made a noise. 


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Then the Master turned round and he looked at Peter. Peter remembered what the Master had said to him: ‘Three times you will say tonight that you do not know me. You will say it three times before the <i>cockerel</i> makes a noise in the morning.’


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They tied a cloth round his head so that he could not see. ‘You say that you get messages from God!’ they said. ‘Tell us, who is hitting you now?’ 


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And they were saying many other bad things to him. <n>The leaders of the <i>Jews</i> ask Jesus questions</n>


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When it was day, the leaders of the <i>Jews</i> met together. The leaders of the <i>priests</i> were at the meeting. The teachers of God’s rules were also there. Then other men brought Jesus into the meeting. 


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‘Are you the <i>Messiah</i>?’ they asked. ‘If you are, tell us.’ <n>‘If I do tell you’, Jesus replied, ‘you will not believe me. 


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But from now on, I will be sitting in the most important place. I will be sitting at the right side of God. He is all powerful.’


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‘So, are you the <i>Son of God</i>?’ they all said. <n>‘You say that I am. And you are correct’, he replied.


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‘We do not need anyone else to tell us what this man says. We ourselves have heard what he has said about himself’, they said.


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All the people at the meeting stood up, and they took Jesus to stand in front of Pilate. <n>Pontius Pilate ruled over this part of the land that the <i>Romans</i> ruled. He ruled over Jerusalem. 


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Then they all started to tell him that Jesus had done bad things. ‘We found this man when he was telling our people wrong things’, they said. ‘He said that we must not give money to the <i>Roman</i> government. He also said that he himself is the <i>Messiah</i>, a king.’


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‘Are you the king of the <i>Jews</i>?’ Pilate asked Jesus. <n>‘The words are yours’, he replied. ‘But you are correct.’


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Pilate then spoke to the leaders of the <i>priests</i> and to all that were there. ‘I cannot find anything that this man has done wrong.’


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But they continued to speak strongly to him. ‘He makes the people angry and ready to fight. He has taught these things everywhere in Judea. He started in Galilee and now he has come to Jerusalem.’


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‘Yes’, they replied, ‘he is from the country that Herod rules.’ Herod was in Jerusalem at that time. So, Pilate sent Jesus to stand in front of him. <n>Herod was a king and he ruled over the whole of Galilee. It was Herod that had killed John the <i>Baptist</i>. <n>Herod asks Jesus questions</n>


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Herod was very happy to see Jesus. He had heard about him and he had wanted to meet him for a long time. He was hoping that he would see Jesus do some powerful work. 


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The rulers of the <i>Jews</i> stood there all the time. They were shouting out that Jesus had done many bad things. 


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Then Herod and his soldiers started to <i>laugh at</i> Jesus. They were saying things to make him feel bad. They put a beautiful coat on him. It was one that a ruler wears. Then they sent him back to Pilate. 


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Herod and Pilate became friends on that same day. Until then, they had not liked each other. <n>Pilate and the leaders of the <i>Jews</i> argue about Jesus</n>


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Pilate then said that all the leaders of the <i>priests</i> and leaders of the <i>Jews</i> must come back to him. 


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‘You brought this man in front of me’, he said to them. ‘You said that he was causing the people to be against their rulers. Listen! I have asked him some questions in front of you. But I did not find that he has done anything wrong. 


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Herod also did not find that he had done anything wrong. After all, he has sent him back to me. So, you can see that this man has not done anything bad. There is no reason for me to say, “Kill him.” 


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(Pilate had to let one person come out of the prison at <i>Passover</i> time.) <n>Verse 17 is not in many copies of Luke. 


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So the crowd shouted together, ‘Take this man away and kill him. We want Barabbas to come out of prison.’


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Barabbas had told the <i>Jews</i> that they should fight against the <i>Roman</i> rulers. He had also killed somebody in the fight. So, the rulers had put him in prison. 


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But they started to shout, ‘Kill him on a <i>cross</i>, kill him on a cross.’ <n><i>Roman</i> rulers fixed bad people to a big cross made out of wood, to kill them. 


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Pilate asked them the same question for the third time. ‘Why do you want me to kill him on a <i>cross</i>? What wrong things has he done? You want me to say that he should die. I have not found anything wrong that would cause me to say that. So, I will <i>order</i> my soldiers to <i>whip</i> him. Then I will let him go.’


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But they continued to shout at him. ‘Kill him on a <i>cross</i>. Kill him on a cross.’ They shouted very much. So, they got what they wanted. 


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They had asked Pilate to let Barabbas out of the prison. He was the man that had caused <i>Jews</i> to be against the <i>Roman</i> rulers. He had also killed somebody while he was fighting the rulers. He was the man that Pilate let go <i>free</i>. As for Jesus, Pilate <i>ordered</i> his soldiers to take him away. And he <i>ordered</i> them to do what the crowd wanted.


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So they started to take Jesus to the place where they would kill him. On the way, they took hold of a man called Simon. This man was from the town called Cyrene. He was coming in from outside the city. The soldiers took the <i>cross</i> that Jesus was carrying on his shoulders. They said to Simon, ‘Carry this for Jesus.’ So, Simon carried the <i>cross</i> and he walked behind Jesus. <n>Jesus tells what will happen to Jerusalem</n>


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A very large crowd of people were following Jesus. There were many women among them. They were crying with loud voices. They were hitting their own bodies because they were very sad. 


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So Jesus turned round and he spoke to them. ‘You women that live in Jerusalem, do not cry for me. Cry for yourselves and for your children. 


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Listen! Days will come when people will say, “Happy are those women that could not have babies. Happy are those women that never had babies to feed.” 


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Then people will begin to say, “It would be better if we were dead.” They will ask the mountains to fall on top of them. They will ask the hills to cover them up.


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I am like a living tree, but men are doing this to me. Much worse things will happen! Those events will be like a fire that burns dry wood!’ <n>Again, Jesus is telling the people that enemies will soon destroy Jerusalem. Jesus is like a tree that is alive. He has not done anything wrong. But still the <i>Romans</i> will kill him on a <i>cross</i>. The bad people in Jerusalem are like dry wood. They have done many wrong things. The <i>Romans</i> will do worse things to them. <n>The soldiers fix Jesus to a <i>cross</i></n>


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The soldiers led two other men out of the prison. These men had done some bad things. The soldiers would kill them when they killed Jesus. 


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They brought them to the place that is called ‘The <i>Skull</i>’. There they fixed Jesus to a <i>cross</i>. They also fixed the two bad men to crosses. One of these men was on the right side of Jesus. The other was on the left side of Jesus. <n>The skull is the name of the bone inside a human head. 


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‘Father’, Jesus was saying, ‘they do not know what they are doing. So please <i>forgive</i> them.’ <n>The soldiers then picked up the clothes that he had worn. Each soldier would have a part. So, they played a game among themselves, to know who won each piece. 


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The people stood there. They were watching, but the rulers of the people were <i>laughing</i> at Jesus. ‘He saved other people, they say. He should save his own life! So then we will know that he is the <i>Messiah</i>. We will know that God has chosen him.’


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The soldiers also <i>laughed</i> at him. They came up to him and they offered him cheap alcohol to drink. 


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There was also a notice at the top of the <i>cross</i>. ‘This is the King of the <i>Jews</i>’, it said.


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One of the men on a <i>cross</i> at the side of Jesus started to speak badly to him. <n>‘If you are the <i>Messiah</i>’, he shouted, ‘save your own life and our lives too.’


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But the other bad man told him that he should be quiet. ‘You should be more afraid of God. After all, all three of us will die. 


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Both of us have done very bad things. So, it is right that we die. But this man has not done anything wrong.’ 


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It was now about midday, but the sun stopped shining. So, the whole country was in the dark for three hours. 


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There was a captain there. He was watching the soldiers while they were doing their job. He saw what had happened. ‘How great and powerful God is’, he said. ‘I am sure that this man had not done anything wrong.’


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A very big crowd had come together to watch the men die. They saw what had happened. Then they began to go home. They were very sad, so they were hitting their own bodies with their hands. 


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The friends of Jesus were standing a long way away. The women that had followed him from Galilee were also there. All these people also saw what happened to him. <n>Joseph buries Jesus</n>


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A man called Joseph was also there. He was one of a special group of important <i>Jewish</i> leaders. He was a good man that wanted to do right things. <n>This was the same group that asked Jesus questions. They had wanted Pilate to kill Jesus. 


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Joseph had not agreed with them that Jesus should die. He was from the <i>Jewish</i> town called Arimathea. He was waiting for God to begin to rule his people.


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Joseph then went to the place where Jesus died. He took the dead body down from the <i>cross</i>. He covered it in a long piece of good cloth. He put the body into a large hole in the rock. He had caused someone dig this hole in the rock. It was a place to bury a dead body. It was the first time that anyone had used it. <n>At that time, they buried a dead person in a hole in a rock. Then the family and friends closed the front with a big stone. 


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This all happened on the day when people prepared meals for the <i>Jewish</i> day for rest. It was nearly time for the day for rest to begin. <n>For the <i>Jews</i>, the end of a day was when the sun went down, at about 6 in the evening. Then the next day began. <n>Jesus becomes alive again</n>


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So the women that had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph. They saw the place where the hole in the rock was. They also saw Joseph put Jesus’ body into the empty hole. 


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Then they returned to the house where they were staying in Jerusalem. There they prepared seeds with a strong smell and expensive <i>oil</i> that had a beautiful smell. Then they stopped work because their day for rest was starting. They were obeying the rules in the book of God.


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Very early on Sunday morning, they went to the place where Joseph had buried Jesus. They took with them the <i>oil</i> and seeds that they had prepared. 


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They arrived there. And they found that someone had rolled the stone away from in front of the hole. 


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Then they went inside the hole in the rock, but they did not find the body of the <i>Lord</i> Jesus there. 


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They did not understand this at all. But, while they were thinking about it, two men in bright clothes appeared. 


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So the women became very afraid and they bent down towards the ground. <n>‘You should not be looking here for someone that is alive’, they said to the women. ‘This is a place to bury dead people. 


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Jesus is not here. He has become alive again. Remember what he said to you. He said it while he was still in Galilee. 


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He said, “It is necessary that someone should give me to bad men. They will kill me on a <i>cross</i>. Three days later I will become alive again.” ’


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They left the empty hole. They went to the 11 men that he had chosen. They then told them what had happened. They also told all the other people that had followed him. 


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It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna that told the news about Jesus. Mary, the mother of James, and other women were with them. They also told the news to the 11 men. 


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But Peter got up and he ran to the hole in the rock. He bent down and he looked inside. He saw only the cloth that they had put round Jesus’ body. There was nothing else. So he went home again. He was thinking about what might have happened. <n>Jesus shows himself to two people that always followed Jesus</n>


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Later on that same day, two of those that had followed Jesus were going to a village. The village was called Emmaus. This village was about 7 miles from Jerusalem. 


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While they were talking about everything, Jesus himself came near to them. He started to walk along with them. 


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‘What are you talking about while you walk along the road?’ he asked them. <n>They stood still and they seemed sad. 


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Then one of them called Cleopas answered him. ‘Many things have happened in Jerusalem in the last few days’, he said. ‘Are you the only visitor here that does not know about it?’


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‘What things have happened?’ he asked. <n>‘The things that happened to Jesus that was from Nazareth. The <i>Holy Spirit</i> gave him messages to speak. He did many very great things and he spoke powerful messages. God showed that his message was true. All the people believed him. 


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Then the leaders of the <i>priests</i> and our rulers caught him. They gave him to the <i>Roman</i> ruler. They told the ruler that Jesus had done wrong things. They said that he should die. So, they killed him by fixing him to a <i>cross</i>. 


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But we had hoped that God would use him to save <i>Israel</i>. <n>Yes, there are other things too. Today is the third day since he died. 


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After all this, some women in our group surprised us today. Early this morning, they were at the place where someone had buried him. 


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They did not find his body there. And they returned to us with a report. “Some <i>angels</i> appeared to us”, they said. “They have told us that Jesus is alive.” 


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So some people from our group went to the place where someone had buried him. They found everything the same as the women had said. But they did not see Jesus.’


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Jesus then spoke to them. ‘Oh, how silly you are! You do not understand much. You are so slow to believe everything that God spoke by his servants. 


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You should have known that the <i>Messiah</i> had to die. Only then would he start to show how great and powerful he really is.’ 


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He then began to explain what Moses had taught. Then he talked about the other men that had received messages from the <i>Holy Spirit</i>. He explained to them everything that the other men had written about him.


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They came near to the village that they were going to. It seemed that Jesus would continue his journey. 


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But they stopped him from going on. ‘Please stay in our home with us’, they said. ‘It is getting late, and it will soon be night.’ <n>So, Jesus went into their house to stay with them. 


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He sat down to eat with them. Then he took the bread and he thanked God for it. He broke it up and then he gave it to them. 


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Then, their eyes became clear and they recognised him. Then immediately they could no longer see him. 


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They spoke to each other. ‘It was like a fire that was burning in us. We felt it while we were walking along the road. We also felt it when he was talking to us about God’s book.’


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They immediately got up and they returned to Jerusalem. There they found the 11 men that Jesus had chosen. Other people were together with them. 


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All the people gave them the news. ‘It is true! The Master is alive again. He has appeared to Simon!’


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Then the two that had seen Jesus spoke to the whole group. They told them what had happened to them on the road. They also told how they recognised Jesus. They recognised him when he broke the bread. <n>Jesus appears to the group</n>


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While they were still speaking, Jesus himself stood among them. ‘Do not have troubles in your mind’, he said to them.


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But the whole group was very surprised and afraid. They thought that they were seeing a <i>spirit</i>. 


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‘You should not be so afraid’, he said to them. ‘You seem to be not sure in your minds about what you can see. 


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But look at my hands and my feet. It is I, myself. Touch me. So you will know that I am not a <i>spirit</i>. A <i>spirit</i> does not have a body with skin and bones as I do. You can see that I have.’


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This was such good news that they could not believe it. They were very happy. <n>‘Do you have anything that I could eat?’ he asked. 


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‘I told you about these things while I was still with you’, he then said. ‘Moses wrote about me in his book of rules. Other servants of God received messages about me. They then wrote in books what they heard. The book called <i>Psalms</i> also tells about me. Everything that they wrote had to happen. And it has become true.’


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‘This is what it says. The <i>Messiah</i> had to die. Then, after three days, he had to become alive again. 


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Now you must start to tell everyone the good news about me. Begin in Jerusalem and go to the people in every country of the world. Tell them that they should turn away from wrong things. Tell them that they should turn to God. When they do this, God will <i>forgive</i> them. He will <i>forgive</i> all the bad things that they have done. 


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You must tell people about everything that you have seen. And tell people about everything that you have heard. 


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Now listen! I will send down to you the gift that God my Father has promised you. So, you must stay in the city until this happens. Then the power of God will cover you.’ <n>Jesus goes up to where God lives above</n>


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Then he led the group out of the city. They all went to a place near Bethany. He held up his hands over them all. He asked God to be good and kind to them. 


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They all bent down on their knees. ‘How great and powerful you are’, they all said to Jesus. ‘How great is your power. You are very beautiful and important.’ Then they returned to Jerusalem and they were all very happy. 


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They spent all their time in the <i>Great House of God</i>. They were thanking God. And they were telling him how good he is.


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The true light, that gives light to every person, was coming into the world. <n>Verses 4-9 The Word (Jesus Christ) is like light. He shows us what is true. The dark means the <i>power</i> of God’s enemy, <i>Satan</i>. He tries to hide what is true. God’s light shines in the dark. <i>Satan</i>’s <i>power</i> cannot put it out. Jesus said that he himself was the light of the world (John 8:12; 9:5). In verse 6, ‘John’ is not the man who is writing this book. 


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But some people did accept him. Some people did believe who he was. So, he gave authority to those people so that they could become God’s children. 


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These children were not born in the usual human way. They were not born because of what any people wanted. They were not born because of what any man decided. No! They were born from God. 


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The Word became human. He lived among us. We saw how great and how good he is. He is great and good as only the Father’s one true Son can be. He is completely kind. He is full of what is true.


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John told people about the Word. He shouted, ‘This is the man that I told you about. He comes after me. But he is greater than I am. He was there before I was born.’ 


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The Word is full of everything that we need. All of us have received from him. We have received one good thing after another good thing. 


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God gave his rules by Moses. But God has been kind to us by Jesus Christ. God has brought his true message to us by Jesus Christ. 


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No person has ever seen God. But God’s only true Son, who is so very near to the Father, has shown God to us. <n>Jesus Christ was a very special person. That is what John is saying at the beginning of his book. And he is telling us that Jesus had important work to do. He was the Word of God. He was the only person who really knew God. He knew what people were really like too. He was God and he was man too. So, because of that, he could show us what God is like. Only Jesus could make us able to be the people that God wanted us to be. <n>John the <i>Baptist</i> was not <i>Christ</i></n>


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The <i>Jews</i>’ leaders sent <i>priests</i> and <i>Levites</i> from Jerusalem to ask John, ‘Who are you?’ This is what he said. 


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So they asked him, ‘So who are you? Are you Elijah?’ John said, ‘No, I am not.’ They asked, ‘Are you the <i>Prophet</i>?’ John answered, ‘No.’ 


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Then they said, ‘Tell us who you are. We must say something to the people who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ 


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He said, ‘I am the voice that shouts in the <i>wild places</i>. I shout, “Make a straight path for the <i>Lord</i> to come.” That is what the <i>prophet</i> Isaiah said.’ 


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They said to John, ‘Why do you <i>baptise</i> people, if you are neither the <i>Christ</i> nor Elijah nor the <i>Prophet</i>?’ <n>Verse 19 A Levite was a person from Israel’s people who belonged to Levi’s <i>family</i> group. The Levites worked in God’s Great House (the temple). <n>Verses 21 and 24 Israel’s people believed that God would send Elijah and at least one other great <i>prophet</i> to them. They believed that these <i>prophets</i> must come before God sent the <i>Messiah</i> (Christ). <n>Verse 23 See Isaiah 40:3. 


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John replied, ‘I <i>baptise</i> people with water. But there is someone here among you that you do not know. 


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All these things happened at a place east from the Jordan river. It was a village called Bethany. John was <i>baptising</i> people there.


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The next day, John saw Jesus, who was coming towards him. John said, ‘Look! Here is God’s Lamb (young sheep), who takes away the world’s <i>sin</i>. 


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This is the man that I told you about. I told you, “It is he who comes after me. But he is greater than I am. He was already there before I was born.” 


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I did not know him. But I had to show Israel’s people who he was. That is why I am <i>baptising</i> people with water.’ 


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John told them, ‘I saw God’s Spirit come down from the sky. He came like a dove (a kind of bird) and he stayed on Jesus. 


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I would not have known who Jesus was. But God had sent me to <i>baptise</i> people with water. And God told me, “You will see the Spirit come down. He will stay on someone. That is the person who will <i>baptise</i> people with my Holy (completely good) Spirit.” 


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Now I have seen this. So, I can tell you that this is God’s Son.’ <n>Verses 29 and 36 John the <i>Baptist</i> called Jesus ‘God’s Lamb’ (young sheep). This would have caused the people to remember the young sheep that they killed for the <i>Passover</i> meal. Israel’s people also killed young sheep at other times, so that God would <i>forgive</i> their <i>sins</i>. Jesus Christ was God’s <i>Lamb</i>, who came to die on our behalf. He came to save us from <i>sin</i>. <n>John was called ‘the <i>Baptist</i>’ because he <i>baptised</i> people in water. <n>Jesus’ first <i>disciples</i></n>


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Then Jesus turned round. He saw that they were following him. He asked them, ‘What do you want?’ They said, ‘Rabbi (which means Teacher), where are you staying?’ 


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Jesus replied, ‘Come, and you will see.’ So, they went with him. And they saw where he was staying. It was about 10 in the morning. And they stayed with him that day. <n>Verse 39 Really, John wrote, ‘It was the 10th hour.’ The <i>Jews</i> counted time from 6 o’clock. So some Bible teachers think that John means 4 in the afternoon. But the <i>Romans</i> said that the day started at midnight. So other Bible teachers think that John means 10 in the morning here. 


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Andrew was one of the two <i>disciples</i> who had followed Jesus. They had heard what John had said about Jesus. Andrew was Simon Peter’s brother. 


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The first thing that Andrew did was to find his brother, Simon. Andrew said to Simon, ‘We have found the <i>Messiah</i>.’ (Messiah means <i>Christ</i>.) 


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Then he brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at Simon and he said, ‘You are Simon, John’s son. Your name will be Cephas.’ This name is the same as Peter, which means ‘rock’.


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The next day, Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He met Philip, and Jesus said to Philip, ‘Follow me.’ 


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Philip went to find Nathanael. He told Nathanael, ‘We have found the man that Moses wrote about in the book of God’s rules. The <i>prophets</i> wrote about him, too. He is Jesus, who is Joseph’s son, from Nazareth.’ 


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Nathanael said, ‘I did not think that anything good could come from Nazareth!’ Philip replied, ‘Come and see.’


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Jesus saw Nathanael, who was coming towards him. Jesus said, ‘Here is a completely honest man. That is what a person from Israel should really be like.’ 


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Nathanael asked, ‘How do you know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you before Philip asked you to come. I saw you when you were under the fig (fruit) tree.’ 


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Jesus said to him, ‘I told you that I saw you under the fig (fruit) tree. And you believe me because I told you that. But you will see much greater things than that.’ 


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And Jesus said to him, ‘I am telling you what is true. You will see heaven (the sky) open. You will see God’s <i>angels</i>. They will be going up and they will be coming down on the Son of Man.’ <n>Verse 51 Jesus called himself the ‘Son of Man’. He is a Man who came to earth from God. That is what this name shows. He came with God’s authority. The <i>prophets</i> spoke about him (for example, Daniel 7:13). He is the <i>Messiah</i>. 


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Two days after that, there was a marriage. It was in the town called Cana, in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. 


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When people had drunk all the <i>wine</i>, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more <i>wine</i>.’ 


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There were 6 big pots there, which people had made from stone. Each pot could contain 20 to 30 gallons of water. These pots contained water so that the <i>Jews</i> could wash themselves. The <i>Jews</i> had special rules about when they must wash themselves. 


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Then he said, ‘Now take some of the water from the pots and give it to the master of the party.’ So they took the water. 


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And the master of the party tasted the water. But the water had become <i>wine</i>. The master did not know where the <i>wine</i> had come from. But the servants who had given it to him knew. Then the master asked the bridegroom (the man who had just married) to come to him. 


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The master said to him, ‘Everyone else brings out the best <i>wine</i> first. Then, when people have had plenty to drink, they give people cheaper <i>wine</i>. But you are different. You have kept the best <i>wine</i> until now.’


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Jesus did this first <i>miracle</i> at Cana, in Galilee. In this way, Jesus showed how great and how powerful he was. Then his <i>disciples</i> believed him. <n>Verse 11 Jesus did many <i>miracles</i>, but John only tells us about 7 of them. John wrote his book in the language called Greek. In that language, John uses a word for these <i>miracles</i> that means ‘signs’. <n>Jesus goes to God’s Great House (the temple)</n>


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After this, Jesus went to Capernaum. His mother, his brothers and his <i>disciples</i> went with him. They stayed there for a few days. <n>Verse 12 Capernaum was another town in Galilee. It was next to the Sea (big lake) called Galilee. 


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In God’s Great House (the temple), he found people who were selling cows, sheep and doves (a kind of bird). Other people were sitting at tables. They were buying and selling coins there. 


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So Jesus made a <i>whip</i> from some pieces of <i>rope</i>. Then he caused all the people to run out of God’s Great House, with the sheep and the cows. He threw all the <i>money-changers</i>’ coins on to the ground and he turned their tables over. 


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He said to the people who sold birds, ‘Take them out of here! Do not make my Father’s house into a market!’ 


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His <i>disciples</i> remembered what it says in the <i>Old Testament</i>: ‘My love for your house burns inside me like a fire.’ <n>Verse 15 A whip is something that people use to hit animals (like horses or cows). That causes the animals to go faster. People use ropes to tie things. <n>Verse 17 See Psalm 69:9. 


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Then the <i>Jews</i> asked Jesus, ‘If you have authority to do this, show us a <i>miracle</i>. Then we will know that you really do have authority.’ 


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The <i>Jews</i> replied, ‘A lot of men worked for 46 years to build this house. And you say that you will build it in 3 days all by yourself!’ 


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The <i>disciples</i> remembered this when Jesus had become alive again after his death. They remembered that he had said this. Then they believed the <i>Old Testament</i>. And they believed the words that Jesus had spoken.


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While Jesus was in Jerusalem for the <i>Passover</i>, he did many <i>miracles</i>. Many people saw these <i>miracles</i>. As a result, they believed who Jesus is. 


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He did not need anyone to tell him what people are like. He knew already what was really in all people. <n>Verses 13 and 23 The <i>Passover</i> was a time that was very special to Israel’s people. All their men had to come to God’s Great House at Jerusalem for the <i>Passover Festival</i>, every year. They remembered the time, many years before, when God had led their <i>ancestors</i> out of Egypt. God had saved them so that they did not have to be slaves to Egypt’s people. He had killed all the oldest sons of Egypt’s people. But he had saved the sons of Israel’s people. He told Israel’s people that they must put a lamb’s blood on the wood round their doors. (A lamb is a young sheep.) If the blood was there, their oldest sons would not die (Exodus 12). <n>Verse 24 To trust means to believe that someone will do the right thing. 


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He came to Jesus at night. He said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi (teacher), we know that God has sent you to us. We have seen the <i>miracles</i> that you are doing. Nobody could do these things unless God was with him.’ 


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Jesus replied, ‘I am telling you what is true. Unless a person is born from above, they cannot see God’s <i>kingdom</i>.’ 


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Nicodemus asked, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot return into his mother’s body. He cannot be born a second time.’ 


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Jesus explained, ‘I am telling you what is true. Unless a person is born by water and by God’s Spirit, he cannot go into God’s <i>kingdom</i>. 


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Everyone who is born by God’s Spirit is like the wind. The wind blows where it wants. You can hear it. But you cannot say where it came from. And you cannot say where it is going.’ <n>Verses 3, 5 A kingdom is a place where a king rules. Or it is the people and things that he rules over. 


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I am telling you what is true. We speak about things that we know. We tell you what we have seen. But even then, you people do not believe our words. 


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I have told you about things that happen in this world. And you do not believe me. But I am telling you about things that happen in <i>heaven</i>. So, I do not think that you will ever believe me about those things. 


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And people will lift up the Son of Man, as Moses lifted up the snake in the <i>wild, dry place</i>. Moses made a snake out of metal and he held it up to show it to Israel’s people. In the same way, people will lift up the Son of Man for everyone to see. 


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God loved the people in the world so much that he gave his one and only Son on their behalf. So, as a result, everyone who believes in the Son will not die. Instead, they will live always.’ <n>Verse 14 See Numbers 21:4-9. 


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God did not send his Son into the world because he wanted to <i>punish</i> people. No, God sent his Son to save the people in the world. 


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God will not decide to <i>punish</i> anyone who believes the Son. But God has already decided that he must <i>punish</i> some people. Some people refuse to believe who his one and only Son is. God must <i>punish</i> anyone who refuses to believe that. 


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This is why God has already decided to <i>punish</i> some people. It is because light has come into the world. But people did not love the light. They loved the dark instead. That was because they were doing bad things. 


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Everyone who does bad things <i>hates</i> the light. A person like that will not come to the light because he is afraid. He does not want everyone to see that he has done bad things. 


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But every person who obeys everything true comes to the light. So then the light will show that he was doing God’s work. Everyone can see that he was obeying God. <n>Jesus and John the <i>Baptist</i></n>


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After this, Jesus and his <i>disciples</i> went to the country places in Judea. Jesus stayed there with his <i>disciples</i> for some time, and they <i>baptised</i> people there. 


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John was <i>baptising</i> people too. He was at Aenon near Salim because there was a lot of water there. People were coming to him and John was <i>baptising</i> them. 


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A certain <i>Jew</i> began to argue with John’s <i>disciples</i>. They were arguing about some rules. Those rules told people when and how they should wash. 


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The <i>disciples</i> came to John. They said to him, ‘Teacher, remember the man, Jesus, that you spoke to us about. He was with you on the other side of the Jordan river. Now he is <i>baptising</i> people and everyone is going to him.’


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You yourselves will remember what I said. I said, “I am not the <i>Christ</i>, but God sent me before the <i>Christ</i>.” 


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The bride (woman who is marrying) is the bridegroom’s (man who is marrying her). But the bridegroom’s friend stands near him and he listens. That friend is very happy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. I am like that friend, so I am completely happy now. 


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He who comes from above is greater than all things. A person who comes from the earth belongs to the earth. A person like that speaks only about things that belong to the earth. He who comes from <i>heaven</i> is greater than all things. 


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Anyone who believes the Son is alive for always. But anyone who will not obey the Son will never really live. God will continue to be angry with a person who refuses to obey the Son.’ <n>Verse 28 John the <i>Baptist</i> said that God sent him before the <i>Lord</i> Jesus Christ. He was like someone who brings a message from a king. He had to tell people that the king was coming to visit them. The <i>prophet</i> Malachi had told Israel’s people that someone would come before the <i>Christ</i> [Malachi 4:5] . This person would tell them that their <i>Messiah</i> (Christ) would come soon. 


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The <i>Pharisees</i> heard the news that many people were joining Jesus’ group of <i>disciples</i>. They heard that Jesus was <i>baptising</i> more <i>disciples</i> than John. 


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(But really Jesus himself did not <i>baptise</i> anyone. It was only Jesus’ <i>disciples</i> who <i>baptised</i> people.) 


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He came to a town in Samaria called Sychar. It was near to the piece of land that Jacob had given to his son, Joseph, many years earlier. 


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Jacob’s well was there. Jesus was tired after his journey. He sat down by the well. It was about 6 in the evening. His <i>disciples</i> had gone to buy food in the town. A woman from Samaria came to the well because she wanted to get some water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give a drink to me.’ 


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The woman from Samaria said to him, ‘You are a <i>Jew</i> and I am a woman from Samaria. Why do you ask me for a drink?’ (The <i>Jews</i> will not usually even talk to people who belong to Samaria.) <n>Verses 4-9 Samaria was the part of Israel between Judah (in the south) and Galilee (in the north). The people in Samaria did <i>worship</i> the <i>Lord</i> God of Israel. But they <i>worshipped</i> him in a different way from how Israel’s people <i>worshipped</i> him. They believed only some of the <i>Old Testament</i> and they refused to <i>worship</i> at Jerusalem. As a result of these differences, Israel’s people were not friendly to the people from Samaria. <n>‘It was about 6 in the evening.’ John wrote that it was the 6th hour. Many Bible teachers think that John means midday. But other Bible teachers think that John means 6 in the evening (<i>Roman</i> time) here. (See note about John 1:39.) 


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Jesus answered the woman, ‘You do not know what God can give. I asked you to give a drink to me. But you do not know who I am. If you did know, you would have asked me to give a drink to you. Then I would have given water to you that would cause you to live.’ 


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The woman said, ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where can you get this water that would cause me to live? 


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Jacob, our <i>ancestor</i>, gave this well to us. He, his sons, and his sheep and goats and cows all drank its water. Are you saying that you are greater than Jacob?’ 


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But I can give a different kind of water. Whoever drinks that kind of water will never get <i>thirsty</i> again. The water that I will give to him will become a well inside him. That well will continue to give fresh water that will cause him to live always.’ 


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The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give this water to me. Then I will never get <i>thirsty</i> again. And I will not have to continue to come here so that I can get water.’


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The woman replied, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right when you say, “I have no husband.” 


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The fact is that you have had 5 husbands. And now you live with a man who is not your husband. What you have said is quite true.’ 


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Our <i>ancestors worshipped</i> on this mountain. But you <i>Jews</i> say that Jerusalem is the right place to <i>worship</i> God.’


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Jesus spoke to her with authority, ‘Believe me, woman. Soon you will not <i>worship</i> the Father either on this mountain or at Jerusalem. 


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You people from Samaria do not really know what you <i>worship</i>. But we <i>Jews</i> do know what we <i>worship</i>. The way that God has made to save people comes from the <i>Jews</i>. 


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But soon, people will really <i>worship</i> the Father. Really, it is that time already. Those people who really want to <i>worship</i> the Father will <i>worship</i> him from their <i>spirits</i>. The Father looks for people who will <i>worship</i> him like that. 


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God is <i>spirit</i>. Those people who <i>worship</i> him must <i>worship</i> from their <i>spirits</i>. They must really want to <i>worship</i> God.’ 


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The woman said to Jesus, ‘I know that the <i>Messiah</i> will come. He is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.’ 


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Then Jesus replied, ‘I, who am speaking to you, am he.’ <n>Verses 20-21 ‘This mountain’ means a mountain in Samaria called Gerizim. That was where the people from Samaria <i>worshipped</i> God. <n>The <i>disciples</i> return</n>


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At this moment, his <i>disciples</i> returned. They were surprised to see that Jesus was talking to a woman. But none of them asked him, ‘What do you want?’ or, ‘Why are you talking to her?’ 


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‘Come! See a man who told me everything about myself. He told me all the things that I have ever done! He must be the <i>Christ</i>!’ 


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Jesus said to them, ‘I must obey him who sent me. I must finish the work that he has given to me to do. That is my food. 


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You say, “The plants in the farmers’ fields will be ready for the <i>harvest</i> after 4 more months.” But I say that you should open your eyes. Look at the fields. The plants are ready for the harvest now. 


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God is paying the workers already. They are bringing in the fruit. They are bringing in people who will live always. The person who plants the seeds will be very happy. And the person who brings in the fruit will be very happy too. Both of them will be happy as a result of their work. 


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I sent you to fetch people like fruit that you have not worked for. Other people did the work. You have brought in the fruit (people) that they worked for.’ <n>Verse 35 Harvest is the time when people bring in the fruits and other food from the farmers’ fields. 


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Many of the people who lived in that town in Samaria heard the woman’s story. She had said to them, ‘He told me all the things that I have ever done!’ And because of this, they believed Jesus. 


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So when these people from Samaria came to Jesus, they asked him to stay with them. And he stayed there for two more days. 


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The people said to the woman, ‘Now we believe him because we ourselves have heard him. Now we do not believe only because of what you said. This man really is the man who will save the world. We know that now.’ <n>Jesus makes an officer’s son well</n>


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(Jesus himself had said earlier, ‘When a <i>prophet</i> visits places near his own home, the people there never believe him. The people there never think that a <i>prophet</i> from their place could be important.’) 


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When he arrived in Galilee, the people there were happy to see him. They had been at the <i>Passover</i> also. And they had seen all the things that he had done at Jerusalem.


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Jesus visited Cana, in Galilee, again. This was the town where he had changed the water into <i>wine</i>. A certain man who was one of the king’s officers was there. This officer had a son who was at Capernaum. His son was very ill. 


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This man had heard the news that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea. So, he went to Jesus. He asked Jesus to go to Capernaum, where the man’s son was dying. He asked Jesus strongly to make his son well. 


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Then Jesus said to him, ‘You people want me to do great <i>miracles</i> that will surprise you. Unless you see these great <i>miracles</i>, none of you will ever believe.’ 


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Jesus replied, ‘Go home. Your son will live.’ The man believed what Jesus had said. And he started to go home. 


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He asked them, ‘At what time did he start to get well?’ They told him, ‘He stopped being ill yesterday, at 7 in the evening.’ 


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Then the father remembered that time. It was the time when Jesus had spoken to him. It was when Jesus had said, ‘Your son will live.’ So, the man and all his family believed. 


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This was the second <i>miracle</i> that Jesus did after he returned from Judea to Galilee. <n>Verse 52 ‘at 7 in the evening’. John wrote that it was the 7th hour. Many Bible teachers think that John means at 1 in the afternoon. But other Bible teachers think that John means 7 in the evening (<i>Roman</i> time) here. (See note about John 1:39.) 


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Some time after that, Jesus went to Jerusalem, because it was time for one of the <i>Jews</i>’ <i>festivals</i>.


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There is a pool near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem. Its name in the <i>Jews</i>’ language is Bethesda. Round the pool, there is a building with 5 places that have a roof over them. 


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A large number of sick people were lying in these places. Some of them could not see. Some of them could not walk. Some of them could not move themselves properly. They were waiting for when the water started to move. 


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An <i>angel</i> went down into the pool at certain times and he moved the water. Then all the sick people tried to get into the pool. The first person who got into the water became well. That person became well, whatever his illness was.


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Jesus saw this man, who was lying there. Jesus knew that the man had been ill like this for a very long time. So he asked the man, ‘Do you want to get well?’ 


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The sick man said, ‘Sir, I do not have anyone who will help me. I need somebody who will put me into the pool. When the water starts to move, I try to get in. But someone else always gets in before me.’ 


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The man became well immediately. He picked up his bed and he walked. The day when this happened was a <i>Sabbath</i> day.


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So, the <i>Jews</i>’ leaders spoke to the man that Jesus had made well. They said to him, ‘You must not carry your bed on the <i>Sabbath</i> day. You are not obeying the rules.’ 


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The man that Jesus had made well did not know. He did not know who it was. Jesus had gone away into the crowd that was there.


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Some time after that, Jesus found the man in God’s Great House (the temple). Jesus said to him, ‘See, you have become well. Stop doing wrong things. If you do not stop, something worse may happen to you.’ 


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Then the man went to the <i>Jews</i>’ leaders. He told them that it was Jesus. It was Jesus who had made him well. 


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The <i>Jews</i>’ leaders were angry because Jesus had made a man well on the <i>Sabbath</i> day. So, they began to cause a lot of trouble for Jesus. 


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So, because Jesus said this, the <i>Jews</i>’ leaders got even angrier. They wanted even more to kill him. He not only worked on the <i>Sabbath</i> day. He was also calling God his own Father, so he was making himself equal with God. <n>Verses 9-18 The Sabbath was the seventh day of the week. God had said that Israel’s people must not work on that day. But Jesus was obeying his Father, God. And God chose to make the man well on the Sabbath day. The man was not really working when he carried his bed. (It was a little carpet, not a big heavy thing.) God had made good rules. Jesus wanted the <i>Jews</i> to see that they were not really understanding the purpose of God’s rules. 


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So, Jesus answered them, ‘I am telling you what is true. The Son can do nothing by himself. He sees what the Father does. And he can do only those same things. What the Father does, the Son does also. 


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The Father loves the Son. So, he shows the Son all the things that he himself does. And the Father will show the Son even greater things than these. These greater things will surprise you even more. 


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The Father raises dead people, to make them alive again. In the same way, the Son makes alive whoever he chooses. 


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More than that, the Father does not <i>judge</i> anyone. He has given authority to the Son completely so that the Son will <i>judge</i> all people. 


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So then all people will know how great the Son is. They know that the Father is very great. In the same way, they will know also that the Son is very great. Some people may refuse to think that the Son is great or important. But really, those people are thinking the same things about the Father, because he sent the Son. 


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I am telling you what is true. Everyone who hears my words should believe the Father. They should believe him who sent me. If they do believe, they are alive for always. God will not <i>punish</i> them because of the wrong things that they have done. They were dead, but now they have become alive.’


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‘I am telling you what is true. A time will happen soon when the dead people will hear the voice of the Son of God. Really, it is that time already. Those people who hear the Son’s voice will live. 


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The Father himself can cause people to live. In the same way, he has made the Son able to do this also. The Son himself can cause people to live. 


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Also, the Father has given authority to the Son so that he <i>judges</i> people. The Son says what is right for each person. That is because he is the Son of Man. 


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Do not be surprised by this. There will be a time when all the dead people under the ground will hear the Son’s voice. 


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They will come out from the ground. Those people who have done good things will rise. They will rise so that they can live with God always. Those people who have done bad things will rise. But they will rise so that God can <i>punish</i> them.’ <n>Things that show who Jesus really is</n>


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‘I can do nothing by myself. I hear what the Father says to me. Then, because of what he says, I <i>judge</i>. So, what I <i>judge</i> is right. I am not trying to do what I myself want. The Father sent me. And I want to do what he wants. 


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I do not need any man to speak on my behalf. No, but I am telling you this only so that God will be able to save you. 


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John was like a light that shone brightly. And for a certain time, you enjoyed the light that he gave.’


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‘But other things show who I am. My Father has given work to me so that I could finish it. And these things that I do, they speak about me. They speak more strongly than John’s words. They show that the Father has sent me. 


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Also, the Father himself, who sent me, has spoken about me. You have never heard his voice. And you have never seen his shape. 


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His word does not stay inside you. You do not believe the Person that the Father sent. That is why his word does not stay in you. 


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You study the Scriptures (<i>Old Testament</i>) carefully. You think that they will cause you to live. And the Scriptures (<i>Old Testament</i>) themselves tell you about me. 


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‘I am not wanting people to say great things about me. If people say great things about me, that is not important to me. 


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I have come with my Father’s authority, but you do not accept me. But if someone else comes with his own authority, you will accept him. 


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When you say good things about each other, it makes you happy. But you do not try to make God happy. You do not want the only God to say good things about you. That is why you cannot believe me. 


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But I will not tell the Father that you are wrong. Do not think that I will do that. No, because it is Moses who will do that. You hope that Moses will help you. But he will tell the Father that you are wrong. 


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If you had really believed Moses, you would have believed me. That is because Moses wrote about me. 


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But you do not believe what Moses wrote. So, you cannot believe what I say.’ <n>Verses 45-47 Moses wrote the first 5 books of the <i>Old Testament</i>. 


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A large crowd of people followed him, because of the <i>miracles</i> that he had done. They had seen him make sick people well. 


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Jesus looked up. He saw a large crowd of people who were coming towards him. Then he said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy enough bread to feed all these people?’ 


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Jesus himself already knew what he would do. But he asked Philip this question for a reason. He wanted to know what Philip would say. 


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Philip answered, ‘A man might work for 8 months. But, he still would not have enough money to buy bread for all these people. Still there would not be enough bread for each person here to have a little piece.’ 


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Then Andrew, another one of Jesus’ <i>disciples</i>, spoke. He was Simon Peter’s brother. He said to Jesus, 


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‘Here is a boy who has 5 small loaves and two small fish. But certainly, they will not be enough food for so many people.’


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Jesus said, ‘Cause the people to sit down.’ There was plenty of grass in that place, so the people sat down. There were about 5000 men. 


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Jesus took the loaves and he thanked God for them. Then he broke the loaves into pieces. He passed them to all the people who were sitting there. Everyone had all the bread that they wanted to eat. Jesus did the same with the fish. 


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When all the people had eaten enough food, Jesus spoke. He said to his <i>disciples</i>, ‘Do not waste anything. Pick up all the pieces that the people have not eaten.’ 


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So the <i>disciples</i> picked up all the pieces. They filled 12 baskets with the pieces of bread that the people had not eaten.


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The people had seen this <i>miracle</i> that Jesus had done. So, they began to talk about it. They said, ‘Certainly, this man is the <i>Prophet</i> who must come into the world.’ 


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The people wanted to take Jesus so that they could make him their king. But Jesus knew what they wanted to do. So, he went away alone to the hills again. <n>Jesus walks on the water</n>


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They got into a boat and they started to travel towards Capernaum. It was dark then and Jesus still had not come to them. 


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The <i>disciples</i> were trying to pull the boat through the water with oars (special long, flat pieces of wood). When they had gone 3 or 4 miles (5-6 kilometres), they saw Jesus. He was coming near to the boat and he was walking on the water. And they were very afraid. 


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So, the <i>disciples</i> were happy to let Jesus get into the boat with them. Immediately, the boat came to the place where they wanted to be. <n>The crowd looks for Jesus</n>


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The crowd of people had stayed on the other side of the lake. The next day, they looked round. They saw that the only boat had gone. They knew that the <i>disciples</i> had taken it. And they knew that Jesus had not gone with his <i>disciples</i>. 


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(But other boats from Tiberias had arrived near to the place where all the people had eaten the bread. They had eaten that bread after the <i>Lord</i> had thanked God for it.) 


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The crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his <i>disciples</i> were there. So, they got into the boats and they went to Capernaum. They were looking for Jesus. <n>Jesus is the bread that causes us to live</n>


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The people found Jesus on the other side of the lake. So they asked him, ‘Teacher, when did you arrive here?’ 


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Jesus answered, ‘I am telling you what is true. You saw me do <i>miracles</i>. But you are not looking for me because of that. No, you are looking for me because you ate the loaves. You ate all the bread that you wanted to eat. So then you were full. 


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Do not work to get the food that does not continue. Instead, work to get the food that does continue. Work to get the food that causes you to live always. God, the Father, has put his mark of authority upon the Son. That is why the Son of Man will give this food to you.’


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So then the people asked him, ‘What <i>miracle</i> will you do? If we see a <i>miracle</i>, we will believe you. What will you do? 


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Our <i>ancestors</i> ate manna (special food from God) in the <i>wild, dry places</i>. As it says in the <i>Old Testament</i>, “God gave bread to them from <i>heaven</i> so that they could eat it.” ’ 


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Jesus said to them, ‘I am telling you what is true. It was not Moses who gave that bread to you from <i>heaven</i>. No, but it is my Father who really gives to you the bread from <i>heaven</i>. 


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Then Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread that causes people to live. Anyone who comes to me will never be hungry. Anyone who believes me will never be <i>thirsty</i>. 


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Everyone that the Father gives to me will come to me. When anyone comes to me, I will never send that person away. 


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I have not come down from <i>heaven</i> to do what I myself choose to do. No, instead I have come to obey him who sent me. 


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He who sent me does not want me to lose anyone. He does not want me to lose even one of the people that he has given to me. He wants me to raise all of them up on the last day, so that they live with me always. 


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These are the people who will be alive for always: Everyone who sees the Son and believes him. And I will raise them up on the last day. That is what my Father wants.’


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Jesus had said, ‘I am the bread that came down from <i>heaven</i>.’ When he said this, the <i>Jews</i> did not like it. So, they started to say bad things about Jesus. 


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They said, ‘But this is Jesus, the son of Joseph. We know his father and his mother. So, he should not say that he came down from <i>heaven</i>.’


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The Father has sent me. Nobody can come to me unless the Father brings them to me. And I will raise that person up on the last day, so that they live with me always. 


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The <i>prophets</i> wrote in the <i>Old Testament</i>, “God will teach all the people.” These are the people who come to me: Everyone who hears the Father and learns from him. 


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I do not mean that anyone has seen the Father. Nobody has seen the Father except the Person who has come from God. It is he who has seen the Father. 


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Your <i>ancestors</i> ate the manna (special food from God) in the <i>wild, dry places</i>, but they died. 


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This bread that comes down from <i>heaven</i> is different. Anyone who eats this bread will not die. 


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I am the bread that is alive. This bread came down from <i>heaven</i>. If anyone eats this bread, he will live always. The bread that I will give is my body. I will give it so that all people in the world can live.’ <n>Verse 45 See Isaiah 54:13. 


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Then the <i>Jews</i> became angry and they quarrelled with each other even more. They said, ‘This man cannot give his body to us so that we can eat it!’ 


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Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you what is true. You must eat the body of the Son of Man and you must drink his blood. Unless you do those things, you are not really alive. 


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Every person needs to eat my body and they need to drink my blood. If they do those things, they are alive for always. And I will raise them up on the last day. 


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Every person needs to eat my body and they need to drink my blood. If a person does that, that person lives in me. And I live in them. 


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The Father, who is alive, sent me. And I live because of him. In the same way, anyone who eats me will live because of me. 


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This is the bread that came down from <i>heaven</i>. It is not like the manna (special food from God) that your <i>ancestors</i> ate. They ate it but they died. But the person who eats this bread will live always.’


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Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the <i>synagogue</i> at Capernaum. <n>Many <i>disciples</i> go away from Jesus</n>


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Many of Jesus’ <i>disciples</i> did not like these words. They said, ‘This thing that he teaches is too difficult. Nobody can agree with it!’ 


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Jesus himself knew that the <i>disciples</i> were arguing. He did not need anyone to tell him. He said to them, ‘This seems to make you surprised and angry. 


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So think about this. The Son of Man goes up again to the place where he was before. And you see him go up. Think about how you would feel then. 


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It is the Spirit that causes you to live. The body alone is worth nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are <i>spirit</i>. They cause you to live. 


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But some of you do not believe.’ Jesus had known from the beginning which of them would not believe. Also, he had always known who would sell him to his <i>enemies</i>. 


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Then Jesus said these words: ‘So I told you that only the Father can bring people to me. Nobody can come to me unless the Father makes them able to come.’


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Simon Peter answered him, ‘<i>Lord</i>, we do not know whom we would go away to. You have the words that cause people to live always. 


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And we believe that you are the <i>Holy One</i>. We believe that you have come from God. We are sure about that.’ 


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Jesus replied, ‘I have chosen the 12 of you. But one of you is a devil (bad <i>spirit</i> from <i>Satan</i>)!’ 


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He was speaking about Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Judas was one of the 12 special <i>disciples</i>. But after this time he would sell Jesus to Jesus’ <i>enemies</i>.


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After this, Jesus visited many places in Galilee. He did not want to visit Judea because the <i>Jews</i>’ leaders there wanted to kill him. 


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So Jesus’ brothers said to him, ‘You should leave this place and you should go to Judea. Then your <i>disciples</i> can see the great things that you do. 


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Nobody does things secretly if he wants everyone to know him. You are doing these things, so you should show yourself to everybody.’ 


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People who belong to this world cannot <i>hate</i> you. But they <i>hate</i> me. The things that they do are wrong. And I show that those things are wrong. That is why they <i>hate</i> me. 


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You go to the <i>festival</i>. I will not go to it yet because it is not the right time for me yet.’ 


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Jesus said this and then he stayed in Galilee. <n>Verse 2 The <i>Festival of Tabernacles</i> continued for a week. The people built houses from branches and they lived in these small houses during the <i>festival</i>. This helped them to remember what God had done many years before this. A long time before this, their <i>ancestors</i> had left Egypt and they had lived in houses like this. God had brought them out of Egypt so that they did not have to be slaves there any longer. The <i>festival</i> happened each year, after Israel’s people had brought in all the year’s fruits from the fields. It was a time for the people to thank God because he was so good to them. [Leviticus 23:33-36] [Leviticus 23:39-43] [Deuteronomy 16:13-15] <n>Jesus goes to the <i>Festival of Tabernacles</i></n>


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Some time after his brothers had gone, Jesus went to the <i>festival</i> also. But he did not let everybody know that he was going. Instead, he went secretly. 


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The <i>Jews</i>’ leaders were looking for him at the <i>festival</i>. They asked, ‘Where is that man?’ 


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Small groups in the crowd were talking quietly. Some people said, ‘He is a good man.’ But other people said, ‘No, he is telling the people things that are not true.’ 


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When about half of the time for the <i>festival</i> had finished, Jesus went to God’s Great House (the temple). He started to teach there. 


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The <i>Jews</i>’ leaders were very surprised. They asked, ‘How does this man know so much? He has not learned in our schools.’ 


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Anyone can choose to do what God wants. Those people will know about what I teach. They will know whether it comes from God. And they will know if it comes from my own thoughts. 


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A person who teaches his own ideas wants people to think great things about him. But a person who wants to show great things about someone else is different. A person like that wants people to think great things about him who sent him. A person like that is honest and there is nothing false in him. 


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Moses gave God’s rules to you. But not one of you obeys those rules. Why are you trying to kill me?’


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The crowd answered, ‘You have a demon (bad <i>spirit</i> from <i>Satan</i>). Who is trying to kill you?’ 


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Jesus replied, ‘I have done one <i>miracle</i> on the <i>Sabbath</i> day, and all of you were surprised. 


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But you will <i>circumcise</i> a boy on the <i>Sabbath</i> day. Moses told you that you must <i>circumcise</i> your sons. That is why you will do it. Your <i>ancestors</i> did it even before Moses was born. 


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You will <i>circumcise</i> a boy on the <i>Sabbath</i> day so that you obey Moses’ rules. So you should not be angry with me because I made a man completely well on the <i>Sabbath</i> day. 


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Do not <i>judge</i> about things because of what they may seem to be. Instead, <i>judge</i> about things because of what is right.’ <n>Verses 22-23 God had told Israel’s people that they must circumcise every boy. To circumcise means to cut off the skin that covers the end of a boy’s or a man’s sex part. It was a mark to show that Israel’s people had agreed to obey God. It showed that they belonged to God’s people, Israel. They circumcised a boy 8 days after he was born. Even if the eighth day was a <i>Sabbath</i> day, they circumcised the baby on that day. <n>The people talk about whether Jesus is the <i>Messiah</i></n>


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But look! He is speaking to the crowds. And the leaders are not saying anything to him! Perhaps they think that he is really the <i>Christ</i>! 


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But we know where this man came from. When the <i>Christ</i> comes, nobody will know that. Nobody will know where he has come from.’


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Jesus was teaching in God’s Great House (the temple). He shouted, ‘Yes, you know me. And you know where I came from. I have not come because I myself decided to come. He who sent me is true. You do not know him. 


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When they heard this, they tried to take him to a prison. But nobody put their hands on him, because it was not the right time. It was not the right time for that to happen. 


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But many people in the crowd believed him. They said, ‘This man has done so many <i>miracles</i>. Nobody could do more <i>miracles</i>. Surely he is the <i>Christ</i>!’


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The <i>Pharisees</i> heard what the crowds were saying quietly about Jesus. Then the most important <i>priests</i> and the <i>Pharisees</i> sent some soldiers to take him away. 


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The <i>Jews</i>’ leaders asked each other, ‘What is he trying to tell us? Where can he go so that we cannot find him? Perhaps he will go to our people who live among the <i>Greeks</i>. Perhaps he will go to teach the Greeks. 


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He says, “You will look for me, but you will not find me.” And he says, “You cannot go to the place where I will be.” What does he mean?’ <n>Verse 35 Greeks are people who come from the country called Greece. When Jesus lived on the earth, Greek people lived in many places outside Greece. <n>Streams of the water that causes people to live</n>


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The last day of the <i>festival</i> was the most important day. On that day, Jesus stood up and he spoke with a loud voice. He said, ‘If anyone is <i>thirsty</i>, he should come to me. He should come to me and he should drink. 


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As it says in the <i>Old Testament</i>, “God will cause streams of water to pour out from anyone who believes me. Streams of the water that causes people to live will come out from inside that person.” ’ 


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Jesus was speaking about God’s Spirit, who would come to people some time after that. Those people who believed Jesus would receive God’s Spirit then. But God had not given his Spirit yet, because he had not raised Jesus yet. He had not yet raised Jesus, so that Jesus could be in <i>heaven</i> with him again. <n>Verse 38 Many verses in the <i>Old Testament</i> speak about water that causes us to live. See, for example, Isaiah 44:3; 58:11 and Zechariah 13:1; 14:8. The <i>Jews</i> would read these verses aloud at the <i>Festival of Tabernacles</i>. <n>The people argue</n>


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Some of the people in the crowd heard Jesus say these words. Then they said, ‘This man really is the <i>Prophet</i> that we were waiting for!’ 


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Other people said, ‘This man is the <i>Christ</i>.’ But some people said, ‘The <i>Prophet</i> will not come from Galilee! 


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The <i>Old Testament</i> says that the <i>Christ</i> will come from King David’s <i>family</i>. He will come from Bethlehem, the town where David lived.’ 


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The soldiers returned to the most important <i>priests</i> and the <i>Pharisees</i>. They asked the soldiers, ‘Why did you not bring him here?’ 


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Nicodemus was one of the <i>Pharisees</i>. He was the man who had gone to see Jesus before. He said to the other people, 


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‘Our rules say that we must listen to a man first. We must find out first what he has done. Only then can we <i>judge</i> him.’ 


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They answered, ‘Perhaps you come from Galilee, too! Study the Scriptures (<i>Old Testament</i>). You will learn from them that no <i>prophet</i> ever comes from Galilee.’ 


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Then everyone went to his own home. <n>Many old translations do not have the last verse of chapter 7. 


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Early the next morning, he returned to God’s Great House (the temple). All the people came to him. He sat down and he began to teach them.


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The <i>Pharisees</i> and the scribes (men who taught God’s rules) brought a woman to him. They had found her with another man. She was having sex with a man who was not her husband. They caused her to stand in front of all the people there. 


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They said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we found this woman. She was having sex with a man who was not her husband. 


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Moses’ rules say that we should throw stones at this kind of woman, to kill her. What do you say about this?’ 


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They asked this question for a reason. They wanted Jesus to say something that they could use against him. But Jesus bent himself down. He started to write on the ground with his finger.


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They continued to ask him questions. Then he stood up. He said to them, ‘If any one of you has never done anything wrong, he can throw the first stone at her.’ 


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When they heard this, they began to leave. They went one at a time. The older ones went first. So then Jesus was alone with the woman. She was still standing there. 


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Jesus stood up. He said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? There seems to be nobody still here who wants to <i>punish</i> you.’ 


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She said, ‘There is nobody, Sir.’ So Jesus said, ‘And I do not want to <i>punish</i> you. Go away and do not do wrong things again.’ <n>Verse 1 The Mount of Olives was like a line of mountains outside Jerusalem, east from the city. <n>Jesus is the light of the world</n>


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Jesus spoke to the people again. He said, ‘I am the light of the world. Anyone who becomes my <i>disciple</i> will never walk in the dark. No, he will have the light that causes people to live.’ 


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The <i>Pharisees</i> began to argue with him. They said, ‘You are saying things about yourself. But you are only one man. So, what you say is not certainly true.’


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Jesus answered, ‘What I say is true. Even if I do speak on my own behalf, my words are true. I know where I came from. I know where I will go. But you do not know where I came from. You do not know where I will go. 


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But if I did <i>judge</i> anyone, I would <i>judge</i> correctly. That is because I am not alone. The Father, who sent me, is with me. 


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Your rules say, “There must be two people who agree about something. If there are two people, their words are true.” 


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I speak on my own behalf. The Father, who sent me, speaks about me also.’ <n>Verse 12 Jesus said that he was the light of the world. The <i>Jews</i> lit a special light in God’s Great House during the <i>Festival of Tabernacles</i>. <n>Verse 17 See Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15. 


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Then they asked him, ‘Where is your Father?’ Jesus answered, ‘You do not know either me or my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.’ 


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Jesus said all these words while he taught in God’s Great House (the temple). He was near the place where they kept the gifts of money. Nobody took him away to a prison, because it was not the right time for that yet. <n>Jesus says that he comes from above</n>


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Jesus said to them again, ‘I will go away and you will look for me. But you are <i>sinful</i> and you will die <i>sinful</i>. You cannot go where I will go.’ 


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So, the <i>Jews</i>’ leaders said to each other, ‘Perhaps he means that he will kill himself. He says, “You cannot go where I will go.” Perhaps that is why he says this.’ 


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Jesus answered, ‘You belong to the things down here. But I come from above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. 


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That is why I told you this. I told you that you would die <i>sinful</i>. You must believe that “I am”. If you will not believe, you will die <i>sinful</i>.’


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Then they asked him, ‘Who are you?’ Jesus answered, ‘I have told you who I am from the beginning. That is who I am. 


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I have many things to say about you. I must <i>judge</i> about many things that you do. But he who sent me is true. I tell the world only what I have heard from him.’ 


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So Jesus said, ‘You will lift up the Son of Man. Then you will know that “I am”. And you will know that I do nothing by myself. I say only what the Father has taught me to say. 


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He who sent me is with me. He has not caused me to be alone, because I obey him always. I do always the things that he wants me to do.’ 


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Many people who heard Jesus say these things believed him. <n>The <i>Jews</i>’ leaders were becoming more and more angry with Jesus. Some people believed Jesus, but many did not believe him. <n>The people did not believe that Jesus’ Father was God. The <i>Jews</i> used ‘I am’ as the name of God. Jesus said, ‘I am the light of the world’ or only the words ‘I am’ (8:12, 24, 28, 58). He was saying that he is God. <n>What is true will make you free</n>


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Then Jesus spoke to the <i>Jews</i> who believed him. He said, ‘Continue to obey the words that I have spoken to you. If you continue to do that, you are really my <i>disciples</i>. 


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They answered him, ‘We are Abraham’s grandchildren. We have never been anyone’s slaves. But you say to us, “You will become free.” What do you mean?’


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Jesus answered them, ‘I am telling you what is true. Everyone who does <i>sinful</i> things is a slave to <i>sin</i>. 


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I know that you are Abraham’s grandchildren. But you are trying to kill me, because you have no room in yourselves for my words. 


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They answered, ‘Abraham is our father!’ Jesus replied, ‘If you were really Abraham’s children, you would be like him. You would do the same things that he did. 


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I am a man who has told you only true things. I have told you the true things that I have heard from God. But you want to kill me. Abraham did not do anything like that! 


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You do the same things that your father does.’ They said to him, ‘God himself is our only Father, and we are his proper sons!’


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Jesus said to them, ‘If God was really your Father, you would love me. I came from God and now I am here. I did not come because it was my own idea. No, but God sent me. 


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You are the children of your father, the <i>Devil</i>. And you want to do the things that he wants. From the beginning, he was someone who killed people. He did not continue with what is true. There is nothing true in him. He says things that are not true. And then he is showing what he himself is like. He is the father of everything that is not true. 


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None of you can show that I have done anything wrong. You should believe me, because I am telling you true things. 


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The <i>Jews</i> answered him, ‘What we say about you is right! You are from Samaria and you have a demon (bad <i>spirit</i> from <i>Satan</i>) in you!’ 


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Jesus replied, ‘There is no demon in me.’ ‘But I want people to know how great and how good my Father is. And you want people to think bad things about me. 


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I myself am not wanting people to think great things about me. There is someone who does want people to think great things about me. And it is he who <i>judges</i> correctly about me. 


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The <i>Jews</i> shouted, ‘Now we know that a demon (bad <i>spirit</i>) lives in you! Abraham and all the <i>prophets</i> died. But you say, “Anyone who obeys my words will never die!” 


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You cannot be greater than our father Abraham, who died! You cannot be greater than all the <i>prophets</i>, who died! Who do you think that you are?’


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Jesus replied, ‘If I myself wanted people to think great things about me, that would be worth nothing. But it is my Father who wants that. And you say that he is your God. 


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You have never known him, but I know him. I might say, “I do not know him.” But then I would be saying something that is not true. So, I would be like you. But I do know him, and I obey his words. 


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Your father Abraham knew that I would come. He knew that he would see that time. He knew that he would be very happy then. He did see that time, and he was very happy.’


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Then they picked up stones so that they could throw them at him. But Jesus hid himself, and he went out of God’s Great House (the temple). <n>Verse 58 The <i>Jews</i> used ‘I am’ as the name of God. When Jesus said, ‘I am’, they would have recognised this name. He was saying that he is God. 


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While Jesus was walking along, he saw a certain man. This man had been unable to see since he was born. 


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Jesus’ <i>disciples</i> asked him, ‘Teacher, why was this man born unable to see? Was it because he himself did something wrong? Or was it because his parents did something wrong?’ 


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Jesus answered, ‘It was not because either this man or his parents did something wrong. It happened so that God could show his work in this man. 


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While it is still day, we must continue to work. We must do the work of him who sent me. We must work now because it will be night soon. Then nobody can work. 


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When Jesus had finished speaking, he spat (sent water from his mouth) on the ground. He mixed it on the ground so that he made <i>mud</i>. Then he put some of the <i>mud</i> on the eyes of the man who was unable to see. 


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Jesus said to him, ‘Go and wash in the Siloam pool.’ (The name Siloam means ‘sent’.) So the man went there and he washed himself. When he returned, he could see.


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Then people who knew the man began to talk about him. Also, people who had seen him before spoke to each other about him. They had seen him when he was asking for money. They asked, ‘Is this the man who sat here? Is this the man who asked for money?’ 


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Some people said, ‘Yes, it is him.’ But other people said, ‘No, it is someone who is very like him.’ So the man himself said, ‘I am that man.’ 


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He answered, ‘The man called Jesus made some <i>mud</i>. He put the <i>mud</i> on my eyes. Then he sent me to wash in the Siloam pool. So I went there and I washed. And then I could see.’ 


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They asked him, ‘Where is this man?’ He replied, ‘I do not know.’ <n>The <i>Pharisees</i> talk to the man who had been unable to see</n>


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So the <i>Pharisees</i> asked the man again, ‘How did you become able to see?’ The man replied, ‘Jesus put <i>mud</i> on my eyes. Then I washed and now I can see.’ <n>Verses 6-15 When water mixes with material from the ground, it makes mud. 


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So some of the <i>Pharisees</i> said, ‘This man (Jesus) cannot have come from God. He does not obey the rules about the <i>Sabbath</i> day.’ But other <i>Pharisees</i> said, ‘Nobody who is <i>sinful</i> could do great things like this!’ So they did not agree with each other. 


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The <i>Pharisees</i> spoke again to the man who had been unable to see. They said, ‘What do you yourself say about this man who has made you able to see?’ The man replied, ‘He is a <i>prophet</i>.’


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The <i>Jews</i>’ leaders did not want to believe that the man had really been unable to see. They did not want to believe that he had become able to see. So, they sent people to ask the man’s parents to come to them. 


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They asked the parents, ‘Is this your son? You say, “When he was born, he was unable to see.” But now he can see. How did this happen?’ 


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The parents replied, ‘We know that this is our son. And when he was born, he was unable to see. We know that, too. 


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But we do not know how he can see now. And we do not know who made him able to see. Ask him. He is old enough. He himself can answer!’ 


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The man’s parents said these things because they were afraid of the <i>Jews</i>’ leaders. The <i>Jews</i>’ leaders did not want anyone to say that Jesus was the <i>Christ</i>. They had already agreed to <i>punish</i> anyone who said that. The leaders would not let anyone like that belong to the <i>synagogue</i>. 


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So the leaders asked again to speak to the man who had been unable to see. They said to him, ‘Promise that you will speak only true things. Promise that in front of God. We know that this man is <i>sinful</i>.’ 


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The man replied, ‘I do not know whether he is <i>sinful</i> or not. But I do know one thing. I was unable to see and now I can see. I do know that.’ 


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He answered them, ‘I have told you already and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his <i>disciples</i> too?’ 


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Then they were very angry with him. They shouted at him, ‘You are that man’s <i>disciple</i>. But we are Moses’ <i>disciples</i>. 


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The man answered, ‘That is a very strange thing! You do not know where Jesus comes from. But it was he who made me able to see. 


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We know that God does not listen to <i>sinful</i> people. But God does listen to some people: <br/> People who believe how great he is. <br/> People who do what he wants them to do. <br/> He does listen to those people. We know that. 


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Nobody before has ever made a man able to see, who was born unable to see. Since the world began, nobody has ever done that! 


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Surely, this man who made me able to see has come from God. Unless he came from God, he could not do anything.’ 


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The <i>Jews</i>’ leaders answered, ‘You have always been <i>sinful</i>, since the day that you were born. You cannot try to teach us!’ And they threw him out. <n>Jesus came to cause people really to see</n>


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Jesus heard that the <i>Jews</i>’ leaders had thrown the man out. So, he found the man. And Jesus asked him, ‘Do you believe the Son of Man?’ 


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Then the man said, ‘<i>Lord</i>, I believe.’ He bent down on his knees and he <i>worshipped</i> Jesus.


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Then Jesus said, ‘I came into this world to show what people are really like. So then, those people who do not see will be able to see. And those people who do see will become unable to see.’ 


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Some of the <i>Pharisees</i> who were there with him heard this. They asked Jesus, ‘Do you mean that we are unable to see also?’ 


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Jesus said to them, ‘If you were unable to see, you would not have done anything wrong. But you say that you can see. So, that means that you are still continuing to do something wrong.’


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Jesus said, ‘I am telling you what is true. A <i>shepherd</i> keeps his sheep in a safe place with a wall round it. There is a gate into that safe place. Anyone else who gets into that place by another way, not through the gate, is not the <i>shepherd</i>. That person is bad. He comes to take away the sheep that are not his. 


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The person who watches the gate opens it for the <i>shepherd</i>. The sheep recognise the <i>shepherd</i>’s voice. He calls each of his own sheep by their name and he leads them out. 


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When he has brought all his own sheep out, he goes in front of them. And the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 


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They will not follow a stranger. They will run away from a stranger because they do not recognise his voice.’


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Jesus told them this story that was like a picture. But they did not understand what he was saying to them. <n>Jesus is like the good <i>shepherd</i></n>


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All other men who ever came to the <i>sheep</i> before me were bad. They wanted to take away the sheep that were not theirs. But the sheep did not listen to them. 


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I am like the gate. Anyone who comes in through me will be safe. He will come in and he will go out. And he will find plenty of food. 


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He who comes to take away my <i>sheep</i> comes only to kill them. He comes only to destroy. I have come so that they can live. And so they can have everything that they need.’


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‘I am like the good <i>shepherd</i>. The good <i>shepherd</i> would die so that he can save his sheep. 


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Another man may work with the sheep so that he gets money. But the sheep are not his own. A man like that is not the <i>shepherd</i>. A man like that runs away when he sees a wolf (a wild dog). The wolf comes to kill the sheep. But a man like that leaves the sheep and he runs away. So, the wolf attacks the sheep and it causes them to run in all directions. 


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I know them in the same way that my Father knows me. And they know me in the same way that I know the Father. And I will die on behalf of the <i>sheep</i>. 


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I have other <i>sheep</i> also, and I must bring them too. They do not belong to this group of sheep. But they will listen to my voice, and so all the sheep will become one group, with one <i>shepherd</i>. 


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The Father loves me because I will choose to die. I will choose to die so that then I can become alive again. 


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Nobody causes me to die. No, instead, I myself choose to die. I have authority so that I can choose to die. Also, I have authority so that I can become alive again. My Father has said that I must do that.’


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Many of them said, ‘He has a demon (bad <i>spirit</i> from <i>Satan</i>) and he is crazy. You should not listen to him!’ 


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But other people said, ‘A man with a demon (bad <i>spirit</i>) could not talk like this! A demon could not make people able to see!’ <n>Verses 1-16 A shepherd is a person who keeps sheep safe. And he is good to them. The <i>prophets</i> had often said that God was like a shepherd. He is good to his people as a shepherd is good to his sheep. <n>The <i>Jews</i>’ leaders do not believe Jesus</n>


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It was the time for the <i>Dedication Festival</i> at Jerusalem. <n>Verse 22 At the <i>Dedication Festival</i>, Israel’s people remembered a special time, 165 years before Jesus came to the earth. A foreign ruler had come to Jerusalem. He had put false gods in God’s Great House (the temple). But some of Israel’s people attacked that ruler and they sent him away. Then they made God’s Great House clean again so that they could <i>worship</i> the one true God there. At the <i>Dedication Festival</i>, the people remembered this. 


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It was winter. And Jesus was walking under a roof by the side of God’s Great House (the temple). The place was called <i>Solomon’s porch</i>. 


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The <i>Jews</i>’ leaders stood round him. They said to him, ‘We want to be sure about who you are. When will you tell us? If you are the <i>Christ</i>, tell us clearly.’ 


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Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, but you do not believe. The things that I do by my Father’s authority show you about me. Those things show you who I am. 


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My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all things. Nobody can ever take my <i>sheep</i> out of my Father’s hand. 


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Then the <i>Jews</i>’ leaders picked up stones again to throw at Jesus so that they could kill him. 


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Jesus said to them, ‘I have done many good things. The Father told me that I must do them. You have seen me do those good things. Which of those good things have caused you to throw stones at me?’ 


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The <i>Jews</i>’ leaders answered, ‘We do not want to kill you with stones because of any good things that you have done. We want to kill you with stones because you are speaking against God. You are only a man. But you are saying that you are God.’


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Jesus answered, ‘It says in your own Scriptures (<i>Old Testament</i>) that God said, “You are gods.” 


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The Father chose me. And he sent me into the world. I said that I am God’s Son. So you should not say, because of that, that I speak against God. 


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But if I am doing his work, believe that work. Even if you do not believe me, believe my work. Believe the things that I do. Then you will know certainly that the Father is in me. And you will know that I am in the Father.’ <n>Verse 34 See Psalm 82:6. 


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Jesus returned across the Jordan river again. He went to the place where John had <i>baptised</i> people. And Jesus stayed there. 


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Many people came to him. They said to each other, ‘John did not do any <i>miracles</i>. But everything that John said about this man was true.’ 


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A certain man, who was called Lazarus, became ill. Lazarus lived at Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived too. 


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It was this Mary who had poured oil with a lovely smell over the <i>Lord</i>. Then she had cleaned his feet with her hair. It was her brother Lazarus who was ill. 


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So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus. The message said, ‘<i>Lord</i>, the friend that you love is ill.’


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Jesus heard the message. Then he said, ‘This illness will not finish with Lazarus’s death. No, its purpose is to show how great and how powerful God is. It will show how great God’s Son is.’ 


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He heard the news that Lazarus was ill. But then he stayed in the place where he was for two more days.


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The <i>disciples</i> said, ‘Teacher, only a short time ago, the <i>Jews</i> there tried to kill you with stones. You should not return there!’ 


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Jesus answered, ‘You know that there are 12 hours in the day. Anyone who walks during the day will not fall down. He will not fall down because he sees this world’s light. 


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But anyone who walks during the night will fall down. He will fall down because there is no light in him.’


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Jesus said that. Then he said to them, ‘Our friend Lazarus is sleeping. But I go there to wake him up.’ 


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But Jesus meant that Lazarus had died. The <i>disciples</i> thought that Jesus was talking about sleep as rest. 


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But I am happy that I was not with him. I am happy about that because now you will believe. We must go to him now.’ 


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Thomas, who was called <i>Didymus</i>, spoke to the other <i>disciples</i>. He said, ‘We will go with our Teacher, so that we can die with him!’ <n>Verse 16 Didymus means ‘the Twin’. Twins are two children who were born at the same time to the same mother. <n>Jesus is able to make dead people alive</n>


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Many <i>Jews</i> had come there to visit Martha and Mary. These <i>Jews</i> wanted to be kind to Martha and Mary because their brother had died.


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Martha heard the news that Jesus was coming. So immediately, she went out to meet him. But Mary stayed at home. 


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Jesus said to her, ‘It is I who raise dead people, to make them alive. I cause people to live. Anyone who believes me will live. Even if that person dies, he will live. 


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Some people will live and believe in me. Anyone who does that will never die. Do you believe that?’ 


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She answered, ‘Yes, <i>Lord</i>, I believe that you are the <i>Christ</i>, God’s Son. You are the man that God promised to send into the world.’ <n>Jesus weeps</n>


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After this, Martha went home and she spoke secretly to her sister, Mary. Martha said, ‘The Teacher is here, and he is asking to meet you.’ 


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The <i>Jews</i> in the house, who were being kind to Mary, saw her get up quickly. They saw her go out and so they followed her. They thought that she was going to the <i>tomb</i> to weep there.


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Mary arrived at the place where Jesus was. When she saw Jesus, she fell at his feet. She said, ‘<i>Lord</i>, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ 


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Jesus saw that Mary was weeping. The <i>Jews</i> who had come with her were weeping, too. Jesus saw them and he felt very, very sad in his <i>spirit</i>. He was very sorry for them. 


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But some of them said, ‘He opened the eyes of the man who could not see. So, surely he would have been able to stop Lazarus from dying.’ <n>Jesus makes Lazarus alive again</n>


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Jesus felt very, very sad again while he was coming to the <i>tomb</i>. It was a big hole in the rock. A very big stone covered the way into it. 


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Jesus said, ‘Take the stone away.’ Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to Jesus, ‘But <i>Lord</i>, his dead body will have a bad smell. He has been dead for 4 days!’ 


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Jesus said to her, ‘I told you that you must believe. Then, as a result, you will see how great and how powerful God is. That is what I told you.’ 


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So they took the stone away. Jesus looked up towards the sky. He said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have listened to me. 


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I know that you listen to me always. But I said this because of all the people who are standing here. I want them to believe that you sent me.’ 


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The dead man came out. There were pieces of cloth round his hands and round his feet. Another piece of cloth was round his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Undo the cloths and let him go.’ <n>The <i>Pharisees</i> decide how to kill Jesus</n>


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Many of the <i>Jews</i> who had come to visit Mary saw this. They saw what Jesus did. So, they believed him. 


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Then the <i>Pharisees</i> and the most important <i>priests</i> had a meeting. They said to each other, ‘What will we do? This man is doing so many <i>miracles</i>. 


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If we let him do more things like this, everyone will believe him. Then the <i>Romans</i> will come. And they will destroy our temple (God’s Great House) and they will kill our people.’ <n>Verse 48 The <i>Romans</i> had attacked Israel and they were ruling the country. <n>The <i>priests</i>’ leaders and the <i>Pharisees</i> did not want to believe Jesus. Jesus had said that he was God’s Son. But that had made them very angry. They were even angrier when Jesus made the dead man, Lazarus, alive again. They were afraid that they would lose their authority. They were afraid that the people would make Jesus their leader, or even a king. So then the <i>Romans</i> would <i>punish</i> all the <i>Jews</i>. 


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One of them, who was called Caiaphas, was the <i>priests</i>’ leader that year. He said, ‘You do not understand the problem. 


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It is better that one man should die on behalf of the people. That is better than if all the people in our country died.’ 


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Caiaphas did not say this because he had thought it by himself. No, he was speaking as a <i>prophet</i> because he was the <i>priests</i>’ leader that year. He spoke as a <i>prophet</i> that Jesus would die on behalf of Israel’s people. 


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And Jesus would die not only for Israel’s people. Also, his death would bring together all God’s people who lived in many different places. They would become like one big <i>family</i>.


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So, Jesus stopped travelling about in Judea where everyone could see him. Instead, he went away secretly to a town called Ephraim. It was near to the <i>wild place</i>. He stayed there with the <i>disciples</i>.


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It was almost time for the <i>Jews</i>’ <i>Passover Festival</i>. Many people were going from their country places to Jerusalem. They were going to make themselves clean and ready for God before they went to the <i>festival</i>. 


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They were looking for Jesus. While they were standing in God’s Great House (the temple), they spoke to each other about him. They asked each other, ‘Do you think that he will come to the <i>festival</i> or not?’ 


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The most important <i>priests</i> and the <i>Pharisees</i> had spoken to the people about Jesus. They had told them, ‘Someone may know where Jesus is. If anyone does know that, you must tell us.’ So then they could put him in a prison.


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Six days before the <i>Passover</i>, Jesus went to Bethany, the village where Lazarus lived. He was the man who had been dead. But Jesus had raised him, to make him alive again. 


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Some friends prepared a special meal there for Jesus. Martha gave out the food, and Lazarus sat among the visitors, with Jesus. 


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Then Mary brought a pound of very expensive oil that had a lovely smell. She poured it over Jesus’ feet and then she cleaned his feet with her hair. The smell of the oil filled the whole house.


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Then Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ <i>disciples</i>, spoke. He was the man who would sell Jesus to Jesus’ <i>enemies</i>. Judas said, 


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‘She could have sold this expensive oil for as much money as someone would get for a year’s work. And she could have given that money to poor people.’ 


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He did not say this because he really wanted to help the poor people. No, he said it because he wanted the money himself. He kept the bag of money, and sometimes he took money from it for himself. 


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By this time, a large crowd of <i>Jews</i> had heard the news that Jesus was at Bethany. So, they came there to see him. They came also to see Lazarus, because Jesus had made him alive again. 


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So the most important <i>priests</i>, who had already decided to kill Jesus, decided to kill Lazarus too. 


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They decided to do that because many <i>Jews</i> were refusing to obey them. Instead, these <i>Jews</i> were believing Jesus because of what he had done for Lazarus. <n>Jesus goes into Jerusalem as the <i>Messiah</i></n>


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The next day, a large crowd of people were in Jerusalem for the <i>festival</i>. They heard the news that Jesus was on the way there. 


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So, they took branches from <i>palm</i> trees and they went out to meet Jesus. They were shouting, ‘Save us now! God is good to the man who comes in the name of the <i>Lord</i>. God is good to the King of Israel!’ 


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‘Do not be afraid, people in Zion (Jerusalem). <n>Look! Your king is coming. <n>He is riding on a young <i>donkey</i>.’ <n>Verse 13 Palm trees are trees with big leaves. <n>Verses 14-15 A donkey is an animal like a small horse. People use donkeys to carry things. <n>Verse 15 The book of Zechariah the <i>prophet</i> told Israel’s people that their king would ride on a donkey. (See Zechariah 9:9.) Jesus was showing the people that he was that king. But this only made their leaders angrier than before. Jesus was not the kind of king that they wanted. They wanted a leader who would send all the <i>Romans</i> away. They did not want a man who would help them to know God. 


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Jesus’ <i>disciples</i> did not understand all this at that time. They understood only after Jesus had returned to God in <i>heaven</i>. Then they remembered that the <i>Old Testament</i> said these things about him. And they remembered that these things had happened to him. 


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The crowd who had been with Jesus before, continued to tell people about Lazarus. Jesus had told Lazarus that he should come out of the <i>tomb</i>. Jesus had made Lazarus alive again after he had been dead. The crowd continued to tell people about this. 


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That is why all the people came to meet Jesus. They had heard that he had done this <i>miracle</i>. 


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So, the <i>Pharisees</i> said to each other, ‘This is not what we wanted. Look! All the people in the world are running after him!’ <n>Jesus says that he will soon die</n>


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There were some Greeks (people from Greece) among the people who had come to <i>worship</i> God at the <i>festival</i>. 


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These Greeks came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida city in Galilee. They said to him, ‘Sir, we want to talk with Jesus.’ 


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Philip went to Andrew and he told Andrew this. Then Philip and Andrew went to Jesus and they told him.


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Jesus said to them, ‘God will show how great and how good the Son of Man is. It is now time for that to happen. 


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I am telling you what is true. A seed of <i>wheat</i> continues to be only a single seed unless it dies. It must fall into the ground and then it must die. But if it dies, it grows to give a lot of seeds.’ <n>Verse 24 Wheat is a kind of seed that grows on farms. People make bread from the flour that comes from wheat seeds. 


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‘Anyone who loves his own life will lose it. But anyone who <i>hates</i> his life in this world will live always. 


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Anyone who wants to be my servant must follow me. Then he will be with me, where I am. My Father will do great things for anyone who is my servant. 


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Now I feel very sad. And I have trouble in my mind. I might say, “Father, save me from this very difficult time!” But I came to the world for this purpose. I came so that I could go through this difficult time. 


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Father, show how great and how good you are.’ <n>Then someone spoke from <i>heaven</i>, ‘I have shown how great and how good I am. And I will do it again.’ 


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The crowd of people who were standing there heard the sound of this voice. And they said that it was like the noise of a storm. But other people said, ‘An <i>angel</i> spoke to him!’


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Jesus said, ‘This voice did not speak so that it could help me. No, it spoke so that it could help you. 


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It is time now for God to <i>judge</i> the people in this world. Now he will throw out the ruler of this world. 


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The crowd said, ‘The Scriptures (<i>Old Testament</i>) tell us that the <i>Christ</i> will continue always. So why do you say, “People must lift up the Son of Man”? Who is this Son of Man?’ 


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Jesus answered, ‘The light will be with you for only a short time longer. So, continue to walk while you still have the light. Then the dark will not come over you. Anyone who walks in the dark does not know the way. That person does not know where he is going. 


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Believe the light, while you have the light. So then you will become sons of light.’ When Jesus had said this, he went away. And he hid himself from them. <n>Verse 32 Jesus said that people would ‘lift him up’. He meant that they would lift him up on a <i>cross</i> of wood to die. The <i>Romans</i> were the rulers of Israel and of most other countries when Jesus lived on the earth. They often <i>punished</i> people in that way. <n>The <i>Jews</i> still do not believe Jesus</n>


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Jesus had done so many <i>miracles</i> that the people themselves had seen. But even then, they still did not believe him. 


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This showed that the <i>prophet</i> Isaiah had spoken true words. Isaiah had said: <n>‘<i>Lord</i>, nobody has believed our message. <n>Nobody has understood how powerful the <i>Lord</i> is.’ <n>Verse 38 See Isaiah 53:1. 


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He said: <n>‘God has made their eyes unable to see. <n>He has closed their minds. <n>So they cannot see with their eyes, <n>and they cannot understand with their minds. <n>They will not turn to me, so that I can make them well.’ <n>Verse 40 See Isaiah 6:10. 


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But many of the <i>Jews</i>’ leaders did believe Jesus. But they did not tell people that they believed. They did not speak about it because they were afraid of the <i>Pharisees</i>. They were afraid that the <i>Pharisees</i> would send them away from the <i>synagogue</i>. 


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They wanted other people to think good things about them more than they wanted to make God happy. <n>Jesus’ words will <i>judge</i> people</n>


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Jesus said in a loud voice, ‘Anyone who believes me does not believe only me. That person believes also him who sent me. 


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I have come into the world to be a light. Everyone who believes me will not remain in the dark. That is why I came. 


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Some people may hear my words but not obey them. I will not <i>judge</i> anyone who does that. I did not come to <i>judge</i> the people in the world. I came to save them. 


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Something else will <i>judge</i> anyone who refuses me. Something else will <i>judge</i> anyone who will not listen to my words. The message that I have spoken will <i>judge</i> him on the last day. 


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The words that I have spoken did not come from me myself. They came from the Father, who sent me. He told me what to say. And he told me how to say it. 


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What the Father says causes people to live always. I know that. So, I say only those things that the Father has said to me.’


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It was nearly time for the <i>Passover Festival</i>. Jesus knew that it was almost time for him to leave this world. It was almost time for him to go to the Father. He had always loved those people in the world who were his own. And he loved them to the end.


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Jesus and his <i>disciples</i> were eating supper. The <i>Devil</i> had already put an idea into the mind of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son. The idea was to sell Jesus to his <i>enemies</i>. 


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Jesus knew that the Father had given him <i>power</i> over everything. He knew that he had come from God. And he knew that he would soon return to God. 


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So, during the meal, he stood up. He took off the coat that he wore over his other clothes. He tied a thick cloth round his body. 


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Then he poured water into a bowl (a wide pot) and he began to wash the <i>disciples</i>’ feet. Jesus made their feet dry with the thick cloth that was round him.


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Jesus answered him, ‘You do not understand now what I am doing. But you will understand some time after this.’ 


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Peter said, ‘You will never, never wash my feet!’ Jesus answered, ‘If I do not wash you, you do not belong with me.’ 


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Jesus said, ‘A person who has had a bath is completely clean. He needs only to wash his feet. And all of you are clean, except one of you.’ 


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Jesus knew already who would sell him to his <i>enemies</i>. That is why he said, ‘All of you are clean, except one.’


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When he had finished washing their feet, Jesus put on his coat. He returned to his place at the meal. He asked them, ‘I want you to understand what I have just done to you. 


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You call me Teacher and <i>Lord</i>. And you are right when you say that. You are right, because I am your Teacher and <i>Lord</i>. 


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I am your Teacher and your <i>Lord</i>, and I have washed your feet. So, you should wash each other’s feet also. 


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I am telling you what is true. No slave is more important than his master is. And no <i>messenger</i> is more important than the person who sent him. 


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‘I am not talking about all of you. I know the people that I have chosen. The <i>Old Testament</i> says, “Someone who ate food with me has become my <i>enemy</i>.” So that is what must happen. 


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I am telling you this now, before it happens. So then, when it does happen, you will believe. You will believe that “I am”. 


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I am telling you what is true. Some people will accept those that I send. And anyone who accepts them is accepting me also. And so some people will accept me. And anyone like that is accepting also him who sent me.’ <n>Verse 18 See Psalm 41:9. <n>Verse 19 The <i>Jews</i> used ‘I am’ as the name of God. When Jesus said, ‘I am’, they would have recognised this name. He was saying that he is God. <n>Jesus tells the <i>disciples</i> that one of them will sell him to his <i>enemies</i></n>


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After Jesus had said this, he felt very, very sad. And he had trouble in his mind. He said to them very seriously, ‘I am telling you what is true. One of you will sell me to my <i>enemies</i>.’ 


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The <i>disciples</i> looked at each other. They did not know which of them Jesus was speaking about. 


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Jesus answered, ‘I will put a piece of bread in the dish of food. Then I will give the bread to him. That is the man.’ So he put a piece of bread in the dish. Then he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.


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Then, when Judas had taken the bread, <i>Satan</i> came into him. Then Jesus said to Judas, ‘Do quickly what you want to do.’ 


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None of the other men who were sitting at the meal understood this. They did not know why Jesus said this to Judas. 


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Some of them thought that Jesus had asked Judas to buy some things. Judas was going out to buy what they needed for the <i>festival</i>. That was what some of them thought. Some of them thought that Jesus had asked Judas to give some money to the poor people. That was because Judas kept the bag of money on behalf of all of them.


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When Judas had left, Jesus said, ‘Now people will see how great and how good the Son of Man is. And in him, they will see how great and how good God is. 


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The Son will show how great God is. Then God will take the Son to himself. And God will show how great the Son is. And he will do that immediately. 


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My children, I will be with you for only a short time. You will look for me. But I tell you now what I told the <i>Jews</i>. You cannot go where I go now. 


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By this, everyone will know that you are my <i>disciples</i>. They will know it, if you really love each other.’


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Simon Peter asked him, ‘Where will you go, <i>Lord</i>?’ Jesus replied, ‘You cannot follow now where I will go. But you will follow some time after this.’ 


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Jesus answered, ‘You say that you would die for me. But I am telling you what is true. You will say that you do not know me. Before the first bird sings, early in the morning, you will say it three times.’


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Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not let yourselves be sad and afraid. Believe God, and believe me also. 


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There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I would not tell you this if it was not true. And I will go now so that I can prepare a place for you. 


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After I have prepared a place for you, I will return. I will take you so that you will be with me. So then you will be where I am. 


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Thomas said to him, ‘<i>Lord</i>, we do not know where you will go. So how can we know the way to get there?’ 


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Jesus answered, ‘I am the way. I am what is true. And I am the life. Nobody comes to the Father except by me. 


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If you really know me, you will know my Father also. From this time, you do know him, and you have seen him.’


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Jesus answered, ‘I have been with all of you for such a long time. But still you do not seem to know me, Philip! Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. So why do you say, “Show the Father to us”? 


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I am in the Father and the Father is in me. You should believe that. The words that I say to you do not come from me myself. But the Father, who lives in me, is doing his work. 


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I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Believe me when I say that. Or, if you do not believe my words, believe because of my work. Believe because of the things that I have done. 


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I am telling you what is true. Anyone who believes me will do the same things as me. That person will do the same things that I have done. Yes, he will do even greater things than these, because I go to my Father. 


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Ask for things in my name (because you are mine). If you ask anything in my name, I will do it. So then the Son will show everyone how great and how good the Father is. 


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If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.’ <n>Verses 13-14 Jesus says that his <i>disciples</i> should ask for things ‘in his name’. This means ‘because they are his’. So they will ask only for things that God is happy to give to them. <n>Jesus promises God’s Spirit</n>


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I will ask the Father. And he will give to you another Person who will help you. That Helper will stay with you always. 


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He is the Spirit, who shows you true things. The people who belong to this world cannot receive him. That is because they cannot see him. They cannot know him. But you know him because he stays with you. And he will be in you. 


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‘After a short time, the people who belong to this world will not see me any longer. But you will see me. And because I live, you will live also. 


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On that day, you will know that I am in my Father. You will know that you are in me. And you will know that I am in you. 


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Some people will listen to what I have told them. And they will obey what I have said. It is those people who love me. My Father will love everyone who loves me. And I will love them and I will show myself to them.’


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Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, ‘<i>Lord</i>, why will you show yourself only to us? Why will you not show yourself also to the people who belong to this world?’


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Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my words. My Father will love him. And my Father and I will come to him and we will make our home with him. 


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Anyone who does not love me will not obey my words. And these words that you hear are not my own. No, these words come from the Father, who sent me. 


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But the Father will send the Holy (completely good) Spirit. And it is he who will help you. He will come in my name. He will teach you all things. And he will cause you to remember everything that I have told you.’ <n>Verse 26 ‘In my name’ here means that the Spirit is like Jesus himself. He teaches us the things that Jesus wants us to learn. 


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‘I will go away but I will cause a gift to stay with you. My gift is that I will give you <i>power</i> to be without trouble in your minds and in your <i>hearts</i>. In the same way that I myself have this <i>power</i>, I will cause you to have it also. My gift to you is not like what this world gives. Do not let yourselves be sad or afraid. 


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You heard me say to you, “I will go away, but I will return to you.” If you loved me, you would be happy because of that. You would be happy because I go to the Father. And he is greater than I am. 


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I will not talk with you much more, because the ruler of this world will come soon. He has no <i>power</i> over me. 


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But the people who belong to this world must learn about me. They must know that I love the Father. And I do everything that he asks me to do. I must show that to them. So get up, we must go.’ <n>All through this book, Jesus teaches the <i>disciples</i> that there are two kinds of people. The people who love this world will not listen to Jesus’ words. They belong to the people of the ruler of this world, the <i>Devil</i>. But those people who listen to Jesus are different. They obey the words that Jesus speaks. This shows that they love Jesus. And Jesus says that he will love those people. And he says that his Father also will love those people. And they will both come to live inside the people who obey Jesus. 


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Some branches that are part of me may have no fruit on them. So, my Father removes those branches. And he cuts short every branch that does make fruit. He cleans all those branches, so that they will make more fruit. 


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Continue to live in me, and I will continue to live in you. A branch cannot make fruit by itself. It can make fruit only if it continues to be part of the <i>vine</i>. You are like that. You cannot make fruit unless you continue to live in me.’


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‘I am the <i>vine</i>, and you are the branches. You must remain in me and I must remain in you. Only if you do that will you make plenty of fruit. That is because you can do nothing without me. 


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If anyone does not remain in me, that person is like a dead branch. The gardener will throw that branch away and it will become dry. People take those dry branches and they throw them into the fire. So, those dry branches burn. 


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You must remain in me, and my words must remain in you. So then you can ask for anything that you want. And God will do it for you. 


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If you make plenty of fruit, you will be my <i>disciples</i>. You will show how great and how good my Father is.’ <n>Verses 1, 4 and 5 A <i>vine</i> is a kind of plant that has many small, sweet fruits called grapes. People make <i>wine</i> from grapes. 


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You must obey everything that I have taught you. So, as a result, you will continue to know that I love you. In the same way, I have obeyed everything that the Father has asked me to do. So, as a result, I continue to know that he loves me. 


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I have told you these things so that you can be really happy. You can be happy in the same way that I myself am happy. So you will be completely happy.’


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A person really loves his friends if he dies on behalf of them. Nobody could love anyone more than that. 


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A servant does not know what his master is doing. So I do not call you servants any longer. But I have told you everything that I have heard from my Father. So, I call you friends. 


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You did not choose me, but I chose you. I chose you for a purpose. You must go and you must make fruit. You must make the kind of fruit that will continue. So, as a result, the Father will give you anything that you ask him. If you ask him in my name (because you are mine), he will give it to you. 


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This is what you must do: You must love each other.’ <n>Verse 16 Jesus says that his <i>disciples</i> should ask for things ‘in his name’. This means ‘because they are his’. So they will ask only for things that God is happy to give to them. <n>The world <i>hates</i> the <i>disciples</i></n>


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‘The people who belong to this world may <i>hate</i> you. But remember this: They <i>hated</i> me before they <i>hated</i> you. 


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If you belonged to this world, this world’s people would love you. They would love you because you would belong with them. But I chose you so that you would be separate from this world’s people. You do not belong with them, so they <i>hate</i> you. 


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Remember what I told you, “No slave is more important than his master.” If they have caused trouble for me, they will cause trouble for you, too. But if they have obeyed my words, they will obey your words, too. 


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They will do all these things to you because of me. They do not know him who sent me. That is why they will do these things.’


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‘I have come and I have spoken to them. If I had not done that, they would not have done anything wrong. But now they cannot say, “We have not done anything wrong.” 


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I did many great things when I was with them. Nobody else ever did things like that. If I had not done those things among them, they would not have done anything wrong. But they have seen what I did. And they have <i>hated</i> me. And they have hated my Father too. 


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But this had to happen. Their book of rules (the <i>Old Testament</i>) says, “They <i>hated</i> me without any good reason.” And what it says had to happen.’ <n>Verse 25 See Psalm 35:19; 69:4. 


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‘But I will send the Helper to you from the Father. The Helper is the Spirit who speaks only true things. He comes from the Father. And he will speak about me. 


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People will send you away from the <i>synagogues</i>. There will be a time when people will kill you. And they will even think that God has given them a duty to kill you. 


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But I have told you this so that you will remember. When they begin to do these things, you will remember. You will remember that I told you about them. I did not tell you this before, because I was with you.’ <n>The work of God’s Spirit</n>


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But I am telling you what is true. I will go away because it will be better for you. Unless I go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I do go away, I will send him to you. 


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When he comes, he will show things about this world’s people. He will show that they are wrong. They are wrong about <i>sin</i>. They are wrong about how to be right with God. They are wrong about how God <i>judges</i> people. 


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They are wrong about how to be right with God, because I go to the Father. And you will not see me any longer. 


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They are wrong about how God <i>judges</i> people. They are wrong about that because God has already decided to <i>punish</i> the ruler of this world.’


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But the Spirit, who shows you true things, will come. And when he comes, he will be a guide to you. He will cause you to know everything that is true. He will tell you only what he hears. He will not speak his own words. He will tell you about things that will happen after this time. 


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He will receive what I have to say. And he will tell it to you. In that way, he will show how great and how good I am. 


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Everything that the Father has is mine. That is why I said, “The Spirit will receive what I have to say. And then he will tell it to you.” ’ <n>The <i>disciples</i> will be sad first but after that they will be happy</n>


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Some of his <i>disciples</i> said to each other, ‘What does he mean? He says, “After a short time, you will not see me any longer, but soon after that, you will see me.” And he says, “because I go to the Father.” 


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Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him about this. So, he said to them, ‘I said, “After a short time, you will not see me any longer. But soon after that, you will see me.” Perhaps you are asking each other about that. 


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I am telling you what is true. You will cry and you will be sad. But the people who belong to this world will be happy. First, you will be sad, but soon after that, you will become happy instead. 


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While a woman is giving birth to a baby, she is sad. She is sad at that time because it is painful. But after the baby is born, she is happy. She forgets the pain, because now she is so happy. She is so happy because a person has been born into the world.’


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‘It is like that for you. You are sad now. But I will see you again, and you will be happy. You will be so happy. And nobody will cause you to stop being happy. 


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On that day, you will not ask me for anything. I am telling you what is true. The Father will give you anything that you ask for in my name (because you are mine). 


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Until now, you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask, and you will receive. So then you will be completely happy.’


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‘I have spoken to you with words and stories that are like pictures. But there will be a time when I will not speak like that any longer. Instead, I will speak clearly to you about the Father. 


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On that day, you will ask in my name (because you are mine). I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 


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No, because the Father himself loves you. He loves you because you love me. He loves you because you believe. You believe that I came from God. 


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I came from the Father, and I came into the world. And now I will leave the world, and I will return to the Father.’ <n>Verses 23-26 ‘In my name’ means ‘because you are mine’. The <i>disciples</i> will be united with Jesus. So then they will ask only for things that God is happy to give to them. 


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His <i>disciples</i> said, ‘Now you are speaking clearly. You are not speaking with words that are like pictures! 


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Now we are sure that you know everything. You do not need to ask people what they are thinking. Because of this, we believe that you came from God.’ 


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But it will happen very soon that all of you will run away to your own homes. Yes, it is that time already. You will leave me alone. But I am not really alone, because the Father is with me. 


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I have told you these things so that you will be without trouble in your minds and in your <i>hearts</i>. You will be like that because you are united with me. In this world, you will have trouble. But be strong! I have won! I have destroyed the <i>power</i> of this world.’


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After Jesus said this, he looked up to <i>heaven</i>. He said, ‘Father, it is the time. Show how great and how good your Son is. So then I (the Son) can show how great and how good you are. 


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You gave to me (the Son) authority over all people. You did this so that I (the Son) could cause people to live always. I could cause all those people that you gave to me to live always. 


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And this is how they will live always. They will live because they will know you. They will know you. And only you really are God. And they will know Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 


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I have finished the work that you gave to me to do. And so, I have shown on the earth how great and how good you are. 


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Now, Father, show how great and how good I am. Before the world began, I was with you. I was great and powerful with you. Show again that I am great like that.’ <n>Jesus prays for his <i>disciples</i></n>


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‘You gave some men to me out of the world. I have shown them who you are. They were yours. You gave them to me, and they have obeyed your words. 


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Now they know about me. Everything that you have given to me really comes from you. They know that now. 


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I gave to them the words that you gave to me. And they accepted those words. They know certainly that I came from you. They believe that you sent me.’


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‘I pray for them. I am not praying for the people who belong to this world. No, but I am praying for those people that you have given to me. I am praying for them because they are yours. 


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Everything that is mine is yours. And everything that is yours is mine. And these people have shown how great and how good I am. 


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Now, I will not remain in the world any longer. I will come to you. But they are still in the world. Holy (completely good) Father, keep them safe in your name (by your own <i>power</i>), that you gave to me. So then they can be united in the same way that you and I are united. 


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While I was with them, I kept them safe. I kept them safe in your name (by your own <i>power</i>), that you gave to me. I kept them safe so that none of them went the wrong way, except one. That was the man who had to go the wrong way. What the <i>Old Testament</i> says had to happen.’ <n>Verse 12 See Psalm 41:9 and 109:2-9. 


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‘Now, I will come to you. But I am saying these things while I am still in the world. I am saying them so that these men can be completely happy in their <i>hearts</i>. I want them to become completely happy in the same way that I am completely happy. 


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I have given your words to them. And the world’s people have <i>hated</i> them because they do not belong to the world. They do not belong to the world, in the same way that I do not belong to the world. 


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I am not asking that you will take them out of the world. But I want you to keep them safe from him who is bad (the <i>Devil</i>). So I am asking you to do that. 


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On behalf of them, I make myself separate, so that I obey only you. So then they can become separate for you also, by what is true.’ <n>Jesus prays for everyone who will believe him</n>


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‘I do not pray only for these people. I pray also for those people who will believe me because of their words. 


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I pray that all of them will be united. You, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they also will be united in us. So then the world’s people will believe that you sent me. 


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I have given to them the great and special gift that you gave to me. Now they can be united in the same way that you and I are united. 


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I will be in them, and you will be in me. So then they can be completely united. And, as a result, the world’s people will know that you sent me. The world’s people will know that you love them. You love them as you love me.’


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‘Father, you have given these people to me. And I want them to be with me where I am. You made me great and powerful because you loved me. You loved me before you made the world. And I want these people to see how great and how powerful I am. 


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Father, you always do what is right. The world’s people do not know you, but I know you. And these <i>disciples</i> know that you have sent me. 


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I have shown them what you are like. And I will continue to show them who you are. So then they will love other people in the same way that you love me. And so I can be in them.’ <n>The world’s people are people who refuse to believe the words of Jesus or of his <i>disciples</i>. They do not know God. So, the <i>Devil</i> has <i>power</i> over them. 


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When Jesus had finished praying, he and his <i>disciples</i> went out. They went across the Kidron valley. On the other side, there was a garden. Jesus and his <i>disciples</i> went into it. 


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Judas, who sold Jesus to Jesus’ <i>enemies</i>, knew the garden. He knew it because Jesus and his <i>disciples</i> had met there often. 


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The most important <i>priests</i> and the <i>Pharisees</i> had sent a group of soldiers and some officers to Judas. Judas led these soldiers and officers to the garden. The soldiers had long knives and they carried lights. <n>Verse 3 The soldiers were <i>Roman</i> soldiers. The officers were <i>Jews</i> who may have worked like police at God’s Great House (the temple). 


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Jesus knew everything that would soon happen to him. So, he went towards them. He asked them, ‘Whom are you looking for?’ 


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They answered, ‘Jesus, who comes from Nazareth.’ Jesus said, ‘I am.’ <n>Judas, who sold Jesus to Jesus’ <i>enemies</i>, was standing with the soldiers. 


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So Jesus asked them again, ‘Whom are you looking for?’ And they said, ‘Jesus, who comes from Nazareth.’ 


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Jesus said, ‘I have told you already that “I am” that person. So, if you are looking for me, let these other men go.’ 


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Jesus said this for a reason. Earlier, he had said, ‘I have lost none of those men that you gave to me.’ And what he had spoken earlier had to happen. <n>Verses 5, 6 and 8 The <i>Jews</i> used ‘I am’ as the name of God. When Jesus said, ‘I am’, they would have recognised this name. He was saying that he is God. 


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Simon Peter had a long knife. He lifted the knife and he attacked the Chief <i>Priest</i>’s (<i>priest</i>’s leader’s) servant. He cut off the servant’s right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. 


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Then Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your knife into the thing that covers it! Let them take me. My Father has told me what must happen to me. And I will obey him completely.’


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The group of soldiers, with their captain and the <i>Jews</i>’ officers, took Jesus and they tied him. 


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They led him first to Annas, who was the father of Caiaphas’s wife. Caiaphas was the Chief <i>Priest</i> (<i>priests</i>’ leader) that year. 


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It was Caiaphas who had spoken to the <i>Jews</i>’ leaders some time before. He had told them, ‘It is better that one man should die on behalf of all the people.’ <n>Verse 14 See John 11:50. <n>Peter says that he does not know Jesus</n>


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Simon Peter and another <i>disciple</i> followed Jesus. The Chief <i>Priest</i> (<i>priests</i>’ leader) knew that other <i>disciple</i>. So, he went with Jesus into the yard of the Chief <i>Priest</i>’s house. 


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But Peter stayed outside by the gate. Then the other <i>disciple</i>, whom the Chief <i>Priest</i> knew, went out again. He spoke to the girl who was at the gate. Then he brought Peter inside. 


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The girl who was at the gate spoke to Peter. She asked him, ‘Are you another of this man’s (Jesus’) <i>disciples</i>?’ Peter replied, ‘No, I am not!’ 


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It was cold. So the servants and the officers were standing round a fire that they had made. They were making themselves warm. Peter went to stand with them, so that he could make himself warm too. <n>The <i>Priests</i>’ Leader asks Jesus some questions</n>


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The Chief <i>Priest</i> (<i>priests</i>’ leader) asked Jesus about his <i>disciples</i>. He also asked Jesus about what Jesus taught. 


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Jesus answered him, ‘I have spoken in public places so that everyone could hear. I have always taught in <i>synagogues</i>, or in God’s Great House (the temple), where all the <i>Jews</i> meet together. I have said nothing secretly. 


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So, you do not need to ask me these questions. Ask the people who heard me. Ask them what I said to them. They know what I said.’ 


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When Jesus said this, one of the soldiers hit him on the face. The soldier said, ‘You must never speak to the Chief <i>Priest</i> (<i>priests</i>’ leader) like that!’ 


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Jesus replied, ‘If I said something wrong, tell everyone about it. But if I said something true, you should not have hit me.’ 


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Then Annas sent Jesus, who still had <i>ropes</i> round his arms, to Caiaphas, the Chief <i>Priest</i> (<i>priests</i>’ leader). <n>Verses 19-24 Annas had himself been the Chief <i>Priest</i> (<i>priests</i>’ leader) before Caiaphas, so people still called him the ‘Chief <i>Priest</i>’ too. <n>Verse 22 Jesus was not saying anything wrong. He was asking the Chief <i>Priest</i> to talk to people who had heard him teach. That was the right thing to do. It was what the <i>Jews</i>’ rules said. <n>Verse 24 Ropes are what people use to tie someone or something. <n>Peter says again that he does not know Jesus</n>


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Simon Peter was still standing there (by the fire) so that he could make himself warm. The other people there said to him, ‘We think that you are one of that man’s <i>disciples</i>.’ But Peter said, ‘No, I am not.’


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A servant of the <i>priests</i>’ leader belonged to the same <i>family</i> as the man whose ear Peter had cut off. This servant said to Peter, ‘I am sure that I saw you in the garden with him (Jesus).’ 


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Again, Peter said, ‘No.’ And immediately the first bird sang, early in the morning. <n>Pilate, the <i>Roman</i> ruler, asks Jesus some questions</n>


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The <i>Jews</i> led Jesus from Caiaphas’s house to the <i>Roman</i> ruler’s big house (called the Praetorium). It was early in the morning. The <i>Jews</i>’ leaders themselves did not go into the house because they wanted to be ‘clean’. They wanted to eat the <i>Passover</i> meal. <n>Verse 28 During the time that Jesus lived on the earth, the <i>Romans</i> ruled over Israel. The <i>Roman</i> ruler (Pilate) lived and worked in a special house. It was called the Praetorium. It had a big yard inside, where people waited to see the ruler. <n>The <i>Jews</i> had special rules about who could go to their <i>festivals</i>. They had to keep themselves ‘clean’ and ready for God. So they could not go into the houses of people who did not believe God. If the <i>Jews</i>’ leaders had gone into Pilate’s house, they would not have been ‘clean’ for the <i>Passover</i>. 


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So Pilate went outside to meet them. He asked them, ‘What do you say that this man has done wrong?’ 


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So Pilate said to them, ‘You yourselves take him away. You <i>judge</i> him by your own rules.’ The <i>Jews</i> replied, ‘We do not have authority to kill anyone.’ 


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This happened because of what Jesus had said earlier. Jesus had told them how he would die. So, what he had said had to happen. <n>Verse 31 The <i>Jews</i>’ leaders wanted to kill Jesus. But the <i>Romans</i> did not let them kill anyone. Only the <i>Roman</i> ruler could cause his soldiers to kill someone who had done something wrong. <n>Verse 32 The <i>Romans</i> fixed a person on to a big <i>cross</i> of wood to kill him. Then they let the person hang there until he died. Jesus had said that people would ‘lift him up’ [John 3:14] [John 8:28] [John 12:32] . This is what he meant. And when Jesus said something, it had to happen. 


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Pilate returned into his big house (the Praetorium). He told Jesus that he must come to him. Pilate asked Jesus, ‘Are you the king of the <i>Jews</i>?’ 


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Pilate replied, ‘I am not a <i>Jew</i>! It was your own people and their most important <i>priests</i> who brought you to me. What have you done?’ 


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Jesus said, ‘My <i>kingdom</i> does not belong to this world. If it did, my people would have fought. They would have fought so that the <i>Jews</i> could not take me. No, my kingdom is from another place.’ 


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Pilate said to him, ‘So do you mean that you really are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘It is you are using the word “king”. I was born and I came into the world for only one purpose. I came to tell people what is true. Everyone who loves all true things hears my voice.’ 


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Pilate said, ‘I do not know if anything is really true.’ <n>Verse 36 A kingdom is a place where a king rules. Or, it is the people and things that he rules over. <n>Then Pilate went out again to the <i>Jews</i>. He said to them, ‘This man seems to have done nothing wrong. I have no reason to <i>punish</i> him. 


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But every year we do something for you <i>Jews</i>. We let one man go free from the prison at the time of your <i>Passover</i>. Do you want me to let the king of the <i>Jews</i> go free?’ 


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They shouted their answer, ‘No, we do not want him! We want Barabbas!’ (Barabbas was a man who had robbed people.)


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Then Pilate told the soldiers that they should take Jesus outside. He told them that they should hit Jesus many times with a <i>whip</i>. <n>Verse 1 A whip is something that people use to hit animals (like horses or cows). It causes the animals to go faster. The <i>Romans</i> used whips to <i>punish</i> people. 


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The soldiers took some branches that had sharp points all over them. They made the branches into a circle that they put on Jesus’ head. Then they took a dark red coat (like a king’s coat) and they put that on him. 


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The soldiers came to him and they hit him with their hands. While they were hitting him, they said to him, ‘Hello, great King of the <i>Jews</i>!’


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Pilate went outside once more. He said to the crowd, ‘Look, I will bring him (Jesus) out here to you. So now you will know that I cannot find any reason to <i>punish</i> him.’ 


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So Jesus came out, with the circle of branches on his head. He was wearing the dark red coat. Pilate said to them, ‘Look. Here is the man!’ 


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When the most important <i>priests</i> and the officers saw Jesus, they shouted, ‘Kill him! Kill him on a <i>cross</i>!’ Pilate said to them, ‘You take him yourselves, and you kill him on a cross. I find no reason why anyone should <i>punish</i> him.’ 


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The <i>Jews</i> answered, ‘We have a rule. That rule says that he must die. He must die because he said, “I am the Son of God”.’


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He returned into the big house (the Praetorium). He asked Jesus, ‘Where are you from?’ But Jesus did not answer. 


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Pilate said to him, ‘Are you refusing to speak to me? Remember that I have authority. I can let you go free, or I can let them kill you on a <i>cross</i>.’ 


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Jesus answered, ‘You could have no authority against me unless God had given it to you. So, the man who sent me to you has done a worse thing. That man has done a worse thing than you have done.’ 


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From that moment, Pilate tried to let Jesus go free. But the <i>Jews</i> shouted back, ‘If you let him go, you are not <i>Caesar</i>’s friend. Nobody should say that he himself is a king. Anyone who says that is Caesar’s <i>enemy</i>!’


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When Pilate heard those words, he brought Jesus outside. Pilate sat down on a special seat, where he <i>judged</i>. The seat was in a place called ‘Gabbatha’ in the <i>Jews</i>’ language. There were large flat stones there, which covered the ground. 


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It was about 6 in the morning on the day when they prepared the <i>Passover</i> meal. Pilate said to the <i>Jews</i>, ‘Here is your king!’ 


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But they shouted, ‘Take him away! Take him away! Kill him on a <i>cross</i>!’ Pilate asked them, ‘Do you want me to kill your king on a cross?’ The most important <i>priests</i> answered, ‘<i>Caesar</i> is the only ruler that we call king.’ 


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Then Pilate gave Jesus to them, so that they could kill him on a <i>cross</i>. <n>Verses 12 and 15 Caesar was the ruler of all the countries that the <i>Romans</i> had beaten. He ruled from Rome city itself (the capital of the country that we call Italy now). <n>Verse 14 ‘It was about 6 in the morning’. Many Bible teachers think that John means midday. But Mark 15:25 says that the soldiers fixed Jesus to the <i>cross</i> at 9 in the morning. So other Bible teachers think that John means 6 in the morning here. (That would be <i>Roman</i> time. See note about John 1:39.) <n>They fix Jesus to a <i>cross</i></n>


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Jesus went out to the place called ‘The Place of the <i>Skull</i>’. This place is called ‘Golgotha’ in the <i>Jews</i>’ language. He was carrying his own <i>cross</i>. <n>Verse 17 A skull is the bone in a person’s head. The place was called that because they killed people there. 


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They fixed him to the <i>cross</i> with nails (short, sharp pieces of metal) and then they lifted the cross up. They put two other men on crosses with him, one on each side of him. Jesus was between them.


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Pilate wrote a notice, and then he put it on the <i>cross</i>. It said: ‘Jesus from Nazareth, the King of the <i>Jews</i>’. 


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The place where they put Jesus on the <i>cross</i> was near to the city. So, many of the <i>Jews</i> read this notice. They could read it because Pilate had written the words three times. He had written it in the <i>Jews</i>’ language and in the languages called Roman and Greek. 


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The <i>Jews</i>’ most important <i>priests</i> said to Pilate, ‘Do not write: the King of the <i>Jews</i>. Instead, write: This man said, “I am the King of the <i>Jews</i>”.’ 


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After the soldiers had put Jesus on the <i>cross</i>, they took his clothes. They made them into 4 parts, one part for each soldier. Also, they took his coat, which somebody had made from one piece of cloth. It was not several pieces of cloth that somebody had put together. 


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So they said to each other, ‘We will not tear it. Instead, we will play a game. The person who wins the game will have the coat.’ This happened because the <i>Old Testament</i> says: <n>‘Each of them took some of my clothes. <n>They played a game to win what I was wearing.’ <n>So, that is what the soldiers did. <n>Verse 24 See Psalm 22:18. 


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Some women stood near to Jesus while he was on the <i>cross</i>. They were his mother, his mother’s sister - Mary the wife of Cleopas - and Mary Magdalene (Mary from Magdala). 


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Jesus saw his mother. Also he saw the <i>disciple</i> that he loved. That <i>disciple</i> was standing near Jesus’ mother. So Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ 


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Then he said to the <i>disciple</i>, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time, the <i>disciple</i> took her to live in his own home. <n>Jesus dies</n>


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Now Jesus had done everything that God had sent him into the world to do. Jesus knew this. So, because of what it says in the <i>Old Testament</i>, he said, ‘I want a drink.’ What it says in the <i>Old Testament</i> had to happen. 


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There was a pot full of cheap <i>wine</i> there. So the soldiers put a cloth into the <i>wine</i>. They fixed the cloth to the end of a branch. The branch was from a plant called hyssop. Then they lifted the cloth up to Jesus’ mouth. 


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Jesus drank the <i>wine</i>. Then he said, ‘I have finished it.’ Then he bent his head down and he let his <i>spirit</i> go. <n>Verse 28 See Psalm 22:15. David wrote Psalm 22 many years before Jesus was born. But it describes the time when Jesus was hanging on the <i>cross</i>. It describes how Jesus would feel then <n>[Psalm 22:1-21] . God had already told his people everything that would happen to Jesus. <n>A soldier puts a <i>spear</i> into Jesus</n>


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It was a Friday - the day when the <i>Jews</i> prepared themselves for the <i>Sabbath</i> day. And that <i>Sabbath</i> day was a very important one. The <i>Jews</i> did not want the dead bodies to stay on the <i>cross</i> on the <i>Sabbath</i> day. So they asked Pilate to speak to the soldiers. The soldiers would break the legs of the men who were on the crosses. Then they could take the dead bodies down from the crosses.


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So the soldiers went there. And they broke the legs of the two other men who were on the <i>crosses</i> next to Jesus. 


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But when they came to Jesus, he was dead already. They saw that he was dead. So they did not break his legs. 


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But one of the soldiers put a <i>spear</i> into Jesus’ side. Immediately, blood and water came out. 


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The man who saw this has spoken about it. What he says is true. He knows that it really happened. He says this so that you can believe. 


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This happened because of what the <i>Old Testament</i> says. It says: <n>‘Nobody will break any of his bones.’ <n>And what the <i>Old Testament</i> says must happen. 


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And, in another place, the <i>Old Testament</i> says: <n>‘People will look at the man whose body they have made a hole in.’ <n>Verse 31 That <i>Sabbath</i> day was a very special one. It was the day when the <i>Jews</i> ate the <i>Passover</i> meal. <n>The <i>Jews</i>’ rules said that a dead body must not remain ‘on the tree’ all night [Deuteronomy 21:23] . <n>A person who was dying on a <i>cross</i> would use his legs to push his body up. This helped him to <i>breathe</i>, so that he could live for a longer time. If the soldiers broke the person’s legs, he would die more quickly. <n>Verses 34 and 37 A spear is a long piece of wood or metal that has a sharp point at the end. <i>Roman</i> soldiers used spears when they fought against enemies. <n>Verse 36 See Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12; Psalm 34:20. <n>Verse 37 See Zechariah 12:10. <n>Joseph buries Jesus</n>


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After that, a man asked Pilate if he could take Jesus’ dead body away. The man was called Joseph. He came from the town called Arimathea. He was one of Jesus’ <i>disciples</i>, but that was a secret. It was a secret because he was afraid of the <i>Jews</i>’ leaders. Pilate told Joseph that he could take the dead body. So Joseph went there and he took it away. 


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Nicodemus, the man who, earlier, had visited Jesus at night, went with Joseph. Nicodemus brought about 100 pounds of <i>spices</i> called myrrh and aloes. 


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The two men covered Jesus’ dead body with these <i>spices</i>. And they put long pieces of cloth round it again and again. That is how the <i>Jews</i> prepare a dead body before they bury it. 


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There was a garden at the place where they killed Jesus on the <i>cross</i>. In that garden there was a new <i>tomb</i>, where nobody had ever put a dead person. 


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The next day was the <i>Jews</i>’ <i>Sabbath</i>, and this <i>tomb</i> was near. So, they put Jesus there. <n>Verse 39 Spices are oils or powders that have a lovely smell. The <i>Jews</i> used them on dead bodies. They stopped the dead bodies getting a bad smell. 


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Early on the first day of the week, Mary from Magdala went to the <i>tomb</i>. It was still dark. She saw that someone had removed the big stone from the way into the <i>tomb</i>. 


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So she ran to where Simon Peter was. He was with the other <i>disciple</i>, the one that Jesus loved. She said to them, ‘They have taken the <i>Lord</i> out of the <i>tomb</i>. And we do not know where they have put him!’


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Both of them were running. But the other <i>disciple</i> ran faster than Peter ran. So he reached the <i>tomb</i> first. 


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He bent himself down and he looked inside the <i>tomb</i>. He saw the long pieces of cloth that were lying there. But he did not go in. 


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Simon Peter had run behind the other <i>disciple</i>. When Peter arrived, he went into the <i>tomb</i>. He saw the long pieces of cloth that were lying there. 


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Also, he saw the piece of cloth that had been round Jesus’ head. This was not in the same place as the other pieces of cloth. Someone had put it carefully in a separate place. 


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Then the other <i>disciple</i>, who had reached the <i>tomb</i> first, went inside also. He saw and he believed. 


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They still did not understand what the <i>Old Testament</i> says. It says that Jesus had to become alive again. After he had died, he had to become alive again. <n>Verse 9 See Isaiah 53:10-12; Psalm 16:10; Hosea 6:2. <n>Jesus appears to Mary from Magdala</n>


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But Mary stood outside the <i>tomb</i>. She was crying. While she cried, she bent herself down to look inside the <i>tomb</i>. 


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She saw two <i>angels</i> who were wearing white clothes. They were sitting where Jesus’ dead body had been. One <i>angel</i> was sitting where Jesus’ head had been. The other <i>angel</i> was sitting where his feet had been.


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She replied, ‘They have taken away my <i>Lord</i>. And I do not know where they have put him.’ When she had said this, she turned round. And she saw a man who was standing there. It was Jesus, but she did not recognise him. 


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Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you crying? Whom are you looking for?’ She thought that he was the gardener. So she said, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, please tell me. Tell me where you have put him. Then I will take him away.’


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Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned towards him and she said in the <i>Jews</i>’ language, ‘Rabboni!’ (This means ‘Teacher’.) 


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Jesus said, ‘Do not hold on to me because I have not gone up to the Father yet. But go to my brothers (the <i>disciples</i>). Tell them, “I go up to my Father. And he is your Father. He is my God, and he is your God.” ’ 


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Mary from Magdala went to the <i>disciples</i>. She said to them, ‘I have seen the <i>Lord</i>!’ Then she told them what he had said to her. <n>Jesus appears to his <i>disciples</i></n>


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On the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the <i>disciples</i> were all together. They had locked the doors of the room because they were afraid of the <i>Jews</i>’ leaders. Then Jesus came and he stood among them. He said to them, ‘Be without trouble in your minds and in your <i>hearts</i>.’ 


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After he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The <i>disciples</i> were very, very happy when they saw the <i>Lord</i>. 


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Jesus said again, ‘Be without trouble in your minds and in your <i>hearts</i>. As the Father sent me, in the same way I am sending you.’ 


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When he had said this, he caused air from his mouth to blow on them. And he said, ‘Receive God’s Spirit. 


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If you <i>forgive</i> a person’s <i>sins</i>, God will <i>forgive</i> them too. If you do not <i>forgive</i> them, God will not <i>forgive</i> them.’ <n>Jesus shows himself to Thomas</n>


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One of the 12 <i>disciples</i> was called Thomas. He was not with the other disciples when Jesus came. (Thomas was also called ‘the <i>Twin</i>’.) 


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So the other <i>disciples</i> told him, ‘We have seen the <i>Lord</i>.’ But Thomas said to them, ‘I will never believe that unless I myself see him. I want to see the marks of the <i>nails</i> in his hands. I want to put my finger where the <i>nails</i> were. I want to put my hand into the hole in his side. I will not believe unless I do those things.’ <n>Verse 24 Twins are two children who were born at the same time to the same mother. <n>Verse 25 Nails are short pieces of metal with sharp points at the end. 


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Eight days after that, the <i>disciples</i> were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. They had locked the door. But Jesus came and he stood among them. He said, ‘Be without trouble in your minds and in your <i>hearts</i>.’ 


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Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger in here. Look at my hands. Put your hand in my side. Do not refuse to believe, but instead, believe.’ 


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Jesus said to him, ‘You believe because you have seen me. Other people have not seen, but they do believe. And God will be good to those people.’ <n>The purpose of this book</n>


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Jesus did many other <i>miracles</i> while the <i>disciples</i> were with him. I have not written about them in this book. 


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But I have written about these things, so that you will be able to believe. You will be able to believe that Jesus is the <i>Christ</i>, the Son of God. And when you believe, you will be able to live. You will be able to live because of who he is.


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After that, Jesus showed himself to the <i>disciples</i> again. They were by Lake Tiberias. This is how it happened. 


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Simon Peter, Thomas the <i>Twin</i>, and Nathanael (who came from Cana in Galilee) were together. They were with the sons of Zebedee (James and John) and two other <i>disciples</i>. 


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Simon Peter said to the other <i>disciples</i>, ‘I am going to catch fish.’ They replied, ‘We will come with you.’ So they went out and they got into the boat. But they caught nothing during that night. <n>Verse 1 Lake Tiberias is another name for Lake Galilee. <n>Verse 2 Twins are two children who were born at the same time to the same mother. 


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Early in the morning, Jesus was standing on the shore. But the <i>disciples</i> did not know that it was Jesus. 


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He said, ‘Throw your <i>net</i> out on the right side of the boat. If you do that, you will catch some fish.’ So they threw the <i>net</i> out. Then they caught so many fish that they could not pull the <i>net</i> into the boat.


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The <i>disciple</i> that Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the <i>Lord</i>!’ When Simon Peter heard him say, ‘It is the <i>Lord</i>’, he put on his coat. (He was wearing only a very few clothes.) Then Peter jumped into the water. 


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The other <i>disciples</i> followed him in the boat. They pulled the <i>net</i> that was full of fish behind them. They were not far from the shore. It was about 100 metres away. 


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When they came to the shore, they saw a red fire there. Some fish were lying on the fire. There was some bread there, too. 


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Simon Peter got into the boat and he pulled the <i>net</i> on to the shore. It was full of big fish. There were 153 fish. There were so many fish, but the <i>net</i> did not tear. 


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Jesus said to them, ‘Come and eat breakfast.’ None of the <i>disciples</i> was brave enough to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew that it was the <i>Lord</i>. 


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This was the third time that Jesus showed himself to the <i>disciples</i>. After Jesus had died, he had become alive again. And this was the third time that he showed himself to them. <n>Verses 6, 8 and 11 A <i>net</i> is a big bag with small holes in it. People use it to catch fish. <n>Jesus talks to Peter</n>


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When they had finished eating, Jesus spoke to Simon Peter. He said, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ Peter answered, ‘Yes <i>Lord</i>, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs (young sheep).’ <n>Verse 15 ‘More than these’ may mean ‘more than other things’ (like catching fish). Or perhaps it may mean ‘more than other people (the other <i>disciples</i>)’. 


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Jesus asked him a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter answered, ‘Yes <i>Lord</i>, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘<i>Look after</i> my <i>sheep</i>.’ 


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Jesus asked him a third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was sad because Jesus asked him a third time, ‘Do you love me?’ So he said to Jesus, ‘<i>Lord</i>, you know everything. You know that I do love you!’ Jesus said to him, ‘<i>Look after</i> my <i>sheep</i>. 


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I am telling you what is true. When you were young, you got yourself ready. And you went to any place that you wanted to visit. But when you are old, it will be different. You will hold out your arms and someone else will tie you. Then they will take you where you do not want to go.’ 


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Jesus was speaking about how Peter would die. It would show how great God is. Then Jesus said to Peter, ‘Follow me.’ <n>Verses 16 and 17 To ‘look after’ someone means to be good to them. It means to keep them safe, as a <i>shepherd</i> keeps his sheep. <n>Verses 15-17 Jesus asked Peter three times, ‘Do you love me?’ Earlier, Peter had said three times that he did not know Jesus. He had said that three times before Jesus died. This may be the reason why Jesus asked the question three times. <n>Verse 18 Jesus was telling Peter that Peter would die on a <i>cross</i>, with his arms on each side. He would die in the same way that Jesus had died. 


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Peter turned round. He saw another <i>disciple</i>. It was the <i>disciple</i> that Jesus loved. This <i>disciple</i> was following them. He was the man who had been very near to Jesus at the supper. This <i>disciple</i> had asked Jesus, ‘<i>Lord</i>, who will sell you to your <i>enemies</i>?’ 


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Jesus answered him, ‘Perhaps I might want him to live on the earth until I return. But it does not matter to you. You must follow me!’


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Then people began to talk about these words that Jesus had said. People who believed Jesus began to have a wrong idea about this <i>disciple</i>. They thought that this <i>disciple</i> would not die. But Jesus did not say, ‘He will not die.’ Instead, he said, ‘Perhaps I might want him to live until I return. But it does not matter to you.’ 


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This is the <i>disciple</i> who spoke about these things. This is the <i>disciple</i> who wrote them down. And what he said is true. We know that.


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Jesus did many other things also. If people wrote down all those things, there would be many, many books. I do not think that the whole world could contain all those books.


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Jesus began to do many things when he was working on earth. He also began to teach people many things. I told you about all these things in the first book that I wrote for you, Theophilus. <n>That first book is called ‘Luke’. 


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I told you about the things that Jesus did until God took Him up into <i>heaven</i>. Jesus had chosen some men to be his <i>apostles</i>. He had told them by the <i>Holy Spirit</i> what they must do. Then God took Jesus back to heaven. 


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Jesus had died and then he became alive again. During the 40 days after that, he showed himself many times to his <i>apostles</i>. He showed himself in different ways. They could then be sure that Jesus was really alive again. The <i>apostles</i> often saw Jesus, and he talked to them about the <i>Kingdom</i> of God. <n>We can read about this in Luke chapter 24 and John, chapters 20 and 21. 


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While Jesus was still with his <i>apostles</i>, he spoke to them. He said, ‘Do not leave Jerusalem yet. You must wait there for my Father’s gift that I told you about. My Father promised to give it to you. 


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John <i>baptised</i> people with water, but after a few days God will <i>baptise</i> you with the <i>Holy Spirit</i>.’ <n>God takes Jesus up to <i>heaven</i></n>


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Jesus’ <i>apostles</i> all met together with him. ‘<i>Lord</i>’, they said, ‘will you at this time give the people of <i>Israel</i> their <i>kingdom</i> back? Will they now rule their own country again?’


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‘My Father decides when things will happen in the world’, Jesus replied. ‘He does not want you to know when this will happen. 


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But the <i>Holy Spirit</i> will come to you, and he will cause you to become powerful. The <i>Holy Spirit</i> will cause your <i>spirit</i> to be strong. Then you can tell other people about me. You will tell people about me in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria and in all other countries.’


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When Jesus had finished speaking to his <i>apostles</i>, God took him up into God’s home. The <i>apostles</i> watched Jesus go. Then a cloud hid him and the <i>apostles</i> could not see him any longer.


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The <i>apostles</i> were still looking carefully up into the sky when <i>suddenly</i> two men appeared. The men were wearing white clothes and they stood near the <i>apostles</i>. <n>We think that these men were <i>angels</i>. 


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Then they spoke to the <i>apostles</i>. ‘You men from Galilee, you should not still be standing here’, they said. ‘You should not still look up into the sky. God has taken Jesus into <i>heaven</i>. You saw the way that Jesus went up to <i>heaven</i>. One day, he will return in the same way.’ <n>All this happened on the east side of the hill called the Mount of Olives. This hill is between Jerusalem and the town called Bethany. <i>Olive</i> trees grow there. <n>The <i>apostles</i> choose Matthias to be an <i>apostle</i></n>


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Then the <i>apostles</i> returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of <i>Olives</i>. The Mount of Olives was about one kilometre from the city. 


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When the <i>apostles</i> arrived in Jerusalem, they went upstairs. And they went into the room where they were staying. The names of the <i>apostles</i> were Peter, John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew. The other apostles, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas, the son of James, were also there. <n>A Zealot or Patriot was someone who fought for his government or against the <i>Roman</i> government. 


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The <i>apostles</i> often met together in a group to pray. They prayed together with Mary, Jesus’ mother, other women and his brothers. 


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A few days after that, about 120 people met together. These people all believed in Jesus. Peter stood up and he spoke to them. 


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‘My friends’, he said, ‘Long ago, the <i>Holy Spirit</i> spoke to King David and David wrote down this message. He wrote about the things that Judas would do.’ <n>We can read more about what Judas did in Luke chapter 22. <n>‘These things had to happen and now they have happened. Judas showed the soldiers how to catch Jesus. Judas helped them to do it. 


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The <i>priests</i> gave Judas some money because he had helped them. Judas bought a field with that money. But he then fell down in that field and he died. His body broke open and the inside of his body fell out. 


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All the people who lived in Jerusalem heard about the death of Judas. So the people called that field Akeldama in their own language. Akeldama means ‘The Field of Blood’. <n>We can read about Judas and the money in Matthew 27:3-7. 


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Peter continued, ‘King David wrote in the book of Psalms, <n>“So the house that he had will be empty. <n>Nobody should live in it.” ’ <n>We can read that in Psalm 69:25. <n>‘King David also wrote in the same book, <n>“So, another person must do his work.” ’ <n>We can read that in Psalm 109:8. 


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‘Because of this, we need to choose another man’, said Peter. ‘This man must have been together with us from the beginning. He must have been in our group all the time that Jesus was with us. 


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The man must have been with us when John was <i>baptising</i> people. He must have stayed with us while Jesus was working. He must have been with us when Jesus went up to <i>heaven</i>. Then he can say to the people, “I know that our master died. I saw him after he became alive again.” ’


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So the group said the names of two men. One of these men was Joseph, who had two other names. People also called him Barsabbas and sometimes people called him Justus. The other man was called Matthias. 


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Then the whole group prayed. ‘<i>Lord</i>, you know what everybody is really thinking’, they said. ‘Please show us which man you have chosen. Which of these two men do you want to be an <i>apostle</i>? 


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Then the group chose which of the men would do the work of an <i>apostle</i>. It happened that they chose Matthias. So Matthias took the place of Judas and he became the <i>twelfth apostle</i>, together with the other 11 men. <n>They chose Matthias in this way. They wrote the names of Joseph and Matthias on two pieces of stone. Then they put the pieces of stone into a jar. They then poured one stone out of the jar. The stone had Matthias’s name on it. This showed that Matthias was the right man to be an <i>apostle</i>. In those days, sometimes people did this when they had to choose someone. 


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Then the day that the <i>Jews</i> called ‘The Day of <i>Pentecost</i>’ came. All the <i>believers</i> were meeting together in a house in Jerusalem. <n>The <i>Jewish</i> Day of <i>Pentecost</i> was 50 days after they ate the <i>Passover</i> meal. 


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Then, <i>suddenly</i>, as they were sitting together, they heard a noise. The sound came from the sky. It was like the sound of a strong wind. They could hear the noise everywhere in the house. 


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Then they saw something move, like many small separate fires. The small fires moved in the room and they touched every person. 


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God filled each person with the <i>Holy Spirit</i>. Then the <i>believers</i> began to speak in foreign languages that they had not learned. They spoke like that because the <i>Holy Spirit</i> helped them.


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At that time, other <i>Jews</i>, who prayed to God every day, were living in Jerusalem. They came from many different countries in the world. 


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The <i>believers</i> made a loud noise when they spoke these other languages. When these other <i>Jews</i> heard this loud noise, they came together in a large crowd. Each person could hear the <i>disciples</i> speaking in their own language. This confused them. And so they did not know what to think. 


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‘We do not know what is happening. We can all hear them speak in the language of our own home country. 


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Some of us are from Parthia, Media and Elam. Some of us are from Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia. Some of us are from Pontus and <i>Asia</i>. 


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Some of us are from Phrygia and Pamphylia. Some of us are from <i>Egypt</i>. Some of us are from near the town called Cyrene. Cyrene is in the country called Libya. Some of us are from Rome. 


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Some of us are <i>Jews</i>. Some of us do not have <i>Jewish</i> parents, but now we believe in the God of the <i>Jews</i>. Some of us are from Crete and some of us are from Arabia. But we all hear these people speaking in our own languages. They are speaking about all the great things that God has done.’ 


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All the people were very surprised. They did not understand what was happening. ‘How can we explain all this?’ they asked each other.


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Other people <i>laughed</i> at the <i>disciples</i>. They said to each other, ‘These people are drunk!’ <n>Peter speaks to the crowd</n>


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Peter was with the other 11 <i>apostles</i> and he stood up. He began to speak to the crowd with a loud voice. He explained to them what was happening. <n>‘You people, who are also <i>Jews</i> like us, listen to me. And all you people, who live here in Jerusalem, listen to me. I will explain to you everything that is happening. 


text:
Some of you think that my friends here are drunk. But they are not drunk, because it is only 9 o’clock in the morning.’ <n>The <i>Jewish</i> day began at 6 o’clock in the morning. On the Day of <i>Pentecost</i>, the <i>Jews</i> prayed at 9 o’clock. Then they ate their first meal of the day at 10 o’clock. So at 9 o’clock they would not yet have had any food or drink that day. So they could not be drunk. 


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‘Something different is happening here. Joel was a <i>prophet</i> and he spoke God’s words about it a long time ago. He said that one day this would happen. This is what Joel said.’ <n>We can read what Joel said in Joel 2:28-32. 


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‘ “This is what I will do in the last days”, God says. <n>“I will give my <i>Spirit</i> to all people. <n>Your sons and daughters will speak my message to people. <n>Your young men will see pictures from me in their minds. <n>And your old men will see things in their dreams.


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At that time, I will give my <i>Spirit</i>. <n>Yes, I will even give my <i>Spirit</i> to the men and women who are my servants. <n>Then they will speak my message to people.


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I will cause special things to appear in the sky. <n>I will also cause special things to appear on the earth. They will be powerful things that only I can do. <n>There will be blood, fire and thick dark smoke.


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And the sun will become dark, and it will not shine any longer. <n>The moon will become dark red like the colour of blood. <n>These things will happen before the <i>Lord</i> God’s very important day comes. <n>On that day, my light will shine everywhere.


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People will ask me to save them and I will give them new life”, God said.’ <n>We do many wrong things. The result is that we are separated from God. God’s message is that only Jesus can save us from the result of these wrong things. Jesus can bring us close to God again. We must say sorry to God for all these wrong things that we have done. We must tell God that now we will obey him. Then God will welcome us into his <i>kingdom</i>. God will give us a new life. 


text:
‘Now, people of <i>Israel</i>, listen to what I am saying!’ Peter said. ‘God sent Jesus of Nazareth to the earth to work for him. God worked by Jesus and did many powerful and special things. Because of this, people should know that God had sent Jesus. You know about all this. These things happened here, and you saw them. 


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God knew that the <i>Romans</i> would give Jesus to you. God had decided that this should happen. So you killed Jesus. You let bad men fix him to the <i>cross</i>. 


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And so Jesus died. But God caused him to become alive again. God saved Jesus from the power of death. It was impossible for Jesus to stay dead. 


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A long time ago, King David spoke about Jesus. <n>“I saw the <i>Lord</i> in front of me all the time”, he said. <n>“He is next to me, so nothing will cause me trouble.


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I am very happy because of this, <n>so I must talk about it. <n>I know that I am a man. <n>But I know that you have promised me these things. So they will certainly happen.


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So you will not leave my <i>soul</i> with all the dead people. <n>Your servant loves you. <n>And so you will not let anything destroy his body when he dies.


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You have shown me the good paths that lead me to true life. <n>You are next to me, so I am completely happy.” ’ <n>We can read this also in Psalm 16:8-11. 


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‘People of <i>Israel</i>’, Peter then said, ‘I must speak clear words to you about King David. Long ago he was our <i>ancestor</i> and king. David died and people buried his body in the ground. The place where people buried him is still here today. 


text:
David spoke words from God. He knew what God had promised him. God promised David that a special man from his <i>family</i> would be a king. This man would be a king like David. 


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And David understood what God would do in future days. So David spoke about this special man that God would send to the world. When this person died, God would cause him to become alive again. David said that God would not let him remain dead among dead people. He said that nothing would destroy his body. 


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This man that David talked about was Jesus. Jesus died. But God caused him to become alive again. We ourselves saw this. 


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God took him back to his right side in <i>heaven</i>. So now Jesus is sitting in the most important place, next to his Father.’ <n>An <i>ancestor</i> is a person who belonged to the same <i>family</i>. But he lived a long time ago. <n>‘God is Jesus’ Father, and he gave Jesus the <i>Holy Spirit</i>. God had promised Jesus that he would do this. Now Jesus has given us the <i>Holy Spirit</i> today as a gift. You are seeing and hearing the result of this. 


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David did not go up into <i>heaven</i> like Jesus did. But David said. <n>“The <i>Lord</i> God said to my <i>Lord</i>: <n>Sit here next to me at my right side.


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While you sit here, I will beat your enemies. <n>They will be under you, like a place to put your feet.” ’ <n>We can read this also in Psalm 110:1. 


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‘All you people of <i>Israel</i> must be sure to know this. You killed Jesus on a <i>cross</i>. But it is this same Jesus that God chose as that special person. God caused him to be <i>Lord</i>.’


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The people heard what Peter said to them. Then they had much trouble in their minds. So they asked Peter and the other <i>apostles</i> for help. ‘Friends, what must we do?’ they said.


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‘Each of you has done wrong things’, Peter told them. ‘You must tell God that you are sorry about that. Then you must stop doing those wrong things. You must obey God and you must do right things. Then someone with the authority of Jesus Christ will <i>baptise</i> you. And God will <i>forgive</i> you for all the wrong things that you have done. Then God will give you his gift, which is the <i>Holy Spirit</i>. 


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God has promised to <i>forgive</i> you and your children. He has also promised to give the <i>Holy Spirit</i> to you and to your children. He has also promised this to people who live in other countries. God has chosen many people to believe in him. He includes all of them in his promise.’


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So Peter told the people what they must do. He also told them many other things. He continued to speak with serious words to them. He said, ‘Save yourselves from the <i>punishment</i> that God will send. God will send it to bad people who are alive now.’


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Many of the people who listened to Peter believed his words. So the <i>apostles baptised</i> them. About three thousand joined the group that same day. They all believed in Jesus. <n>This is how the <i>believers</i> lived</n>


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These new <i>believers</i> stayed with the <i>apostles</i> so that they could learn more about Jesus. And they all became good friends with everyone else in the group. They prayed together and they ate meals together. <n>People who believed in Jesus were called <i>believers</i>. When they ate together they also remembered his death for them. 


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The <i>Holy Spirit</i> worked with the <i>apostles</i>. He caused them to be powerful, so that they could make sick people well. And they could do many other special things. All the people were very surprised and afraid because of these special things. 


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All the <i>believers</i> continued to be good friends with each other. They ate meals together, and they learned more about Jesus. They continued to pray together. They gave each other some of the things that they had. 


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They sold some of their own things. Then they gave that money to other <i>believers</i> who needed it. 


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The whole group of <i>believers</i> met together every day in the Great House of God. They ate their meals together in each other’s homes and they were all very happy together. They thanked God for everything. 


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The <i>believers</i> often said how great and important God was. All the other people liked the <i>believers</i>. And they thought that the <i>believers</i> were very good people. Every day, more people asked the <i>Lord</i> to save them. So he was making the group of those who believed in him much bigger.


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One day, Peter and John went to the Great House of God in Jerusalem. It was 3 o’clock in the afternoon. This was the time that everyone went there to pray. 


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There was a man who could not walk. He had never been able to walk. Every day, his friends put him at the gate of the Great House of God. It was called the Beautiful Gate. As people were going through the gate into the Great House of God, the man asked them for money. His friends were carrying him to the gate when Peter and John came to the gate. 


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Then Peter said to the man, ‘I do not have any money. But I do have something else that I will give to you. Jesus Christ from Nazareth gave me authority to do this. So I <i>order</i> you to walk!’ 


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Peter then held the man’s right hand to help him stand up. Immediately the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 


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So the man jumped up and he stood on his feet. Then he began to walk about and he went into the Great House of God with Peter and John. He was walking and jumping. And he was saying to God, ‘You, God, are very powerful and good.’ 


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A large crowd of people were with Peter and John. They saw the man walking. And they heard him saying good things about God. 


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‘Look!’ they said. ‘We know this man. He usually sits at the Beautiful Gate. He used to have weak legs and he asked people for money. What has happened? He can now walk!’ they said to each other. They were all very surprised. <n>Peter speaks to the crowd in the Great House of God</n>


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The man was still holding Peter and John as they went to <i>Solomon’s Porch</i>. And the people were very surprised about what they were seeing. So they ran to them there. 


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Peter saw all the people. They were running towards him. So he said to them, ‘People of <i>Israel</i>, you should not be so surprised about what you have seen. You should not look at us so much. Perhaps you think that we ourselves are powerful. Maybe you think that we are very good people. But we are not so powerful or so good that we could cause this man to walk. 


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Jesus was the special servant of God. Our <i>ancestors</i> Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and other people prayed to this same God long ago. God gave his authority to Jesus and caused him to be powerful. He showed people that Jesus was a very great and important person.’ <n>We can read about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Bible in the book called Genesis. <n>‘You gave Jesus to the rulers, and you told Pilate bad things about him. You wanted them to kill Jesus even after Pilate had spoken. “I do not believe that Jesus has done anything wrong”, he said. “I have already decided that Jesus should leave the prison.” 


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Jesus was completely good and he obeyed God all the time. But you did not accept him. There was also a bad man in the prison who had killed some people. You said to Pilate, “Please let the other man leave the prison. Do not let Jesus go out.” 


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Then you asked Pilate to kill Jesus. But God caused Jesus to become alive again. He is the person who leads people to true life. We ourselves saw Jesus alive again after he had died. 


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Now, you know that this man here had weak legs. But Jesus is powerful. Jesus’ authority caused this man’s legs to become strong. This really happened because Jesus is powerful. You can see that. This man believed that Jesus could cause his legs to become strong. So Jesus made him well. And you yourselves can see that he is walking.


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People, listen to what I say. You wanted Pilate’s soldiers to kill Jesus. At that time, you and your leaders did not know what you were doing. 


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Jesus was the Christ, the special person that God would send to the world. A long time ago, many men spoke words from God about him. They told people what would happen to the Christ. “Bad people will hurt the Christ, and he will have a lot of pain”, they said. God caused this to become true. 


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So you must say sorry to God for all the wrong things that you have done. You must say that you will obey God. Then God will <i>forgive</i> you for all the wrong things that you have done. 


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Then the <i>Lord</i> will be near to you and he will cause your <i>spirit</i> to be strong. God has already chosen Jesus for you. He is the Christ, God’s special servant, and God will send him back to you again. 


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Jesus must stay in <i>heaven</i> until the day that he will make everything new. Those men who spoke words from God a long time ago told us about this. 


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“God sent me to you”, Moses said to the people a long time ago. “He will also send another man later who will speak his words. This man will be one of your own people. You must listen to everything that he says to you. 


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God will take out from among his people everyone who does not obey this chosen man. God will then kill them.” ’ <n>We can read what Moses said to the people in Deuteronomy 18:14-20. 


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‘God gave this same message to Samuel many years ago. God then gave it to many other men who came after Samuel. And they all told us what would happen at this time. 


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The men who spoke God’s words told the people about God’s promises. God promised these things to your <i>ancestors</i>, but you are also included in his promises. God said to Abraham. “By your <i>family</i>, I will do a good thing for all the people on the earth.” ’ <n>We can read about God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3. 


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‘God chose Jesus to be his special servant. Then God sent him to you first. God wants you to say sorry to him for all the wrong things that you have done. Then you will obey God because he wants to do good things for you.’


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Peter was still speaking to the crowd in <i>Solomon’s Porch</i> and John was standing next to him. Then some <i>priests</i>, <i>Sadducees</i> and the leader of the policemen of the Great House of God came towards them. 


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These people were angry because of the things that Peter and John were saying to the crowd. They had said, ‘Jesus became alive again after he had died.’ This showed everyone that dead people could become alive again. 


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So the <i>priests</i>, <i>Sadducees</i> and the leader of the policemen took Peter and John away. And they put Peter and John in the prison, because by then it was late. They stayed in the prison all that night. 


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But many of the people in the crowd had believed Peter’s message. Soon there were 5000 men who believed in Jesus. <n>Peter and John stand in front of the <i>Sanhedrin</i></n>


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The next day, the leaders of the <i>Jews</i> met together in Jerusalem. The important <i>priests</i> and the teachers of the <i>Law</i> met together with them. 


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They met with Annas and Caiaphas who were the most important <i>priests</i>. John and Alexander were also there and they were part of their <i>family</i>. Other men from their <i>family</i> were with them. 


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The men in the <i>Sanhedrin</i> said to Peter and John, ‘Stand in front of us!’ They said to Peter and John, ‘How did you cause that man’s legs to become strong? Who gave you the power and the authority to do it?’


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Then the <i>Holy Spirit</i> told Peter what to say to the men in the <i>Sanhedrin</i>. So Peter answered them. ‘All you men are leaders of the people and you are the most important <i>Jews</i>. 


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Today you are asking us questions about the good thing that we did for this man. You are asking us how we caused his legs to become strong. 


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Now I need to tell you and all the people of <i>Israel</i> some things. Then you will all know how this happened. This man is standing with us in front of you. His legs are strong because Jesus Christ of Nazareth is powerful. Jesus has the authority to do this. You killed Jesus; you fixed him to a <i>cross</i>. He died, but after that, God caused him to become alive again. 


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Men who spoke God’s words wrote this about Jesus a long time ago. <n>“The people who built the house did not want to use one special stone. <n>That special stone is the most important one.” ’ <n>We can read this in Matthew 21:42. The <i>prophet</i> was saying that Jesus is like ‘a special stone’. 


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Then Peter said, ‘Only Jesus can save people from the result of all the wrong things they have done. There has never been another person in the world that could do this. God has not given any other man the authority to save us.’ 


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Then the men of the <i>Sanhedrin</i> saw that Peter and John were very brave. They also knew that Peter and John were not important people. They had not been to a special school. So the men were very surprised about how Peter and John spoke. They also understood that Peter and John had been with Jesus. <n>The teachers of the <i>Law</i> went to special schools. At these schools, they learned how to teach the people about God. Peter and John had never been to one of these schools. But they knew how to teach the people about God. 


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The men of the <i>Sanhedrin</i> could see the man who had had weak legs. And they could see that now his legs were strong. So they could not think of anything to say to Peter and John. 


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They <i>ordered</i> Peter and John to go out of the room. Then the men of the <i>Sanhedrin</i> talked to each other. 


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‘What should we do with these men?’ they said. ‘Everyone who lives in Jerusalem knows about these things. They know that Peter and John did a very special thing for that man. So we cannot say that they did not do it. 


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But we want to stop more people from joining their group. So we must say to these men, “You must stop using the name of Jesus. You must stop speaking to people about Jesus.” ’ <n>The people in Jerusalem knew that Peter and John had done a good thing for the man. The men in the <i>Sanhedrin</i> had asked Pilate to kill Jesus for them. Now they were afraid of the people. They were afraid that more people would believe in Jesus. Then those people might fight against them. 


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Then the men of the <i>Sanhedrin</i> asked Peter and John to come back into the room. They said to Peter and John, ‘You must not speak or teach people again about Jesus. You do not have any authority.’ 


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Then Peter and John replied to them. ‘You must decide yourselves which of these things God wants us to do. Either we should obey you, or we should obey God. 


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We must continue to speak about these things. And we must tell people everything that we have seen and heard.’


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The leaders of the <i>Jews</i> spoke in an angry way to them. ‘Peter and John, you must not speak to the people again about Jesus. If you do not obey us, then we will <i>punish</i> you.’ Then they let Peter and John go away into the street again. They could not <i>punish</i> Peter and John because they had helped the man to walk. All the people in Jerusalem were saying to God, ‘You are great and good and powerful.’ 


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The man whom God had caused to become well was more than 40 years old. <n>All the <i>believers</i> pray to God</n>


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So the leaders of the <i>priests</i> and the important <i>Jews</i> let Peter and John go out into the street again. Immediately, Peter and John went back to meet with all the other <i>believers</i>. They told them what the leaders of the <i>priests</i> and the important <i>Jews</i> had said. 


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And the <i>believers</i> listened to what Peter and John told them. Then they prayed together. ‘You are God and you rule over everything’, they prayed. ‘You made the sky, the earth and the sea. You also made everything that is in them. 


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King David, our <i>ancestor</i>, was also your servant. You sent your <i>Holy Spirit</i> to help him. And your Spirit told King David to say, <n>“People who were not <i>Jews</i> were very angry. <n>The people made plans that would not happen.


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The kings on the earth prepared to fight. <n>The rulers of the world met together. <n>They wanted to fight against the <i>Lord</i>. <n>They would also fight against the special servant that God chose.” ’


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The <i>believers</i> continued to pray. ‘Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with other people who are not <i>Jews</i>. They also met with the people of <i>Israel</i> who were here in Jerusalem. Together they spoke against Jesus. Jesus was your special servant and they all wanted to kill him. You had chosen him to be the <i>Christ</i>. 


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Yes, God, you are powerful. And you had already decided what these men would do to Jesus. So they met together. And they did what you wanted to happen to Jesus. 


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God, you know how the men of the <i>Sanhedrin</i> want to hurt Peter and John. You know what they said to your servants. So please help us to speak to the people again about you. And please cause us to become brave. 


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You are strong and you can cause sick people to become well. And you can also do other powerful things. The people will see these things happen when we speak Jesus’ name. You gave your authority to Jesus. He is very good and he is your servant. So please do these things.’


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The <i>believers</i> finished praying. Then, the house where they were meeting together moved about. God filled them all with his <i>Holy Spirit</i>. And the <i>Holy Spirit</i> caused them to be very brave and they spoke to the people about Jesus again. <n>The <i>believers</i> give their own things to each other</n>


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All the <i>believers</i> thought about everything in the same way. They did not keep any of their own things for themselves. They let all the other <i>believers</i> use them. 


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The words of the <i>apostles</i> were powerful and they told people about Jesus. ‘After Jesus died, God caused him to live again’, they said. They told them what they had seen. God helped the <i>believers</i> in many different ways. 


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They had everything that they needed. Some <i>believers</i> had land or houses, which they sold. They took the money that they received for these things. They brought it to the <i>apostles</i> and gave it to them. 


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There was a <i>believer</i> called Joseph. He was from the <i>family</i> of Levi. He was from the island called Cyprus. He helped the other <i>believers</i> to work well. So the <i>apostles</i> called him Barnabas. 


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Barnabas sold one of his fields. And he brought the money and he gave it all to the <i>apostles</i>. <n>The <i>family</i> of Levi were servants in the Great House of God, where they worked for the <i>priests</i>. We can read about them in Numbers 3:5-13. 


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But there was a man called Ananias and his wife who was called Sapphira. Together they sold one of their fields. 


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Ananias gave part of the money that he received to the <i>apostles</i>. But he also kept part of the money for himself. Sapphira knew all about what Ananias had done. <n>Ananias gave his money to the <i>apostles</i>. And then they would give it to other <i>believers</i> who needed it. Ananias told the <i>apostles</i> that he had given them all the money. But this was not true. He had only given them part of it. 


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‘Ananias, <i>Satan</i> wanted you to say something that was not true. And you obeyed him’, Peter said to Ananias. ‘You should not have listened to him. You should not tell the <i>Holy Spirit</i> something that is not true. You sold your field, but you did not give us all the money. You kept part of it for yourselves.’ <n>The <i>Holy Spirit</i> had told Peter what Ananias had done. Ananias did not need to tell him. 


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‘Before you sold the field, it was yours. And after you sold the field, the money was yours. You should not have decided to say that it was all the money. You did not only tell men something that was not true. You told God something that was not true.’


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As soon as he had heard Peter say this, Ananias fell down immediately. And he died. This frightened everyone who heard about it. 


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Some young men came into the room. They put cloths round Ananias’s dead body and they carried it outside. Then they buried it.


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About three hours later, Ananias’s wife, Sapphira, came into the room to see Peter. Sapphira did not know that Ananias was dead. 


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Peter asked Sapphira, ‘Tell me about this money that you gave us. Was this all the money that you and your husband received for your field?’ ‘Yes’, Sapphira answered. ‘That was all the money that we received.’


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‘It was wrong for you and your husband to do this’, Peter said to her. ‘You should not have told God’s Spirit something that was not true. You knew that this was wrong. The men who have just buried your husband are at the door again now. And they will also carry you out.’


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Immediately, Sapphira fell down in front of Peter and she died. Then the young men came into the room. They saw that Sapphira was dead. So they carried her outside and they buried her next to her husband. 


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All the <i>believers</i>, and many other people, heard about what had happened to Ananias and Sapphira. They were all very afraid. <n>The <i>apostles</i> do some powerful things for the people to see</n>


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The <i>apostles</i> were doing many powerful things in front of the people. All the <i>believers</i> met together in a group. They met outside the Great House of God in a place called <i>Solomon’s Porch</i>. 


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Those people who were not <i>believers</i> did not sit with the group. They were afraid to do that. There were many people who said good things about the <i>believers</i>. 


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More and more people became <i>believers</i> and they joined the group. So now many men and women believed in Jesus. 


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People carried their sick friends into the streets and put them on beds and pieces of floor cloth. They did this because of all the special things that the <i>apostles</i> were doing. Some people only wanted Peter’s shadow to pass over their sick friends. <n>God’s <i>Holy Spirit</i> caused the <i>apostles</i> to be powerful. They could cause sick people to become well again. In those days, people thought that shadows were powerful. And they thought that Peter’s shadow would cause sick people to become well again. 


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Many people came into Jerusalem from the small towns near the city. They also brought their sick friends with them. They brought other people too. Bad <i>spirits</i> inside them were giving them trouble. And God caused all these people to become well again. <n>The most important <i>priest</i> puts the <i>apostles</i> in prison</n>


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All the people liked the <i>apostles</i>. And they liked what the apostles did. The most important <i>priest</i>, his friends, and some of the <i>Sadducees</i>, were not happy about this. So they decided to do something about the <i>apostles</i>. 


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But during the night, one of God’s <i>angels</i> opened the prison gates and he led the <i>apostles</i> out. The <i>angel</i> said to them, 


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The <i>apostles</i> heard the <i>angel</i> and they obeyed him. Early the next morning, the <i>apostles</i> went into the Great House of God. And then they began to teach the people. The most important <i>priest</i> and his friends <i>ordered</i> all the important <i>Jews</i> to meet with them. He wanted all the men of the <i>Sanhedrin</i> to meet together. Then the men of the <i>Sanhedrin</i> sent policemen with a message to the prison. They <i>ordered</i> the soldiers to bring the <i>apostles</i> to them. 


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But when the policemen arrived at the prison, they did not find the <i>apostles</i> there. So then the policemen returned to the men of the <i>Sanhedrin</i>. And they told them what they had seen at the prison. 


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‘We arrived at the prison’, they said. ‘We saw that the soldiers had locked the gates. They were standing at the gates and they were <i>guarding</i> the prison. But when we opened the gates of the prison, we did not find any of the <i>apostles</i> inside.’ <n>The soldiers at the gates of the prison did not know that the <i>apostles</i> were not inside. 


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The leader of the policemen of the Great House of God and the leaders of the <i>priests</i> heard about this. ‘We cannot understand what has happened to the <i>apostles</i>’, they said.


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Then a man came and he brought them a message. ‘Listen to me!’ he said. ‘Those men that you put in the prison are now standing in the Great House of God. They are teaching the people.’ 


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The leader of the policemen then took his policemen with him to the Great House of God. He said to the <i>apostles</i>, ‘Come back with us!’ The policemen did not hurt the <i>apostles</i> or tie their arms and legs. They were afraid of the people. They thought that the people might throw stones at them.


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The policemen brought the <i>apostles</i> into the room. They caused them to stand in front of the men of the <i>Sanhedrin</i>. The most important <i>priest</i> spoke to the <i>apostles</i>. 


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‘We <i>ordered</i> that you must not teach the people again with the authority of Jesus. But now look at what you have done! Now people all over Jerusalem have heard you teaching. And you have taught the people that we <i>ordered</i> the death of Jesus.’


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Peter and the other <i>apostles</i> answered. ‘We must obey God’, they said, ‘rather than obey men. 


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The God of our <i>ancestors</i> caused Jesus to be alive again. You fixed Jesus to a <i>cross</i> and killed him. But then, God made him alive again. 


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God put Jesus next to him at his right side. Jesus is now the leader and the person who saves the people of <i>Israel</i>. Because of this, he helps those who believe in him. He helps them to say, “We are sorry” to God for all the wrong things that they have done. Then God <i>forgives</i> them and he helps them to do right things. 


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We tell people what we have seen and heard. He gives his <i>Holy Spirit</i> to people who obey him. And the <i>Holy Spirit</i> also tells people what God has done.’


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The men of the <i>Sanhedrin</i> heard what the <i>apostles</i> said to them. They were so angry that they wanted to kill the <i>apostles</i>. 


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But one man did not agree. He stood up in front of the <i>Sanhedrin</i>. He was called Gamaliel and he was a <i>Pharisee</i>, a teacher of the <i>Law</i>. All the men of the <i>Sanhedrin</i> liked Gamaliel. And they thought that he was a good man. Gamaliel asked the policemen to take the <i>apostles</i> out of the room. 


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When they had gone, Gamaliel spoke to the <i>Sanhedrin</i>. ‘Men of <i>Israel</i>!’ he said. ‘Be careful about what you want to do. Think again before you kill these men. 


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Remember what happened to Theudas a few years ago. That man told everyone, “I am a very important leader.” Then about 400 men came to join his group. But then somebody killed Theudas, and his men all went away in different directions. Nobody hears about them now. 


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Remember what happened to Judas from Galilee. That man appeared when the <i>Romans</i> were counting the people. A crowd also came to help Judas, but somebody killed him. The men who followed Judas also went away in different directions. Nobody hears about them now either.’ <n>Judas from Galilee would not pay money to the <i>Roman</i> government. People joined Judas’s group and they helped him. They fought the <i>Roman</i> soldiers. These people were called Zealots. This Judas was not the same man that Jesus chose to follow him. <n>The <i>Romans</i> were counting the people when Jesus was born. 


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‘Now this same thing is happening again with these men. So I say that you must not do anything bad to them. Leave them alone. Perhaps these men are doing what some man told them to do. If that is true, then their work will fail. 


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But perhaps God has said that they must do this work. And if that is true, then you cannot stop them. You might even find that you are fighting against God!’ So the men of the <i>Sanhedrin</i> did what Gamaliel said.


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They <i>ordered</i> the <i>apostles</i> to return to the room. Then they said to the policemen, ‘Hit these men with whips!’ Then the men of the <i>Sanhedrin</i> said to the <i>apostles</i>, ‘You must not teach the people again. Do not use the authority of Jesus.’ After that, they let the <i>apostles</i> go out into the street again. <n>A whip was a stick with long pieces of strong material fastened at one end. Rulers used it to <i>punish</i> people who did not obey the <i>law</i>. 


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So the <i>apostles</i> walked away from the men of the <i>Sanhedrin</i>. They were very happy because they thought to themselves, ‘God believes that we are good enough to receive <i>punishment</i> because of Jesus.’ 


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So they continued to teach the people about Jesus. They spoke every day in people’s homes and in the Great House of God. They told the people that Jesus was the <i>Christ</i>, the special servant of God. And so the <i>apostles</i> told people all the good news about Jesus.


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At that time, more and more people every day became <i>believers</i> in Jesus. Some <i>Jews</i> in Jerusalem spoke the Greek language. Other <i>Jews</i> in Jerusalem spoke the Aramaic language. The <i>Jews</i> who spoke Greek had a problem with the other <i>Jews</i>. Those who spoke Greek said to the other <i>Jews</i>, ‘We have a problem with you. The husbands of some of your own women have died. They receive money from the <i>apostles</i> every day to buy food. The husbands of some of the women in our group have also died. But the <i>apostles</i> do not give these women money every day.’ <n>Greek means the language that people spoke in Greece. Or it means someone who comes from that country. The <i>Jews</i> who were born in <i>Israel</i> spoke the Aramaic language. 


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The 12 <i>apostles</i> heard about the problem. So they asked all those who believed in Jesus to meet together with them. The <i>apostles</i> said, ‘Our work is to teach people the message from God. It is not right for us to stop doing this work. But we are giving out the money to those people who need things. That is not good.’ 


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So the <i>apostles</i> said to the <i>believers</i>, ‘Our friends, please choose 7 men from among you. You must know that the <i>Holy Spirit</i> is living inside each of them. And they must know the things about God very well. We will ask these 7 men to do this work for us. 


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Then we will have more time to pray. We will also have more time to teach the people the good news about Jesus.’


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The whole group was happy with the <i>apostles</i>’ words. So first they chose a man called Stephen. Stephen believed God really well. The <i>Holy Spirit</i> lived inside him. The <i>believers</i> also chose 6 other men. These other men were called Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolaus. Nicolaus was from Antioch. He was not born a <i>Jew</i>, but he had believed in the God of the <i>Jews</i>. 


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The group asked these 7 men to stand up in front of the <i>apostles</i>. Then the <i>apostles</i> put their hands on each man. They asked God to help the 7 men with their special work.


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So more and more people heard the word of God. The number of <i>believers</i> in Jesus in Jerusalem continued to grow greater and greater. And many of the <i>priests</i> also believed in Jesus. <n>A very large number of <i>priests</i> lived in Jerusalem and they worked in the Great House of God. <n>The important <i>Jews</i> take hold of Stephen</n>


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God helped Stephen in special ways and caused him to do powerful things. The people saw Stephen do many special things. 


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But some men did not like Stephen. They did not like what Stephen taught about Jesus. These men were from one of the <i>synagogues</i> in Jerusalem that was called the ‘<i>Synagogue</i> of the Free Men’. The men from this <i>synagogue</i> were <i>Jews</i> from the cities called Cyrene and Alexandria. And some of them were from towns in Cilicia and <i>Asia</i>. These men began to argue with Stephen.


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The <i>Holy Spirit</i> gave Stephen great <i>wisdom</i> and caused him to speak in a very powerful way. So Stephen spoke to the men from this <i>synagogue</i>. And they could not say that he was wrong.


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So the men from the <i>synagogue</i> gave money to some bad men. They paid them to say bad things about Stephen. But those things were not true. So the men who received the money said to the people, ‘We heard this man, Stephen, say bad things about Moses and about God.’


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People heard what these men said. And then the people became angry. The important <i>Jews</i> and the teachers of the <i>Law</i> also heard what these bad men were saying. They all became very angry. So they went up to Stephen and they took hold of him. Then they took him to stand in front of the men of the <i>Sanhedrin</i>. 


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The important <i>Jews</i> and the teachers of the <i>Law</i> brought in some men to say bad things about Stephen. The things that they said were not true. The men said, ‘This man, Stephen, is always saying bad things about the Great House of God. He also says bad things about the <i>Law</i> that God gave to Moses. 


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We heard Stephen talk about Jesus, who comes from Nazareth. He said that Jesus will destroy the Great House of God. He said, “Jesus will change all that Moses taught the people.” But Moses explained to us the right way to live.’


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All the men of the <i>Sanhedrin</i> looked at Stephen. They saw that his face was very beautiful. And they thought that he was like an <i>angel</i>.


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The most important <i>priest</i> said to Stephen, ‘These men are saying things about what you have taught. Are these things true?’


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Stephen said, ‘Men of <i>Israel</i>, listen to what I say. Our God is completely good and very powerful. He appeared to our <i>ancestor</i>, Abraham, when Abraham was still living in Mesopotamia. This happened before he went to Haran. 


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God said to Abraham, “Leave your own country and your own <i>family</i>. Go to a different country that I will show you.” ’ <n>The country that God led Abraham to was called Canaan. This country is now called <i>Israel</i>. Jerusalem city is also there. 


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‘So Abraham left his country where people called Chaldeans also lived. Then he moved to Haran and he stayed there. But when Abraham’s father died, God said to Abraham, “Leave this place.” So God then sent him to live here, in Canaan. This is where we are now.’ <n>Abraham lived with his father in a city called Ur. Ur was in a country called Babylonia, which is now part of Iraq. Abraham moved with his father from Ur to live in Haran. 


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‘At that time, God did not give Abraham any part of Canaan for his own <i>family</i>. He did not even give Abraham a very small piece of ground. But at that time, God gave a promise to Abraham. “This land will become your own country”, he said. “It will also be your children’s country.” When God said this to him, Abraham did not yet have any children. 


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This is what God said to him. “Your <i>family</i> will live in a country that other people rule. The people in that country will cause your <i>family</i> to be slaves for 400 years. They will not be kind to them. They will hit your <i>family</i> to cause them to work more.” 


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Then God said, “I will <i>punish</i> those people who caused your <i>family</i> to work so much for them. After I have done that, your <i>family</i> will leave that country. They will come to this place. And here they will tell me how great and important I am.” ’ <n>We can read about God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12. Abraham’s <i>family</i> worked in <i>Egypt</i> for 400 years. Then Moses led them out of that country to the country which became <i>Israel</i>. Moses was standing on a big hill called Mount Sinai when God spoke to him. We can read about this in Exodus chapter 3. 


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‘Then God told the people of <i>Israel</i> that they would be his special people. So that they would remember this special promise, God said, “You must <i>circumcise</i> all your baby boys.” <n>Abraham became the father of Isaac. And Abraham <i>circumcised</i> his son, Isaac, when the child was 8 days old. Isaac became the father of Jacob. Isaac also <i>circumcised</i> his son. Jacob had 12 sons. These sons were the 12 important <i>ancestors</i> of <i>Israel</i>. Jacob <i>circumcised</i> all of them.’ <n>Jacob is also sometimes called <i>Israel</i>. We can read the names of Jacob’s 12 sons in Genesis 35:23-26. 


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‘One of Jacob’s sons was called Joseph. Jacob loved Joseph more than he loved his other sons. For this reason, some of Jacob’s sons did not like their brother, Joseph. So one day they took Joseph and they sold him as a slave. The men that bought Joseph took him to <i>Egypt</i>. There they sold him again and Joseph worked in <i>Egypt</i> as a slave. All this time, God stayed near to Joseph. 


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God helped him with all his troubles and God gave him great <i>wisdom</i>. At that time, <i>Pharaoh</i> was the king of <i>Egypt</i>. God helped Joseph so that Pharaoh liked him. He saw that Joseph was very <i>wise</i>, so he <i>ordered</i> Joseph to rule <i>Egypt</i> and everyone in Pharaoh’s own house.


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Then one year there was no rain. The food plants did not grow in <i>Egypt</i> or Canaan. So many people did not have enough food to eat. Our <i>ancestors</i> also had no food. 


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Jacob heard that <i>Pharaoh</i> had put a lot of wheat seeds in big huts. So he sent his sons to <i>Egypt</i> to buy food from Pharaoh. This was the first time that they went to <i>Egypt</i>.’ <n>Wheat is a plant. People use wheat to make bread. 


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‘Jacob then sent his sons back to <i>Egypt</i> for a second time. This time, Joseph told them that he was their brother. So then <i>Pharaoh</i> heard that Joseph’s brothers had arrived. He heard about Joseph’s <i>family</i>. 


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After this, Joseph gave a message to his brothers. “Tell our father that I am here. Say that I want him to come. Say that he should bring all his <i>family</i> from Canaan to <i>Egypt</i>”, he said to them. There were 75 people in Jacob’s <i>family</i>.


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So Jacob went to <i>Egypt</i> with all his <i>family</i>. And Jacob and his 12 sons lived there until they died.’ <n>The kings of the country of <i>Egypt</i> were always called Pharaoh. We can read the story of Joseph in Genesis chapters 37 to 50. 


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‘When the people of <i>Israel</i> left <i>Egypt</i>, they carried with them the dead bodies of Joseph and his <i>family</i>. They took them back to Shechem and they buried them in a hole in a rocky hill. Abraham had bought this hole and rock from the <i>family</i> of a man called Hamor. He had paid money for it.’ <n>Shechem was the place in Canaan where Jacob and his <i>family</i> had lived. Jacob and Joseph knew that one day their families would return to Shechem. So Jacob asked his <i>family</i> to take his dead body back to Shechem. We can read about this in Genesis 49:29-33. Much later, Joseph also asked his <i>family</i> to take his dead body back to Shechem. We can read about this in Genesis 50:25 and Joshua 24:32. 


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‘Now there were many people in Jacob’s <i>family</i> and they all lived in <i>Egypt</i>. And soon God would cause his promise to Abraham to become true. 


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At this time, a different king ruled <i>Egypt</i>. This king did not know anything about the things that Joseph had done. 


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He told our <i>ancestors</i> things that were not true. He also did very bad things to them. He said that they must put their small babies out of their homes. He said that because he wanted the babies to die.


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It was at this time that Moses was born. He was a very beautiful baby and his mother kept him safe for three months in her own home. 


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Then Moses’ mother put him out of her home. But <i>Pharaoh</i>’s daughter found Moses and she took him home with her. And he lived with her as her own son.’ <n>We can read this story about Moses in Exodus 2:1-10. The people of <i>Egypt</i> were called Egyptians. 


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‘The <i>Egyptians</i> taught Moses all the things that they knew. He knew how to speak well. Moses said and did some very powerful things.


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One day, Moses went to see how his own people lived. He was 40 years old when he did this.’ <n>Moses’ own people were the people of <i>Israel</i>. They were called Israelites. 


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‘Moses saw one of the <i>Egyptians</i>, who was hitting one of the <i>Israelites</i>. So Moses went to help the <i>Israelite</i> man and he killed the <i>Egyptian</i> man. He did this because the <i>Egyptian</i> had hurt one of Moses’ own people. 


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Moses wanted to help the <i>Israelites</i> to get away from <i>Egypt</i>. He thought to himself, “The <i>Israelites</i> will know what I want to do. They will understand that God will use me to do this.” But the people did not understand. 


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On the next day, Moses saw two <i>Israelites</i>, who were fighting each other. He wanted them to stop fighting. So he talked to them. “Men”, he said, “please listen to me. You are in the same <i>family</i>. You should not hurt each other.”


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The man who was hurting the other man pushed Moses away. “You have no authority to rule us”, he said to Moses. “You have no authority to be our <i>judge</i>. 


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Moses heard what the man said to him. So Moses ran away. He went to the country called Midian and he built a house there. He lived in it, and he and his wife had two sons.


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Moses lived in Midian for 40 years. Then, one day, he was in the <i>desert</i> near the hill called Mount Sinai. He saw a bush there that was burning. An <i>angel</i> appeared to him in the fire.’ <n>A <i>desert</i> is a very dry place. There is not much water there and often there is a lot of sand and stones. There are not many plants, and not many people live there. 


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‘Moses was very surprised by what he saw. He went near to the bush so that he could see it better. Then he heard God speak to him from the bush. 


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“I am the God of your <i>ancestors</i>”, God said. “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Moses was very frightened. He was too afraid to look at God, so he turned his face away from the bush.


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God said to Moses, “Remove your shoes from your feet, because you are standing in a very special place. This is my own place. 


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I have seen all the bad things that the <i>Egyptians</i> are doing to my people. I have heard my people. They are crying. And I have come down here to save them. Come here and listen to me. And then I will send you back to <i>Egypt</i>.” ’ <n>We can read this story about Moses in Exodus chapter 3. 


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Stephen said, ‘Moses is the man that the people of <i>Israel</i> would not accept. “You have no authority to rule us”, they had said to him. “You have no authority to <i>judge</i> us.” But God did send Moses to rule the people of <i>Israel</i>. And he did send Moses to save them from the <i>Egyptians</i>. God sent the <i>angel</i> that appeared to him. The angel spoke to him from a bush that was burning. 


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It was Moses who led the people of <i>Israel</i> out of <i>Egypt</i>. The people saw him do many special things. He did some powerful things before the people left <i>Egypt</i>. He did more special things by the Red Sea. Then he led the people through the <i>desert</i> for 40 years and he did some more special things there also.’ <n>We can read about this in Exodus chapters 7 to 17. 


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‘It was Moses who said to the people of <i>Israel</i>, “God will send you a <i>prophet</i>. He will speak words from God. And he will be one of your own <i>family</i>, the same as I am one of your own <i>family</i>.” 


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This is the same Moses that was with the people of <i>Israel</i> in the <i>desert</i>. They were near the big hill called Mount Sinai. Moses was also there with our <i>ancestors</i> when the <i>angel</i> spoke to him on Mount Sinai. He also received the message from God to give to us. God’s message was alive.


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But our <i>ancestors</i> would not listen to Moses or obey him. They did not accept him and they wanted to go back to <i>Egypt</i>. 


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So the people said to Aaron, “Please make us some gods that we can carry in front of us. Moses brought us out of <i>Egypt</i>. But now we do not know what has happened to him.” ’ <n>Aaron was the brother of Moses. 


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‘It was then that the people made something. It would be their god. It was like a young male cow, and the people made it from gold. They killed some animals and they burned them as a gift for their god. The people then had a big meal together because they were very happy. They thought that they had made something beautiful and strong. And they thought that it was powerful.’ <n>We can read about this in Exodus 32:1-6. 


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‘So then God turned away from his people. He let them speak to the stars instead and he let them make gods of them. The people told the stars how great and beautiful they were. The people who spoke words from God wrote this: “God said, <n>‘People of <i>Israel</i>, listen! <n>You did not kill and burn those animals as a gift for me. <n>When you were in the <i>desert</i> for 40 years,


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you carried the house of the god called Moloch. <n>You also carried something else to put inside this house. <n>It was a smaller copy of another god of yours. <n>It was like the star of your god, Rephan. <n>You made these gods. <n>And you told them both how great and important they were. <n>So now I will send you away from your own country. <n>You will go to live in Babylon.’ ” ’ <n>We can read this in Amos 5:25-27. Amos spoke these words from God. 


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‘When our <i>ancestors</i> were in the <i>desert</i>, they carried a special tent with them. It contained God’s <i>Laws</i>. It caused them to remember that God was there with them. God showed Moses how he wanted Moses and the people to make this special tent.’ <n>A tent is a house that someone made out of cloth or animal skins. When people travel, they can carry it from one place to the next. God told Moses how to make this special tent. It was the place where they should meet him. There were two flat stones inside a special box in this tent. God had told Moses about his <i>Laws</i> when he was on the hill called Mount Sinai. Moses wrote the <i>Law</i> of God on these two stones. The people of <i>Israel</i> carried the box with the stones all the time. We can read about this in Exodus chapter 19. 


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‘Our <i>ancestors</i> gave the special <i>tent</i>, which contained God’s <i>Law</i>, to their <i>families</i>. They brought it with them when they came to this country. God gave this country to our people. And he caused the people that were already here to leave. At that time Joshua was their leader. The tent remained in Canaan until David became the king of <i>Israel</i>.’ <n>Many other people were already living in Canaan. But God had promised to give Canaan to the people of <i>Israel</i>. Joshua helped the people of <i>Israel</i> to fight the other people in Canaan. And God helped the people of <i>Israel</i> to win their fights. So the people who had lived there went away from Canaan. 


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‘God helped King David very much, and King David caused God to be happy with him. So David said to God, “You are the God of our <i>ancestor</i> Jacob. Can I make a special house where you can live?” 


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But David did not build the house for God. Solomon built it.’ <n>Solomon was the son of King David. God did not want David to build the house for him. But David brought together the materials to build it. 


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‘But this also is true. Our God is of great importance. He does not live in a house that men have made. Isaiah spoke these words from God:


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“The sky is like an important seat. I sit there to rule. <n>The earth is like a small seat. It is like a place to put my feet on. <n>You could not build a better house for me to live in. <n>You could not make a better place for me to sit down.


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Then Stephen said to the people, ‘You people do not want to understand about God. You are the same as the people that do not believe in the true God. And you do not want to listen to God’s true message. So you are the same as your <i>ancestors</i>. They also did not want to obey the <i>Holy Spirit</i>. 


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Your <i>ancestors</i> did bad things to every person who spoke words from God to them. God’s servants spoke about the completely good Man that God would send. But your <i>ancestors</i> killed those servants. Now you have given to an enemy this true and special servant that God sent. And you have killed him. 


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You received God’s <i>Law</i>, which <i>angels</i> gave you. But you have not obeyed it.’ <n>The men of the <i>Sanhedrin</i> kill Stephen</n>


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The men of the <i>Sanhedrin</i> listened to Stephen and they became more and more angry with him. They bit their teeth together because they were so angry. 


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Then the <i>Holy Spirit</i> filled Stephen with his authority. Stephen looked up to <i>heaven</i> and he saw how beautiful God is. God shone like a very bright light. Stephen also saw Jesus, who was standing at the right side of God. 


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‘Look’, Stephen said. ‘I can see into <i>heaven</i>. It is open! I can see the Son of Man and he is standing at the right side of God!’ <n>The Son of Man is another name for Jesus. Jesus often called himself the Son of Man when he talked to the people. Jesus was standing up, ready to receive Stephen. 


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When the men of the <i>Sanhedrin</i> heard these things, they shouted very loudly at him. They put their hands over their ears. Then together they ran towards him. 


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They took hold of Stephen and they pulled him out of the city. They removed their coats. And they gave them to a young man to keep them safe. This young man was called Saul. Then they began to throw stones at Stephen. 


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While the men were throwing stones at him, Stephen prayed to the <i>Lord</i>. ‘<i>Lord</i> Jesus’, he said, ‘please accept my <i>spirit</i>.’ 


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Then Stephen fell down on his knees. He shouted loudly, ‘<i>Lord</i>, please <i>forgive</i> these men because they are doing this to me.’ After Stephen said this, he died.


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Saul was standing there. And he saw everything that happened. Saul said to the men of the <i>Sanhedrin</i>, ‘It is good that you have killed Stephen.’ <n>Saul puts some of the <i>believers</i> in prison</n> <n>On the same day that Stephen died, the <i>Jews</i> in Jerusalem began to do bad things to the <i>believers</i>. All those who believed in Jesus left Jerusalem and they went in different directions. Some of them went to Judea and some of them went to Samaria. Only Jesus’ 12 <i>apostles</i> stayed in Jerusalem. <n>Some <i>believers</i> may have remained for a while. Those who were hurting them continued to do so. That is what we think. 


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Some good men who obeyed God buried Stephen’s dead body. They were very sad that the people had killed him. They cried with loud voices. 


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But Saul brought great troubles to the <i>believers</i> in Jerusalem. He wanted to stop people believing in Jesus. So Saul went from one house to other houses. He pulled the <i>believers</i> out of their homes and he put both the men and the women into prison. <n><i>Believers</i> teach the people in Samaria the message about Jesus</n>


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The <i>believers</i> who had left Jerusalem went to many different towns. In each town, they told the people the message about Jesus. 


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Philip went to the city called Samaria. And there he told the people the message about Jesus Christ. He said, ‘Jesus was the special person that God sent.’


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Crowds of people came together in the city to hear Philip speak. They listened to him carefully. And they saw him do many special things. 


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Some people had bad <i>spirits</i>, which were living in them. Philip sent the bad <i>spirits</i> out of them. And as the bad <i>spirits</i> left them, they made a loud noise. Some other people had weak legs, and Philip caused their legs to become strong again. Some people could not move their arms and legs, but Philip caused them to become well again. 


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The people in that city were very happy. <n>The <i>Holy Spirit</i> lived inside Philip. And he helped Philip to speak in a powerful way. Because of this he could do these special things for the people. People who lived in Samaria were called Samaritans. 


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A man called Simon lived in Samaria. For a long time, he had used <i>magic</i> to do many things which surprised the people. The people who lived in Samaria had watched him. And they believed that Simon was a very important person. 


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The important people in the city had watched Simon carefully. And the people who were not important had also watched him carefully. Everyone had said, ‘God has caused Simon to become powerful. He is a god himself.’ 


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Simon had used his <i>magic</i> for a long time. The people watched him. He often surprised them with the things that he did. So they listened to him carefully. 


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But then Philip told them the message about how God rules as king. He told them all about Jesus. He said that Jesus was the <i>Christ</i>, God’s special servant. Many men and women believed in Jesus, so Philip <i>baptised</i> them. 


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Simon also believed the message and so Philip <i>baptised</i> him. After this, Simon stayed close to Philip. Simon was very surprised at the many powerful and special things that Philip did.


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The <i>apostles</i> were still living in Jerusalem. They heard that people in Samaria had believed God’s word. So the <i>apostles</i> sent Peter and John to Samaria to talk to the people. 


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Philip had <i>baptised</i> those who believed. And when the two <i>apostles</i> arrived in Samaria, they prayed for these people. They asked God to give the new <i>believers</i> the <i>Holy Spirit</i>.


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Until then, the <i>Holy Spirit</i> had not yet come down on these people. Philip had only <i>baptised</i> them. He used the name of the <i>Lord</i> Jesus when he did this. 


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When Peter and John put their hands on the head of each person, they received the <i>Holy Spirit</i>.


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Simon saw that the <i>Holy Spirit</i> came when Peter and John put their hands on each person. So he said to Peter and John, ‘Here is some money. I want to give it to you. 


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Please cause me also to be powerful. I want to do the same things as you. I want to put my hands on other people, so that they will receive the <i>Holy Spirit</i>.’


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Peter answered Simon. ‘I hope that you and your money go to the place of <i>punishment</i>. It is very wrong for you to think, “I can buy with money this gift which God gives.” 


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No, you cannot work with us because you are not thinking the right things. And you are not obeying God. 


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Tell God that you are sorry about these bad thoughts. Stop thinking like that and think right thoughts. Say to God, “Please <i>forgive</i> me that I am thinking these bad things.” 


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I can see that you think wrong thoughts. You do not have what the <i>apostles</i> have. And so you are angry. <i>Satan</i> is ruling you like a slave.’


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Then Simon said to Peter and John, ‘Please, will you pray to God for me? Then none of these bad things that you have spoken about will happen to me.’


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Peter and John told the people what Jesus had done for them. After Peter and John had told the people a message from the <i>Lord</i>, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem. And on their way, they talked to people in the villages in Samaria. They taught the people the good news about the <i>Kingdom</i> of God. <n>Philip meets a man from Ethiopia</n>


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Then God sent an <i>angel</i> to speak to Philip. He said, ‘Philip, prepare yourself and go south to the road between Jerusalem and Gaza. The road goes through the <i>desert</i>.’ <n>It was about 70 kilometres (45 miles) from Jerusalem to the town called Gaza. 


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So Philip went and he was walking along this road. And, while he was walking, he met an important man from Ethiopia. This man kept Candace’s money safe. Candace was the queen of Ethiopia. The man was travelling home. He had been to Jerusalem to visit the Great House of God. He had thanked God that God was so good and great. <n>Ethiopia is a country in Africa. People who live there are called Ethiopians. Candace was a special name for their queen. We think that the man from Ethiopia was not a <i>Jew</i>. But now he obeyed the God of the <i>Jews</i>. The Ethiopian man was riding in a <i>cart</i> that horses pulled. The <i>cart</i> would move about as fast as a man can walk. 


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Now the man was travelling home again in his <i>cart</i>. And he was reading from the book that Isaiah the <i>prophet</i> wrote. 


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So Philip ran to the <i>cart</i> and he walked close to it. He heard the man. He was reading aloud from the book called ‘Isaiah’. So Philip asked the man, ‘Do you understand the things that you are reading about?’


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The man answered, ‘I cannot understand it. First, I need someone to explain it to me.’ The man said to Philip, ‘Come up here and ride along in the <i>cart</i> with me.’


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The man was reading this from the book of Isaiah, <n>‘People led him like they lead a sheep. It is a sheep that they are going to kill. <n>He did not make a noise. <n>He was like a young sheep. It does not make a noise, <n>when a man cuts the soft hair on its back. <n>He was like that. He did not say anything.


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People <i>laughed</i> at him. <n>They said bad things about him. They said things that were not true. <n>Nobody can talk about his children, because he did not have any. <n>His life on earth has finished.’ <n>We can read this in Isaiah 53:7-8. Isaiah wrote this about Jesus. 


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The man from Ethiopia said to Philip, ‘Please tell me who the <i>prophet</i> Isaiah wrote about. Was he writing about himself or about another person?’ 


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Then Philip explained to the man the words that Isaiah had written. He told the man the good news about Jesus. 


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When they were travelling along the road, they came to some water. The man said to Philip, ‘Look, here is a place where there is some water. Please will you <i>baptise</i> me? Is there anything to stop you?’


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Philip said to him, ‘I can <i>baptise</i> you if you really believe in Jesus.’ The man said to Philip, ‘I really do believe in Jesus. I believe that he is the Son of God.’ <n>Most Bibles do not have 8:37. Perhaps Luke wrote it, but then people lost it. Perhaps Luke did not write it. Then somebody else wrote it after Luke had finished writing the book of Acts. 


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The man from Ethiopia said to the man who was driving the <i>cart</i>, ‘Please stop the <i>cart</i>.’ Then Philip and the man from Ethiopia went down into the water, and Philip <i>baptised</i> him. 


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They both walked out of the water again, and then the <i>Holy Spirit</i> quickly took Philip away from that place. The man did not see Philip again and the man continued his journey. He was very happy. <n>Philip <i>baptised</i> the man from Ethiopia because the man believed the good news about Jesus. 


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Philip saw that he was now in Azotus. So he walked towards the town called <i>Caesarea</i>. As he went through the towns on the way to Caesarea, he spoke to people. He told them the good news about the <i>Kingdom</i> of God. <n>Azotus was a town 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of Gaza. <i>Caesarea</i> was an important city in <i>Israel</i>. The <i>Roman</i> ruler sometimes lived there. <i>Caesarea</i> was at the coast and it was an important port. It was 70 kilometres (about 45 miles) from Jerusalem. We think that Philip lived in <i>Caesarea</i> for many years. Philip was still living in <i>Caesarea</i> when Luke wrote about him again in Acts 21:8. 


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All this time, Saul was saying that he wanted to kill all the <i>believers</i>. So he went to see the most important <i>priest</i>. 


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‘Please will you write some letters for me?’ he said to the most important <i>priest</i>. ‘I can give one of these letters to each leader of every <i>synagogue</i> in Damascus. Perhaps some people there believe what Jesus taught. And if I find any people like that, I can take hold of them. I can tie them with <i>ropes</i>. And I can bring all of them, men and women, back here to Jerusalem.’ <n>Damascus was an important city and it was about 242 kilometres (150 miles) from Jerusalem. It was in Syria and many <i>Jews</i> lived there. Damascus was one of the ten towns that the <i>Romans</i> did not rule. These ten towns had their own rulers. <n>Saul needed letters from the most important <i>priest</i>. Then he would have authority. He could catch any <i>believers</i> that he found. People called the early Christians ‘Those who followed the Way of the <i>Lord</i>’. 


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Saul travelled towards Damascus. He was almost at the city when a very bright light <i>suddenly</i> appeared. The light came from the sky, and it shone all round him. 


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Saul asked, ‘<i>Lord</i>, who are you?’ The voice said, ‘I am Jesus. And you are fighting against me. 


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Now you should get up and you should go into Damascus. Someone will come to you when you arrive in the city. He will tell you what to do.’


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The men who were with Saul stood still. They did not speak. They could hear that someone was talking. But they could not see anyone. 


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Saul stood up and he opened his eyes. But he could not see anything. The men who were with Saul held his hand. And they led him into Damascus. 


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For three days, Saul could not see anything. And for those three days he did not eat or drink anything.


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Ananias was a <i>believer</i> who lived in Damascus. After Saul came to Damascus, Ananias had a dream. But Ananias was not asleep. In the dream, Jesus spoke to him. ‘Ananias’, Jesus said. Ananias answered him. He said, ‘Master, I am here.’


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‘Prepare yourself and go to Straight Street’, said Jesus, ‘A man called Judas lives in that street. Go to his house. And ask for a man from Tarsus called Saul. He is praying to God.


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Saul has also had a dream when he was not asleep. In his dream, Saul saw you, Ananias. You came to see him. You put your hands on Saul so that he could see again.’


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‘<i>Lord</i>, many people have told me about this man’, Ananias said to the <i>Lord</i> Jesus. ‘They told me about all the very bad things that he has done to your people in Jerusalem. 


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Now he has come to Damascus. And I know that he has brought letters with him from the leaders of the <i>priests</i>. They have given him authority over everyone who follows you. He will take them away and he will tie them with <i>ropes</i>.’


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But the <i>Lord</i> said to Ananias, ‘Go and do this for me. I have chosen Saul to work for me. He will tell those who are not <i>Jews</i> and their rulers about me. He will also tell the people of <i>Israel</i> about me. 


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Saul will have many troubles because he will work for me. I myself will tell him about these things.’


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So Ananias went to Judas’s house. He went into the house, and he put his hands on Saul. Then he said to him, ‘<i>Brother</i> Saul, the <i>Lord</i> Jesus himself has sent me here to see you. It was Jesus that you saw on the road to Damascus. You saw him when you were coming here. He sent me to you so that you will be able to see again. God will also give his <i>Holy Spirit</i> to you.’ <n>Brother is a name that a Christian may call another Christian. 


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Then immediately something fell from Saul’s eyes. It was like bits of fish skin. Then Saul could see again. So he stood up and Ananias <i>baptised</i> him. 


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Then Saul ate some food and he felt strong again. <n>Saul teaches the people in Damascus the good news about Jesus</n> <n>Saul stayed with the <i>believers</i> in Damascus for a few days. 


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He immediately went to the <i>synagogues</i>. There, he taught the people about Jesus. ‘Jesus is the son of God’, he said to them. 


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Many people heard what Saul said. They were all very surprised and they said to each other, ‘This is the same man who was in Jerusalem. We are sure about that. In Jerusalem, he killed people who believed in Jesus. Then he came here to Damascus to take hold of the <i>believers</i>. He wanted to take them back to Jerusalem. There they would stand in front of the leaders of the <i>priests</i>.’ 


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But then Saul was even more powerful when he taught the people. He said, ‘Jesus is the <i>Christ</i>, the special person that God sent to us.’ Saul said all the right things about Jesus. So the <i>Jews</i> who lived in Damascus could not answer him. 


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But someone told Saul about this. The <i>Jews guarded</i> the gates of the city all day and all night. They wanted to catch Saul and to kill him. 


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But one night, Saul’s friends helped him to leave the city. They put Saul in a basket, and then they put the basket through a hole in the city wall. Then they let the basket go slowly down to the ground. <n>Paul’s friends tied a <i>rope</i> to the basket and they held the <i>rope</i>. Then they let the basket go down to the ground. <n>Saul returns to Jerusalem</n>


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When Saul returned to Jerusalem, he wanted to join the <i>believers</i> there. But they were afraid of him. They did not believe that he was now a <i>disciple</i> of Jesus. 


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A <i>believer</i> called Barnabas helped Saul. He took Saul to talk to the <i>apostles</i>. And Barnabas then explained to the <i>apostles</i> what had happened to Saul. Barnabas said to them, ‘Saul saw the <i>Lord</i> when he was on the road to Damascus. And the <i>Lord</i> spoke to him. While Saul was in Damascus, he bravely spoke to the people with the authority of Jesus.’ 


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So, after that, Saul stayed with the <i>apostles</i>. He went round all Jerusalem and taught the people in clear words, with the authority of Jesus. 


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Saul also talked with the <i>Jews</i> who spoke the Greek language. He argued with them about Jesus. So they tried to kill him. <n>Greek means the language that people spoke in Greece. Or it means someone who comes from that country. Saul could speak the Greek language. Most people in that part of the world spoke Greek. 


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The other <i>believers</i> heard about this. So they took Saul to <i>Caesarea</i>, and from there, Saul went away to Tarsus.


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Now there were <i>believers</i> in Judea, Galilee and Samaria, and for some time they had no troubles. The <i>Holy Spirit</i> helped them to become strong. More people became <i>believers</i>. And they obeyed God in everything that they did. <n>Peter travels to Lydda and Joppa</n> <n>Joppa was a town 45 kilometres (28 miles) from Jerusalem. At that time, it was an important sea port in Judea. Joppa was about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Lydda. 


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Now Peter often travelled to different places and one day he travelled to Lydda. Some <i>believers</i> lived there, and Peter went to see them. 


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In Lydda, Peter met a man called Aeneas. Aeneas could not move his arms and legs, and so he lay on his bed all the time. He had done this for 8 years.


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Peter said to Aeneas, ‘Jesus will cause you to become well again. So stand up and pick up your things.’ Immediately Aeneas stood up. 


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A woman called Tabitha lived in Joppa. She was a <i>believer</i>. Tabitha is a name in the <i>Aramaic</i> language. In Greek, her name was Dorcas. Dorcas is the word for a deer. Dorcas did good things and she helped poor people all the time. <n>A deer is an animal that eats grass. It is like a goat. It can run very fast. Greek means the language that people spoke in Greece. The <i>Jews</i> spoke the Hebrew and Aramaic languages. 


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Dorcas became very ill and then she died. Women washed her dead body and they put it in the room upstairs. 


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Joppa was not very far from Lydda. And the <i>believers</i> in Joppa heard that Peter was in Lydda. So they sent two men to him with a message. ‘Please hurry and come to Joppa’, they wrote in the message.


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Peter prepared himself and he returned to Joppa with the two men. When he arrived at Dorcas’s house, the women took him upstairs. Many other women were there. Their husbands had died. They were crying and they all came close to Peter. They showed him the shirts and coats that Dorcas had made. She made them while she was still with them.


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Peter put all these women out of the room. He went down on his knees and he prayed to God. Then he turned his head towards the dead body. ‘Tabitha’, he said. ‘Stand up!’ She opened her eyes. And when she saw Peter, she sat up. 


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Peter took her by the hand and he helped her to stand up. Then he asked all the <i>believers</i> and the other women to come into the room. And he showed them that she was alive again. 


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The <i>believers</i> told other people what had happened. So then people all over Joppa heard what had happened. And many more people believed in the <i>Lord</i> Jesus. 


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Peter stayed in Joppa for many days. He stayed with a man called Simon. Simon was a tanner. <n>A tanner is a man who works with animal skins. He makes leather from the skins. And people make things from the leather. 


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There was a man who lived in <i>Caesarea</i>. His name was Cornelius, and he was an officer and a leader of 100 men in the <i>Roman</i> army. His group in the army was called ‘the group from Italy’. 


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Cornelius was a good man. He and all his <i>family</i> believed in God and they obeyed him. Cornelius prayed to God every day. And he gave a lot of money to help the poor <i>Jews</i> in <i>Caesarea</i>. <n>Cornelius was a not a <i>Jew</i>. But he believed in the God of the <i>Jewish</i> people and he obeyed the <i>Law</i>. His <i>family</i> and all his servants also prayed to God and obeyed him. 


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One afternoon, at about 3 o’clock, Cornelius had a special dream. But he was not really asleep. One of God’s <i>angels</i> came in and spoke to him. ‘Cornelius!’ the <i>angel</i> said. <n>It was about 3 o’clock in the afternoon. That was a time when the <i>Jews</i> prayed to God. Cornelius was not sleeping when he had his special dream. He was praying when he saw the <i>angel</i>. 


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Cornelius looked at the <i>angel</i> and he was afraid. ‘Master, what is it?’ said Cornelius. <n>The <i>angel</i> said to Cornelius, ‘God heard you when you prayed to him. And he has seen all the money that you give to the poor people. You make God very happy, and now he is answering you. 


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Send some men to Joppa. These men will find a man that is staying there. He is called Simon Peter. Your men must ask him to come here to <i>Caesarea</i>. 


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Then the <i>angel</i> that spoke to Cornelius went away. Cornelius <i>ordered</i> two of his own servants, and one of his own soldiers, to come to him. The soldier was a good man who obeyed God. He helped Cornelius and he worked close to him. 


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Cornelius told these three men what had happened. And he told them what the <i>angel</i> had said to him. Then he sent them to Joppa. <n>Joppa was about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from <i>Caesarea</i>. 


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The next day, at about noon, Cornelius’s men were almost at <i>Caesarea</i>. At this same time, Peter went up on the roof of the house. He went there to pray to God. <n>In those days, in <i>Israel</i>, all the houses had flat roofs. People sat up there after they had finished working. It was quiet there. 


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Peter felt hungry, and he wanted to eat some food. While someone was preparing a meal for him, Peter had a special dream. But he was not really asleep.


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Peter saw <i>heaven</i> open. He saw something like a large piece of cloth with 4 corners. An <i>angel</i> held it at each corner. Then they let the large piece of cloth come down to the ground next to Peter. 


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On the cloth there were many different animals. Some of these were farm animals, and some of them were wild animals. There were also some wild birds and things like snakes on the cloth. 


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Then Peter heard a voice that spoke to him. ‘Peter, stand up and kill an animal. Then you can cook it and eat it.’


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‘No, <i>Lord</i>, I would certainly never do something like that’, Peter answered. ‘I have never eaten an animal that your <i>law</i> does not let me eat.’ <n>We can read about these <i>laws</i> in Leviticus chapter 11. The animals on the cloth were only ones that the <i>Law</i> would not let a <i>Jew</i> eat. 


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Then the voice said to Peter, ‘God has made these animals good to eat. You must not say that God will not accept you if you eat any of them.’


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Then Cornelius’s men arrived from Joppa. They had found Simon’s house. Peter was still thinking about his dream when the men stopped at the gate of the house. 


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Peter was still thinking about his dream. Then the <i>Holy Spirit</i> said to him, ‘Simon Peter, there are three men downstairs. They are looking for you. 


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Get up and go downstairs to them. I have sent these men to see you. And it will be right for you to go with them.’


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Peter went downstairs and said to the men, ‘I am the person that you are looking for. Why have you come here?’


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‘We have come from the officer who is called Cornelius’, the men answered. ‘He is a good man. He prays to God and obeys him. And the <i>Jews</i> think good things about him. An <i>angel</i> from God said that he should send us here. The <i>angel</i> wanted you to return with us to Joppa. Cornelius wants to hear what you have to say.’ 


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Then Peter said to the men, ‘Please come into the house and stay here with us tonight.’ <n>Peter goes to Cornelius’s house</n> <n>The next day, Peter travelled to Joppa with Cornelius’s men. And some <i>believers</i> who lived in Joppa travelled with them. 


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Peter arrived in <i>Caesarea</i> the next day. Cornelius knew that they would be arriving. So he was waiting for Peter. The <i>family</i> and friends of Cornelius were also waiting with him. He had asked them to come to his house. 


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When Peter arrived, Cornelius went to the door to meet him. Then Cornelius went down on his knees in front of Peter. 


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Peter went into the house with Cornelius and he continued to talk to him. He then saw that many people were meeting together in the house. 


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He said to them, ‘You people know that <i>Jews</i> do not usually come into the home of <i>Gentiles</i>. God’s <i>Law</i> does not let a <i>Jew</i> have someone who is not a <i>Jew</i> as a friend. But God has now shown me something different. God has shown me that he accepts all men. And so I must accept everyone.’ <n>Peter now understood more about his own dream. He knew that God was teaching him something. The dream was a message from God about all people. All people can be <i>believers</i>. People can be either <i>Jews</i> or <i>Gentiles</i>. God will accept everyone. 


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Then Peter said, ‘So when you asked me to come here, I was happy to come. I knew that it was right. But why did you ask me to come?’


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Then Cornelius said, ‘Three days ago, I was in my house. It was 3 o’clock in the afternoon, and I was praying to God. <i>Suddenly</i>, a man appeared in front of me. He was wearing white clothes that shone. 


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“Cornelius”, the man said to me. “You have prayed to God. You have done many good things for poor people. Now God wants to answer you. 


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So send some men to Joppa. These men will find a man called Simon Peter. He is staying there. Your men must ask him to come here to <i>Caesarea</i>. Simon Peter is staying at the house of Simon the <i>tanner</i>. His house is at the edge of the sea.” 


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I sent the men immediately and they asked you to come. Thank you that you came. Now we are all here together, and God is here with us. We are waiting to hear what you have to say. Do you have a message from the <i>Lord</i> for us?’ <n>Peter speaks to Cornelius and to his <i>family</i> and friends</n>


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Then Peter spoke to all the people in the room. ‘Now I understand that God accepts all people in the same way’, he said. ‘And I now know that this is true. 


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God accepts all people who obey him. He accepts all people who do the right things. It is not important to God which country a person comes from. He accepts them all. 


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God sent this message to the people of <i>Israel</i>. He told them the good news about Jesus Christ. Jesus is the <i>Lord</i> of everything. Because of Jesus, we can be close to God again. 


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You know about the important things that have happened in Judea. These things began in Galilee after John talked to the people. And he <i>baptised</i> them. 


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You know about Jesus. He came from the town called Nazareth. God chose Jesus to do special work for him. He gave Jesus his <i>Holy Spirit</i> and helped him to do powerful things. Then Jesus went to many places. And he helped many people that the <i>devil</i> was holding. But Jesus did good things and caused all those people to become well again. He could do that because God was with him.


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We all saw everything that Jesus did in <i>Israel</i> and in Jerusalem. Then the <i>Jews</i> fixed Jesus to a <i>cross</i> and they killed him. 


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But then, three days after that, God caused Jesus to become alive again. He caused him to appear to us. 


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Not everyone saw him. He appeared only to us because God has chosen us to work for him. So we are telling people about everything that we saw. We ate with him after he became alive again. And we drank with him, too. 


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Jesus said to us, “Go and tell people the good news about me. Tell them that God has given me authority to <i>judge</i> all people. I will <i>judge</i> those who are now alive. And I will <i>judge</i> those who have died.” ’ 


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Then Peter said, ‘The <i>prophets</i> who spoke words from God a long time ago, spoke about Jesus. They said, “Everybody has done wrong things. But Jesus will <i>forgive</i> everyone who believes in him. He will do this by his powerful authority.” ’ <n>Those who are not <i>Jews</i> receive the <i>Holy Spirit</i></n>


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While Peter was still speaking, the <i>Holy Spirit</i> came down on all the people in the room. They were all listening to the message about Jesus. 


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The <i>Jewish believers</i> who had come from Joppa with Peter were very surprised. They saw that God had also given his <i>Holy Spirit</i> to <i>Gentiles</i>. 


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And the <i>Jewish believers</i> in the room heard them speaking in other languages. They were also saying, ‘God, you are very great and powerful.’ <n>Then Peter spoke. 


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‘God has given his <i>Holy Spirit</i> to these people in the same way that he gave him to us’, he said. ‘So we should <i>baptise</i> them with water. That is the right thing to do.’ 


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So Peter asked those who came with him to <i>baptise</i> the new <i>believers</i>. They spoke the name of Jesus Christ when they <i>baptised</i> them. And then Cornelius asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.


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The <i>apostles</i> and the other <i>believers</i> in Judea heard about what had happened in <i>Caesarea</i>. They heard that <i>Gentiles</i> had also believed the message from God. 


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Peter then returned to Jerusalem. Some <i>Jews</i> there asked him questions to show that he had done something wrong. These <i>Jews</i> thought that the <i>Gentiles</i> must be <i>circumcised</i>. 


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So they said to Peter, ‘You stayed in the house of men who were not <i>circumcised</i>. You even ate meals with them!’ <n>The <i>Jews</i> that spoke to Peter believed in Jesus. They thought that Peter had done a wrong thing. He had stayed with people who were not <i>Jews</i>. And he had even eaten meals with them. They did not understand all that Jesus had done. 


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Peter told these <i>Jewish believers</i> everything that had happened from the beginning. He explained to them, 


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‘I was staying in a house in the city called Joppa’, he said. ‘One day, when I was praying, I had a special dream. I saw something that came down from <i>heaven</i>. It was like a large piece of cloth with 4 corners. An <i>angel</i> was holding it at each corner. The cloth came down to the ground next to me. 


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And I looked carefully at it. And I saw that there were farm animals, wild animals, things like snakes, and birds on it. 


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Then I heard the <i>Lord</i> speak to me. The voice said, “Peter, stand up and kill an animal. Then you can cook it and eat it.”


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I answered, “No, <i>Lord</i>, I would certainly never do something like that. I have never eaten an animal that your <i>law</i> does not let us eat.”


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Then the <i>Lord</i> said to me, “God has made these animals good to eat. So you must not say that God will not accept you if you eat any of them.” 


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At that moment, three men from <i>Caesarea</i> arrived at the house where I was staying. Someone had sent these men to find me. 


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The <i>Holy Spirit</i> said to me, “Get up and go downstairs. I have sent these men to see you. It is right for you to go with them.” These 6 <i>believers</i> from Joppa also went with me to <i>Caesarea</i>. We all went into Cornelius’s house. 


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Then Cornelius told us what had happened to him. He had seen an <i>angel</i>. The <i>angel</i> was standing in his house. And he had said to Cornelius, “Send someone to Joppa. They must find a man who is staying there. His name is Simon Peter. 


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He will come and speak to you. And his message will show you how God can save you. The message is for you and for your family and for your servants.”


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While I was telling Cornelius and his family the message, God gave them all his <i>Holy Spirit</i>. The <i>Holy Spirit</i> came to them in the same way as he first came to us. 


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Then I remembered what the <i>Lord</i> Jesus had said to us. “John <i>baptised</i> people with water, but God will <i>baptise</i> you with his <i>Holy Spirit</i>.” 


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So we are sure about this. God gave those who are not <i>Jews</i> his gift of the <i>Holy Spirit</i>. He sent him to them in the same way that he gave him to us. He gave the <i>Holy Spirit</i> to us when we believed in the <i>Lord</i> Jesus Christ. And God also wanted to do this for those who are not <i>Jews</i>. I do not have the authority to be against God.’


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The <i>Jews</i> heard what Peter said. And they told him that he had done the right things. So they said to God, ‘You are very great and important. You helped those who are not <i>Jews</i>. So now they also can tell you that they are sorry. They also can stop doing bad things and they can start to obey you. They also can have true life.’ <n>The <i>believers</i> go to Antioch</n>


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After the men of the <i>Sanhedrin</i> had killed Stephen, the <i>believers</i> went away to many different places. Some of them went away as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch. They told people in those places God’s message. But they only told the message to the <i>Jews</i>.


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Some of the <i>believers</i> were from Cyprus and Cyrene. These men went to Antioch. There they told God’s message to the <i>Jews</i>. But they also told it to those who were not <i>Jews</i>. They told everyone the good news about the <i>Lord</i> Jesus. 


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God helped these men and he caused them to become powerful. And many people believed the good news about Jesus. They asked Jesus to become their <i>Lord</i>.


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The <i>believers</i> in Jerusalem heard about what had happened in Antioch. So they decided to send Barnabas there. 


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Barnabas arrived in Antioch. Then, he saw that God had done good things for the people. Barnabas was happy about this. So he said to the new <i>believers</i>, ‘Continue to obey the <i>Lord</i> as you are doing. Obey him in everything that you do and say.’ 


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Barnabas was a good man and God’s <i>Holy Spirit</i> was living inside him. He believed God about everything all the time. Many people became <i>believers</i>.


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And when Barnabas found him, Saul returned to Antioch with Barnabas. For one year, Barnabas and Saul met together with the <i>believers</i> at Antioch. And they taught a large group of <i>believers</i> all about Jesus. Antioch was the first place where the <i>believers</i> were called Christians.


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One of these men was called Agabus. He stood up and he told the people a message from God. The <i>Holy Spirit</i> told him what to say. ‘Soon the food plants will not grow for a time all over the world’, he said. And that happened when <i>Caesar</i> Claudius ruled the <i>Roman</i> world. <n><i>Caesar</i> Claudius ruled the <i>Roman</i> world from <i>AD</i> 41 - 54. The food plants did not grow well in many parts of the <i>Roman</i> world at that time. In Judea, this happened to the food plants in <i>AD</i> 46. 


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All those who believed in Jesus wanted to help the other <i>believers</i> in Judea. So they decided to send them some of their own money. 


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The <i>believers</i> in Antioch gave the money to Barnabas and Saul. So Barnabas and Saul took it and they gave it to the leaders of the <i>believers</i> in Judea.


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Herod sent his soldiers to kill James with a big sharp knife. James was John’s brother. <n>This was the James who was the son of Zebedee. This happened about 10 years after Jesus became alive again. 


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The <i>Jews</i> were happy because Herod’s soldiers had killed James. Because the <i>Jews</i> were happy about it, Herod sent his soldiers to catch Peter. This happened during the week when the <i>Jews</i> made their bread without <i>yeast</i>. <n>This was the week before the <i>Passover</i> meal. They usually made bread with <i>yeast</i>, flour and water, but not during that week. 


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After the soldiers caught Peter, they put him in prison. While he was in prison, 4 different groups of soldiers <i>guarded</i> him. There were 4 men in each group. Herod wanted Peter to stand in front of a <i>judge</i>. He could not do this until after this special <i>Passover</i> week had finished. <n>Each group of soldiers <i>guarded</i> the prison for 4 hours. When one group stopped the next group started. They did this day and night. 


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So Herod kept Peter in prison. But while he was in prison, the <i>believers</i> prayed to God about him. <n>Peter walks out of the prison</n>


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It was night and Peter was in the prison. Herod wanted him to stand in front of the <i>judge</i> the next morning. The soldiers had tied Peter with <i>chains</i>. And then they tied these <i>chains</i> to two other soldiers. So there was one soldier on each side of Peter while he was sleeping. Some soldiers were <i>guarding</i> the gate of the prison. 


text:
An <i>angel</i> from God <i>suddenly</i> appeared in the prison. He stood near to the place where Peter was sleeping. A bright light also shone in the prison. The <i>angel</i> touched Peter’s shoulder. He caused Peter to wake up. ‘Hurry, Peter! Stand up!’ the <i>angel</i> said. And immediately the <i>chains</i> fell off Peter’s hands.


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Then the <i>angel</i> said, ‘Tie your belt round your clothes and put on your shoes.’ So Peter did what the <i>angel</i> asked him to do. Then the <i>angel</i> said, ‘Put your coat on and follow after me.’ 


text:
So Peter followed the <i>angel</i> out of the prison. Peter was not sure that all these things were really happening to him. He did not know if he was dreaming. 


text:
Peter and the <i>angel</i> walked past the first group of soldiers in the prison. Then they walked past the second group of soldiers. After that, they came to the big metal gate in the wall of the prison. The city was outside this gate. The gate opened by itself in front of them. So Peter and the <i>angel</i> walked out of the prison into the city. They walked together along one street and <i>suddenly</i> the <i>angel</i> went away.


text:
Then Peter understood what had happened to him. ‘Now I know that these things really have happened to me’, he said to himself. ‘The <i>Lord</i> sent one of his <i>angels</i> to me. The <i>Jews</i> wanted Herod to do bad things to me. And they thought that he would. But the <i>angel</i> saved me so that Herod could not hurt me.’ 


text:
When Peter understood all these things, he went to Mary’s house. She was the mother of John Mark. Many people were meeting together in her house. They were praying. <n>It is possible that John Mark wrote Mark’s book about Jesus. Mary was the aunt of Barnabas. 


text:
She recognised Peter’s voice and she was very happy. But she did not open the door. Instead, she ran back into the house and she spoke to all the people there. ‘Peter is standing outside the door’, she told them.


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The people in the house said, ‘You are crazy.’ But she told them again that Peter really was there. So then they said, ‘It is his <i>angel</i>.’ <n>At that time, some people believed that everyone had an <i>angel</i>. These <i>angels</i> kept them safe. 


text:
While all this was happening, Peter was still knocking at the door. Then someone opened the door. And they were all very surprised when they saw him there. 


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Peter put out his hand so that they would all be quiet. Then he explained to them how the <i>Lord</i> had brought him out of the prison. ‘Tell James and all the other <i>believers</i> what has happened to me’, he said. Then he left the house and he went away to another place.


text:
When it was morning, there was a lot of trouble at the prison. The soldiers at the prison did not understand what had happened to Peter. 


text:
Herod said to the soldiers, ‘Go and look for Peter!’ But they could not find him. Herod asked the soldiers some questions about what they had done. And then he <i>ordered</i> other soldiers, ‘Kill these men who let Peter go.’ <n>After this happened, Herod went away from Judea. Then he stayed in <i>Caesarea</i> for some time. <n>King Herod dies</n>


text:
At that time, Herod was very angry with the people who lived in Tyre and Sidon. A group of men from these cities went together to speak to Herod about the problem. A man called Blastus was an important servant in King Herod’s house. The group spoke to Blastus and they said, ‘Please help us when we speak to Herod.’ Then the group went to speak to Herod. ‘Please stop being angry with our people. We want to have you as a friend’, they said to him. ‘We must come to your country to buy our food.’ <n>The <i>Romans</i> ruled Tyre and Sidon. These were not <i>Jewish</i> cities. And the people did not want Herod to rule them. But they bought their food from Galilee. And the problem was that Herod ruled in Galilee. 


text:
Herod decided on which day he would speak to the people. He put on his beautiful clothes and he sat in his special seat. And then he spoke to all the people. 


text:
Herod liked what they said. He did not say that only God is very great and powerful. So immediately the <i>angel</i> of the <i>Lord</i> caused Herod to become ill. <i>Worms</i> ate Herod’s body and he died. <n>Barnabas and Saul return to Antioch</n>


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Everywhere that the <i>believers</i> went, they told people the message from God about Jesus. So people in more and more places heard the message and they believed in Jesus.


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Barnabas and Saul finished their work and they returned from Jerusalem. And John Mark came from Jerusalem with them.


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There were some <i>prophets</i> among the <i>believers</i> in Antioch. And there were also teachers who taught the other <i>believers</i> more about Jesus. These men were called Barnabas and Simeon. People also called Simeon ‘the Black’. There was also Lucius who had lived in Cyrene. Manaen and Saul were also among them. Manaen had lived together with Governor Herod when they were children. <n>A governor is a very important ruler. 


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One day, the <i>believers</i> were meeting together. They were praying. And they were saying how very great and powerful God is. They were also <i>fasting</i>. While they were together that day, the <i>Holy Spirit</i> spoke to them. ‘I have chosen Barnabas and Saul to do a special work’, he said. ‘Let them go now for me.’


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The men finished talking to God and <i>fasting</i>. And then, they each put their hands on Barnabas and Saul. Then they sent them to start this new work. <n>We do not know if only 5 <i>believers</i> were meeting together. Perhaps all the <i>believers</i> in Antioch were together at that meeting. <n>What happened when Barnabas and Saul were in Cyprus</n>


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The <i>Holy Spirit</i> sent Barnabas and Saul away from Antioch. They travelled to the coast, to the town called Seleucia. Then they sailed on a boat from there to an island called Cyprus. 


text:
They arrived at a town called Salamis. Then they went into the <i>Jewish synagogues</i> and they told the people God’s message about Jesus. John Mark went with Barnabas and Saul to help them with their work.


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They travelled across the island to a town called Paphos. There they met a man called Bar-Jesus. He was a <i>Jew</i> and he did things by <i>magic</i>. He said that he spoke messages from God. But that was not true. <n>In the Hebrew language ‘Bar-’ means ‘the son of’ and ‘Jesus’ is the word for Joshua. So the name Bar-Jesus means ‘son of Joshua’. Most <i>Jews</i> spoke the Hebrew language. Those who were not <i>Jews</i> usually spoke Greek. Greek means the language that people spoke in Greece. 


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The ruler of Cyprus was called Sergius Paulus, and Bar-Jesus was his friend. Sergius Paulus understood things well. So he asked Barnabas and Saul to come to him. He wanted them to tell him the message about Jesus. 


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In the <i>Greek</i> language, Bar-Jesus was called Elymas. He did not like what Barnabas and Saul were saying. He did not want Sergius Paulus to believe in Jesus. So he tried to stop him. 


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Then God filled Saul again completely with his <i>Holy Spirit</i>. Saul was also called Paul. He looked straight at Elymas and he said, 


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‘You are like a son of <i>Satan</i>. You do not like anything that is right. Your mind is full of all the bad things that you do. You are always trying to change the good things that the <i>Lord</i> says. You say that these things are not true. 


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The <i>Lord</i> will now touch your eyes and you will not see the light of day for some time.’ <n>Immediately, something like a black cloud covered Elymas’s eyes. When he walked about, he needed someone to lead him by the hand. 


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Then Sergius Paulus saw what had happened to Elymas. He was very surprised about all the things that Barnabas and Saul taught him about the <i>Lord</i>. And so he believed in Jesus. <n>Paul and Barnabas go to Antioch in Pisidia</n>


text:
Paul and Barnabas and John Mark sailed from Paphos. They came to the coast at the town called Perga. John left them there and he returned to Jerusalem. Perga was a town in the part of the country called Pamphylia. 


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Paul and Barnabas left there. And they went on to a town called Antioch in Pisidia. On the <i>Sabbath</i> day, they went into the <i>synagogue</i> and they sat down. 


text:
First someone read some of the words from the <i>Law</i> that God had given to Moses. And he also read some of the words that the <i>prophets</i> had written down. After this, the leaders of the <i>synagogue</i> sent a message to Paul and Barnabas. ‘Friends’, these men said to them, ‘we want you to speak to the people. Do you have a message that will help them?’


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So Paul stood up and he moved his hand towards them. Then he began to speak to them. <n>From Acts 13:13, Luke begins to call Saul by his new name, Paul. Paul moved his hand towards them so that the people would be quiet. He wanted them to listen carefully to him. <n>He said, ‘Listen to me, you who, like us, are <i>Jews</i>. You <i>Gentiles</i> who pray to our God, listen carefully to me.


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The God of the people of <i>Israel</i> chose our <i>ancestors</i>. While they were in <i>Egypt</i>, God caused <i>Israel</i> to become a large group of people. They were foreign people in <i>Egypt</i>. But because God was so powerful, he brought <i>Israel</i> out of <i>Egypt</i>.’ <n>We can read about <i>Israel</i> when they left <i>Egypt</i> in Exodus chapter 12. 


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‘They did not show God that they loved him. But God remained with the people of <i>Israel</i> in the <i>desert</i> for 40 years. 


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God destroyed 7 groups of people in the country called Canaan. And God gave Canaan to his people so that they could live there. 


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The people of <i>Israel</i> lived there for about 450 years. <n>After this time, God caused <i>Israel</i> to have leaders called <i>judges</i>. They ruled <i>Israel</i> until the time when Samuel was alive. Samuel was a <i>prophet</i>. 


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Then the people of <i>Israel</i> asked Samuel to choose a king for them. So God caused them to have Saul as their king. Saul was the son of Kish and he was from the <i>family</i> of Benjamin. And he ruled <i>Israel</i> for 40 years.’ <n>We can read about Samuel, Saul and David in 1 Samuel chapters 8 to 31. 


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‘Then God caused Saul to stop ruling <i>Israel</i>. And God caused <i>Israel</i> to have David as their king instead. God said this about David: “I have watched David, the son of Jesse. He thinks like I think. So I know that he is the right kind of man. And he will do everything that I want.”


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Jesus was from the <i>family</i> of David. It is Jesus who saves the people of <i>Israel</i>. God had promised this to the <i>ancestors</i> of <i>Israel</i>. 


text:
Before Jesus began his work, John spoke to many of the people of <i>Israel</i>. He said, “You should stop doing wrong things. You should say sorry to God and then you should obey him. If you do that, I will <i>baptise</i> you then.” ’ <n>We can read about John the <i>Baptist</i> and his work in Luke chapter 3. 


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‘When John had almost finished his work, he said to the people, “Perhaps you think that I am God’s special man. I am not that man. But listen! He is coming after me. And I am not good enough to remove his shoes.” ’ <n>It was the job of servants to remove their master’s shoes. 


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‘I speak to you people here, who, like us, have Abraham as your <i>ancestor</i>. I also speak to you, who are not <i>Jews</i>. You also know that God is powerful and important. God gave us this message for all of you. He tells us how he will save us. 


text:
The people who live in Jerusalem, and their leaders, did not understand about Jesus. He came to save us. But the people in Jerusalem said that Jesus had done wrong things. And they said that he should die. So they caused the words of the <i>prophets</i> to become true. And someone reads these same words to you every <i>Sabbath</i> day. 


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They could not find any reason to kill Jesus. But they said to Pilate, “Your soldiers must kill him.” 


text:
So the soldiers did everything that the <i>prophets</i> wrote about. Then some of Jesus’ <i>disciples</i> took him down from the <i>cross</i> and they buried him. 


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So for many days after this, he appeared to his <i>disciples</i>. He showed himself to those people who had earlier travelled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They saw everything and now they can tell the people of <i>Israel</i> about it.’ <n>We can read about what happened to Jesus in Jerusalem in Luke chapters 22 to 24. 


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‘We have come here to tell you this good news. God promised our <i>ancestors</i> that he would do these things for us. 


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And now he has also done these things for everyone. He has caused Jesus to live again. We can read about this in the second Psalm. God says, <n>“You are my son. <n>Today, I have become your Father.”


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God caused Jesus to live again so that <i>worms</i> did not destroy his body. And he will not die again. This is what God said about it. <n>“I will also do the good things for you <n>that I promised to David.”


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God also says this in another Psalm. <n>“Your servant who loves you will not remain dead. <n>You will not let <i>worms</i> eat his body.”


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While David was king, he worked well for God. Then David died and men buried him next to his <i>ancestors</i>. <i>Worms</i> ate his body. 


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But God caused Jesus to become alive again. He did not die again and <i>worms</i> did not eat his body.


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My friends, I want all of you to know this. We have all done many bad things. I am telling you this message about how God <i>forgives</i> us. God <i>forgives</i> us because of what Jesus did. 


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God can cause everyone to be right with him. Believe in Jesus. And then God will <i>forgive</i> all the bad things that you have done. The <i>Law</i> that God gave to Moses cannot do this for you. It cannot make you free. 


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Be careful then! The <i>prophets</i> spoke about what would happen. So do what I am saying. And then these things will not happen to you. This is what the <i>prophets</i> said:


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“Listen to me! Many of you speak bad things about what God has said. <n>Be surprised at what I do. And then die. <n>I am working now, while you are still alive. <n>But still you will not believe what I am doing. <n>Even if someone explains everything to you, you will not believe.” ’


text:
The people spoke to Paul and Barnabas while they were leaving the <i>synagogue</i>. ‘Please return on the next <i>Sabbath</i> day’, they said. ‘Then you can tell us more about what you have already told us.’ 


text:
When the meeting in the <i>synagogue</i> finished, many people followed Paul and Barnabas. These people were <i>Jews</i> and also some who believed in the God of the <i>Jews</i>. Paul and Barnabas spoke to them. ‘You believe that God has done good things to help you’, they said. ‘You should continue to believe that God will help you.’


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But there were some <i>Jews</i> who saw the crowd. All the people wanted to listen to Paul and Barnabas more than they listened to those <i>Jews</i>. So those <i>Jews</i> were angry with the people. And they said bad things about what Paul said. They also said bad things about Paul.


text:
But Paul and Barnabas were not afraid of them. They said to the <i>Jews</i>, ‘It was right, that we first tell you the message from God. But you say that the message is not true. You did not believe God’s word. And you did not believe that God would give you true life. So we will leave you now. And we will give the message to those who are not <i>Jews</i>.


text:
We will do that because the <i>Lord</i> has given us this message for you. He said to us, <n>“I have sent you out to be like a light to those who are not <i>Jews</i>. <n>You must tell people everywhere in the world how God saves people.” ’


text:
The <i>Gentiles</i> were very happy when they heard this. And they thanked the <i>Lord</i> for the message about Jesus. The <i>Lord</i> had chosen some people to have true life. And those people believed his message.


text:
But the <i>Jews</i> spoke to the important men in the city. They also spoke to many rich women who were not <i>Jewish</i>. These women believed in the God of the <i>Jews</i>. But the <i>Jews</i> caused all these people to think bad thoughts against Paul. So these rulers started to say bad things about Paul and Barnabas. They caused Paul and Barnabas to leave that part of the country. 


text:
Paul and Barnabas cleaned the dirt off their feet. This showed to the people in that town that they had refused the message from God. And then they travelled to the town called Iconium. 


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Those who believed in Jesus in Antioch in Pisidia were very happy. The <i>Holy Spirit</i> completely filled them.


text:
Paul and Barnabas did the same in Iconium as they had done in Antioch in Pisidia. Paul and Barnabas went to the <i>synagogue</i>. They told the people their message about Jesus and many <i>Jews</i> and <i>Gentiles</i> believed it. And these people became <i>disciples</i> of Jesus. 


text:
But some of the <i>Jews</i> refused to believe their message. These <i>Jews</i> caused some of those who were not <i>Jews</i> to think bad thoughts against the <i>believers</i>. So they began to say bad things about them. 


text:
So Paul and Barnabas stayed in Iconium for a long time and they did many powerful things. They were not afraid to tell the people everything about Jesus. And the <i>Lord</i> showed the people that the message was true. He helped Paul and Barnabas to do powerful things. 


text:
The people in the city were in two groups. Some of them believed the message from Paul and Barnabas. But some of them joined the <i>Jews</i> who did not believe. 


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Then both the <i>Jews</i> and the <i>Gentiles</i> and all their leaders wanted to hurt Paul and Barnabas. They wanted to throw stones at them until they died. 


text:
Paul and Barnabas heard about what these people wanted to do to them. So they went away quickly to Lystra and Derbe, where they were safe. These places were cities in the part of the country called Lycaonia. They also went to other places near Lycaonia. 


text:
In all these places, they told people the good news about Jesus. <n>This is what happened in Lystra and in Derbe</n>


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There was a man who lived in Lystra. He could not walk because his feet were not strong. His feet had been weak since he was born. So he had never walked. 


text:
He was sitting near to Paul and he was listening to Paul’s words. Paul could see that the man believed his message. Also the man believed that he could become well. And Paul knew that. 


text:
So Paul looked at the man and Paul said loudly, ‘Stand up on your feet!’ So the man jumped up and he began to walk about.


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The crowd saw what Paul had done. So they began to shout in the language of the people who lived in Lycaonia. ‘The gods have become like men and they have come down from the sky to us’, they said. 


text:
They called Barnabas by the name of their god Zeus. They called Paul by the name of their god Hermes because he usually spoke to the people. <n>Zeus and Hermes were the names of two Greek gods. Zeus was the leader of the Greek gods. And Hermes was the god who gave messages from Zeus to the people. Greek means that they came from the country called Greece. 


text:
The house where people prayed to Zeus was very near to the town. The <i>priest</i> who worked for Zeus brought animals to the gate of the house. He also brought some flowers. The <i>priest</i> and the crowd thought that Paul and Barnabas were their gods. And so they wanted to kill these animals as gifts to Paul and Barnabas.


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Then Paul and Barnabas heard what the people were doing. They tore their own clothes and they ran into the middle of the crowd. <n>Paul and Barnabas tore their own clothes. Paul and Barnabas were showing the people that they were doing the wrong thing. 


text:
‘Stop! You people should not do this’, they shouted. ‘We are only men like you. We are human; we are not gods. We came here to tell you the good news about Jesus. God wants you to stop doing this. Your gods have no value. Our God is alive. And he wants you to obey him. He made the sky, the earth and the sea, and everything else that is in them.


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But even then, God showed everybody that he was there. He has shown this by all the good things that he does for people. He causes the rain to fall from the sky. He causes the food plants to make their fruit and seeds at the right time. He gives you food and he causes you to be happy.’ 


text:
Paul and Barnabas said this to stop the people. But they still wanted to kill the animals as gifts for Paul and Barnabas.


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Some <i>Jews</i> had travelled from Antioch in Pisidia and from Iconium. And they caused the people to believe them instead of Paul. Then those <i>Jews</i> threw stones at Paul and they pulled him out of the town. They thought that he was dead. 


text:
But the <i>believers</i> came and they stood round him. Then Paul stood up and he went back into the town. The next day, he and Barnabas went to Derbe. <n>Paul and Barnabas return to Antioch in Syria.</n>


text:
Paul and Barnabas told the people in Derbe the good news about Jesus. Many people there believed what they taught. Then Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra and from there they went back to Iconium. They also returned to Antioch in Pisidia. 


text:
They taught the <i>believers</i> in these towns more about Jesus. They said to them, ‘Continue to believe in Jesus! All people who do believe will have difficult times in their lives. That will happen until God rules the earth.’ 


text:
Paul and Barnabas chose leaders from each group of <i>believers</i>. Paul and Barnabas prayed and they <i>fasted</i>. And then they chose them. So, Paul and Barnabas asked Jesus to help these leaders and to keep them safe. That was because these leaders believed in him. 


text:
There they taught the people in Perga the message about Jesus. Then they went down to the town called Attalia.


text:
From there they sailed back to Antioch. It was in Antioch where they had begun their work. The <i>believers</i> in Antioch had asked God to keep Paul and Barnabas safe as they travelled. And now Paul and Barnabas had finished their work. 


text:
When they arrived, they sent a message to all the <i>believers</i> in Antioch. ‘Come and meet together with us!’ they said. So the <i>believers</i> all met together with them. Then Paul and Barnabas told them about their journey. They told the <i>believers</i> what God had done by them. They said, ‘God has made it possible for people who are not <i>Jews</i> to believe in Jesus.’ 


text:
Some men came from Judea to Antioch. And they began to teach the <i>believers</i> there. ‘God cannot save you unless someone <i>circumcises</i> you’, they said. ‘This is in the <i>Law</i> that God gave to Moses.’ 


text:
Paul and Barnabas argued with these men for a long time about this. So the <i>believers</i> in Antioch said, ‘Let Paul, Barnabas and some of the other <i>believers</i> go to Jerusalem. They should meet with the <i>apostles</i> and leaders of the <i>believers</i> there. Then they can talk to them about <i>circumcising</i> new <i>believers</i> who are not <i>Jews</i>.’ 


text:
The Christians at Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem. They travelled through Phoenicia and Samaria. And they spoke to the <i>believers</i> in that part of the country. They said, ‘People who are not <i>Jews</i> are also obeying God.’ They were all very happy to hear this news. 


text:
When Paul and Barnabas arrived in Jerusalem they met with the Christians. And the <i>apostles</i>, all the <i>believers</i> and their leaders were happy to see them. Paul and Barnabas told them all about how God had worked by them.


text:
Some of those who believed in Jesus were also part of a group of <i>Pharisees</i>. They stood up and spoke. They said, ‘We must <i>circumcise Gentiles</i> when they become <i>believers</i>. They must also obey the <i>Law</i> that God gave to Moses.’


text:
So the <i>apostles</i> and the leaders of the <i>believers</i> met to talk about this problem. <n>Peter talks to the <i>apostles</i> and the leaders of the <i>believers</i> in Jerusalem.</n>


text:
After they had all talked about this problem for a long time, Peter stood up. He said, ‘My friends, you know that a long time ago, God chose me from among this group. He wanted me to teach those who are not <i>Jews</i> the good news about Jesus. God wanted them to hear the message and to believe in Jesus. 


text:
God knows what people believe. He gave his <i>Holy Spirit</i> to those who are not <i>Jews</i>. He sent him to them in the same way as he sent him to us. So he accepted those who are not <i>Jews</i>. And he was showing that to us. 


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He saw no difference between them and us. He caused them to become right with himself because they believed in him.


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God has shown us what to do. Let us not make God angry with us. We do not understand why you now want us to do something different. You will be causing problems for the <i>Gentiles</i> who believe God’s message. All these same <i>laws</i> were too difficult for us and for our <i>ancestors</i> to obey. 


text:
It should not be like that for those who are not <i>Jews</i>. We are <i>Jews</i>. And we believed God’s message and Jesus saved us. Jesus did this because he was kind to us. And he saves those who are not <i>Jews</i> in the same way.’


text:
Now everybody in the group was quiet while Barnabas and Paul talked to them. They said, ‘God worked by us. And he did many powerful things for those who are not <i>Jews</i>.’ Then they told the group all about these powerful things. 


text:
‘Simon Peter has just explained to us what happened first. He showed how God loved the <i>Gentiles</i>. God chose a group of people from among the <i>Gentiles</i> for himself.


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“Later I will return. <n>People have destroyed the <i>kingdom</i> of David, but I will raise it up again. <n>I will make it strong again.


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The other people in the world will then look for the <i>Lord</i>. <n>Also the <i>Gentiles</i> that are called by my name will look for me.


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The <i>Lord</i>, who is doing all these things, says that.” ’ <n>In verse 16, the ‘<i>kingdom</i> of David’ means the ‘<i>family</i> of David’. Jesus was also in the <i>family</i> of David. 


text:
James then spoke again. ‘This is what I think’, he said. ‘I think that we should do this: Many who are not <i>Jews</i> are now obeying God. We should not cause troubles for them and we should not make it difficult. 


text:
Instead of that, we should write a letter to them. We should say to them, “Someone may kill an animal and give it to his god. Then, do not eat the meat. The <i>Lord</i> says that it is not right for you to eat it. Also, do not have sex with anyone that is not your wife or husband. Someone may tie a <i>rope</i> round the neck of an animal to kill it. Do not eat that meat. The blood of the animal has remained in the meat. Do not eat blood.” 


