# verses

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 and ordered them, "Don't take anything with you on the trip except a walking stick---no bread, no beggar's bag, no money in your pockets.


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 If you come to a town where people do not welcome you or will not listen to you, leave it and shake the dust off your feet. That will be a warning to them!"


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 Now King Herod heard about all this, because Jesus' reputation had spread everywhere. Some people were saying, "John the Baptist has come back to life! That is why he has this power to perform miracles."


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 Others, however, said, "He is Elijah." Others said, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago."


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 When Herod heard it, he said, "He is John the Baptist! I had his head cut off, but he has come back to life!"


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 Herod himself had ordered John's arrest, and he had him tied up and put in prison. Herod did this because of Herodias, whom he had married, even though she was the wife of his brother Philip.


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 Herod was afraid of John because he knew that John was a good and holy man, and so he kept him safe. He liked to listen to him, even though he became greatly disturbed every time he heard him.


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 Finally Herodias got her chance. It was on Herod's birthday, when he gave a feast for all the top government officials, the military chiefs, and the leading citizens of Galilee.


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 The daughter of Herodias came in and danced, and pleased Herod and his guests. So the king said to the girl, "What would you like to have? I will give you anything you want."


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 With many vows he said to her, "I swear that I will give you anything you ask for, even as much as half my kingdom!"


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 So the girl went out and asked her mother, "What shall I ask for?" "The head of John the Baptist," she answered.


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 The girl hurried back at once to the king and demanded, "I want you to give me here and now the head of John the Baptist on a plate!"


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 This made the king very sad, but he could not refuse her because of the vows he had made in front of all his guests.


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 So he sent off a guard at once with orders to bring John's head. The guard left, went to the prison, and cut John's head off;


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 There were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his disciples didn't even have time to eat. So he said to them, "Let us go off by ourselves to some place where we will be alone and you can rest a while."


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 Many people, however, saw them leave and knew at once who they were; so they went from all the towns and ran ahead by land and arrived at the place ahead of Jesus and his disciples.


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 When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw this large crowd, and his heart was filled with pity for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things.


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 When it was getting late, his disciples came to him and said, "It is already very late, and this is a lonely place.


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 Send the people away, and let them go to the nearby farms and villages in order to buy themselves something to eat."


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 "You yourselves give them something to eat," Jesus answered. They asked, "Do you want us to go and spend two hundred silver coins on bread in order to feed them?"


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 So Jesus asked them, "How much bread do you have? Go and see." When they found out, they told him, "Five loaves and also two fish."


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 Jesus then told his disciples to make all the people divide into groups and sit down on the green grass.


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 Then Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, and gave thanks to God. He broke the loaves and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.


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 At once Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to Bethsaida, on the other side of the lake, while he sent the crowd away.


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 He saw that his disciples were straining at the oars, because they were rowing against the wind; so sometime between three and six o'clock in the morning, he came to them, walking on the water. He was going to pass them by,


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 They were all terrified when they saw him. Jesus spoke to them at once, "Courage!" he said. "It is I. Don't be afraid!"


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 because they had not understood the real meaning of the feeding of the five thousand; their minds could not grasp it.


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 So they ran throughout the whole region; and wherever they heard he was, they brought to him the sick lying on their mats.


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 And everywhere Jesus went, to villages, towns, or farms, people would take their sick to the marketplaces and beg him to let the sick at least touch the edge of his cloak. And all who touched it were made well.


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 They noticed that some of his disciples were eating their food with hands that were ritually unclean---that is, they had not washed them in the way the Pharisees said people should.


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 (For the Pharisees, as well as the rest of the Jews, follow the teaching they received from their ancestors: they do not eat unless they wash their hands in the proper way;


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 nor do they eat anything that comes from the market unless they wash it first. And they follow many other rules which they have received, such as the proper way to wash cups, pots, copper bowls, and beds. )


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 So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law asked Jesus, "Why is it that your disciples do not follow the teaching handed down by our ancestors, but instead eat with ritually unclean hands?"


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 Jesus answered them, "How right Isaiah was when he prophesied about you! You are hypocrites, just as he wrote: 'These people, says God, honor me with their words, but their heart is really far away from me.


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 And Jesus continued, "You have a clever way of rejecting God's law in order to uphold your own teaching.


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 For Moses commanded, 'Respect your father and your mother,' and, 'If you curse your father or your mother, you are to be put to death.'


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 But you teach that if people have something they could use to help their father or mother, but say, 'This is Corban' (which means, it belongs to God),


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 In this way the teaching you pass on to others cancels out the word of God. And there are many other things like this that you do."


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 Then Jesus called the crowd to him once more and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand.


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 There is nothing that goes into you from the outside which can make you ritually unclean. Rather, it is what comes out of you that makes you unclean."


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 "You are no more intelligent than the others," Jesus said to them. "Don't you understand? Nothing that goes into you from the outside can really make you unclean,


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 because it does not go into your heart but into your stomach and then goes on out of the body." (In saying this, Jesus declared that all foods are fit to be eaten.)


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 For from the inside, from your heart, come the evil ideas which lead you to do immoral things, to rob, kill,


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 commit adultery, be greedy, and do all sorts of evil things; deceit, indecency, jealousy, slander, pride, and folly---


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 Then Jesus left and went away to the territory near the city of Tyre. He went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not stay hidden.


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 A woman, whose daughter had an evil spirit in her, heard about Jesus and came to him at once and fell at his feet.


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 The woman was a Gentile, born in the region of Phoenicia in Syria. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.


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 But Jesus answered, "Let us first feed the children. It isn't right to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs."


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 So Jesus said to her, "Because of that answer, go back home, where you will find that the demon has gone out of your daughter!"


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 Jesus then left the neighborhood of Tyre and went on through Sidon to Lake Galilee, going by way of the territory of the Ten Towns.


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 Some people brought him a man who was deaf and could hardly speak, and they begged Jesus to place his hands on him.


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 So Jesus took him off alone, away from the crowd, put his fingers in the man's ears, spat, and touched the man's tongue.


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 Then Jesus looked up to heaven, gave a deep groan, and said to the man, <i>"Ephphatha,"</i> which means, "Open up!"


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 At once the man was able to hear, his speech impediment was removed, and he began to talk without any trouble.


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 Then Jesus ordered the people not to speak of it to anyone; but the more he ordered them not to, the more they told it.


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 And all who heard were completely amazed. "How well he does everything!" they exclaimed. "He even causes the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak!"


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 Not long afterward another large crowd came together. When the people had nothing left to eat, Jesus called the disciples to him and said,


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 "I feel sorry for these people, because they have been with me for three days and now have nothing to eat.


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 If I send them home without feeding them, they will faint as they go, because some of them have come a long way."


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 His disciples asked him, "Where in this desert can anyone find enough food to feed all these people?"


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 He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, gave thanks to God, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the crowd; and the disciples did so.


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 They also had a few small fish. Jesus gave thanks for these and told the disciples to distribute them too.


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 Everybody ate and had enough---there were about four thousand people. Then the disciples took up seven baskets full of pieces left over. Jesus sent the people away


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 Some Pharisees came to Jesus and started to argue with him. They wanted to trap him, so they asked him to perform a miracle to show that God approved of him.


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 But Jesus gave a deep groan and said, "Why do the people of this day ask for a miracle? No, I tell you! No such proof will be given to these people!"


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 "Take care," Jesus warned them, "and be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod."


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 Jesus knew what they were saying, so he asked them, "Why are you discussing about not having any bread? Don't you know or understand yet? Are your minds so dull?


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 when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand people? How many baskets full of leftover pieces did you take up?" "Twelve," they answered.


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 "And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand people," asked Jesus, "how many baskets full of leftover pieces did you take up?" "Seven," they answered.


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 They came to Bethsaida, where some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged him to touch him.


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 Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. After spitting on the man's eyes, Jesus placed his hands on him and asked him, "Can you see anything?"


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 Jesus again placed his hands on the man's eyes. This time the man looked intently, his eyesight returned, and he saw everything clearly.


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 Then Jesus and his disciples went away to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, "Tell me, who do people say I am?"


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 "Some say that you are John the Baptist," they answered; "others say that you are Elijah, while others say that you are one of the prophets."


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 Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: "The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will rise to life."


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 But Jesus turned around, looked at his disciples, and rebuked Peter. "Get away from me, Satan," he said. "Your thoughts don't come from God but from human nature!"


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 Then Jesus called the crowd and his disciples to him. "If any of you want to come with me," he told them, "you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me.


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 For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for me and for the gospel, you will save it.


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 If you are ashamed of me and of my teaching in this godless and wicked day, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."


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 And he went on to say, "I tell you, there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Kingdom of God come with power."


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 Six days later Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain, where they were alone. As they looked on, a change came over Jesus,


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 Peter spoke up and said to Jesus, "Teacher, how good it is that we are here! We will make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."


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 Then a cloud appeared and covered them with its shadow, and a voice came from the cloud, "This is my own dear Son---listen to him!"


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 As they came down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has risen from death."


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 They obeyed his order, but among themselves they started discussing the matter, "What does this 'rising from death' mean?"


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 His answer was, "Elijah is indeed coming first in order to get everything ready. Yet why do the Scriptures say that the Son of Man will suffer much and be rejected?


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 I tell you, however, that Elijah has already come and that people treated him just as they pleased, as the Scriptures say about him."


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 When they joined the rest of the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and some teachers of the Law arguing with them.


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 A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought my son to you, because he has an evil spirit in him and cannot talk.


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 Whenever the spirit attacks him, it throws him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth, grits his teeth, and becomes stiff all over. I asked your disciples to drive the spirit out, but they could not."


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 Jesus said to them, "How unbelieving you people are! How long must I stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy to me!"


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 They brought him to Jesus. As soon as the spirit saw Jesus, it threw the boy into a fit, so that he fell on the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.


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 "Many times the evil spirit has tried to kill him by throwing him in the fire and into water. Have pity on us and help us, if you possibly can!"


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 Jesus noticed that the crowd was closing in on them, so he gave a command to the evil spirit. "Deaf and dumb spirit," he said, "I order you to come out of the boy and never go into him again!"


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 The spirit screamed, threw the boy into a bad fit, and came out. The boy looked like a corpse, and everyone said, "He is dead!"


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 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive the spirit out?"


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 Jesus and his disciples left that place and went on through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where he was,


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 because he was teaching his disciples: "The Son of Man will be handed over to those who will kill him. Three days later, however, he will rise to life."


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 They came to Capernaum, and after going indoors Jesus asked his disciples, "What were you arguing about on the road?"


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 But they would not answer him, because on the road they had been arguing among themselves about who was the greatest.


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 Jesus sat down, called the twelve disciples, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must place himself last of all and be the servant of all."


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 Then he took a child and had him stand in front of them. He put his arms around him and said to them,


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 "Whoever welcomes in my name one of these children, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes not only me but also the one who sent me."


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 John said to him, "Teacher, we saw a man who was driving out demons in your name, and we told him to stop, because he doesn't belong to our group."


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 "Do not try to stop him," Jesus told them, "because no one who performs a miracle in my name will be able soon afterward to say evil things about me.


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 I assure you that anyone who gives you a drink of water because you belong to me will certainly receive a reward.


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 "If anyone should cause one of these little ones to lose faith in me, it would be better for that person to have a large millstone tied around the neck and be thrown into the sea.


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 So if your hand makes you lose your faith, cut it off ! It is better for you to enter life without a hand than to keep both hands and go off to hell, to the fire that never goes out.


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 And if your foot makes you lose your faith, cut it off ! It is better for you to enter life without a foot than to keep both feet and be thrown into hell.


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 And if your eye makes you lose your faith, take it out! It is better for you to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to keep both eyes and be thrown into hell.


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 "Salt is good; but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? "Have the salt of friendship among yourselves, and live in peace with one another."


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 Then Jesus left that place, went to the province of Judea, and crossed the Jordan River. Crowds came flocking to him again, and he taught them, as he always did.


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 Some Pharisees came to him and tried to trap him. "Tell us," they asked, "does our Law allow a man to divorce his wife?"


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 Their answer was, "Moses gave permission for a man to write a divorce notice and send his wife away."


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 But in the beginning, at the time of creation, 'God made them male and female,' as the scripture says.


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 He said to them, "A man who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against his wife.


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 Some people brought children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples scolded the people.


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 When Jesus noticed this, he was angry and said to his disciples, "Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.


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 As Jesus was starting on his way again, a man ran up, knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?"


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 You know the commandments: 'Do not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not accuse anyone falsely; do not cheat; respect your father and your mother.' "


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 Jesus looked straight at him with love and said, "You need only one thing. Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me."


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 When the man heard this, gloom spread over his face, and he went away sad, because he was very rich.


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 Jesus looked around at his disciples and said to them, "How hard it will be for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God!"


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 The disciples were shocked at these words, but Jesus went on to say, "My children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God!


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 It is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle."


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 Jesus looked straight at them and answered, "This is impossible for human beings but not for God; everything is possible for God."


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 "Yes," Jesus said to them, "and I tell you that those who leave home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and for the gospel,


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 will receive much more in this present age. They will receive a hundred times more houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields---and persecutions as well; and in the age to come they will receive eternal life.


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 Jesus and his disciples were now on the road going up to Jerusalem. Jesus was going ahead of the disciples, who were filled with alarm; the people who followed behind were afraid. Once again Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and spoke of the things that were going to happen to him.


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 "Listen," he told them, "we are going up to Jerusalem where the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. They will condemn him to death and then hand him over to the Gentiles,


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 who will make fun of him, spit on him, whip him, and kill him; but three days later he will rise to life."


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 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus. "Teacher," they said, "there is something we want you to do for us."


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 They answered, "When you sit on your throne in your glorious Kingdom, we want you to let us sit with you, one at your right and one at your left."


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 Jesus said to them, "You don't know what you are asking for. Can you drink the cup of suffering that I must drink? Can you be baptized in the way I must be baptized?"


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 "We can," they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup I must drink and be baptized in the way I must be baptized.


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 But I do not have the right to choose who will sit at my right and my left. It is God who will give these places to those for whom he has prepared them."


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 So Jesus called them all together to him and said, "You know that those who are considered rulers of the heathen have power over them, and the leaders have complete authority.


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 This, however, is not the way it is among you. If one of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of the rest;


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 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served; he came to serve and to give his life to redeem many people."


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 They came to Jericho, and as Jesus was leaving with his disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus son of Timaeus was sitting by the road.


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 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me!"


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 Many of the people scolded him and told him to be quiet. But he shouted even more loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"


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 Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called the blind man. "Cheer up!" they said. "Get up, he is calling you."


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 "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him. "Teacher," the blind man answered, "I want to see again."


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 "Go," Jesus told him, "your faith has made you well." At once he was able to see and followed Jesus on the road.


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 As they approached Jerusalem, near the towns of Bethphage and Bethany, they came to the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of his disciples on ahead


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 with these instructions: "Go to the village there ahead of you. As soon as you get there, you will find a colt tied up that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here.


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 And if someone asks you why you are doing that, say that the Master needs it and will send it back at once."


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 So they went and found a colt out in the street, tied to the door of a house. As they were untying it,


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 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches in the field and spread them on the road.


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 The people who were in front and those who followed behind began to shout, "Praise God! God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord!


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 Jesus entered Jerusalem, went into the Temple, and looked around at everything. But since it was already late in the day, he went out to Bethany with the twelve disciples.


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 He saw in the distance a fig tree covered with leaves, so he went to see if he could find any figs on it. But when he came to it, he found only leaves, because it was not the right time for figs.


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 Jesus said to the fig tree, "No one shall ever eat figs from you again!" And his disciples heard him.


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 When they arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus went to the Temple and began to drive out all those who were buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the stools of those who sold pigeons,


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 He then taught the people: "It is written in the Scriptures that God said, 'My Temple will be called a house of prayer for the people of all nations.' But you have turned it into a hideout for thieves!"


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 The chief priests and the teachers of the Law heard of this, so they began looking for some way to kill Jesus. They were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.


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 Early next morning, as they walked along the road, they saw the fig tree. It was dead all the way down to its roots.


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 Peter remembered what had happened and said to Jesus, "Look, Teacher, the fig tree you cursed has died!"


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 I assure you that whoever tells this hill to get up and throw itself in the sea and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.


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 For this reason I tell you: When you pray and ask for something, believe that you have received it, and you will be given whatever you ask for.


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 And when you stand and pray, forgive anything you may have against anyone, so that your Father in heaven will forgive the wrongs you have done."


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 They arrived once again in Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking in the Temple, the chief priests, the teachers of the Law, and the elders came to him


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 They started to argue among themselves: "What shall we say? If we answer, 'From God,' he will say, 'Why, then, did you not believe John?'


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 But if we say, 'From human beings...' " (They were afraid of the people, because everyone was convinced that John had been a prophet.)


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 So their answer to Jesus was, "We don't know." Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you, then, by what right I do these things."


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 Then Jesus spoke to them in parables: "Once there was a man who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a hole for the wine press, and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to tenants and left home on a trip.


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 When the time came to gather the grapes, he sent a slave to the tenants to receive from them his share of the harvest.


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 The owner sent another slave, and they killed him; and they treated many others the same way, beating some and killing others.


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 The only one left to send was the man's own dear son. Last of all, then, he sent his son to the tenants. 'I am sure they will respect my son,' he said.


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 But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the owner's son. Come on, let's kill him, and his property will be ours!'


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 "What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do?" asked Jesus. "He will come and kill those tenants and turn the vineyard over to others.


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 Surely you have read this scripture? 'The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all.


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 The Jewish leaders tried to arrest Jesus, because they knew that he had told this parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.


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 They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know that you tell the truth, without worrying about what people think. You pay no attention to anyone's status, but teach the truth about God's will for people. Tell us, is it against our Law to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor? Should we pay them or not?"


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 But Jesus saw through their trick and answered, "Why are you trying to trap me? Bring a silver coin, and let me see it."


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 They brought him one, and he asked, "Whose face and name are these?" "The Emperor's," they answered.


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 So Jesus said, "Well, then, pay to the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor, and pay to God what belongs to God." And they were amazed at Jesus.


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 "Teacher, Moses wrote this law for us: 'If a man dies and leaves a wife but no children, that man's brother must marry the widow so that they can have children who will be considered the dead man's children.'


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 Then the second one married the woman, and he also died without having children. The same thing happened to the third brother,


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 and then to the rest: all seven brothers married the woman and died without having children. Last of all, the woman died.


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 Now, when all the dead rise to life on the day of resurrection, whose wife will she be? All seven of them had married her."


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 Jesus answered them, "How wrong you are! And do you know why? It is because you don't know the Scriptures or God's power.


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 Now, as for the dead being raised: haven't you ever read in the Book of Moses the passage about the burning bush? There it is written that God said to Moses, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'


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 A teacher of the Law was there who heard the discussion. He saw that Jesus had given the Sadducees a good answer, so he came to him with a question: "Which commandment is the most important of all?"


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 Jesus replied, "The most important one is this: 'Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord.


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 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'


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 The second most important commandment is this: 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment more important than these two."


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 The teacher of the Law said to Jesus, "Well done, Teacher! It is true, as you say, that only the Lord is God and that there is no other god but he.


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 And you must love God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your strength; and you must love your neighbor as you love yourself. It is more important to obey these two commandments than to offer on the altar animals and other sacrifices to God."


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 Jesus noticed how wise his answer was, and so he told him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." After this nobody dared to ask Jesus any more questions.


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 As Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he asked the question, "How can the teachers of the Law say that the Messiah will be the descendant of David?


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 The Holy Spirit inspired David to say: 'The Lord said to my Lord: Sit here at my right side until I put your enemies under your feet.'


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 David himself called him 'Lord'; so how can the Messiah be David's descendant?" A large crowd was listening to Jesus gladly.


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 As he taught them, he said, "Watch out for the teachers of the Law, who like to walk around in their long robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplace,


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 They take advantage of widows and rob them of their homes, and then make a show of saying long prayers. Their punishment will be all the worse!"


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 As Jesus sat near the Temple treasury, he watched the people as they dropped in their money. Many rich men dropped in a lot of money;


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 He called his disciples together and said to them, "I tell you that this poor widow put more in the offering box than all the others.


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 For the others put in what they had to spare of their riches; but she, poor as she is, put in all she had---she gave all she had to live on."


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 As Jesus was leaving the Temple, one of his disciples said, "Look, Teacher! What wonderful stones and buildings!"


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 Jesus answered, "You see these great buildings? Not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one of them will be thrown down."


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 Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, across from the Temple, when Peter, James, John, and Andrew came to him in private.


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 "Tell us when this will be," they said, "and tell us what will happen to show that the time has come for all these things to take place."


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 And don't be troubled when you hear the noise of battles close by and news of battles far away. Such things must happen, but they do not mean that the end has come.


text:
 Countries will fight each other; kingdoms will attack one another. There will be earthquakes everywhere, and there will be famines. These things are like the first pains of childbirth.


text:
 "You yourselves must watch out. You will be arrested and taken to court. You will be beaten in the synagogues; you will stand before rulers and kings for my sake to tell them the Good News.


text:
 And when you are arrested and taken to court, do not worry ahead of time about what you are going to say; when the time comes, say whatever is then given to you. For the words you speak will not be yours; they will come from the Holy Spirit.


text:
 Men will hand over their own brothers to be put to death, and fathers will do the same to their children. Children will turn against their parents and have them put to death.


text:
 "You will see 'The Awful Horror' standing in the place where he should not be." (Note to the reader: understand what this means!) "Then those who are in Judea must run away to the hills.


text:
 Someone who is on the roof of a house must not lose time by going down into the house to get anything to take along.


text:
 For the trouble of those days will be far worse than any the world has ever known from the very beginning when God created the world until the present time. Nor will there ever be anything like it again.


text:
 But the Lord has reduced the number of those days; if he had not, nobody would survive. For the sake of his chosen people, however, he has reduced those days.


text:
 "Then, if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Messiah!' or, 'Look, there he is!'---do not believe it.


text:
 For false Messiahs and false prophets will appear. They will perform miracles and wonders in order to deceive even God's chosen people, if possible.


text:
 He will send the angels out to the four corners of the earth to gather God's chosen people from one end of the world to the other.


text:
 In the same way, when you see these things happening, you will know that the time is near, ready to begin.


text:
 "No one knows, however, when that day or hour will come---neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son; only the Father knows.


text:
 It will be like a man who goes away from home on a trip and leaves his servants in charge, after giving to each one his own work to do and after telling the doorkeeper to keep watch.


text:
 Watch, then, because you do not know when the master of the house is coming---it might be in the evening or at midnight or before dawn or at sunrise.


text:
 It was now two days before the Festival of Passover and Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the teachers of the Law were looking for a way to arrest Jesus secretly and put him to death.


text:
 Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon, a man who had suffered from a dreaded skin disease. While Jesus was eating, a woman came in with an alabaster jar full of a very expensive perfume made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on Jesus' head.


text:
 Some of the people there became angry and said to one another, "What was the use of wasting the perfume?


text:
 It could have been sold for more than three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor!" And they criticized her harshly.


text:
 But Jesus said, "Leave her alone! Why are you bothering her? She has done a fine and beautiful thing for me.


text:
 You will always have poor people with you, and any time you want to, you can help them. But you will not always have me.


text:
 Now, I assure you that wherever the gospel is preached all over the world, what she has done will be told in memory of her."


text:
 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went off to the chief priests in order to betray Jesus to them.


text:
 They were pleased to hear what he had to say, and promised to give him money. So Judas started looking for a good chance to hand Jesus over to them.


text:
 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the day the lambs for the Passover meal were killed, Jesus' disciples asked him, "Where do you want us to go and get the Passover meal ready for you?"


text:
 Then Jesus sent two of them with these instructions: "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him


text:
 to the house he enters, and say to the owner of the house: 'The Teacher says, Where is the room where my disciples and I will eat the Passover meal?'


text:
 Then he will show you a large upstairs room, fixed up and furnished, where you will get everything ready for us."


text:
 The disciples left, went to the city, and found everything just as Jesus had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.


text:
 While they were at the table eating, Jesus said, "I tell you that one of you will betray me---one who is eating with me."


text:
 The disciples were upset and began to ask him, one after the other, "Surely you don't mean me, do you?"


text:
 The Son of Man will die as the Scriptures say he will; but how terrible for that man who will betray the Son of Man! It would have been better for that man if he had never been born!"


text:
 While they were eating, Jesus took a piece of bread, gave a prayer of thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples. "Take it," he said, "this is my body."


text:
 I tell you, I will never again drink this wine until the day I drink the new wine in the Kingdom of God."


text:
 Jesus said to them, "All of you will run away and leave me, for the scripture says, 'God will kill the shepherd, and the sheep will all be scattered.'


text:
 Jesus said to Peter, "I tell you that before the rooster crows two times tonight, you will say three times that you do not know me."


text:
 Peter answered even more strongly, "I will never say that, even if I have to die with you!" And all the other disciples said the same thing.


text:
 and he said to them, "The sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me. Stay here and keep watch."


text:
 He went a little farther on, threw himself on the ground, and prayed that, if possible, he might not have to go through that time of suffering.


text:
 "Father," he prayed, "my Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet not what I want, but what you want."


text:
 Then he returned and found the three disciples asleep. He said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Weren't you able to stay awake for even one hour?"


text:
 And he said to them, "Keep watch, and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."


text:
 Then he came back to the disciples and found them asleep; they could not keep their eyes open. And they did not know what to say to him.


text:
 When he came back the third time, he said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come! Look, the Son of Man is now being handed over to the power of sinners.


text:
 Jesus was still speaking when Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs and sent by the chief priests, the teachers of the Law, and the elders.


text:
 The traitor had given the crowd a signal: "The man I kiss is the one you want. Arrest him and take him away under guard."


text:
 But one of those standing there drew his sword and struck at the High Priest's slave, cutting off his ear.


text:
 Then Jesus spoke up and said to them, "Did you have to come with swords and clubs to capture me, as though I were an outlaw?


text:
 Day after day I was with you teaching in the Temple, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must come true."


text:
 Then Jesus was taken to the High Priest's house, where all the chief priests, the elders, and the teachers of the Law were gathering.


text:
 Peter followed from a distance and went into the courtyard of the High Priest's house. There he sat down with the guards, keeping himself warm by the fire.


text:
 The chief priests and the whole Council tried to find some evidence against Jesus in order to put him to death, but they could not find any.


text:
 "We heard him say, 'I will tear down this Temple which men have made, and after three days I will build one that is not made by men.' "


text:
 The High Priest stood up in front of them all and questioned Jesus, "Have you no answer to the accusation they bring against you?"


text:
 But Jesus kept quiet and would not say a word. Again the High Priest questioned him, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed God?"


text:
 "I am," answered Jesus, "and you will all see the Son of Man seated at the right side of the Almighty and coming with the clouds of heaven!"


text:
 You heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?" They all voted against him: he was guilty and should be put to death.


text:
 Some of them began to spit on Jesus, and they blindfolded him and hit him. "Guess who hit you!" they said. And the guards took him and slapped him.


text:
 When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked straight at him and said, "You, too, were with Jesus of Nazareth."


text:
 But he denied it. "I don't know...I don't understand what you are talking about," he answered, and went out into the passageway. Just then a rooster crowed.


text:
 But Peter denied it again. A little while later the bystanders accused Peter again, "You can't deny that you are one of them, because you, too, are from Galilee."


text:
 Then Peter said, "I swear that I am telling the truth! May God punish me if I am not! I do not know the man you are talking about!"


text:
 Just then a rooster crowed a second time, and Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, "Before the rooster crows two times, you will say three times that you do not know me." And he broke down and cried.


text:
 Early in the morning the chief priests met hurriedly with the elders, the teachers of the Law, and the whole Council, and made their plans. They put Jesus in chains, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.


text:
 At every Passover Festival Pilate was in the habit of setting free any one prisoner the people asked for.


text:
 At that time a man named Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder in the riot.


text:
 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask, instead, that Pilate set Barabbas free for them.


text:
 Pilate spoke again to the crowd, "What, then, do you want me to do with the one you call the king of the Jews?"


text:
 Pilate wanted to please the crowd, so he set Barabbas free for them. Then he had Jesus whipped and handed him over to be crucified.


text:
 The soldiers took Jesus inside to the courtyard of the governor's palace and called together the rest of the company.


text:
 When they had finished making fun of him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.


text:
 On the way they met a man named Simon, who was coming into the city from the country, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus' cross. (Simon was from Cyrene and was the father of Alexander and Rufus.)


text:
 Then they crucified him and divided his clothes among themselves, throwing dice to see who would get which piece of clothing.


text:
 People passing by shook their heads and hurled insults at Jesus: "Aha! You were going to tear down the Temple and build it back up in three days!


text:
 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the Law made fun of Jesus, saying to one another, "He saved others, but he cannot save himself !


text:
 Let us see the Messiah, the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him!" And the two who were crucified with Jesus insulted him also.


text:
 At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud shout, <i>"Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?"</i> which means, "My God, my God, why did you abandon me?"


text:
 One of them ran up with a sponge, soaked it in cheap wine, and put it on the end of a stick. Then he held it up to Jesus' lips and said, "Wait! Let us see if Elijah is coming to bring him down from the cross!"


text:
 The army officer who was standing there in front of the cross saw how Jesus had died. "This man was really the Son of God!" he said.


text:
 Some women were there, looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joseph, and Salome.


text:
 They had followed Jesus while he was in Galilee and had helped him. Many other women who had come to Jerusalem with him were there also.


text:
 It was toward evening when Joseph of Arimathea arrived. He was a respected member of the Council, who was waiting for the coming of the Kingdom of God. It was Preparation day (that is, the day before the Sabbath), so Joseph went boldly into the presence of Pilate and asked him for the body of Jesus.


text:
 Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead. He called the army officer and asked him if Jesus had been dead a long time.


text:
 Joseph bought a linen sheet, took the body down, wrapped it in the sheet, and placed it in a tomb which had been dug out of solid rock. Then he rolled a large stone across the entrance to the tomb.


text:
 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph were watching and saw where the body of Jesus was placed.


text:
 After the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices to go and anoint the body of Jesus.


text:
 On the way they said to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" (It was a very large stone.) Then they looked up and saw that the stone had already been rolled back.


text:
 So they entered the tomb, where they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe---and they were alarmed.


text:
 "Don't be alarmed," he said. "I know you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is not here---he has been raised! Look, here is the place where he was placed.


text:
 Now go and give this message to his disciples, including Peter: 'He is going to Galilee ahead of you; there you will see him, just as he told you.' "


text:
 So they went out and ran from the tomb, distressed and terrified. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.


text:
 [After Jesus rose from death early on Sunday, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had driven out seven demons.


text:
 and when they heard her say that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe her.


text:
 After this, Jesus appeared in a different manner to two of them while they were on their way to the country.


text:
 Last of all, Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating. He scolded them, because they did not have faith and because they were too stubborn to believe those who had seen him alive.


text:
 Believers will be given the power to perform miracles: they will drive out demons in my name; they will speak in strange tongues;


text:
 if they pick up snakes or drink any poison, they will not be harmed; they will place their hands on sick people, and these will get well."


text:
 After the Lord Jesus had talked with them, he was taken up to heaven and sat at the right side of God.


text:
 The disciples went and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and proved that their preaching was true by the miracles that were performed.]


text:
 Dear Theophilus: Many people have done their best to write a report of the things that have taken place among us.


text:
 They wrote what we have been told by those who saw these things from the beginning and who proclaimed the message.


text:
 And so, Your Excellency, because I have carefully studied all these matters from their beginning, I thought it would be good to write an orderly account for you.


text:
 During the time when Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife's name was Elizabeth; she also belonged to a priestly family.


text:
 They had no children because Elizabeth could not have any, and she and Zechariah were both very old.


text:
 One day Zechariah was doing his work as a priest in the Temple, taking his turn in the daily service.


text:
 According to the custom followed by the priests, he was chosen by lot to burn incense on the altar. So he went into the Temple of the Lord,


text:
 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar where the incense was burned.


text:
 But the angel said to him, "Don't be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son. You are to name him John.


text:
 John will be great in the Lord's sight. He must not drink any wine or strong drink. From his very birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit,


text:
 He will go ahead of the Lord, strong and mighty like the prophet Elijah. He will bring fathers and children together again; he will turn disobedient people back to the way of thinking of the righteous; he will get the Lord's people ready for him."


text:
 Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know if this is so? I am an old man, and my wife is old also."


text:
 "I am Gabriel," the angel answered. "I stand in the presence of God, who sent me to speak to you and tell you this good news.


text:
 But you have not believed my message, which will come true at the right time. Because you have not believed, you will be unable to speak; you will remain silent until the day my promise to you comes true."


text:
 In the meantime the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he was spending such a long time in the Temple.


text:
 When he came out, he could not speak to them, and so they knew that he had seen a vision in the Temple. Unable to say a word, he made signs to them with his hands.


text:
 In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee named Nazareth.


text:
 He had a message for a young woman promised in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was a descendant of King David. Her name was Mary.


text:
 The angel came to her and said, "Peace be with you! The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you!"


text:
 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord God will make him a king, as his ancestor David was,


text:
 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and God's power will rest upon you. For this reason the holy child will be called the Son of God.


text:
 Remember your relative Elizabeth. It is said that she cannot have children, but she herself is now six months pregnant, even though she is very old.


text:
 "I am the Lord's servant," said Mary; "may it happen to me as you have said." And the angel left her.


text:
 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby moved within her. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit


text:
 and said in a loud voice, "You are the most blessed of all women, and blessed is the child you will bear!


text:
 Her neighbors and relatives heard how wonderfully good the Lord had been to her, and they all rejoiced with her.


text:
 When the baby was a week old, they came to circumcise him, and they were going to name him Zechariah, after his father.


text:
 The neighbors were all filled with fear, and the news about these things spread through all the hill country of Judea.


text:
 Everyone who heard of it thought about it and asked, "What is this child going to be?" For it was plain that the Lord's power was upon him.


text:
 "Let us praise the Lord, the God of Israel! He has come to the help of his people and has set them free.


text:
 With a solemn oath to our ancestor Abraham he promised to rescue us from our enemies and allow us to serve him without fear,


text:
 "You, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High God. You will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his road for him,


text:
 and to shine from heaven on all those who live in the dark shadow of death, to guide our steps into the path of peace."


text:
 The child grew and developed in body and spirit. He lived in the desert until the day when he appeared publicly to the people of Israel.


text:
 Joseph went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to the town of Bethlehem in Judea, the birthplace of King David. Joseph went there because he was a descendant of David.


text:
 She gave birth to her first son, wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger---there was no room for them to stay in the inn.


text:
 There were some shepherds in that part of the country who were spending the night in the fields, taking care of their flocks.


text:
 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone over them. They were terribly afraid,


text:
 but the angel said to them, "Don't be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people.


text:
 And this is what will prove it to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."


text:
 When the angels went away from them back into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us."


text:
 The shepherds went back, singing praises to God for all they had heard and seen; it had been just as the angel had told them.


text:
 A week later, when the time came for the baby to be circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name which the angel had given him before he had been conceived.


text:
 The time came for Joseph and Mary to perform the ceremony of purification, as the Law of Moses commanded. So they took the child to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord,


text:
 They also went to offer a sacrifice of a pair of doves or two young pigeons, as required by the law of the Lord.


text:
 At that time there was a man named Simeon living in Jerusalem. He was a good, God-fearing man and was waiting for Israel to be saved. The Holy Spirit was with him


text:
 Led by the Spirit, Simeon went into the Temple. When the parents brought the child Jesus into the Temple to do for him what the Law required,


text:
 Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, "This child is chosen by God for the destruction and the salvation of many in Israel. He will be a sign from God which many people will speak against


text:
 There was a very old prophet, a widow named Anna, daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. She had been married for only seven years and was now eighty-four years old. She never left the Temple; day and night she worshiped God, fasting and praying.


text:
 That very same hour she arrived and gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were waiting for God to set Jerusalem free.


text:
 When Joseph and Mary had finished doing all that was required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to their hometown of Nazareth in Galilee.


text:
 When the festival was over, they started back home, but the boy Jesus stayed in Jerusalem. His parents did not know this;


text:
 they thought that he was with the group, so they traveled a whole day and then started looking for him among their relatives and friends.


text:
 On the third day they found him in the Temple, sitting with the Jewish teachers, listening to them and asking questions.


text:
 His parents were astonished when they saw him, and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been terribly worried trying to find you."


text:
 He answered them, "Why did you have to look for me? Didn't you know that I had to be in my Father's house?"


text:
 So Jesus went back with them to Nazareth, where he was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.


text:
 It was the fifteenth year of the rule of Emperor Tiberius; Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip was ruler of the territory of Iturea and Trachonitis; Lysanias was ruler of Abilene,


text:
 and Annas and Caiaphas were High Priests. At that time the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.


text:
 So John went throughout the whole territory of the Jordan River, preaching, "Turn away from your sins and be baptized, and God will forgive your sins."


text:
 As it is written in the book of the prophet Isaiah: "Someone is shouting in the desert: 'Get the road ready for the Lord; make a straight path for him to travel!


text:
 Every valley must be filled up, every hill and mountain leveled off. The winding roads must be made straight, and the rough paths made smooth.


text:
 Crowds of people came out to John to be baptized by him. "You snakes!" he said to them. "Who told you that you could escape from the punishment God is about to send?


text:
 Do those things that will show that you have turned from your sins. And don't start saying among yourselves that Abraham is your ancestor. I tell you that God can take these rocks and make descendants for Abraham!


text:
 The ax is ready to cut down the trees at the roots; every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown in the fire."


text:
 He answered, "Whoever has two shirts must give one to the man who has none, and whoever has food must share it."


text:
 Some soldiers also asked him, "What about us? What are we to do?" He said to them, "Don't take money from anyone by force or accuse anyone falsely. Be content with your pay."


text:
 So John said to all of them, "I baptize you with water, but someone is coming who is much greater than I am. I am not good enough even to untie his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.


text:
 He has his winnowing shovel with him, to thresh out all the grain and gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn the chaff in a fire that never goes out."


text:
 In many different ways John preached the Good News to the people and urged them to change their ways.


text:
 But John reprimanded Governor Herod, because he had married Herodias, his brother's wife, and had done many other evil things.


text:
 After all the people had been baptized, Jesus also was baptized. While he was praying, heaven was opened,


text:
 and the Holy Spirit came down upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my own dear Son. I am pleased with you."


text:
 When Jesus began his work, he was about thirty years old. He was the son, so people thought, of Joseph, who was the son of Heli,


text:
 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,


text:
 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Kenan,


text:
 where he was tempted by the Devil for forty days. In all that time he ate nothing, so that he was hungry when it was over.


text:
 "I will give you all this power and all this wealth," the Devil told him. "It has all been handed over to me, and I can give it to anyone I choose.


text:
 Then the Devil took him to Jerusalem and set him on the highest point of the Temple, and said to him, "If you are God's Son, throw yourself down from here.


text:
 It also says, 'They will hold you up with their hands so that not even your feet will be hurt on the stones.' "


text:
 Then Jesus returned to Galilee, and the power of the Holy Spirit was with him. The news about him spread throughout all that territory.


text:
 Then Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath he went as usual to the synagogue. He stood up to read the Scriptures


text:
 and was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written,


text:
 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed


text:
 Jesus rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. All the people in the synagogue had their eyes fixed on him,


text:
 They were all well impressed with him and marveled at the eloquent words that he spoke. They said, "Isn't he the son of Joseph?"


text:
 He said to them, "I am sure that you will quote this proverb to me, 'Doctor, heal yourself.' You will also tell me to do here in my hometown the same things you heard were done in Capernaum.


text:
 Listen to me: it is true that there were many widows in Israel during the time of Elijah, when there was no rain for three and a half years and a severe famine spread throughout the whole land.


text:
 Yet Elijah was not sent to anyone in Israel, but only to a widow living in Zarephath in the territory of Sidon.


text:
 And there were many people suffering from a dreaded skin disease who lived in Israel during the time of the prophet Elisha; yet not one of them was healed, but only Naaman the Syrian."


text:
 They rose up, dragged Jesus out of town, and took him to the top of the hill on which their town was built. They meant to throw him over the cliff,


text:
 In the synagogue was a man who had the spirit of an evil demon in him; he screamed out in a loud voice,


text:
 "Ah! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Are you here to destroy us? I know who you are: you are God's holy messenger!"


text:
 Jesus ordered the spirit, "Be quiet and come out of the man!" The demon threw the man down in front of them and went out of him without doing him any harm.


text:
 The people were all amazed and said to one another, "What kind of words are these? With authority and power this man gives orders to the evil spirits, and they come out!"


text:
 Jesus left the synagogue and went to Simon's home. Simon's mother-in-law was sick with a high fever, and they spoke to Jesus about her.


text:
 He went and stood at her bedside and ordered the fever to leave her. The fever left her, and she got up at once and began to wait on them.


text:
 After sunset all who had friends who were sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus; he placed his hands on every one of them and healed them all.


text:
 Demons also went out from many people, screaming, "You are the Son of God!" Jesus gave the demons an order and would not let them speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.


text:
 At daybreak Jesus left the town and went off to a lonely place. The people started looking for him, and when they found him, they tried to keep him from leaving.


text:
 But he said to them, "I must preach the Good News about the Kingdom of God in other towns also, because that is what God sent me to do."


text:
 One day Jesus was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret while the people pushed their way up to him to listen to the word of God.


text:
 Jesus got into one of the boats---it belonged to Simon---and asked him to push off a little from the shore. Jesus sat in the boat and taught the crowd.


text:
 When he finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Push the boat out further to the deep water, and you and your partners let down your nets for a catch."


text:
 "Master," Simon answered, "we worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But if you say so, I will let down the nets."


text:
 So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats so full of fish that the boats were about to sink.


text:
 When Simon Peter saw what had happened, he fell on his knees before Jesus and said, "Go away from me, Lord! I am a sinful man!"


text:
 The same was true of Simon's partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will be catching people."


text:
 Once Jesus was in a town where there was a man who was suffering from a dreaded skin disease. When he saw Jesus, he threw himself down and begged him, "Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean!"


text:
 Jesus reached out and touched him. "I do want to," he answered. "Be clean!" At once the disease left the man.


text:
 Jesus ordered him, "Don't tell anyone, but go straight to the priest and let him examine you; then to prove to everyone that you are cured, offer the sacrifice as Moses ordered."


text:
 But the news about Jesus spread all the more widely, and crowds of people came to hear him and be healed from their diseases.


text:
 One day when Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of the Law were sitting there who had come from every town in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was present for Jesus to heal the sick.


text:
 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a bed, and they tried to carry him into the house and put him in front of Jesus.


text:
 Because of the crowd, however, they could find no way to take him in. So they carried him up on the roof, made an opening in the tiles, and let him down on his bed into the middle of the group in front of Jesus.


text:
 The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees began to say to themselves, "Who is this man who speaks such blasphemy! God is the only one who can forgive sins!"


text:
 I will prove to you, then, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." So he said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, pick up your bed, and go home!"


text:
 At once the man got up in front of them all, took the bed he had been lying on, and went home, praising God.


text:
 They were all completely amazed! Full of fear, they praised God, saying, "What marvelous things we have seen today!"


text:
 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting in his office. Jesus said to him, "Follow me."


text:
 Then Levi had a big feast in his house for Jesus, and among the guests was a large number of tax collectors and other people.


text:
 Some Pharisees and some teachers of the Law who belonged to their group complained to Jesus' disciples. "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and other outcasts?" they asked.


text:
 Some people said to Jesus, "The disciples of John fast frequently and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but your disciples eat and drink."


text:
 Jesus answered, "Do you think you can make the guests at a wedding party go without food as long as the bridegroom is with them? Of course not!


text:
 Jesus also told them this parable: "You don't tear a piece off a new coat to patch up an old coat. If you do, you will have torn the new coat, and the piece of new cloth will not match the old.


text:
 Nor do you pour new wine into used wineskins, because the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will pour out, and the skins will be ruined.


text:
 Jesus was walking through some wheat fields on a Sabbath. His disciples began to pick the heads of wheat, rub them in their hands, and eat the grain.


text:
 He went into the house of God, took the bread offered to God, ate it, and gave it also to his men. Yet it is against our Law for anyone except the priests to eat that bread."


text:
 On another Sabbath Jesus went into a synagogue and taught. A man was there whose right hand was paralyzed.


text:
 Some teachers of the Law and some Pharisees wanted a reason to accuse Jesus of doing wrong, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath.


text:
 But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to the man, "Stand up and come here to the front." The man got up and stood there.


text:
 Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you: What does our Law allow us to do on the Sabbath? To help or to harm? To save someone's life or destroy it?"


text:
 He looked around at them all; then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He did so, and his hand became well again.


text:
 When Jesus had come down from the hill with the apostles, he stood on a level place with a large number of his disciples. A large crowd of people was there from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from the coast cities of Tyre and Sidon;


text:
 they had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those who were troubled by evil spirits also came and were healed.


text:
 "Happy are you who are hungry now; you will be filled! "Happy are you who weep now; you will laugh!


text:
 "Happy are you when people hate you, reject you, insult you, and say that you are evil, all because of the Son of Man!


text:
 Be glad when that happens and dance for joy, because a great reward is kept for you in heaven. For their ancestors did the very same things to the prophets.


text:
 "How terrible for you who are full now; you will go hungry! "How terrible for you who laugh now; you will mourn and weep!


text:
 "How terrible when all people speak well of you; their ancestors said the very same things about the false prophets.


text:
 If anyone hits you on one cheek, let him hit the other one too; if someone takes your coat, let him have your shirt as well.


text:
 Give to everyone who asks you for something, and when someone takes what is yours, do not ask for it back.


text:
 "If you love only the people who love you, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners love those who love them!


text:
 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners do that!


text:
 And if you lend only to those from whom you hope to get it back, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount!


text:
 No! Love your enemies and do good to them; lend and expect nothing back. You will then have a great reward, and you will be children of the Most High God. For he is good to the ungrateful and the wicked.


text:
 "Do not judge others, and God will not judge you; do not condemn others, and God will not condemn you; forgive others, and God will forgive you.


text:
 Give to others, and God will give to you. Indeed, you will receive a full measure, a generous helping, poured into your hands---all that you can hold. The measure you use for others is the one that God will use for you."


text:
 And Jesus told them this parable: "One blind man cannot lead another one; if he does, both will fall into a ditch.


text:
 No pupils are greater than their teacher; but all pupils, when they have completed their training, will be like their teacher.


text:
 "Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but pay no attention to the log in your own eye?


text:
 How can you say to your brother, 'Please, brother, let me take that speck out of your eye,' yet cannot even see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.


text:
 Every tree is known by the fruit it bears; you do not pick figs from thorn bushes or gather grapes from bramble bushes.


text:
 A good person brings good out of the treasure of good things in his heart; a bad person brings bad out of his treasure of bad things. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.


text:
 He is like a man who, in building his house, dug deep and laid the foundation on rock. The river flooded over and hit that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.


text:
 But anyone who hears my words and does not obey them is like a man who built his house without laying a foundation; when the flood hit that house it fell at once---and what a terrible crash that was!"


text:
 When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his servant.


text:
 So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the officer sent friends to tell him, "Sir, don't trouble yourself. I do not deserve to have you come into my house,


text:
 neither do I consider myself worthy to come to you in person. Just give the order, and my servant will get well.


text:
 I, too, am a man placed under the authority of superior officers, and I have soldiers under me. I order this one, 'Go!' and he goes; I order that one, 'Come!' and he comes; and I order my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it."


text:
 Jesus was surprised when he heard this; he turned around and said to the crowd following him, "I tell you, I have never found faith like this, not even in Israel!"


text:
 Just as he arrived at the gate of the town, a funeral procession was coming out. The dead man was the only son of a woman who was a widow, and a large crowd from the town was with her.


text:
 Then he walked over and touched the coffin, and the men carrying it stopped. Jesus said, "Young man! Get up, I tell you!"


text:
 They all were filled with fear and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us!" they said; "God has come to save his people!"


text:
 and sent them to the Lord to ask him, "Are you the one John said was going to come, or should we expect someone else?"


text:
 When they came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to ask if you are the one he said was going to come, or should we expect someone else?"


text:
 At that very time Jesus healed many people from their sicknesses, diseases, and evil spirits, and gave sight to many blind people.


text:
 He answered John's messengers, "Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind can see, the lame can walk, those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases are made clean, the deaf can hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor.


text:
 After John's messengers had left, Jesus began to speak about him to the crowds: "When you went out to John in the desert, what did you expect to see? A blade of grass bending in the wind?


text:
 What did you go out to see? A man dressed up in fancy clothes? People who dress like that and live in luxury are found in palaces!


text:
 I tell you," Jesus added, "John is greater than anyone who has ever lived. But the one who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than John."


text:
 All the people heard him; they and especially the tax collectors were the ones who had obeyed God's righteous demands and had been baptized by John.


text:
 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law rejected God's purpose for themselves and refused to be baptized by John.


text:
 They are like children sitting in the marketplace. One group shouts to the other, 'We played wedding music for you, but you wouldn't dance! We sang funeral songs, but you wouldn't cry!'


text:
 The Son of Man came, and he ate and drank, and you said, 'Look at this man! He is a glutton and wine drinker, a friend of tax collectors and other outcasts!'


text:
 In that town was a woman who lived a sinful life. She heard that Jesus was eating in the Pharisee's house, so she brought an alabaster jar full of perfume


text:
 and stood behind Jesus, by his feet, crying and wetting his feet with her tears. Then she dried his feet with her hair, kissed them, and poured the perfume on them.


text:
 When the Pharisee saw this, he said to himself, "If this man really were a prophet, he would know who this woman is who is touching him; he would know what kind of sinful life she lives!"


text:
 Jesus spoke up and said to him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Yes, Teacher," he said, "tell me."


text:
 "There were two men who owed money to a moneylender," Jesus began. "One owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other owed him fifty.


text:
 Neither of them could pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Which one, then, will love him more?"


text:
 "I suppose," answered Simon, "that it would be the one who was forgiven more." "You are right," said Jesus.


text:
 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your home, and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.


text:
 I tell you, then, the great love she has shown proves that her many sins have been forgiven. But whoever has been forgiven little shows only a little love."


text:
 Some time later Jesus traveled through towns and villages, preaching the Good News about the Kingdom of God. The twelve disciples went with him,


text:
 and so did some women who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (who was called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had been driven out;


text:
 Joanna, whose husband Chuza was an officer in Herod's court; and Susanna, and many other women who used their own resources to help Jesus and his disciples.


text:
 People kept coming to Jesus from one town after another; and when a great crowd gathered, Jesus told this parable:


text:
 "Once there was a man who went out to sow grain. As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it up.


text:
 Some of it fell on rocky ground, and when the plants sprouted, they dried up because the soil had no moisture.


text:
 And some seeds fell in good soil; the plants grew and bore grain, one hundred grains each." And Jesus concluded, "Listen, then, if you have ears!"


text:
 and he answered, "The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of God has been given to you, but to the rest it comes by means of parables, so that they may look but not see, and listen but not understand.


text:
 The seeds that fell along the path stand for those who hear; but the Devil comes and takes the message away from their hearts in order to keep them from believing and being saved.


text:
 The seeds that fell on rocky ground stand for those who hear the message and receive it gladly. But it does not sink deep into them; they believe only for a while but when the time of testing comes, they fall away.


text:
 The seeds that fell among thorn bushes stand for those who hear; but the worries and riches and pleasures of this life crowd in and choke them, and their fruit never ripens.


text:
 The seeds that fell in good soil stand for those who hear the message and retain it in a good and obedient heart, and they persist until they bear fruit.


text:
 "No one lights a lamp and covers it with a bowl or puts it under a bed. Instead, it is put on the lampstand, so that people will see the light as they come in.


text:
 "Whatever is hidden away will be brought out into the open, and whatever is covered up will be found and brought to light.


text:
 "Be careful, then, how you listen; because those who have something will be given more, but whoever has nothing will have taken away from them even the little they think they have."


text:
 One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples and said to them, "Let us go across to the other side of the lake." So they started out.


text:
 As they were sailing, Jesus fell asleep. Suddenly a strong wind blew down on the lake, and the boat began to fill with water, so that they were all in great danger.


text:
 The disciples went to Jesus and woke him up, saying, "Master, Master! We are about to die!" Jesus got up and gave an order to the wind and to the stormy water; they quieted down, and there was a great calm.


text:
 Then he said to the disciples, "Where is your faith?" But they were amazed and afraid, and said to one another, "Who is this man? He gives orders to the winds and waves, and they obey him!"


text:
 Jesus and his disciples sailed on over to the territory of Gerasa, which is across the lake from Galilee.


text:
 As Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a man from the town who had demons in him. For a long time this man had gone without clothes and would not stay at home, but spent his time in the burial caves.


text:
 When he saw Jesus, he gave a loud cry, threw himself down at his feet, and shouted, "Jesus, Son of the Most High God! What do you want with me? I beg you, don't punish me!"


text:
 He said this because Jesus had ordered the evil spirit to go out of him. Many times it had seized him, and even though he was kept a prisoner, his hands and feet tied with chains, he would break the chains and be driven by the demon out into the desert.


text:
 Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "My name is 'Mob,' " he answered---because many demons had gone into him.


text:
 There was a large herd of pigs near by, feeding on a hillside. So the demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he let them.


text:
 They went out of the man and into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the side of the cliff into the lake and was drowned.


text:
 The men who had been taking care of the pigs saw what happened, so they ran off and spread the news in the town and among the farms.


text:
 People went out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they were all afraid.


text:
 Then all the people from that territory asked Jesus to go away, because they were terribly afraid. So Jesus got into the boat and left.


text:
 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged Jesus, "Let me go with you." But Jesus sent him away, saying,


text:
 "Go back home and tell what God has done for you." The man went through the town, telling what Jesus had done for him.


text:
 When Jesus returned to the other side of the lake, the people welcomed him, because they had all been waiting for him.


text:
 Then a man named Jairus arrived; he was an official in the local synagogue. He threw himself down at Jesus' feet and begged him to go to his home,


text:
 because his only daughter, who was twelve years old, was dying. As Jesus went along, the people were crowding him from every side.


text:
 Among them was a woman who had suffered from severe bleeding for twelve years; she had spent all she had on doctors, but no one had been able to cure her.


text:
 She came up in the crowd behind Jesus and touched the edge of his cloak, and her bleeding stopped at once.


text:
 Jesus asked, "Who touched me?" Everyone denied it, and Peter said, "Master, the people are all around you and crowding in on you."


text:
 The woman saw that she had been found out, so she came trembling and threw herself at Jesus' feet. There in front of everybody, she told him why she had touched him and how she had been healed at once.


text:
 While Jesus was saying this, a messenger came from the official's house. "Your daughter has died," he told Jairus; "don't bother the Teacher any longer."


text:
 When he arrived at the house, he would not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, and James, and the child's father and mother.


text:
 Everyone there was crying and mourning for the child. Jesus said, "Don't cry; the child is not dead---she is only sleeping!"


text:
 Jesus called the twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases.


text:
 after saying to them, "Take nothing with you for the trip: no walking stick, no beggar's bag, no food, no money, not even an extra shirt.


text:
 wherever people don't welcome you, leave that town and shake the dust off your feet as a warning to them."


text:
 The disciples left and traveled through all the villages, preaching the Good News and healing people everywhere.


text:
 When Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard about all the things that were happening, he was very confused, because some people were saying that John the Baptist had come back to life.


text:
 Others were saying that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life.


text:
 Herod said, "I had John's head cut off; but who is this man I hear these things about?" And he kept trying to see Jesus.


text:
 The apostles came back and told Jesus everything they had done. He took them with him, and they went off by themselves to a town named Bethsaida.


text:
 When the crowds heard about it, they followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them about the Kingdom of God, and healed those who needed it.


text:
 When the sun was beginning to set, the twelve disciples came to him and said, "Send the people away so that they can go to the villages and farms around here and find food and lodging, because this is a lonely place."


text:
 But Jesus said to them, "You yourselves give them something to eat." They answered, "All we have are five loaves and two fish. Do you want us to go and buy food for this whole crowd?"


text:
 (There were about five thousand men there.) Jesus said to his disciples, "Make the people sit down in groups of about fifty each."


text:
 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, thanked God for them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people.


text:
 One day when Jesus was praying alone, the disciples came to him. "Who do the crowds say I am?" he asked them.


text:
 "Some say that you are John the Baptist," they answered. "Others say that you are Elijah, while others say that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life."


text:
 He also told them, "The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will be raised to life."


text:
 And he said to them all, "If you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, take up your cross every day, and follow me.


text:
 For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it, but if you lose your life for my sake, you will save it.


text:
 Will you gain anything if you win the whole world but are yourself lost or defeated? Of course not!


text:
 If you are ashamed of me and of my teaching, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.


text:
 About a week after he had said these things, Jesus took Peter, John, and James with him and went up a hill to pray.


text:
 who appeared in heavenly glory and talked with Jesus about the way in which he would soon fulfill God's purpose by dying in Jerusalem.


text:
 Peter and his companions were sound asleep, but they woke up and saw Jesus' glory and the two men who were standing with him.


text:
 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, "Master, how good it is that we are here! We will make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." (He did not really know what he was saying.)


text:
 While he was still speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them with its shadow; and the disciples were afraid as the cloud came over them.


text:
 When the voice stopped, there was Jesus all alone. The disciples kept quiet about all this and told no one at that time anything they had seen.


text:
 A spirit attacks him with a sudden shout and throws him into a fit, so that he foams at the mouth; it keeps on hurting him and will hardly let him go!


text:
 Jesus answered, "How unbelieving and wrong you people are! How long must I stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you?" Then he said to the man, "Bring your son here."


text:
 As the boy was coming, the demon knocked him to the ground and threw him into a fit. Jesus gave a command to the evil spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.


text:
 All the people were amazed at the mighty power of God. The people were still marveling at everything Jesus was doing, when he said to his disciples,


text:
 "Don't forget what I am about to tell you! The Son of Man is going to be handed over to the power of human beings."


text:
 But the disciples did not know what this meant. It had been hidden from them so that they could not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about the matter.


text:
 and said to them, "Whoever welcomes this child in my name, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, also welcomes the one who sent me. For the one who is least among you all is the greatest."


text:
 John spoke up, "Master, we saw a man driving out demons in your name, and we told him to stop, because he doesn't belong to our group."


text:
 "Do not try to stop him," Jesus said to him and to the other disciples, "because whoever is not against you is for you."


text:
 As the time drew near when Jesus would be taken up to heaven, he made up his mind and set out on his way to Jerusalem.


text:
 He sent messengers ahead of him, who went into a village in Samaria to get everything ready for him.


text:
 But the people there would not receive him, because it was clear that he was on his way to Jerusalem.


text:
 When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?"


text:
 Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lie down and rest."


text:
 He said to another man, "Follow me." But that man said, "Sir, first let me go back and bury my father."


text:
 Jesus said to him, "Anyone who starts to plow and then keeps looking back is of no use for the Kingdom of God."


text:
 After this the Lord chose another seventy-two men and sent them out two by two, to go ahead of him to every town and place where he himself was about to go.


text:
 He said to them, "There is a large harvest, but few workers to gather it in. Pray to the owner of the harvest that he will send out workers to gather in his harvest.


text:
 If someone who is peace-loving lives there, let your greeting of peace remain on that person; if not, take back your greeting of peace.


text:
 Stay in that same house, eating and drinking whatever they offer you, for workers should be given their pay. Don't move around from one house to another.


text:
 'Even the dust from your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. But remember that the Kingdom of God has come near you!'


text:
 "How terrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How terrible for you too, Bethsaida! If the miracles which were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, the people there would have long ago sat down, put on sackcloth, and sprinkled ashes on themselves, to show that they had turned from their sins!


text:
 And as for you, Capernaum! Did you want to lift yourself up to heaven? You will be thrown down to hell!"


text:
 Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."


text:
 The seventy-two men came back in great joy. "Lord," they said, "even the demons obeyed us when we gave them a command in your name!"


text:
 Listen! I have given you authority, so that you can walk on snakes and scorpions and overcome all the power of the Enemy, and nothing will hurt you.


text:
 But don't be glad because the evil spirits obey you; rather be glad because your names are written in heaven."


text:
 At that time Jesus was filled with joy by the Holy Spirit and said, "Father, Lord of heaven and earth! I thank you because you have shown to the unlearned what you have hidden from the wise and learned. Yes, Father, this was how you were pleased to have it happen.


text:
 "My Father has given me all things. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."


text:
 Then Jesus turned to the disciples and said to them privately, "How fortunate you are to see the things you see!


text:
 I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, but they could not, and to hear what you hear, but they did not."


text:
 A teacher of the Law came up and tried to trap Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to receive eternal life?"


text:
 The man answered, " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind'; and 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself.' "


text:
 Jesus answered, "There was once a man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him, stripped him, and beat him up, leaving him half dead.


text:
 It so happened that a priest was going down that road; but when he saw the man, he walked on by on the other side.


text:
 In the same way a Levite also came there, went over and looked at the man, and then walked on by on the other side.


text:
 But a Samaritan who was traveling that way came upon the man, and when he saw him, his heart was filled with pity.


text:
 He went over to him, poured oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them; then he put the man on his own animal and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.


text:
 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Take care of him,' he told the innkeeper, 'and when I come back this way, I will pay you whatever else you spend on him.' "


text:
 And Jesus concluded, "In your opinion, which one of these three acted like a neighbor toward the man attacked by the robbers?"


text:
 The teacher of the Law answered, "The one who was kind to him." Jesus replied, "You go, then, and do the same."


text:
 As Jesus and his disciples went on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha welcomed him in her home.


text:
 Martha was upset over all the work she had to do, so she came and said, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself ? Tell her to come and help me!"


text:
 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."


text:
 Jesus said to them, "When you pray, say this: 'Father: May your holy name be honored; may your Kingdom come.


text:
 Forgive us our sins, for we forgive everyone who does us wrong. And do not bring us to hard testing.' "


text:
 And Jesus said to his disciples, "Suppose one of you should go to a friend's house at midnight and say, 'Friend, let me borrow three loaves of bread.


text:
 And suppose your friend should answer from inside, 'Don't bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.'


text:
 Well, what then? I tell you that even if he will not get up and give you the bread because you are his friend, yet he will get up and give you everything you need because you are not ashamed to keep on asking.


text:
 And so I say to you: Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.


text:
 For those who ask will receive, and those who seek will find, and the door will be opened to anyone who knocks.


text:
 As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"


text:
 Jesus was driving out a demon that could not talk; and when the demon went out, the man began to talk. The crowds were amazed,


text:
 but some of the people said, "It is Beelzebul, the chief of the demons, who gives him the power to drive them out."


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 Others wanted to trap Jesus, so they asked him to perform a miracle to show that God approved of him.


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 But Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he said to them, "Any country that divides itself into groups which fight each other will not last very long; a family divided against itself falls apart.


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 So if Satan's kingdom has groups fighting each other, how can it last? You say that I drive out demons because Beelzebul gives me the power to do so.


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 If this is how I drive them out, how do your followers drive them out? Your own followers prove that you are wrong!


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 No, it is rather by means of God's power that I drive out demons, and this proves that the Kingdom of God has already come to you.


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 But when a stronger man attacks him and defeats him, he carries away all the weapons the owner was depending on and divides up what he stole.


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 "When an evil spirit goes out of a person, it travels over dry country looking for a place to rest. If it can't find one, it says to itself, 'I will go back to my house.'


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 Then it goes out and brings seven other spirits even worse than itself, and they come and live there. So when it is all over, that person is in worse shape than at the beginning."


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 When Jesus had said this, a woman spoke up from the crowd and said to him, "How happy is the woman who bore you and nursed you!"


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 As the people crowded around Jesus, he went on to say, "How evil are the people of this day! They ask for a miracle, but none will be given them except the miracle of Jonah.


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 In the same way that the prophet Jonah was a sign for the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be a sign for the people of this day.


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 On the Judgment Day the Queen of Sheba will stand up and accuse the people of today, because she traveled all the way from her country to listen to King Solomon's wise teaching; and there is something here, I tell you, greater than Solomon.


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 On the Judgment Day the people of Nineveh will stand up and accuse you, because they turned from their sins when they heard Jonah preach; and I assure you that there is something here greater than Jonah!


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 "No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a bowl; instead, it is put on the lampstand, so that people may see the light as they come in.


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 Your eyes are like a lamp for the body. When your eyes are sound, your whole body is full of light; but when your eyes are no good, your whole body will be in darkness.


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 If your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be bright all over, as when a lamp shines on you with its brightness."


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 When Jesus finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and sat down to eat.


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 So the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of your cup and plate, but inside you are full of violence and evil.


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 But give what is in your cups and plates to the poor, and everything will be ritually clean for you.


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 "How terrible for you Pharisees! You give to God one tenth of the seasoning herbs, such as mint and rue and all the other herbs, but you neglect justice and love for God. These you should practice, without neglecting the others.


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 "How terrible for you Pharisees! You love the reserved seats in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces.


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 Jesus answered, "How terrible also for you teachers of the Law! You put onto people's backs loads which are hard to carry, but you yourselves will not stretch out a finger to help them carry those loads.


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 How terrible for you! You make fine tombs for the prophets---the very prophets your ancestors murdered.


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 You yourselves admit, then, that you approve of what your ancestors did; they murdered the prophets, and you build their tombs.


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 For this reason the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and messengers; they will kill some of them and persecute others.'


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 So the people of this time will be punished for the murder of all the prophets killed since the creation of the world,


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 from the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the Holy Place. Yes, I tell you, the people of this time will be punished for them all!


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 "How terrible for you teachers of the Law! You have kept the key that opens the door to the house of knowledge; you yourselves will not go in, and you stop those who are trying to go in!"


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 When Jesus left that place, the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees began to criticize him bitterly and ask him questions about many things,


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 As thousands of people crowded together, so that they were stepping on each other, Jesus said first to his disciples, "Be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees---I mean their hypocrisy.


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 So then, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in broad daylight, and whatever you have whispered in private in a closed room will be shouted from the housetops.


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 "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot afterward do anything worse.


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 I will show you whom to fear: fear God, who, after killing, has the authority to throw into hell. Believe me, he is the one you must fear!


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 Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows!


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 "I assure you that those who declare publicly that they belong to me, the Son of Man will do the same for them before the angels of God.


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 "Whoever says a word against the Son of Man can be forgiven; but whoever says evil things against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.


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 "When they bring you to be tried in the synagogues or before governors or rulers, do not be worried about how you will defend yourself or what you will say.


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 A man in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide with me the property our father left us."


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 Jesus answered him, "Friend, who gave me the right to judge or to divide the property between you two?"


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 And he went on to say to them all, "Watch out and guard yourselves from every kind of greed; because your true life is not made up of the things you own, no matter how rich you may be."


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 This is what I will do,' he told himself; 'I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I will store the grain and all my other goods.


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 Then I will say to myself, Lucky man! You have all the good things you need for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself !'


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 But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night you will have to give up your life; then who will get all these things you have kept for yourself ? ' "


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 And Jesus concluded, "This is how it is with those who pile up riches for themselves but are not rich in God's sight."


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 Then Jesus said to the disciples, "And so I tell you not to worry about the food you need to stay alive or about the clothes you need for your body.


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 Look at the crows: they don't plant seeds or gather a harvest; they don't have storage rooms or barns; God feeds them! You are worth so much more than birds!


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 Look how the wild flowers grow: they don't work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers.


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 (For the pagans of this world are always concerned about all these things.) Your Father knows that you need these things.


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 Sell all your belongings and give the money to the poor. Provide for yourselves purses that don't wear out, and save your riches in heaven, where they will never decrease, because no thief can get to them, and no moth can destroy them.


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 like servants who are waiting for their master to come back from a wedding feast. When he comes and knocks, they will open the door for him at once.


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 How happy are those servants whose master finds them awake and ready when he returns! I tell you, he will take off his coat, have them sit down, and will wait on them.


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 And you can be sure that if the owner of a house knew the time when the thief would come, he would not let the thief break into his house.


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 And you, too, must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him."


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 The Lord answered, "Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant? He is the one that his master will put in charge, to run the household and give the other servants their share of the food at the proper time.


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 But if that servant says to himself that his master is taking a long time to come back and if he begins to beat the other servants, both the men and the women, and eats and drinks and gets drunk,


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 then the master will come back one day when the servant does not expect him and at a time he does not know. The master will cut him in pieces and make him share the fate of the disobedient.


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 "The servant who knows what his master wants him to do, but does not get himself ready and do it, will be punished with a heavy whipping.


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 But the servant who does not know what his master wants, and yet does something for which he deserves a whipping, will be punished with a light whipping. Much is required from the person to whom much is given; much more is required from the person to whom much more is given.


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 Fathers will be against their sons, and sons against their fathers; mothers will be against their daughters, and daughters against their mothers; mothers-in-law will be against their daughters-in-law, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law."


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 Jesus said also to the people, "When you see a cloud coming up in the west, at once you say that it is going to rain---and it does.


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 Hypocrites! You can look at the earth and the sky and predict the weather; why, then, don't you know the meaning of this present time?


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 If someone brings a lawsuit against you and takes you to court, do your best to settle the dispute before you get to court. If you don't, you will be dragged before the judge, who will hand you over to the police, and you will be put in jail.


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 At that time some people were there who told Jesus about the Galileans whom Pilate had killed while they were offering sacrifices to God.


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 Jesus answered them, "Because those Galileans were killed in that way, do you think it proves that they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?


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 What about those eighteen people in Siloam who were killed when the tower fell on them? Do you suppose this proves that they were worse than all the other people living in Jerusalem?


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 Then Jesus told them this parable: "There was once a man who had a fig tree growing in his vineyard. He went looking for figs on it but found none.


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 So he said to his gardener, 'Look, for three years I have been coming here looking for figs on this fig tree, and I haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it go on using up the soil?'


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 But the gardener answered, 'Leave it alone, sir, just one more year; I will dig around it and put in some fertilizer.


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 Then if the tree bears figs next year, so much the better; if not, then you can have it cut down.' "


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 A woman there had an evil spirit that had kept her sick for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not straighten up at all.


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 The official of the synagogue was angry that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, so he spoke up and said to the people, "There are six days in which we should work; so come during those days and be healed, but not on the Sabbath!"


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 The Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Any one of you would untie your ox or your donkey from the stall and take it out to give it water on the Sabbath.


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 Now here is this descendant of Abraham whom Satan has kept in bonds for eighteen years; should she not be released on the Sabbath?"


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 His answer made his enemies ashamed of themselves, while the people rejoiced over all the wonderful things that he did.


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 It is like this. A man takes a mustard seed and plants it in his field. The plant grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make their nests in its branches."


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 It is like this. A woman takes some yeast and mixes it with a bushel of flour until the whole batch of dough rises."


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 "Do your best to go in through the narrow door; because many people will surely try to go in but will not be able.


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 The master of the house will get up and close the door; then when you stand outside and begin to knock on the door and say, 'Open the door for us, sir!' he will answer you, 'I don't know where you come from!'


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 But he will say again, 'I don't know where you come from. Get away from me, all you wicked people!'


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 How you will cry and gnash your teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, while you are thrown out!


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 People will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down at the feast in the Kingdom of God.


text:
 At that same time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, "You must get out of here and go somewhere else, because Herod wants to kill you."


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 Jesus answered them, "Go and tell that fox: 'I am driving out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I shall finish my work.'


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 Yet I must be on my way today, tomorrow, and the next day; it is not right for a prophet to be killed anywhere except in Jerusalem.


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 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets, you stone the messengers God has sent you! How many times I wanted to put my arms around all your people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me!


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 And so your Temple will be abandoned. I assure you that you will not see me until the time comes when you say, 'God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord.' "


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 One Sabbath Jesus went to eat a meal at the home of one of the leading Pharisees; and people were watching Jesus closely.


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 and Jesus spoke up and asked the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, "Does our Law allow healing on the Sabbath or not?"


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 Then he said to them, "If any one of you had a child or an ox that happened to fall in a well on a Sabbath, would you not pull it out at once on the Sabbath itself ?"


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 Jesus noticed how some of the guests were choosing the best places, so he told this parable to all of them:


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 "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place. It could happen that someone more important than you has been invited,


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 and your host, who invited both of you, would have to come and say to you, 'Let him have this place.' Then you would be embarrassed and have to sit in the lowest place.


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 Instead, when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that your host will come to you and say, 'Come on up, my friend, to a better place.' This will bring you honor in the presence of all the other guests.


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 For those who make themselves great will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be made great."


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 Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your rich neighbors---for they will invite you back, and in this way you will be paid for what you did.


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 and you will be blessed, because they are not able to pay you back. God will repay you on the day the good people rise from death."


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 When one of the guests sitting at the table heard this, he said to Jesus, "How happy are those who will sit down at the feast in the Kingdom of God!"


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 Jesus said to him, "There was once a man who was giving a great feast to which he invited many people.


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 When it was time for the feast, he sent his servant to tell his guests, 'Come, everything is ready!'


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 But they all began, one after another, to make excuses. The first one told the servant, 'I have bought a field and must go and look at it; please accept my apologies.'


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 Another one said, 'I have bought five pairs of oxen and am on my way to try them out; please accept my apologies.'


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 The servant went back and told all this to his master. The master was furious and said to his servant, 'Hurry out to the streets and alleys of the town, and bring back the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.'


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 So the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the country roads and lanes and make people come in, so that my house will be full.


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 "Those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and themselves as well.


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 If one of you is planning to build a tower, you sit down first and figure out what it will cost, to see if you have enough money to finish the job.


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 If you don't, you will not be able to finish the tower after laying the foundation; and all who see what happened will make fun of you.


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 If a king goes out with ten thousand men to fight another king who comes against him with twenty thousand men, he will sit down first and decide if he is strong enough to face that other king.


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 If he isn't, he will send messengers to meet the other king to ask for terms of peace while he is still a long way off.


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 In the same way," concluded Jesus, "none of you can be my disciple unless you give up everything you have.


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 It is no good for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown away. Listen, then, if you have ears!"


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 the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law started grumbling, "This man welcomes outcasts and even eats with them!"


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 "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them---what do you do? You leave the other ninety-nine sheep in the pasture and go looking for the one that got lost until you find it.


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 and carry it back home. Then you call your friends and neighbors together and say to them, 'I am so happy I found my lost sheep. Let us celebrate!'


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 In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine respectable people who do not need to repent.


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 "Or suppose a woman who has ten silver coins loses one of them---what does she do? She lights a lamp, sweeps her house, and looks carefully everywhere until she finds it.


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 When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, and says to them, 'I am so happy I found the coin I lost. Let us celebrate!'


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 The younger one said to him, 'Father, give me my share of the property now.' So the man divided his property between his two sons.


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 After a few days the younger son sold his part of the property and left home with the money. He went to a country far away, where he wasted his money in reckless living.


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 He spent everything he had. Then a severe famine spread over that country, and he was left without a thing.


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 So he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him out to his farm to take care of the pigs.


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 He wished he could fill himself with the bean pods the pigs ate, but no one gave him anything to eat.


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 At last he came to his senses and said, 'All my father's hired workers have more than they can eat, and here I am about to starve!


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 So he got up and started back to his father. "He was still a long way from home when his father saw him; his heart was filled with pity, and he ran, threw his arms around his son, and kissed him.


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 'Father,' the son said, 'I have sinned against God and against you. I am no longer fit to be called your son.'


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 But the father called to his servants. 'Hurry!' he said. 'Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet.


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 For this son of mine was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found.' And so the feasting began.


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 "In the meantime the older son was out in the field. On his way back, when he came close to the house, he heard the music and dancing.


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 'Your brother has come back home,' the servant answered, 'and your father has killed the prize calf, because he got him back safe and sound.'


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 The older brother was so angry that he would not go into the house; so his father came out and begged him to come in.


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 But he spoke back to his father, 'Look, all these years I have worked for you like a slave, and I have never disobeyed your orders. What have you given me? Not even a goat for me to have a feast with my friends!


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 But this son of yours wasted all your property on prostitutes, and when he comes back home, you kill the prize calf for him!'


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 But we had to celebrate and be happy, because your brother was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found.' "


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 Jesus said to his disciples, "There was once a rich man who had a servant who managed his property. The rich man was told that the manager was wasting his master's money,


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 so he called him in and said, 'What is this I hear about you? Turn in a complete account of your handling of my property, because you cannot be my manager any longer.'


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 The servant said to himself, 'My master is going to dismiss me from my job. What shall I do? I am not strong enough to dig ditches, and I am ashamed to beg.


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 Now I know what I will do! Then when my job is gone, I shall have friends who will welcome me in their homes.'


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 So he called in all the people who were in debt to his master. He asked the first one, 'How much do you owe my master?'


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 'One hundred barrels of olive oil,' he answered. 'Here is your account,' the manager told him; 'sit down and write fifty.'


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 Then he asked another one, 'And you---how much do you owe?' 'A thousand bushels of wheat,' he answered. 'Here is your account,' the manager told him; 'write eight hundred.'


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 As a result the master of this dishonest manager praised him for doing such a shrewd thing; because the people of this world are much more shrewd in handling their affairs than the people who belong to the light."


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 And Jesus went on to say, "And so I tell you: make friends for yourselves with worldly wealth, so that when it gives out, you will be welcomed in the eternal home.


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 Whoever is faithful in small matters will be faithful in large ones; whoever is dishonest in small matters will be dishonest in large ones.


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 If, then, you have not been faithful in handling worldly wealth, how can you be trusted with true wealth?


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 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what belongs to you?


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 "No servant can be the slave of two masters; such a slave will hate one and love the other or will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."


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 Jesus said to them, "You are the ones who make yourselves look right in other people's sight, but God knows your hearts. For the things that are considered of great value by people are worth nothing in God's sight.


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 "The Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets were in effect up to the time of John the Baptist; since then the Good News about the Kingdom of God is being told, and everyone forces their way in.


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 But it is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest detail of the Law to be done away with.


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 "Any man who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery; and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.


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 "There was once a rich man who dressed in the most expensive clothes and lived in great luxury every day.


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 There was also a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who used to be brought to the rich man's door,


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 hoping to eat the bits of food that fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs would come and lick his sores.


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 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the feast in heaven. The rich man died and was buried,


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 and in Hades, where he was in great pain, he looked up and saw Abraham, far away, with Lazarus at his side.


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 So he called out, 'Father Abraham! Take pity on me, and send Lazarus to dip his finger in some water and cool off my tongue, because I am in great pain in this fire!'


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 But Abraham said, 'Remember, my son, that in your lifetime you were given all the good things, while Lazarus got all the bad things. But now he is enjoying himself here, while you are in pain.


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 Besides all that, there is a deep pit lying between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, nor can anyone cross over to us from where you are.'


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 where I have five brothers. Let him go and warn them so that they, at least, will not come to this place of pain.'


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 Abraham said, 'Your brothers have Moses and the prophets to warn them; your brothers should listen to what they say.'


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 The rich man answered, 'That is not enough, father Abraham! But if someone were to rise from death and go to them, then they would turn from their sins.'


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 But Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone were to rise from death.' "


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 Jesus said to his disciples, "Things that make people fall into sin are bound to happen, but how terrible for the one who makes them happen!


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 It would be better for him if a large millstone were tied around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.


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 If he sins against you seven times in one day, and each time he comes to you saying, 'I repent,' you must forgive him."


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 The Lord answered, "If you had faith as big as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Pull yourself up by the roots and plant yourself in the sea!' and it would obey you.


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 "Suppose one of you has a servant who is plowing or looking after the sheep. When he comes in from the field, do you tell him to hurry along and eat his meal?


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 Of course not! Instead, you say to him, 'Get my supper ready, then put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may have your meal.'


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 It is the same with you; when you have done all you have been told to do, say, 'We are ordinary servants; we have only done our duty.' "


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 He was going into a village when he was met by ten men suffering from a dreaded skin disease. They stood at a distance


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 Jesus saw them and said to them, "Go and let the priests examine you." On the way they were made clean.


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 Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. His answer was, "The Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen.


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 No one will say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!'; because the Kingdom of God is within you."


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 Then he said to the disciples, "The time will come when you will wish you could see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.


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 There will be those who will say to you, 'Look, over there!' or, 'Look, over here!' But don't go out looking for it.


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 As the lightning flashes across the sky and lights it up from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.


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 Everybody kept on eating and drinking, and men and women married, up to the very day Noah went into the boat and the flood came and killed them all.


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 It will be as it was in the time of Lot. Everybody kept on eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.


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 "On that day someone who is on the roof of a house must not go down into the house to get any belongings; in the same way anyone who is out in the field must not go back to the house.


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 On that night, I tell you, there will be two people sleeping in the same bed: one will be taken away, the other will be left behind.


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 The disciples asked him, "Where, Lord?" Jesus answered, "Wherever there is a dead body, the vultures will gather."


text:
 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to teach them that they should always pray and never become discouraged.


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 And there was a widow in that same town who kept coming to him and pleading for her rights, saying, 'Help me against my opponent!'


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 For a long time the judge refused to act, but at last he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or respect people,


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 yet because of all the trouble this widow is giving me, I will see to it that she gets her rights. If I don't, she will keep on coming and finally wear me out!' "


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 Now, will God not judge in favor of his own people who cry to him day and night for help? Will he be slow to help them?


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 I tell you, he will judge in their favor and do it quickly. But will the Son of Man find faith on earth when he comes?"


text:
 Jesus also told this parable to people who were sure of their own goodness and despised everybody else.


text:
 "Once there were two men who went up to the Temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector.


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 The Pharisee stood apart by himself and prayed, 'I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest, or an adulterer, like everybody else. I thank you that I am not like that tax collector over there.


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 But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even raise his face to heaven, but beat on his breast and said, 'God, have pity on me, a sinner!'


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 I tell you," said Jesus, "the tax collector, and not the Pharisee, was in the right with God when he went home. For those who make themselves great will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be made great."


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 Some people brought their babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. The disciples saw them and scolded them for doing so,


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 but Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the children come to me and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.


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 You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not accuse anyone falsely; respect your father and your mother.' "


text:
 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "There is still one more thing you need to do. Sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me."


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 "Yes," Jesus said to them, "and I assure you that anyone who leaves home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the Kingdom of God


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 Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, "Listen! We are going to Jerusalem where everything the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will come true.


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 But the disciples did not understand any of these things; the meaning of the words was hidden from them, and they did not know what Jesus was talking about.


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 The people in front scolded him and told him to be quiet. But he shouted even more loudly, "Son of David! Have mercy on me!"


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 So Jesus stopped and ordered the blind man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him,


text:
 At once he was able to see, and he followed Jesus, giving thanks to God. When the crowd saw it, they all praised God.


text:
 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was a little man and could not see Jesus because of the crowd.


text:
 So he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus, who was going to pass that way.


text:
 When Jesus came to that place, he looked up and said to Zacchaeus, "Hurry down, Zacchaeus, because I must stay in your house today."


text:
 All the people who saw it started grumbling, "This man has gone as a guest to the home of a sinner!"


text:
 Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Listen, sir! I will give half my belongings to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay back four times as much."


text:
 Jesus said to him, "Salvation has come to this house today, for this man, also, is a descendant of Abraham.


text:
 While the people were listening to this, Jesus continued and told them a parable. He was now almost at Jerusalem, and they supposed that the Kingdom of God was just about to appear.


text:
 So he said, "There was once a man of high rank who was going to a country far away to be made king, after which he planned to come back home.


text:
 Before he left, he called his ten servants and gave them each a gold coin and told them, 'See what you can earn with this while I am gone.'


text:
 Now, his own people hated him, and so they sent messengers after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.'


text:
 "The man was made king and came back. At once he ordered his servants to appear before him, in order to find out how much they had earned.


text:
 'Well done,' he said; 'you are a good servant! Since you were faithful in small matters, I will put you in charge of ten cities.'


text:
 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take what is not yours and reap what you did not plant.'


text:
 He said to him, 'You bad servant! I will use your own words to condemn you! You know that I am a hard man, taking what is not mine and reaping what I have not planted.


text:
 Well, then, why didn't you put my money in the bank? Then I would have received it back with interest when I returned.'


text:
 Then he said to those who were standing there, 'Take the gold coin away from him and give it to the servant who has ten coins.'


text:
 'I tell you,' he replied, 'that to those who have something, even more will be given; but those who have nothing, even the little that they have will be taken away from them.


text:
 Now, as for those enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king, bring them here and kill them in my presence!' "


text:
 with these instructions: "Go to the village there ahead of you; as you go in, you will find a colt tied up that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here.


text:
 and they took the colt to Jesus. Then they threw their cloaks over the animal and helped Jesus get on.


text:
 When he came near Jerusalem, at the place where the road went down the Mount of Olives, the large crowd of his disciples began to thank God and praise him in loud voices for all the great things that they had seen:


text:
 Then some of the Pharisees in the crowd spoke to Jesus. "Teacher," they said, "command your disciples to be quiet!"


text:
 The time will come when your enemies will surround you with barricades, blockade you, and close in on you from every side.


text:
 They will completely destroy you and the people within your walls; not a single stone will they leave in its place, because you did not recognize the time when God came to save you!"


text:
 saying to them, "It is written in the Scriptures that God said, 'My Temple will be a house of prayer.' But you have turned it into a hideout for thieves!"


text:
 Every day Jesus taught in the Temple. The chief priests, the teachers of the Law, and the leaders of the people wanted to kill him,


text:
 but they could not find a way to do it, because all the people kept listening to him, not wanting to miss a single word.


text:
 One day when Jesus was in the Temple teaching the people and preaching the Good News, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law, together with the elders, came


text:
 They started to argue among themselves, "What shall we say? If we say, 'From God,' he will say, 'Why, then, did you not believe John?'


text:
 But if we say, 'From human beings,' this whole crowd here will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet."


text:
 Then Jesus told the people this parable: "There was once a man who planted a vineyard, rented it out to tenants, and then left home for a long time.


text:
 When the time came to gather the grapes, he sent a slave to the tenants to receive from them his share of the harvest. But the tenants beat the slave and sent him back without a thing.


text:
 So he sent another slave; but the tenants beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him back without a thing.


text:
 Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my own dear son; surely they will respect him!'


text:
 But when the tenants saw him, they said to one another, 'This is the owner's son. Let's kill him, and his property will be ours!'


text:
 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. "What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do to the tenants?" Jesus asked.


text:
 "He will come and kill those men, and turn the vineyard over to other tenants." When the people heard this, they said, "Surely not!"


text:
 Jesus looked at them and asked, "What, then, does this scripture mean? 'The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all.'


text:
 Everyone who falls on that stone will be cut to pieces; and if that stone falls on someone, that person will be crushed to dust."


text:
 The teachers of the Law and the chief priests tried to arrest Jesus on the spot, because they knew that he had told this parable against them; but they were afraid of the people.


text:
 So they looked for an opportunity. They bribed some men to pretend they were sincere, and they sent them to trap Jesus with questions, so that they could hand him over to the authority and power of the Roman Governor.


text:
 These spies said to Jesus, "Teacher, we know that what you say and teach is right. We know that you pay no attention to anyone's status, but teach the truth about God's will for people.


text:
 So Jesus said, "Well, then, pay to the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor, and pay to God what belongs to God."


text:
 There before the people they could not catch him in a thing, so they kept quiet, amazed at his answer.


text:
 Now, on the day when the dead rise to life, whose wife will she be? All seven of them had married her."


text:
 but the men and women who are worthy to rise from death and live in the age to come will not then marry.


text:
 They will be like angels and cannot die. They are the children of God, because they have risen from death.


text:
 And Moses clearly proves that the dead are raised to life. In the passage about the burning bush he speaks of the Lord as 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'


text:
 "Be on your guard against the teachers of the Law, who like to walk around in their long robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplace; who choose the reserved seats in the synagogues and the best places at feasts;


text:
 who take advantage of widows and rob them of their homes, and then make a show of saying long prayers! Their punishment will be all the worse!"


text:
 For the others offered their gifts from what they had to spare of their riches; but she, poor as she is, gave all she had to live on."


text:
 Some of the disciples were talking about the Temple, how beautiful it looked with its fine stones and the gifts offered to God. Jesus said,


text:
 "All this you see---the time will come when not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one will be thrown down."


text:
 "Teacher," they asked, "when will this be? And what will happen in order to show that the time has come for it to take place?"


text:
 Jesus said, "Watch out; don't be fooled. Many men, claiming to speak for me, will come and say, 'I am he!' and, 'The time has come!' But don't follow them.


text:
 Don't be afraid when you hear of wars and revolutions; such things must happen first, but they do not mean that the end is near."


text:
 There will be terrible earthquakes, famines, and plagues everywhere; there will be strange and terrifying things coming from the sky.


text:
 Before all these things take place, however, you will be arrested and persecuted; you will be handed over to be tried in synagogues and be put in prison; you will be brought before kings and rulers for my sake.


text:
 because I will give you such words and wisdom that none of your enemies will be able to refute or contradict what you say.


text:
 You will be handed over by your parents, your brothers, your relatives, and your friends; and some of you will be put to death.


text:
 Then those who are in Judea must run away to the hills; those who are in the city must leave, and those who are out in the country must not go into the city.


text:
 How terrible it will be in those days for women who are pregnant and for mothers with little babies! Terrible distress will come upon this land, and God's punishment will fall on this people.


text:
 Some will be killed by the sword, and others will be taken as prisoners to all countries; and the heathen will trample over Jerusalem until their time is up.


text:
 "There will be strange things happening to the sun, the moon, and the stars. On earth whole countries will be in despair, afraid of the roar of the sea and the raging tides.


text:
 People will faint from fear as they wait for what is coming over the whole earth, for the powers in space will be driven from their courses.


text:
 In the same way, when you see these things happening, you will know that the Kingdom of God is about to come.


text:
 "Be careful not to let yourselves become occupied with too much feasting and drinking and with the worries of this life, or that Day may suddenly catch you


text:
 Be on watch and pray always that you will have the strength to go safely through all those things that will happen and to stand before the Son of Man."


text:
 Jesus spent those days teaching in the Temple, and when evening came, he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives.


text:
 The chief priests and the teachers of the Law were afraid of the people, and so they were trying to find a way of putting Jesus to death secretly.


text:
 So Judas went off and spoke with the chief priests and the officers of the Temple guard about how he could betray Jesus to them.


text:
 Judas agreed to it and started looking for a good chance to hand Jesus over to them without the people knowing about it.


text:
 The day came during the Festival of Unleavened Bread when the lambs for the Passover meal were to be killed.


text:
 Jesus sent Peter and John with these instructions: "Go and get the Passover meal ready for us to eat."


text:
 He answered, "As you go into the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters,


text:
 and say to the owner of the house: 'The Teacher says to you, Where is the room where my disciples and I will eat the Passover meal?'


text:
 They went off and found everything just as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover meal.


text:
 Then he took a piece of bread, gave thanks to God, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in memory of me."


text:
 In the same way, he gave them the cup after the supper, saying, "This cup is God's new covenant sealed with my blood, which is poured out for you.


text:
 An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them should be thought of as the greatest.


text:
 Jesus said to them, "The kings of the pagans have power over their people, and the rulers claim the title 'Friends of the People.'


text:
 But this is not the way it is with you; rather, the greatest one among you must be like the youngest, and the leader must be like the servant.


text:
 Who is greater, the one who sits down to eat or the one who serves? The one who sits down, of course. But I am among you as one who serves.


text:
 You will eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom, and you will sit on thrones to rule over the twelve tribes of Israel.


text:
 "Simon, Simon! Listen! Satan has received permission to test all of you, to separate the good from the bad, as a farmer separates the wheat from the chaff.


text:
 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. And when you turn back to me, you must strengthen your brothers."


text:
 "I tell you, Peter," Jesus said, "the rooster will not crow tonight until you have said three times that you do not know me."


text:
 Then Jesus asked his disciples, "When I sent you out that time without purse, bag, or shoes, did you lack anything?" "Not a thing," they answered.


text:
 "But now," Jesus said, "whoever has a purse or a bag must take it; and whoever does not have a sword must sell his coat and buy one.


text:
 For I tell you that the scripture which says, 'He shared the fate of criminals,' must come true about me, because what was written about me is coming true."


text:
 Jesus left the city and went, as he usually did, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples went with him.


text:
 "Father," he said, "if you will, take this cup of suffering away from me. Not my will, however, but your will be done."


text:
 In great anguish he prayed even more fervently; his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.


text:
 Rising from his prayer, he went back to the disciples and found them asleep, worn out by their grief.


text:
 Jesus was still speaking when a crowd arrived, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples. He came up to Jesus to kiss him.


text:
 When the disciples who were with Jesus saw what was going to happen, they asked, "Shall we use our swords, Lord?"


text:
 Then Jesus said to the chief priests and the officers of the Temple guard and the elders who had come there to get him, "Did you have to come with swords and clubs, as though I were an outlaw?


text:
 I was with you in the Temple every day, and you did not try to arrest me. But this is your hour to act, when the power of darkness rules."


text:
 They arrested Jesus and took him away into the house of the High Priest; and Peter followed at a distance.


text:
 A fire had been lit in the center of the courtyard, and Peter joined those who were sitting around it.


text:
 When one of the servant women saw him sitting there at the fire, she looked straight at him and said, "This man too was with Jesus!"


text:
 After a little while a man noticed Peter and said, "You are one of them, too!" But Peter answered, "Man, I am not!"


text:
 And about an hour later another man insisted strongly, "There isn't any doubt that this man was with Jesus, because he also is a Galilean!"


text:
 But Peter answered, "Man, I don't know what you are talking about!" At once, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.


text:
 The Lord turned around and looked straight at Peter, and Peter remembered that the Lord had said to him, "Before the rooster crows tonight, you will say three times that you do not know me."


text:
 When day came, the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law met together, and Jesus was brought before the Council.


text:
 where they began to accuse him: "We caught this man misleading our people, telling them not to pay taxes to the Emperor and claiming that he himself is the Messiah, a king."


text:
 But they insisted even more strongly, "With his teaching he is starting a riot among the people all through Judea. He began in Galilee and now has come here."


text:
 When he learned that Jesus was from the region ruled by Herod, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.


text:
 Herod was very pleased when he saw Jesus, because he had heard about him and had been wanting to see him for a long time. He was hoping to see Jesus perform some miracle.


text:
 The chief priests and the teachers of the Law stepped forward and made strong accusations against Jesus.


text:
 Herod and his soldiers made fun of Jesus and treated him with contempt; then they put a fine robe on him and sent him back to Pilate.


text:
 and said to them, "You brought this man to me and said that he was misleading the people. Now, I have examined him here in your presence, and I have not found him guilty of any of the crimes you accuse him of.


text:
 Nor did Herod find him guilty, for he sent him back to us. There is nothing this man has done to deserve death.


text:
 Pilate said to them the third time, "But what crime has he committed? I cannot find anything he has done to deserve death! I will have him whipped and set him free."


text:
 But they kept on shouting at the top of their voices that Jesus should be crucified, and finally their shouting succeeded.


text:
 He set free the man they wanted, the one who had been put in prison for riot and murder, and he handed Jesus over for them to do as they wished.


text:
 The soldiers led Jesus away, and as they were going, they met a man from Cyrene named Simon who was coming into the city from the country. They seized him, put the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus.


text:
 A large crowd of people followed him; among them were some women who were weeping and wailing for him.


text:
 Jesus turned to them and said, "Women of Jerusalem! Don't cry for me, but for yourselves and your children.


text:
 For the days are coming when people will say, 'How lucky are the women who never had children, who never bore babies, who never nursed them!'


text:
 That will be the time when people will say to the mountains, 'Fall on us!' and to the hills, 'Hide us!'


text:
 When they came to the place called "The Skull," they crucified Jesus there, and the two criminals, one on his right and the other on his left.


text:
 Jesus said, "Forgive them, Father! They don't know what they are doing." They divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice.


text:
 The people stood there watching while the Jewish leaders made fun of him: "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah whom God has chosen!"


text:
 One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!"


text:
 The other one, however, rebuked him, saying, "Don't you fear God? You received the same sentence he did.


text:
 Ours, however, is only right, because we are getting what we deserve for what we did; but he has done no wrong."


text:
 It was about twelve o'clock when the sun stopped shining and darkness covered the whole country until three o'clock; and the curtain hanging in the Temple was torn in two.


text:
 When the people who had gathered there to watch the spectacle saw what happened, they all went back home, beating their breasts in sorrow.


text:
 All those who knew Jesus personally, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance to watch.


text:
 There was a man named Joseph from Arimathea, a town in Judea. He was a good and honorable man, who was waiting for the coming of the Kingdom of God. Although he was a member of the Council, he had not agreed with their decision and action.


text:
 Then he took the body down, wrapped it in a linen sheet, and placed it in a tomb which had been dug out of solid rock and which had never been used.


text:
 The women who had followed Jesus from Galilee went with Joseph and saw the tomb and how Jesus' body was placed in it.


text:
 Then they went back home and prepared the spices and perfumes for the body. On the Sabbath they rested, as the Law commanded.


text:
 They stood there puzzled about this, when suddenly two men in bright shining clothes stood by them.


text:
 Full of fear, the women bowed down to the ground, as the men said to them, "Why are you looking among the dead for one who is alive?


text:
 'The Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, be crucified, and three days later rise to life.' "


text:
 The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; they and the other women with them told these things to the apostles.


text:
 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; he bent down and saw the grave cloths but nothing else. Then he went back home amazed at what had happened.


text:
 On that same day two of Jesus' followers were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,


text:
 Jesus said to them, "What are you talking about to each other, as you walk along?" They stood still, with sad faces.


text:
 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn't know the things that have been happening there these last few days?"


text:
 "What things?" he asked. "The things that happened to Jesus of Nazareth," they answered. "This man was a prophet and was considered by God and by all the people to be powerful in everything he said and did.


text:
 And we had hoped that he would be the one who was going to set Israel free! Besides all that, this is now the third day since it happened.


text:
 but could not find his body. They came back saying they had seen a vision of angels who told them that he is alive.


text:
 Some of our group went to the tomb and found it exactly as the women had said, but they did not see him."


text:
 Then Jesus said to them, "How foolish you are, how slow you are to believe everything the prophets said!


text:
 And Jesus explained to them what was said about himself in all the Scriptures, beginning with the books of Moses and the writings of all the prophets.


text:
 but they held him back, saying, "Stay with us; the day is almost over and it is getting dark." So he went in to stay with them.


text:
 He sat down to eat with them, took the bread, and said the blessing; then he broke the bread and gave it to them.


text:
 They said to each other, "Wasn't it like a fire burning in us when he talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?"


text:
 They got up at once and went back to Jerusalem, where they found the eleven disciples gathered together with the others


text:
 The two then explained to them what had happened on the road, and how they had recognized the Lord when he broke the bread.


text:
 While the two were telling them this, suddenly the Lord himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."


text:
 Look at my hands and my feet, and see that it is I myself. Feel me, and you will know, for a ghost doesn't have flesh and bones, as you can see I have."


text:
 They still could not believe, they were so full of joy and wonder; so he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?"


text:
 Then he said to them, "These are the very things I told you about while I was still with you: everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the writings of the prophets, and the Psalms had to come true."


text:
 and said to them, "This is what is written: the Messiah must suffer and must rise from death three days later,


text:
 and in his name the message about repentance and the forgiveness of sins must be preached to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.


text:
 And I myself will send upon you what my Father has promised. But you must wait in the city until the power from above comes down upon you."


text:
 The Word was in the world, and though God made the world through him, yet the world did not recognize him.


text:
 Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God's children.


text:
 They did not become God's children by natural means, that is, by being born as the children of a human father; God himself was their Father.


text:
 The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father's only Son.


text:
 John spoke about him. He cried out, "This is the one I was talking about when I said, 'He comes after me, but he is greater than I am, because he existed before I was born.' "


text:
 No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is the same as God and is at the Father's side, he has made him known.


text:
 The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem sent some priests and Levites to John to ask him, "Who are you?"


text:
 "Who are you, then?" they asked. "Are you Elijah?" "No, I am not," John answered. "Are you the Prophet?" they asked. "No," he replied.


text:
 "Then tell us who you are," they said. "We have to take an answer back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself ?"


text:
 John answered by quoting the prophet Isaiah: "I am 'the voice of someone shouting in the desert: Make a straight path for the Lord to travel!' "


text:
 The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, "There is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!


text:
 This is the one I was talking about when I said, 'A man is coming after me, but he is greater than I am, because he existed before I was born.'


text:
 I did not know who he would be, but I came baptizing with water in order to make him known to the people of Israel."


text:
 I still did not know that he was the one, but God, who sent me to baptize with water, had said to me, 'You will see the Spirit come down and stay on a man; he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'


text:
 Jesus turned, saw them following him, and asked, "What are you looking for?" They answered, "Where do you live, Rabbi?" (This word means "Teacher.")


text:
 "Come and see," he answered. (It was then about four o'clock in the afternoon.) So they went with him and saw where he lived, and spent the rest of that day with him.


text:
 At once he found his brother Simon and told him, "We have found the Messiah." (This word means "Christ.")


text:
 Then he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "Your name is Simon son of John, but you will be called Cephas." (This is the same as Peter and means "a rock.")


text:
 Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one whom Moses wrote about in the book of the Law and whom the prophets also wrote about. He is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth."


text:
 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, he said about him, "Here is a real Israelite; there is nothing false in him!"


text:
 Nathanael asked him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered, "I saw you when you were under the fig tree before Philip called you."


text:
 Jesus said, "Do you believe just because I told you I saw you when you were under the fig tree? You will see much greater things than this!"


text:
 And he said to them, "I am telling you the truth: you will see heaven open and God's angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man."


text:
 The Jews have rules about ritual washing, and for this purpose six stone water jars were there, each one large enough to hold between twenty and thirty gallons.


text:
 and then he told them, "Now draw some water out and take it to the man in charge of the feast." They took him the water,


text:
 which now had turned into wine, and he tasted it. He did not know where this wine had come from (but, of course, the servants who had drawn out the water knew); so he called the bridegroom


text:
 and said to him, "Everyone else serves the best wine first, and after the guests have drunk a lot, he serves the ordinary wine. But you have kept the best wine until now!"


text:
 Jesus performed this first miracle in Cana in Galilee; there he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.


text:
 After this, Jesus and his mother, brothers, and disciples went to Capernaum and stayed there a few days.


text:
 There in the Temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and pigeons, and also the moneychangers sitting at their tables.


text:
 So he made a whip from cords and drove all the animals out of the Temple, both the sheep and the cattle; he overturned the tables of the moneychangers and scattered their coins;


text:
 and he ordered those who sold the pigeons, "Take them out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!"


text:
 His disciples remembered that the scripture says, "My devotion to your house, O God, burns in me like a fire."


text:
 The Jewish authorities came back at him with a question, "What miracle can you perform to show us that you have the right to do this?"


text:
 "Are you going to build it again in three days?" they asked him. "It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple!"


text:
 So when he was raised from death, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and what Jesus had said.


text:
 While Jesus was in Jerusalem during the Passover Festival, many believed in him as they saw the miracles he performed.


text:
 There was no need for anyone to tell him about them, because he himself knew what was in their hearts.


text:
 One night he went to Jesus and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher sent by God. No one could perform the miracles you are doing unless God were with him."


text:
 Jesus answered, "I am telling you the truth: no one can see the Kingdom of God without being born again."


text:
 "How can a grown man be born again?" Nicodemus asked. "He certainly cannot enter his mother's womb and be born a second time!"


text:
 "I am telling you the truth," replied Jesus, "that no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.


text:
 The wind blows wherever it wishes; you hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit."


text:
 I am telling you the truth: we speak of what we know and report what we have seen, yet none of you is willing to accept our message.


text:
 You do not believe me when I tell you about the things of this world; how will you ever believe me, then, when I tell you about the things of heaven?


text:
 As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the desert, in the same way the Son of Man must be lifted up,


text:
 For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.


text:
 Those who believe in the Son are not judged; but those who do not believe have already been judged, because they have not believed in God's only Son.


text:
 This is how the judgment works: the light has come into the world, but people love the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds are evil.


text:
 Those who do evil things hate the light and will not come to the light, because they do not want their evil deeds to be shown up.


text:
 But those who do what is true come to the light in order that the light may show that what they did was in obedience to God.


text:
 After this, Jesus and his disciples went to the province of Judea, where he spent some time with them and baptized.


text:
 John also was baptizing in Aenon, not far from Salim, because there was plenty of water in that place. People were going to him, and he was baptizing them.


text:
 So they went to John and told him, "Teacher, you remember the man who was with you on the east side of the Jordan, the one you spoke about? Well, he is baptizing now, and everyone is going to him!"


text:
 You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, 'I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.'


text:
 The bridegroom is the one to whom the bride belongs; but the bridegroom's friend, who stands by and listens, is glad when he hears the bridegroom's voice. This is how my own happiness is made complete.


text:
 He who comes from above is greater than all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly matters, but he who comes from heaven is above all.


text:
 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not have life, but will remain under God's punishment.


text:
 In Samaria he came to a town named Sychar, which was not far from the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.


text:
 The woman answered, "You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan---so how can you ask me for a drink?" (Jews will not use the same cups and bowls that Samaritans use.)


text:
 Jesus answered, "If you only knew what God gives and who it is that is asking you for a drink, you would ask him, and he would give you life-giving water."


text:
 "Sir," the woman said, "you don't have a bucket, and the well is deep. Where would you get that life-giving water?


text:
 It was our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well; he and his children and his flocks all drank from it. You don't claim to be greater than Jacob, do you?"


text:
 but those who drink the water that I will give them will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give them will become in them a spring which will provide them with life-giving water and give them eternal life."


text:
 "Sir," the woman said, "give me that water! Then I will never be thirsty again, nor will I have to come here to draw water."


text:
 "I don't have a husband," she answered. Jesus replied, "You are right when you say you don't have a husband.


text:
 You have been married to five men, and the man you live with now is not really your husband. You have told me the truth."


text:
 "My Samaritan ancestors worshiped God on this mountain, but you Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where we should worship God."


text:
 Jesus said to her, "Believe me, woman, the time will come when people will not worship the Father either on this mountain or in Jerusalem.


text:
 You Samaritans do not really know whom you worship; but we Jews know whom we worship, because it is from the Jews that salvation comes.


text:
 But the time is coming and is already here, when by the power of God's Spirit people will worship the Father as he really is, offering him the true worship that he wants.


text:
 The woman said to him, "I know that the Messiah will come, and when he comes, he will tell us everything."


text:
 At that moment Jesus' disciples returned, and they were greatly surprised to find him talking with a woman. But none of them said to her, "What do you want?" or asked him, "Why are you talking with her?"


text:
 "My food," Jesus said to them, "is to obey the will of the one who sent me and to finish the work he gave me to do.


text:
 You have a saying, 'Four more months and then the harvest.' But I tell you, take a good look at the fields; the crops are now ripe and ready to be harvested!


text:
 The one who reaps the harvest is being paid and gathers the crops for eternal life; so the one who plants and the one who reaps will be glad together.


text:
 I have sent you to reap a harvest in a field where you did not work; others worked there, and you profit from their work."


text:
 Many of the Samaritans in that town believed in Jesus because the woman had said, "He told me everything I have ever done."


text:
 So when the Samaritans came to him, they begged him to stay with them, and Jesus stayed there two days.


text:
 and they told the woman, "We believe now, not because of what you said, but because we ourselves have heard him, and we know that he really is the Savior of the world."


text:
 When he arrived in Galilee, the people there welcomed him, because they had gone to the Passover Festival in Jerusalem and had seen everything that he had done during the festival.


text:
 Then Jesus went back to Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. A government official was there whose son was sick in Capernaum.


text:
 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to go to Capernaum and heal his son, who was about to die.


text:
 He asked them what time it was when his son got better, and they answered, "It was one o'clock yesterday afternoon when the fever left him."


text:
 Then the father remembered that it was at that very hour when Jesus had told him, "Your son will live." So he and all his family believed.


text:
 Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there is a pool with five porches; in Hebrew it is called Bethzatha.


text:
 Jesus saw him lying there, and he knew that the man had been sick for such a long time; so he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"


text:
 The sick man answered, "Sir, I don't have anyone here to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am trying to get in, somebody else gets there first."


text:
 Immediately the man got well; he picked up his mat and started walking. The day this happened was a Sabbath,


text:
 so the Jewish authorities told the man who had been healed, "This is a Sabbath, and it is against our Law for you to carry your mat."


text:
 But the man who had been healed did not know who Jesus was, for there was a crowd in that place, and Jesus had slipped away.


text:
 Afterward, Jesus found him in the Temple and said, "Listen, you are well now; so stop sinning or something worse may happen to you."


text:
 This saying made the Jewish authorities all the more determined to kill him; not only had he broken the Sabbath law, but he had said that God was his own Father and in this way had made himself equal with God.


text:
 So Jesus answered them, "I tell you the truth: the Son can do nothing on his own; he does only what he sees his Father doing. What the Father does, the Son also does.


text:
 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. He will show him even greater things to do than this, and you will all be amazed.


text:
 Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, in the same way the Son gives life to those he wants to.


text:
 so that all will honor the Son in the same way as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.


text:
 "I am telling you the truth: those who hear my words and believe in him who sent me have eternal life. They will not be judged, but have already passed from death to life.


text:
 I am telling you the truth: the time is coming---the time has already come---when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it will come to life.


text:
 Just as the Father is himself the source of life, in the same way he has made his Son to be the source of life.


text:
 and come out of their graves: those who have done good will rise and live, and those who have done evil will rise and be condemned.


text:
 "I can do nothing on my own authority; I judge only as God tells me, so my judgment is right, because I am not trying to do what I want, but only what he who sent me wants.


text:
 But there is someone else who testifies on my behalf, and I know that what he says about me is true.


text:
 But I have a witness on my behalf which is even greater than the witness that John gave: what I do, that is, the deeds my Father gave me to do, these speak on my behalf and show that the Father has sent me.


text:
 And the Father, who sent me, also testifies on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his face,


text:
 You study the Scriptures, because you think that in them you will find eternal life. And these very Scriptures speak about me!


text:
 I have come with my Father's authority, but you have not received me; when, however, someone comes with his own authority, you will receive him.


text:
 You like to receive praise from one another, but you do not try to win praise from the one who alone is God; how, then, can you believe me?


text:
 Do not think, however, that I am the one who will accuse you to my Father. Moses, in whom you have put your hope, is the very one who will accuse you.


text:
 Jesus looked around and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, so he asked Philip, "Where can we buy enough food to feed all these people?"


text:
 Philip answered, "For everyone to have even a little, it would take more than two hundred silver coins to buy enough bread."


text:
 "There is a boy here who has five loaves of barley bread and two fish. But they will certainly not be enough for all these people."


text:
 "Make the people sit down," Jesus told them. (There was a lot of grass there.) So all the people sat down; there were about five thousand men.


text:
 Jesus took the bread, gave thanks to God, and distributed it to the people who were sitting there. He did the same with the fish, and they all had as much as they wanted.


text:
 When they were all full, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces left over; let us not waste a bit."


text:
 So they gathered them all and filled twelve baskets with the pieces left over from the five barley loaves which the people had eaten.


text:
 Seeing this miracle that Jesus had performed, the people there said, "Surely this is the Prophet who was to come into the world!"


text:
 Jesus knew that they were about to come and seize him in order to make him king by force; so he went off again to the hills by himself.


text:
 got into a boat, and went back across the lake toward Capernaum. Night came on, and Jesus still had not come to them.


text:
 The disciples had rowed about three or four miles when they saw Jesus walking on the water, coming near the boat, and they were terrified.


text:
 Then they willingly took him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached land at the place they were heading for.


text:
 Next day the crowd which had stayed on the other side of the lake realized that there had been only one boat there. They knew that Jesus had not gone in it with his disciples, but that they had left without him.


text:
 Other boats, which were from Tiberias, came to shore near the place where the crowd had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.


text:
 When the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they got into those boats and went to Capernaum, looking for him.


text:
 When the people found Jesus on the other side of the lake, they said to him, "Teacher, when did you get here?"


text:
 Jesus answered, "I am telling you the truth: you are looking for me because you ate the bread and had all you wanted, not because you understood my miracles.


text:
 Do not work for food that spoils; instead, work for the food that lasts for eternal life. This is the food which the Son of Man will give you, because God, the Father, has put his mark of approval on him."


text:
 They replied, "What miracle will you perform so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?


text:
 Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, just as the scripture says, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' "


text:
 "I am telling you the truth," Jesus said. "What Moses gave you was not the bread from heaven; it is my Father who gives you the real bread from heaven.


text:
 "I am the bread of life," Jesus told them. "Those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never be thirsty.


text:
 And it is the will of him who sent me that I should not lose any of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them all to life on the last day.


text:
 For what my Father wants is that all who see the Son and believe in him should have eternal life. And I will raise them to life on the last day."


text:
 The people started grumbling about him, because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven."


text:
 So they said, "This man is Jesus son of Joseph, isn't he? We know his father and mother. How, then, does he now say he came down from heaven?"


text:
 People cannot come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me; and I will raise them to life on the last day.


text:
 The prophets wrote, 'Everyone will be taught by God.' Anyone who hears the Father and learns from him comes to me.


text:
 This does not mean that anyone has seen the Father; he who is from God is the only one who has seen the Father.


text:
 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If you eat this bread, you will live forever. The bread that I will give you is my flesh, which I give so that the world may live."


text:
 This started an angry argument among them. "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" they asked.


text:
 Jesus said to them, "I am telling you the truth: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in yourselves.


text:
 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them to life on the last day.


text:
 The living Father sent me, and because of him I live also. In the same way whoever eats me will live because of me.


text:
 This, then, is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread that your ancestors ate, but then later died. Those who eat this bread will live forever."


text:
 Without being told, Jesus knew that they were grumbling about this, so he said to them, "Does this make you want to give up?


text:
 What gives life is God's Spirit; human power is of no use at all. The words I have spoken to you bring God's life-giving Spirit.


text:
 Yet some of you do not believe." (Jesus knew from the very beginning who were the ones that would not believe and which one would betray him.)


text:
 And he added, "This is the very reason I told you that no people can come to me unless the Father makes it possible for them to do so."


text:
 He was talking about Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. For Judas, even though he was one of the twelve disciples, was going to betray him.


text:
 After this, Jesus traveled in Galilee; he did not want to travel in Judea, because the Jewish authorities there were wanting to kill him.


text:
 so Jesus' brothers said to him, "Leave this place and go to Judea, so that your followers will see the things that you are doing.


text:
 People don't hide what they are doing if they want to be well known. Since you are doing these things, let the whole world know about you!"


text:
 You go on to the festival. I am not going to this festival, because the right time has not come for me."


text:
 After his brothers had gone to the festival, Jesus also went; however, he did not go openly, but secretly.


text:
 There was much whispering about him in the crowd. "He is a good man," some people said. "No," others said, "he fools the people."


text:
 The Jewish authorities were greatly surprised and said, "How does this man know so much when he has never been to school?"


text:
 Whoever is willing to do what God wants will know whether what I teach comes from God or whether I speak on my own authority.


text:
 Those who speak on their own authority are trying to gain glory for themselves. But he who wants glory for the one who sent him is honest, and there is nothing false in him.


text:
 Moses gave you the Law, didn't he? But not one of you obeys the Law. Why are you trying to kill me?"


text:
 Moses ordered you to circumcise your sons (although it was not Moses but your ancestors who started it), and so you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath.


text:
 If a boy is circumcised on the Sabbath so that Moses' Law is not broken, why are you angry with me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?


text:
 Look! He is talking in public, and they say nothing against him! Can it be that they really know that he is the Messiah?


text:
 But when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from. And we all know where this man comes from."


text:
 As Jesus taught in the Temple, he said in a loud voice, "Do you really know me and know where I am from? I have not come on my own authority. He who sent me, however, is truthful. You do not know him,


text:
 But many in the crowd believed in him and said, "When the Messiah comes, will he perform more miracles than this man has?"


text:
 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering these things about Jesus, so they and the chief priests sent some guards to arrest him.


text:
 Jesus said, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I shall go away to him who sent me.


text:
 The Jewish authorities said among themselves, "Where is he about to go so that we shall not find him? Will he go to the Greek cities where our people live, and teach the Greeks?


text:
 He says that we will look for him but will not find him, and that we cannot go where he will be. What does he mean?"


text:
 On the last and most important day of the festival Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, "Whoever is thirsty should come to me, and


text:
 whoever believes in me should drink. As the scripture says, 'Streams of life-giving water will pour out from his side.' "


text:
 Jesus said this about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were going to receive. At that time the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not been raised to glory.


text:
 The scripture says that the Messiah will be a descendant of King David and will be born in Bethlehem, the town where David lived."


text:
 When the guards went back, the chief priests and Pharisees asked them, "Why did you not bring him?"


text:
 One of the Pharisees there was Nicodemus, the man who had gone to see Jesus before. He said to the others,


text:
 "According to our Law we cannot condemn people before hearing them and finding out what they have done."


text:
 "Well," they answered, "are you also from Galilee? Study the Scriptures and you will learn that no prophet ever comes from Galilee."


text:
 Early the next morning he went back to the Temple. All the people gathered around him, and he sat down and began to teach them.


text:
 The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught committing adultery, and they made her stand before them all.


text:
 They said this to trap Jesus, so that they could accuse him. But he bent over and wrote on the ground with his finger.


text:
 As they stood there asking him questions, he straightened up and said to them, "Whichever one of you has committed no sin may throw the first stone at her."


text:
 When they heard this, they all left, one by one, the older ones first. Jesus was left alone, with the woman still standing there.


text:
 "No one, sir," she answered. "Well, then," Jesus said, "I do not condemn you either. Go, but do not sin again."]


text:
 Jesus spoke to the Pharisees again. "I am the light of the world," he said. "Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness."


text:
 The Pharisees said to him, "Now you are testifying on your own behalf; what you say proves nothing."


text:
 "No," Jesus answered, "even though I do testify on my own behalf, what I say is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going. You do not know where I came from or where I am going.


text:
 But if I were to do so, my judgment would be true, because I am not alone in this; the Father who sent me is with me.


text:
 "Where is your father?" they asked him. "You know neither me nor my Father," Jesus answered. "If you knew me, you would know my Father also."


text:
 Jesus said all this as he taught in the Temple, in the room where the offering boxes were placed. And no one arrested him, because his hour had not come.


text:
 Again Jesus said to them, "I will go away; you will look for me, but you will die in your sins. You cannot go where I am going."


text:
 So the Jewish authorities said, "He says that we cannot go where he is going. Does this mean that he will kill himself ?"


text:
 Jesus answered, "You belong to this world here below, but I come from above. You are from this world, but I am not from this world.


text:
 That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. And you will die in your sins if you do not believe that 'I Am Who I Am'."


text:
 I have much to say about you, much to condemn you for. The one who sent me, however, is truthful, and I tell the world only what I have heard from him."


text:
 So he said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, you will know that 'I Am Who I Am'; then you will know that I do nothing on my own authority, but I say only what the Father has instructed me to say.


text:
 "We are the descendants of Abraham," they answered, "and we have never been anybody's slaves. What do you mean, then, by saying, 'You will be free'?"


text:
 I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are trying to kill me, because you will not accept my teaching.


text:
 They answered him, "Our father is Abraham." "If you really were Abraham's children," Jesus replied, "you would do the same things that he did.


text:
 All I have ever done is to tell you the truth I heard from God, yet you are trying to kill me. Abraham did nothing like this!


text:
 You are doing what your father did." "God himself is the only Father we have," they answered, "and we are his true children."


text:
 Jesus said to them, "If God really were your Father, you would love me, because I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own authority, but he sent me.


text:
 You are the children of your father, the Devil, and you want to follow your father's desires. From the very beginning he was a murderer and has never been on the side of truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he is only doing what is natural to him, because he is a liar and the father of all lies.


text:
 Which one of you can prove that I am guilty of sin? If I tell the truth, then why do you not believe me?


text:
 He who comes from God listens to God's words. You, however, are not from God, and that is why you will not listen."


text:
 They said to him, "Now we know for sure that you have a demon! Abraham died, and the prophets died, yet you say that whoever obeys your teaching will never die.


text:
 Our father Abraham died; you do not claim to be greater than Abraham, do you? And the prophets also died. Who do you think you are?"


text:
 Jesus answered, "If I were to honor myself, that honor would be worth nothing. The one who honors me is my Father---the very one you say is your God.


text:
 You have never known him, but I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I obey his word.


text:
 His disciples asked him, "Teacher, whose sin caused him to be born blind? Was it his own or his parents' sin?"


text:
 Jesus answered, "His blindness has nothing to do with his sins or his parents' sins. He is blind so that God's power might be seen at work in him.


text:
 As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me; night is coming when no one can work.


text:
 After he said this, Jesus spat on the ground and made some mud with the spittle; he rubbed the mud on the man's eyes


text:
 and told him, "Go and wash your face in the Pool of Siloam." (This name means "Sent.") So the man went, washed his face, and came back seeing.


text:
 His neighbors, then, and the people who had seen him begging before this, asked, "Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?"


text:
 Some said, "He is the one," but others said, "No he isn't; he just looks like him." So the man himself said, "I am the man."


text:
 He answered, "The man called Jesus made some mud, rubbed it on my eyes, and told me to go to Siloam and wash my face. So I went, and as soon as I washed, I could see."


text:
 The Pharisees, then, asked the man again how he had received his sight. He told them, "He put some mud on my eyes; I washed my face, and now I can see."


text:
 Some of the Pharisees said, "The man who did this cannot be from God, for he does not obey the Sabbath law." Others, however, said, "How could a man who is a sinner perform such miracles as these?" And there was a division among them.


text:
 So the Pharisees asked the man once more, "You say he cured you of your blindness---well, what do you say about him?" "He is a prophet," the man answered.


text:
 The Jewish authorities, however, were not willing to believe that he had been blind and could now see, until they called his parents


text:
 and asked them, "Is this your son? You say that he was born blind; how is it, then, that he can now see?"


text:
 But we do not know how it is that he is now able to see, nor do we know who cured him of his blindness. Ask him; he is old enough, and he can answer for himself !"


text:
 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities, who had already agreed that anyone who said he believed that Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue.


text:
 A second time they called back the man who had been born blind, and said to him, "Promise before God that you will tell the truth! We know that this man who cured you is a sinner."


text:
 "I do not know if he is a sinner or not," the man replied. "One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I see."


text:
 "I have already told you," he answered, "and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Maybe you, too, would like to be his disciples?"


text:
 We know that God spoke to Moses; as for that fellow, however, we do not even know where he comes from!"


text:
 The man answered, "What a strange thing that is! You do not know where he comes from, but he cured me of my blindness!


text:
 We know that God does not listen to sinners; he does listen to people who respect him and do what he wants them to do.


text:
 Since the beginning of the world nobody has ever heard of anyone giving sight to a person born blind.


text:
 They answered, "You were born and brought up in sin---and you are trying to teach us?" And they expelled him from the synagogue.


text:
 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked him, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"


text:
 Jesus said, "I came to this world to judge, so that the blind should see and those who see should become blind."


text:
 Some Pharisees who were there with him heard him say this and asked him, "Surely you don't mean that we are blind, too?"


text:
 Jesus answered, "If you were blind, then you would not be guilty; but since you claim that you can see, this means that you are still guilty."


text:
 Jesus said, "I am telling you the truth: the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.


text:
 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him; the sheep hear his voice as he calls his own sheep by name, and he leads them out.


text:
 When he has brought them out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice.


text:
 They will not follow someone else; instead, they will run away from such a person, because they do not know his voice."


text:
 I am the gate. Those who come in by me will be saved; they will come in and go out and find pasture.


text:
 The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life---life in all its fullness.


text:
 When the hired man, who is not a shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees a wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away; so the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them.


text:
 I am the good shepherd. As the Father knows me and I know the Father, in the same way I know my sheep and they know me. And I am willing to die for them.


text:
 There are other sheep which belong to me that are not in this sheep pen. I must bring them, too; they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock with one shepherd.


text:
 "The Father loves me because I am willing to give up my life, in order that I may receive it back again.


text:
 No one takes my life away from me. I give it up of my own free will. I have the right to give it up, and I have the right to take it back. This is what my Father has commanded me to do."


text:
 But others were saying, "A man with a demon could not talk like this! How could a demon give sight to blind people?"


text:
 when the people gathered around him and asked, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? Tell us the plain truth: are you the Messiah?"


text:
 Jesus answered, "I have already told you, but you would not believe me. The deeds I do by my Father's authority speak on my behalf;


text:
 What my Father has given me is greater than everything, and no one can snatch them away from the Father's care.


text:
 Jesus said to them, "I have done many good deeds in your presence which the Father gave me to do; for which one of these do you want to stone me?"


text:
 They answered, "We do not want to stone you because of any good deeds, but because of your blasphemy! You are only a man, but you are trying to make yourself God!"


text:
 We know that what the scripture says is true forever; and God called those people gods, the people to whom his message was given.


text:
 As for me, the Father chose me and sent me into the world. How, then, can you say that I blaspheme because I said that I am the Son of God?


text:
 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, you should at least believe my deeds, in order that you may know once and for all that the Father is in me and that I am in the Father."


text:
 Jesus then went back again across the Jordan River to the place where John had been baptizing, and he stayed there.


text:
 Many people came to him. "John performed no miracles," they said, "but everything he said about this man was true."


text:
 A man named Lazarus, who lived in Bethany, became sick. Bethany was the town where Mary and her sister Martha lived.


text:
 (This Mary was the one who poured the perfume on the Lord's feet and wiped them with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was sick.)


text:
 When Jesus heard it, he said, "The final result of this sickness will not be the death of Lazarus; this has happened in order to bring glory to God, and it will be the means by which the Son of God will receive glory."


text:
 "Teacher," the disciples answered, "just a short time ago the people there wanted to stone you; and are you planning to go back?"


text:
 Jesus said, "A day has twelve hours, doesn't it? So those who walk in broad daylight do not stumble, for they see the light of this world.


text:
 Jesus said this and then added, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I will go and wake him up."


text:
 Thomas (called the Twin) said to his fellow disciples, "Let us all go along with the Teacher, so that we may die with him!"


text:
 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will live, even though they die;


text:
 "Yes, Lord!" she answered. "I do believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."


text:
 After Martha said this, she went back and called her sister Mary privately. "The Teacher is here," she told her, "and is asking for you."


text:
 The people who were in the house with Mary comforting her followed her when they saw her get up and hurry out. They thought that she was going to the grave to weep there.


text:
 Mary arrived where Jesus was, and as soon as she saw him, she fell at his feet. "Lord," she said, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died!"


text:
 Jesus saw her weeping, and he saw how the people with her were weeping also; his heart was touched, and he was deeply moved.


text:
 But some of them said, "He gave sight to the blind man, didn't he? Could he not have kept Lazarus from dying?"


text:
 Deeply moved once more, Jesus went to the tomb, which was a cave with a stone placed at the entrance.


text:
 "Take the stone away!" Jesus ordered. Martha, the dead man's sister, answered, "There will be a bad smell, Lord. He has been buried four days!"


text:
 I know that you always listen to me, but I say this for the sake of the people here, so that they will believe that you sent me."


text:
 He came out, his hands and feet wrapped in grave cloths, and with a cloth around his face. "Untie him," Jesus told them, "and let him go."


text:
 So the Pharisees and the chief priests met with the Council and said, "What shall we do? Look at all the miracles this man is performing!


text:
 If we let him go on in this way, everyone will believe in him, and the Roman authorities will take action and destroy our Temple and our nation!"


text:
 Don't you realize that it is better for you to have one man die for the people, instead of having the whole nation destroyed?"


text:
 Actually, he did not say this of his own accord; rather, as he was High Priest that year, he was prophesying that Jesus was going to die for the Jewish people,


text:
 So Jesus did not travel openly in Judea, but left and went to a place near the desert, to a town named Ephraim, where he stayed with the disciples.


text:
 The time for the Passover Festival was near, and many people went up from the country to Jerusalem to perform the ritual of purification before the festival.


text:
 They were looking for Jesus, and as they gathered in the Temple, they asked one another, "What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?"


text:
 The chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where Jesus was, he must report it, so that they could arrest him.


text:
 Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, the man he had raised from death.


text:
 They prepared a dinner for him there, which Martha helped serve; Lazarus was one of those who were sitting at the table with Jesus.


text:
 Then Mary took a whole pint of a very expensive perfume made of pure nard, poured it on Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The sweet smell of the perfume filled the whole house.


text:
 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. He carried the money bag and would help himself from it.


text:
 A large number of people heard that Jesus was in Bethany, so they went there, not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from death.


text:
 The next day the large crowd that had come to the Passover Festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.


text:
 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, "Praise God! God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord! God bless the King of Israel!"


text:
 His disciples did not understand this at the time; but when Jesus had been raised to glory, they remembered that the scripture said this about him and that they had done this for him.


text:
 The people who had been with Jesus when he called Lazarus out of the grave and raised him from death had reported what had happened.


text:
 The Pharisees then said to one another, "You see, we are not succeeding at all! Look, the whole world is following him!"


text:
 I am telling you the truth: a grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it does die, then it produces many grains.


text:
 Those who love their own life will lose it; those who hate their own life in this world will keep it for life eternal.


text:
 Whoever wants to serve me must follow me, so that my servant will be with me where I am. And my Father will honor anyone who serves me.


text:
 "Now my heart is troubled---and what shall I say? Shall I say, 'Father, do not let this hour come upon me'? But that is why I came---so that I might go through this hour of suffering.


text:
 Father, bring glory to your name!" Then a voice spoke from heaven, "I have brought glory to it, and I will do so again."


text:
 The crowd standing there heard the voice, and some of them said it was thunder, while others said, "An angel spoke to him!"


text:
 The crowd answered, "Our Law tells us that the Messiah will live forever. How, then, can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?"


text:
 Jesus answered, "The light will be among you a little longer. Continue on your way while you have the light, so that the darkness will not come upon you; for the one who walks in the dark does not know where he is going.


text:
 Believe in the light, then, while you have it, so that you will be the people of the light." After Jesus said this, he went off and hid himself from them.


text:
 so that what the prophet Isaiah had said might come true: "Lord, who believed the message we told? To whom did the Lord reveal his power?"


text:
 "God has blinded their eyes and closed their minds, so that their eyes would not see, and their minds would not understand, and they would not turn to me, says God, for me to heal them."


text:
 Even then, many Jewish authorities believed in Jesus; but because of the Pharisees they did not talk about it openly, so as not to be expelled from the synagogue.


text:
 Jesus said in a loud voice, "Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in him who sent me.


text:
 I have come into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness.


text:
 If people hear my message and do not obey it, I will not judge them. I came, not to judge the world, but to save it.


text:
 Those who reject me and do not accept my message have one who will judge them. The words I have spoken will be their judge on the last day!


text:
 This is true, because I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has commanded me what I must say and speak.


text:
 And I know that his command brings eternal life. What I say, then, is what the Father has told me to say."


text:
 It was now the day before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. He had always loved those in the world who were his own, and he loved them to the very end.


text:
 Jesus and his disciples were at supper. The Devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, the thought of betraying Jesus.


text:
 Jesus knew that the Father had given him complete power; he knew that he had come from God and was going to God.


text:
 Then he poured some water into a washbasin and began to wash the disciples' feet and dry them with the towel around his waist.


text:
 Peter declared, "Never at any time will you wash my feet!" "If I do not wash your feet," Jesus answered, "you will no longer be my disciple."


text:
 Jesus said, "Those who have taken a bath are completely clean and do not have to wash themselves, except for their feet. All of you are clean---all except one."


text:
 (Jesus already knew who was going to betray him; that is why he said, "All of you, except one, are clean.")


text:
 After Jesus had washed their feet, he put his outer garment back on and returned to his place at the table. "Do you understand what I have just done to you?" he asked.


text:
 I am telling you the truth: no slaves are greater than their master, and no messengers are greater than the one who sent them.


text:
 "I am not talking about all of you; I know those I have chosen. But the scripture must come true that says, 'The man who shared my food turned against me.'


text:
 I tell you this now before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe that 'I Am Who I Am.'


text:
 I am telling you the truth: whoever receives anyone I send receives me also; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me."


text:
 After Jesus had said this, he was deeply troubled and declared openly, "I am telling you the truth: one of you is going to betray me."


text:
 Jesus answered, "I will dip some bread in the sauce and give it to him; he is the man." So he took a piece of bread, dipped it, and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.


text:
 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "Hurry and do what you must!"


text:
 Since Judas was in charge of the money bag, some of the disciples thought that Jesus had told him to go and buy what they needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor.


text:
 After Judas had left, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man's glory is revealed; now God's glory is revealed through him.


text:
 And if God's glory is revealed through him, then God will reveal the glory of the Son of Man in himself, and he will do so at once.


text:
 My children, I shall not be with you very much longer. You will look for me; but I tell you now what I told the Jewish authorities, 'You cannot go where I am going.'


text:
 And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.


text:
 "Where are you going, Lord?" Simon Peter asked him. "You cannot follow me now where I am going," answered Jesus; "but later you will follow me."


text:
 Jesus answered, "Are you really ready to die for me? I am telling you the truth: before the rooster crows you will say three times that you do not know me.


text:
 There are many rooms in my Father's house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not so.


text:
 And after I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to myself, so that you will be where I am.


text:
 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going; so how can we know the way to get there?"


text:
 Jesus answered him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me.


text:
 Now that you have known me," he said to them, "you will know my Father also, and from now on you do know him and you have seen him."


text:
 Jesus answered, "For a long time I have been with you all; yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Why, then, do you say, 'Show us the Father'?


text:
 Do you not believe, Philip, that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I have spoken to you," Jesus said to his disciples, "do not come from me. The Father, who remains in me, does his own work.


text:
 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. If not, believe because of the things I do.


text:
 I am telling you the truth: those who believe in me will do what I do---yes, they will do even greater things, because I am going to the Father.


text:
 And I will do whatever you ask for in my name, so that the Father's glory will be shown through the Son.


text:
 He is the Spirit, who reveals the truth about God. The world cannot receive him, because it cannot see him or know him. But you know him, because he remains with you and is in you.


text:
 In a little while the world will see me no more, but you will see me; and because I live, you also will live.


text:
 When that day comes, you will know that I am in my Father and that you are in me, just as I am in you.


text:
 "Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. My Father will love those who love me; I too will love them and reveal myself to them."


text:
 Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "Lord, how can it be that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?"


text:
 Jesus answered him, "Those who love me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and my Father and I will come to them and live with them.


text:
 Those who do not love me do not obey my teaching. And the teaching you have heard is not mine, but comes from the Father, who sent me.


text:
 The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you.


text:
 "Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.


text:
 You heard me say to you, 'I am leaving, but I will come back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father; for he is greater than I.


text:
 I cannot talk with you much longer, because the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me,


text:
 but the world must know that I love the Father; that is why I do everything as he commands me. "Come, let us go from this place.


text:
 He breaks off every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it will be clean and bear more fruit.


text:
 Remain united to me, and I will remain united to you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it can do so only if it remains in the vine. In the same way you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me.


text:
 "I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me.


text:
 Those who do not remain in me are thrown out like a branch and dry up; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, where they are burned.


text:
 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, then you will ask for anything you wish, and you shall have it.


text:
 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.


text:
 I do not call you servants any longer, because servants do not know what their master is doing. Instead, I call you friends, because I have told you everything I heard from my Father.


text:
 You did not choose me; I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures. And so the Father will give you whatever you ask of him in my name.


text:
 If you belonged to the world, then the world would love you as its own. But I chose you from this world, and you do not belong to it; that is why the world hates you.


text:
 Remember what I told you: 'Slaves are not greater than their master.' If people persecuted me, they will persecute you too; if they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours too.


text:
 They would not have been guilty of sin if I had not come and spoken to them; as it is, they no longer have any excuse for their sin.


text:
 They would not have been guilty of sin if I had not done among them the things that no one else ever did; as it is, they have seen what I did, and they hate both me and my Father.


text:
 This, however, was bound to happen so that what is written in their Law may come true: 'They hated me for no reason at all.'


text:
 "The Helper will come---the Spirit, who reveals the truth about God and who comes from the Father. I will send him to you from the Father, and he will speak about me.


text:
 You will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time will come when those who kill you will think that by doing this they are serving God.


text:
 But I have told you this, so that when the time comes for them to do these things, you will remember what I told you. "I did not tell you these things at the beginning, for I was with you.


text:
 But I am telling you the truth: it is better for you that I go away, because if I do not go, the Helper will not come to you. But if I do go away, then I will send him to you.


text:
 And when he comes, he will prove to the people of the world that they are wrong about sin and about what is right and about God's judgment.


text:
 they are wrong about what is right, because I am going to the Father and you will not see me any more;


text:
 When, however, the Spirit comes, who reveals the truth about God, he will lead you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own authority, but he will speak of what he hears and will tell you of things to come.


text:
 All that my Father has is mine; that is why I said that the Spirit will take what I give him and tell it to you.


text:
 Some of his disciples asked among themselves, "What does this mean? He tells us that in a little while we will not see him, and then a little while later we will see him; and he also says, 'It is because I am going to the Father.'


text:
 Jesus knew that they wanted to question him, so he said to them, "I said, 'In a little while you will not see me, and then a little while later you will see me.' Is this what you are asking about among yourselves?


text:
 I am telling you the truth: you will cry and weep, but the world will be glad; you will be sad, but your sadness will turn into gladness.


text:
 When a woman is about to give birth, she is sad because her hour of suffering has come; but when the baby is born, she forgets her suffering, because she is happy that a baby has been born into the world.


text:
 That is how it is with you: now you are sad, but I will see you again, and your hearts will be filled with gladness, the kind of gladness that no one can take away from you.


text:
 "When that day comes, you will not ask me for anything. I am telling you the truth: the Father will give you whatever you ask of him in my name.


text:
 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your happiness may be complete.


text:
 "I have used figures of speech to tell you these things. But the time will come when I will not use figures of speech, but will speak to you plainly about the Father.


text:
 When that day comes, you will ask him in my name; and I do not say that I will ask him on your behalf,


text:
 for the Father himself loves you. He loves you because you love me and have believed that I came from God.


text:
 I did come from the Father, and I came into the world; and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father."


text:
 We know now that you know everything; you do not need to have someone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God."


text:
 The time is coming, and is already here, when all of you will be scattered, each of you to your own home, and I will be left all alone. But I am not really alone, because the Father is with me.


text:
 I have told you this so that you will have peace by being united to me. The world will make you suffer. But be brave! I have defeated the world!"


text:
 After Jesus finished saying this, he looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your Son, so that the Son may give glory to you.


text:
 For you gave him authority over all people, so that he might give eternal life to all those you gave him.


text:
 Father! Give me glory in your presence now, the same glory I had with you before the world was made.


text:
 "I have made you known to those you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me. They have obeyed your word,


text:
 I gave them the message that you gave me, and they received it; they know that it is true that I came from you, and they believe that you sent me.


text:
 And now I am coming to you; I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world. Holy Father! Keep them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one just as you and I are one.


text:
 While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me. I protected them, and not one of them was lost, except the man who was bound to be lost---so that the scripture might come true.


text:
 And now I am coming to you, and I say these things in the world so that they might have my joy in their hearts in all its fullness.


text:
 I gave them your message, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.


text:
 I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but I do ask you to keep them safe from the Evil One.


text:
 And for their sake I dedicate myself to you, in order that they, too, may be truly dedicated to you.


text:
 I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me.


text:
 I in them and you in me, so that they may be completely one, in order that the world may know that you sent me and that you love them as you love me.


text:
 "Father! You have given them to me, and I want them to be with me where I am, so that they may see my glory, the glory you gave me; for you loved me before the world was made.


text:
 I made you known to them, and I will continue to do so, in order that the love you have for me may be in them, and so that I also may be in them."


text:
 After Jesus had said this prayer, he left with his disciples and went across Kidron Brook. There was a garden in that place, and Jesus and his disciples went in.


text:
 So Judas went to the garden, taking with him a group of Roman soldiers, and some Temple guards sent by the chief priests and the Pharisees; they were armed and carried lanterns and torches.


text:
 Jesus knew everything that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward and asked them, "Who is it you are looking for?"


text:
 "Jesus of Nazareth," they answered. "I am he," he said. Judas, the traitor, was standing there with them.


text:
 "I have already told you that I am he," Jesus said. "If, then, you are looking for me, let these others go."


text:
 (He said this so that what he had said might come true: "Father, I have not lost even one of those you gave me.")


text:
 Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the High Priest's slave, cutting off his right ear. The name of the slave was Malchus.


text:
 Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword back in its place! Do you think that I will not drink the cup of suffering which my Father has given me?"


text:
 Then the Roman soldiers with their commanding officer and the Jewish guards arrested Jesus, tied him up,


text:
 It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jewish authorities that it was better that one man should die for all the people.


text:
 Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. That other disciple was well known to the High Priest, so he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the High Priest's house,


text:
 while Peter stayed outside by the gate. Then the other disciple went back out, spoke to the girl at the gate, and brought Peter inside.


text:
 The girl at the gate said to Peter, "Aren't you also one of the disciples of that man?" "No, I am not," answered Peter.


text:
 It was cold, so the servants and guards had built a charcoal fire and were standing around it, warming themselves. So Peter went over and stood with them, warming himself.


text:
 Jesus answered, "I have always spoken publicly to everyone; all my teaching was done in the synagogues and in the Temple, where all the people come together. I have never said anything in secret.


text:
 Why, then, do you question me? Question the people who heard me. Ask them what I told them---they know what I said."


text:
 When Jesus said this, one of the guards there slapped him and said, "How dare you talk like that to the High Priest!"


text:
 Jesus answered him, "If I have said anything wrong, tell everyone here what it was. But if I am right in what I have said, why do you hit me?"


text:
 Peter was still standing there keeping himself warm. So the others said to him, "Aren't you also one of the disciples of that man?" But Peter denied it. "No, I am not," he said.


text:
 One of the High Priest's slaves, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, spoke up. "Didn't I see you with him in the garden?" he asked.


text:
 Early in the morning Jesus was taken from Caiaphas' house to the governor's palace. The Jewish authorities did not go inside the palace, for they wanted to keep themselves ritually clean, in order to be able to eat the Passover meal.


text:
 Pilate said to them, "Then you yourselves take him and try him according to your own law." They replied, "We are not allowed to put anyone to death."


text:
 (This happened in order to make come true what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he would die.)


text:
 Pilate replied, "Do you think I am a Jew? It was your own people and the chief priests who handed you over to me. What have you done?"


text:
 Jesus said, "My kingdom does not belong to this world; if my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities. No, my kingdom does not belong here!"


text:
 So Pilate asked him, "Are you a king, then?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. I was born and came into the world for this one purpose, to speak about the truth. Whoever belongs to the truth listens to me."


text:
 "And what is truth?" Pilate asked. Then Pilate went back outside to the people and said to them, "I cannot find any reason to condemn him.


text:
 But according to the custom you have, I always set free a prisoner for you during the Passover. Do you want me to set free for you the king of the Jews?"


text:
 The soldiers made a crown out of thorny branches and put it on his head; then they put a purple robe on him


text:
 Pilate went back out once more and said to the crowd, "Look, I will bring him out here to you to let you see that I cannot find any reason to condemn him."


text:
 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Look! Here is the man!"


text:
 When the chief priests and the Temple guards saw him, they shouted, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "You take him, then, and crucify him. I find no reason to condemn him."


text:
 The crowd answered back, "We have a law that says he ought to die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."


text:
 Pilate said to him, "You will not speak to me? Remember, I have the authority to set you free and also to have you crucified."


text:
 Jesus answered, "You have authority over me only because it was given to you by God. So the man who handed me over to you is guilty of a worse sin."


text:
 When Pilate heard this, he tried to find a way to set Jesus free. But the crowd shouted back, "If you set him free, that means that you are not the Emperor's friend! Anyone who claims to be a king is a rebel against the Emperor!"


text:
 When Pilate heard these words, he took Jesus outside and sat down on the judge's seat in the place called "The Stone Pavement." (In Hebrew the name is "Gabbatha.")


text:
 It was then almost noon of the day before the Passover. Pilate said to the people, "Here is your king!"


text:
 They shouted back, "Kill him! Kill him! Crucify him!" Pilate asked them, "Do you want me to crucify your king?" The chief priests answered, "The only king we have is the Emperor!"


text:
 He went out, carrying his cross, and came to "The Place of the Skull," as it is called. (In Hebrew it is called "Golgotha.")


text:
 There they crucified him; and they also crucified two other men, one on each side, with Jesus between them.


text:
 Pilate wrote a notice and had it put on the cross. "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews," is what he wrote.


text:
 Many people read it, because the place where Jesus was crucified was not far from the city. The notice was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.


text:
 The chief priests said to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but rather, 'This man said, I am the King of the Jews.' "


text:
 After the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier. They also took the robe, which was made of one piece of woven cloth without any seams in it.


text:
 The soldiers said to one another, "Let's not tear it; let's throw dice to see who will get it." This happened in order to make the scripture come true: "They divided my clothes among themselves and gambled for my robe." And this is what the soldiers did.


text:
 Standing close to Jesus' cross were his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.


text:
 Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing there; so he said to his mother, "He is your son."


text:
 Then he said to the disciple, "She is your mother." From that time the disciple took her to live in his home.


text:
 Jesus knew that by now everything had been completed; and in order to make the scripture come true, he said, "I am thirsty."


text:
 A bowl was there, full of cheap wine; so a sponge was soaked in the wine, put on a stalk of hyssop, and lifted up to his lips.


text:
 Then the Jewish authorities asked Pilate to allow them to break the legs of the men who had been crucified, and to take the bodies down from the crosses. They requested this because it was Friday, and they did not want the bodies to stay on the crosses on the Sabbath, since the coming Sabbath was especially holy.


text:
 So the soldiers went and broke the legs of the first man and then of the other man who had been crucified with Jesus.


text:
 One of the soldiers, however, plunged his spear into Jesus' side, and at once blood and water poured out.


text:
 (The one who saw this happen has spoken of it, so that you also may believe. What he said is true, and he knows that he speaks the truth.)


text:
 After this, Joseph, who was from the town of Arimathea, asked Pilate if he could take Jesus' body. (Joseph was a follower of Jesus, but in secret, because he was afraid of the Jewish authorities.) Pilate told him he could have the body, so Joseph went and took it away.


text:
 Nicodemus, who at first had gone to see Jesus at night, went with Joseph, taking with him about one hundred pounds of spices, a mixture of myrrh and aloes.


text:
 The two men took Jesus' body and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices according to the Jewish custom of preparing a body for burial.


text:
 There was a garden in the place where Jesus had been put to death, and in it there was a new tomb where no one had ever been buried.


text:
 Since it was the day before the Sabbath and because the tomb was close by, they placed Jesus' body there.


text:
 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been taken away from the entrance.


text:
 She went running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"


text:
 The two of them were running, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and reached the tomb first.


text:
 Behind him came Simon Peter, and he went straight into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there


text:
 and the cloth which had been around Jesus' head. It was not lying with the linen cloths but was rolled up by itself.


text:
 Mary stood crying outside the tomb. While she was still crying, she bent over and looked in the tomb


text:
 and saw two angels there dressed in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head and the other at the feet.


text:
 "Woman, why are you crying?" they asked her. She answered, "They have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have put him!"


text:
 "Woman, why are you crying?" Jesus asked her. "Who is it that you are looking for?" She thought he was the gardener, so she said to him, "If you took him away, sir, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him."


text:
 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned toward him and said in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (This means "Teacher.")


text:
 "Do not hold on to me," Jesus told her, "because I have not yet gone back up to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them that I am returning to him who is my Father and their Father, my God and their God."


text:
 So Mary Magdalene went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and related to them what he had told her.


text:
 It was late that Sunday evening, and the disciples were gathered together behind locked doors, because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities. Then Jesus came and stood among them. "Peace be with you," he said.


text:
 After saying this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord.


text:
 If you forgive people's sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."


text:
 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" Thomas said to them, "Unless I see the scars of the nails in his hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in his side, I will not believe."


text:
 A week later the disciples were together again indoors, and Thomas was with them. The doors were locked, but Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."


text:
 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and look at my hands; then reach out your hand and put it in my side. Stop your doubting, and believe!"


text:
 Jesus said to him, "Do you believe because you see me? How happy are those who believe without seeing me!"


text:
 In his disciples' presence Jesus performed many other miracles which are not written down in this book.


text:
 But these have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through your faith in him you may have life.


text:
 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael (the one from Cana in Galilee), the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples of Jesus were all together.


text:
 Simon Peter said to the others, "I am going fishing." "We will come with you," they told him. So they went out in a boat, but all that night they did not catch a thing.


text:
 As the sun was rising, Jesus stood at the water's edge, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.


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 He said to them, "Throw your net out on the right side of the boat, and you will catch some." So they threw the net out and could not pull it back in, because they had caught so many fish.


text:
 The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Peter heard that it was the Lord, he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken his clothes off ) and jumped into the water.


text:
 The other disciples came to shore in the boat, pulling the net full of fish. They were not very far from land, about a hundred yards away.


text:
 Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net ashore full of big fish, a hundred and fifty-three in all; even though there were so many, still the net did not tear.


text:
 Jesus said to them, "Come and eat." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was the Lord.


text:
 After they had eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?" "Yes, Lord," he answered, "you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Take care of my lambs."


text:
 A second time Jesus said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" "Yes, Lord," he answered, "you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Take care of my sheep."


text:
 A third time Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter became sad because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" and so he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you!" Jesus said to him, "Take care of my sheep.


text:
 I am telling you the truth: when you were young, you used to get ready and go anywhere you wanted to; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you up and take you where you don't want to go."


text:
 (In saying this, Jesus was indicating the way in which Peter would die and bring glory to God.) Then Jesus said to him, "Follow me!"


text:
 Peter turned around and saw behind him that other disciple, whom Jesus loved---the one who had leaned close to Jesus at the meal and had asked, "Lord, who is going to betray you?"


text:
 So a report spread among the followers of Jesus that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say he would not die; he said, "If I want him to live until I come, what is that to you?"


text:
 He is the disciple who spoke of these things, the one who also wrote them down; and we know that what he said is true.


text:
 Now, there are many other things that Jesus did. If they were all written down one by one, I suppose that the whole world could not hold the books that would be written.


text:
 Dear Theophilus: In my first book I wrote about all the things that Jesus did and taught from the time he began his work


text:
 until the day he was taken up to heaven. Before he was taken up, he gave instructions by the power of the Holy Spirit to the men he had chosen as his apostles.


text:
 For forty days after his death he appeared to them many times in ways that proved beyond doubt that he was alive. They saw him, and he talked with them about the Kingdom of God.


text:
 And when they came together, he gave them this order: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift I told you about, the gift my Father promised.


text:
 When the apostles met together with Jesus, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time give the Kingdom back to Israel?"


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 Jesus said to them, "The times and occasions are set by my Father's own authority, and it is not for you to know when they will be.


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 But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."


text:
 After saying this, he was taken up to heaven as they watched him, and a cloud hid him from their sight.


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 They still had their eyes fixed on the sky as he went away, when two men dressed in white suddenly stood beside them


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 and said, "Galileans, why are you standing there looking up at the sky? This Jesus, who was taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way that you saw him go to heaven."


text:
 Then the apostles went back to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is about half a mile away from the city.


text:
 They entered the city and went up to the room where they were staying: Peter, John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Patriot, and Judas son of James.


text:
 They gathered frequently to pray as a group, together with the women and with Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brothers.


text:
 A few days later there was a meeting of the believers, about a hundred and twenty in all, and Peter stood up to speak.


text:
 "My friends," he said, "the scripture had to come true in which the Holy Spirit, speaking through David, made a prediction about Judas, who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus.


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 (With the money that Judas got for his evil act he bought a field, where he fell to his death; he burst open and all his insides spilled out.


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 All the people living in Jerusalem heard about it, and so in their own language they call that field Akeldama, which means "Field of Blood.")


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 "For it is written in the book of Psalms, 'May his house become empty; may no one live in it.' It is also written, 'May someone else take his place of service.'


text:
 "So then, someone must join us as a witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. He must be one of the men who were in our group during the whole time that the Lord Jesus traveled about with us, beginning from the time John preached his message of baptism until the day Jesus was taken up from us to heaven."


text:
 Then they prayed, "Lord, you know the thoughts of everyone, so show us which of these two you have chosen


text:
 Then they drew lots to choose between the two men, and the one chosen was Matthias, who was added to the group of eleven apostles.


text:
 Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.


text:
 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.


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 There were Jews living in Jerusalem, religious people who had come from every country in the world.


text:
 When they heard this noise, a large crowd gathered. They were all excited, because all of them heard the believers talking in their own languages.


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 We are from Parthia, Media, and Elam; from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia; from Pontus and Asia,


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 from Phrygia and Pamphylia, from Egypt and the regions of Libya near Cyrene. Some of us are from Rome,


text:
 both Jews and Gentiles converted to Judaism, and some of us are from Crete and Arabia---yet all of us hear them speaking in our own languages about the great things that God has done!"


text:
 Then Peter stood up with the other eleven apostles and in a loud voice began to speak to the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, listen to me and let me tell you what this means.


text:
 'This is what I will do in the last days, God says: I will pour out my Spirit on everyone. Your sons and daughters will proclaim my message; your young men will see visions, and your old men will have dreams.


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 Yes, even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will proclaim my message.


text:
 I will perform miracles in the sky above and wonders on the earth below. There will be blood, fire, and thick smoke;


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 the sun will be darkened, and the moon will turn red as blood, before the great and glorious Day of the Lord comes.


text:
 "Listen to these words, fellow Israelites! Jesus of Nazareth was a man whose divine authority was clearly proven to you by all the miracles and wonders which God performed through him. You yourselves know this, for it happened here among you.


text:
 In accordance with his own plan God had already decided that Jesus would be handed over to you; and you killed him by letting sinful men crucify him.


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 But God raised him from death, setting him free from its power, because it was impossible that death should hold him prisoner.


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 For David said about him, 'I saw the Lord before me at all times; he is near me, and I will not be troubled.


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 And so I am filled with gladness, and my words are full of joy. And I, mortal though I am, will rest assured in hope,


text:
 because you will not abandon me in the world of the dead; you will not allow your faithful servant to rot in the grave.


text:
 "My friends, I must speak to you plainly about our famous ancestor King David. He died and was buried, and his grave is here with us to this very day.


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 He was a prophet, and he knew what God had promised him: God had made a vow that he would make one of David's descendants a king, just as David was.


text:
 David saw what God was going to do in the future, and so he spoke about the resurrection of the Messiah when he said, 'He was not abandoned in the world of the dead; his body did not rot in the grave.'


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 He has been raised to the right side of God, his Father, and has received from him the Holy Spirit, as he had promised. What you now see and hear is his gift that he has poured out on us.


text:
 For it was not David who went up into heaven; rather he said, 'The Lord said to my Lord: Sit here at my right side


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 "All the people of Israel, then, are to know for sure that this Jesus, whom you crucified, is the one that God has made Lord and Messiah!"


text:
 When the people heard this, they were deeply troubled and said to Peter and the other apostles, "What shall we do, brothers?"


text:
 Peter said to them, "Each one of you must turn away from your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven; and you will receive God's gift, the Holy Spirit.


text:
 For God's promise was made to you and your children, and to all who are far away---all whom the Lord our God calls to himself."


text:
 Peter made his appeal to them and with many other words he urged them, saying, "Save yourselves from the punishment coming on this wicked people!"


text:
 Many of them believed his message and were baptized, and about three thousand people were added to the group that day.


text:
 They spent their time in learning from the apostles, taking part in the fellowship, and sharing in the fellowship meals and the prayers.


text:
 All the believers continued together in close fellowship and shared their belongings with one another.


text:
 They would sell their property and possessions, and distribute the money among all, according to what each one needed.


text:
 Day after day they met as a group in the Temple, and they had their meals together in their homes, eating with glad and humble hearts,


text:
 praising God, and enjoying the good will of all the people. And every day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.


text:
 There at the Beautiful Gate, as it was called, was a man who had been lame all his life. Every day he was carried to the gate to beg for money from the people who were going into the Temple.


text:
 But Peter said to him, "I have no money at all, but I give you what I have: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth I order you to get up and walk!"


text:
 Then he took him by his right hand and helped him up. At once the man's feet and ankles became strong;


text:
 he jumped up, stood on his feet, and started walking around. Then he went into the Temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God.


text:
 and when they recognized him as the beggar who had sat at the Beautiful Gate, they were all surprised and amazed at what had happened to him.


text:
 As the man held on to Peter and John in Solomon's Porch, as it was called, the people were amazed and ran to them.


text:
 When Peter saw the people, he said to them, "Fellow Israelites, why are you surprised at this, and why do you stare at us? Do you think that it was by means of our own power or godliness that we made this man walk?


text:
 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has given divine glory to his Servant Jesus. But you handed him over to the authorities, and you rejected him in Pilate's presence, even after Pilate had decided to set him free.


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 He was holy and good, but you rejected him, and instead you asked Pilate to do you the favor of turning loose a murderer.


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 You killed the one who leads to life, but God raised him from death---and we are witnesses to this.


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 It was the power of his name that gave strength to this lame man. What you see and know was done by faith in his name; it was faith in Jesus that has made him well, as you can all see.


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 "And now, my friends, I know that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was due to your ignorance.


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 God announced long ago through all the prophets that his Messiah had to suffer; and he made it come true in this way.


text:
 times of spiritual strength will come from the Lord, and he will send Jesus, who is the Messiah he has already chosen for you.


text:
 He must remain in heaven until the time comes for all things to be made new, as God announced through his holy prophets of long ago.


text:
 For Moses said, 'The Lord your God will send you a prophet, just as he sent me, and he will be one of your own people. You are to obey everything that he tells you to do.


text:
 And all the prophets who had a message, including Samuel and those who came after him, also announced what has been happening these days.


text:
 The promises of God through his prophets are for you, and you share in the covenant which God made with your ancestors. As he said to Abraham, 'Through your descendants I will bless all the people on earth.'


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 And so God chose his Servant and sent him to you first, to bless you by making every one of you turn away from your wicked ways."


text:
 Peter and John were still speaking to the people when some priests, the officer in charge of the Temple guards, and some Sadducees arrived.


text:
 They were annoyed because the two apostles were teaching the people that Jesus had risen from death, which proved that the dead will rise to life.


text:
 They met with the High Priest Annas and with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and the others who belonged to the High Priest's family.


text:
 They made the apostles stand before them and asked them, "How did you do this? What power do you have or whose name did you use?"


text:
 then you should all know, and all the people of Israel should know, that this man stands here before you completely well through the power of the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth---whom you crucified and whom God raised from death.


text:
 Jesus is the one of whom the scripture says, 'The stone that you the builders despised turned out to be the most important of all.'


text:
 Salvation is to be found through him alone; in all the world there is no one else whom God has given who can save us."


text:
 The members of the Council were amazed to see how bold Peter and John were and to learn that they were ordinary men of no education. They realized then that they had been companions of Jesus.


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 But there was nothing that they could say, because they saw the man who had been healed standing there with Peter and John.


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 "What shall we do with these men?" they asked. "Everyone in Jerusalem knows that this extraordinary miracle has been performed by them, and we cannot deny it.


text:
 But to keep this matter from spreading any further among the people, let us warn these men never again to speak to anyone in the name of Jesus."


text:
 So they called them back in and told them that under no condition were they to speak or to teach in the name of Jesus.


text:
 But Peter and John answered them, "You yourselves judge which is right in God's sight---to obey you or to obey God.


text:
 So the Council warned them even more strongly and then set them free. They saw that it was impossible to punish them, because the people were all praising God for what had happened.


text:
 As soon as Peter and John were set free, they returned to their group and told them what the chief priests and the elders had said.


text:
 When the believers heard it, they all joined together in prayer to God: "Master and Creator of heaven, earth, and sea, and all that is in them!


text:
 By means of the Holy Spirit you spoke through our ancestor David, your servant, when he said, 'Why were the Gentiles furious; why did people make their useless plots?


text:
 The kings of the earth prepared themselves, and the rulers met together against the Lord and his Messiah.'


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 For indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together in this city with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Jesus, your holy Servant, whom you made Messiah.


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 And now, Lord, take notice of the threats they have made, and allow us, your servants, to speak your message with all boldness.


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 Reach out your hand to heal, and grant that wonders and miracles may be performed through the name of your holy Servant Jesus."


text:
 When they finished praying, the place where they were meeting was shaken. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim God's message with boldness.


text:
 The group of believers was one in mind and heart. None of them said that any of their belongings were their own, but they all shared with one another everything they had.


text:
 With great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God poured rich blessings on them all.


text:
 There was no one in the group who was in need. Those who owned fields or houses would sell them, bring the money received from the sale,


text:
 and turn it over to the apostles; and the money was distributed according to the needs of the people.


text:
 And so it was that Joseph, a Levite born in Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means "One who Encourages"),


text:
 But there was a man named Ananias, who with his wife Sapphira sold some property that belonged to them.


text:
 But with his wife's agreement he kept part of the money for himself and turned the rest over to the apostles.


text:
 Peter said to him, "Ananias, why did you let Satan take control of you and make you lie to the Holy Spirit by keeping part of the money you received for the property?


text:
 Before you sold the property, it belonged to you; and after you sold it, the money was yours. Why, then, did you decide to do such a thing? You have not lied to people---you have lied to God!"


text:
 Peter asked her, "Tell me, was this the full amount you and your husband received for your property?" "Yes," she answered, "the full amount."


text:
 So Peter said to her, "Why did you and your husband decide to put the Lord's Spirit to the test? The men who buried your husband are at the door right now, and they will carry you out too!"


text:
 At once she fell down at his feet and died. The young men came in and saw that she was dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.


text:
 Many miracles and wonders were being performed among the people by the apostles. All the believers met together in Solomon's Porch.


text:
 But more and more people were added to the group---a crowd of men and women who believed in the Lord.


text:
 As a result of what the apostles were doing, sick people were carried out into the streets and placed on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.


text:
 And crowds of people came in from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing those who were sick or who had evil spirits in them; and they were all healed.


text:
 Then the High Priest and all his companions, members of the local party of the Sadducees, became extremely jealous of the apostles; so they decided to take action.


text:
 But that night an angel of the Lord opened the prison gates, led the apostles out, and said to them,


text:
 The apostles obeyed, and at dawn they entered the Temple and started teaching. The High Priest and his companions called together all the Jewish elders for a full meeting of the Council; then they sent orders to the prison to have the apostles brought before them.


text:
 But when the officials arrived, they did not find the apostles in prison, so they returned to the Council and reported,


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 "When we arrived at the jail, we found it locked up tight and all the guards on watch at the gates; but when we opened the gates, we found no one inside!"


text:
 When the chief priests and the officer in charge of the Temple guards heard this, they wondered what had happened to the apostles.


text:
 Then a man came in and said to them, "Listen! The men you put in prison are in the Temple teaching the people!"


text:
 So the officer went off with his men and brought the apostles back. They did not use force, however, because they were afraid that the people might stone them.


text:
 They brought the apostles in, made them stand before the Council, and the High Priest questioned them.


text:
 "We gave you strict orders not to teach in the name of this man," he said; "but see what you have done! You have spread your teaching all over Jerusalem, and you want to make us responsible for his death!"


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 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from death, after you had killed him by nailing him to a cross.


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 God raised him to his right side as Leader and Savior, to give the people of Israel the opportunity to repent and have their sins forgiven.


text:
 We are witnesses to these things---we and the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to those who obey him."


text:
 When the members of the Council heard this, they were so furious that they wanted to have the apostles put to death.


text:
 But one of them, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was a teacher of the Law and was highly respected by all the people, stood up in the Council. He ordered the apostles to be taken out for a while,


text:
 You remember that Theudas appeared some time ago, claiming to be somebody great, and about four hundred men joined him. But he was killed, all his followers were scattered, and his movement died out.


text:
 After that, Judas the Galilean appeared during the time of the census; he drew a crowd after him, but he also was killed, and all his followers were scattered.


text:
 And so in this case, I tell you, do not take any action against these men. Leave them alone! If what they have planned and done is of human origin, it will disappear,


text:
 but if it comes from God, you cannot possibly defeat them. You could find yourselves fighting against God!" The Council followed Gamaliel's advice.


text:
 They called the apostles in, had them whipped, and ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus; and then they set them free.


text:
 As the apostles left the Council, they were happy, because God had considered them worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of Jesus.


text:
 And every day in the Temple and in people's homes they continued to teach and preach the Good News about Jesus the Messiah.


text:
 Some time later, as the number of disciples kept growing, there was a quarrel between the Greek-speaking Jews and the native Jews. The Greek-speaking Jews claimed that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of funds.


text:
 So the twelve apostles called the whole group of believers together and said, "It is not right for us to neglect the preaching of God's word in order to handle finances.


text:
 So then, friends, choose seven men among you who are known to be full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, and we will put them in charge of this matter.


text:
 The whole group was pleased with the apostles' proposal, so they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a Gentile from Antioch who had earlier been converted to Judaism.


text:
 And so the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew larger and larger, and a great number of priests accepted the faith.


text:
 Stephen, a man richly blessed by God and full of power, performed great miracles and wonders among the people.


text:
 But he was opposed by some men who were members of the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), which had Jews from Cyrene and Alexandria. They and other Jews from the provinces of Cilicia and Asia started arguing with Stephen.


text:
 In this way they stirred up the people, the elders, and the teachers of the Law. They seized Stephen and took him before the Council.


text:
 Then they brought in some men to tell lies about him. "This man," they said, "is always talking against our sacred Temple and the Law of Moses.


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 We heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will tear down the Temple and change all the customs which have come down to us from Moses!"


text:
 All those sitting in the Council fixed their eyes on Stephen and saw that his face looked like the face of an angel.


text:
 Stephen answered, "Brothers and fathers, listen to me! Before our ancestor Abraham had gone to live in Haran, the God of glory appeared to him in Mesopotamia


text:
 And so he left his country and went to live in Haran. After Abraham's father died, God made him move to this land where you now live.


text:
 God did not then give Abraham any part of it as his own, not even a square foot of ground, but God promised to give it to him, and that it would belong to him and to his descendants. At the time God made this promise, Abraham had no children.


text:
 This is what God said to him: 'Your descendants will live in a foreign country, where they will be slaves and will be badly treated for four hundred years.


text:
 But I will pass judgment on the people that they will serve, and afterward your descendants will come out of that country and will worship me in this place.'


text:
 Then God gave to Abraham the ceremony of circumcision as a sign of the covenant. So Abraham circumcised Isaac a week after he was born; Isaac circumcised his son Jacob, and Jacob circumcised his twelve sons, the famous ancestors of our race.


text:
 "Jacob's sons became jealous of their brother Joseph and sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him


text:
 and brought him safely through all his troubles. When Joseph appeared before the king of Egypt, God gave him a pleasing manner and wisdom, and the king made Joseph governor over the country and the royal household.


text:
 Then there was a famine all over Egypt and Canaan, which caused much suffering. Our ancestors could not find any food,


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 and when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent his sons, our ancestors, on their first visit there.


text:
 On the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and the king of Egypt came to know about Joseph's family.


text:
 So Joseph sent a message to his father Jacob, telling him and the whole family, seventy-five people in all, to come to Egypt.


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 Their bodies were taken to Shechem, where they were buried in the grave which Abraham had bought from the clan of Hamor for a sum of money.


text:
 "When the time drew near for God to keep the promise he had made to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had grown much larger.


text:
 He tricked our ancestors and was cruel to them, forcing them to put their babies out of their homes, so that they would die.


text:
 It was at this time that Moses was born, a very beautiful child. He was cared for at home for three months,


text:
 and when he was put out of his home, the king's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son.


text:
 "When Moses was forty years old, he decided to find out how his fellow Israelites were being treated.


text:
 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his help and took revenge on the Egyptian by killing him.


text:
 (He thought that his own people would understand that God was going to use him to set them free, but they did not understand.)


text:
 The next day he saw two Israelites fighting, and he tried to make peace between them. 'Listen, men,' he said, 'you are fellow Israelites; why are you fighting like this?'


text:
 But the one who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside. 'Who made you ruler and judge over us?' he asked.


text:
 When Moses heard this, he fled from Egypt and went to live in the land of Midian. There he had two sons.


text:
 "After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.


text:
 Moses was amazed by what he saw, and went near the bush to get a better look. But he heard the Lord's voice:


text:
 'I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Moses trembled with fear and dared not look.


text:
 I have seen the cruel suffering of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groans, and I have come down to set them free. Come now; I will send you to Egypt.'


text:
 "Moses is the one who was rejected by the people of Israel. 'Who made you ruler and judge over us?' they asked. He is the one whom God sent to rule the people and set them free with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the burning bush.


text:
 He led the people out of Egypt, performing miracles and wonders in Egypt and at the Red Sea and for forty years in the desert.


text:
 Moses is the one who said to the people of Israel, 'God will send you a prophet, just as he sent me, and he will be one of your own people.'


text:
 He is the one who was with the people of Israel assembled in the desert; he was there with our ancestors and with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and he received God's living messages to pass on to us.


text:
 "But our ancestors refused to obey him; they pushed him aside and wished that they could go back to Egypt.


text:
 So they said to Aaron, 'Make us some gods who will lead us. We do not know what has happened to that man Moses, who brought us out of Egypt.'


text:
 It was then that they made an idol in the shape of a bull, offered sacrifice to it, and had a feast in honor of what they themselves had made.


text:
 So God turned away from them and gave them over to worship the stars of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: 'People of Israel! It was not to me that you slaughtered and sacrificed animals for forty years in the desert.


text:
 It was the tent of the god Molech that you carried, and the image of Rephan, your star god; they were idols that you had made to worship. And so I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.'


text:
 "Our ancestors had the Tent of God's presence with them in the desert. It had been made as God had told Moses to make it, according to the pattern that Moses had been shown.


text:
 Later on, our ancestors who received the tent from their fathers carried it with them when they went with Joshua and took over the land from the nations that God drove out as they advanced. And it stayed there until the time of David.


text:
 'Heaven is my throne, says the Lord, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house would you build for me? Where is the place for me to live in?


text:
 "How stubborn you are!" Stephen went on to say. "How heathen your hearts, how deaf you are to God's message! You are just like your ancestors: you too have always resisted the Holy Spirit!


text:
 Was there any prophet that your ancestors did not persecute? They killed God's messengers, who long ago announced the coming of his righteous Servant. And now you have betrayed and murdered him.


text:
 You are the ones who received God's law, that was handed down by angels---yet you have not obeyed it!"


text:
 As the members of the Council listened to Stephen, they became furious and ground their teeth at him in anger.


text:
 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw God's glory and Jesus standing at the right side of God.


text:
 With a loud cry the Council members covered their ears with their hands. Then they all rushed at him at once,


text:
 threw him out of the city, and stoned him. The witnesses left their cloaks in the care of a young man named Saul.


text:
 He knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord! Do not remember this sin against them!" He said this and died.


text:
 And Saul approved of his murder. That very day the church in Jerusalem began to suffer cruel persecution. All the believers, except the apostles, were scattered throughout the provinces of Judea and Samaria.


text:
 But Saul tried to destroy the church; going from house to house, he dragged out the believers, both men and women, and threw them into jail.


text:
 The crowds paid close attention to what Philip said, as they listened to him and saw the miracles that he performed.


text:
 Evil spirits came out from many people with a loud cry, and many paralyzed and lame people were healed.


text:
 A man named Simon lived there, who for some time had astounded the Samaritans with his magic. He claimed that he was someone great,


text:
 and everyone in the city, from all classes of society, paid close attention to him. "He is that power of God known as 'The Great Power,' " they said.


text:
 They paid this attention to him because for such a long time he had astonished them with his magic.


text:
 But when they believed Philip's message about the good news of the Kingdom of God and about Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.


text:
 Simon himself also believed; and after being baptized, he stayed close to Philip and was astounded when he saw the great wonders and miracles that were being performed.


text:
 The apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had received the word of God, so they sent Peter and John to them.


text:
 For the Holy Spirit had not yet come down on any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.


text:
 Simon saw that the Spirit had been given to the believers when the apostles placed their hands on them. So he offered money to Peter and John,


text:
 and said, "Give this power to me too, so that anyone I place my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit."


text:
 But Peter answered him, "May you and your money go to hell, for thinking that you can buy God's gift with money!


text:
 Repent, then, of this evil plan of yours, and pray to the Lord that he will forgive you for thinking such a thing as this.


text:
 Simon said to Peter and John, "Please pray to the Lord for me, so that none of these things you spoke of will happen to me."


text:
 After they had given their testimony and proclaimed the Lord's message, Peter and John went back to Jerusalem. On their way they preached the Good News in many villages of Samaria.


text:
 An angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Get ready and go south to the road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This road is not used nowadays.)


text:
 So Philip got ready and went. Now an Ethiopian eunuch, who was an important official in charge of the treasury of the queen of Ethiopia, was on his way home. He had been to Jerusalem to worship God and was going back home in his carriage. As he rode along, he was reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah.


text:
 Philip ran over and heard him reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah. He asked him, "Do you understand what you are reading?"


text:
 The official replied, "How can I understand unless someone explains it to me?" And he invited Philip to climb up and sit in the carriage with him.


text:
 The passage of scripture which he was reading was this: "He was like a sheep that is taken to be slaughtered, like a lamb that makes no sound when its wool is cut off. He did not say a word.


text:
 He was humiliated, and justice was denied him. No one will be able to tell about his descendants, because his life on earth has come to an end."


text:
 The official asked Philip, "Tell me, of whom is the prophet saying this? Of himself or of someone else?"


text:
 Then Philip began to speak; starting from this passage of scripture, he told him the Good News about Jesus.


text:
 As they traveled down the road, they came to a place where there was some water, and the official said, "Here is some water. What is to keep me from being baptized?"


text:
 The official ordered the carriage to stop, and both Philip and the official went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.


text:
 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away. The official did not see him again, but continued on his way, full of joy.


text:
 Philip found himself in Azotus; he went on to Caesarea, and on the way he preached the Good News in every town.


text:
 In the meantime Saul kept up his violent threats of murder against the followers of the Lord. He went to the High Priest


text:
 and asked for letters of introduction to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he should find there any followers of the Way of the Lord, he would be able to arrest them, both men and women, and bring them back to Jerusalem.


text:
 The men who were traveling with Saul had stopped, not saying a word; they heard the voice but could not see anyone.


text:
 Saul got up from the ground and opened his eyes, but could not see a thing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus.


text:
 There was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. He had a vision, in which the Lord said to him, "Ananias!" "Here I am, Lord," he answered.


text:
 The Lord said to him, "Get ready and go to Straight Street, and at the house of Judas ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying,


text:
 and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come in and place his hands on him so that he might see again."


text:
 Ananias answered, "Lord, many people have told me about this man and about all the terrible things he has done to your people in Jerusalem.


text:
 The Lord said to him, "Go, because I have chosen him to serve me, to make my name known to Gentiles and kings and to the people of Israel.


text:
 So Ananias went, entered the house where Saul was, and placed his hands on him. "Brother Saul," he said, "the Lord has sent me---Jesus himself, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here. He sent me so that you might see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."


text:
 At once something like fish scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he was able to see again. He stood up and was baptized;


text:
 and after he had eaten, his strength came back. Saul stayed for a few days with the believers in Damascus.


text:
 All who heard him were amazed and asked, "Isn't he the one who in Jerusalem was killing those who worship that man Jesus? And didn't he come here for the very purpose of arresting those people and taking them back to the chief priests?"


text:
 But Saul's preaching became even more powerful, and his proofs that Jesus was the Messiah were so convincing that the Jews who lived in Damascus could not answer him.


text:
 But one night Saul's followers took him and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.


text:
 Saul went to Jerusalem and tried to join the disciples. But they would not believe that he was a disciple, and they were all afraid of him.


text:
 Then Barnabas came to his help and took him to the apostles. He explained to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that the Lord had spoken to him. He also told them how boldly Saul had preached in the name of Jesus in Damascus.


text:
 And so Saul stayed with them and went all over Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord.


text:
 And so it was that the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had a time of peace. Through the help of the Holy Spirit it was strengthened and grew in numbers, as it lived in reverence for the Lord.


text:
 There he met a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had not been able to get out of bed for eight years.


text:
 "Aeneas," Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ makes you well. Get up and make your bed." At once Aeneas got up.


text:
 In Joppa there was a woman named Tabitha, who was a believer. (Her name in Greek is Dorcas, meaning "a deer.") She spent all her time doing good and helping the poor.


text:
 Joppa was not very far from Lydda, and when the believers in Joppa heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him with the message, "Please hurry and come to us."


text:
 So Peter got ready and went with them. When he arrived, he was taken to the room upstairs, where all the widows crowded around him, crying and showing him all the shirts and coats that Dorcas had made while she was alive.


text:
 Peter put them all out of the room, and knelt down and prayed; then he turned to the body and said, "Tabitha, get up!" She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.


text:
 Peter reached over and helped her get up. Then he called all the believers, including the widows, and presented her alive to them.


text:
 There was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, who was a captain in the Roman army regiment called "The Italian Regiment."


text:
 He was a religious man; he and his whole family worshiped God. He also did much to help the Jewish poor people and was constantly praying to God.


text:
 It was about three o'clock one afternoon when he had a vision, in which he clearly saw an angel of God come in and say to him, "Cornelius!"


text:
 He stared at the angel in fear and said, "What is it, sir?" The angel answered, "God is pleased with your prayers and works of charity, and is ready to answer you.


text:
 Then the angel went away, and Cornelius called two of his house servants and a soldier, a religious man who was one of his personal attendants.


text:
 The next day, as they were on their way and coming near Joppa, Peter went up on the roof of the house about noon in order to pray.


text:
 He saw heaven opened and something coming down that looked like a large sheet being lowered by its four corners to the earth.


text:
 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of this vision, the men sent by Cornelius had learned where Simon's house was, and they were now standing in front of the gate.


text:
 Peter was still trying to understand what the vision meant, when the Spirit said, "Listen! Three men are here looking for you.


text:
 "Captain Cornelius sent us," they answered. "He is a good man who worships God and is highly respected by all the Jewish people. An angel of God told him to invite you to his house, so that he could hear what you have to say."


text:
 Peter invited the men in and had them spend the night there. The next day he got ready and went with them; and some of the believers from Joppa went along with him.


text:
 The following day he arrived in Caesarea, where Cornelius was waiting for him, together with relatives and close friends that he had invited.


text:
 He said to them, "You yourselves know very well that a Jew is not allowed by his religion to visit or associate with Gentiles. But God has shown me that I must not consider any person ritually unclean or defiled.


text:
 And so when you sent for me, I came without any objection. I ask you, then, why did you send for me?"


text:
 Cornelius said, "It was about this time three days ago that I was praying in my house at three o'clock in the afternoon. Suddenly a man dressed in shining clothes stood in front of me


text:
 Send someone to Joppa for a man whose full name is Simon Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner of leather, who lives by the sea.'


text:
 And so I sent for you at once, and you have been good enough to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God, waiting to hear anything that the Lord has instructed you to say."


text:
 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, proclaiming the Good News of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.


text:
 You know of the great event that took place throughout the land of Israel, beginning in Galilee after John preached his message of baptism.


text:
 You know about Jesus of Nazareth and how God poured out on him the Holy Spirit and power. He went everywhere, doing good and healing all who were under the power of the Devil, for God was with him.


text:
 We are witnesses of everything that he did in the land of Israel and in Jerusalem. Then they put him to death by nailing him to a cross.


text:
 not to everyone, but only to the witnesses that God had already chosen, that is, to us who ate and drank with him after he rose from death.


text:
 And he commanded us to preach the gospel to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God has appointed judge of the living and the dead.


text:
 All the prophets spoke about him, saying that all who believe in him will have their sins forgiven through the power of his name."


text:
 While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who were listening to his message.


text:
 The Jewish believers who had come from Joppa with Peter were amazed that God had poured out his gift of the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles also.


text:
 "These people have received the Holy Spirit, just as we also did. Can anyone, then, stop them from being baptized with water?"


text:
 So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay with them for a few days.


text:
 The apostles and the other believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.


text:
 When Peter went to Jerusalem, those who were in favor of circumcising Gentiles criticized him, saying,


text:
 "While I was praying in the city of Joppa, I had a vision. I saw something coming down that looked like a large sheet being lowered by its four corners from heaven, and it stopped next to me.


text:
 At that very moment three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where I was staying.


text:
 The Spirit told me to go with them without hesitation. These six fellow believers from Joppa accompanied me to Caesarea, and we all went into the house of Cornelius.


text:
 He told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, 'Send someone to Joppa for a man whose full name is Simon Peter.


text:
 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'


text:
 It is clear that God gave those Gentiles the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ; who was I, then, to try to stop God!"


text:
 When they heard this, they stopped their criticism and praised God, saying, "Then God has given to the Gentiles also the opportunity to repent and live!"


text:
 Some of the believers who were scattered by the persecution which took place when Stephen was killed went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, telling the message to Jews only.


text:
 But other believers, who were from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and proclaimed the message to Gentiles also, telling them the Good News about the Lord Jesus.


text:
 When he arrived and saw how God had blessed the people, he was glad and urged them all to be faithful and true to the Lord with all their hearts.


text:
 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and many people were brought to the Lord.


text:
 When he found him, he took him to Antioch, and for a whole year the two met with the people of the church and taught a large group. It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.


text:
 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and by the power of the Spirit predicted that a severe famine was about to come over all the earth. (It came when Claudius was emperor.)


text:
 The disciples decided that they each would send as much as they could to help their fellow believers who lived in Judea.


text:
 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he went ahead and had Peter arrested. (This happened during the time of the Festival of Unleavened Bread.)


text:
 After his arrest Peter was put in jail, where he was handed over to be guarded by four groups of four soldiers each. Herod planned to put him on trial in public after Passover.


text:
 The night before Herod was going to bring him out to the people, Peter was sleeping between two guards. He was tied with two chains, and there were guards on duty at the prison gate.


text:
 Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood there, and a light shone in the cell. The angel shook Peter by the shoulder, woke him up, and said, "Hurry! Get up!" At once the chains fell off Peter's hands.


text:
 Then the angel said, "Tighten your belt and put on your sandals." Peter did so, and the angel said, "Put your cloak around you and come with me."


text:
 Peter followed him out of the prison, not knowing, however, if what the angel was doing was real; he thought he was seeing a vision.


text:
 They passed by the first guard station and then the second, and came at last to the iron gate that opens into the city. The gate opened for them by itself, and they went out. They walked down a street, and suddenly the angel left Peter.


text:
 Then Peter realized what had happened to him, and said, "Now I know that it is really true! The Lord sent his angel to rescue me from Herod's power and from everything the Jewish people expected to happen."


text:
 Aware of his situation, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.


text:
 She recognized Peter's voice and was so happy that she ran back in without opening the door, and announced that Peter was standing outside.


text:
 "You are crazy!" they told her. But she insisted that it was true. So they answered, "It is his angel."


text:
 Meanwhile Peter kept on knocking. At last they opened the door, and when they saw him, they were amazed.


text:
 He motioned with his hand for them to be quiet, and he explained to them how the Lord had brought him out of prison. "Tell this to James and the rest of the believers," he said; then he left and went somewhere else.


text:
 Herod gave orders to search for him, but they could not find him. So he had the guards questioned and ordered them put to death. After this, Herod left Judea and spent some time in Caesarea.


text:
 Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, so they went in a group to see him. First they convinced Blastus, the man in charge of the palace, that he should help them. Then they went to Herod and asked him for peace, because their country got its food supplies from the king's country.


text:
 At once the angel of the Lord struck Herod down, because he did not give honor to God. He was eaten by worms and died.


text:
 In the church at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon (called the Black), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (who had been brought up with Governor Herod ), and Saul.


text:
 While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to them, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul, to do the work to which I have called them."


text:
 Having been sent by the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Saul went to Seleucia and sailed from there to the island of Cyprus.


text:
 When they arrived at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues. They had John Mark with them to help in the work.


text:
 They went all the way across the island to Paphos, where they met a certain magician named Bar-Jesus, a Jew who claimed to be a prophet.


text:
 He was a friend of the governor of the island, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. The governor called Barnabas and Saul before him because he wanted to hear the word of God.


text:
 But they were opposed by the magician Elymas (that is his name in Greek), who tried to turn the governor away from the faith.


text:
 Then Saul---also known as Paul---was filled with the Holy Spirit; he looked straight at the magician


text:
 and said, "You son of the Devil! You are the enemy of everything that is good. You are full of all kinds of evil tricks, and you always keep trying to turn the Lord's truths into lies!


text:
 The Lord's hand will come down on you now; you will be blind and will not see the light of day for a time." At once Elymas felt a dark mist cover his eyes, and he walked around trying to find someone to lead him by the hand.


text:
 When the governor saw what had happened, he believed; for he was greatly amazed at the teaching about the Lord.


text:
 Paul and his companions sailed from Paphos and came to Perga, a city in Pamphylia, where John Mark left them and went back to Jerusalem.


text:
 They went on from Perga and arrived in Antioch in Pisidia, and on the Sabbath they went into the synagogue and sat down.


text:
 After the reading from the Law of Moses and from the writings of the prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent them a message: "Friends, we want you to speak to the people if you have a message of encouragement for them."


text:
 Paul stood up, motioned with his hand, and began to speak: "Fellow Israelites and all Gentiles here who worship God: hear me!


text:
 The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors and made the people a great nation during the time they lived as foreigners in Egypt. God brought them out of Egypt by his great power,


text:
 All of this took about 450 years. "After this he gave them judges until the time of the prophet Samuel.


text:
 And when they asked for a king, God gave them Saul son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin, to be their king for forty years.


text:
 After removing him, God made David their king. This is what God said about him: 'I have found that David son of Jesse is the kind of man I like, a man who will do all I want him to do.'


text:
 It was Jesus, a descendant of David, whom God made the Savior of the people of Israel, as he had promised.


text:
 Before Jesus began his work, John preached to all the people of Israel that they should turn from their sins and be baptized.


text:
 And as John was about to finish his mission, he said to the people, 'Who do you think I am? I am not the one you are waiting for. But listen! He is coming after me, and I am not good enough to take his sandals off his feet.'


text:
 "My fellow Israelites, descendants of Abraham, and all Gentiles here who worship God: it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent!


text:
 For the people who live in Jerusalem and their leaders did not know that he is the Savior, nor did they understand the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. Yet they made the prophets' words come true by condemning Jesus.


text:
 And even though they could find no reason to pass the death sentence on him, they asked Pilate to have him put to death.


text:
 And after they had done everything that the Scriptures say about him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb.


text:
 and for many days he appeared to those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now witnesses for him to the people of Israel.


text:
 And we are here to bring the Good News to you: what God promised our ancestors he would do, he has now done for us, who are their descendants, by raising Jesus to life. As it is written in the second Psalm, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father.'


text:
 And this is what God said about raising him from death, never to rot away in the grave: 'I will give you the sacred and sure blessings that I promised to David.'


text:
 As indeed he says in another passage, 'You will not allow your faithful servant to rot in the grave.'


text:
 For David served God's purposes in his own time, and then he died, was buried with his ancestors, and his body rotted in the grave.


text:
 All of you, my fellow Israelites, are to know for sure that it is through Jesus that the message about forgiveness of sins is preached to you; you are to know that everyone who believes in him is set free from all the sins from which the Law of Moses could not set you free.


text:
 'Look, you scoffers! Be astonished and die! For what I am doing today is something that you will not believe, even when someone explains it to you!' "


text:
 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to come back the next Sabbath and tell them more about these things.


text:
 After the people had left the meeting, Paul and Barnabas were followed by many Jews and by many Gentiles who had been converted to Judaism. The apostles spoke to them and encouraged them to keep on living in the grace of God.


text:
 When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; they disputed what Paul was saying and insulted him.


text:
 But Paul and Barnabas spoke out even more boldly: "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we will leave you and go to the Gentiles.


text:
 For this is the commandment that the Lord has given us: 'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, so that all the world may be saved.' "


text:
 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the Lord's message; and those who had been chosen for eternal life became believers.


text:
 But the Jews stirred up the leading men of the city and the Gentile women of high social standing who worshiped God. They started a persecution against Paul and Barnabas and threw them out of their region.


text:
 The same thing happened in Iconium: Paul and Barnabas went to the synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of Jews and Gentiles became believers.


text:
 The apostles stayed there for a long time, speaking boldly about the Lord, who proved that their message about his grace was true by giving them the power to perform miracles and wonders.


text:
 Then some Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, decided to mistreat the apostles and stone them.


text:
 When the apostles learned about it, they fled to the cities of Lystra and Derbe in Lycaonia and to the surrounding territory.


text:
 He sat there and listened to Paul's words. Paul saw that he believed and could be healed, so he looked straight at him


text:
 and said in a loud voice, "Stand up straight on your feet!" The man jumped up and started walking around.


text:
 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they started shouting in their own Lycaonian language, "The gods have become like men and have come down to us!"


text:
 The priest of the god Zeus, whose temple stood just outside the town, brought bulls and flowers to the gate, for he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifice to the apostles.


text:
 When Barnabas and Paul heard what they were about to do, they tore their clothes and ran into the middle of the crowd, shouting,


text:
 "Why are you doing this? We ourselves are only human beings like you! We are here to announce the Good News, to turn you away from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven, earth, sea, and all that is in them.


text:
 But he has always given evidence of his existence by the good things he does: he gives you rain from heaven and crops at the right times; he gives you food and fills your hearts with happiness."


text:
 Some Jews came from Antioch in Pisidia and from Iconium; they won the crowds over to their side, stoned Paul and dragged him out of the town, thinking that he was dead.


text:
 But when the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day he and Barnabas went to Derbe.


text:
 Paul and Barnabas preached the Good News in Derbe and won many disciples. Then they went back to Lystra, to Iconium, and on to Antioch in Pisidia.


text:
 They strengthened the believers and encouraged them to remain true to the faith. "We must pass through many troubles to enter the Kingdom of God," they taught.


text:
 In each church they appointed elders, and with prayers and fasting they commended them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.


text:
 and from there they sailed back to Antioch, the place where they had been commended to the care of God's grace for the work they had now completed.


text:
 When they arrived in Antioch, they gathered the people of the church together and told them about all that God had done with them and how he had opened the way for the Gentiles to believe.


text:
 Some men came from Judea to Antioch and started teaching the believers, "You cannot be saved unless you are circumcised as the Law of Moses requires."


text:
 Paul and Barnabas got into a fierce argument with them about this, so it was decided that Paul and Barnabas and some of the others in Antioch should go to Jerusalem and see the apostles and elders about this matter.


text:
 They were sent on their way by the church; and as they went through Phoenicia and Samaria, they reported how the Gentiles had turned to God; this news brought great joy to all the believers.


text:
 When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, to whom they told all that God had done through them.


text:
 But some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and told to obey the Law of Moses."


text:
 After a long debate Peter stood up and said, "My friends, you know that a long time ago God chose me from among you to preach the Good News to the Gentiles, so that they could hear and believe.


text:
 And God, who knows the thoughts of everyone, showed his approval of the Gentiles by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he had to us.


text:
 So then, why do you now want to put God to the test by laying a load on the backs of the believers which neither our ancestors nor we ourselves were able to carry?


text:
 The whole group was silent as they heard Barnabas and Paul report all the miracles and wonders that God had performed through them among the Gentiles.


text:
 Simon has just explained how God first showed his care for the Gentiles by taking from among them a people to belong to him.


text:
 'After this I will return, says the Lord, and restore the kingdom of David. I will rebuild its ruins and make it strong again.


text:
 And so all the rest of the human race will come to me, all the Gentiles whom I have called to be my own.


text:
 "It is my opinion," James went on, "that we should not trouble the Gentiles who are turning to God.


text:
 Instead, we should write a letter telling them not to eat any food that is ritually unclean because it has been offered to idols; to keep themselves from sexual immorality; and not to eat any animal that has been strangled, or any blood.


text:
 For the Law of Moses has been read for a very long time in the synagogues every Sabbath, and his words are preached in every town."


text:
 Then the apostles and the elders, together with the whole church, decided to choose some men from the group and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose two men who were highly respected by the believers, Judas, called Barsabbas, and Silas,


text:
 We have heard that some who went from our group have troubled and upset you by what they said; they had not, however, received any instruction from us.


text:
 And so we have met together and have all agreed to choose some messengers and send them to you. They will go with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul,


text:
 The Holy Spirit and we have agreed not to put any other burden on you besides these necessary rules:


text:
 eat no food that has been offered to idols; eat no blood; eat no animal that has been strangled; and keep yourselves from sexual immorality. You will do well if you take care not to do these things. With our best wishes."


text:
 The messengers were sent off and went to Antioch, where they gathered the whole group of believers and gave them the letter.


text:
 Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, spoke a long time with them, giving them courage and strength.


text:
 After spending some time there, they were sent off in peace by the believers and went back to those who had sent them.


text:
 Paul and Barnabas spent some time in Antioch, and together with many others they taught and preached the word of the Lord.


text:
 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the believers in every town where we preached the word of the Lord, and let us find out how they are getting along."


text:
 but Paul did not think it was right to take him, because he had not stayed with them to the end of their mission, but had turned back and left them in Pamphylia.


text:
 Paul traveled on to Derbe and Lystra, where a Christian named Timothy lived. His mother, who was also a Christian, was Jewish, but his father was a Greek.


text:
 Paul wanted to take Timothy along with him, so he circumcised him. He did so because all the Jews who lived in those places knew that Timothy's father was Greek.


text:
 As they went through the towns, they delivered to the believers the rules decided upon by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, and they told them to obey those rules.


text:
 They traveled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia because the Holy Spirit did not let them preach the message in the province of Asia.


text:
 When they reached the border of Mysia, they tried to go into the province of Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.


text:
 That night Paul had a vision in which he saw a Macedonian standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us!"


text:
 As soon as Paul had this vision, we got ready to leave for Macedonia, because we decided that God had called us to preach the Good News to the people there.


text:
 From there we went inland to Philippi, a city of the first district of Macedonia; it is also a Roman colony. We spent several days there.


text:
 On the Sabbath we went out of the city to the riverside, where we thought there would be a place where Jews gathered for prayer. We sat down and talked to the women who gathered there.


text:
 One of those who heard us was Lydia from Thyatira, who was a dealer in purple cloth. She was a woman who worshiped God, and the Lord opened her mind to pay attention to what Paul was saying.


text:
 After she and the people of her house had been baptized, she invited us, "Come and stay in my house if you have decided that I am a true believer in the Lord." And she persuaded us to go.


text:
 One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a young servant woman who had an evil spirit that enabled her to predict the future. She earned a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes.


text:
 She followed Paul and us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God! They announce to you how you can be saved!"


text:
 She did this for many days, until Paul became so upset that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I order you to come out of her!" The spirit went out of her that very moment.


text:
 When her owners realized that their chance of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them to the authorities in the public square.


text:
 They brought them before the Roman officials and said, "These men are Jews, and they are causing trouble in our city.


text:
 They are teaching customs that are against our law; we are Roman citizens, and we cannot accept these customs or practice them."


text:
 And the crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas. Then the officials tore the clothes off Paul and Silas and ordered them to be whipped.


text:
 After a severe beating, they were thrown into jail, and the jailer was ordered to lock them up tight.


text:
 Upon receiving this order, the jailer threw them into the inner cell and fastened their feet between heavy blocks of wood.


text:
 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.


text:
 Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, which shook the prison to its foundations. At once all the doors opened, and the chains fell off all the prisoners.


text:
 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he thought that the prisoners had escaped; so he pulled out his sword and was about to kill himself.


text:
 At that very hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; and he and all his family were baptized at once.


text:
 Then he took Paul and Silas up into his house and gave them some food to eat. He and his family were filled with joy, because they now believed in God.


text:
 So the jailer told Paul, "The officials have sent an order for you and Silas to be released. You may leave, then, and go in peace."


text:
 But Paul said to the police officers, "We were not found guilty of any crime, yet they whipped us in public---and we are Roman citizens! Then they threw us in prison. And now they want to send us away secretly? Not at all! The Roman officials themselves must come here and let us out."


text:
 The police officers reported these words to the Roman officials; and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were afraid.


text:
 So they went and apologized to them; then they led them out of the prison and asked them to leave the city.


text:
 Paul and Silas left the prison and went to Lydia's house. There they met the believers, spoke words of encouragement to them, and left.


text:
 Paul and Silas traveled on through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue.


text:
 According to his usual habit Paul went to the synagogue. There during three Sabbaths he held discussions with the people, quoting


text:
 and explaining the Scriptures, and proving from them that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from death. "This Jesus whom I announce to you," Paul said, "is the Messiah."


text:
 Some of them were convinced and joined Paul and Silas; so did many of the leading women and a large group of Greeks who worshiped God.


text:
 But some Jews were jealous and gathered worthless loafers from the streets and formed a mob. They set the whole city in an uproar and attacked the home of a man named Jason, in an attempt to find Paul and Silas and bring them out to the people.


text:
 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city authorities and shouted, "These men have caused trouble everywhere! Now they have come to our city,


text:
 and Jason has kept them in his house. They are all breaking the laws of the Emperor, saying that there is another king, whose name is Jesus."


text:
 The authorities made Jason and the others pay the required amount of money to be released, and then let them go.


text:
 As soon as night came, the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived, they went to the synagogue.


text:
 The people there were more open-minded than the people in Thessalonica. They listened to the message with great eagerness, and every day they studied the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was really true.


text:
 Many of them believed; and many Greek women of high social standing and many Greek men also believed.


text:
 But when the Jews in Thessalonica heard that Paul had preached the word of God in Berea also, they came there and started exciting and stirring up the mobs.


text:
 The men who were taking Paul went with him as far as Athens and then returned to Berea with instructions from Paul that Silas and Timothy should join him as soon as possible.


text:
 While Paul was waiting in Athens for Silas and Timothy, he was greatly upset when he noticed how full of idols the city was.


text:
 So he held discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentiles who worshiped God, and also in the public square every day with the people who happened to come by.


text:
 Certain Epicurean and Stoic teachers also debated with him. Some of them asked, "What is this ignorant show-off trying to say?" Others answered, "He seems to be talking about foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching about Jesus and the resurrection.


text:
 So they took Paul, brought him before the city council, the Areopagus, and said, "We would like to know what this new teaching is that you are talking about.


text:
 (For all the citizens of Athens and the foreigners who lived there liked to spend all their time telling and hearing the latest new thing.)


text:
 Paul stood up in front of the city council and said, "I see that in every way you Athenians are very religious.


text:
 For as I walked through your city and looked at the places where you worship, I found an altar on which is written, 'To an Unknown God.' That which you worship, then, even though you do not know it, is what I now proclaim to you.


text:
 God, who made the world and everything in it, is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands.


text:
 Nor does he need anything that we can supply by working for him, since it is he himself who gives life and breath and everything else to everyone.


text:
 From one human being he created all races of people and made them live throughout the whole earth. He himself fixed beforehand the exact times and the limits of the places where they would live.


text:
 He did this so that they would look for him, and perhaps find him as they felt around for him. Yet God is actually not far from any one of us;


text:
 as someone has said, 'In him we live and move and exist.' It is as some of your poets have said, 'We too are his children.'


text:
 Since we are God's children, we should not suppose that his nature is anything like an image of gold or silver or stone, shaped by human art and skill.


text:
 God has overlooked the times when people did not know him, but now he commands all of them everywhere to turn away from their evil ways.


text:
 For he has fixed a day in which he will judge the whole world with justice by means of a man he has chosen. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising that man from death!"


text:
 When they heard Paul speak about a raising from death, some of them made fun of him, but others said, "We want to hear you speak about this again."


text:
 Some men joined him and believed, among whom was Dionysius, a member of the council; there was also a woman named Damaris, and some other people.


text:
 There he met a Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, for Emperor Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them,


text:
 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul gave his whole time to preaching the message, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah.


text:
 When they opposed him and said evil things about him, he protested by shaking the dust from his clothes and saying to them, "If you are lost, you yourselves must take the blame for it! I am not responsible. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."


text:
 So he left them and went to live in the house of a Gentile named Titius Justus, who worshiped God; his house was next to the synagogue.


text:
 Crispus, who was the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with all his family; and many other people in Corinth heard the message, believed, and were baptized.


text:
 One night Paul had a vision in which the Lord said to him, "Do not be afraid, but keep on speaking and do not give up,


text:
 When Gallio was made the Roman governor of Achaia, Jews there got together, seized Paul, and took him into court.


text:
 "This man," they said, "is trying to persuade people to worship God in a way that is against the law!"


text:
 Paul was about to speak when Gallio said to the Jews, "If this were a matter of some evil crime or wrong that has been committed, it would be reasonable for me to be patient with you Jews.


text:
 But since it is an argument about words and names and your own law, you yourselves must settle it. I will not be the judge of such things!"


text:
 They all grabbed Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the court. But that did not bother Gallio a bit.


text:
 Paul stayed on with the believers in Corinth for many days, then left them and sailed off with Priscilla and Aquila for Syria. Before sailing from Cenchreae he had his head shaved because of a vow he had taken.


text:
 They arrived in Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He went into the synagogue and held discussions with the Jews.


text:
 Instead, he told them as he left, "If it is the will of God, I will come back to you." And so he sailed from Ephesus.


text:
 When he arrived at Caesarea, he went to Jerusalem and greeted the church, and then went to Antioch.


text:
 After spending some time there, he left and went through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the believers.


text:
 At that time a Jew named Apollos, who had been born in Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker and had a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures.


text:
 He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord, and with great enthusiasm he proclaimed and taught correctly the facts about Jesus. However, he knew only the baptism of John.


text:
 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him home with them and explained to him more correctly the Way of God.


text:
 Apollos then decided to go to Achaia, so the believers in Ephesus helped him by writing to the believers in Achaia, urging them to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who through God's grace had become believers.


text:
 For with his strong arguments he defeated the Jews in public debates by proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah.


text:
 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the province and arrived in Ephesus. There he found some disciples


text:
 and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?" "We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit," they answered.


text:
 "Well, then, what kind of baptism did you receive?" Paul asked. "The baptism of John," they answered.


text:
 Paul said, "The baptism of John was for those who turned from their sins; and he told the people of Israel to believe in the one who was coming after him---that is, in Jesus."


text:
 Paul placed his hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came upon them; they spoke in strange tongues and also proclaimed God's message.


text:
 Paul went into the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly with the people, holding discussions with them and trying to convince them about the Kingdom of God.


text:
 But some of them were stubborn and would not believe, and before the whole group they said evil things about the Way of the Lord. So Paul left them and took the believers with him, and every day he held discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.


text:
 This went on for two years, so that all the people who lived in the province of Asia, both Jews and Gentiles, heard the word of the Lord.


text:
 Even handkerchiefs and aprons he had used were taken to the sick, and their diseases were driven away, and the evil spirits would go out of them.


text:
 Some Jews who traveled around and drove out evil spirits also tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus to do this. They said to the evil spirits, "I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches."


text:
 The man who had the evil spirit in him attacked them with such violence that he overpowered them all. They ran away from his house, wounded and with their clothes torn off.


text:
 All the Jews and Gentiles who lived in Ephesus heard about this; they were all filled with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was given greater honor.


text:
 Many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in public. They added up the price of the books, and the total came to fifty thousand silver coins.


text:
 After these things had happened, Paul made up his mind to travel through Macedonia and Achaia and go on to Jerusalem. "After I go there," he said, "I must also see Rome."


text:
 So he sent Timothy and Erastus, two of his helpers, to Macedonia, while he spent more time in the province of Asia.


text:
 A certain silversmith named Demetrius made silver models of the temple of the goddess Artemis, and his business brought a great deal of profit to the workers.


text:
 So he called them all together with others whose work was like theirs and said to them, "Men, you know that our prosperity comes from this work.


text:
 Now, you can see and hear for yourselves what this fellow Paul is doing. He says that hand-made gods are not gods at all, and he has succeeded in convincing many people, both here in Ephesus and in nearly the whole province of Asia.


text:
 There is the danger, then, that this business of ours will get a bad name. Not only that, but there is also the danger that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will come to mean nothing and that her greatness will be destroyed---the goddess worshiped by everyone in Asia and in all the world!"


text:
 As the crowd heard these words, they became furious and started shouting, "Great is Artemis of Ephesus!"


text:
 The uproar spread throughout the whole city. The mob grabbed Gaius and Aristarchus, two Macedonians who were traveling with Paul, and rushed with them to the theater.


text:
 Some of the provincial authorities, who were his friends, also sent him a message begging him not to show himself in the theater.


text:
 Meanwhile the whole meeting was in an uproar: some people were shouting one thing, others were shouting something else, because most of them did not even know why they had come together.


text:
 Some of the people concluded that Alexander was responsible, since the Jews made him go up to the front. Then Alexander motioned with his hand for the people to be silent, and he tried to make a speech of defense.


text:
 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted together the same thing for two hours: "Great is Artemis of Ephesus!"


text:
 At last the city clerk was able to calm the crowd. "Fellow Ephesians!" he said. "Everyone knows that the city of Ephesus is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and of the sacred stone that fell down from heaven.


text:
 You have brought these men here even though they have not robbed temples or said evil things about our goddess.


text:
 If Demetrius and his workers have an accusation against anyone, we have the authorities and the regular days for court; charges can be made there.


text:
 But if there is something more that you want, it will have to be settled in a legal meeting of citizens.


text:
 For after what has happened today, there is the danger that we will be accused of a riot. There is no excuse for all this uproar, and we would not be able to give a good reason for it."


text:
 After the uproar died down, Paul called together the believers and with words of encouragement said good-bye to them. Then he left and went on to Macedonia.


text:
 He went through those regions and encouraged the people with many messages. Then he came to Achaia,


text:
 where he stayed three months. He was getting ready to go to Syria when he discovered that there were Jews plotting against him; so he decided to go back through Macedonia.


text:
 Sopater son of Pyrrhus, from Berea, went with him; so did Aristarchus and Secundus, from Thessalonica; Gaius, from Derbe; Tychicus and Trophimus, from the province of Asia; and Timothy.


text:
 We sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later we joined them in Troas, where we spent a week.


text:
 On Saturday evening we gathered together for the fellowship meal. Paul spoke to the people and kept on speaking until midnight, since he was going to leave the next day.


text:
 A young man named Eutychus was sitting in the window, and as Paul kept on talking, Eutychus got sleepier and sleepier, until he finally went sound asleep and fell from the third story to the ground. When they picked him up, he was dead.


text:
 But Paul went down and threw himself on him and hugged him. "Don't worry," he said, "he is still alive!"


text:
 Then he went back upstairs, broke bread, and ate. After talking with them for a long time, even until sunrise, Paul left.


text:
 We went on ahead to the ship and sailed off to Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had told us to do this, because he was going there by land.


text:
 We sailed from there and arrived off Chios the next day. A day later we came to Samos, and the following day we reached Miletus.


text:
 Paul had decided to sail on by Ephesus, so as not to lose any time in the province of Asia. He was in a hurry to arrive in Jerusalem by the day of Pentecost, if at all possible.


text:
 When they arrived, he said to them, "You know how I spent the whole time I was with you, from the first day I arrived in the province of Asia.


text:
 With all humility and many tears I did my work as the Lord's servant during the hard times that came to me because of the plots of some Jews.


text:
 You know that I did not hold back anything that would be of help to you as I preached and taught in public and in your homes.


text:
 To Jews and Gentiles alike I gave solemn warning that they should turn from their sins to God and believe in our Lord Jesus.


text:
 And now, in obedience to the Holy Spirit I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.


text:
 But I reckon my own life to be worth nothing to me; I only want to complete my mission and finish the work that the Lord Jesus gave me to do, which is to declare the Good News about the grace of God.


text:
 "I have gone about among all of you, preaching the Kingdom of God. And now I know that none of you will ever see me again.


text:
 So keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock which the Holy Spirit has placed in your care. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he made his own through the blood of his Son.


text:
 The time will come when some men from your own group will tell lies to lead the believers away after them.


text:
 Watch, then, and remember that with many tears, day and night, I taught every one of you for three years.


text:
 "And now I commend you to the care of God and to the message of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you the blessings God has for all his people.


text:
 You yourselves know that I have worked with these hands of mine to provide everything that my companions and I have needed.


text:
 I have shown you in all things that by working hard in this way we must help the weak, remembering the words that the Lord Jesus himself said, 'There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.' "


text:
 They were especially sad because he had said that they would never see him again. And so they went with him to the ship.


text:
 We said good-bye to them and left. After sailing straight across, we came to Cos; the next day we reached Rhodes, and from there we went on to Patara.


text:
 We came to where we could see Cyprus, and then sailed south of it on to Syria. We went ashore at Tyre, where the ship was going to unload its cargo.


text:
 There we found some believers and stayed with them a week. By the power of the Spirit they told Paul not to go to Jerusalem.


text:
 But when our time with them was over, we left and went on our way. All of them, together with their wives and children, went with us out of the city to the beach, where we all knelt and prayed.


text:
 We continued our voyage, sailing from Tyre to Ptolemais, where we greeted the believers and stayed with them for a day.


text:
 On the following day we left and arrived in Caesarea. There we stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen as helpers in Jerusalem.


text:
 He came to us, took Paul's belt, tied up his own feet and hands with it, and said, "This is what the Holy Spirit says: The owner of this belt will be tied up in this way by the Jews in Jerusalem, and they will hand him over to the Gentiles."


text:
 But he answered, "What are you doing, crying like this and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be tied up in Jerusalem but even to die there for the sake of the Lord Jesus."


text:
 Some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us and took us to the house of the man we were going to stay with ---Mnason, from Cyprus, who had been a believer since the early days.


text:
 Paul greeted them and gave a complete report of everything that God had done among the Gentiles through his work.


text:
 After hearing him, they all praised God. Then they said, "Brother Paul, you can see how many thousands of Jews have become believers, and how devoted they all are to the Law.


text:
 They have been told that you have been teaching all the Jews who live in Gentile countries to abandon the Law of Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or follow the Jewish customs.


text:
 Go along with them and join them in the ceremony of purification and pay their expenses; then they will be able to shave their heads. In this way everyone will know that there is no truth in any of the things that they have been told about you, but that you yourself live in accordance with the Law of Moses.


text:
 But as for the Gentiles who have become believers, we have sent them a letter telling them we decided that they must not eat any food that has been offered to idols, or any blood, or any animal that has been strangled, and that they must keep themselves from sexual immorality."


text:
 So Paul took the men and the next day performed the ceremony of purification with them. Then he went into the Temple and gave notice of how many days it would be until the end of the period of purification, when a sacrifice would be offered for each one of them.


text:
 But just when the seven days were about to come to an end, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the Temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and grabbed Paul.


text:
 "People of Israel!" they shouted. "Help! This is the man who goes everywhere teaching everyone against the people of Israel, the Law of Moses, and this Temple. And now he has even brought some Gentiles into the Temple and defiled this holy place!"


text:
 (They said this because they had seen Trophimus from Ephesus with Paul in the city, and they thought that Paul had taken him into the Temple.)


text:
 Confusion spread through the whole city, and the people all ran together, grabbed Paul, and dragged him out of the Temple. At once the Temple doors were closed.


text:
 The mob was trying to kill Paul, when a report was sent up to the commander of the Roman troops that all of Jerusalem was rioting.


text:
 At once the commander took some officers and soldiers and rushed down to the crowd. When the people saw him with the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.


text:
 The commander went over to Paul, arrested him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked, "Who is this man, and what has he done?"


text:
 Some in the crowd shouted one thing, others something else. There was such confusion that the commander could not find out exactly what had happened, so he ordered his men to take Paul up into the fort.


text:
 They got as far as the steps with him, and then the soldiers had to carry him because the mob was so wild.


text:
 As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the fort, he spoke to the commander: "May I say something to you?" "You speak Greek, do you?" the commander asked.


text:
 "Then you are not that Egyptian fellow who some time ago started a revolution and led four thousand armed terrorists out into the desert?"


text:
 Paul answered, "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city. Please let me speak to the people."


text:
 The commander gave him permission, so Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand for the people to be silent. When they were quiet, Paul spoke to them in Hebrew:


text:
 "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up here in Jerusalem as a student of Gamaliel. I received strict instruction in the Law of our ancestors and was just as dedicated to God as are all of you who are here today.


text:
 I persecuted to the death the people who followed this Way. I arrested men and women and threw them into prison.


text:
 The High Priest and the whole Council can prove that I am telling the truth. I received from them letters written to fellow Jews in Damascus, so I went there to arrest these people and bring them back in chains to Jerusalem to be punished.


text:
 "As I was traveling and coming near Damascus, about midday a bright light from the sky flashed suddenly around me.


text:
 I asked, 'What shall I do, Lord?' and the Lord said to me, 'Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything that God has determined for you to do.'


text:
 I was blind because of the bright light, and so my companions took me by the hand and led me into Damascus.


text:
 "In that city was a man named Ananias, a religious man who obeyed our Law and was highly respected by all the Jews living there.


text:
 He came to me, stood by me, and said, 'Brother Saul, see again!' At that very moment I saw again and looked at him.


text:
 He said, 'The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see his righteous Servant, and to hear him speaking with his own voice.


text:
 And now, why wait any longer? Get up and be baptized and have your sins washed away by praying to him.'


text:
 in which I saw the Lord, as he said to me, 'Hurry and leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people here will not accept your witness about me.'


text:
 'Lord,' I answered, 'they know very well that I went to the synagogues and arrested and beat those who believe in you.


text:
 And when your witness Stephen was put to death, I myself was there, approving of his murder and taking care of the cloaks of his murderers.'


text:
 The people listened to Paul until he said this; but then they started shouting at the top of their voices, "Away with him! Kill him! He's not fit to live!"


text:
 The Roman commander ordered his men to take Paul into the fort, and he told them to whip him in order to find out why the Jews were screaming like this against him.


text:
 But when they had tied him up to be whipped, Paul said to the officer standing there, "Is it lawful for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn't even been tried for any crime?"


text:
 When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and asked him, "What are you doing? That man is a Roman citizen!"


text:
 So the commander went to Paul and asked him, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes," answered Paul.


text:
 The commander said, "I became one by paying a large amount of money." "But I am one by birth," Paul answered.


text:
 At once the men who were going to question Paul drew back from him; and the commander was frightened when he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had put him in chains.


text:
 The commander wanted to find out for sure what the Jews were accusing Paul of; so the next day he had Paul's chains taken off and ordered the chief priests and the whole Council to meet. Then he took Paul and made him stand before them.


text:
 Paul looked straight at the Council and said, "My fellow Israelites! My conscience is perfectly clear about the way in which I have lived before God to this very day."


text:
 Paul said to him, "God will certainly strike you---you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the Law, yet you break the Law by ordering them to strike me!"


text:
 Paul answered, "My fellow Israelites, I did not know that he was the High Priest. The scripture says, 'You must not speak evil of the ruler of your people.' "


text:
 When Paul saw that some of the group were Sadducees and the others were Pharisees, he called out in the Council, "Fellow Israelites! I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees. I am on trial here because of the hope I have that the dead will rise to life!"


text:
 As soon as he said this, the Pharisees and Sadducees started to quarrel, and the group was divided.


text:
 (For the Sadducees say that people will not rise from death and that there are no angels or spirits; but the Pharisees believe in all three.)


text:
 The shouting became louder, and some of the teachers of the Law who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and protested strongly: "We cannot find a thing wrong with this man! Perhaps a spirit or an angel really did speak to him!"


text:
 The argument became so violent that the commander was afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces. So he ordered his soldiers to go down into the group, get Paul away from them, and take him into the fort.


text:
 That night the Lord stood by Paul and said, "Don't be afraid! You have given your witness for me here in Jerusalem, and you must also do the same in Rome."


text:
 The next morning some Jews met together and made a plan. They took a vow that they would not eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul.


text:
 Then they went to the chief priests and elders and said, "We have taken a solemn vow together not to eat a thing until we have killed Paul.


text:
 Now then, you and the Council send word to the Roman commander to bring Paul down to you, pretending that you want to get more accurate information about him. But we will be ready to kill him before he ever gets here."


text:
 Then Paul called one of the officers and said to him, "Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him."


text:
 The officer took him, led him to the commander, and said, "The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, because he has something to say to you."


text:
 The commander took him by the hand, led him off by himself, and asked him, "What do you have to tell me?"


text:
 He said, "The Jewish authorities have agreed to ask you tomorrow to take Paul down to the Council, pretending that the Council wants to get more accurate information about him.


text:
 But don't listen to them, because there are more than forty men who will be hiding and waiting for him. They have taken a vow not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are now ready to do it and are waiting for your decision."


text:
 The commander said, "Don't tell anyone that you have reported this to me." And he sent the young man away.


text:
 Then the commander called two of his officers and said, "Get two hundred soldiers ready to go to Caesarea, together with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen, and be ready to leave by nine o'clock tonight.


text:
 The Jews seized this man and were about to kill him. I learned that he is a Roman citizen, so I went with my soldiers and rescued him.


text:
 I found out that he had not done a thing for which he deserved to die or be put in prison; the accusation against him had to do with questions about their own law.


text:
 And when I was informed that there was a plot against him, at once I decided to send him to you. I have told his accusers to make their charges against him before you."


text:
 The governor read the letter and asked Paul what province he was from. When he found out that he was from Cilicia,


text:
 he said, "I will hear you when your accusers arrive." Then he gave orders for Paul to be kept under guard in the governor's headquarters.


text:
 Five days later the High Priest Ananias went to Caesarea with some elders and a lawyer named Tertullus. They appeared before Governor Felix and made their charges against Paul.


text:
 Then Paul was called in, and Tertullus began to make his accusation, as follows: "Your Excellency! Your wise leadership has brought us a long period of peace, and many necessary reforms are being made for the good of our country.


text:
 I do not want to take up too much of your time, however, so I beg you to be kind and listen to our brief account.


text:
 We found this man to be a dangerous nuisance; he starts riots among Jews all over the world and is a leader of the party of the Nazarenes.


text:
 If you question this man, you yourself will be able to learn from him all the things that we are accusing him of."


text:
 The governor then motioned to Paul to speak, and Paul said, "I know that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, and so I am happy to defend myself before you.


text:
 As you can find out for yourself, it was no more than twelve days ago that I went to Jerusalem to worship.


text:
 The Jews did not find me arguing with anyone in the Temple, nor did they find me stirring up the people, either in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city.


text:
 I do admit this to you: I worship the God of our ancestors by following that Way which they say is false. But I also believe in everything written in the Law of Moses and the books of the prophets.


text:
 I have the same hope in God that these themselves have, namely, that all people, both the good and the bad, will rise from death.


text:
 "After being away from Jerusalem for several years, I went there to take some money to my own people and to offer sacrifices.


text:
 It was while I was doing this that they found me in the Temple after I had completed the ceremony of purification. There was no crowd with me and no disorder.


text:
 But some Jews from the province of Asia were there; they themselves ought to come before you and make their accusations if they have anything against me.


text:
 Or let these who are here tell what crime they found me guilty of when I stood before the Council---


text:
 except for the one thing I called out when I stood before them: 'I am being tried by you today for believing that the dead will rise to life.' "


text:
 Then Felix, who was well informed about the Way, brought the hearing to a close. "When the commander Lysias arrives," he told them, "I will decide your case."


text:
 He ordered the officer in charge of Paul to keep him under guard, but to give him some freedom and allow his friends to provide for his needs.


text:
 After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he talked about faith in Christ Jesus.


text:
 But as Paul went on discussing about goodness, self-control, and the coming Day of Judgment, Felix was afraid and said, "You may leave now. I will call you again when I get the chance."


text:
 At the same time he was hoping that Paul would give him some money; and for this reason he would call for him often and talk with him.


text:
 After two years had passed, Porcius Festus succeeded Felix as governor. Felix wanted to gain favor with the Jews so he left Paul in prison.


text:
 where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders brought their charges against Paul. They begged Festus


text:
 to do them the favor of having Paul come to Jerusalem, for they had made a plot to kill him on the way.


text:
 Festus answered, "Paul is being kept a prisoner in Caesarea, and I myself will be going back there soon.


text:
 Festus spent another eight or ten days with them and then went to Caesarea. On the next day he sat down in the judgment court and ordered Paul to be brought in.


text:
 When Paul arrived, the Jews who had come from Jerusalem stood around him and started making many serious charges against him, which they were not able to prove.


text:
 But Paul defended himself: "I have done nothing wrong against the Law of the Jews or against the Temple or against the Roman Emperor."


text:
 But Festus wanted to gain favor with the Jews, so he asked Paul, "Would you be willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried on these charges before me there?"


text:
 Paul said, "I am standing before the Emperor's own judgment court, where I should be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you yourself well know.


text:
 If I have broken the law and done something for which I deserve the death penalty, I do not ask to escape it. But if there is no truth in the charges they bring against me, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to the Emperor."


text:
 Then Festus, after conferring with his advisers, answered, "You have appealed to the Emperor, so to the Emperor you will go."


text:
 After they had been there several days, Festus explained Paul's situation to the king: "There is a man here who was left a prisoner by Felix;


text:
 and when I went to Jerusalem, the Jewish chief priests and elders brought charges against him and asked me to condemn him.


text:
 But I told them that we Romans are not in the habit of handing over any who are accused of a crime before they have met their accusers face-to-face and have had the chance of defending themselves against the accusation.


text:
 When they came here, then, I lost no time, but on the very next day I sat in the judgment court and ordered the man to be brought in.


text:
 His opponents stood up, but they did not accuse him of any of the evil crimes that I thought they would.


text:
 All they had were some arguments with him about their own religion and about a man named Jesus, who has died; but Paul claims that he is alive.


text:
 I was undecided about how I could get information on these matters, so I asked Paul if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried there on these charges.


text:
 But Paul appealed; he asked to be kept under guard and to let the Emperor decide his case. So I gave orders for him to be kept under guard until I could send him to the Emperor."


text:
 Agrippa said to Festus, "I would like to hear this man myself." "You will hear him tomorrow," Festus answered.


text:
 The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and ceremony and entered the audience hall with the military chiefs and the leading men of the city. Festus gave the order, and Paul was brought in.


text:
 Festus said, "King Agrippa and all who are here with us: You see this man against whom all the Jewish people, both here and in Jerusalem, have brought complaints to me. They scream that he should not live any longer.


text:
 But I could not find that he had done anything for which he deserved the death sentence. And since he himself made an appeal to the Emperor, I have decided to send him.


text:
 But I have nothing definite about him to write to the Emperor. So I have brought him here before you---and especially before you, King Agrippa!---so that, after investigating his case, I may have something to write.


text:
 For it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner without clearly indicating the charges against him."


text:
 Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak on your own behalf." Paul stretched out his hand and defended himself as follows:


text:
 "King Agrippa! I consider myself fortunate that today I am to defend myself before you from all the things these Jews accuse me of,


text:
 particularly since you know so well all the Jewish customs and disputes. I ask you, then, to listen to me with patience.


text:
 "All the Jews know how I have lived ever since I was young. They know how I have spent my whole life, at first in my own country and then in Jerusalem.


text:
 They have always known, if they are willing to testify, that from the very first I have lived as a member of the strictest party of our religion, the Pharisees.


text:
 And now I stand here to be tried because of the hope I have in the promise that God made to our ancestors---


text:
 the very thing that the twelve tribes of our people hope to receive, as they worship God day and night. And it is because of this hope, Your Majesty, that I am being accused by these Jews!


text:
 That is what I did in Jerusalem. I received authority from the chief priests and put many of God's people in prison; and when they were sentenced to death, I also voted against them.


text:
 Many times I had them punished in the synagogues and tried to make them deny their faith. I was so furious with them that I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.


text:
 It was on the road at midday, Your Majesty, that I saw a light much brighter than the sun, coming from the sky and shining around me and the men traveling with me.


text:
 All of us fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, 'Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me? You are hurting yourself by hitting back, like an ox kicking against its owner's stick.'


text:
 But get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant. You are to tell others what you have seen of me today and what I will show you in the future.


text:
 You are to open their eyes and turn them from the darkness to the light and from the power of Satan to God, so that through their faith in me they will have their sins forgiven and receive their place among God's chosen people.'


text:
 First in Damascus and in Jerusalem and then in the whole country of Israel and among the Gentiles, I preached that they must repent of their sins and turn to God and do the things that would show they had repented.


text:
 It was for this reason that these Jews seized me while I was in the Temple, and they tried to kill me.


text:
 But to this very day I have been helped by God, and so I stand here giving my witness to all, to small and great alike. What I say is the very same thing which the prophets and Moses said was going to happen:


text:
 that the Messiah must suffer and be the first one to rise from death, to announce the light of salvation to the Jews and to the Gentiles."


text:
 As Paul defended himself in this way, Festus shouted at him, "You are mad, Paul! Your great learning is driving you mad!"


text:
 King Agrippa! I can speak to you with all boldness, because you know about these things. I am sure that you have taken notice of every one of them, for this thing has not happened hidden away in a corner.


text:
 "Whether a short time or a long time," Paul answered, "my prayer to God is that you and all the rest of you who are listening to me today might become what I am---except, of course, for these chains!"


text:
 and after leaving they said to each other, "This man has not done anything for which he should die or be put in prison."


text:
 And Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been released if he had not appealed to the Emperor."


text:
 When it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they handed Paul and some other prisoners over to Julius, an officer in the Roman army regiment called "The Emperor's Regiment."


text:
 We went aboard a ship from Adramyttium, which was ready to leave for the seaports of the province of Asia, and we sailed away. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.


text:
 The next day we arrived at Sidon. Julius was kind to Paul and allowed him to go and see his friends, to be given what he needed.


text:
 We went on from there, and because the winds were blowing against us, we sailed on the sheltered side of the island of Cyprus.


text:
 There the officer found a ship from Alexandria that was going to sail for Italy, so he put us aboard.


text:
 We sailed slowly for several days and with great difficulty finally arrived off the town of Cnidus. The wind would not let us go any farther in that direction, so we sailed down the sheltered side of the island of Crete, passing by Cape Salmone.


text:
 We kept close to the coast and with great difficulty came to a place called Safe Harbors, not far from the town of Lasea.


text:
 We spent a long time there, until it became dangerous to continue the voyage, for by now the Day of Atonement was already past. So Paul gave them this advice:


text:
 "Men, I see that our voyage from here on will be dangerous; there will be great damage to the cargo and to the ship, and loss of life as well."


text:
 But the army officer was convinced by what the captain and the owner of the ship said, and not by what Paul said.


text:
 The harbor was not a good one to spend the winter in; so almost everyone was in favor of putting out to sea and trying to reach Phoenix, if possible, in order to spend the winter there. Phoenix is a harbor in Crete that faces southwest and northwest.


text:
 A soft wind from the south began to blow, and the men thought that they could carry out their plan, so they pulled up the anchor and sailed as close as possible along the coast of Crete.


text:
 It hit the ship, and since it was impossible to keep the ship headed into the wind, we gave up trying and let it be carried along by the wind.


text:
 We got some shelter when we passed to the south of the little island of Cauda. There, with some difficulty we managed to make the ship's boat secure.


text:
 They pulled it aboard and then fastened some ropes tight around the ship. They were afraid that they might run into the sandbanks off the coast of Libya, so they lowered the sail and let the ship be carried by the wind.


text:
 The violent storm continued, so on the next day they began to throw some of the ship's cargo overboard,


text:
 For many days we could not see the sun or the stars, and the wind kept on blowing very hard. We finally gave up all hope of being saved.


text:
 After everyone had gone a long time without food, Paul stood before them and said, "You should have listened to me and not have sailed from Crete; then we would have avoided all this damage and loss.


text:
 and said, 'Don't be afraid, Paul! You must stand before the Emperor. And God in his goodness to you has spared the lives of all those who are sailing with you.'


text:
 It was the fourteenth night, and we were being driven in the Mediterranean by the storm. About midnight the sailors suspected that we were getting close to land.


text:
 So they dropped a line with a weight tied to it and found that the water was one hundred and twenty feet deep; a little later they did the same and found that it was ninety feet deep.


text:
 They were afraid that the ship would go on the rocks, so they lowered four anchors from the back of the ship and prayed for daylight.


text:
 Then the sailors tried to escape from the ship; they lowered the boat into the water and pretended that they were going to put out some anchors from the front of the ship.


text:
 But Paul said to the army officer and soldiers, "If the sailors don't stay on board, you have no hope of being saved."


text:
 Just before dawn, Paul begged them all to eat some food: "You have been waiting for fourteen days now, and all this time you have not eaten a thing.


text:
 I beg you, then, eat some food; you need it in order to survive. Not even a hair of your heads will be lost."


text:
 After saying this, Paul took some bread, gave thanks to God before them all, broke it, and began to eat.


text:
 When day came, the sailors did not recognize the coast, but they noticed a bay with a beach and decided that, if possible, they would run the ship aground there.


text:
 So they cut off the anchors and let them sink in the sea, and at the same time they untied the ropes that held the steering oars. Then they raised the sail at the front of the ship so that the wind would blow the ship forward, and we headed for shore.


text:
 But the ship hit a sandbank and went aground; the front part of the ship got stuck and could not move, while the back part was being broken to pieces by the violence of the waves.


text:
 The soldiers made a plan to kill all the prisoners, in order to keep them from swimming ashore and escaping.


text:
 But the army officer wanted to save Paul, so he stopped them from doing this. Instead, he ordered everyone who could swim to jump overboard first and swim ashore;


text:
 the rest were to follow, holding on to the planks or to some broken pieces of the ship. And this was how we all got safely ashore.


text:
 The natives there were very friendly to us. It had started to rain and was cold, so they built a fire and made us all welcome.


text:
 Paul gathered up a bundle of sticks and was putting them on the fire when a snake came out on account of the heat and fastened itself to his hand.


text:
 The natives saw the snake hanging on Paul's hand and said to one another, "This man must be a murderer, but Fate will not let him live, even though he escaped from the sea."


text:
 They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after waiting for a long time and not seeing anything unusual happening to him, they changed their minds and said, "He is a god!"


text:
 Not far from that place were some fields that belonged to Publius, the chief of the island. He welcomed us kindly and for three days we were his guests.


text:
 Publius' father was in bed, sick with fever and dysentery. Paul went into his room, prayed, placed his hands on him, and healed him.


text:
 After three months we sailed away on a ship from Alexandria, called "The Twin Gods," which had spent the winter in the island.


text:
 From there we sailed on and arrived in the city of Rhegium. The next day a wind began to blow from the south, and in two days we came to the town of Puteoli.


text:
 The believers in Rome heard about us and came as far as the towns of Market of Appius and Three Inns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and was greatly encouraged.


text:
 After three days Paul called the local Jewish leaders to a meeting. When they had gathered, he said to them, "My fellow Israelites, even though I did nothing against our people or the customs that we received from our ancestors, I was made a prisoner in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.


text:
 After questioning me, the Romans wanted to release me, because they found that I had done nothing for which I deserved to die.


text:
 But when the Jews opposed this, I was forced to appeal to the Emperor, even though I had no accusation to make against my own people.


text:
 That is why I asked to see you and talk with you. As a matter of fact, I am bound in chains like this for the sake of him for whom the people of Israel hope."


text:
 They said to him, "We have not received any letters from Judea about you, nor have any of our people come from there with any news or anything bad to say about you.


text:
 But we would like to hear your ideas, because we know that everywhere people speak against this party to which you belong."


text:
 So they set a date with Paul, and a large number of them came that day to the place where Paul was staying. From morning till night he explained to them his message about the Kingdom of God, and he tried to convince them about Jesus by quoting from the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets.


text:
 So they left, disagreeing among themselves, after Paul had said this one thing: "How well the Holy Spirit spoke through the prophet Isaiah to your ancestors!


text:
 For he said, 'Go and say to this people: You will listen and listen, but not understand; you will look and look, but not see,


text:
 because this people's minds are dull, and they have stopped up their ears and closed their eyes. Otherwise, their eyes would see, their ears would hear, their minds would understand, and they would turn to me, says God, and I would heal them.' "


text:
 And Paul concluded: "You are to know, then, that God's message of salvation has been sent to the Gentiles. They will listen!"


text:
 For two years Paul lived in a place he rented for himself, and there he welcomed all who came to see him.


text:
 He preached about the Kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ, speaking with all boldness and freedom.


text:
 From James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ: Greetings to all God's people scattered over the whole world.


text:
 for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure.


text:
 Make sure that your endurance carries you all the way without failing, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.


text:
 But if any of you lack wisdom, you should pray to God, who will give it to you; because God gives generously and graciously to all.


text:
 But when you pray, you must believe and not doubt at all. Whoever doubts is like a wave in the sea that is driven and blown about by the wind.


text:
 If you are like that, unable to make up your mind and undecided in all you do, you must not think that you will receive anything from the Lord.


text:
 and the rich Christians must be glad when God brings them down. For the rich will pass away like the flower of a wild plant.


text:
 The sun rises with its blazing heat and burns the plant; its flower falls off, and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way the rich will be destroyed while they go about their business.


text:
 Happy are those who remain faithful under trials, because when they succeed in passing such a test, they will receive as their reward the life which God has promised to those who love him.


text:
 If we are tempted by such trials, we must not say, "This temptation comes from God." For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one.


text:
 Then our evil desires conceive and give birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.


text:
 Every good gift and every perfect present comes from heaven; it comes down from God, the Creator of the heavenly lights, who does not change or cause darkness by turning.


text:
 By his own will he brought us into being through the word of truth, so that we should have first place among all his creatures.


text:
 Remember this, my dear friends! Everyone must be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to become angry.


text:
 So get rid of every filthy habit and all wicked conduct. Submit to God and accept the word that he plants in your hearts, which is able to save you.


text:
 If you listen to the word, but do not put it into practice you are like people who look in a mirror and see themselves as they are.


text:
 But if you look closely into the perfect law that sets people free, and keep on paying attention to it and do not simply listen and then forget it, but put it into practice---you will be blessed by God in what you do.


text:
 Do any of you think you are religious? If you do not control your tongue, your religion is worthless and you deceive yourself.


text:
 What God the Father considers to be pure and genuine religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their suffering and to keep oneself from being corrupted by the world.


text:
 My friends, as believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, you must never treat people in different ways according to their outward appearance.


text:
 Suppose a rich man wearing a gold ring and fine clothes comes to your meeting, and a poor man in ragged clothes also comes.


text:
 If you show more respect to the well-dressed man and say to him, "Have this best seat here," but say to the poor man, "Stand over there, or sit here on the floor by my feet,"


text:
 then you are guilty of creating distinctions among yourselves and of making judgments based on evil motives.


text:
 Listen, my dear friends! God chose the poor people of this world to be rich in faith and to possess the kingdom which he promised to those who love him.


text:
 But you dishonor the poor! Who are the ones who oppress you and drag you before the judges? The rich!


text:
 You will be doing the right thing if you obey the law of the Kingdom, which is found in the scripture, "Love your neighbor as you love yourself."


text:
 But if you treat people according to their outward appearance, you are guilty of sin, and the Law condemns you as a lawbreaker.


text:
 For the same one who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not commit murder." Even if you do not commit adultery, you have become a lawbreaker if you commit murder.


text:
 For God will not show mercy when he judges the person who has not been merciful; but mercy triumphs over judgment.


text:
 My friends, what good is it for one of you to say that you have faith if your actions do not prove it? Can that faith save you?


text:
 What good is there in your saying to them, "God bless you! Keep warm and eat well!"---if you don't give them the necessities of life?


text:
 But someone will say, "One person has faith, another has actions." My answer is, "Show me how anyone can have faith without actions. I will show you my faith by my actions."


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 How was our ancestor Abraham put right with God? It was through his actions, when he offered his son Isaac on the altar.


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 Can't you see? His faith and his actions worked together; his faith was made perfect through his actions.


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 And the scripture came true that said, "Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous." And so Abraham was called God's friend.


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 You see, then, that it is by our actions that we are put right with God, and not by our faith alone.


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 It was the same with the prostitute Rahab. She was put right with God through her actions, by welcoming the Israelite spies and helping them to escape by a different road.


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 My friends, not many of you should become teachers. As you know, we teachers will be judged with greater strictness than others.


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 All of us often make mistakes. But if a person never makes a mistake in what he says, he is perfect and is also able to control his whole being.


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 We put a bit into the mouth of a horse to make it obey us, and we are able to make it go where we want.


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 Or think of a ship: big as it is and driven by such strong winds, it can be steered by a very small rudder, and it goes wherever the pilot wants it to go.


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 So it is with the tongue: small as it is, it can boast about great things. Just think how large a forest can be set on fire by a tiny flame!


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 And the tongue is like a fire. It is a world of wrong, occupying its place in our bodies and spreading evil through our whole being. It sets on fire the entire course of our existence with the fire that comes to it from hell itself.


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 We humans are able to tame and have tamed all other creatures---wild animals and birds, reptiles and fish.


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 But no one has ever been able to tame the tongue. It is evil and uncontrollable, full of deadly poison.


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 We use it to give thanks to our Lord and Father and also to curse other people, who are created in the likeness of God.


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 Words of thanksgiving and cursing pour out from the same mouth. My friends, this should not happen!


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 A fig tree, my friends, cannot bear olives; a grapevine cannot bear figs, nor can a salty spring produce sweet water.


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 Are there any of you who are wise and understanding? You are to prove it by your good life, by your good deeds performed with humility and wisdom.


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 But if in your heart you are jealous, bitter, and selfish, don't sin against the truth by boasting of your wisdom.


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 Such wisdom does not come down from heaven; it belongs to the world, it is unspiritual and demonic.


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 But the wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle, and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy.


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 Where do all the fights and quarrels among you come from? They come from your desires for pleasure, which are constantly fighting within you.


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 You want things, but you cannot have them, so you are ready to kill; you strongly desire things, but you cannot get them, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have what you want because you do not ask God for it.


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 And when you ask, you do not receive it, because your motives are bad; you ask for things to use for your own pleasures.


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 Unfaithful people! Don't you know that to be the world's friend means to be God's enemy? If you want to be the world's friend, you make yourself God's enemy.


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 Don't think that there is no truth in the scripture that says, "The spirit that God placed in us is filled with fierce desires."


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 But the grace that God gives is even stronger. As the scripture says, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."


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 Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners! Purify your hearts, you hypocrites!


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 Do not criticize one another, my friends. If you criticize or judge another Christian, you criticize and judge the Law. If you judge the Law, then you are no longer one who obeys the Law, but one who judges it.


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 God is the only lawgiver and judge. He alone can save and destroy. Who do you think you are, to judge someone else?


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 Now listen to me, you that say, "Today or tomorrow we will travel to a certain city, where we will stay a year and go into business and make a lot of money."


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 You don't even know what your life tomorrow will be! You are like a puff of smoke, which appears for a moment and then disappears.


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 Your gold and silver are covered with rust, and this rust will be a witness against you and will eat up your flesh like fire. You have piled up riches in these last days.


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 You have not paid any wages to those who work in your fields. Listen to their complaints! The cries of those who gather in your crops have reached the ears of God, the Lord Almighty.


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 Your life here on earth has been full of luxury and pleasure. You have made yourselves fat for the day of slaughter.


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 Be patient, then, my friends, until the Lord comes. See how patient farmers are as they wait for their land to produce precious crops. They wait patiently for the autumn and spring rains.


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 Do not complain against one another, my friends, so that God will not judge you. The Judge is near, ready to appear.


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 My friends, remember the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Take them as examples of patient endurance under suffering.


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 We call them happy because they endured. You have heard of Job's patience, and you know how the Lord provided for him in the end. For the Lord is full of mercy and compassion.


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 Above all, my friends, do not use an oath when you make a promise. Do not swear by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Say only "Yes" when you mean yes, and "No" when you mean no, and then you will not come under God's judgment.


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 Are any among you sick? They should send for the church elders, who will pray for them and rub olive oil on them in the name of the Lord.


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 This prayer made in faith will heal the sick; the Lord will restore them to health, and the sins they have committed will be forgiven.


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 So then, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you will be healed. The prayer of a good person has a powerful effect.


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 Elijah was the same kind of person as we are. He prayed earnestly that there would be no rain, and no rain fell on the land for three and a half years.


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 remember this: whoever turns a sinner back from the wrong way will save that sinner's soul from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.


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 From Peter, apostle of Jesus Christ--- To God's chosen people who live as refugees scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.


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 You were chosen according to the purpose of God the Father and were made a holy people by his Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be purified by his blood. May grace and peace be yours in full measure.


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 Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy he gave us new life by raising Jesus Christ from death. This fills us with a living hope,


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 and so we look forward to possessing the rich blessings that God keeps for his people. He keeps them for you in heaven, where they cannot decay or spoil or fade away.


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 They are for you, who through faith are kept safe by God's power for the salvation which is ready to be revealed at the end of time.


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 Be glad about this, even though it may now be necessary for you to be sad for a while because of the many kinds of trials you suffer.


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 Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honor on the Day when Jesus Christ is revealed.


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 You love him, although you have not seen him, and you believe in him, although you do not now see him. So you rejoice with a great and glorious joy which words cannot express,


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 It was concerning this salvation that the prophets made careful search and investigation, and they prophesied about this gift which God would give you.


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 They tried to find out when the time would be and how it would come. This was the time to which Christ's Spirit in them was pointing, in predicting the sufferings that Christ would have to endure and the glory that would follow.


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 God revealed to these prophets that their work was not for their own benefit, but for yours, as they spoke about those things which you have now heard from the messengers who announced the Good News by the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. These are things which even the angels would like to understand.


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 So then, have your minds ready for action. Keep alert and set your hope completely on the blessing which will be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.


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 Be obedient to God, and do not allow your lives to be shaped by those desires you had when you were still ignorant.


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 You call him Father, when you pray to God, who judges all people by the same standard, according to what each one has done; so then, spend the rest of your lives here on earth in reverence for him.


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 For you know what was paid to set you free from the worthless manner of life handed down by your ancestors. It was not something that can be destroyed, such as silver or gold;


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 He had been chosen by God before the creation of the world and was revealed in these last days for your sake.


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 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from death and gave him glory; and so your faith and hope are fixed on God.


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 Now that by your obedience to the truth you have purified yourselves and have come to have a sincere love for other believers, love one another earnestly with all your heart.


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 For through the living and eternal word of God you have been born again as the children of a parent who is immortal, not mortal.


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 As the scripture says, "All human beings are like grass, and all their glory is like wild flowers. The grass withers, and the flowers fall,


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 Be like newborn babies, always thirsty for the pure spiritual milk, so that by drinking it you may grow up and be saved.


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 Come as living stones, and let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple, where you will serve as holy priests to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ.


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 For the scripture says, "I chose a valuable stone, which I am placing as the cornerstone in Zion; and whoever believes in him will never be disappointed."


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 This stone is of great value for you that believe; but for those who do not believe: "The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all."


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 And another scripture says, "This is the stone that will make people stumble, the rock that will make them fall." They stumbled because they did not believe in the word; such was God's will for them.


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 But you are the chosen race, the King's priests, the holy nation, God's own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his own marvelous light.


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 At one time you were not God's people, but now you are his people; at one time you did not know God's mercy, but now you have received his mercy.


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 I appeal to you, my friends, as strangers and refugees in this world! Do not give in to bodily passions, which are always at war against the soul.


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 Your conduct among the heathen should be so good that when they accuse you of being evildoers, they will have to recognize your good deeds and so praise God on the Day of his coming.


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 For the sake of the Lord submit yourselves to every human authority: to the Emperor, who is the supreme authority,


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 and to the governors, who have been appointed by him to punish the evildoers and to praise those who do good.


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 Live as free people; do not, however, use your freedom to cover up any evil, but live as God's slaves.


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 You servants must submit yourselves to your masters and show them complete respect, not only to those who are kind and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.


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 God will bless you for this, if you endure the pain of undeserved suffering because you are conscious of his will.


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 For what credit is there if you endure the beatings you deserve for having done wrong? But if you endure suffering even when you have done right, God will bless you for it.


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 It was to this that God called you, for Christ himself suffered for you and left you an example, so that you would follow in his steps.


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 When he was insulted, he did not answer back with an insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but placed his hopes in God, the righteous Judge.


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 Christ himself carried our sins in his body to the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. It is by his wounds that you have been healed.


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 You were like sheep that had lost their way, but now you have been brought back to follow the Shepherd and Keeper of your souls.


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 In the same way you wives must submit yourselves to your husbands, so that if any of them do not believe God's word, your conduct will win them over to believe. It will not be necessary for you to say a word,


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 You should not use outward aids to make yourselves beautiful, such as the way you fix your hair, or the jewelry you put on, or the dresses you wear.


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 Instead, your beauty should consist of your true inner self, the ageless beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of the greatest value in God's sight.


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 For the devout women of the past who placed their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful by submitting themselves to their husbands.


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 Sarah was like that; she obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are now her daughters if you do good and are not afraid of anything.


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 In the same way you husbands must live with your wives with the proper understanding that they are more delicate than you. Treat them with respect, because they also will receive, together with you, God's gift of life. Do this so that nothing will interfere with your prayers.


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 To conclude: you must all have the same attitude and the same feelings; love one another, and be kind and humble with one another.


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 Do not pay back evil with evil or cursing with cursing; instead, pay back with a blessing, because a blessing is what God promised to give you when he called you.


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 As the scripture says, "If you want to enjoy life and wish to see good times, you must keep from speaking evil and stop telling lies.


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 For the Lord watches over the righteous and listens to their prayers; but he opposes those who do evil."


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 But even if you should suffer for doing what is right, how happy you are! Do not be afraid of anyone, and do not worry.


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 But have reverence for Christ in your hearts, and honor him as Lord. Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you,


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 but do it with gentleness and respect. Keep your conscience clear, so that when you are insulted, those who speak evil of your good conduct as followers of Christ will become ashamed of what they say.


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 For Christ died for sins once and for all, a good man on behalf of sinners, in order to lead you to God. He was put to death physically, but made alive spiritually,


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 These were the spirits of those who had not obeyed God when he waited patiently during the days that Noah was building his boat. The few people in the boat---eight in all---were saved by the water,


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 which was a symbol pointing to baptism, which now saves you. It is not the washing off of bodily dirt, but the promise made to God from a good conscience. It saves you through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,


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 who has gone to heaven and is at the right side of God, ruling over all angels and heavenly authorities and powers.


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 Since Christ suffered physically, you too must strengthen yourselves with the same way of thinking that he had; because whoever suffers physically is no longer involved with sin.


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 From now on, then, you must live the rest of your earthly lives controlled by God's will and not by human desires.


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 You have spent enough time in the past doing what the heathen like to do. Your lives were spent in indecency, lust, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and the disgusting worship of idols.


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 And now the heathen are surprised when you do not join them in the same wild and reckless living, and so they insult you.


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 But they will have to give an account of themselves to God, who is ready to judge the living and the dead.


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 That is why the Good News was preached also to the dead, to those who had been judged in their physical existence as everyone is judged; it was preached to them so that in their spiritual existence they may live as God lives.


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 Each one, as a good manager of God's different gifts, must use for the good of others the special gift he has received from God.


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 Those who preach must preach God's messages; those who serve must serve with the strength that God gives them, so that in all things praise may be given to God through Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and power forever and ever. Amen.


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 My dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful test you are suffering, as though something unusual were happening to you.


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 Rather be glad that you are sharing Christ's sufferings, so that you may be full of joy when his glory is revealed.


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 Happy are you if you are insulted because you are Christ's followers; this means that the glorious Spirit, the Spirit of God, is resting on you.


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 If you suffer, it must not be because you are a murderer or a thief or a criminal or a meddler in other people's affairs.


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 However, if you suffer because you are a Christian, don't be ashamed of it, but thank God that you bear Christ's name.


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 The time has come for judgment to begin, and God's own people are the first to be judged. If it starts with us, how will it end with those who do not believe the Good News from God?


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 As the scripture says, "It is difficult for good people to be saved; what, then, will become of godless sinners?"


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 So then, those who suffer because it is God's will for them, should by their good actions trust themselves completely to their Creator, who always keeps his promise.


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 I, who am an elder myself, appeal to the church elders among you. I am a witness of Christ's sufferings, and I will share in the glory that will be revealed. I appeal to you


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 to be shepherds of the flock that God gave you and to take care of it willingly, as God wants you to, and not unwillingly. Do your work, not for mere pay, but from a real desire to serve.


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 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the glorious crown which will never lose its brightness.


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 In the same way you younger people must submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you must put on the apron of humility, to serve one another; for the scripture says, "God resists the proud, but shows favor to the humble."


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 Humble yourselves, then, under God's mighty hand, so that he will lift you up in his own good time.


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 Be alert, be on watch! Your enemy, the Devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.


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 Be firm in your faith and resist him, because you know that other believers in all the world are going through the same kind of sufferings.


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 But after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who calls you to share his eternal glory in union with Christ, will himself perfect you and give you firmness, strength, and a sure foundation.


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 I write you this brief letter with the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful Christian. I want to encourage you and give my testimony that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.


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 Greet one another with the kiss of Christian love. May peace be with all of you who belong to Christ.


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 From Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ--- To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have been given a faith as precious as ours:


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 God's divine power has given us everything we need to live a truly religious life through our knowledge of the one who called us to share in his own glory and goodness.


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 In this way he has given us the very great and precious gifts he promised, so that by means of these gifts you may escape from the destructive lust that is in the world, and may come to share the divine nature.


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 to your knowledge add self-control; to your self-control add endurance; to your endurance add godliness;


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 These are the qualities you need, and if you have them in abundance, they will make you active and effective in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.


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 But if you do not have them, you are so shortsighted that you cannot see and have forgotten that you have been purified from your past sins.


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 So then, my friends, try even harder to make God's call and his choice of you a permanent experience; if you do so, you will never abandon your faith.


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 In this way you will be given the full right to enter the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.


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 And so I will always remind you of these matters, even though you already know them and are firmly grounded in the truth you have received.


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 I will do my best, then, to provide a way for you to remember these matters at all times after my death.


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 We have not depended on made-up stories in making known to you the mighty coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. With our own eyes we saw his greatness.


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 We were there when he was given honor and glory by God the Father, when the voice came to him from the Supreme Glory, saying, "This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased!"


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 So we are even more confident of the message proclaimed by the prophets. You will do well to pay attention to it, because it is like a lamp shining in a dark place until the Day dawns and the light of the morning star shines in your hearts.


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 Above all else, however, remember that none of us can explain by ourselves a prophecy in the Scriptures.


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 For no prophetic message ever came just from the human will, but people were under the control of the Holy Spirit as they spoke the message that came from God.


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 False prophets appeared in the past among the people, and in the same way false teachers will appear among you. They will bring in destructive, untrue doctrines, and will deny the Master who redeemed them, and so they will bring upon themselves sudden destruction.


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 Even so, many will follow their immoral ways; and because of what they do, others will speak evil of the Way of truth.


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 In their greed these false teachers will make a profit out of telling you made-up stories. For a long time now their Judge has been ready, and their Destroyer has been wide awake!


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 God did not spare the angels who sinned, but threw them into hell, where they are kept chained in darkness, waiting for the Day of Judgment.


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 God did not spare the ancient world, but brought the flood on the world of godless people; the only ones he saved were Noah, who preached righteousness, and seven other people.


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 God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, destroying them with fire, and made them an example of what will happen to the godless.


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 That good man lived among them, and day after day he suffered agony as he saw and heard their evil actions.


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 And so the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials and how to keep the wicked under punishment for the Day of Judgment,


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 especially those who follow their filthy bodily lusts and despise God's authority. These false teachers are bold and arrogant, and show no respect for the glorious beings above; instead, they insult them.


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 Even the angels, who are so much stronger and mightier than these false teachers, do not accuse them with insults in the presence of the Lord.


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 But these people act by instinct, like wild animals born to be captured and killed; they attack with insults anything they do not understand. They will be destroyed like wild animals,


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 and they will be paid with suffering for the suffering they have caused. Pleasure for them is to do anything in broad daylight that will satisfy their bodily appetites; they are a shame and a disgrace as they join you in your meals, all the while enjoying their deceitful ways!


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 They want to look for nothing but the chance to commit adultery; their appetite for sin is never satisfied. They lead weak people into a trap. Their hearts are trained to be greedy. They are under God's curse!


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 They have left the straight path and have lost their way; they have followed the path taken by Balaam son of Beor, who loved the money he would get for doing wrong


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 and was rebuked for his sin. His donkey spoke with a human voice and stopped the prophet's insane action.


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 These people are like dried-up springs, like clouds blown along by a storm; God has reserved a place for them in the deepest darkness.


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 They make proud and stupid statements, and use immoral bodily lusts to trap those who are just beginning to escape from among people who live in error.


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 They promise them freedom while they themselves are slaves of destructive habits---for we are slaves of anything that has conquered us.


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 If people have escaped from the corrupting forces of the world through their knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and then are again caught and conquered by them, such people are in worse condition at the end than they were at the beginning.


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 It would have been much better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than to know it and then turn away from the sacred command that was given them.


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 What happened to them shows that the proverbs are true: "A dog goes back to what it has vomited" and "A pig that has been washed goes back to roll in the mud."


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 My dear friends, this is now the second letter I have written you. In both letters I have tried to arouse pure thoughts in your minds by reminding you of these things.


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 I want you to remember the words that were spoken long ago by the holy prophets, and the command from the Lord and Savior which was given you by your apostles.


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 First of all, you must understand that in the last days some people will appear whose lives are controlled by their own lusts. They will make fun of you


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 and will ask, "He promised to come, didn't he? Where is he? Our ancestors have already died, but everything is still the same as it was since the creation of the world!"


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 They purposely ignore the fact that long ago God gave a command, and the heavens and earth were created. The earth was formed out of water and by water,


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 But the heavens and the earth that now exist are being preserved by the same command of God, in order to be destroyed by fire. They are being kept for the day when godless people will be judged and destroyed.


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 But do not forget one thing, my dear friends! There is no difference in the Lord's sight between one day and a thousand years; to him the two are the same.


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 The Lord is not slow to do what he has promised, as some think. Instead, he is patient with you, because he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins.


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 But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that Day the heavens will disappear with a shrill noise, the heavenly bodies will burn up and be destroyed, and the earth with everything in it will vanish.


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 Since all these things will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people should you be? Your lives should be holy and dedicated to God,


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 as you wait for the Day of God and do your best to make it come soon---the Day when the heavens will burn up and be destroyed, and the heavenly bodies will be melted by the heat.


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 But we wait for what God has promised: new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness will be at home.


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 And so, my friends, as you wait for that Day, do your best to be pure and faultless in God's sight and to be at peace with him.


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 Look on our Lord's patience as the opportunity he is giving you to be saved, just as our dear friend Paul wrote to you, using the wisdom that God gave him.


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 This is what he says in all his letters when he writes on the subject. There are some difficult things in his letters which ignorant and unstable people explain falsely, as they do with other passages of the Scriptures. So they bring on their own destruction.


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 But you, my friends, already know this. Be on your guard, then, so that you will not be led away by the errors of lawless people and fall from your safe position.


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 But continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory, now and forever! Amen.


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 We write to you about the Word of life, which has existed from the very beginning. We have heard it, and we have seen it with our eyes; yes, we have seen it, and our hands have touched it.


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 When this life became visible, we saw it; so we speak of it and tell you about the eternal life which was with the Father and was made known to us.


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 What we have seen and heard we announce to you also, so that you will join with us in the fellowship that we have with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.


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 Now the message that we have heard from his Son and announce is this: God is light, and there is no darkness at all in him.


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 If, then, we say that we have fellowship with him, yet at the same time live in the darkness, we are lying both in our words and in our actions.


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 But if we live in the light---just as he is in the light---then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from every sin.


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 But if we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing.


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 I am writing this to you, my children, so that you will not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have someone who pleads with the Father on our behalf---Jesus Christ, the righteous one.


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 And Christ himself is the means by which our sins are forgiven, and not our sins only, but also the sins of everyone.


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 If we say that we know him, but do not obey his commands, we are liars and there is no truth in us.


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 But if we obey his word, we are the ones whose love for God has really been made perfect. This is how we can be sure that we are in union with God:


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 My dear friends, this command I am writing you is not new; it is the old command, the one you have had from the very beginning. The old command is the message you have already heard.


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 However, the command I now write you is new, because its truth is seen in Christ and also in you. For the darkness is passing away, and the real light is already shining.


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 If we love others, we live in the light, and so there is nothing in us that will cause someone else to sin.


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 But if we hate others, we are in the darkness; we walk in it and do not know where we are going, because the darkness has made us blind.


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 I write to you, fathers, because you know him who has existed from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you have defeated the Evil One.


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 I write to you, my children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who has existed from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you are strong; the word of God lives in you, and you have defeated the Evil One.


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 Do not love the world or anything that belongs to the world. If you love the world, you do not love the Father.


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 Everything that belongs to the world---what the sinful self desires, what people see and want, and everything in this world that people are so proud of---none of this comes from the Father; it all comes from the world.


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 The world and everything in it that people desire is passing away; but those who do the will of God live forever.


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 My children, the end is near! You were told that the Enemy of Christ would come; and now many enemies of Christ have already appeared, and so we know that the end is near.


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 These people really did not belong to our fellowship, and that is why they left us; if they had belonged to our fellowship, they would have stayed with us. But they left so that it might be clear that none of them really belonged to us.


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 I write you, then, not because you do not know the truth; instead, it is because you do know it, and you also know that no lie ever comes from the truth.


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 Who, then, is the liar? It is those who say that Jesus is not the Messiah. Such people are the Enemy of Christ---they reject both the Father and the Son.


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 For those who reject the Son reject also the Father; those who accept the Son have the Father also.


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 Be sure, then, to keep in your hearts the message you heard from the beginning. If you keep that message, then you will always live in union with the Son and the Father.


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 But as for you, Christ has poured out his Spirit on you. As long as his Spirit remains in you, you do not need anyone to teach you. For his Spirit teaches you about everything, and what he teaches is true, not false. Obey the Spirit's teaching, then, and remain in union with Christ.


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 Yes, my children, remain in union with him, so that when he appears we may be full of courage and need not hide in shame from him on the Day he comes.


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 You know that Christ is righteous; you should know, then, that everyone who does what is right is God's child.


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 See how much the Father has loved us! His love is so great that we are called God's children---and so, in fact, we are. This is why the world does not know us: it has not known God.


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 My dear friends, we are now God's children, but it is not yet clear what we shall become. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he really is.


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 So everyone who lives in union with Christ does not continue to sin; but whoever continues to sin has never seen him or known him.


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 Let no one deceive you, my children! Whoever does what is right is righteous, just as Christ is righteous.


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 Whoever continues to sin belongs to the Devil, because the Devil has sinned from the very beginning. The Son of God appeared for this very reason, to destroy what the Devil had done.


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 Those who are children of God do not continue to sin, for God's very nature is in them; and because God is their Father, they cannot continue to sin.


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 Here is the clear difference between God's children and the Devil's children: those who do not do what is right or do not love others are not God's children.


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 We must not be like Cain; he belonged to the Evil One and murdered his own brother Abel. Why did Cain murder him? Because the things he himself did were wrong, and the things his brother did were right.


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 We know that we have left death and come over into life; we know it because we love others. Those who do not love are still under the power of death.


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 This is how we know what love is: Christ gave his life for us. We too, then, ought to give our lives for others!


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 If we are rich and see others in need, yet close our hearts against them, how can we claim that we love God?


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 My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action.


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 This, then, is how we will know that we belong to the truth; this is how we will be confident in God's presence.


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 If our conscience condemns us, we know that God is greater than our conscience and that he knows everything.


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 What he commands is that we believe in his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as Christ commanded us.


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 Those who obey God's commands live in union with God and God lives in union with them. And because of the Spirit that God has given us we know that God lives in union with us.


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 My dear friends, do not believe all who claim to have the Spirit, but test them to find out if the spirit they have comes from God. For many false prophets have gone out everywhere.


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 This is how you will be able to know whether it is God's Spirit: anyone who acknowledges that Jesus Christ came as a human being has the Spirit who comes from God.


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 But anyone who denies this about Jesus does not have the Spirit from God. The spirit that he has is from the Enemy of Christ; you heard that it would come, and now it is here in the world already.


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 But you belong to God, my children, and have defeated the false prophets, because the Spirit who is in you is more powerful than the spirit in those who belong to the world.


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 Those false prophets speak about matters of the world, and the world listens to them because they belong to the world.


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 But we belong to God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever does not belong to God does not listen to us. This, then, is how we can tell the difference between the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.


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 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Whoever loves is a child of God and knows God.


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 And God showed his love for us by sending his only Son into the world, so that we might have life through him.


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 This is what love is: it is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven.


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 No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in union with us, and his love is made perfect in us.


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 We are sure that we live in union with God and that he lives in union with us, because he has given us his Spirit.


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 If we declare that Jesus is the Son of God, we live in union with God and God lives in union with us.


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 And we ourselves know and believe the love which God has for us. God is love, and those who live in love live in union with God and God lives in union with them.


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 Love is made perfect in us in order that we may have courage on the Judgment Day; and we will have it because our life in this world is the same as Christ's.


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 There is no fear in love; perfect love drives out all fear. So then, love has not been made perfect in anyone who is afraid, because fear has to do with punishment.


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 If we say we love God, but hate others, we are liars. For we cannot love God, whom we have not seen, if we do not love others, whom we have seen.


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 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Messiah is a child of God; and whoever loves a father loves his child also.


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 because every child of God is able to defeat the world. And we win the victory over the world by means of our faith.


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 Jesus Christ is the one who came with the water of his baptism and the blood of his death. He came not only with the water, but with both the water and the blood. And the Spirit himself testifies that this is true, because the Spirit is truth.


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 We believe human testimony; but God's testimony is much stronger, and he has given this testimony about his Son.


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 So those who believe in the Son of God have this testimony in their own heart; but those who do not believe God, have made a liar of him, because they have not believed what God has said about his Son.


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 I am writing this to you so that you may know that you have eternal life---you that believe in the Son of God.


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 We have courage in God's presence, because we are sure that he hears us if we ask him for anything that is according to his will.


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 He hears us whenever we ask him; and since we know this is true, we know also that he gives us what we ask from him.


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 If you see a believer commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray to God, who will give that person life. This applies to those whose sins do not lead to death. But there is sin which leads to death, and I do not say that you should pray to God about that.


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 We know that no children of God keep on sinning, for the Son of God keeps them safe, and the Evil One cannot harm them.


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 We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we know the true God. We live in union with the true God---in union with his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and this is eternal life.


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 From the Elder--- To the dear Lady and to her children, whom I truly love. And I am not the only one, but all who know the truth love you,


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 May God the Father and Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, give us grace, mercy, and peace; may they be ours in truth and love.


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 How happy I was to find that some of your children live in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.


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 And so I ask you, dear Lady: let us all love one another. This is no new command I am writing you; it is the command which we have had from the beginning.


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 This love I speak of means that we must live in obedience to God's commands. The command, as you have all heard from the beginning, is that you must all live in love.


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 Many deceivers have gone out over the world, people who do not acknowledge that Jesus Christ came as a human being. Such a person is a deceiver and the Enemy of Christ.


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 Be on your guard, then, so that you will not lose what we have worked for, but will receive your reward in full.


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 Anyone who does not stay with the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God. Whoever does stay with the teaching has both the Father and the Son.


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 So then, if some come to you who do not bring this teaching, do not welcome them in your homes; do not even say, "Peace be with you."


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 I have so much to tell you, but I would rather not do it with paper and ink; instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you personally, so that we shall be completely happy.


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 My dear friend, I pray that everything may go well with you and that you may be in good health---as I know you are well in spirit.


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 I was so happy when some Christians arrived and told me how faithful you are to the truth---just as you always live in the truth.


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 My dear friend, you are so faithful in the work you do for other Christians, even when they are strangers.


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 They have spoken to the church here about your love. Please help them to continue their trip in a way that will please God.


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 For they set out on their trip in the service of Christ without accepting any help from unbelievers.


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 I wrote a short letter to the church; but Diotrephes, who likes to be their leader, will not pay any attention to what I say.


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 When I come, then, I will bring up everything he has done: the terrible things he says about us and the lies he tells! But that is not enough for him; he will not receive the Christians when they come, and even stops those who want to receive them and tries to drive them out of the church!


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 My dear friend, do not imitate what is bad, but imitate what is good. Whoever does good belongs to God; whoever does what is bad has not seen God.


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 Everyone speaks well of Demetrius; truth itself speaks well of him. And we add our testimony, and you know that what we say is true.


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 I hope to see you soon, and then we will talk personally. (1:15) Peace be with you. All your friends send greetings. Greet all our friends personally.


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 From Jude, servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James--- To those who have been called by God, who live in the love of God the Father and the protection of Jesus Christ:


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 My dear friends, I was doing my best to write to you about the salvation we share in common, when I felt the need of writing at once to encourage you to fight on for the faith which once and for all God has given to his people.


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 For some godless people have slipped in unnoticed among us, persons who distort the message about the grace of our God in order to excuse their immoral ways, and who reject Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord. Long ago the Scriptures predicted the condemnation they have received.


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 For even though you know all this, I want to remind you of how the Lord once rescued the people of Israel from Egypt, but afterward destroyed those who did not believe.


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 Remember the angels who did not stay within the limits of their proper authority, but abandoned their own dwelling place: they are bound with eternal chains in the darkness below, where God is keeping them for that great Day on which they will be condemned.


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 Remember Sodom and Gomorrah, and the nearby towns, whose people acted as those angels did and indulged in sexual immorality and perversion: they suffer the punishment of eternal fire as a plain warning to all.


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 In the same way also, these people have visions which make them sin against their own bodies; they despise God's authority and insult the glorious beings above.


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 Not even the chief angel Michael did this. In his quarrel with the Devil, when they argued about who would have the body of Moses, Michael did not dare condemn the Devil with insulting words, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"


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 But these people attack with insults anything they do not understand; and those things that they know by instinct, like wild animals, are the very things that destroy them.


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 How terrible for them! They have followed the way that Cain took. For the sake of money they have given themselves over to the error that Balaam committed. They have rebelled as Korah rebelled, and like him they are destroyed.


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 With their shameless carousing they are like dirty spots in your fellowship meals. They take care only of themselves. They are like clouds carried along by the wind, but bringing no rain. They are like trees that bear no fruit, even in autumn, trees that have been pulled up by the roots and are completely dead.


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 They are like wild waves of the sea, with their shameful deeds showing up like foam. They are like wandering stars, for whom God has reserved a place forever in the deepest darkness.


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 It was Enoch, the seventh direct descendant from Adam, who long ago prophesied this about them: "The Lord will come with many thousands of his holy angels


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 to bring judgment on all, to condemn them all for the godless deeds they have performed and for all the terrible words that godless sinners have spoken against him!"


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 These people are always grumbling and blaming others; they follow their own evil desires; they brag about themselves and flatter others in order to get their own way.


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 They said to you, "When the last days come, people will appear who will make fun of you, people who follow their own godless desires."


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 These are the people who cause divisions, who are controlled by their natural desires, who do not have the Spirit.


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 But you, my friends, keep on building yourselves up on your most sacred faith. Pray in the power of the Holy Spirit,


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 and keep yourselves in the love of God, as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy to give you eternal life.


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 save others by snatching them out of the fire; and to others show mercy mixed with fear, but hate their very clothes, stained by their sinful lusts.


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 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to bring you faultless and joyful before his glorious presence---


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 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, might, and authority, from all ages past, and now, and forever and ever! Amen.


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 From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus and an apostle chosen and called by God to preach his Good News.


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 The Good News was promised long ago by God through his prophets, as written in the Holy Scriptures.


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 as to his divine holiness, he was shown with great power to be the Son of God by being raised from death.


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 Through him God gave me the privilege of being an apostle for the sake of Christ, in order to lead people of all nations to believe and obey.


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 And so I write to all of you in Rome whom God loves and has called to be his own people: May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.


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 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because the whole world is hearing about your faith.


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 God is my witness that what I say is true---the God whom I serve with all my heart by preaching the Good News about his Son. God knows that I remember you


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 every time I pray. I ask that God in his good will may at last make it possible for me to visit you now.


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 For I want very much to see you, in order to share a spiritual blessing with you to make you strong.


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 What I mean is that both you and I will be helped at the same time, you by my faith and I by yours.


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 You must remember, my friends, that many times I have planned to visit you, but something has always kept me from doing so. I want to win converts among you also, as I have among other Gentiles.


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 For I have an obligation to all peoples, to the civilized and to the savage, to the educated and to the ignorant.


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 I have complete confidence in the gospel; it is God's power to save all who believe, first the Jews and also the Gentiles.


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 For the gospel reveals how God puts people right with himself: it is through faith from beginning to end. As the scripture says, "The person who is put right with God through faith shall live."


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 God's anger is revealed from heaven against all the sin and evil of the people whose evil ways prevent the truth from being known.


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 God punishes them, because what can be known about God is plain to them, for God himself made it plain.


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 Ever since God created the world, his invisible qualities, both his eternal power and his divine nature, have been clearly seen; they are perceived in the things that God has made. So those people have no excuse at all!


