Chapter 74 of 257

“Behold, I am sending my messenger before your face,

Now at that time, Herod the king laid hands on some of those from the church to harm them. 2 So he executed James the brother of John with a sword. 3 And when he saw that it was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (Now this was during the feast of Unleavened Bread.) 4 After he had arrested him, he also put him in prison, handing him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. 5 Thus Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer was fervently being made to God by the church for him.

6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards before the door were watching the prison. 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood near him, and a light shone in the prison cell. And striking Peter’s side, he woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly!” And his chains fell off of his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and put on your sandals!” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me!” 9 And he went out and was following him. And he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but was thinking he was seeing a vision. 10 And after they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened for them by itself, and they went out and went forward along one narrow street, and at once the angel departed from him.

11 And when Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know truly that the Lord has sent out his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and all that the Jewish people expected!” 12 And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John (who is also called Mark), where many people were gathered together and were praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a female slave named Rhoda came up to answer. 14 And recognizing Peter’s voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 But they said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting it was so. And they kept saying, “It is his angel!” 16 But Peter was continuing to knock, and when they opened the door they saw him and were astonished. 17 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he related to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to James and to the brothers,” and he departed and went to another place.

18 Now when day came, there was not a little commotion among the soldiers as to what then had become of Peter. 19 And when Herod had searched for him and did not find him, he questioned the guards and ordered that they be led away to execution. And he came down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.

And a certain young man was following him, clothed only in a linen cloth on his naked body. And they attempted to seize him, 52 but he left behind the linen cloth and fled naked.

She who is in Babylon, chosen the same as you, greets you, and so does my son Mark.

Behold, I tell you a mystery: we will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

Paul, an apostle not from men nor by men but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead, 2 and all the brothers with me, to the churches of Galatia. 3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins in order to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

6 I am astonished that you are turning away so quickly from the one who called you by the grace of Christ to a different gospel, 7 not that there is a different gospel, except there are some who are disturbing you and wanting to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim a gospel to you contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let him be accursed! 9 As we said before, and now I say again, if anyone is proclaiming a gospel to you contrary to what you have received, let him be accursed!

Just as it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

“Behold, I am sending my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way,

3 the voice of one shouting in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make straight his paths!’ ”

“Look! I am going to send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you are seeking will come suddenly to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you are taking pleasure—look!—he is about to come,” says Yahweh of hosts.

A voice is calling in the wilderness, “Clear the way of Yahweh!

Make a highway smooth in the desert for our God!

“ ‘Look, I am about to send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, 2 in the time of the high priest Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the surrounding region of the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight!

5 Every valley will be filled,

and every mountain and hill will be leveled,

and the crooked will become straight,

and the rough road will become smooth,

6 and all flesh will see the salvation of God.’ ”

7 Therefore he was saying to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “Offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance! And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 9 And even now the ax is positioned at the root of the trees; therefore every tree not producing good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 And the crowds were asking him, saying, “What then should we do?” 11 And he answered and said to them, “The one who has two tunics must share with the one who does not have one, and the one who has food must do likewise.” 12 And tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you are ordered to.” 14 And those who served in the army were also asking him, saying, “What should we also do?” And he said to them, “Extort from no one, and do not blackmail anyone, and be content with your pay.”

15 And while the people were waiting expectantly and all were pondering in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he might be the Christ, 16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but the one who is more powerful than I am is coming, of whom I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing shovel is in his hand, to clean out his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his storehouse, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

18 So with many other exhortations also he proclaimed good news to the people.

And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem so that they could ask him, “Who are you?” 20 And he confessed—and he did not deny, and confessed—“I am not the Christ!” 21 And they asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not!” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No!” 22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

23 He said,

“I am ‘the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,

“Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’

just as Isaiah the prophet said.” 24 (And they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 And they asked him and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

26 John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water. In your midst stands one whom you do not know—27 the one who comes after me, of whom I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandal!” 28 These things took place in Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29 On the next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This one is the one about whom I said, ‘After me is coming a man who is ahead of me, because he existed before me.’ 31 And I did not know him, but in order that he could be revealed to Israel, because of this I came baptizing with water.”

32 And John testified, saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and remaining upon him. 33 And I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water, that one said to me, ‘The one upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon him—this one is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testify that this one is the Chosen One of God.

John was there baptizing in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the Judean region and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem went out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. 6 And John was dressed in camel’s hair and a belt made of leather around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he was preaching, saying, “One who is more powerful than I is coming after me, of whom I am not worthy to bend down and untie the strap of his sandals. 8 I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

And it happened that when Jesus had finished giving orders to his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and to preach in their towns. 2 Now when John heard in prison the deeds of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” 4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised, and the poor have good news announced to them. 6 And whoever is not offended by me is blessed.”

7 Now as these were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in the houses of kings. 9 But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and even more than a prophet! 10 It is this man about whom it is written:

‘Behold, I am sending my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.’

11 Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen one greater than John the Baptist. But the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 But from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven is treated violently, and the violent claim it. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is going to come. 15 The one who has ears, let him hear!

They answered him, “A hairy man with a leather belt girded around his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

Look! I am going to send to you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of Yahweh!

And the disciples asked him, saying, “Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11 And he answered and said, “Elijah indeed is coming, and will restore all things. 12 But I say to you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did with him whatever they wanted. In the same way also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he had spoken to them about John the Baptist.

But the angel said to him,

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah,

because your prayer has been heard,

and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,

and you will call his name John.

14 And you will experience joy and exultation,

and many will rejoice at his birth.

15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord,

and he must never drink wine or beer,

and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit

while he is still in his mother’s womb.

16 And he will turn many of the sons of Israel

to the Lord their God.

17 And he will go on before him

in the spirit and power of Elijah,

to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,

and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous,

to prepare for the Lord a people made ready.”

So a dispute occurred on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew concerning purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you on the other side of the Jordan, about whom you testified—look, this one is baptizing, and all are coming to him!”

27 John answered and said, “A man can receive not one thing unless it is granted to him from heaven! 28 You yourselves testify about me that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I am sent before that one.’ 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. But the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine is complete. 30 It is necessary for that one to increase, but for me to decrease.”

And while he was with them, he commanded them, “Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for what was promised by the Father, which you heard about from me. 5 For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

And after he arrived at the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him while he was teaching, saying, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” 24 And Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one question. If you tell the answer to me, I also will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 From where was the baptism of John—from heaven or from men?” And they began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “If we say ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the crowd, because they all look upon John as a prophet.” 27 And they answered and said to Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the age.”

Now when Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples),

Therefore it is necessary for one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time in which the Lord Jesus went in and went out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us—one of these men must become a witness of his resurrection together with us.” 23 And they proposed two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was called Justus) and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show clearly which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to depart to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was added to serve with the eleven apostles.

And it happened that in those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. 10 And immediately as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens being split apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

On the next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This one is the one about whom I said, ‘After me is coming a man who is ahead of me, because he existed before me.’ 31 And I did not know him, but in order that he could be revealed to Israel, because of this I came baptizing with water.”

I will tell the decree;

Yahweh said to me:

“You are my son;

today I have begotten you.

Look! here is my servant; I hold him,

my chosen one, in whom my soul delights.

I have put my spirit on him;

he will bring justice forth to the nations.

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, were falling down before him and crying out, saying, “You are the Son of God!”

And crying out with a loud voice he said, “What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore you by God, do not torment me!”

And a cloud came, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!”

And he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, and put a fence around it, and dug a trough for the winepress, and built a watchtower, and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey. 2 And he sent a slave to the tenant farmers at the proper time, so that he could collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from the tenant farmers. 3 And they seized him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 And again he sent to them another slave, and that one they struck on the head and dishonored. 5 And he sent another, and that one they killed. And he sent many others, some of whom they beat and some of whom they killed. 6 He had one more, a beloved son. Last of all he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenant farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 And they seized and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenant farmers and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this scripture:

‘The stone which the builders rejected,

this has become the cornerstone.

11 This came about from the Lord,

and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

“But concerning that day or hour no one knows—not even the angels in heaven nor the Son—except the Father.

But he was silent and did not reply anything. Again the high priest asked him and said to him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

And when the centurion who was standing opposite him saw that he expired like this, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

And immediately the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

14 And after John had been taken into custody, Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the gospel!”

16 And as he was passing by along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen). 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you become fishers of people.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and his brother John, and they were in the boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and went away after him. 21 And they went into Capernaum and immediately on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue.

22 And they were amazed at his teaching, because he was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like the scribes. 23 And so then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, 24 saying, “Leave us alone, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” 25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And after convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, the unclean spirit came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they began to discuss with one another, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He even commands the unclean spirits and they obey him.” 28 And the report about him then went out everywhere in the whole surrounding region of Galilee.

Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil, 2 and after he had fasted forty days and forty nights, then he was hungry. 3 And the tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, order that these stones become bread.” 4 But he answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man will not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’ ”

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the highest point of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down! For it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

and

‘On their hands they will lift you up,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”

7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand it is written, ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

8 Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9 and he said to him, “I will give to you all these things, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan, for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ” 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and began ministering to him.

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, he was hungry. 3 So the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, order this stone that it become bread!” 4 And Jesus replied to him, “It is written, ‘Man will not live on bread alone.’ ”

5 And he led him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to him, “I will give you all this domain and their glory, because it has been handed over to me, and I can give it to whomever I want. 7 So if you will worship before me, all this will be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ ”

9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and had him stand on the highest point of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you,

to protect you,’

11 and

‘on their hands they will lift you up,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”

12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘You are not to put to the test the Lord your God.’ ” 13 And when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until a favorable time.

Thus also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of heaven, and over every animal that moves upon the earth.”

But someone testified somewhere, saying,

“What is man, that you remember him,

or the son of man, that you care for him?

7 You made him for a short time lower than the angels;

you crowned him with glory and honor;

8 you subjected all things under his feet.

For in subjecting all things, he left nothing that was not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him,

They will not injure and they will not destroy on all of my holy mountain,

for the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh,

as the waters cover the sea.

No lion shall be there,

and no ferocious wild beast shall go up it.

It shall not be found there,

but the redeemed shall walk there.

And after John had been taken into custody, Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the gospel!”

22 And they were amazed at his teaching, because he was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like the scribes.

And it happened when Jesus finished these words the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes.

Now when Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 4 And it was necessary for him to go through Samaria.

5 Now he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the piece of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 And Jacob’s well was there, so Jesus, because he had become tired from the journey, simply sat down at the well. It was about the sixth hour.

7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me water to drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the town so that they could buy food.) 9 So the Samaritan woman said to him, “How do you, being a Jew, ask from me water to drink, since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)

10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you had known the gift of God and who it is who says to you, ‘Give me water to drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket and the well is deep! From where then do you get this living water? 12 You are not greater than our father Jacob, are you, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, and his sons and his livestock?”

13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again. 14 But whoever drinks of this water which I will give to him will never be thirsty for eternity, but the water which I will give to him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or come here to draw water!” 16 He said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” 17 The woman answered and said to him, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have said rightly, ‘I do not have a husband,’ 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you have now is not your husband; this you have said truthfully!”

19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where it is necessary to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, that an hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews. 23 But an hour is coming—and now is here—when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for indeed the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers. 24 God is spirit, and the ones who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (the one called Christ); “whenever that one comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.

27 And at this point his disciples came, and they were astonished that he was speaking with a woman. However, no one said, “What do you seek?” or “Why are you speaking with her?” 28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I have ever done! Perhaps this one is the Christ?” 30 They went out from the town and were coming to him.

31 In the meanwhile the disciples were asking him, saying, “Rabbi, eat something!” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples began to say to one another, “No one brought him anything to eat, did they?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is that I do the will of the one who sent me and complete his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months and the harvest comes’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, that they are white for harvest already. 36 The one who reaps receives wages and gathers fruit for eternal life, in order that the one who sows and the one who reaps can rejoice together. 37 For in this instance the saying is true, ‘It is one who sows and another who reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap what you did not work for; others have worked, and you have entered into their work.”

39 Now from that town many of the Samaritans believed in him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me everything that I have done.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they began asking him to stay with them. And he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word, 42 And they were saying to the woman, “No longer because of what you said do we believe, for we ourselves have heard, and we know that this one is truly the Savior of the world!”

43 And after the two days he departed from there into Galilee. 44 For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own homeland. 45 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, because they had seen all the things he had done in Jerusalem at the feast (for they themselves had also come to the feast).

Now there was a man of the Pharisees whose name was Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to him at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one is able to perform these signs that you are performing unless God were with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless someone is born from above, he is not able to see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is an old man? He is not able to enter into his mother’s womb for the second time and be born, can he?”

5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless someone is born of water and spirit, he is not able to enter into the kingdom of God. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘It is necessary for you to be born from above.’

But I consider my life as worth nothing to myself, in order to finish my mission and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 it is not from works, so that no one can boast.

Now I make known to you, brothers, the gospel which I proclaimed to you, which you have also received, in which you also stand, 2 by which you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the message I proclaimed to you, unless you believed to no purpose. 3 For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, 4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised up on the third day according to the scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve, 6 then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, the majority of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all, as it were to one born at the wrong time, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been in vain, but I labored even more than all of them, and not I, but the grace of God with me. 11 Therefore whether I or those, in this way we preached, and in this way you believed.

testifying both to Jews and to Greeks with respect to repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.

Then when Judas, the one who had betrayed him, saw that he had been condemned, he regretted what he had done and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood!” But they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” 5 And throwing the silver coins into the temple he departed. And he went away and hanged himself.

For if indeed I grieved you by my letter, I do not regret it. Even if I did regret it (I see that that letter grieved you, even though for a short time), 9 now I rejoice, not that you were grieved, but that you were grieved to repentance. For you were grieved according to the will of God, so that you suffered loss in no way through us. 10 For grief according to the will of God brings about a repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted, but worldly grief brings about death.

On the next day again John was standing there, and two of his disciples, 36 and looking at Jesus as he was walking by, he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” 37 And the two disciples heard him speaking, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus, turning around and seeing them following him, said to them, “What do you seek?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means when translated “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see!” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day (it was about the tenth hour).

40 Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed him. 41 This one first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which is translated “Christ”). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Looking at him, Jesus said, “You are Simon the son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is interpreted “Peter”).

43 On the next day he wanted to depart for Galilee, and he found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow me!” 44 (Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter.) 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one whom Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets wrote about—Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth!” 46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see!”

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Look! A true Israelite in whom is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “From where do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the king of Israel!”

After these things Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. Now he revealed himself in this way: 2 Simon Peter and Thomas (who was called Didymus) and Nathanael from Cana in Galilee and the sons of Zebedee and two others of his disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing!” They said to him, “We also are coming with you.” They went out and got into the boat, and during that night they caught nothing.

And one of the rulers of the synagogue came—Jairus by name—and when he saw him, he fell down at his feet.

And they went on from Perga and arrived at Pisidian Antioch. And they entered into the synagogue on the day of the Sabbath and sat down. 15 So after the reading from the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Men and brothers, if there is any message of exhortation by you for the people, say it.”

16 So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand, he said, “Israelite men, and those who fear God, listen!

Now it happened that in Iconium they entered together into the synagogue of the Jews and spoke in such a way that a large number of both Jews and Greeks believed.

Now after they traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And as was his custom, Paul went in to them and on three Sabbath days he discussed with them from the scriptures, 3 explaining and demonstrating that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, and also a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few of the prominent women.

And so then he departed from the synagogue and came into the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.

And they were all amazed, so that they began to discuss with one another, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He even commands the unclean spirits and they obey him.”

And he got up and immediately picked up his stretcher and went out in front of them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him, and they were all astonished.

and immediately the girl stood up and began walking around (for she was twelve years old). And immediately they were utterly and completely astonished.

And when the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed, saying, “Where did this man get these things? And what is this wisdom that has been granted to this man, and the miracles such as these performed through his hands?

And he went up with them into the boat, and the wind abated. And they were extraordinarily astounded within themselves,

And they were amazed beyond all measure, saying, “He has done all things well! He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!”

And they were very astounded, saying to one another, “And who can be saved?”

And the chief priests and the scribes heard it, and began considering how they could destroy him. For they were afraid of him because the whole crowd was astounded by his teaching.

And he was astonished because of their unbelief.

And he was going around among the villages teaching.

And so then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, 24 saying, “Leave us alone, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” 25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And after convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, the unclean spirit came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they began to discuss with one another, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He even commands the unclean spirits and they obey him.” 28 And the report about him then went out everywhere in the whole surrounding region of Galilee.

And it happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a certain female slave who had a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing a large profit to her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us and was crying out, saying, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!” 18 And she was doing this for many days. But Paul, becoming greatly annoyed and turning around, said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out immediately.

19 But when her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, 21 and are proclaiming customs that are not permitted for us to accept or to practice, because we are Romans!” 22 And the crowd joined in attacking them, and the chief magistrates tore off their clothing and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And after they had inflicted many blows on them, they threw them into prison, giving orders to the jailer to guard them securely. 24 Having received such an order, he put them in the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

But some itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches!” 14 (Now seven sons of a certain Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.) 15 But the evil spirit answered and said to them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I am acquainted with, but who are you?” 16 And the man who had the evil spirit leaped on them, subdued all of them, and prevailed against them, so that they ran away from that house naked and wounded. 17 And this became known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was exalted.

You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe, and shudder!

And he woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Be quiet! Be silent!” And the wind abated and there was a great calm.

This man came to him at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one is able to perform these signs that you are performing unless God were with him.”

And he said to him, “See to it that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and bring for your cleansing the things which Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.

And he warned them strictly that they should not make him known.

And he commanded them strictly that no one should learn of this, and said to give her something to eat.

And he ordered them that they should say nothing, but as much as he ordered them not to, they proclaimed it even more instead. 37 And they were amazed beyond all measure, saying, “He has done all things well! He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!”

And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even go into the village.”

And he warned them that they should tell no one about him.

And as they were coming down from the mountain, he ordered them that they should tell no one the things that they had seen, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

And so then he departed from the synagogue and came into the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying down, suffering with a fever, and at once they told him about her. 31 And he came and raised her up by taking hold of her hand, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

32 Now when it was evening, when the sun had set, they began bringing to him all those who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. 33 And the whole town was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases and expelled many demons. And he did not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

35 And getting up early in the morning while it was very dark, he departed and went to a deserted place, and there he was praying. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched diligently for him. 37 And they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you!” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go elsewhere, into the neighboring rural towns, so that I can preach there also, because I have come out for this very reason.” 39 And he went into all Galilee preaching in their synagogues and expelling demons.

40 And a leper came to him, entreating him and kneeling down, saying to him, “If you are willing, you are able to make me clean.” 41 And becoming angry, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be made clean.” 42 And immediately the leprosy went away from him and he was made clean. 43 And warning him sternly, he sent him away at once. 44 And he said to him, “See to it that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and bring for your cleansing the things which Moses commanded, for a testimony to them. 45 But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread abroad the account, so that he was no longer able to enter publicly into a town. But he was staying outside in deserted places, and they were coming to him from all directions.

Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying down, suffering with a fever, and at once they told him about her.

Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around him and hearing the word of God, he was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats there beside the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 3 And he got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out from the land a little. And he sat down and began to teach the crowds from the boat. 4 And when he stopped speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered and said, “Master, although we worked hard through the whole night, we caught nothing. But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they did this, they caught a very large number of fish, and their nets began to tear. 7 And they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both the boats so that they began to sink. 8 And when he saw it, Simon Peter fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, Lord, because I am a sinful man!” 9 For amazement had seized him and all those who were with him at the catch of fish that they had caught, 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were business partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid! From now on you will be catching people!” 11 And after they brought their boats to the land, they left everything and followed him.

Now when it was evening, when the sun had set, they began bringing to him all those who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.

The Lord Yahweh has given me the tongue of a pupil,

to know how to help the weary with a word.

He awakens morning by morning,

awakens an ear for me to listen as do the pupils.

And after he had entered into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why were we not able to expel it?” 29 And he said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing except by prayer.”

And after he had said farewell to them, he went away to the mountain to pray.

And they came to a place named Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 And he took along Peter and James and John with him, and he began to be distressed and troubled. 34 And he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake.” 35 And going forward a little he fell to the ground and began to pray that, if it were possible, the hour would pass from him. 36 And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you! Take away this cup from me! Yet not what I will, but what you will.” 37 And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Were you not able to stay awake one hour? 38 Stay awake and pray that you will not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!”

“As for the person who is afflicted with a skin disease, his garments must be torn and his hair must be allowed to hang loosely, and he must cover his upper lip, and he must call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46 For all the days during which the infection is on him, he shall be unclean; he must live alone; his dwelling must be outside the camp.”

The Lord is not delaying the promise, as some consider slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not want any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

And the priest shall examine the infection on his body’s skin, and if the hair in the infection turns white and the appearance of the infection is deeper than his body’s skin, it is an infectious skin disease, and the priest shall examine it, and he shall declare him unclean.

And the priest shall examine it on the seventh day, and if, in his eyes, the infection has stayed unchanged, the infection has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall confine him for seven days a second time. 6 And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day for a second time, and if the infection has faded and the infection has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall declare him clean—it is an epidermal eruption; and he shall wash his garments, and so he shall be clean. 7 But if the epidermal eruption spreads further on the skin after showing himself to the priest for his cleansing, then he shall appear a second time to the priest. 8 And the priest shall examine it, and if the epidermal eruption has spread on the skin, then the priest shall declare him unclean—it is an infectious skin disease.

he is a man afflicted with a skin disease—he is unclean; the priest certainly shall declare him unclean—his infection is on his head.

45 “As for the person who is afflicted with a skin disease, his garments must be torn and his hair must be allowed to hang loosely, and he must cover his upper lip, and he must call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46 For all the days during which the infection is on him, he shall be unclean; he must live alone; his dwelling must be outside the camp.”

“And when the garment has an infectious skin disease on it, on a wool garment or on a linen garment, 48 or on woven material or on a linen fabric, or on wool or on leather or on any work of leather, 49 and if the infection is yellowish green or reddish on the garment or on the leather or on the woven material or on the fabric or on any leather object, it is an infectious skin disease and it shall be shown to the priest. 50 And the priest shall examine the infection, and he shall confine the infected article for seven days. 51 And he shall examine the infection on the seventh day; if the infection has spread on the garment or on the woven material or on the fabric or on the leather, for any work for which the leather is used, the infection is a destructive skin disease—it is unclean. 52 And he shall burn the garment or the woven material or the fabric, whether wool or linen, or any leather object that has the infection, because it is an infectious skin disease, which is destructive—it must be burned in the fire.

53 “But if the priest examines it and if the infection has not spread on the garment or on the woven material or on the fabric or on any leather object, 54 then the priest shall command, and someone shall wash that on which the infection is, and he shall confine it a second time for seven days. 55 And the priest shall examine it after the infection has been washed off, and if the infection has not changed its outward appearance and the infection has not spread, it is unclean; he must burn it in the fire; it is a fungus on its back or on its front. 56 But if the priest examines it and if the infection is faded after it has been washed off, then he shall tear it from the garment or from the leather or from the woven material or from the fabric. 57 And if it appears again on the garment or on the woven material or on the fabric or on any leather object, it is spreading; you must burn in the fire that which has the infection in it. 58 And the garment or the woven material or the fabric or any leather object that he might wash and the infection is removed from them then shall be washed a second time, and it shall be clean.”

59 This is the regulation of the infectious skin disease in the wool garment or the linen or the woven material or the fabric or any leather object to declare it clean or to declare it unclean.

And getting out of the boat he saw the large crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.

“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have remained with me three days already and do not have anything to eat.

And often it has thrown him both into fire and into water, in order that it could destroy him. But if you are able to do anything, have compassion on us and help us!”

And he said to them, “Let us go elsewhere, into the neighboring rural towns, so that I can preach there also, because I have come out for this very reason.”

But the report about him spread even more, and large crowds were gathering to hear him and to be healed of their illnesses. 16 But he himself was withdrawing in the wilderness and praying.

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