 THE GOSPEL OF JOHN CHAPTER VI THROUGH TEN from the twentieth century New Testament. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. THE GOSPEL OF JOHN CHAPTER VI After this, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee, otherwise called the Sea of Tiberias. A great crowd of people, however, followed him because they saw the signs of his mission and his work among those who were afflicted. Jesus went up the hill and sat down there with his disciples. It was near the time of the Jewish festival of the Passover. Looking up and noticing that a great crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat? He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he meant to do. Twenty pounds worth of bread, answered Philip, would not be enough for each of them to have a little. There is a boy here, said Andrew, another of his disciples, Simon Peter's brother, who has five barley loaves and two fishes. But what is that for so many? Make the people sit down, said Jesus. It was a grassy spot, so the men who numbered about five thousand sat down, and then Jesus took the loaves and, after saying the thanksgiving, distributed them to those who were sitting down, and the same with the fish, giving the people as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, Jesus said to his disciples, Collect the broken pieces that are left, so that nothing may be wasted. The disciples did so, and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves which were left after all had eaten. When the people saw the signs which Jesus gave, they said, This is certainly the prophet who was to come into the world. But Jesus, having discovered that they were intending to come and carry him off and make him king, retired again up the hill, quite alone. When evening fell, his disciples went down to the sea, and getting into a boat began to cross to Capernaum. By this time darkness had set in, and Jesus had not yet come back to them. The sea, too, was getting rough, for a strong wind was blowing. When they had rode three or four miles, they caught sight of him, walking on the water, and approaching the boat, and they were frightened. But Jesus said to them, It is I, do not be afraid! And after this they were glad to take him into the boat, and the boat at once arrived off the shore for which they had been making. The people who remained on the further side of the sea had seen that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not got into it with his disciples, but that they had left without him. Some boats, however, had come from Tiberias, from near the spot where they had eaten the bread after the master had said the thanksgiving. So on the next day, when the people saw that Jesus was not there, or his disciples either, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum to look for him. And when they found him on the other side of the sea, they said, When did you get here, Rabbi? In truth, I tell you, answered Jesus, it is not on account of the signs which you saw that you were looking for me, but because you had the bread to eat and were satisfied. Work not for the food that perishes, but for the food that lasts for immortal life, which the Son of Man will give you, for upon him the Father, God himself, has set the seal of his approval. How, they asked, are we to do the work that God would have us do? The work that God would have you do, answered Jesus, is to believe in him whom God sent as his messenger. What sign, then, they asked, are you giving, which we may see and so believe you? What is the work that you are doing? Our ancestors had the manna to eat in the desert, and the scripture says he gave them bread from heaven to eat. In truth I tell you, replied Jesus, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but my Father does give you the true bread from heaven, for the bread that God gives is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Master, they exclaimed, Give us that bread always. I am the life-giving bread, Jesus said to them. He that comes to me shall never be hungry, and he that believes in me shall never thirst again. But as I have said already, you have seen me, and yet you do not believe in me. All those whom the Father gives me will come to me, and no one who comes to me will I ever turn away. For I have come down from heaven to do not only my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And his will is this, that I should not lose one of all those whom he has given me, but should raise them up at the last day. For it is the will of my Father that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have immortal life, and I myself will raise him up at the last day. Upon this the Jews began murmuring against Jesus for saying I am the bread which came down from heaven. It's not this Jesus, Joseph's son, they asked, whose Father and Mother we know. How is it that he now says that he has come down from heaven? Do not murmur among yourselves, said Jesus in reply. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him to me, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is said in the prophets, and they shall all be taught by God. Everyone who is taught by the Father and learns from him comes to me, not that anyone has seen the Father except him who is from God. He has seen the Father. In truth I tell you, he who believes in me has immortal life. I am the life-giving bread. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert and yet died. The bread that comes down from heaven is such that whoever eats of it will never die. I am the living bread that has come down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever, and the bread that I shall give is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world. Upon this the Jews began disputing with one another. How is it possible for this man to give us his flesh to eat? In truth I tell you, answer Jesus, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you have not life within you. He who takes my flesh for his food and drinks my blood has immortal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is true food and my blood true drink. He who takes my flesh for his food and drinks my blood remains united to me, and I to him. As the living Father sent me as his messenger, and as I live because the Father lives, so he who takes me for his food shall live because I live. That is the bread which has come down from heaven, not such as your ancestors ate and yet died. He who takes this bread for his food shall live forever. All this Jesus said in a synagogue when he was teaching in Capernaum. On hearing it many of his disciples said, This is harsh doctrine. Who can bear to listen to it? But Jesus, aware that his disciples were murmuring about it, said to them, Is this a hindrance to you? What then, if you should see the Son of Man ascending where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life. Mere flesh is of no avail. In the teaching that I have been giving you there is spirit and there is life, yet there are some of you who do not believe in me. For Jesus knew from the first who they were that did not believe in him, and who it was that would betray him. And he added, This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless enabled by the Father. After this many of his disciples drew back and did not go about with him any longer. So Jesus said to the Twelve, Do you also wish to leave me? But Simon Peter answered, Master, to whom shall we go? Immortal life is in your teaching, and we have learnt to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God. Did I not myself choose you to be the Twelve? replied Jesus. And yet even of you one is playing the devil's part. He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who was about to betray him, though he was one of the Twelve. Chapter 7 After this Jesus went about in Galilee, for he would not do so in Judea because the Jews were eager to put him to death. When the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, his brothers said to him, Leave this part of the country and go into Judea so that your disciples as well as we may see the work that you are doing, for no one does a thing privately if he is seeking to be widely known. Since you do these things, you should show yourself publicly to the world. For even his brothers did not believe in him. My time, answered Jesus, is not yet come. But your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it does hate me because I testify that its ways are evil. Go yourselves up to the festival. I am not going to this festival yet, because my time has not yet come. After telling them this, he stayed on in Galilee. But when his brothers had gone up to the festival, Jesus also went up, not publicly, but privately. The Jews were looking for him at the festival and asking, Where is he? And there were many whispers about him among the people, some saying, He's a good man. Others, No, he is leading the people astray. No one, however, spoke freely about him for fear of the Jews. About the middle of the festival week, Jesus went up into the temple courts and began teaching. The Jews were astonished. How has this man got his learning, they asked, when he has never studied? So in reply, Jesus said, My teaching is not my own. It is his who sent me. If anyone has the will to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching is from God or whether I speak on my own authority. The man who speaks on his own authority seeks honour for himself. But the man who seeks the honour of him that sent him is sincere, and there is nothing false in him. Was it not Moses who gave you the law, yet not one of you obeys it? Why are you seeking to put me to death? You must be possessed by a demon, the people exclaimed, who is seeking to put you to death? There was one thing I did, replied Jesus, at which you are all still wondering. But that is why Moses instituted circumcision among you, not indeed that it began with him but with our ancestors, and that is why you circumcise even on a Sabbath. When a man receives circumcision on a Sabbath to prevent the law of Moses from being broken, how can you be angry with me for making a man's sound and well on a Sabbath? Do not judge by appearances, judge justly. At this some of the people of Jerusalem exclaimed, It's not this the man they are seeking to put to death, yet here he is speaking out boldly, and they say nothing to him. Is it possible that our leading men have really discovered that he is the Christ? Yet we know where this man is from, but when the Christ comes no one will be able to tell where he is from. Therefore Jesus, as he was teaching in the temple courts, raised his voice and said, Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from, yet I have not come on my own authority, but he who sent me may be trusted, and him you do not know. I do know him, for it is from him that I have come, and he sent me as his messenger. So they sought to arrest him, but no one touched him, for his time had not come yet. Many of the people, however, believed in him. When the Christ comes they said, Will he give more signs of his mission than this man has given? The Pharisees heard the people whispering about him in this way, and so the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to arrest him, on which Jesus said, I shall be with you but a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will look for me, and you will not find me. You will not be able to come where I shall be. Where is this man going, the Jews asked one another, that we shall not find him? Will he go to our countrymen abroad and teach foreigners? What does he mean by saying you will look for me, and you will not find me, and you will not be able to come where I shall be? On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus, who was standing by, exclaimed, If any one thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as Scripture says, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water. By this he meant the spirit which those who had believed in him were to receive, for the spirit had not yet come, because Jesus had not yet been exalted. Some of the people when they heard these words said, This is certainly the prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some asked, What? Does the Christ come from Galilee? Is not it said in Scripture that it is of the race of David and from Bethlehem, the village in which David belonged, that the Christ is to come? So there was a sharp division among the people on account of Jesus. Some of them wanted to arrest him, and yet no one touched him. When the officers returned to the chief priests and Pharisees, they were asked, Why have you not brought him? No man ever spoke as he speaks, they answered. What, have you been led astray, too? The Pharisees replied, Have any of our leading men believed in him, or any of the Pharisees? As for these people who do not know the law, they are cursed. But one of their number, Nicodemus, who before this had been to see Jesus, said to them, Does our law pass judgment on a man without first giving him a hearing and finding out what he has been doing? Are you also from Galilee, they retorted? Search, and you will find that no prophet is to arise in Galilee. Chapter 8 Jesus again addressed the people. I am the light of the world, he said. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. You are bearing testimony to yourself, exclaimed the Pharisees. Your testimony is not trustworthy. Even if I bear testimony to myself, answered Jesus, my testimony is trustworthy, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I came from, nor where I am going. You judge by appearances. I judge no one. Yet even if I were to judge, my judgment would be trustworthy because I am not alone, but the Father who sent me is with me. Why, in your own law it is said that the testimony of two persons is trustworthy. I who bear testimony to myself am one, and the Father who sent me also bears testimony to me. Where is your Father, then? they asked. You know neither me nor my Father, replied Jesus. If you had known me, you would have also known my Father. These statements Jesus made in the Treasury while teaching in the Temple Courts. Yet no one arrested him, for his time had not then come. Jesus again spoke to the people. I am going away, he said, and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. You cannot come where I am going. Is he going to kill himself, the Jews exclaimed, that he says you cannot go where I am going? You added Jesus are from below. I am from above. You are of this present world. I am not. And so I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am what I am, you will die in your sins. Who are you? they asked. Why ask exactly what I have been telling you, said Jesus? I have still much that concerns you to speak of and to pass judgment on, yet he who sent me may be trusted, and I speak to the world only of the things which I have heard from him. They did not understand that he meant the Father. So Jesus added, When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will understand that I am what I am, and that I do nothing of myself, but that I say just what the Father has taught me. Moreover, he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him. While he was speaking in this way, many came to believe in him. So Jesus went on to say to those Jews who had believed in him, If you remain constant to my message, you are truly my disciples, and you shall find out the truth, and the truth will set you free. We are descendants of Abraham, was their answer, and have never been in slavery to anyone. What do you mean by saying, you will all be set free? In truth, I tell you, reply to Jesus, every one who sins is a slave to sin, and a slave does not remain in the home always, but a son remains always. If then the son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are descendants of Abraham, yet you are seeking to put me to death because my message finds no place in your hearts. I tell you what I have myself seen in the presence of my Father, and you in the same way do what you have learnt from your Father. Our Father is Abraham, was their answer. If you are Abraham's children, reply to Jesus, do what Abraham did. But as it is, you are seeking to put me to death, a man who has told you the truth as he heard it from God. Abraham did not act in that way. You are doing what your own Father does. We are not bastards, they said. We have one Father, God himself. If God were your Father, Jesus replied, you would have loved me, for I came out from God, and now I am here, and I have not come of myself, but he sent me as his messenger. How is it that you do not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to listen to my message. As for you, you are the children of your Father the Devil, and you are determined to do what your Father loves to do. He was a murderer from the first, and did not stand by the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies he does what is natural to him, because he is a liar, and the Father of lying. But as for me it is because I speak the truth to you that you do not believe me. Which of you can convict me of sin? Why then do not you believe me if I am speaking truth? He who comes from God listens to God's teaching. The reason why you do not listen is because you do not come from God. Are not we right after all, replied the Jews, in saying that you are a Samaritan and are possessed by a demon? I am not possessed by a demon, Jesus answered, but I am showing reverence for my Father, and yet you have no reverence for me. Not that I am seeking honour for myself. There is one who is seeking my honour, and he decides. In truth I tell you, if anyone lays my message to heart, he will never really die. Now we are sure that you are possessed by a demon, the Jews replied, Abraham died, and so did the prophets, and yet you say, if anyone lays my message to heart, he will never know death. Are you greater than our ancestor Abraham, who died, and the prophets died too? Whom do you make yourself out to be? If I do honour to myself, answered Jesus, such honour counts for nothing. It is my Father who does me honour, and you say that he is your God, and yet you have not learnt to know him, but I know him, and if I were to say that I do not know him, I should be a liar just like you. But I do know him, and I lay his message to heart. Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day, and he did see it, and he was glad. You are not fifty years old yet, the Jews exclaimed, and have you seen Abraham? In truth I tell you, replied Jesus, before Abraham existed, I was. At this they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself, and left the temple courts. CHAPTER IX As Jesus passed by, he saw a man who had been blind from his birth. Rabbi, asked his disciples, who was it that sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Neither the man nor his parents replied Jesus, but he was born blind that the work of God should be made plain in him. We must do the work of him who sent me while it is day. Night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Saying this, Jesus spat on the ground, made clay with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. Go, he said, and wash your eyes in the bath of Siloam, a word which means messenger. So the man went, and washed his eyes, and returned able to see. Upon this his neighbors, and those who had formerly known him by sight as a beggar, exclaimed, Is not this the man who used to sit and beg? Yes, some said it is, while others said no, but he is like him. The man himself said, I am he. How did you get your sight, then, they asked. The man whom they called Jesus, he answered, made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, Go to Siloam and wash your eyes. So I went, and washed my eyes, and gained my sight. Where is he, they asked. I do not know, he answered. They took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and gave him his sight. So the Pharisees also questioned the man as to how he had gained his sight. He put clay on my eyes, he answered, and I washed them, and I can see. The man cannot be from God, said some of the Pharisees, for he does not keep the Sabbath. How is it possible, retorted others, for a bad man to give signs like this? So there was a difference of opinion among them, and they again questioned the man. What do you yourself say about it, for it is to you that he has given sight? He is a prophet, the man replied. The Jews, however, refused to believe that he had been blind and had gained his sight until they had called his parents and questioned them. Is this your son, they asked, who you say was born blind? If so, how is it that he can see now? We know that this is our son, answered the parents, and that he was born blind, but how it is that he can see now we do not know, nor do we know who it was that gave him his sight. Ask him, he's old enough, he will tell you about himself. His parents spoke in this way because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should acknowledge Jesus as the Christ, he should be expelled from their synagogues. This was why his parents said he is old enough, ask him. So the Jews again called the man who had been blind and said to him, Give God the praise, we know that this is a bad man. I know nothing about his being a bad man, he replied. One thing I do know, that although I was blind, now I can see. What did he do to you, they asked? How did he give you your sight? I told you just now, he answered, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Surely you also do not want to become his disciples. You are his disciple, they retorted scornfully, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from. Well, the man replied, this is very strange. You do not know where he comes from, and yet he has given me my sight. We know that God never listens to bad men, but when a man is God fearing, and does God's will, God listens to him. Since the world began, such a thing was never heard of as anyone's giving sight to a person born blind. If this man had not been from God, he could not have done anything at all. Jews, they retorted, were born totally depraved, and are you trying to teach us? So they expelled him. Jesus heard of their having put him out, and when he had found the man, he asked, Do you believe in the Son of Man? Tell me who he is, sir, he replied, so that I may believe in him. Not only have you seen him, said Jesus, but it is he who is now speaking to you. Then, sir, I do believe, said the man, bowing to the ground before him. And Jesus added, It was to put men to the test that I came into this world, in order that those that cannot see should see, and that those who can see should become blind. Hearing this, some of the Pharisees who were with him said, Then, are we blind too? If you had been blind, replied Jesus, you would have had no sin to answer for. But as it is, you say, We can see, and so your sin remains. CHAPTER X In truth I tell you, whoever does not go into the sheepfold through the door, but climbs up at some other place, that man is a thief and a robber. But the man who goes in through the door is shepherd to the sheep. For him the watchman opens the door, and the sheep listen to his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought them all out, he walks in front of them, and his sheep follow him, because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but will run away from him, because they do not know a stranger's voice. This was the allegory that Jesus told them, but they did not understand of what he was speaking. So he continued, In truth I tell you, I am the door for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. He who goes in through me will be safe, and he will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and may have it in greater fullness. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. The hired man, who is not a shepherd and who does not own the sheep, when he sees a wolf coming leaves them and runs away, then the wolf seizes them and scatters the flock. He does this because he is only a hired man and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep, and my sheep know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep besides which do not belong to this fold. I must lead them also, and they will listen to my voice, and they shall become one flock under one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life to receive it again. No one took it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to receive it again. This is the command which I received from my Father. In consequence of these words, a difference of opinion again arose among the Jews. Many of them said, He is possessed by a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him? Others said, This is not the teaching of one who is possessed by a demon. Can a demon give sight to the blind? Soon after this, the festival of the rededication was held at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple courts in the Colonnade of Solomon, when the Jews gathered round him and said, How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us so frankly. I have told you so, replied Jesus, and you do not believe me. The work that I am doing in my Father's name bears testimony to me. But you do not believe me because you are not of my flock. My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me. And I give them immortal life, and they shall not be lost, nor shall anyone snatch them out of my hands. What my Father has entrusted to me is more than all else, and no one can snatch anything out of the Father's hands. The Father and I are one. The Jews again brought stones to throw at him, and seeing this Jesus said, I have done before your eyes many good actions inspired by the Father. For which of them would you stone me? It is not for any good action that we would stone you, answered the Jews, but for blasphemy, and because you who are only a man make yourself out to be God. Are there not, replied Jesus, these words in your law? I said, ye are God's. If those to whom God's words were addressed were said to be God's, and Scripture cannot be set aside, do you say of one whom the Father has consecrated and sent as his messenger to the world, you are blaspheming because I said I am God's Son? If I am not doing the work that my Father is doing, do not believe me. But if I am doing it, even though you do not believe me, believe what that work shows, so that you may understand and understand more and more clearly that the Father is in union with me, and I with the Father. Upon this the Jews again sought to arrest him, but he escaped their hands. Then Jesus again crossed the Jordan to the place where John used to baptize at first, and stayed there some time during which many people came to see him. John gave no sign of his mission, they said, but everything that he said about this man was true, and many learned to believe in Jesus there. End of chapter 6 through 10. The Gospel of John, chapters 11 through 16 from the 20th century New Testament. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by J. A. Carter, www.authenticlight.org. The 20th century New Testament by a company of about twenty scholars. The Gospel of John, chapters 11 through 16. Chapter 11. Now a man named Lazarus of Bethany was lying ill. He belonged to the same village as Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus was ill, was the Mary who anointed the master with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair. The sisters therefore sent this message to Jesus. Master, your friend is ill. And when Jesus heard it, he said, This illness is not to end in death, but is to redown to the honor of God in order that the Son of God may be honored through it. Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard of the illness of Lazarus, he still stayed two days in the place where he was. Then, after that, he said to his disciples, Let us go to Judea again. Rabbi, they replied, The Jews were but just now seeking to stone you. And are you going there again? Are there not twelve hours in the day, answered Jesus? If a man walks about in the daytime, he does not stumble because he can see the light of the sun. But if he walks about at night, he stumbles because he has not the light. And when he had said this, he added, Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going that I may wake him. If he has fallen asleep, master, he will get well, said the disciples. But Jesus meant that he was dead. They, however, supposed that he was speaking of natural sleep. Then he said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may learn to believe in me. But let us go to him. At this, Thomas, who was called the twin, said to his fellow disciples, Let us go too, that we may die with him. When Jesus reached the place, he found that Lazarus had been four days in the tomb already. Bethany being only about two miles from Jerusalem, a number of the Jews had come there to condole with Martha and Mary on their brother's death. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary sat quietly at home. Master, Martha said to Jesus, If you had been here, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that God will grant you whatever you ask him. Your brother shall rise to life, said Jesus. I know that he will, replied Martha, in the resurrection at the last day. I am the resurrection and the life, said Jesus. He that believes in me shall live, though he die, and he who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? Yes, Master, she answered. I have learnt to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God who was to come into the world. After saying this, Martha went and called her sister Mary and whispered, The teacher is here and is asking for you. As soon as Mary heard that, she got out quickly and went to meet him. Jesus had not then come into the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. So the Jews, who were in the house with Mary, condoling with her, when they saw her get up quickly and go out, followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to meet there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she threw herself at his feet. Master, she exclaimed, If you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping also, he groaned deeply and was greatly distressed. Where have you buried him? he asked. Come and see, master, they answered. Jesus burst into tears. How he must have loved him, the Jews exclaimed. But some of them said, Could not this man who gave sight to the blind man have also prevented Lazarus from dying? Again, groaning inwardly, Jesus came to the tomb. It was a cave and a stone lay against the mouth of it. Move the stone away, said Jesus. Master, said Martha, the sister of the dead man, by this time this smell must be offensive for this is the fourth day since his death. Did not I tell you, reply, Jesus, that if you would believe in me you should see the glory of God? So they moved the stone away, and Jesus with uplifted eyes said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard my prayer. I knew that thou always terraced me, but I say this for the sake of the people standing near so that they may believe that thou hast sent me as thy messenger. Then, after saying this, Jesus called out in a loud voice, Lazarus, come out! The dead man came out, wrapped hand and foot in a winding sheet. His face too had been wrapped in a cloth. Said him free, said Jesus, and let him go. In consequence of this, many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and seen what Jesus did, learned to believe in him. Some of them, however, went to the Pharisees and told them what he had done. Upon this, the chief priests in the Pharisees called a meeting of the High Council and said, What are we to do now that this man is giving so many signs? If we let him alone as we are doing, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take from us both our city and our nationality. One of them, however, Caiaphas, who was High Priest that year, said to them, You are utterly mistaken. You do not consider that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, rather than that the whole nation should be destroyed. Now he did not say this of his own accord, but as High Priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also that he might unite in one body the children of God now scattered far and wide. So from that day they plotted to put Jesus to death. In consequence of this, Jesus did not go about publicly among the Jews anymore, but left that neighborhood and went into the country bordering on the wilderness to a town called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples. But the Jewish festival of the Passover was near, and many people had gone up from the country to Jerusalem for their purification before the festival began. So they looked for Jesus there and said to one another as they stood in the temple courts, What do you think? Do you think he will come to the festival? The chief priests and the Pharisees had already issued orders that if anyone learnt where Jesus was, he should give information so that they might arrest him. Chapter 12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead, was living. There a supper was given in his honor, at which Martha waited while Lazarus was one of those present at the table. So Mary took a pound of choice spikenard perfume of great value, and anointed the feet of Jesus with it, and then wiped them with her hair. The whole house was filled with the scent of the perfume. One of the disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was about to betray Jesus, asked, Why was not this perfume sold for thirty pounds and the money given to the poor people? He said this not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and being in charge of the purse he used to take what was put in it. Let her alone, said Jesus, that she may keep it till the day when my body is being prepared for burial. The poor you always have with you, but you will not always have me. Now, great numbers of the Jews found out that Jesus was at Bethany, and they came there, not solely on his account, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. The chief priests however plotted to put Lazarus as well as Jesus to death, because it was owing to him that many of the Jews had left them and were becoming believers in Jesus. On the following day, great numbers of people who had come to the festival, hearing that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting as they went, God save him! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel! Having found a young ass, Jesus seated himself on it in accordance with the passage of Scripture, fear not, daughter of Zion, behold the King is coming to thee, sitting on the full of an ass. His disciples did not understand all this at first, but when Jesus had been exalted, then they remembered that these things had been said of him in Scripture, and that they had done these things for him. Meanwhile the people who were with him, when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, were telling what they had seen. This indeed was why the crowd met him, because people had heard that he had given this sign of his mission. So the Pharisees said to one another, You see that you are gaining nothing. Why all the world has run after him. Among those who were going up to worship at the festival were some Greeks who went to Philip of Bessaiida in Galilee and said, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. Philip went and told Andrew, and then together they went and told Jesus. And this was his reply. The time has come for the Son of Man to be exalted. In truth I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains solitary. But if it dies, it becomes fruitful. He who loves his life loses it, while he who hates his life in the present world shall preserve it for immortal life. If a man is ready to serve me, let him follow me, and where I am there my servant shall also be. If a man is ready to serve me, my father will honor him. Now I am distressed at heart. And what can I say? Father, bring me safe through this hour. Yet it was for this very reason that I came to this hour. Father, honor thine own name. At this there came a voice from heaven which said, I have already honored it, and I will honor it again. The crowd of bystanders who heard the sound said that it was thundering. Others said, an angel has been speaking to him. It was not for my sake that the voice came, said Jesus, but for yours. Now this world is on its trial. Now the spirit that is ruling this world shall be driven out, and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, shall draw all men to myself. By these words he indicated what death he was destined to die. We, replied the people, have learnt from the law that the Christ is to remain forever. How is it then that you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man? Only a little while longer, answered Jesus, will you have the light among you. Travel on while you have the light so that the darkness may not overtake you. He who travels in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you still have the light, believe in the light that you may be Sons of Light. After he had said this, Jesus went away and hid himself from them. But though Jesus had given so many signs of his mission before their eyes, they still did not believe in him, in fulfilment of the words of the Prophet Isaiah where he says, Lord, who has believed our teaching, and to whom has the might of the Lord been revealed. The reason why they were unable to believe is given by Isaiah elsewhere in these words. He has blinded their eyes and blunted their mind so that they may not see with their eyes and perceive with their mind and turn, and eye should heal them. Isaiah said this because he saw Christ's glory, and it was of him that he spoke. Yet for all this, even among the leading men, there were many who came to believe in Jesus. But on account of the Pharisees they did not acknowledge it for fear that they should be expelled from their synagogues, for they valued honour from men more than honour from God. But Jesus had proclaimed, He who believes in me, believes not in me, but in him who sent me, and he who sees me, sees him who sent me, I have come as a light into the world that no one who believes in me should remain in the darkness. When anyone hears my teaching and pays no heed to it, I am not his judge. For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects me and disregards my teaching has a judge already. The very message which I have delivered will itself be his judge on the last day. For I have not delivered it on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me his command as to what I should say and what message I should deliver. And I know that immortal life lies in keeping his command. Therefore whatever I say, I say only what the Father has taught me. Chapter 13 Before the Passover Festival began, Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave the world and go to the Father. He had loved those who were his own in the world, and he loved them to the last. The devil had already put the thought of betraying Jesus into the mind of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And it suffered Jesus, although knowing that the Father had put everything into his hands and that he had come from God and was to return to God, rose from his place, and taking off his upper garments, tied a towel round his waist. He then poured some water into the basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel which was tied round him. When he came to Simon Peter, Peter said, You, Master, are you going to wash my feet? You do not understand now what I am doing, replied Jesus, but you will learn by and by. You shall never wash my feet, exclaimed Peter. Unless I wash you, answered Jesus, you have nothing in common with me. Then, Master, not my feet only, exclaimed Simon Peter, but also my hands and my head. He who has bathed, replied Jesus, has no need to wash unless it be his feet, but is altogether clean. And you, he said to the disciples, are clean, yet not all of you. For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said, You are not all clean. When he had washed their feet and had put on his upper garments and taken his place, he spoke to them again. Do you understand what I have been doing to you, he asked. You yourselves call me the teacher and the Master, and you are right, for I am both. If I then, the Master and the teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one and other's feet. For I have given you an example, so that you may do just as I have done to you. In truth I tell you, a servant is not greater than his Master, nor yet a messenger than the man who sends him. Now that you know these things, happy are you if you do them. I am not speaking about all of you. I know whom I have chosen. But this is in fulfilment of the words of Scripture. He that is eating my bread has lifted his heel against me. For the future I shall tell you of things before they take place, so that when they take place you may believe that I am what I am. In truth I tell you, he who receives any one that I send receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me. In saying this, Jesus was much troubled and said solemnly, In truth I tell you that it is one of you who will betray me. The disciples looked at one another, wondering whom he meant. Next to Jesus, in the place on his right hand, was one of the disciples whom he loved. So Simon Peter made signs to that disciple and whispered, Tell me who it is that he means. Being in this position, that disciple leaned back on Jesus's shoulder and asked him, Who is it, Master? It is the one answer Jesus to whom I shall give a piece of bread after dipping it in the dish. And when Jesus had dipped the bread, he took it and gave it to Judas, son of Simon, to scare it. And it was then, after he had received it, that Satan took possession of him. So Jesus said to him, Do it once what you are going to do. But no one at table understood why he said this to Judas. Some thought that as Judas kept the purse, Jesus meant that he was to buy some things needed for the festival or to give something to the poor. After taking the piece of bread, Judas went out immediately, and it was night. When Judas had gone out, Jesus said, Now the son of man has been exalted, and God has been exalted through him, and God will exalt him with himself. Yes, he will exalt him forthwith. My children, I am to be with you but a little while longer. You will look for me, and what I said to the Jews, you cannot come where I am going. I now say to you, I give you a new commandment. Love one another. Love one another as I have loved you. It is by this that everyone will recognize you as my disciples, by your loving one another. Where are you going, master? asked Peter. I am going where you cannot now follow me, answer Jesus. But you shall follow me later. Why cannot I follow you now, master? asked Peter. I will lay down my life for you. Will you lay down your life for me? replied Jesus. In truth I tell you, the cock will not crow till you have disowned me three times. Chapter 14 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my father's home there are many dwellings. If it had not been so I should have told you, for I am going to prepare a place for you. And since I go and prepare a place for you, I shall return and take you to be with me, so that you may be where I am, and you know the way to the place where I am going. We did not know where you were going, master, said Thomas, so how can we know the way? Jesus answered, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one ever comes to the Father except through me. If you had recognized me, you would have known my Father also. For the future you will recognize him. Indeed, you have already seen him. Master, show us the Father, said Philip, and we shall be satisfied. Have I been all this time among you, said Jesus, and yet you, Philip, have not recognized me? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say then, show us the Father? Do not you believe that I am in union with the Father and the Father with me? In giving you my teaching, I am not speaking on my own authority, but the Father himself always in union with me, does his own work. Believe me, he said to them all, when I say that I am in union with the Father and the Father with me, or else believe me on account of the work itself. In truth I tell you, he who believes in me will himself do the work that I am doing, and he will do greater work still, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, I will do, that the Father may be honored in the Son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, you will lay my commandments to heart, and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper to be with you always, the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive this Spirit, because it does not see him or recognize him, but you recognize him, because he is always with you, and is within you. I will not leave you bereaved. I will come to you. In a little while the world will see me no more, but you will still see me, because I am living, you will be living also. At that time you will recognize that I am in union with the Father, and you with me, and I with you. It is he who has my commands and lays them to heart that loves me, and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will reveal myself to him. What has happened, Master, said Judas, not Judas Iscariot, that you are going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world. Whoever loves me, Jesus answered, will lay my message to heart, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling in him. He who does not love me will not lay my message to heart, and the message to which you are listening is not my own, but that of the Father who sent me. I have told you all this while still with you, but the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and will recall to your minds all that I have said to you. Peace be with you. My own peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled or dismayed. You heard me say that I was going away and would return to you. Had you loved me, you would have been glad that I was going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And this I have told you now, before it happens, that when it does happen you may still believe in me. I shall not talk with you much more, for the Spirit that is ruling the world is coming. He has nothing in common with me, but he is coming that the world may see that I love the Father and that I do as the Father commanded me. Come, let us be going. CHAPTER XV I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. Any unfruitful branch in me he takes away, and he cleanses every fruitful branch that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the message that I have given you. Remain united to me, and I will remain united to you. As a branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it remains united to the vine, no more can you unless you remain united to me. I am the vine. You are the branches. He that remains united to me while I remain united to him, he bears fruit plentifully, for you can do nothing apart from me. If any one does not remain united to me, he is thrown away as a branch would be and withers up. Such branches are collected and thrown into the fire and are burnt. If you remain united to me and my teaching remains in your hearts, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be yours. It is by your bearing fruit plentifully and so showing yourselves, my disciples, that my Father is honored. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Remain in my love. If you lay my commands to heart, you will remain in my love, just as I have laid the Father's commands to heart and remain in his love. I have told you all this so that my own joy may be yours and that your joy may be complete. This is my command. Love one another, as I have loved you. No one can give greater proof of love than by laying down his life for his friends. And you are my friends, if you do what I command you. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have given you the name of friends, because I made known to you everything that I learnt from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you, and I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that should remain so that the Father might grant you whatever you ask in my name. I am giving you these commands that you may love one another. If the world hates you, you know that it has first hated me. If you belong to the world, the world would love its own, because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I said to you. A servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they have laid my message to heart, they will lay yours to heart also. But they will do all this to you, because you believe in my name, for they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have had no sin to answer for. But as it is they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me, hates my Father also. If I had not done among them such work as no one else ever did, they would have had no sin to answer for. But as it is, they have both seen and hated both me and my Father, and so has fulfilled what is said in their law. They hated me without cause. But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, who comes from the Father, he will bear testimony to me. Yes, and you are also to bear testimony, because you have been with me from the first. CHAPTER XVI I have spoken to you in this way, so that you may not falter. They will expel you from their synagogues. Indeed, the time is coming when any one who kills you will think that he is making an offering to God. They will do this because they have not learnt to know the Father or even me. But I have spoken to you of these things that when the time for them comes, you may remember that I have told you about them myself. I did not tell you all this at first, because I was with you. But now I am to return to him who sent me. And yet not one of you asks me where are you going, although your hearts are full of sorrow at all that I have been saying to you. Yet I am only telling you the truth. It is for your good that I should go away. For otherwise the Helper will never come to you. But if I leave you, I will send him to you. And he, when he comes, will bring conviction to the world as to sin and as to righteousness and as to judgment, as to sin, for men do not believe in me, as to righteousness, for I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer, and as to judgment, for the spirit that is ruling this world has been condemned. I have still much to say to you, but you cannot bear it now. Yet when he, the spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but he will speak of all that he hears, and he will tell you of the things that are to come. He will honor me, because he will take of what is mine and will tell it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine. That is why I said that he takes of what is mine and will tell it to you. In a little while you will no longer see me, and then in a little while you will see me indeed. At this some of his disciples said to one another, what does he mean by saying to us, in a little while you will not see me, and then in a little while you will see me indeed, and by saying, because I am going to the Father? What does he mean by, in a little while? They said. We do not know what he is speaking about. Jesus saw that they were wanting to ask him a question, and said, are you trying to find out from one another what I meant by saying, in a little while you will not see me, and then in a little while you will see me indeed? In truth I tell you, that you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice. You will suffer pain, but your pain shall turn to joy. A woman in labor is in pain because her time has come, but no sooner is the child born than she forgets her trouble in her joy that a man has been born into the world. You in the same way are sorry now, but I shall see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will rob you of your joy. And at that time you will not ask me anything. In truth I tell you, if you ask the Father for anything he will grant it to you in my name. So far you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask, and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. I have spoken to you of all this in figures. A time is coming, however, when I will not speak any longer to you in figures, but shall tell you about the Father plainly. You will ask at that time in my name, and I do not say that I will intercede with the Father for you, for the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from the Father. I came out from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am to leave the world and go to the Father. At last exclaimed the disciples, you are using plain words and not speaking in figures at all. Now we are sure that you know everything and need not wait for anyone to question you. This makes us believe that you did come from God. Do you believe that already, Jesus answered? Listen. A time is coming. Indeed it has already come, when you are to be scattered, each going his own way and to leave me alone, and yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have spoken to you in this way, so that in me you may find peace. In the world you will find trouble, yet take courage. I have conquered the world. CHAPTER 17 After saying this, Jesus raised his eyes heavenward and said, Father, the hour has come. Honor thy Son that thy Son may honor thee, even as thou gavest him power over all mankind, that he should give immortal life to all those whom thou hast given him. And the immortal life is this, to know thee, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent as thy messenger. I have honored thee on earth by completing the work which thou hast given me to do. And now do thou honor me, Father, at thy own side with the honor which I had at thy side before the world began. I have revealed thee to those whom thou gavest me from the world. They were thy own, and thou gavest them to me, and they have laid thy message to heart. They recognize now that everything that thou gavest me was from thee, for I have given them the teaching which thou gavest me, and they received it and clearly understood that I came from thee, and they believed that thou hast sent me as thy messenger. I intercede for them. I am not interceding for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me, for they are thy own. All that is mine is thine, and all that is thine is mine, and I am honored in them. Now I am to be in this world no longer, but they are still to be in the world, and I am to come to thee. Holy Father, keep them by that revelation of thy name which thou hast given me that they may be one as we are. Whilst I was with them, I kept them by that revelation, and I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost, except that lost soul in fulfillment of scripture. But now I am to come to thee, and I am speaking thus while still in the world that they may have my own joy in all its fullness in their hearts. I have given them thy message, and the world hated them because they do not belong to the world, even as I do not belong to the world. I do not ask thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from evil. They do not belong to the world even as I do not belong to the world. Consecrate them by the truth. Thy message is truth. Just as thou hast sent me as thy messenger to the world, so I send them as my messengers to the world, and it is for their sakes that I am consecrating myself, so that they also may be truly consecrated. It is not only for them that I am interceding, but also for those who believe in me through their message, that they all may be one, that as thou, Father, art in union with me, and I with thee, so they may also be in union with us, and so the world may believe that thou hast sent me as thy messenger. I have given them the honor which thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are one. I in union with them, and thou with me, that so they may be perfected in their union, and thus the world may know that thou hast sent me as thy messenger, and that thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Father, my desire for all those whom thou hast given me is that they may be with me where I am, so that they may see the honor which thou hast given me, for thou didst love me before the beginning of the world. O righteous Father, though the world did not know thee, I knew thee, and these men knew that thou hast sent me as thy messenger. I have made thee known to them, and will do so still, that the love that thou hast had for me may be in their hearts, and that I may be in them also. CHAPTER XVIII. When Jesus had said this, he went out with his disciples and crossed the Brook Kidron to a place where there was a garden into which he and his disciples went. The place was well known to Judas, the betrayer, for Jesus and his disciples had often met there. So Judas, who had obtained the soldiers of the Roman garrison and some police officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches and weapons. Jesus, aware of all that was coming upon him, went to meet them and said to them, For whom are you looking? Jesus of Nazareth was their answer. I am he, said Jesus. Judas, the betrayer, was also standing with them. When Jesus said I am he, they drew back and fell to the ground. So he again asked for whom they were looking and they answered, Jesus of Nazareth, I have already told you that I am he, replied Jesus. So if it is for me that you are looking, let these men go. This was in fulfilment of his words. Of those whom thou hast given me, I have not lost one. At this Simon Peter, who had a sword with him, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. But Jesus said to Peter, She, the your sword, shall I not drink the cup which the father has given me? So the soldiers of the garrison, with their commanding officer and the Jewish police, arrested Jesus and bound him and took him first of all to Annas. Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews that it was best that one man should die for the people. Meanwhile, Simon Peter followed Jesus and so did another disciple. That disciple being well known to the high priest went with Jesus into the high priest's courtyard while Peter stood outside by the door. Presently the other disciple, the one well known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the fortress and brought Peter in. So the maid-servants said to Peter, Are not you also one of this man's disciples? No, I'm not, he said. The servants and police officers were standing round a charcoal fire which they had made because it was cold and were warming themselves. Peter too was with them, standing and warming himself. The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. For my part, answered Jesus, I have spoken to all the world openly. I always taught in some synagogue or in the temple courts, places where all the Jews assemble, and I never spoke of anything in secret. Why question me? Question those who have listened to me as to what I have spoken about to them. They must know what I said. When Jesus said this, one of the police officers who was standing near gave him a blow with his hand. Do you answer the high priest like that, he exclaimed? If I said anything wrong, give evidence about it, replied Jesus. But if not, why do you strike me? Anna sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest. Meanwhile Simon Peter was standing there warming himself. So they said to him, Are not you also one of his disciples? Peter denied it. No, I am not, he said. One of the high priest's servants, a relation of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, exclaimed, Did not I myself see you with him in the garden? Peter again denied it. And at that moment a cock crowed. From Caiaphas they took Jesus to the government house. It was early in the morning, but they did not enter the government house themselves lest they should become defiled and so be unable to eat the Passover. Therefore Pilate came outside to speak to them. What charge do you bring against this man? He asked. If he had not been a criminal, we should not have given him up to you, they answered. Take him yourselves, said Pilate, and try him by your own law. We have no power to put anyone to death, the Jews replied, in fulfillment of what Jesus had said when indicating the death he was destined to die. After that Pilate went into the government house again, and calling Jesus up, asked him, Are you the king of the Jews? Do you ask me that yourself, replied Jesus? Or did others say it to you about me? Do you take me for a Jew? was Pilate's answer. It is your own nation and the chief priest who had given you up to me. What have you done? My kingly power, replied Jesus, is not due to this world. If it had been so, my servants would be doing their utmost to prevent my being given up to the Jews. But my kingly power is not from the world. So you are a king after all, exclaimed Pilate. Yes, it is true I am a king, answered Jesus. I was born for this. I have come into the world for this, to bear testimony to the truth. Everyone who is on the side of truth listens to my voice. What is truth? exclaimed Pilate. After saying this, he went out to the Jews again and said, For my part I see nothing with which he can be charged. It is however the custom for me to grant you the release of one man at the Passover Festival. Do you wish for the release of the king of the Jews? No, not this man, they shouted again. But Barabbas. This Barabbas was a robber. Chapter 19 After that Pilate had Jesus scourged. The soldiers made a crown with some thorns and put it on his head and threw a purple robe round him. They kept coming up to him and saying, Long live the king of the Jews! And they gave him blow after blow with their hands. Pilate again came outside and said to the people, Look, I am bringing him out to you so that you may know that I find nothing with which he can be charged. Then Jesus came outside wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, Here is the man! When the chief priests and the police officers saw him, they shouted, Crucify him! Crucify him! Take him yourselves and crucify him, said Pilate. For my part I find nothing with which he can be charged. But we replied the Jews have a law under which he deserves death for making himself out to be the son of God. When Pilate heard what they said, he became still more alarmed. And going into the government house again he said to Jesus, Where do you come from? But Jesus made no reply. So Pilate said to him, Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you and have power to crucify you? You would have no power over me at all, answered Jesus, if it had not been given you from above. And therefore the man who betrayed me to you is guilty of the greater sin. This made Pilate anxious to release him. But the Jews shouted, If you release this man, you are no friend of the Emperor. Anyone who makes himself out to be a king is setting himself against the Emperor. On hearing what they said, Pilate brought Jesus out and took his seat upon the bench at a place called the Stone Pavement in Hebrew, Gabbatha. It was the Passover Preparation Day and about noon. Then he said to the Jews, Here is your king! At that the people shouted, Kill him! Kill him! Crucify him! What? Shall I crucify your king? explained Pilate. We have no king but the Emperor, replied the chief priests, whereupon Pilate gave Jesus up to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and he went out, carrying his cross himself to the place which is named from a skull, or in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified him and two others with him, one on each side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also had these words written and put up over the cross. Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. These words were read by many of the Jews, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and they were written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. The Jewish chief priests said to Pilate, Do not write the king of the Jews, but write that the man said I am king of the Jews. But Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written. When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four shares, a share for each soldier, and they took the coat also. The coat had no seam, being woven in one piece from top to bottom. So they said to one another, Do not let us tear it, but let us cast lots for it, to see who shall have it. This was in fulfillment of the words of Scripture. They shared my clothes among them, and over my clothing they cast lots. That was what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, near the cross of Jesus were standing his mother and his mother's sister, as well as Mary, the wife of Klopas and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, There is your son. Then he said to that disciple, There is your mother. And from that very hour, the disciple took her to live in his house. Afterwards, knowing that everything was now finished, Jesus said in fulfillment of the words of Scripture, I am thirsty. There was a bowl standing there, full of common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in the wine on the end of a hisop stalk and held it up to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he exclaimed, All is finished. And then bowing his head, he resigned his spirit to God. It was the preparation day, and so to prevent the bodies from remaining on the crosses during the Sabbath, for that Sabbath was a great day, Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies removed. Accordingly, the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man, and then those of the other who had been crucified with Jesus. But on coming to him, when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and blood and water immediately flowed from it. This is the statement of one who actually saw it, and his statement may be relied upon, and he knows that he is speaking the truth, and it is given in order that you also may be convinced. For all this took place in fulfillment of the words of Scripture, not one of its bones shall be broken. And there is another passage which says, They shall look upon him whom they pierced. After this, Joseph of Rama, a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one owing to his fear of the Jews, begged Pilate's permission to remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him leave, so Joseph went and removed the body. Nicodemus, too, the man who had formerly visited Jesus by night, came with a roll of myrrh and allows, weighing nearly a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wound it in linen with the spices according to the Jewish mode of burial. At the place where Jesus had been crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a newly made tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because of its being the preparation day, and as the tomb was closed at hand, they laid Jesus there. Chapter 20 On the first day of the week, early in the morning, while it was still dark, Mary of Magdala went to the tomb, and saw that the stone had been removed. So she came running to Simon Peter and to that other disciple who was Jesus's friend, and said to them, They have taken away the master out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him. Upon this Peter started off with that other disciple, and they went to the tomb. The two began running together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and reached the tomb first. Stooping down he saw the linen wrappings lying there, but did not go in. Presently Simon Peter came, following behind him, and went into the tomb. And he looked at the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth which had been upon Jesus's head, not lying with the wrappings, but rolled up on one side separately. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first, went inside too, and he saw for himself, and was convinced. For they did not then understand the passage of Scripture which says that Jesus must rise again from the dead. The disciples then returned to their companions. Meanwhile Mary was standing close outside the tomb, weeping. Still weeping, she linked forward into the tomb, and perceived two angels clothed in white sitting there, where the body of Jesus had been lying, one where the head and the other where the feet had been. Why are you weeping? asked the angels. They have taken my master away, she answered, and I do not know where they have laid him. After saying this she turned round and looked at Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? he asked. Supposing him to be the gardener, Mary answered, If it was you, sir, who carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away myself. Mary said, Jesus. She turned round and exclaimed in Hebrew, Robbony, or as we should say, Teacher. Do not hold me, Jesus said, for I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to him who is my Father and their Father, my God and their God. Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Master, and that he had said this to her. In the evening of the same day, the first day of the week, after the doors of the room in which the disciples were had been shut for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. After which he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Master. Again Jesus said to them, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me as his messenger, so I am sending you. After saying this, he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you remit any one's sins, they have been remitted, and if you retain them, they have been retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called the twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the rest of the disciples said to him, We have seen the Master. Unless I see the marks of the nails in his hands, he exclaimed, and put my finger into the marks, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it. A week later the disciples were again in the house and Thomas with them. After the doors had been shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. Then he said to Thomas, Place your finger here, and look at my hands, and place your hand here, and put it into my side, and do not refuse to believe, but believe. And Thomas exclaimed, My Master, and my God. Is it because you have seen me that you have believed? Said Jesus. Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed. There were many other signs of his mission that Jesus gave in presence of the disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these have been recorded that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through your belief in his name you may have life. Chapter 21 Later on Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. It was in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas, who was called the twin, Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee, Zebediah's sons, and two other disciples of Jesus were together, when Simon Peter said, I'm going fishing. We'll come with you, said the others. They went out and got into the boat, but caught nothing that night. Just as day was breaking, Jesus came and stood on the beach, but the disciples did not know that it was he. My children, he said, Have you anything to eat? No, they answered. Cast your net to the right of the boat, he said, and you will find fish. So they cast the net, and now they could not haul it in on account of the quantity of fish. Upon this, the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, It is the master. When Peter heard that it was the master, he fastened his coat round him, for he had taken it off, and threw himself into the sea. But the rest of the disciples came in the boat, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore, dragging the net full of fish. When they had come ashore, they found a charcoal fire ready with some fish already on it, and some bread as well. Bring some of the fish which you have just caught, said Jesus. So Simon Peter got into the boat, and hauled the net ashore full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them, and yet, although there were so many, the net had not been torn. And Jesus said to them, Come and breakfast. Now one of the disciples ventured to ask him who he was, knowing that it was the master. Jesus went and took the bread, and gave it to them, and the fish too. This was the third time that Jesus showed himself to the disciples after he had risen from the dead. When breakfast was over, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, Do you love me more than the others? Yes, master, he answered, You know that I am your friend. Feed my lambs, said Jesus. Then a second time, Jesus asked, Simon, son of John, Do you love me? Yes, master, he answered, You know that I am your friend. Tend my sheep, said Jesus. The third time, Jesus said to him, Simon, son of John, Are you my friend? Peter was hurt at his third questioning being, Are you my friend? And exclaimed, Master, you know everything. You can tell that I am your friend. Feed my sheep, said Jesus. In truth, I tell you, he continued, When you were young, you used to put on your own girdle and walk wherever you wished. But when you have grown old, you will have to stretch out your hands while someone else puts on your girdle and takes you where you do not wish. Jesus said this to show the death by which Peter was to honor God, and then he added, Follow me. Peter turned round and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, the one who at the supper leaned back upon the master's shoulder and asked him who it was that would betray him. Seeing him, Peter said to Jesus, Master, what about this man? If it is my will that he should wait till I come, answered Jesus, what has that to do with you? Follow me yourself. So the report spread among the brethren that that disciple was not to die, yet Jesus did not say that he was not to die, but said, If it is my will that he should wait till I come, what has that to do with you? It is this disciple who states these things, and who recorded them, and we know that his statement is true. There are many other things which Jesus did. But if every one of them were to be recorded in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not hold the books that would be written. A passage about an adulteress inserted in some manuscripts from an ancient source and found either after John chapter 7 verse 53 or after Luke chapter 21 verse 38. And every one went home except Jesus who went to the Mount of Olives. But he went again into the temple courts early in the morning and all the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. Presently however the teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and placed her in the middle of the court and said to Jesus, Teacher, this woman was found in the very act of adultery. Now Moses in the law commanded us to stone such women to death. What do you say? They said this to test him in order to have a charge to bring against him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger. However, as they continued asking him, he raised himself and said, Let the man among you who has never done wrong throw the first stone at her. And again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard that, they went out one by one beginning with the eldest. And Jesus was left alone with the woman in the middle of the court. Raising himself, Jesus said to her, Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you? No one, sir, she answered. Neither do I condemn you, said Jesus. Go and do not sin again. End of chapter 17 through 21 End of the Gospel of John The Acts of the Apostles Introduction and chapters 1 through 5 from the 20th Century New Testament This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Recording by J. A. Carter www.authenticlight.org The 20th Century New Testament, by a company of about 20 scholars The Acts of the Apostles Introduction and chapters 1 through 5 Introduction The Acts of the Apostles compiled at Rome at an uncertain date later than 64 AD. This book contains an account of the principal events in the first years of the church's history after the ascension of Jesus into heaven. These events group themselves around the names of St. Peter and St. Paul, and in this book the first twelve chapters relate mainly St. Peter's work among Jews and the last sixteen St. Paul's work among people of other nations. The history ends with the imprisonment of the latter in Rome. There is strong support for the view that St. Luke was the author or compiler of the book and from the use of the pronoun we in several sections that he took part in many of the events related. Chapter 1 The first account which I drew up Theophilus dealt with all that Jesus did and taught from the very first, down to that day on which he was taken up to heaven after he had by the help of the Holy Spirit given instructions to the apostles whom he had chosen. With abundant proofs he showed himself to them still living after his death, appearing to them from time to time during forty days and speaking of all that related to the kingdom of God. And once when he had gathered them together he charged them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there for the fulfillment of the Father's promise. That promise he said of which you have heard me speak, for while John baptized with water you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit before many days of past. So when the apostles had met together they asked Jesus this question, Master, is this the time when you intend to re-establish the kingdom for Israel? His answer was, It is not for you to know times or hours, for the Father has reserved these for his own decision. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit shall have descended upon you and shall be witnesses for me not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. No sooner had Jesus said this than he was caught up before their eyes and a cloud received him from their sight. While they were still gazing up into the heavens as he went suddenly two men clothed in white stood beside them and said, Men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking up into the heavens? This very Jesus who has been taken from you into the heavens will come in the very way in which you have seen him go into the heavens. Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called Olivet which is about three quarters of a mile from the city. When they reached Jerusalem they went to the upstairs room where they were staying. There were there Peter, John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the zealot, and Judas the son of James. They all united in devoting themselves to prayer and so did some women and marry the mother of Jesus and his brothers. About this time at a meeting of the brethren when there were about a hundred and twenty present Peter rose to speak. Brothers, he said, it was necessary that the prediction of Scripture should be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit made by the lips of David about Judas who acted as guide to the men that arrested Jesus, for he was one of our number and had his part allotted him in this work of ours. Now this man had bought a piece of land with the price of his treachery and falling heavily his body had burst open and all his bowels protruded. This became known to everyone living in Jerusalem so that the field came to be called in their language a keldema, which means field of blood. For in the book of Psalms Peter continued, it is said, Let his dwelling become desolate and let no one live in it, and also his office let another take. Therefore from among the men who have been with us all the time that Jesus our master went in and out among us, from his baptism by John down to that day on which he was taken from us, some one must be found to join us as a witness of his resurrection. So they put forward two men, Joseph called Bar Sabbath whose other name was Justice and Matthias, and they offered this prayer. O Lord who readest all hearts, show which of these two men thou hast chosen to take the place in this apostolic work which Judas has abandoned to go to his proper place. Then they drew lots between them and the lot having fallen on Matthias he was added to the number of the eleven apostles. Chapter 2 In the course of the festival at the close of the harvest the disciples had all met together when suddenly there came from the heavens a noise like that of a strong wind rushing by. It filled the whole house in which they were sitting. Then there appeared tongues of what seemed to be flame separating so that one settled on each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with strange tongues as the Spirit prompted their utterances. Now there were then staying in Jerusalem religious Jews from every country in the world and when this sound was heard numbers of people collected in the greatest excitement because each of them heard the disciples speaking in his own language. They were utterly amazed and kept asking in astonishment, What? Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that we each hear them in our own native language? Some of us are Parthians some Medes some Elamites and some of us live in Mesopotamia in Judea and Cappadocia in Pontus and Roman Asia in Phrygia and Pamphylia in Egypt and the districts of Libya adjoining Cyrene. Some of us are visitors from Rome either Jews by birth or converts and some are Cretans and Arabians yet we all alike hear them speaking in our own tongues of the great things that God has done. They were all utterly amazed and bewildered. What does it mean? they asked one another. But there were some who said with a sneer they have had too much new wine. Then Peter surrounded by the eleven other apostles stood up and raising his voice addressed the crowd. Men of Judea he began and all you who are staying in Jerusalem let me tell you what this means. Mark well my words these men are not drunk as you suppose for it is only now nine in the morning. No this is what is spoken of in the Prophet Joel. It shall come about in the last days God says that I will pour out my spirit on all mankind. Your sons and your daughters shall become prophets. Your young men shall see visions and your old men dream dreams. Yes even on the slaves for they are mine both men and women I will in those days pour out my spirit and they shall become prophets and I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below blood and fire and mist of smoke. The sun shall become darkness and the moon blood red before the day of the Lord comes that great and awful day then shall everyone who invokes the name of the Lord be saved. Men of Israel listen to what I am saying. Jesus of Nazareth a man whose mission from God to you was proved by miracles, wonders and signs which God showed among you through him as you know full well. He I say in accordance with God's definite plan and with his previous knowledge was betrayed and you by the hands of lawless men nailed him to a cross and put him to death. But God released him from the pangs of death and raised him to life it being impossible for death to retain its hold upon him. Indeed it was to him that David was referring when he said, I have had the Lord ever before my eyes for he stands at my right hand that I should not be disquieted. Therefore my heart was cheered and my tongue told its delight. Yes even my body too will rest in hope for thou wilt not abandon my soul to the place of death nor surrender me thy holy one to undergo corruption. Thou hast shown me the path to life. Thou wilt fill me with gladness in thy presence. Brothers I can speak to you the more confidently about the Patriarch David because he is dead and buried and his tomb is here among us to this very day. David then, prophet as he was, knowing that God had solemnly sworn to him to set one of his descendants upon his throne looked into the future and referred to the resurrection of the Christ when he said that he had not been abandoned to the place of death nor had his body undergone corruption. It was this Jesus whom God raised to life and of that we are ourselves all witnesses. And now that he has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised gift of the Holy Spirit he has begun to pour out that gift as you yourselves now see and hear. It was not David who went up into heaven for he himself says, the Lord said to my master, sit on my right hand till I put thy enemies as a footstool under thy feet. So let the whole nation of Israel know beyond all doubt that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this very Jesus whom you crucified. When the people heard this they were conscious smitten and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brothers what can we do? Repent answered Peter and be baptized every one of you in the faith of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit for the promise is for you and for your children and also for all those now far away who may be called by the Lord our God. With many other words Peter enforced his teaching while the burden of his exhortations was save yourselves from the perverse spirit of this age. So those who accepted his teaching were baptized and about three thousand people joined the disciples on that day alone. They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the common life of the church, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers. A deep impression was made upon everyone and many wonders and signs were done at the hands of the apostles. All who became believers in Christ held everything for the common use. They sold their property and their goods and shared the proceeds among them all according to their individual needs. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple courts and to the breaking of bread at their homes while they partook of their food in simple hearted gladness praising God and winning the goodwill of all the people and the Lord daily added to their company those who were in the path of salvation. CHAPTER III One day as Peter and John were going up into the temple courts for the three o'clock prayers a man who had been lame from his birth was being carried by. This man used to be set down every day at the gate of the temple called the beautiful gate to beg of those who went in. Seeing Peter and John on the point of entering he asked them to give him something. Peter fixed his eyes on him and so did John and then Peter said, Look at us. The man was all attention expecting to get something from them. But Peter added, I have no gold or silver, but I give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth I bid you walk. Grasping the lame man by the right hand Peter lifted him up. Instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong and leaping up he stood and began to walk about and then went with them into the temple courts walking and leaping and praising God. All the people saw him walking about and praising God and when they recognized him as the man who used to sit begging at the beautiful gate of the temple they were utterly astonished and amazed at what had happened to him. While the man still clung to Peter and John the people all quickly gathered round them in the colonnade named after Solomon in the greatest astonishment. On seeing this Peter said to the people, Men of Israel why are you surprised at this and why do you stare at us as though we, by any power or piety of our own, had enabled this man to walk. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our ancestors has done honor to his servant Jesus, him whom you gave up and disowned before Pilate when he had decided to set him free. You, I say, disowned the holy and righteous one and asked for the release of a murderer, the very guide to life you put to death. But God raised him from the dead and of that we are ourselves witnesses. And it is by faith in the name of Jesus that this man whom you all see and know has by his name been made strong. Yes, it is the faith inspired by Jesus that has made this complete cure of the man before the eyes of you all. And yet, my brothers, I know that you acted as you did from ignorance and your rulers also. But it was in this way that God fulfilled all that he had long ago foretold as to the sufferings of his Christ by the lips of all the prophets. Therefore, repent and turn that your sins may be wiped away, so that happier times may come from the Lord himself and that he may send you in Jesus your long appointed Christ. But heaven must be his home until the days of the universal restoration of which God has spoken by the lips of his holy prophets from the very first. Moses himself said, The Lord your God will raise up from among your brothers a prophet as he raised me. To him you will listen whenever he speaks to you, and it shall be that should anyone among the people not listen to that prophet he will be utterly destroyed. Yes, and all the prophets from Samuel onwards and all their successors who had a message to deliver told of these days. You yourselves are the heirs of the prophets and heirs too of the covenant which God made with your ancestors when he said to Abraham, In your descendants will all the nations of the earth be blessed. For you first God raised up his servant and sent him to bless you by turning each one of you from his wicked ways. CHAPTER 4 While Peter and John were still speaking to the people, the chief priests with the officer in charge at the temple and the satya-sees came up to them much annoyed because they were teaching the people and because through Jesus they were preaching the resurrection from the dead. They arrested the apostles, and as it was already evening had them placed in custody till the next day. Many however of those who had heard the apostles' message became believers in Christ, the number of the men alone amounting to about five thousand. The next day a meeting of the leading men, the counselors and the teachers of the law was held in Jerusalem. There were present Annas the High Priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all who were of high priestly rank. They had Peter and John brought before them and questioned them. By what power they asked, or in whose name have men like you done this thing? On this Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke as follows. LEADERS OF THE PEOPLE AND COUNSELORS Since we are on our trial today for a kind act done to a helpless man, and are asked in what way the man here before you has been cured, let me tell you all, and all the people of Israel, that it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead, it is I say by his name that this man stands here before you lame no longer. Jesus is the stone which scorned by you the builders has yet become the cornerstone, and salvation is in him alone, for there is no other name in the whole world given to men to which we must look for our salvation. When the counsel saw how boldly Peter and John spoke and found that they were uneducated men of humble station, they were surprised and realized that they had been companions of Jesus. But when they looked at the man who had been healed standing there with them, they had nothing to say. So they ordered them out of the court and then began consulting together. What are we to do to these men? they asked one another. That a remarkable sign has been given through them is obvious to everyone living in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But to prevent this thing from spreading further among the people, let us warn them not to speak in this name any more to anyone whatever. So they called the apostles in, and ordered them not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to him, judge for yourselves, for we cannot help speaking of what we have seen and heard. However, after further warnings the counsel set them at liberty, not seeing any safe way of punishing them because of the people, for they were all praising God for what had occurred, for the man who was the subject of this miraculous cure was more than forty years old. After they had been set at liberty, the apostles went to their friends and told them what the chief priests and the counselors had said to them. All who heard their story, moved by a common impulse, raised their voices to God in prayer. O sovereign Lord, it is Thou who hast made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them, and who by the lips of our ancestor, Thy servant David, who spoke under the influence of the Holy Spirit, hast said, Why did the nations rage and the peoples form vain designs? The kings of the earth set their array and its rulers gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ. There have indeed gathered together in this city against Thy holy servant Jesus, whom Thou hast consecrated the Christ, not Herod and Pontius Pilate only, but the nations and the people of Israel besides, yet only to do what Thou by Thy power and of Thy own will didst long ago destined to be done. Now therefore, O Lord, mark their threats and enable Thy servants with all fearlessness to tell Thy message while Thou stretched out Thy hand to heal and caused signs and wonders to take place through the name of Thy holy servant Jesus. When their prayer was ended, the place in which they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to tell God's message fearlessly. The whole body of those who had become believers in Christ were of one heart and mind. None of them claimed any of their goods as their own, but everything was held for the common use. The apostles continued with great power to bear their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God's blessing rested upon them all abundantly. Nor was there any one in need among them, for all who were owners of land or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of the sales and laid them at the apostles' feet, and then every one received a share in proportion to his wants. A Levite of Cyprianbirth named Joseph, who had received from the apostles the additional name of Barnabas, which means the Consolar, sold a farm that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. Chapter 5 There was, however, a man named Ananias, who with his wife Sapphira sold some property and with her connivance kept back some of the proceeds. He brought only a part and laid it at the apostles' feet. Ananias, Peter exclaimed, how is it that Satan has so taken possession of your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and kept back a part of the money paid for the land? While it was unsold was it not your own, and after it was sold was not the money at your own disposal? How did you come to think of such a thing? You have lied not to men, but to God. As Ananias heard these words he fell down and expired, and every one who heard of it was appalled. The young men got up and winding the body in a sheet carried it out and buried it. After an interval of about three hours his wife came in not knowing what had happened. Is it true, Peter asked, addressing her, that you sold your land for such a sum? Yes, she answered, we did. Then Peter said, How did you come to agree to provoke the Spirit of the Lord? Listen, the footsteps of those who have buried your husband are at the door and they will carry you out too. Instantly Sapphira fell down at Peter's feet and expired. On coming in the young men found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her by her husband's side. The whole church and all who heard of these events were appalled. Many signs and wonders continued to occur among the people through the instrumentality of the apostles whose custom it was to meet altogether in the Colonnade of Solomon, but of the rest no one ventured to join them. On the other hand the people were full of their praise and still larger numbers both men and women as they became believers in the Lord were added to their number. The consequence was that people would bring out their sick even into the streets and lay them on mattresses and mats in the hope that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. Besides this the inhabitants of the towns around Jerusalem flocked into the city bringing with them their sick and those who were troubled by foul spirits and they were cured every one. At this the High Priest was roused to action and he and all his supporters who formed the party of the Sadducees moved by jealousy, arrested the apostles and had them placed in custody. An angel the Lord however opened the prison doors at night and led them out. Go he said and stand in the temple courts and tell the people the whole message of this new life. When they heard this they went at daybreak into the temple courts and began to teach. The High Priest and his party on their arrival summoned the High Council including all the leading men among the Israelites and sent to the jail to fetch the apostles but when the officers got there they did not find them in the prison. So they returned and reported that while they had found the jail barred securely and the guards posted at the doors yet on opening them they had not found any one inside. When the officer in charge at the temple and the Chief Priest heard their story they were perplexed about the apostles and as to what all this would lead to. Presently however someone came and told them that the men whom they had put in prison were actually standing in the temple courts teaching the people. On this the officer went with his men and fetched the apostles without using violence for they were afraid of being stoned by the people and then brought them before the Council. The High Priest demanded an explanation from them. We gave you strict orders he said not to teach in this name yet you have actually flooded Jerusalem with your teaching and you want to make us responsible for the death of this man. To this Peter and the apostles replied we must obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus whom you put to death by hanging him on a cross. It is this Jesus whom God has exalted to his right hand to be a guide and a saviour to give Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins and we are witnesses to the truth of this and so is the Holy Spirit the gift of God to those who obey him. The members of the Council became frantic with rage on hearing this and were for putting the apostles to death but Gameliel, a Pharisee who was a doctor of the law and who was held in universal respect, rose in the Council and directed that the men should be taken out of court for a little while. He then said, Men of Israel, take care as to what you intend to do with these men. For not long ago Thutus appeared professing to be somebody and was joined by a body of some four hundred men but he was killed and all his followers scattered and dwindled away. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared at the time of the census and induced people to follow him. Yet he too perished and all his followers were dispersed. And in this present case my advice to you is not to interfere with these men but to let them alone for if their designs and their work are merely of human origin they will come to an end. But if they are of divine origin you will be powerless to put an end to them or else you may find yourself fighting against God. The Council followed his advice and calling the Apostles in had them flogged and then after cautioning them not to speak in the name of Jesus set them free. But the Apostles left the Council rejoicing that they had been thought worthy to suffer disgrace for that name and never for a single day either in the temple courts or in private houses did they cease to teach or to tell the good news of Jesus, the Christ. End of introduction and chapters one through five.