Acts 18:25
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25 He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord, and he spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.(A)
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Acts 19:3
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3 Then he said, “Into what, then, were you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.”(A)
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Romans 12:11
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11 Do not lag in zeal; be ardent in spirit; serve the Lord.
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James 5:16
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16 Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.(A)
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2 Timothy 2:4
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4 No one serving in the army gets entangled in everyday affairs; the soldier’s aim is to please the enlisting officer.
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Colossians 1:28-29
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28 It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.[a](A) 29 For this I toil and strive with all the energy that he powerfully inspires within me.(B)
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- 1.28 Other ancient authorities add Jesus
Acts 19:23
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23 About that time no little disturbance broke out concerning the Way.(A)
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Acts 19:9
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9 When some stubbornly refused to believe and spoke evil of the Way before the congregation, he left them, taking the disciples with him, and argued daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.[a](A)
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- 19.9 Other ancient authorities read of a certain Tyrannus, from eleven o’clock in the morning to four in the afternoon
Acts 16:17
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17 While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you[a] the way of salvation.”(A)
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- 16.17 Other ancient authorities read to us
Acts 13:10
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10 and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?(A)
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Acts 9:2
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2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
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John 1:19-36
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The Testimony of John the Baptist
19 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed and did not deny it, but he confessed, “I am not the Messiah.”[a](A) 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.”(B) 22 Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said,
“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ ”
as the prophet Isaiah said.(C)
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, “Why, then, are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah,[b] nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, 27 the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandal.” 28 This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
The Lamb of God
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!(D) 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.(E) 33 I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’(F) 34 And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Chosen One.”[c]
The First Disciples of Jesus
35 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!”(G)
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Luke 7:29
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29 (And all the people who heard this, including the tax collectors, acknowledged the justice of God,[a] having been baptized with John’s baptism.(A)
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- 7.29 Or praised God
Luke 3
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The Proclamation of John the Baptist
3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene,(A) 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.(B) 3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.(C)
5 Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”(D)
7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?(E) 8 Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.(F) 9 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”(G)
10 And the crowds asked him, “What, then, should we do?”(H) 11 In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.”(I) 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”(J) 13 He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.”(K) 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”(L)
15 As the people were filled with expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,[a](M) 16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with[b] the Holy Spirit and fire.(N) 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”(O)
18 So with many other exhortations he proclaimed the good news to the people. 19 But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done,(P) 20 added to them all by shutting up John in prison.
The Baptism of Jesus
21 Now when all the people were baptized and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened,(Q) 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved;[c] with you I am well pleased.”[d](R)
The Ancestors of Jesus
23 Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his work. He was the son (as was thought) of Joseph son of Heli,(S) 24 son of Matthat, son of Levi, son of Melchi, son of Jannai, son of Joseph, 25 son of Mattathias, son of Amos, son of Nahum, son of Esli, son of Naggai, 26 son of Maath, son of Mattathias, son of Semein, son of Josech, son of Joda, 27 son of Joanan, son of Rhesa, son of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, son of Neri,(T) 28 son of Melchi, son of Addi, son of Cosam, son of Elmadam, son of Er, 29 son of Joshua, son of Eliezer, son of Jorim, son of Matthat, son of Levi, 30 son of Simeon, son of Judah, son of Joseph, son of Jonam, son of Eliakim, 31 son of Melea, son of Menna, son of Mattatha, son of Nathan, son of David,(U) 32 son of Jesse, son of Obed, son of Boaz, son of Sala,[e] son of Nahshon,(V) 33 son of Amminadab, son of Admin, son of Arni,[f] son of Hezron, son of Perez, son of Judah, 34 son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, son of Terah, son of Nahor,(W) 35 son of Serug, son of Reu, son of Peleg, son of Eber, son of Shelah, 36 son of Cainan, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah, son of Lamech,(X) 37 son of Methuselah, son of Enoch, son of Jared, son of Mahalaleel, son of Cainan, 38 son of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God.(Y)
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Mark 12:14
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14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere and show deference to no one, for you do not regard people with partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
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Mark 1:3
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3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight,’ ”(A)
Matthew 3
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The Proclamation of John the Baptist
3 In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”[a](A) 3 This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’ ”(B)
4 Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.(C) 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.(D)
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his[b] baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?(E) 8 Therefore, bear fruit worthy of repentance,(F) 9 and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.(G) 10 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.(H)
11 “I baptize you with[c] water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with[d] the Holy Spirit and fire.(I) 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”(J)
The Baptism of Jesus
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.(K) 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him.(L) 17 And a voice from the heavens said, “This is my Son, the Beloved,[e] with whom I am well pleased.”(M)
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Hosea 14:9
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9 Those who are wise understand these things;
those who are discerning know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,
and the upright walk in them,
but transgressors stumble in them.(A)
Jeremiah 6:16
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16 Thus says the Lord:
Stand at the crossroads and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way lies; and walk in it,
and find rest for your souls.
But they said, “We will not walk in it.”(A)
Isaiah 40:3
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3 A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.(A)
Psalm 119:1
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Psalm 119
The Glories of God’s Law
1 Happy are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord.(A)
Psalm 25:8-9
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8 Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.(A)
9 He leads the humble in what is right
and teaches the humble his way.(B)
1 Samuel 12:23
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23 Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way.(A)
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Judges 2:22
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22 In order to test Israel, whether or not they would take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their ancestors did,(A)
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Genesis 18:19
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19 No, for I have chosen[a] him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”(A)
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- 18.19 Heb known
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.