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What I’m about to tell you is true. Heaven and earth will disappear before the smallest letter disappears from the Law. Not even the smallest mark of a pen will disappear from the Law until everything is completed.
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“What can I compare today’s people to? They are like children sitting in the markets and calling out to others. They say,
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“About nine o’clock in the morning he went out again. He saw others standing in the market doing nothing.
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They love to be greeted with respect in the markets. They love it when people call them ‘Rabbi.’
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He went into the villages, the towns and the countryside. Everywhere he went, the people brought the sick to the market areas. Those who were sick begged him to let them touch just the edge of his clothes. And all who touched his clothes were healed.
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When they come from the market, they do not eat unless they wash. And they follow many other teachings. For example, they wash cups, pitchers, and kettles in a special way.
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Warning Against the Teachers of the Law
As he taught, he said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in long robes. They like to be greeted with respect in the market.
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They are like children sitting in the market and calling out to each other. They say, “ ‘We played the flute for you. But you didn’t dance. We sang a funeral song. But you didn’t cry.’
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“How terrible for you Pharisees! You love the most important seats in the synagogues. You love having people greet you with respect in the market.
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“How terrible for you! You are like graves that are not marked. People walk over them without knowing it.”
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“Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in long robes. They love to be greeted with respect in the market. They love to have the most important seats in the synagogues. They also love to have the places of honor at banquets.
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He told those who were selling doves, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”
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So they told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “First I must see the nail marks in his hands. I must put my finger where the nails were. I must put my hand into his side. Only then will I believe.”
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When Peter understood what had happened, he went to Mary’s house. Mary was the mother of John Mark. Many people had gathered in her home. They were praying there.
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Barnabas and Saul Are Sent Off
Barnabas and Saul finished their task. Then they returned from Jerusalem. They took John Mark with them.
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Paul Preaches in Pisidian Antioch
From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia. There John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem.
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Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them.
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But Paul didn’t think it was wise to take him. Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia. He hadn’t continued with them in their work.
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Barnabas and Paul strongly disagreed with each other. So they went their separate ways. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus.
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Her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone. So they grabbed Paul and Silas. They dragged them into the market place to face the authorities.
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But other Jews were jealous. So they rounded up some evil people from the market place. Forming a crowd, they started all kinds of trouble in the city. The Jews rushed to Jason’s house. They were looking for Paul and Silas. They wanted to bring them out to the crowd.
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So he went to the synagogue. There he talked both with Jews and with Greeks who worshiped God. Each day he spoke with anyone who happened to be in the market place.
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Eat anything sold in the meat market. Don’t ask if it’s right or wrong.
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He put his Spirit in our hearts and marked us as his own. We can now be sure that he will give us everything he promised us.
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So then, what about troublemakers who try to get others to be circumcised? I wish they would go the whole way! I wish they would cut off everything that marks them as men!
