Book of Common Prayer

David speaks of Jesus’ resurrection

²² “You people of Israel,” Peter continued, “listen to this. The man Jesus of Nazareth was marked out for you by God through the mighty works, signs and portents which God performed through him right here among you, as you all know. ²³ He was handed over in accordance with God’s determined purpose and foreknowledge—and you used people outside the law to nail him up and kill him.

²⁴ “But God raised him from the dead! Death had its painful grip on him; but God released him from it, because it wasn’t possible for him to be mastered by it. ²⁵ This, you see, is how David speaks of him:

²⁹ “My dear family, I can surely speak freely to you about the patriarch David. He died and was buried, and his tomb is here with us to this day. ³⁰ He was of course a prophet, and he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to set one of his own physical offspring on his throne. ³¹ He foresaw the Messiah’s resurrection, and spoke about him ‘not being left in Hades,’ and about his flesh ‘not seeing corruption.’ ³² This is the Jesus we’re talking about! God raised him from the dead, and all of us here are witnesses to the fact! ³³ Now he’s been exalted to God’s right hand; and what you see and hear is the result of the fact that he is pouring out the holy spirit, which had been promised, and which he has received from the father.

³⁴ “David, after all, did not ascend into the heavens. This is what he says:

³⁶ “So the whole house of Israel must know this for a fact: God has made him Lord and Messiah—this Jesus, the one you crucified.”

The priests and the guards

¹¹ While the women were on their way, some of the soldiers who had been on guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. ¹² They called an emergency meeting with the elders, allotted a substantial sum of money, and gave it to the soldiers.

¹³ “This,” they told them, “is what you are to say: ‘His disciples came in the night, while we were asleep, and stole him away.’ ¹⁴ And if this gets reported to the governor, we’ll explain it to him and make sure you stay out of trouble.”

¹⁵ They took the money and did as they had been instructed. And this story still goes the rounds among the Jews to this day.

The Great Commission

¹⁶ So the eleven disciples went off to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had instructed them to go. ¹⁷ There they saw him, and worshiped him, though some hesitated.

¹⁸ Jesus came towards them and addressed them.

“All authority in heaven and on earth,” he said, “has been given to me! ¹⁹ So you must go and make all the nations into disciples. Baptize them in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy spirit. ²⁰ Teach them to observe everything I have commanded you. And look: I am with you, every single day, to the very end of the age.”