Book of Common Prayer
The Word made flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word. The Word was close beside God, and the Word was God. 2 In the beginning, he was close beside God.
3 All things came into existence through him; not one thing that exists came into existence without him. 4 Life was in him, and this life was the light of the human race. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
6 There was a man called John, who was sent from God. 7 He came as evidence, to give evidence about the light, so that everyone might believe through him. 8 He was not himself the light, but he came to give evidence about the light.
9 The true light, which gives light to every human being, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him. 11 He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to anyone who did accept him, he gave the right to become God’s children; yes, to anyone who believed in his name. 13 They were not born from blood, or from fleshly desire, or from the intention of a man, but from God.
14 And the Word became flesh, and lived among us. We gazed upon his glory, glory like that of the father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
15 John gave evidence about him, loud and clear.
“This is the one,” he said, “that I was speaking about when I told you, ‘The one who comes after me ranks ahead of me, because he was before me.’ ”
16 Yes; it’s out of his fullness that we have all received, grace indeed on top of grace. 17 The law, you see, was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus the Messiah. 18 Nobody has ever seen God. The only-begotten God, who is intimately close to the father—he has brought him to light.
On the road to Emmaus
13 That very day, two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, which lay about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were discussing with each other all the various things that had taken place. 15 As they were discussing, and arguing with each other, Jesus himself approached and walked with them. 16 Their eyes, though, were prevented from recognizing him.
17 “You’re obviously having a very important discussion on your walk,” he said; “what’s it all about?”
They stood still, a picture of gloom. 18 Then one of them, Cleopas by name, answered him.
“You must be the only person around Jerusalem,” he said, “who doesn’t know what’s been going on there these last few days.”
19 “What things?” he asked.
“To do with Jesus of Nazareth,” they said to him. “He was a prophet. He acted with power and he spoke with power, before God and all the people. 20 Our chief priests and rulers handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. 21 But we were hoping that he was going to redeem Israel!
“And now, what with all this, it’s the third day since it happened. 22 But some women from our group have astonished us. They went to his tomb very early this morning, 23 and didn’t find his body. They came back saying they’d seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Some of the folk with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they didn’t see him.”
25 “You are so senseless!” he said to them. “So slow in your hearts to believe all the things the prophets said to you! Don’t you see? 26 This is what had to happen: the Messiah had to suffer, and then come into his glory!”
27 So he began with Moses, and with all the prophets, and explained to them the things about himself throughout the whole Bible.
Jesus revealed at Emmaus
28 They drew near to the village where they were heading. Jesus gave the impression that he was going further, 29 but they urged him strongly not to.
“Stay with us,” they said. “It’s nearly evening; the day is almost gone.” And he went in to stay with them.
30 As he was sitting at table with them he took the bread and gave thanks. He broke it and gave it to them. 31 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.
32 Then they said to each other, “Don’t you remember how our hearts were burning inside us, as he talked to us on the road, as he opened up the Bible for us?”
33 And they got up then and there and went back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven gathered together, and the people with them.
34 They were saying, “The Lord really has been raised! He’s appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Jesus and the disciples
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Judaeans. Jesus came and stood in the middle of them.
“Peace be with you,” he said.
20 With these words, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were overjoyed when they saw the master.
21 “Peace be with you,” Jesus said to them again. “As the father has sent me, so I’m sending you.”
22 With that, he breathed on them.
“Receive the holy spirit,” he said. 23 “If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained.”
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.