Book of Common Prayer

Here comes the sequel!

1 Dear Theophilus,

The previous book which I wrote was about everything Jesus began to do and teach. ² I took the story as far as the day when he was taken up, once he had given instructions through the holy spirit to his chosen apostles.

³ He showed himself to them alive, after his suffering, by many proofs. He was seen by them for forty days, during which he spoke about God’s kingdom. ⁴ As they were having a meal together, he told them not to go away from Jerusalem, but to wait, as he put it, “for the father’s promise, which I was telling you about earlier. ⁵ John baptized with water, you see; but in a few days from now you will be baptized with the holy spirit.”

When, what and how?

⁶ So when the apostles came together, they put this question to Jesus.

“Master,” they said, “is this the time when you are going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷ “It’s not your business to know about times and dates,” he replied. “The father has placed all that under his own direct authority. ⁸ What will happen, though, is that you will receive power when the holy spirit comes upon you. Then you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judaea and Samaria, and to the very ends of the earth.”

Ascension!

⁹ As Jesus said this, he was lifted up while they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰ They were gazing into heaven as he disappeared. Then, lo and behold, two men appeared, dressed in white, standing beside them.

¹¹ “Galileans,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you saw him go into heaven.”

¹² Then they went back to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, which is close to Jerusalem, about the distance you could travel on a sabbath. ¹³ They then entered the city (“they” here means Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the zealot, and Judas the son of James) and went to the upstairs room where they were staying. ¹⁴ They all gave themselves single-heartedly to prayer, with the women, including Mary, Jesus’ mother, and his brothers.

The parable of the tenants

⁹ Jesus began to tell the people this parable. “There was a man who planted a vineyard, let it out to tenant farmers, and went abroad for a long while. ¹⁰ When the time came, he sent a slave to the farmers to collect from them some of the produce of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹ He then sent a further slave, and they beat him, abused him, and sent him back empty-handed. ¹² Then he sent yet a third, and they beat him up and threw him out.

¹³ “So the master of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I’ll send my beloved son. They will certainly respect him!’ ¹⁴ But when the farmers saw him they said to each other, ‘This is the heir! Let’s kill him, and then the inheritance will belong to us!’ ¹⁵ And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

“So what will the master of the vineyard do? ¹⁶ He will come and wipe out those farmers, and give the vineyard to others.”

When they heard this, they said, “God forbid!” ¹⁷ But Jesus looked round at them and said, “What then does it mean in the Bible when it says,

¹⁸ “Everyone who falls on that stone will be smashed to smithereens; but if it falls on anyone, it will crush them.”

¹⁹ The scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on him then and there. But they were afraid of the people, because they knew that Jesus had told this parable against them.