Book of Common Prayer
Restoring the Twelve
15 Around that time Peter stood up in the middle of the gathering, which by this stage numbered about a hundred and twenty.
16 “My dear family,” he said, “the holy spirit spoke long ago, through the mouth of David, about Judas, who became a guide to the people who arrested Jesus. There it is in the Bible, and it had to come true. 17 He was counted along with us, and he had his own share in the work we’ve been given.”
(18 Judas, you see, had bought a field with the money his wickedness had brought him, where he fell headlong and burst open, with all his innards gushing out. 19 This became known to everyone who lived in Jerusalem, so that the field was called, in their local language, “Akeldamach,” which means “Blood-place.”)
20 “For this is what it says in the book of Psalms:
Let his home become desolate
and let nobody live in it;
and again,
Let someone else receive his overseeing task.
21 “So this is what has to be done. There are plenty of people who have gone about with us all the time that our master Jesus was coming and going among us, 22 starting from John’s baptism until the day he was taken from us. Let one of them be chosen to be alongside us as a special witness of his resurrection.”
23 So they chose two: Joseph who was called Barsabbas, with the surname Justus, and Matthias.
24 “Lord,” they prayed, “you know the hearts of all people. Show us which one of these two you have chosen 25 to receive this particular place of service and apostleship, from which Judas went away to go to his own place.”
26 So they cast lots for them. The lot fell on Matthias, and he was enrolled along with the eleven apostles.
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.
On paying taxes to Caesar
20 So the authorities watched Jesus, and sent people to lie in wait for him. They pretended to be upright folk, but were trying to trap him in something he said, so that they could hand him over to the rule and authority of the governor. 21 So they asked him this question.
“Teacher,” they said, “we know that you speak and teach with integrity. You are completely impartial, and you teach God’s way and God’s truth. 22 So: is it right for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?”
23 Jesus knew they were playing a trick.
24 “Show me a tribute-coin,” he said. “This image . . . and this inscription . . . who do they belong to?”
“Caesar,” they said.
25 “Well, then,” replied Jesus, “you’d better give Caesar back what belongs to him! And give God back what belongs to him.”
26 They couldn’t catch him in anything he said in front of the people. They were amazed at his answer, and had nothing more to say.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.