Book of Common Prayer
Human inventions and divine instructions
27 So they brought them and stood them in the Assembly. The high priest questioned them.
28 “We gave you strict orders, didn’t we?” he demanded. “We told you not to teach in this Name, and look what you’re doing! You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you’re trying to bring this man’s blood on us!”
29 “We must obey God, not human beings!” responded Peter and the apostles. 30 “The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, after you had laid violent hands on him and hanged him on a tree. 31 God exalted him to his right hand as leader and savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the holy spirit, which God gave to those who obey him.”
33 When they heard this, they were infuriated, and wanted to kill them. 34 But then a Pharisee by the name of Gamaliel stood up in the Assembly. He was a law-teacher, highly respected by all the people. He ordered the men to be put outside for a short while.
35 “Men of Israel,” he said to the gathering, “be careful what you do to these men. 36 Before these times Theudas rose up, claiming to be someone special, and about four hundred men went off to join him. But he was killed, and all the people who had trusted him were dispersed. The movement came to nothing. 37 After that, Judas the Galilean arose, in the days of the census, and drew a crowd after himself. But he was killed, and all those who trusted him were scattered. 38 So my advice to you now is this. Leave off from these men; let them be. You see, if this plan or this work is of merely human origin, it will come to ruin. 39 But if it’s from God—well, you won’t be able to stop them. You might even be found to be fighting against God!”
They were persuaded by him, 40 and they called the apostles back in. They beat them and told them not to speak in the name of Jesus. Then they let them go. 41 They, however, went out from the presence of the Assembly celebrating, because they had been reckoned worthy to suffer disgrace for the Name. 42 And all day, in the Temple and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah.
37 Jesus was teaching in the Temple by day, but at night he went out and stayed in the place called the Mount of Olives. 38 From early morning all the people flocked to him in the Temple, to hear him.
The Last Supper
22 The time came for the Festival of Unleavened Bread, known as Passover. 2 The chief priests and the scribes looked for a way to assassinate Jesus, a difficult task because of the crowds.
3 The satan entered into Judas, whose surname was Iscariot, who was one of the company of the Twelve. 4 He went and held a meeting with the chief priests and officers, to discuss how he might hand Jesus over. 5 They were delighted, and promised to pay him. 6 He agreed, and started to look for an opportunity to hand him over to them when the crowds weren’t around.
7 The day of Unleavened Bread arrived, the day when people had to kill the Passover lamb. 8 Jesus dispatched Peter and John.
“Off you go,” he said, “and get the Passover ready for us to eat.”
9 “Where d’you want us to prepare it?” they asked him.
10 “Listen carefully,” said Jesus. “As you go into the city a man will meet you carrying a jar of water. Follow him, and when he goes into a house, go after him. 11 Then say to the householder there, ‘The teacher says, “Where is the living-room where I can eat the Passover with my disciples?” ’ 12 And he will show you a large upstairs room, laid out and ready. Make the preparations there.”
13 So they went and found it as he had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.