Book of Common Prayer
A year in Corinth
18 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently arrived from Italy with Priscilla his wife, due to Claudius’s edict banishing all Jews from Rome. Paul paid them a visit 3 and, because they were in the same business, he stayed with them and worked. They were, by trade, tentmakers.
4 Paul argued every sabbath in the synagogue, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks. 5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was putting great energy into the task of bearing forthright witness to the Jews that the Messiah really was Jesus. 6 When they opposed him, and blasphemed, he shook out his clothes.
“Your blood be on your own heads!” he said. “I am innocent. From now on I shall go to the Gentiles.”
7 He moved on from the synagogue, and went into the house of a man named Titius Justus, a godfearer who lived opposite the synagogue. 8 But Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, with all his household, and many of the Corinthians heard about it, came to faith, and were baptized.
9 The Lord spoke to Paul by night in a vision.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Speak on, and don’t be silent, 10 because I am with you, and nobody will be able to lay a finger on you to harm you. There are many of my people in this city.”
11 He stayed there eighteen months, teaching the word of God among them.
The leaven of the Pharisees and Herod
11 The Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Jesus. They were asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him out.
12 Jesus groaned deeply in his spirit. “Why is this generation looking for a sign?” he said. “I’m telling you the truth: no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 He left them again, got into the boat, and crossed over to the other side.
14 They had forgotten to get any bread, and had only one loaf with them in the boat.
15 “Beware!” said Jesus sternly to them. “Watch out for leaven—the Pharisees’ leaven, and Herod’s leaven too!”
16 “It must be something to do with us not having any bread,” they said to each other.
17 “Why are you grumbling about not bringing bread?” said Jesus, who knew what they were thinking. “Don’t you get it? Don’t you understand? Have your hearts gone hard?
18 Can’t you see with your two good eyes?
Can’t you hear with your two good ears?
“And don’t you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken bits were left over?”
“Twelve,” they said.
20 “And the seven loaves for the four thousand—how many baskets full of bits were left over?”
“Seven,” they replied.
21 “You still don’t get it?” he asked.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.