Book of Common Prayer

¹⁴ My brothers, I myself believe that you are very good people. I believe that you know many things and are able to teach one another.

¹⁵ I have written strong words to you. There are some things I want you to remember. I have written because of the gift God has given to me.

¹⁶ I am a servant of Christ Jesus to the people who are not Jews. I am like a priest to them, to tell them God's good news. Then I offer the people to God. That pleases God. They have been accepted by him and made holy by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷ So, because of Christ Jesus, I am proud of my work for God.

¹⁸ I will speak only of what Christ has done through me. People who are not Jews have obeyed the good news. They have obeyed because of what I told them and because of what I did.

¹⁹ I had the power to do signs and wonderful things through the power of the Holy Spirit. So I have told the good news of Christ all the way from the city of Jerusalem to the country of Illyricum.

²⁰ I have wanted to tell the good news where people have not heard the name of Christ. I did not want to work where another man had started to work.

²¹ The holy writings say, `They were not told about him, but they will see him. And the people who have not heard of him will understand.'

²² So I have been stopped many times from coming to you.

²³ But now, I am no longer needed to work in these places. And I have wanted for many years to come to you.

²⁴ When I go to the country of Spain, I hope to see you on my way there. I hope you will help me on my way to that place. But first I will be happy to be with you for a little while.

27 When it was morning, all the chief priests and the leaders of the people made a plan against Jesus. They wanted to kill him.

² They tied him and took him away. They took him to Pilate, the ruler.

³ Judas was the man who helped them take Jesus. He saw that they had judged Jesus and were going to kill him. He was sorry for what he had done, so he brought the thirty pieces of silver money back to the chief priests and leaders.

⁴ He said, `I have done wrong. I have helped you take a good man who should not be killed.' They said, `What do we care? You look after that!'

⁵ Judas threw the silver money into the temple. He went away and hanged himself.

⁶ The chief priests took the money. They said, `It is not right to put this money in the money box of the temple. It has been used to buy a man's death.'

⁷ They talked the matter over and bought a field that belonged to a man who made pots. They bought it for a place in which to bury strangers.

⁸ That is why that field has been called `The field of blood' until now.

⁹ What Jeremiah the prophet said long ago, then came true at that time. He said, `They took thirty pieces of silver money. That is what the people of Israel said he was worth.

¹⁰ They paid for the potter's field. That is what the Lord told me to do.'