Book of Common Prayer

1 I am Simon Peter. I am a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I send greetings to you who have believed as we have. Believing is worth just as much to you as it is to us. This is because our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, is right and good.

² May the loving kindness of God bless you and give you more and more peace because you know God and Jesus our Lord.

³ Christ is God and by his own power he has given us everything that we need to live and to please God. He has given this to us because we know him, and he has called us because he is great and good.

⁴ Because of these things, he has promised us things that are worth very much and are very great. He has promised these things to us so that by them you may become like God too. By them you will be kept free from the selfish desires of the people in the world. These desires lead to death.

⁵ So now you believe, try to live a good life. When you live a good life, try to learn more about God.

⁶ When you have learned more, be strong to do what is right. Then go on doing what is right, even if it is hard. As you go about doing right, keep close to God.

⁷ As you keep close to God, love your Christian brothers. When you love your Christian brothers, love everyone!

⁸ If you do these things and you do them more and more, you will be good Christians and you will know more and more about our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁹ But the man who does not do these things is like a blind man. He can see only a little way. He has forgotten that he was made clean from the wrong things he used to do.

¹⁰ So my brothers, try to show that God has called you and chosen you. If you do these things, you will never fall.

¹¹ That will make it easy for you to go into the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. His kingdom will be for ever.

³⁹ Then Jesus went out of the room and went to the hill called the Mount of Olives where he often went. His disciples went with him.

⁴⁰ He said to them, `Talk with God so that you will not do wrong.'

⁴¹ He went away from them about as far as a person can throw a stone. Then he kneeled down to talk with God.

⁴² He said, `Father, if you will, take this cup away from me. But do not do what I want but what you want.'

⁴³ Then an angel came to him from heaven and helped to make him strong.

⁴⁴ His heart was troubled very much. So he talked with God more than before. His sweat was like big drops of blood falling on the ground.

⁴⁵ He stopped talking with God and got up. He went to his disciples and found them sleeping because they were sad.

⁴⁶ He said to them, `Why are you sleeping? Get up. Talk with God so that you will not do wrong.'

⁴⁷ As Jesus was saying this, many men came. One of the twelve disciples, named Judas, was leading the people. He came near Jesus to kiss him.

⁴⁸ Jesus said to him, `Judas, will you give over the Son of Man to his enemies with a kiss?'

⁴⁹ The disciples around Jesus saw what was going to happen. They said, `Lord, shall we fight with our swords?'

⁵⁰ One of them hit the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.

⁵¹ Jesus said, `Just let me do this.' And he touched the man's ear and healed him.

⁵² The chief priests, the captains of the temple, and the leaders of the people had come to catch Jesus. He said to them, `Have you come to take me with swords and sticks, the way you catch a man who steals?

⁵³ I was with you every day in the temple. You did not try to catch me then. But this is your time now, the time of the power of darkness.'