Book of Common Prayer

3 That is why I, Paul, am a prisoner who belongs to Jesus Christ. It is for the sake of you people who are not Jews.

² I am sure you have heard that God gave me work to do for you.

³ He showed me what his plan was. And I have already written a little about it to you.

⁴ When you read this, you can understand why I know about his plan for Christ.

⁵ In the past, God did not tell his plan to people. But now the Holy Spirit has shown it to his holy apostles and prophets.

⁶ This is God's plan. Those who are not Jews will also share in the blessings of God. They also are a part of the body of Jesus Christ. They also will receive the things God has promised in Jesus Christ through the good news.

⁷ God gave me the work of telling that good news. And he blessed me by his power.

⁸ I am less than the least of all God's people, and yet he blessed me. It is my work to tell those who are not Jews about the wonderful blessings of Christ. There are so many that we cannot know them all.

⁹ God has blessed me so that I might tell all people plainly what his plan is. God, who made all things, did not tell anyone about his plan in all the times in the past.

¹⁰ Now he wants those who rule and have power in the sky to know how very wise God is. They will know this when they look at the church people.

¹¹ This is what God has always planned to do. And he did it in Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹² In Christ we are not to be afraid to come to God. We are sure we can come because we believe in Christ.

¹³ So I ask you not to be sad when you think of the troubles I have for your sake. You should be proud about it.

¹³ Jesus went out again by the seaside. Many people came to him. So he taught them.

¹⁴ As he went along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus. He was sitting at the place where people come to pay taxes. Jesus said to him, `Come with me.' Levi stood up and went with him.

¹⁵ Jesus was eating in Levi's house. Many tax collectors and bad people also came. They sat down to eat with Jesus and his disciples. There were many who went with him.

¹⁶ The scribes and Pharisees saw that Jesus ate with these people. They said to the disciples, `Why does he eat and drink with bad people?'

¹⁷ Jesus heard it. He said to them, `People who are well do not need a doctor. But sick people need him. I did not come to call good people. I came to call bad people to stop doing wrong things.'

¹⁸ John's disciples and the Pharisees' disciples were fasting [not eating food for a time]. Some people came to Jesus and said, `The disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast. Why do your disciples not do the same?'

¹⁹ Jesus answered them, `The people at a wedding cannot be sad while the man who is married is with them.

²⁰ But the time will come when he will be taken away from them. Then they will fast.

²¹ No person sews a piece of new cloth on an old coat. If he does, the new cloth will tear the old coat. Then the hole is bigger than it was before.

²² No person puts new wine into old wine skins. If he does, the new wine will break the skins. Then the wine will be lost and the skins will be spoiled. New wine is put into new skins.'