Book of Common Prayer

¹³ God promised Abraham and his family that the world would belong to them. God did not make the promise because Abraham obeyed the law. But he made the promise because Abraham believed him and was put right with God.

¹⁴ If the world will belong to people who obey the law, it is of no use to believe God. And the promise is no good.

¹⁵ Because of the law, God is angry. Where there is no law, no one breaks the law.

¹⁶ That is why people must believe. Because God is kind, he makes the promise sure for all of Abraham's children. The promise is for those who have the law and also for those who believe as Abraham did. He is the father of us all.

¹⁷ the holy writings say, `I have made you the father of many nations.' Abraham was made the father of many nations by God. He believed God. He believed that God could make dead people live. He believed God when he said that things were true even though they had not happened yet.

¹⁸ Abraham believed and hoped, though there was nothing to give him hope. He believed that he would become the father of many nations. God had told him this would happen.

¹⁹ He did not stop believing when he thought about his own body. It was almost dead. He was about one hundred years old. He did not stop believing when he thought about Sarah, even though she had never given birth to any children.

²⁰ He did not stop believing God's promise. He believed God very much. He did not praise God for his own faith, but for God's promise.

²¹ He was sure that God was able to do what he had promised to do.

²² He was put right with God because he believed the promise.

²³ The holy writings do not say that for Abraham only.

²⁴ They say it for us too. God will say we are put right if we believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from death.

²⁵ He was killed because we did wrong things. He was raised from death in order that we might be made right with God.

³⁷ The last day of the feast was a big day. On that day Jesus stood up and shouted, `If anyone is thirsty, he may come to me and drink.

³⁸ If anyone believes in me, the holy writings say, "Rivers of water that give life will flow out of his heart." '

³⁹ This is what Jesus meant: those who believe in him would receive the Spirit. At that time no one had received the Holy Spirit because Jesus had not yet been lifted up to heaven

⁴⁰ When some of the people heard this they said, `Truly, this is the Prophet.'

⁴¹ Other people said, `This is the Christ.' But some said, `The Christ will not come from Galilee. Shall Christ come out of Galilee?

⁴² Do not the holy writings say that Christ will be of David's family? Will he not come from Bethlehem where David lived?'

⁴³ The people did not all say the same thing about him.

⁴⁴ Some of them wanted to catch Jesus, but no one put hands on him.

⁴⁵ The soldiers came back to the chief priests and the Pharisees. They asked the soldiers, `Why did you not bring him?'

⁴⁶ The soldiers replied, `No person has ever talked like he does!'

⁴⁷ The Pharisees said, `Has he fooled you also?

⁴⁸ None of the rulers and none of the Pharisees have believed on him, have they?

⁴⁹ These poor people do not know the law. They will die!'

⁵⁰ Nicodemus, the man who came to Jesus by night, was one of them.

⁵¹ He said, `Is it right to judge any man by our law before we hear him and learn what he has done?'

⁵² They answered him, `Are you from Galilee also? Study what is written. You will see that no prophet is to come from Galilee.'