Book of Common Prayer

¹⁹ And when he had eaten food, he was strong again. Saul stayed for some days with the disciples at Damascus.

²⁰ Right away he went to the Jewish meeting places and told the people that Jesus is the Son of God.

²¹ All the people who heard him were surprised. They said, `This man killed the people who called on Jesus' name in Jerusalem. He came here to catch them and tie them and take them to the chief priests!'

²² But Saul became stronger and stronger. He proved that Jesus is the Christ and made it so plain that the Jews at Damascus did not know what to say.

²³ Then some time after that, the leaders of the Jews planned to kill Saul.

²⁴ But he found out that they were waiting for him. The Jewish leaders watched the gates of the city night and day. They were waiting for a chance to kill him.

²⁵ Then one night the disciples put him in a basket and let him down outside the city wall.

²⁶ When Saul came to Jerusalem, he wanted to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe that he was a disciple.

²⁷ But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them, `Saul has seen the Lord on the road. The Lord has talked to him. After that he told God's word in the name of Jesus, without fear at Damascus.'

²⁸ So Saul stayed with the apostles and went around in Jerusalem. He told God's word in the name of the Lord Jesus without fear.

²⁹ He talked to the Jews who spoke the Greek language. But they did not agree with Saul, and so they made plans to kill him.

³⁰ When the Christian brothers knew that, they took him to Caesarea. Then they sent him to Tarsus [the city where he was born].

³¹ After that, the churches in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria were not troubled any more and they believed more strongly. The people obeyed the Lord, and the Holy Spirit helped them to believe. And many more people joined them.

⁴⁴ About noontime the whole land became dark and stayed dark for three hours.

⁴⁵ The sun did not shine. The big cloth that hung in the temple was torn into two pieces.

⁴⁶ Jesus called out loud, `Father, I put my spirit into your hands!' When he had said this, he died.

⁴⁷ The captain saw all this. Then he praised God. He said, `Surely, this was a good man!'

⁴⁸ Many people were around there to look on. When they saw what happened, they all went home beating their chests [because they were sad].

⁴⁹ All Jesus' friends and the women who had come with him from Galilee stood far away. They saw all of this.

⁵⁰ There was a man named Joseph. He was a member of the court. He was a good man who lived the right way.

⁵¹ He had not wanted the people to do what they did. He was looking for the kingdom of God. He was from a town of the Jews, called Arimathea.

⁵² He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

⁵³ He took the body down from the cross. He wrapped it in a linen cloth and laid it in a grave cut in a rock. No one had ever been put in this grave.

⁵⁴ It was the day before the Sabbath. And it was almost time for the Sabbath to begin.

⁵⁵ Some women had come with Jesus from Galilee. They followed and saw the grave where his body was put.

⁵⁶ Then they went back and got things ready to put on his body. These things were spices that smelled very nice, and sweet kinds of oil. On the Sabbath day they rested as the law said they should.