Book of Common Prayer

¹³ Paul and his friends left Paphos in a boat. They went to the town of Perga in the district of Pamphylia. There John left them and went back to Jerusalem.

¹⁴ The others went on from Perga. They came to Antioch in the district of Pisidia. On the Sabbath day they went into the meeting house and sat down.

¹⁵ First, someone read from the books of the law and the prophets. Then the rulers of the meeting house called Paul and Barnabas and said, `Men and brothers, have you something to say that will help us? Please say it.'

¹⁶ Then Paul stood up and put out his hand. He said, `Men of Israel and you who worship and fear God, please listen to me.

¹⁷ The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers. He made the people into a large tribe when they were strangers in the land of Egypt. God brought them out of Egypt by his power.

¹⁸ For forty years in the wilderness God cared for them like a father.

¹⁹ God took seven tribes out of the land of Canaan. Then he divided the land among our people.

²⁰ God gave judges to rule over them until Samuel the prophet came. About four hundred and fifty years had passed.

²¹ Then the people asked for a king. God gave them Saul. He was the son of Kish, a man from Benjamin's family. Saul was their king for forty years.

²² Then God took him away. He made David king over them. This is what God said about him, "David, Jesse's son, is the kind of man I love. He will do all that I want him to do."

²³ God has given Israel a Saviour from David's family, as he promised to do. His name is Jesus.

²⁴ Before he came, John [the baptiser] talked to all the people of Israel. He said they should stop doing wrong things and be baptised.

²⁵ When John was finishing his work, he said, "Who do you think I am? I am not the one. But wait, someone else will come after me. I am not good enough to untie his shoe strings."

⁸ Jesus and his disciples went away to the sea of Galilee. Many people went with Jesus. They came from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and from the other side of the Jordan River. And many more people came also, a great many from around the cities of Tyre and Sidon. They also had heard about the great works that Jesus had done.

⁹ Jesus saw that the crowd was very big. He told the disciples to have a small boat ready for him so that he would have more room.

¹⁰ He did this because he healed many people. All who were sick tried to touch him.

¹¹ When the bad spirits saw Jesus, they bowed down before him. They shouted, `You are God's Son!'

¹² He told them they must not tell anyone who he was.

¹³ Then Jesus went up on the hill. He wanted some of the people to come with him. So he called them and they came.

¹⁴ He chose twelve disciples to stay with him. He wanted to send them out to other places to tell people God's word.

¹⁵ He gave them power to heal people and to drive bad spirits out of people.

¹⁶ One of the twelve was Simon, whom Jesus called Peter.

¹⁷ He also chose James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee, whom he named Boanerges, which means "Men of Thunder."

¹⁹ He also chose Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon of Canan, and Judas Iscariot, the one who gave Jesus over to people who hated him. Then Jesus and his disciples went home.