Book of Common Prayer

¹³ Who will do something bad to you if you want to do what is good?

¹⁴ But even if people trouble you because you do right, God will bless you. Do not be afraid of them. And do not be troubled.

¹⁵ Worship Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you about the hope you have. But be gentle and respect him.

¹⁶ Keep your hearts clean. Then when people say wrong things about you, they will be ashamed because they have talked wrongly about your good Christian life.

¹⁷ It is better to have trouble for doing right, if God allows it, than to have trouble for doing wrong.

¹⁸ For Christ died that once because of our wrong ways. He was good and he died for those who were bad. He did this to bring us to God. His body died, but his spirit had new life.

¹⁹ His spirit went and gave his message to people's spirits who were in prison.

²⁰ In the days long ago, they did not obey God. God waited for them to do so while Noah was building the big house on the boat. A few people, only eight, were saved by going through the water.

²¹ The water of baptism is like that. It saves you. It does not save you because it washes dirt from your bodies. But it saves you because you bring yourselves to God with a clean heart. It saves you because Jesus Christ has been raised from death.

²² He has gone up into heaven. He is now at the right side of God. Angels, rulers, and governments obey him.

4 Christ suffered in his body. You also must be ready to have the same trouble happen to you. When a man has suffered in his body, he has stopped doing wrong things.

² For the rest of his life on earth he will not do what people want to do. He will do what God wants him to do.

³ In the time past you did the same things as people who do not believe God. Let that be enough. You did things you should be ashamed of. You did what you wanted to do. You got drunk. You got into fights. You took part in noisy feasting with dancing. You did wrong by worshipping idols.

⁴ Those people are surprised now that you do not do the same wrong things they do. And they say wrong things about you.

⁵ They will have to explain what they are doing. They will have to talk to God about what they have done. He is ready to judge living people and dead people.

⁶ That is why the good news was also told to those who are now dead. They will be judged like men who are alive. This was done so that they could live like God in the spirit.

¹⁷ On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus took the twelve disciples with him, away from the people.

¹⁸ He said to them, `We are going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be given over to the chief priests and scribes. They will judge him and say he must die.

¹⁹ They will give him over to rulers who are not Jews. They will make fun of him. They will beat him and nail him to a cross. On the third day, he will be raised.'

²⁰ Then Zebedee's wife came with her sons to Jesus. She bowed down in front of him and asked him to do something for her.

²¹ Jesus asked, `What do you want me to do for you?' The woman said, `These are my two sons. Promise that in your kingdom one may sit at your right and the other at your left.'

²² But Jesus said, `You do not know what you are asking for. Can you drink from the cup that I will drink?' `Yes,' they said. `We can.'

²³ Then Jesus said to them, `You will drink what I drink. But I cannot choose who will sit at my right or at my left. My Father has planned who will sit there.'

²⁴ When the other ten disciples heard about it, they were angry with the two brothers.

²⁵ But Jesus called them to him and said, `You know that those who rule over countries make their people obey them. The great men will tell the others what to do.

²⁶ But that is not the way it is among you. Anyone among you who wants to be great will help the others.

²⁷ Anyone among you who wants to be first will be a servant to the others.

²⁸ The Son of Man did not come to have others help him. But he came to help others. He came to give his life to make many people free.'