Book of Common Prayer

¹¹ That is the way the whole world will go. So think what kind of people you should be! Think how holy and true to God your lives should be!

¹² You should look for the day of God and do everything you can to make it come quickly. On that day the sky will be on fire and go away. The elements will burn and melt away.

¹³ But we are looking for a new sky and a new earth which God has promised. Only good things will be in them.

¹⁴ My dear brothers, you are looking for these things. So do all you can so that the Lord will find you without any bad or wrong thing in your lives. Let him find you at peace with one another.

¹⁵ Think of this. He is waiting a long time so that people will be saved. Our dear brother Paul also wrote these things to you, because God has made him wise.

¹⁶ He also tells about them in all his letters. Some things in his letters are hard to understand. Some people do not know about these things and they are not strong in their faith. They change the meaning of the things Paul wrote. They do this to other things in the holy writings also. Because they do this, they will die.

¹⁷ My dear brothers, you know about these things before they happen. Take care that you do not do the same things that bad people do. Take care that you do not stop believing the right way.

¹⁸ Have more and more of God's blessing and kindness. Learn more and more about our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He is great now, and he will be great for ever! Amen! Yes he will!

³³ `Listen to another story. A man planted a farm of vines for growing fruit called grapes. He put a fence of small trees around it. He dug a place to press the juice from the fruit. He built a high house from which men could watch over the farm. He let some men pay to use it. Then he went to a country far away.

³⁴ `When it was near the time to cut the fruit, he sent his servants to those men. He wanted to have some of the fruit.

³⁵ The men caught the servants. They beat one of them and killed another one of them. They threw stones at another one.

³⁶ Then the man sent other servants. There were more than the first time. The men did the same to them.

³⁷ `Last of all he sent his son to them. He said, "They will respect my son."

³⁸ When the men saw the son, they said to each other, "This is the one who will have everything when his father dies. Let us kill him and we will have it all."

³⁹ They caught him, dragged him off the farm, and killed him.

⁴⁰ When the owner of the farm comes, what will he do to those men?'

⁴¹ They answered, `He will kill those bad men, and will give the farm to other men who will give him the fruit when it is time.'

⁴² Jesus said, `Have you never read in the holy writings "The stone which the builders would not use is now the chief corner stone. The Lord did this. It looks wonderful to us"?

⁴³ `So I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you. It will be given to the people who do what they should do in it.

⁴⁴ If anyone falls on this stone, he will be broken to pieces. But if this stone falls on anyone, it will crush him.'

⁴⁵ The chief priests and the Pharisees heard the stories Jesus told, and they knew he was talking about them.

⁴⁶ They wanted to catch him, but they feared the people. The people thought Jesus was a prophet.