Book of Common Prayer

¹¹ One day Peter came to the city of Antioch. Then I had to tell him face to face that he had done wrong. He really was wrong!

¹² Here is what happened. Peter ate with those who were not Jews. Then some men came whom James had sent. When they came he stopped eating with those who were not Jews. He was afraid of what the Jews might think.

¹³ All the other Jewish Christians did the same as Peter did. They acted as if it was not right to eat with those who were not Jews. Even Barnabas did the same.

¹⁴ But I saw they were not doing right. They were not obeying the true teaching of the good news. So I said to Peter in front of them all, `You are a Jew. But you live the way people do who are not Jews. How then can you force those who are not Jews to live the way the Jews do?'

¹⁵ We ourselves were born Jews. We are not of those who still follow wrong ways, those who are not Jews.

¹⁶ Yet we know that God does not call a man good because he tries to obey the law of the Jews. But we know that God puts a man right because he believes in Jesus Christ. So we also believed in Jesus Christ. And we are put right with God because we believe in Christ and not because we obey the law. No person will ever be called good by God just because he tries to obey the law of the Jews.

¹⁷ We came to Christ to be put right with God. That showed us how much we had been bad men. Was it Christ who made us bad men? No, surely not!

¹⁸ If I build up again what I once broke down, I do wrong.

¹⁹ Through the law I died. Now the law has no power over me so that I may live for God.

²⁰ I died when Christ died on a cross. I do not live now, but Christ lives in me. Now while I still live in my body, I live by believing in the Son of God. He loved me and gave himself for me.

²¹ So I do not make the love of God useless. But if a person can be made good by the law, then Christ died for nothing.

14 At this time Herod the ruler heard of Jesus.

² He said to his servants, `This is John the Baptizer. He is risen from death. That is why he is able to do such great work.'

³ Herod had taken John and tied him up. He put him in prison. He did this because of Herodias. She was the wife of his brother Philip.

⁴ John had said to Herod, `It is not right for you to have her for your wife.'

⁵ Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people. They thought John was a prophet, a man of God.

⁶ On Herod's birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced for the people who were there. She pleased Herod.

⁷ He was so pleased that he promised to give her anything she asked for.

⁸ The girl's mother told her what to ask for. So she said, `Give me here, on a plate, the head of John the Baptizer.'

⁹ The king was very sorry to do this. But he had made a promise. And all the people who were there had heard him promise. So he gave orders to do it.

¹⁰ He sent someone to the prison to cut off John's head.

¹¹ John's head was brought on a plate. It was given to the girl. And she took it to her mother.

¹² Then John's disciples came and took his body and buried it. They went and told Jesus.