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.

⁵² The leaders of the Jews began to quarrel with each other about what Jesus said. They said, `How can he give us himself to eat?'

⁵³ Jesus said, `I tell you the truth. If you do not eat the Son of Man and do not drink his blood, you will not have life.

⁵⁴ Anyone who eats me and drinks my blood will live for ever. I will raise him up at the last day.

⁵⁵ I am real food, and my blood is real drink.

⁵⁶ Anyone who eats me and drinks my blood is in me and I in him.

⁵⁷ My Father is living. He sent me. I have my life from him. In the same way, the person who eats of me will live because of me.

⁵⁸ This bread which came down from heaven is not like the bread that your fathers ate. They ate bread but they died. Anyone who eats this bread from heaven will live for ever.'

⁵⁹ Jesus was in the meeting house in Capernaum when he was teaching people these things.