Book of Common Prayer
11 For the one who makes others holy, and the ones who are made holy, all belong to a single family.
This is why he isn’t ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters, 12 when he says,
I will announce your name to my brothers and sisters;
I will sing your praise in the midst of the assembly,
13 and again,
I will place my trust in him,
and again,
Look, here I am, with the children God has given me.
14 Since the children share in blood and flesh, he too shared in them, in just the same way, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and set free the people who all their lives long were under the power of slavery because of the fear of death. 16 It’s obvious, you see, that he isn’t taking special thought for angels; he’s taking special thought for Abraham’s family. 17 That’s why he had to be like his brothers and sisters in every way, so that he might become a merciful and trustworthy high priest in God’s presence, to make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 He himself has suffered, you see, through being put to the test, and that’s why he is able to help those who are being tested right now.
The lamb and the spirit
29 The next day, John saw Jesus coming towards him.
“Look!” he said. “There’s God’s lamb! He’s the one who takes away the world’s sin! 30 He’s the one I was speaking about when I said, ‘There’s a man coming after me who ranks ahead of me, because he was before me!’ 31 I didn’t know who it would be, but this was the reason I came to baptize with water—so that he could be revealed to Israel.”
32 So John gave this evidence: “I saw the spirit coming down like a dove out of heaven and remaining on him. 33 I didn’t know who it would be; but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘When you see the spirit coming down and resting on someone, that’s the person who will baptize with the holy spirit.’ 34 Well, that’s what I saw, and I’ve given you my evidence: he is the son of God.”
The first disciples
35 The following day John was again standing there, with two of his disciples. 36 He saw Jesus walking by, and said, “Look! There goes God’s lamb!”
37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.
38 Jesus turned and saw them following him.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“Rabbi,” they said (the word means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come and see,” he replied.
So they came, and saw where he was staying, and stayed with him that day. It was late in the afternoon.
40 One of the two who heard what John said and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 The first person he found was his own brother Simon.
“We’ve found the Messiah!” he said (that means “the anointed one,” like our word “Christ”). 42 He brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him.
“So,” he said, “you’re Simon, John’s son, are you? We’d better call you Cephas!” (That means “the Rock,” like our word “Peter.”)
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.