Book of Common Prayer
Problems of family living
6 Around that time, as the number of disciples increased, the “Hellenists” raised a dispute with the “Hebrews” because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve called the whole crowd of disciples together.
“Listen,” they said. “It wouldn’t be right for us to leave the word of God to wait on tables. 3 So, brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among yourselves who are well spoken of and filled with the spirit and wisdom. We will put them in charge of what needs to be done in this matter. 4 We will continue to pay attention to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
5 The whole gathering was pleased with what they said. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the holy spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolaus (a proselyte from Antioch). 6 They presented them before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 The word of God increased, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem grew by leaps and bounds. This included a large crowd of priests who became obedient to the faith.
Stephen becomes a target
8 Stephen was filled with grace and power, and performed great signs and wonders among the people. 9 But some from the “Freemen’s Synagogue,” as it was named, and from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia, stood up and disputed with Stephen. 10 They could not, however, resist the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.
11 Then they put up men to say, “We heard this man speaking blasphemous words against Moses and against God!” 12 They aroused the people, the elders and the scribes. They set upon him, seized him, and took him in front of the Assembly. 13 They set up false witnesses to say, “This man never stops speaking words against this holy place and the law! 14 We heard him say that this Jesus the Nazorean will destroy this place, and change the customs which Moses handed down to us!”
15 Everyone who was sitting in the Assembly looked hard at Stephen. They all saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
The woman of Samaria
4 So when Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard that he was making more disciples than John, and was baptizing them 2 (Jesus himself didn’t baptize people; it was his disciples who were doing it), 3 he left Judaea and went back to Galilee.
4 He had to go through Samaria, 5 and he came to a town in Samaria named Sychar. It was near the place which Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, tired from the journey, sat down there by the well. It was about midday.
7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus spoke to her.
“Give me a drink,” he said. 8 (The disciples had gone off into the town to buy food.)
9 “What!” said the Samaritan woman. “You, a Jew, asking for a drink from me, a woman, and a Samaritan at that?” (Jews, you see, don’t have any dealings with Samaritans.)
10 “If only you’d known God’s gift,” replied Jesus, “and who it is that’s saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you’d have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
11 “But sir,” replied the woman, “you haven’t got a bucket! And the well’s deep! So how were you thinking of getting living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself, with his sons and his animals?”
13 “Everyone who drinks this water,” Jesus replied, “will get thirsty again. 14 But anyone who drinks the water I’ll give them won’t ever be thirsty again. No: the water I’ll give them will become a spring of water welling up to the life of God’s new age.”
15 “Sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I won’t be thirsty anymore, and I won’t have to come here to draw from the well.”
Jesus and the woman
16 “Well then,” said Jesus to the woman, “go and call your husband and come here.”
17 “I haven’t got a husband,” replied the woman.
“You’re telling me you haven’t got a husband!” replied Jesus. 18 “The fact is, you’ve had five husbands, and the one you’ve got now isn’t your husband. You were speaking the truth!”
19 “Well, sir,” replied the woman, “I can see you’re a prophet . . . 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain. And you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”
21 “Believe me, woman,” replied Jesus, “the time is coming when you won’t worship the father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You worship what you don’t know. We worship what we do know; salvation, you see, is indeed from the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—indeed, it’s here already!—when true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and in truth. Yes; that’s the kind of worshipers the father is looking for. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
25 “I know that Messiah is coming,” said the woman, “the one they call ‘the anointed.’ When he comes, he’ll tell us everything.”
26 “I’m the one—the one speaking to you right now,” said Jesus.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.