Book of Common Prayer
Paul’s appeal to his children
12 Become like me!—because I became like you, my dear family. This is my plea to you. You didn’t wrong me: 13 no, you know that it was through bodily weakness that I announced the gospel to you in the first place. 14 You didn’t despise or scorn me, even though my condition was quite a test for you, but you welcomed me as if I were God’s angel, as if I were the Messiah, Jesus! 15 What’s happened to the blessing you had then? Yes, I can testify that you would have torn out your eyes, if you’d been able to, and given them to me. 16 So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?
17 The other lot are eager for you, but it’s not in a good cause. They want to shut you out, so that you will then be eager for them. 18 Well, it’s always good to be eager in a good cause, and not only when I’m there with you. 19 My children—I seem to be in labor with you all over again, until the Messiah is fully formed in you! 20 I wish I were there with you right now, and could change my tone of voice. I really am at a loss about you.
The feeding of the four thousand
8 Once again, about that time, a large crowd gathered with nothing to eat.
Jesus called the disciples.
2 “I’m really sorry for the people,” he said. “They’ve been with me three days now, and they haven’t got anything to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they’ll collapse on the way. Some of them have come from miles off.”
4 “Where could you get food for all this lot, out here in the wilderness?” answered his disciples.
5 “How many loaves have you got?” he asked. “Seven,” they replied.
6 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, gave thanks, broke them and gave them to his disciples to share around, and they gave them to the crowd. 7 They had a few small fish, which he also blessed and told them to distribute. 8 They ate; they were satisfied; and they took up seven baskets of leftover bits. 9 There were about four thousand people. And he sent them away.
10 At once Jesus got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanoutha.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.