Book of Common Prayer
30 On the next day, still wanting to get to the bottom of it all, and to find out what was being alleged by the Jews, he released Paul, and ordered the chief priests to come together, with the whole Sanhedrin. He brought Paul in and presented him to them.
Paul before the Sanhedrin
23 Paul looked hard at the Sanhedrin.
“My brothers,” he said. “I have conducted myself before God in a completely good conscience all my life up to this day.”
2 Ananias, the high priest, ordered the bystanders to strike Paul on the mouth.
3 “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!” said Paul to Ananias. “You are sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet you order me to be struck in violation of the law?”
4 “You are insulting the high priest?” asked the bystanders.
5 “My brothers,” replied Paul, “I didn’t know he was the high priest. Scripture says, of course, ‘You mustn’t speak evil of the ruler of your people.’ ”
6 Paul knew that some of the gathering were Sadducees, and the rest were Pharisees.
“My brothers,” he shouted to the Sanhedrin, “I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees. This trial is about the Hope, about the Resurrection of the Dead!”
7 At these words, an argument broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and they were split among themselves. 8 (The Sadducees deny that there is any resurrection, or any intermediate state of “angel” or “spirit,” but the Pharisees affirm them both.) 9 There was quite an uproar, with some of the scribes from the Pharisees’ party standing up and arguing angrily, “We find nothing wrong in this man! What if a spirit spoke to him, or an angel for that matter?”
10 Faced with another great riot, the tribune was worried that Paul was going to be pulled in pieces between them. He ordered the guard to go down and snatch him out of the midst of them and bring him back up into the barracks.
11 On the next night, the Lord stood by him.
“Cheer up!” he said. “You have given your testimony about me in Jerusalem. Now you have to do it in Rome.”
Jesus cleanses the Temple
12 The next day, as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 From some distance away he saw a fig tree covered with leaves, and hoped to find some fruit on it; but when he came up to it he found nothing but leaves. (It wasn’t yet the season for figs.)
14 He addressed the tree directly. “May no one ever eat fruit from you again,” he said. And his disciples heard.
15 They came into Jerusalem. Jesus went into the Temple and began to drive out the traders, those who bought and sold in the Temple, and overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of the dove-sellers. 16 He permitted no one to carry any vessel through the Temple. 17 He began to teach: “Isn’t this what’s written,” he said,
‘My house shall be called a house of prayer
for all the world to share’?
“But you’ve made it a brigands’ den!”
18 The chief priests and the legal experts heard, and looked for a way to get rid of him. But they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching.
19 When evening came, they went back out of the city.
20 As they were returning, early in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from its roots.
21 “Look, Teacher!” said Peter to Jesus, remembering what had happened before. “The fig tree you cursed has withered.”
22 “Have faith in God,” replied Jesus. 23 “I’m telling you the truth: if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be off with you—get yourself thrown into the sea,’ if they have no doubt in their heart, but believe that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24 That’s why I’m telling you, everything that you request in prayer, everything you ask God for, believe that you receive it, and it will happen for you.
25 “And when you are standing there praying, if you have something against someone else, forgive them—so that your father in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.