M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The resurrection of Jesus
28 Dawn was breaking on the first day of the week; the sabbath was over. Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, had come to look at the tomb, 2 when suddenly there was a great earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven. He came to the stone, rolled it away, and sat down on top of it. 3 Looking at him was like looking at lightning, and his clothes were white, like snow. 4 The guards trembled with terror at him, and became like corpses themselves.
5 “Don’t be afraid,” said the angel to the women. “I know you’re looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He isn’t here! He’s been raised, as he said he would be! Come and see the place where he was lying— 7 and then go at once, and tell his disciples that he’s been raised from the dead, and that he’s going on ahead of you to Galilee. That’s where you’ll see him. There: I’ve told you.”
8 The women scurried off quickly away from the tomb, in a mixture of terror and great delight, and went to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly, there was Jesus himself. He met them and said, “Greetings!” They came up to him and took hold of his feet, prostrating themselves in front of him.
10 “Don’t be afraid,” said Jesus to them. “Go and tell my brothers that they should go to Galilee. Tell them they’ll see me there.”
The priests and the guards
11 While the women were on their way, some of the soldiers who had been on guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 They called an emergency meeting with the elders, allotted a substantial sum of money, and gave it to the soldiers.
13 “This,” they told them, “is what you are to say: ‘His disciples came in the night, while we were asleep, and stole him away.’ 14 And if this gets reported to the governor, we’ll explain it to him and make sure you stay out of trouble.”
15 They took the money and did as they had been instructed. And this story still goes the rounds among the Jews to this day.
The Great Commission
16 So the eleven disciples went off to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had instructed them to go. 17 There they saw him, and worshiped him, though some hesitated.
18 Jesus came towards them and addressed them.
“All authority in heaven and on earth,” he said, “has been given to me! 19 So you must go and make all the nations into disciples. Baptize them in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy spirit. 20 Teach them to observe everything I have commanded you. And look: I am with you, every single day, to the very end of the age.”
The snake on Malta
28 When we reached safety, we discovered that the island was called Malta. 2 The local inhabitants treated us with unusual kindness: they set to and built a fire for us all, since it was cold and had started to rain. 3 Paul had collected quite a bundle of brushwood, and was putting it on the fire, when a viper, escaping the heat, fastened onto his hand. 4 The natives saw the animal clinging to his hand.
“Aha!” they said to one another. “This man must be a murderer! He’s been rescued from the sea, but Justice hasn’t allowed him to live.”
5 Paul, however, shook off the snake into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 They kept watching him to see if he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited and watched for quite some time, and nothing untoward had happened to him, they changed their minds.
“He must be a god,” they said.
7 Publius, the leading man of the island, owned lands in the region where we were. He welcomed us, and entertained us in a most friendly fashion for three days. 8 Publius’ father was lying sick in bed with a fever and with dysentery. Paul went in to see him and prayed; then he laid his hands on him and cured him. 9 At this, everyone else on the island who was sick came and was cured. 10 They gave us many honors, and when we were getting ready to sail away they gave us everything we needed.
To Rome at last
11 After three months we set sail on a ship that had been spending the winter on the island. It was from Alexandria, and had the insignia of the Heavenly Twins. 12 We arrived at Syracuse, and stayed three days. 13 From there we raised anchor and sailed across to Rhegium. After one day there, a south wind arose, and on the second day we arrived at Puteoli, 14 where we found Christians, who encouraged us to stay with them for seven days.
And so we came to Rome. 15 Christians from there, hearing about us, came to meet us as far as Appian Forum and Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took heart.
16 When we arrived in Rome, Paul was allowed to lodge privately. He had a soldier to guard him.
17 After three days, Paul called together the leading men of the Jews. When they arrived, he began to speak.
“My brothers,” he said, “I have done nothing against our people or our ancestral customs. Yet I was made a prisoner in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. 18 The Romans put me on trial and wanted to let me go, because they couldn’t find me guilty of any capital crime. 19 But the Judaeans opposed this, and forced me to appeal to Caesar. This had nothing to do with my bringing any charges against my nation! 20 So that’s why I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel, you see, that I am wearing this chain.”
21 “For our part,” they responded, “we haven’t received any letters about you from Judaea. Nor has anyone of our nation come here to tell us anything, or to say anything bad about you. 22 We want to hear from your own lips what you have in mind. However, as for this new sect, the one thing we know is that people everywhere are speaking out against it.”
The end is where we start from
23 So they fixed a day and came in large numbers to Paul’s lodgings. He spoke to them and gave his testimony about the kingdom of God. From morning to night, he explained to them the things about Jesus, from the law of Moses and the prophets.
24 Some were persuaded by what he said, and others did not believe. 25 They disagreed among themselves. So, as they were getting ready to leave, Paul said one last thing.
“The holy spirit,” he said, “spoke truly through the prophet Isaiah to your ancestors, 26 when he said,
Go to this people and say to them:
Listen and listen, but never hear;
look and look, but never see!
27 For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and their ears are dim with hearing,
and they have closed their eyes—
so that they might not see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their heart,
and turn, and I would heal them.
28 “Let it then be known to you that this salvation from God has been sent to the Gentiles. They will listen.”
30 Paul lived there for two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed everyone who came to see him. 31 He announced the kingdom of God, and taught the things about the Lord Jesus the Messiah, with all boldness, and with no one stopping him.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.