M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

19 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul went over land and came to the city of Ephesus. There he met some disciples.

² Paul asked them, `Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?' They said, `No. We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.'

³ Paul asked them, `How were you baptised?' They said, `We were baptised in John's way.'

⁴ Then Paul said, `John baptised people when they stopped their wrong ways. He told people that they should believe on the one who would follow him. That one is Jesus.'

⁵ When they heard this, they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶ Paul put his hands on them. Then the Holy Spirit came on them and they spoke in tongues of other lang-uages and spoke words from God.

⁷ In all, there were about twelve men.

⁸ Paul went into the meeting place. For three months he talked without fear to the people there. He tried to talk so that people would obey God.

⁹ Some of them were fixed in their minds and would not believe. They said, `The Christian way is not good' They said this in front of all the people. So Paul left them and took the disciples away. He talked and answered the questions of the people every day in the school of a man named Tyrannus.

¹⁰ This went on for two years, and all the people who lived in the province of Asia, both the Jews and the Greeks, heard the Lord's word.

^11-12 od did big works through Paul. Even some pieces of cloth he had touched were carried to sick people and they were healed. Also, people who had bad spirits in them were made free.

¹³ Some Jews were there who travelled about from place to place. They had power over bad spirits like witch-doctors. They tried to make people free from bad spirits by using the name of the Lord Jesus. They said to the spirits, `I tell you, in the name of Jesus, the one Paul talks about, come out!'

¹⁴ There was a Jew named Sceva. He was a chief priest. He had seven sons who did this.

¹⁵ But the bad spirit answered, `I know Jesus and I know Paul. But who are you?'

¹⁶ And the man who had the bad spirit in him jumped on them. He beat them all because he was stronger than they were. Their bodies were bleeding and their clothes were torn. They ran out of the house.

¹⁷ When all the Jews and the Greeks at Ephesus knew about this, they all feared. And they had great respect for the name of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁸ Many of the people who believed, told God all the bad things they used to do.

¹⁹ Many had been witch-doctors. They brought their books and burned them in front of all the people. All the books together had cost about 50,000 silver coins.

²⁰ God's word spread with power. It reached more and more people.

²¹ After this, Paul decided he would go through Macedonia and Achaia and then to Jerusalem. `After I have been there,' he said, `l must go to see the city of Rome also.'

²² He sent Timothy and Erastus, two of his helpers, into Macedonia. But he himself stayed in Asia Minor for a while.

²³ About that time there was much trouble because of the Christian way.

²⁴ A man named Demetrius made things from silver. He made little silver houses like the big house of the idol-god Diana. He and other men got much money from this work.

²⁵ Demetrius called them all together. He said, `Men, you know that we get our money from this work.

²⁶ Now you see and hear how this man Paul has talked. He has turned away many people in Ephesus. Not only that, but he has turned away the hearts of many people in almost all of Asia Minor. He says that things made by men's hands are not really gods.

²⁷ This will spoil our work. Not only that, but people will not respect the house of the great idol goddess Diana any more. All the people in Asia and in the whole world worship her now. But they will despise her!'

²⁸ When they heard this, the men were very angry and shouted, `Great is Diana of Ephesus!'

²⁹ All the people in the city were excited. They caught two men from Macedonia. Their names were Gaius and Aristarchus. They had travelled with Paul. Then they all rushed to the big meeting place with them.

³⁰ Paul wanted to go in and talk to the people, but the disciples would not let him.

³¹ Some of the leaders in Asia Minor liked Paul. They sent word to him and begged him not to go into the meeting place.

³² Some of the people were shouting one thing and some another. They were all stirred up. Most of the people did not know why they had come together.

³³ The Jews pushed Alexander forward. Some of the people put him in front. He put up his hand and wanted to talk to the people.

³⁴ But when they saw that he was a Jew, they all shouted together for two hours, `Great is Diana of Ephesus!'

³⁵ At last the city chief stopped the shouting. He said, `Men of Ephesus, everyone knows that all the people of Ephesus take care of the house of the great Diana. And they take care of the stone which fell from the sky.

³⁶ No person can say it is not true. So you should be quiet and not do anything foolish.

³⁷ The men whom you have brought here have not taken anything from the house. They have not even said anything wrong about our goddess.

³⁸ Now then, if Demetrius and the men who work with him have any complaint, let them take it to law. We have a court and we have judges.

³⁹ If you want anything more than that, it must be done in a meeting which has been called by law.

⁴⁰ We may have trouble because of what has happened today. There is not one good reason for it.'

⁴¹ When he had said this, he closed the meeting.

14 The Passover Feast and the feast with bread that has no yeast in it was two days later. The chief priests and the scribes planned how to catch Jesus by some trick. They wanted to kill him.

² But they said, `Let us not do it on the day of the feast. We do not want the people to start fighting about it.'

³ When Jesus was in the town of Bethany, he was in Simon's house. Simon had leprosy. While Jesus sat at the table, a woman came to him. She had a bottle of oil. It smelled very nice and cost much money. She broke the bottle and poured the oil on Jesus' head.

⁴ Some people there were angry. They said, `Why was this oil wasted like that?

⁵ The oil might have been sold for a lot of money. Then the money could have been given to poor people.' They said to the woman, `You should not have done this!'

⁶ But Jesus said, `Leave the woman alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good thing to me.

⁷ You will always have poor people with you. Any time you want to, you can do good to them. But I will not always be with you.

⁸ She has done what she could. She has put oil on my body to make me ready to be buried.

⁹ I tell you the truth. Any place in the whole world where people tell the good news, people will also tell what she has done. People will remember her because of it.'

¹⁰ Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the chief priests. He told them how he could help them catch Jesus.

¹¹ They were glad when they heard that. They promised to give him money. So he watched for a good way to help them catch Jesus.

¹² It was the first day of the feast with bread that has no yeast in it. The sheep had to be killed for the Passover Feast. His disciples asked Jesus `Where do you want us to make ready for you to eat the Passover Feast?'

¹³ He sent two of his disciples and said to them, `Go into the city. There you will meet a man who is carrying a pot of water. Follow him.

¹⁴ When he goes into a house, talk to the master of the house. Say to him, "The Teacher says, `Where is my room where I can eat the Passover Feast with my disciples?' "

¹⁵ The man will show you a large room upstairs. It will be all fixed up and ready. Get the Passover food ready for us there.'

¹⁶ The disciples went to the city. They found everything just as he had said. There they made the Passover food ready.

¹⁷ In the evening he came with the twelve disciples.

¹⁸ While they were sitting at the table eating, Jesus said, `I tell you the truth. One of you who is eating with me will give me over to people who hate me.'

¹⁹ They were sad and troubled. One after the other began to say to him, `Lord, is it I?'

²⁰ Jesus answered them, `It is one of you twelve. It is the one who puts his hand in the same dish with me.

²¹ The Son of Man will go just as the holy writings tell about him. But the man who gives him over will have trouble. It would have been better for that man if he had not been born!'

²² As they were eating, Jesus took some bread. He thanked God for it and broke it. Then he gave it to the disciples and said, `Take this bread and eat it. It is my body.'

²³ He also took a cup. He thanked God for it. Then he gave it to them. They all drank some of it.

²⁴ Then he said to them, `This is my blood. It is given for many people. It makes the agreement strong.

²⁵ I tell you the truth. I will not drink any of the fruit of the vine again until I drink some of it new in the kingdom of God.'

²⁶ They sang a song and then went out to the hill called Olives.

²⁷ Jesus said to them, `All of you will leave me this night. the holy writings say, "I will kill the one who takes care of the sheep. And the sheep will run away."

²⁸ But after I am raised from death, I will go to Galilee to meet you.'

²⁹ Peter said, `Even if all the others leave you, I will never leave you.'

³⁰ Jesus said, `I tell you the truth. This very night, before the cock calls two times, you will say three times that you do not know me.'

³¹ Peter said, `Even if I must die with you, I will never say I do not know you!' They all said the same thing.

³² Then they came to a place called Gethsemane. Jesus said to his disciples, `Sit here. I will go and talk with God.'

³³ He took Peter, James, and John along with him. Jesus began to be sad and troubled.

³⁴ He said to them, `My heart is very sad. I am almost dying! Stay here and watch.'

³⁵ Jesus went on a little farther. He fell on the ground and asked God that, if it could be so, this big trouble might pass by him.

³⁶ He said, `Oh, my Father, you can do all things. Take this cup away from me. But do not do what I want, but what you want.'

³⁷ Jesus went back and found the disciples sleeping. He said to Peter, `Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour?

³⁸ All of you must watch and talk with God so that you will not do wrong. A person's heart can want to do it, but his body is weak.'

³⁹ Jesus went away again and said the same words to God again.

⁴⁰ Jesus went back again and found the disciples sleeping. They could not keep their eyes open. They did not know what to say to Jesus.

⁴¹ Then he went back the third time. He said, `Are you still sleeping and resting?. It is enough. The time has come now. The Son of Man is given over to bad people.

⁴² Get up. Let us go. Look, here comes the one who will give me over to people who hate me!'

⁴³ While he was saying this, Judas came. He was one of the twelve disciples. Many people came with him. They had long knives or swords and big sticks. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders had sent them.

⁴⁴ The man who was going to help them catch Jesus had told them that he would give them a sign. He said, `The man that I kiss is the one. Catch him and take him away safely.'

⁴⁵ So when he came, he went to Jesus right away. He said, `Master!' And he kissed him.

⁴⁶ Then they caught Jesus and held him.

⁴⁷ One of the men standing by took his sword. He cut off the ear of the high priest's servant.

⁴⁸ Jesus said, `Have you come to take me with knives and sticks the way you would take a man who steals?

⁴⁹ Every day I was with you in the temple and taught. You did not catch me then. But what the holy writings say will come true.'

⁵⁰ Then all of the disciples left Jesus and ran away.

⁵¹ A young man went with Jesus. He had a piece of cloth about him. The people caught him.

⁵² But he left the cloth behind and ran away without any clothes on.

⁵³ The people took Jesus away to the high priest. All the chief priests, the leaders, and the scribes met there.

⁵⁴ Peter followed far behind Jesus. He went into the yard of the high priest's house. He sat down with the people who worked for the high priest. He warmed himself by the fire.

⁵⁵ The chief priests, and all the judges of the court tried to find men to say Jesus had done something wrong so they could kill him. But they found none.

⁵⁶ Many people came and said things that were not true. But one said this thing and the other said that thing.

⁵⁷ Then some stood up to talk against Jesus.

⁵⁸ They said, `We heard him say, "I will break down this temple which people have built with hands. In three days I will build another temple but not with hands." '

⁵⁹ Others said, `No, that is not what he said.'

⁶⁰ The high priest stood up among the people and asked Jesus, `Have you no answer? What do you have to say about this? They have said something against you.'

⁶¹ But Jesus said nothing at all. Then the high priest asked him, `Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?'

⁶² Jesus answered, `Yes, I am. You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the One who has all power. You will see him coming on the clouds of the sky!'

⁶³ Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, `We do not need any more proof against him.

⁶⁴ What he has said is wrong! What do you think?' They all said, `He should be killed.'

⁶⁵ Some people began to spit on him. They covered his face and hit him. They laughed at him and said, `Tell us if you know who hit you!' The guards took him away and hit him as they went.

⁶⁶ Peter sat out in the yard. A servant girl who worked for the high priest came.

⁶⁷ She saw Peter warming himself by the fire. She looked at him and said, `You were also with Jesus of Nazareth.'

⁶⁸ But Peter said, `I do not know or understand what you are talking about.' Peter went out to the gate. Then a cock called.

⁶⁹ A girl saw Peter there and said to the other people standing by, `This man is one of them.'

⁷⁰ But again Peter said he was not. A little while after, those standing around said to Peter, `Surely you are one of them also. You come from Galilee.'

⁷¹ Then Peter began to curse and say bad words. He said, `I do not know this man you are talking about!'

⁷² Right then the cock called a second time and Peter remembered that Jesus had said, `Before the cock calls two times, you will say three times that you do not know me.' Then he broke down and cried.