M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

15 Then some Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus.

² They asked him, `Why do your disciples break the law our fathers made? They do not wash their hands before they eat.'

³ Jesus asked them, `Why do you break God's law so that you can keep your own law?

⁴ God said, "Respect your father and your mother." And God said, "Anyone who says wrong things to his father or his mother will surely die."

⁵ `But you say, "Tell your father or your mother that you have given to God what you were going to give to them." You say, "If anyone says that, then he does not need to help his father or mother."

⁶ You make God's law to mean nothing so you can keep your own laws!

⁷ You are not true to yourselves! What Isaiah said about you was true. He said,

⁸ "These people respect me with their mouth but their heart is far from me.

⁹ They do not mean it in their hearts when they worship me. Their teachings are only the words of men." '

¹⁰ Jesus called the people to him. He said to them, `Listen to me and understand what I say.

¹¹ What goes into a person's mouth does not make him dirty. But what comes out of a person's mouth makes him dirty.'

¹² Then the disciples came to Jesus. They said, `The Pharisees were angry when they heard what you said. Did you know that?'

¹³ Jesus answered, `Every plant that my Father in heaven did not plant will be pulled out by the roots.

¹⁴ Leave them alone. They are blind men who are trying to lead blind men. If a blind man leads a blind man, they will both fall into a hole.'

¹⁵ Peter said to Jesus, `Tell us the meaning of that story.'

¹⁶ Jesus said, `Do you still not understand?

¹⁷ Do you not know this? What goes into the mouth goes into the stomach, and then it goes out of the body.

¹⁸ But what comes out of the mouth, comes from the heart. This is what makes a person dirty.

¹⁹ Here is what comes from the heart: wrong thoughts, killing people, all kinds of adultery, stealing, lying, and saying wrong things about people.

²⁰ These things make a person dirty. To eat with hands that are not washed does not make him dirty.'

²¹ Jesus left that place and went to the country of Tyre and Sidon. 22A woman of the people of Canaan was in that country. She called out, `Sir, you are the Son of David. Help me! My daughter is being troubled very much by a bad spirit.'

²² Jesus did not answer her. His disciples came to him and said, `Send her away. She keeps calling after us.'

²³ He said, `I was sent only to the people of Israel. They are like lost sheep.'

²⁴ But the woman came and bowed down in front of Jesus and worshipped him. She said, `Sir, help me.'

²⁵ He said, `It is not right to take the children's food and give it to the little dogs.'

²⁶ She answered, `Yes, sir. But even the little dogs eat the food that falls from the tables of their masters.'

²⁷ Then Jesus answered, `Woman, you believe very much. The thing you want me to do will be done.' And her daughter was healed at that very time.

²⁸ Jesus went on from there along the Sea of Galilee. He went up on a hill and sat down there.

²⁹ Many people came to him. They brought sick people with them. Some were lame. Some were hurt. Some were blind. Some could not talk. And there were many others. They laid them down in front of Jesus. And he healed them.

³⁰ The people were surprised. They saw that people who had not been able to talk were talking. They saw that people who were hurt were made well. They saw that lame people were walking. They saw that blind people could see. And they praised the God of Israel.

³¹ Jesus called his disciples to him. He said, `I share the suffering of the people. They have been with me for three days and they have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry. If they go away hungry, they will get weak and fall on the way.'

³² The disciples said to him, `Where can we get enough food in this lonely place to feed so many people?'

³³ Jesus said to them, `How many loaves of bread have you?' They said, `We have seven, and a few small fish.'

³⁴ He told the people to sit down on the ground.

³⁵ Then he took the seven loaves of bread and the fish. He thanked God for them. Then he broke the bread and gave it to the disciples. The disciples gave it to the people.

³⁶ They all ate and had enough. They gathered seven baskets full of pieces that were left.

³⁷ The number of people who ate was about four thousand men, besides some women and children.

³⁸ Jesus sent the people away. Then he got in the boat and went to the country around Magadan.

15 Some men came from Judea and taught the Christian brothers. They said, `You must be circumcised with the mark made on your body in the way Moses taught us. If you are not circumcised you cannot be saved.'

² Paul and Barnabas did not agree with them. There was much talking about it. Then they decided that Paul and Barnabas and some of the other men should go to Jerusalem. They would ask the apostles and church leaders there about it.

³ So the church people sent them on their way. They passed through the districts of Phoenicia and Samaria. They told them that some who were not Jews were believing in God. This news made all the Christian brothers very happy.

⁴ When they reached Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church people, the apostles, and the church leaders. They told all that God had done as he worked with them.

⁵ But some of the believers who belonged to the Pharisee group stood up and said, `They must be circumcised [like the Jews]. We must tell them to keep all the laws of Moses.'

⁶ The apostles and the church leaders met together to talk the matter over.

⁷ After much talking about it, Peter stood up. He said, `Men and brothers, you know what happened in the first days. God chose me to tell the good news to those who are not Jews. They believed.

⁸ God knows what is in a person's heart. He proved that they believed. He gave them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us.

⁹ God made no difference between them and us. He made their hearts clean when they believed.

¹⁰ So now why are you doing what God did not do? You give the disciples a hard thing to do. Our fathers could not do it. And we cannot do it.

¹¹ We believe that the Lord Jesus saves us because he is kind. And that is why he saves them.'

¹² Then all the people stopped talking. They listened to what Paul and Barnabas had to say. They told them about all the signs and wonderful things that God had helped them to do among the people who were not Jews.

¹³ When they had finished talking, James said, `Men and brothers, listen to me.

¹⁴ Simeon has told us how God came the first time to the people who are not Jews. God chose some of them to belong to him and be his people.

¹⁵ This is what the prophets of God said long ago.

¹⁶ They said, "After this, I will come back and build up again the house of David which has fallen down. I will take the broken pieces and build a house again.

¹⁷ Then all the other people will find God, even those who are not Jews but who belong to me. So says the Lord, who is doing all these things."

¹⁸ `He told us these things long ago.

¹⁹ So now, this is what I think. We should not trouble those who are not Jews but who have turned to God.

²⁰ We should write them a letter and tell them what they must not do. They must not eat food that has been given to idols. They must not have sex with someone who is not their husband or wife. They must not eat the meat of animals that are killed by choking. They must not taste blood.

²¹ Since the times of long ago there have been men who told about Moses in every city. They read his laws in the meeting places every Sabbath day.'

²² Then the apostles, and the leaders, and all the church people chose men from among themselves. They sent them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas, whose other name was Barsabbas, and Silas. They were leaders among the Christian brothers.

²³ They sent a letter with them. It said, `The apostles, the church leaders, and the Christian brothers send greetings to the Christians who are not Jews in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia.

²⁴ We have heard that some of our people visited you and talked to you. They taught things that troubled you and made you believe wrong things. They said, "You must be circumcised like the Jews and keep the law." We did not tell them to teach you this.

²⁵ All of us gathered here have chosen some men. We are sending them with our dear brothers, Barnabas and Paul.

²⁶ Barnabas and Paul have been willing to die for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁷ We are sending Judas and Silas. They will tell you the same things that we have written in the letter.

²⁸ The Holy Spirit and we thought it was not good to give you a hard thing to do. But here is what you must not do.

²⁹ You must not eat food that has been given to idols. You must not eat the meat of animals that are killed by choking. You must not taste blood. You must not commit adultery. If you keep away from these things, you will do well. Goodbye.'

³⁰ So the men left and went to Antioch. There they called the people together and gave them the letter.

³¹ When the people read the letter, they were very glad. It helped them to become stronger in what they believed.

³² Judas and Silas were prophets. They said many things to the Christian brothers and helped them to believe more strongly.

³³ They stayed there for a while. Then the brothers sent them back to those who had sent them. They sent a greeting of peace with them.

³⁴ But Silas thought it was good to stay at Antioch.

³⁵ Paul and Barnabas stayed there too. They taught the people and told them the Lord's message. Many other men did this also.

³⁶ Some days later, Paul said to Barnabas, `Let us go back and visit the brothers in every city where we have told the Lord's message. Let us see how they are doing.'

³⁷ Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them.

³⁸ But Paul did not think that they should take him. John Mark had left them when they were at Pamphylia. He had not gone along with them to do the work.

³⁹ The feeling about this matter was very strong between Barnabas and Paul, so they did not go together. Barnabas took Mark and went in a boat to Cyprus.

⁴⁰ Paul chose Silas. The Christian brothers asked the Lord to bless Paul. Then he went on his way.

⁴¹ Paul travelled through Syria and Cilicia. He helped the church people to believe more strongly.