M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

22 Jesus told them other stories.

² He said, `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A king made a wedding for his son.

³ The king sent his servants to call the people who had been asked to the wedding. But they would not come.

⁴ `He sent other servants to call them. He said, "Tell those who were asked to the wedding that my dinner is cooked. The cows and bullocks have been killed. Everything is ready. Come now to the wedding."

⁵ `The people did not listen, but went away. One went to his farm. One went to his business.

⁶ The others caught his servants, treated them very badly, and killed them.

⁷ `The king was very angry. He sent his soldiers to kill the men who had killed his servants. And he burned their city.

⁸ Then he said to his servants, "The wedding is ready. But those who were asked to come were not good enough.

⁹ Go out on the roads. Call all the people you find to come to the wedding."

¹⁰ `So those servants went out on the roads. They brought all the people they could find, both bad and good people. Then the room was full of people for the wedding.

¹¹ `The king came in to look at the people. He saw one man there who was not wearing the right clothes for a wedding.

¹² The king said to him, "My friend, why did you come here without putting on the right clothes for a wedding?" The man did not answer.

¹³ Then the king said to his servants, "Tie his hands and his feet. Put him in a dark place outside. People there will cry and grind [make a noise with] their teeth."

¹⁴ `Many people are asked to come, but only a few are chosen.'

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went away. They planned how to make Jesus say something wrong.

¹⁶ They sent their disciples to him with some of Herod's people. They said, `Teacher, we know that you are true. We know that you teach the true way of God. You do not fear any person, or care how great he is.

¹⁷ So tell us. What do you think? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or is it not?'

¹⁸ Jesus knew they were trying to get him into trouble. So he said to them, `Why are you trying to get me to do wrong? You are not true to yourselves!

¹⁹ Show me a piece of money used for tax.' They brought him a piece of money.

²⁰ `Whose picture and name is this?' he asked.

²¹ They said, `Caesar's'. Then he said to them, `Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. And give to God what belongs to God.'

²² When they heard that, they were surprised. They left him and went away.

²³ The same day some of the Sadducees came to Jesus. They say that people do not rise from death.

²⁴ They came to ask him a question. They said, `Teacher, Moses gave us this law: "If a man dies and has no children, then his brother must marry the wife and raise a family for his brother."

²⁵ There were seven brothers among us. The first one married. He died and left no children. So his brother married the wife.

²⁶ The same thing happened to the second brother, and the third one, and all seven of them.

²⁷ Last of all, the woman died.

²⁸ Now then, when people rise from death, which of the seven brothers will have her for his wife? They all married her.'

²⁹ Jesus answered, `You are wrong! You do not know what the holy writings say. And you do not know what power God has.

³⁰ When people rise from death, men and women do not marry. But they are like angels in heaven.

³¹ People do rise from death! Have you never read what God said to you?

³² He said, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." He is not the God of dead people, but of living people.'

³³ When the people heard this, they were surprised at his teaching.

³⁴ The Pharisees heard that the Sadducees could not answer Jesus. So they got together.

³⁵ One of them was a man who taught God's law. He asked Jesus a question to try him out.

³⁶ `Teacher,' he said, `which law is the greatest law of all?'

³⁷ Jesus said, ` "Love the Lord your God with all your heart. Love him with all your soul, and love him with all your mind."

³⁸ This is the first and greatest law.

³⁹ The second law of God is like it. "Love your neighbour as you love yourself."

⁴⁰ All that is written in the books of the law and the books of the prophets is about these two laws.'

⁴¹ While the Pharisees were still there, Jesus asked them a question.

⁴² He said, `What do you think about Christ? Whose son is he?' They said, `He is David's son.'

⁴³ Jesus asked, `Then how can David call him "Lord"? He said, by the Spirit,

⁴⁴ "The Lord said to my Lord, `Sit beside me until I make you master over your enemies.' "

⁴⁵ David calls Christ his Lord. How can Christ be David's son?'

⁴⁶ No one could answer him a word. And after that day, everyone feared to ask him any more questions.

22 Paul said, `Men, brothers, and fathers, listen while I tell you my side of this matter.'

^2-3 hen the people heard him speak in the Jews' language, they were even more quiet. Then Paul said, `I am a Jew. I was born in the city of Tarsus in Cilicia. But I was raised here in this city. Gamaliel was my teacher. He taught me very well in the law of our fathers. I was trying hard to obey God, just as you all are today.

⁴ I troubled very much the people who believed this Way. I even killed them. I had men and women tied and put into prison.

⁵ The high priest and all the leaders know that this is true about me. They wrote letters for me to carry to the leaders of the Jews in the city of Damascus. I went to have the Christians there tied and brought to Jerusalem to be punished.'

⁶ `I was on my way and was near Damascus. It was about midday. All at once a very bright light from the sky shone all around me.

⁷ I fell to the ground and heard someone say to me, "Saul, Saul, why are you troubling me?"

⁸ I said, "Who are you, Lord?" He answered, "I am Jesus of Nazareth. You are troubling me."

⁹ The men who were with me saw the light. They were afraid. But they did not hear the one who spoke to me.

¹⁰ Then I said, "Lord, what shall I do?" And the Lord said to me, "Get up and go to Damascus. There someone will tell you all you must do."

¹¹ I could not see because the light was so bright. My friends led me by the hand to Damascus.

¹² `A man named Ananias was there. He obeyed the law of Moses, and all the Jews who lived there spoke well of him.

¹³ He came to see me. He stood by my side and said to me, "Brother Saul, you can see again!" And right then I was able to see him.

¹⁴ He said, "The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will. He chose you to see the One who is right and to hear him speak.

¹⁵ You will speak for him. You will tell all the people what you have seen and heard.

¹⁶ Now, why do you wait? Get up and be baptised. Wash away your wrong ways by calling on the name of the Lord!" '

¹⁷ `After I went back to Jerusalem, I was talking to God in the temple one day. Something like a dream came over me.

¹⁸ I heard the Lord say to me, "Leave Jerusalem quickly, right away. The people will not listen to the things you say about me."

¹⁹ And I said, "Lord, they know that I put in prison those who believed in you. I beat them in all the meeting houses.

²⁰ And I stood by and let people kill Stephen. He was one who talked for you. I looked after the clothes of the men who killed him."

²¹ But the Lord said to me, "Go! I will send you far away to the people who are not Jews." '

²² The people listened to Paul until he said that. Then they shouted, `Kill him and get him off the earth. A man like that should not live!'

²³ The people shouted. They waved their clothes about and threw dust in the air.

²⁴ The man in charge of the soldiers ordered Paul to be brought into the army house. He said that he should be beaten hard to make him tell why the people shouted so much at him.

²⁵ When they had tied him with ropes, Paul said to the captain who was standing by, `Is it right for you to beat a man who belongs to Rome without judging his case?'

²⁶ When the captain heard this, he told the commanding officer. He said, `What are you going to do? This man is a Roman!'

²⁷ Then the commanding officer came to Paul and said, `Tell me, are you a Roman?' `Yes, I am,' replied Paul.

²⁸ Then the officer said, `I paid much money to become a Roman.' Paul said, `I was born a Roman.'

²⁹ Then the men who were going to beat him left him. The officer was afraid when he knew Paul was a Roman, because he had tied him up.

³⁰ The officer wanted to know the real reason why the Jewish leaders were angry with Paul. So the next day he had Paul untied. He called the chief priests and the leaders to hold a court meeting. Then he took Paul down and brought him in before them.