M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
27 When it was morning, all the chief priests and the leaders of the people made a plan against Jesus. They wanted to kill him.
2 They tied him and took him away. They took him to Pilate, the ruler.
3 Judas was the man who helped them take Jesus. He saw that they had judged Jesus and were going to kill him. He was sorry for what he had done, so he brought the thirty pieces of silver money back to the chief priests and leaders.
4 He said, `I have done wrong. I have helped you take a good man who should not be killed.' They said, `What do we care? You look after that!'
5 Judas threw the silver money into the temple. He went away and hanged himself.
6 The chief priests took the money. They said, `It is not right to put this money in the money box of the temple. It has been used to buy a man's death.'
7 They talked the matter over and bought a field that belonged to a man who made pots. They bought it for a place in which to bury strangers.
8 That is why that field has been called `The field of blood' until now.
9 What Jeremiah the prophet said long ago, then came true at that time. He said, `They took thirty pieces of silver money. That is what the people of Israel said he was worth.
10 They paid for the potter's field. That is what the Lord told me to do.'
11 Jesus stood before the ruler. The ruler asked him, `Are you the King of the Jews?' Jesus said, `Yes, I am.'
12 When the chief priests and leaders brought their complaints, Jesus said nothing.
13 Then Pilate said to him, `Do you not hear what these people say against you?'
14 But Jesus did not answer him, not even one word. Pilate was very much surprised about this.
15 At the feast Pilate used to let one prisoner free. He let the people choose the man they wanted to go free.
16 In the prison at that time was a very bad man named Barabbas.
17 So while the people were there Pilate asked them, `Which one do you want me to let free for you, Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ?'
18 Pilate knew that the chief priests did not like Jesus. He knew that was why they had brought Jesus to him.
19 While Pilate was sitting in the court to judge the case, his wife sent a message to him. She said, `Do nothing to that good man. I have been troubled very much in a dream about him today.'
20 The chief priests and leaders talked to the people. They told them to ask Pilate to let Barabbas go free, but to kill Jesus.
21 The ruler said to the people, `Which of these two do you want me to let go free for you?' They said, `Barabbas.'
22 Pilate said to them, `Then what shall I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?' They all said, `Nail him to a cross!'
23 The ruler said, `What wrong thing has he done?' But they shouted even more, `Nail him to a cross!'
24 Pilate saw that he was not doing any good. And the people were making a lot of loud noise. So he washed his hands in water in front of the people. Then he said, `I will not say this man must be killed. You must do that.'
25 Then all the people answered, `We and our children will do that.'
26 Then Pilate let Barabbas go free. He told the soldiers to beat Jesus and nail him to a cross.
27 Then Pilate's soldiers took Jesus to a room. They called all the soldiers together.
28 They took off his clothes, and they put a red gown on him.
29 They made a big ring of thorns like a crown and put it on his head. They put a stick in his right hand. Then they kneeled down in front of him and made fun of him. They shouted, `Greetings, King of the Jews!'
30 They spat on him. And they took the stick and hit him on the head with it.
31 After they had made fun of him, they took off the red gown. They put his own clothes on him. Then they took him away to nail him to a cross.
32 As they were going, they met a man named Simon. He was born in the country of Cyrene. They made him carry Jesus' cross.
33 They came to a place called Golgotha. That means, `The place of a head bone.'
34 They wanted Jesus to drink wine mixed with something bitter. Jesus tasted it but he would not drink it.
35 Then they nailed him to a cross. They gambled to see how they should divide Jesus' clothes.
36 Then the soldiers sat down on the ground and watched him there.
37 They put the complaint against Jesus above his head. These words were written there: `This is Jesus the King of the Jews.'
38 Two bad men were also nailed to crosses. They had stolen money. One man was put on the right side of Jesus and one was put on the left side of him.
39 The people who passed by said bad things about him. They shook their heads.
40 They said, `You are the man who said you could break down the temple and build it again in three days. Save yourself! If you are really God's Son, come down from the cross.'
41 The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders also made fun of him.
42 They said, `He saved other people but he cannot save himself! If he is the King of the people of Israel, he should come down from the cross now. Then we will believe in him.
43 He trusted in God. If God wants him, he can save him now. He said, "I am God's Son." '
44 The bad men who were also nailed to crosses with him said the same things to him.
45 About midday, the whole land became dark and stayed dark for three hours.
46 About three o'clock, Jesus called out loud, `Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' That means, `My God, my God, why have you left me alone?'
47 Some of the people standing there heard what Jesus said. They said `This man is calling for Elijah.'
48 Right away, one of them ran to get something called a sponge. He made it wet with sour wine and put it on the end of a stick. With it he gave Jesus a drink.
49 The other people said, `Wait. We will see if Elijah will come and save him.'
50 Jesus called out loud again. Then he died.
51 At that time the thick cloth that hung in the temple was torn into two pieces. It was torn from the top down to the bottom. The earth shook and big rocks broke.
52 The graves opened. Many of God's people who had died rose from death.
53 They came out of their graves after Jesus rose from death. They went into Jerusalem. Many people saw them there.
54 The Roman captain and some of his soldiers were guarding Jesus on the cross. When they saw the earth shake and the other things happen, they were very much afraid. They said, `Surely this man was God's Son.'
55 Many women were there watching from far away. They had come with Jesus from Galilee and had helped him.
56 Among these women were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.
57 In the evening, a rich man came. He was Joseph from the town of Arimathea. He also believed in Jesus.
58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate said that it should be given to him.
59 Joseph took the body and wrapped a clean linen cloth around it.
60 He put the body in his own new grave which had been cut in a rock. He rolled a very big stone to close the grave. Then he went away.
61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there. They sat where they could see the grave.
62 The next day was the Sabbath day. The chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate together.
63 They said, `Sir, that man fooled people. We remember what he said when he was still living. He said that he would rise after three days.
64 So give orders that the grave must be guarded for three days. Then his disciples cannot come in the night to carry away his body, and tell people he rose from death. This last trick would be worse than the first.'
65 Pilate said to them, `Take soldiers. Go and guard the grave as well as you can.'
66 So they went and shut the grave tight. They put a government mark on the big stone. And the soldiers stayed to guard it. This was to make sure the grave would stay shut.
27 It was planned that we would go by boat to Italy. An officer named Julius was put in charge of Paul and some other prisoners. Julius was an army captain in the Augustan group.
2 We got on a boat which was from the city of Adramyttium. This boat was going along the coast of Asia Minor. And so we went out to sea. A man named Aristarchus from the city of Thessalonica in Macedonia came with us also.
3 The next day we stopped at the city of Sidon. Julius was kind to Paul. He allowed him to go to see his friends so they could care for him.
4 Then we started out to sea again. We went near the island of Cyprus, because the wind was blowing against us.
5 We crossed the sea by the countries of Cilicia and Pamphylia. Then we reached the city of Myra in Lycia.
6 There the officer found a boat from the city of Alexandria going to the country of Italy. So he put us on that boat.
7 We went slowly for many days. And after much trouble, we reached the city of Cnidus. The wind was blowing hard against us. We could not go on. So we went around the south side of the island of Crete, past Cape Salmone.
8 We had trouble going along near the coast, but at last we came to a place called Fair Havens. This was near the town of Lasea.
9 It was now so late in the year that it was a bad time to go by boat. So Paul spoke to them about it.
10 He said, `Sirs, I see that if we go on by boat, we will have much trouble. Something bad will happen to the things on the boat and to the boat itself, and also to us.'
11 The officer did not listen to what Paul said. But he listened to the captain and the owner of the boat.
12 This place was not a good place for the boat to stay through the winter months of the year. So most of the men wanted to go on. They thought they might be able to reach Phoenicia and stay there for the winter. Phoenicia is a good place on the island of Crete. Boats can stay there. The winds do not blow against them.
13 When the south wind began to blow a little, they thought they had what they wanted. So they started off. They went along very close to the land of Crete.
14 But soon a very strong north-east wind blew from Crete.
15 The wind blew against the boat and it could not go into the wind. So they let the boat go where the wind took it.
16 We came close to a small island called Clauda. There we had a hard time to pull up the small boat.
17 However, at last they got it up. Then they put ropes around the boat to make it strong. They were also afraid they would get stuck in a bad place in the sand. So they took down the big sail cloth that was up to catch the wind. Then they let the boat go where the wind took it.
18 The next day the storm was very bad. They threw out the things that were in the boat.
19 And the third day they threw off the things they used on the boat, with their own hands.
20 For many days we could not see the sun or the stars. The bad storm kept on. We did not think that we would be saved.
21 The men of the boat had not eaten anything for a long time. Then Paul stood up and said, `Sirs, you should have listened to me and not left Crete. But you did leave. So you have had much trouble and have lost all these things.
22 Now I tell you to be glad. Not one of you will die. Only the boat will break and be lost.
23 I belong to God and worship him. Last night his angel stood before me.
24 He said, "Paul, do not be afraid. You must stand before Caesar. And see, God has given you the lives of all these men who are travelling with you."
25 So be glad, sirs. I believe God. It will be just the way he told me.
26 However, we will have to go on an island.'
27 On the fourteenth night we were being blown across the Adrian Sea. About midnight the boatmen thought that we must be near some land.
28 So they tested how deep the water was there. They found that the line went down twenty arm lengths. A little later they tested and found that it was only fifteen arm lengths deep.
29 Then they were afraid that we would hit the rocks. There were four heavy iron hooks called anchors. They let them down into the water at the back end of the boat. Then they wished that morning would come.
30 The boatmen wanted to get off and leave the boat. They even put down the small boat into the water. They said they were going to put more anchors out from the front of the big boat.
31 But Paul said to the officer and soldiers, `If these men do not stay on the boat, you cannot be saved.'
32 Then the soldiers cut the ropes holding the small boat and let the water carry it away.
33 When it was almost morning, Paul begged them all to eat. He said, `Today is the fourteenth day that you have been watching and have not eaten anything.
34 So now, I beg you, eat something. You need it to make you strong so you can save yourselves. Not one of you will lose even one hair from your head.'
35 When he had said this, he stood in front of them all. He took some bread and thanked God for it. Then he broke it and began to eat it.
36 Then they all were glad and ate some food themselves.
37 In all, we were 276 people on the boat.
38 They ate all they wanted. Then they threw the grain into the water, so that the boat would not be so heavy.
39 In the morning they saw land. But they did not know what country it was. They saw a sandy place. So they talked it over and thought they would try to get the boat on it.
40 They cut off the anchors and left them in the water. At the same time, they untied the wood that guided the boat. They put up the big sail to catch the wind and tried to get the boat onto that sandy place.
41 But they came to a place where there was sand under the water. The boat stuck in it. The front end stuck so badly that they could not make it go. The back end began to break up because the water beat it so hard.
42 The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners so that none of them would swim to land and run away.
43 But the officer wanted to save Paul, so he stopped the soldiers. He told the people, `Those of you who can swim, jump into the water first and get to the land.
44 Then the rest of you jump in and go on planks and other pieces of the boat.' So in this way they all got to the land safely.
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