M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Iconium
14 What happened in Iconium was much the same. They went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke, with the result that a large crowd, of both Jews and Greeks, came to faith. 2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against the brothers. 3 They stayed there a long time, speaking boldly on behalf of the Lord, who bore them witness to the word of his grace by giving signs and wonders which were done at their hands.
4 But the inhabitants of the city were divided. Some were with the Jews, and some with the apostles. 5 But then the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, made an attempt to ill-treat them and stone them. 6 They got wind of it, however, and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding countryside. 7 There they went on announcing the good news.
Confusion in Lystra
8 There was a man sitting in Lystra who was unable to use his feet. He had been lame from his mother’s womb, and had never walked. 9 He heard Paul speaking. When Paul looked hard at him, and saw that he had faith to be made well, 10 he said with a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!”
Up he jumped, and walked about.
11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted loudly in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”
12 They called Barnabas “Zeus,” and Paul, because he was the main speaker, “Hermes.” 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the city gates. There was a crowd with him, and he was all ready to offer sacrifice.
14 But when the apostles, Paul and Barnabas, heard of it, they tore their clothes and rushed into the crowd.
15 “Men, men,” they shouted, “what on earth are you doing? We are just ordinary humans, with the same nature as you, and we are bringing you the wonderful message that you should turn away from these foolish things to the living God, the one who made heaven and earth and the sea and everything in them. 16 In earlier generations he allowed all the nations to go their own ways, 17 but even then he didn’t leave himself without witness. He has done you good, giving you rain from heaven and times of fruitfulness, filling your bodies with food and your hearts with gladness.”
18 Even by saying this, they only just restrained the crowds from offering them sacrifice. 19 But some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium, and persuaded the crowds to stone Paul. They dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 20 The disciples gathered round him, however, and he got up and went into the city. The next day he and Barnabas went off to Derbe.
Opening the door of faith
21 They preached in Derbe, and made many disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the hearts of the disciples, and urging them to remain in the faith. They warned them that getting into God’s kingdom would mean going through considerable suffering. 23 In every church they appointed elders by laying hands on them. They fasted, prayed, and commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
24 They went through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia; 25 and when they had spoken the word in Perga they went down to Attalia. 26 From there they sailed to Antioch, which was where they had been commended to God’s grace for the work which they had accomplished. 27 Once there, they called the church together, and told them all the things which God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles. 28 They stayed there a long time with the disciples.
9 “I’m telling you the truth,” he said; “some people standing here won’t experience death before they see God’s kingdom come in power.”
The transfiguration
2 A week later, Jesus took Peter, James and John away by themselves, and went up a high mountain. There he was transformed before their eyes. 3 His clothes shone with a whiteness that no laundry on earth could match. 4 Elijah appeared to them, and Moses too, and they were talking with Jesus.
5 “Teacher,” said Peter as he saw this, “it’s great to be here! Let’s make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah!” 6 (He didn’t know what to say; they were terrified.)
7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud: “This is my son, the one I love. Listen to him!”
8 Then, quite suddenly, they looked round and saw nobody there anymore, only Jesus with them.
9 As they came down the mountain, Jesus instructed them not to talk to anyone about what they had seen, “until,” he said, “the son of man has been raised from the dead.” 10 They held on to this saying among themselves, puzzling about what this “rising from the dead” might mean.
11 “Why then,” they asked him, “do the legal experts say ‘Elijah must come first’?”
12 “Elijah does come first,” he replied, “and his job is to put everything straight. But what do you think it means that ‘the son of man must suffer many things and be treated with contempt’? 13 Actually, listen to this: Elijah has already come, and they did to him whatever they wanted. That’s what scripture said about him.”
The demon-possessed boy
14 The four of them made their way back to the other disciples. There they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and legal experts arguing with them. 15 As soon as the crowd saw Jesus they were astounded, and they all ran up to greet him.
16 “What’s all the fuss about?” he asked.
17 “Teacher,” said someone from the crowd, “I brought my son to you. He’s got a spirit that stops him speaking. 18 Whenever it takes hold of him it throws him on the ground; he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth, and goes rigid. I spoke to your disciples about casting it out, but they couldn’t.”
19 “You unbelieving generation!” replied Jesus. “How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20 They brought him to him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.
21 “How long has it been like this with him?” asked Jesus.
“Since childhood,” replied the man. 22 “Often it even throws him into the fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything . . . please, please help us! Have pity on us!”
23 “What d’you mean, ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible to someone who believes.”
24 At this the father gave a great shout. “I do believe!” he roared. “Help me in my unbelief!”
25 Jesus saw that the crowd was getting bigger by the minute. He scolded the unclean spirit: “Speechless and deaf spirit,” he said, “I command you—come out of him, and never go back again!”
26 The spirit yelled, gave the boy a huge convulsion, and came out. The boy seemed to be dead; in fact, several people did say “He’s dead!” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 “Why couldn’t we cast it out?” asked his disciples, once they were back in the house by themselves.
29 “This sort,” replied Jesus, “can only be cast out by prayer.”
True greatness
30 They went away from there and were traveling through Galilee. Jesus didn’t want anyone to know, 31 because he was teaching his disciples.
“The ‘son of man,’ ” he was saying, “is to be given over into human hands. They will kill him; and, when he’s been killed, after three days he will rise again.”
32 They didn’t understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
33 They came to Capernaum. When they got into the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?”
34 They said nothing, because on the road they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.
35 Jesus sat down and called the Twelve. “If you want to be first,” he said, “you must be last of all, and servant of all.” 36 He took a small child, and stood it in the middle of them. Then he hugged the child, and said to them, 37 “If anyone welcomes one child like this in my name, they welcome me. And if anyone welcomes me, it isn’t me they welcome, but the one who sent me.”
Warnings about sin
38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone casting out demons in your name. We stopped him, because he wasn’t following us.”
39 “Don’t stop him,” said Jesus. “No one who does powerful things by my name will be able to say bad things about me soon afterwards. 40 Anyone who’s not against us is on our side. 41 Anyone who even gives you a cup of water in my name, because you belong to the Messiah—I’m telling you the truth, that person won’t go unrewarded.
42 “Think about these little ones who believe in me,” he went on. “If anyone causes one of them to slip up, it would be much better for that person to have a huge millstone put around their neck, and be thrown into the sea.
43 “And if your hand causes you to slip up, cut it off. It’s better for you to go into life maimed than to have two hands and go into Gehenna, into the fire that never goes out.
45 “And if your foot causes you to slip up, cut it off. It’s better for you to go into life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into Gehenna.
47 “And if your eye causes you to slip up, throw it away. It’s better for you to go into the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into Gehenna, 48 where
their worm lives on forever
and the fire can never be quenched.
49 “You see, everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is great stuff; but if salt becomes unsalty, how can you make it salty again? You need salt among yourselves. Live at peace with each other.”
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.