Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

³² All the believers were one in heart and mind. Not one of them said, `This is mine.' But everything they had was for the use of all.

³³ With much power the apostles told how the Lord Jesus was raised from death. And God blessed them all very much.

^34-35 one of them was in need of anything. Those who owned fields and houses sold them. They brought the money to the apostles. Then the apostles gave each one what he needed.

1 The Word of life always was living, even from the beginning. We heard him. We saw him with our own eyes. We looked at him, and we touched him with our own hands. We are writing to you about this Word of life.

² This life came to earth. We saw him, and we know about him. And we tell you about this life that lives for ever. This life was with the Father and came to us.

³ We tell you also what we have seen and heard. We tell you so that you also will belong with us. And we belong with the Father and the Son.

⁴ We write these things to you so that we all will be very happy.

⁵ God is like light and he is not dark at all. That is the message we heard from him. That is the message we are telling you.

⁶ Do we say that we belong with him? And at the same time, do we live in the dark? Then what we say is not true, and what we do is not right.

⁷ Do we live in the light, as God is in the light? Then we belong with others who belong to him. And the blood of the death of Jesus Christ makes us clean from all the wrong things we have done.

⁸ Do we say, `We have no wrong ways'? Then we are fooling ourselves, and we do not know what is true.

⁹ Let us tell God about our wrong ways. God can be trusted. He does what is right. He will forgive us for the wrong things we have done. He will make us clean from all that was wrong.

¹⁰ Do we say, `We have not done anything wrong'? This is like saying that God is not true. That means we do not accept God's word.

2 My children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not do wrong things. But if anyone does something wrong, we have a Friend to help us. He speaks to God for us. He is Jesus Christ who does what is right.

² He himself is the sacrifice God offered to pay for the wrong we have done. And he pays for the wrong things all people in all the world have done.

¹⁹ It was the first day of the week. In the evening the disciples were in a house together. The doors were shut because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Jesus came and stood there with them. He said to them, `Peace to you!'

²⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

²¹ Jesus said to them again, `Peace to you! My Father sent me: now I am sending you in the same way.'

²² When he had said this, he breathed on them and said, `Receive the Holy Spirit.

²³ Whoever you make free from the wrong things they have done will be free. Whoever you do not make free from the wrong things they have done will not be free.'

²⁴ Thomas, one of the twelve disciples, was called the Twin. He was not with them when Jesus came.

²⁵ The other disciples told him about it. They said, `We have seen the Lord!' Thomas said, `I will not believe unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands. I will not believe unless I put my finger on the mark and feel his side with my hand.'

²⁶ Then eight days later his disciples were in the house again. This time Thomas was with them. The doors were shut. Then Jesus came and stood there with them. He said to them, `Peace to you!'

²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, `Put your finger here. Look at my hands. Feel my side with your hand. Do not doubt anymore, but believe.'

²⁸ Thomas said to him, `My Lord and my God!'

²⁹ Jesus said to him, `You yourself have seen me. Is that why you now believe? God will bless people who believe though they have not seen me.'

³⁰ Jesus did many other big works when he was with the disciples. They are not written in this book.

³¹ But these things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. And when you believe in his name, then he will give you power to live.