Chapter 20

(15)Now Simon Peter had followed Jesus, and another disciple: and that disciple was acquainted with the high-priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high-priest. (16)But Peter stood without at the door. Then that other disciple, who was acquainted with the high-priest, went out, and spoke to the porteress, and introduced Peter. (17)Then said the damsel who kept the door to Peter, Art not thou also one of the disciples of this man? He saith, I am not. (18)Now the servants and inferior officers having made a fire, for it was cold, stood and warmed themselves: and there stood Peter with them, and warmed himself. (19)The high-priest then questioned Jesus concerning his disciples, and respecting his doctrine. (20)Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I always taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews resorted; and in secret have I spoken nothing. (21)Why dost thou question me? ask those who have heard me, what I have spoken to them: lo, they know what I said. (22)As he was thus speaking, one of the servants who stood by him gave Jesus a slap on the face, saying, Dost thou answer the high-priest in this fashion? (23)Jesus replied to him, If I have spoken in an improper manner, bear witness of the evil deed: but if properly, why strikest thou me? (24)Now Annas had sent him bound to Caiaphas the high-priest.

(25)Meanwhile Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. Then said they to him, Art not thou also one of this man's disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not. (26)One of the servants of the high-priest, being a kinsman of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, Did I not see thee in the garden with him? (27)Then again Peter denied: and instantly the cock crew.

(28)Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium: and it was early: and they themselves went not into the praetorium, that they should not be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. (29)Pilate then came out to them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this man? (30)They answered and said to him, If this fellow had not been a malefactor, we should not have delivered him up to thee. (31)Pilate then said to them, Take him yourselves, and according to your own law judge him. The Jews then said to him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death: (32)that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, intimating by what manner of death he should die.

(33)Pilate therefore entered again into the praetorium, and called Jesus, and said to him, Art thou the king of the Jews? (34)Jesus answered him, Dost thou speak this from thyself, or did others speak to thee concerning me? (35)Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thy own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee to me: what hast thou done? (36)Jesus replied, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom had been of this world, then would my servants have struggled hard, that I should not have been delivered up to the Jews: but now my kingdom is not from hence. (37)Then said Pilate unto him. Art thou not a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. For this end I was born, and for this I came into the world, that I should be a witness for the truth. Every one who is of the truth heareth my voice. (38)Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And having thus spoken, he went out again unto the Jews and saith to them, I find no fault in him. (39)But ye have a custom, that I should release to you one person at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? (40)Then again they all clamoured, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.

CHAP. XIX.

THEN Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. (2)And the soldiers having platted a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and they clothed him in a purple robe, (3)and said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they gave him slaps on the face with their hands. (4)Then again went Pilate out, and said to them, Behold, I bring him out to you, that ye may know that I find in him no fault at all. (5)Then came Jesus out, bearing the thorny crown, and the purple robe. And he said to them, Behold the man! (6)When the chief priests therefore and the officers saw him, they cried vociferously, saying, Crucify him! crucify him! Pilate saith to them, Take him yourselves, and crucify him: for I have not found in him a fault. (7)The Jews replied to him, We have a law, and according to our law he ought to die, because he hath made himself the Son of God. (8)When Pilate then heard this saying, he was the more afraid: (9)and entered into the praetorium again, and saith to Jesus, From whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. (10)Then saith Pilate to him, Dost thou not speak to me? dost thou not know that I have power to crucify thee, and that I have power to release thee? (11)Jesus answered, Thou wouldest have had no authority over me, unless it had been given thee from above: for this reason, he that hath delivered me up to thee hath the greater crime. (12)Upon this Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews clamoured, saying, If thou release this fellow, thou art no friend of Caesar's: every one who professes himself a king, speaks in opposition to Caesar.

(13)When Pilate therefore heard this speech, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat, in a place called the Stone Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. (14)And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith to the Jews, Behold your King! (15)But they cried vociferously, Away with him, away! crucify him! Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

(16)Then delivered he him therefore unto them, that he should be crucified. And they took Jesus and led him away. (17)And carrying his cross he went forth to a place called the Place of a Skull, which in the Hebrew is termed Golgotha: (18)where they crucified him, and two others with him, on this side and on that, and in the midst Jesus. (19)And Pilate also wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And this was the writing: JESUS THE NAZAREAN, THE KING OF THE JEWS, (20)This title then many of the Jews read: for the spot where Jesus was crucified was nigh unto the city: and it was written in Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin. (21)The chief priests of the Jews then said to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews. (22)Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written.

(23)Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, for each soldier a part; and his vest: now the vest was without a seam, woven from the upper parts throughout the whole. (24)They said therefore one to another, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, "They parted my garments among them, and for my vest they cast lots." So the soldiers therefore did these things.

(25)Now beside the cross of Jesus stood his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene. (26)When Jesus then beheld his mother, and the disciple whom he loved, standing by, he saith to his mother, Woman, behold thy son! (27)Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour the disciple took her unto his own home.

(28)After this, Jesus, conscious that all things were now finished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. (29)Now there was placed a vessel full of vinegar: they then filling a spunge with the vinegar, and putting it on a stick of hyssop, carried it to his mouth. (30)When therefore Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and inclining his head, he surrendered up his spirit.

(31)The Jews therefore, as it was the preparation, that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, (for that sabbath-day was a great day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. (32)Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other who was crucified with him. (33)But when they came to Jesus, as they saw that he was already dead, they brake not his legs: (34)but one of the soldiers with his lance pierced his side, and immediately there gushed out blood and water. (35)And he that saw it bore witness, and we know that his testimony is true: and he himself is conscious that he speaketh what is true, that ye might believe. (36)Now these things were done, that the scripture might be fulfilled, "A bone of him shall not be broken." (37)And again another scripture saith, "They shall look on him whom they have pierced."

(38)And after these things Joseph of Arimathea, (being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews,) besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus and Pilate permitted him. Then he came and took away the body of Jesus. (39)And Nicodemus, who had come to Jesus by night formerly, came also, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred weight.

(40)Then they took the body, and bound it with swathes together with the aromatics, as the custom is with the Jews to bury. (41)And there was near the spot were he was crucified a garden and in the garden a new tomb, wherein no person had ever yet been laid. (42)Because of the preparation of the Jews therefore, they laid Jesus there; for the sepulchre was just by.

CHAP. XX.

AND on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalen came very early, whilst yet some darkness remained, to the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. (2)She therefore runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith to them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. (3)Then Peter went out, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. (4)And they two ran together: and the other disciple ran before more swiftly than Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. (5)And stooping forward, he sees the swathing clothes lying there; yet he did not go in. (6)Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and saw the swathing clothes lying, (7)and the napkin, which had been round his head, not laid with the linen swathes, but apart folded up in another place. (8)Then went in also the other disciple, who had come the first to the sepulchre, and saw, and believed. (9)Though not even yet had they known the scripture, that he should rise from the dead. (10)Then the disciples went back again to their companions. (11)But Mary stood at the sepulchre, without, weeping: as therefore she wept, she bent forward towards the sepulchre. (12)And saw two angels in white, sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. (13)And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith to them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. (14)And as she thus spoke, she turned about, and beheld Jesus standing by, and knew not that it was Jesus. (15)Then Jesus said to her, Woman, why art thou weeping? whom art thou seeking? She, supposing that it was the gardener, said to him, Sir, if thou hast carried him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. (16)Jesus saith to her, Mary! Starting round, she said to him, Rabboni! that is, Master! (17)Jesus saith to her, Touch me not; for I have not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and tell them, I am ascending to my Father, and your Father; to my God, and your God. (18)Mary Magdalen cometh declaring to the disciples, that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things to her.

(19)When the evening therefore was come, on the same first day of the week, and the doors being fastened where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said unto them, Peace be to you. (20)And thus speaking, he shewed them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. (21)Jesus therefore spake to them again, Peace be unto you: as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you. (22)And so speaking, he breathed on them, and said, Receive the Holy Ghost: (23)whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins soever ye retain, they are retained.

(24)Now Thomas, one of the twelve, who is called Didymus, the twin, was not with them when Jesus came. (25)Then the other disciples said to him, We have seen the Lord. But he said to them, Except I should see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I shall never believe it. (26)And eight days after, his disciples were again within, and Thomas with them: Jesus cometh, though the doors were fastened, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. (27)Afterwards he spake to Thomas, Bring hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and take thy hand, and thrust into my side: and be not incredulous, but a believer. (28)And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God! (29)Jesus saith to him, Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, hast thou believed: blessed are they who though they have not seen me, yet have believed.

(30)Now many other miracles did Jesus therefore also in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: (31)but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

CHAP. XXI.

AFTER these things Jesus again shewed himself to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and he appeared in the following manner: (2)Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, the twin, and Nathaniel who was of Cana of Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of the disciples were together. (3)Simon Peter said to them, I am going a-fishing. They say to him, We too will go with thee. They went out, and got on board the vessel immediately; and that night they caught nothing. (4)But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood upon the beach: yet the disciples had not discovered that it was Jesus. (5)Then saith Jesus unto them, My youths, have ye any thing eatable? They answered him, No. (6)Then he said to them, Shoot the net on the right side of the vessel, and ye shall find fish. They shot it therefore, and now they were not able to drag it in from the quantity of fishes. (7)Then said that disciple whom Jesus loved to Peter, It is the Lord! Then Simon Peter, when he heard that it was the Lord, girt his coat round him, (for he was stripped,) and threw himself into the sea. (8)And the other disciples came in the little vessel, (for they were not far from land, only about two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with the fishes. (9)When therefore they were come to land, they saw a fire laid, and a fish upon it, and a loaf. (10)Jesus saith to them, Bring some of the fish which ye have just caught. (11)Simon Peter went aboard, and drew the net to land full of large fishes, to the number of a hundred and fifty-three: and though they were so many, yet was not the net rent. (12)Jesus saith to them, Come, dine. Now not one of the disciples dared inquire, Who art thou? conscious that it was the Lord. (13)Then Jesus cometh, and taketh the loaf, and distributed to them, and of the fish in like manner. (14)Now this was the third time Jesus had shewed himself to the disciples, after he rose from the dead.

(15)When therefore they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith to him, Yes, Lord! thou knowest that I love thee. He saith to him, Feed my lambs. (16)He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith to him, Yes, Lord! thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. (17)He saith to him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said to him, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee! Jesus saith to him, Feed my sheep. (18)Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast a younger man, thou didst gird up thyself, and go about whithersoever thy choice led thee: but when thou shalt grow old, another person extending thy hands, shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. (19)This he told him, to intimate by what kind of death he should glorify God. And having thus spoken, he said to him, Follow me. (20)Now Peter, turning about, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following; who also at the supper reclined on his bosom, and said, Lord, which is the person who betrayeth thee? (21)Peter looking at him, saith to Jesus, Lord, and what will become of this man? (22)Jesus saith to him, If I will that he abide till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. (23)Then this speech went forth among the disciples, as though this disciple was not to die: yet Jesus had not said to him, That he shall not die; but, If I will that he abide till I come, what is that to thee?

(24)This is the disciple who is testifing of these things, and hath written these things: and we know that his testimony is true. (25)And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if every particular was written, I am of opinion that the world itself would not be capable of retaining the books which should be written. Amen.

THE ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES.

CHAP. I.

THE former treatise, Theophilus, I composed, concerning all things which Jesus began both to do and to teach, (2)until that day, when having given a charge to his apostles through the Holy Ghost, whom he had chosen, he was taken up: (3)to whom also he had shewed himself alive, after he had suffered, by many infallible proofs, during forty days being frequently seen by them, and speaking of the things which relate to the kingdom of God: (4)and assembling them together, commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, said he, ye have heard from me. (5)For John indeed baptised with water; but ye shall be baptised with the Holy Ghost not many days after the present.

(6)They then accordingly assembling together, asked him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time reestablish the kingdom of Israel? (7)But he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times and the seasons, which the Father hath reserved under his own authority. (8)But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses for me, both in Jerusalem, and throughout all Judea, and Samaria, and unto the extremity of the earth.

(9)And as he was speaking these things, while they were looking upon him, he was taken up; and a cloud enveloping him hid him from their eyes. (10)And as they looked up earnestly into the heaven, while he was passing, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; (11)who also said to them, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up to heaven? this Jesus, who hath been taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, in the same manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

(12)Then they returned unto Jerusalem, from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, about a sabbath-day's journey distant. (13)And when they had arrived, they went up to an upper room, where abode Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James son of Alpheus, and Simon the zealous, and Jude brother to James. (14)These all persevered unanimously in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

(15)And in those days arose Peter in the midst of the disciples, and said, (there was a number of persons together, about an hundred and twenty,) (16)Men and brethren, it must needs be that this scripture should be fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost delivered before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was the conductor of those who seized on Jesus. (17)For he was reckoned of our number, and had obtained an appointment to this ministry. (18)This man indeed accordingly purchased a spot of ground with the wages of iniquity; and projected forward, he burst in the midst, and all his bowels fell out. (19)And it was a fact known to all who dwelt at Jerusalem; so that this field is called in their own dialect, Aceldama, that is, The field of blood. (20)For it is written in the book of Psalms[23], Let his habitation be desolate, and let there be no man to dwell in it: and his office, as bishop, let another take[24].

(21)Wherefore from among the men who have associated with us always during the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, (22)beginning from his baptism by John, until the day in which he was taken up from us, must there be chosen with us a witness of his resurrection, even one of these. (23)So they appointed two persons, Joseph called Barsabas, whose sirname was Justus, and Matthias. (24)And joining in prayer, they said, Do thou, O Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, point out the one of these two which thou hast chosen, (25)to take a part in this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, to go to his own place. (26)And they drew lots for them and the lot fell to Matthias and he was by unanimous suffrage numbered with the eleven apostles.

CHAP. II.

SO when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with unanimity assembled together. (2)And there came suddenly from heaven a sound as it were of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. (3)And there was an appearance to them of divided tongues, as of fire, and it rested on every one of them. (4)And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them power to express themselves.