Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

²Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them.

³Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.

⁴So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

⁵“And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.

⁶But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.

⁷“What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.

⁸So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet.

⁹And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

¹⁰“Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.

¹¹

¹²“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?

¹³And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away!

¹⁴In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.

¹⁵“If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.

¹⁶But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses.

¹⁷If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.

¹⁸“I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.

¹⁹“I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.

²⁰For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”

²¹Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”

²²“No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!

²³“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him.

²⁴In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.

²⁵He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold — along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned — to pay the debt.

²⁶“But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’

²⁷Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.

²⁸“But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.

²⁹“His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded.

³⁰But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.

³¹“When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened.

³²Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me.

³³Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’

³⁴Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.

³⁵“That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

¹Then the LORD said to Moses,

²“Bring Aaron and his sons, along with their sacred garments, the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of bread made without yeast,

³and call the entire community of Israel together at the entrance of the Tabernacle. ”

⁴So Moses followed the LORD’s instructions, and the whole community assembled at the Tabernacle entrance.

⁵Moses announced to them, “This is what the LORD has commanded us to do!”

⁶Then he presented Aaron and his sons and washed them with water.

⁷He put the official tunic on Aaron and tied the sash around his waist. He dressed him in the robe, placed the ephod on him, and attached the ephod securely with its decorative sash.

⁸Then Moses placed the chestpiece on Aaron and put the Urim and the Thummim inside it.

⁹He placed the turban on Aaron’s head and attached the gold medallion — the badge of holiness — to the front of the turban, just as the LORD had commanded him.

¹⁰Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the Tabernacle and everything in it, making them holy.

¹¹He sprinkled the oil on the altar seven times, anointing it and all its utensils, as well as the washbasin and its stand, making them holy.

¹²Then he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head, anointing him and making him holy for his work.

¹³Next Moses presented Aaron’s sons. He clothed them in their tunics, tied their sashes around them, and put their special head coverings on them, just as the LORD had commanded him.

¹⁴Then Moses presented the bull for the sin offering. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the bull’s head,

¹⁵and Moses slaughtered it. Moses took some of the blood, and with his finger he put it on the four horns of the altar to purify it. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. Through this process, he made the altar holy by purifying it.

¹⁶Then Moses took all the fat around the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat around them, and he burned it all on the altar.

¹⁷He took the rest of the bull, including its hide, meat, and dung, and burned it on a fire outside the camp, just as the LORD had commanded him.

¹⁸Then Moses presented the ram for the burnt offering. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the ram’s head,

¹⁹and Moses slaughtered it. Then Moses took the ram’s blood and splattered it against all sides of the altar.

²⁰Then he cut the ram into pieces, and he burned the head, some of its pieces, and the fat on the altar.

²¹After washing the internal organs and the legs with water, Moses burned the entire ram on the altar as a burnt offering. It was a pleasing aroma, a special gift presented to the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him.

²²Then Moses presented the other ram, which was the ram of ordination. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the ram’s head,

²³and Moses slaughtered it. Then Moses took some of its blood and applied it to the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot.

²⁴Next Moses presented Aaron’s sons and applied some of the blood to the lobes of their right ears, the thumbs of their right hands, and the big toes of their right feet. He then splattered the rest of the blood against all sides of the altar.

²⁵Next Moses took the fat, including the fat of the broad tail, the fat around the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat around them, along with the right thigh.

²⁶On top of these he placed a thin cake of bread made without yeast, a cake of bread mixed with olive oil, and a wafer spread with olive oil. All these were taken from the basket of bread made without yeast that was placed in the LORD’s presence.

²⁷He put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons, and he lifted these gifts as a special offering to the LORD.

²⁸Moses then took all the offerings back from them and burned them on the altar on top of the burnt offering. This was the ordination offering. It was a pleasing aroma, a special gift presented to the LORD.

²⁹Then Moses took the breast and lifted it up as a special offering to the LORD. This was Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination, just as the LORD had commanded him.

³⁰Next Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar, and he sprinkled them on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. In this way, he made Aaron and his sons and their garments holy.

³¹Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the remaining meat of the offerings at the Tabernacle entrance, and eat it there, along with the bread that is in the basket of offerings for the ordination, just as I commanded when I said, ‘Aaron and his sons will eat it.’

³²Any meat or bread that is left over must then be burned up.

³³You must not leave the Tabernacle entrance for seven days, for that is when the ordination ceremony will be completed.

³⁴Everything we have done today was commanded by the LORD in order to purify you, making you right with him.

³⁵Now stay at the entrance of the Tabernacle day and night for seven days, and do everything the LORD requires. If you fail to do this, you will die, for this is what the LORD has commanded.”

³⁶So Aaron and his sons did everything the LORD had commanded through Moses.

¹Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.

²Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.

³If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.

⁴Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.

⁵For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

⁶Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.

⁷Don’t be misled — you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.

⁸Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

⁹So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

¹⁰Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone — especially to those in the family of faith.

¹¹NOTICE WHAT LARGE LETTERS I USE AS I WRITE THESE CLOSING WORDS IN MY OWN HANDWRITING.

¹²Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save.

¹³And even those who advocate circumcision don’t keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples.

¹⁴As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.

¹⁵It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation.

¹⁶May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.

¹⁷From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.

¹⁸Dear brothers and sisters, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

¹Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.

²Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.

³We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth.

⁴And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong.

⁵In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.

⁶And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.

⁷People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish,

⁸but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.

⁹Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God.

¹⁰And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!

¹¹Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water?

¹²Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.

¹³If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.

¹⁴But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying.

¹⁵For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic.

¹⁶For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.

¹⁸And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

¹“My heart pounds as I think of this. It trembles within me.

²Listen carefully to the thunder of God’s voice as it rolls from his mouth.

³It rolls across the heavens, and his lightning flashes in every direction.

⁴Then comes the roaring of the thunder — the tremendous voice of his majesty. He does not restrain it when he speaks.

⁵God’s voice is glorious in the thunder. We can’t even imagine the greatness of his power.

⁶“He directs the snow to fall on the earth and tells the rain to pour down.

⁷Then everyone stops working so they can watch his power.

⁸The wild animals take cover and stay inside their dens.

⁹The stormy wind comes from its chamber, and the driving winds bring the cold.

¹⁰God’s breath sends the ice, freezing wide expanses of water.

¹¹He loads the clouds with moisture, and they flash with his lightning.

¹²The clouds churn about at his direction. They do whatever he commands throughout the earth.

¹³He makes these things happen either to punish people or to show his unfailing love.

¹⁴“Pay attention to this, Job. Stop and consider the wonderful miracles of God!

¹⁵Do you know how God controls the storm and causes the lightning to flash from his clouds?

¹⁶Do you understand how he moves the clouds with wonderful perfection and skill?

¹⁷When you are sweltering in your clothes and the south wind dies down and everything is still,

¹⁸he makes the skies reflect the heat like a bronze mirror. Can you do that?

¹⁹“So teach the rest of us what to say to God. We are too ignorant to make our own arguments.

²⁰Should God be notified that I want to speak? Can people even speak when they are confused?

²¹We cannot look at the sun, for it shines brightly in the sky when the wind clears away the clouds.

²²So also, golden splendor comes from the mountain of God. He is clothed in dazzling splendor.

²³We cannot imagine the power of the Almighty; but even though he is just and righteous, he does not destroy us.

²⁴No wonder people everywhere fear him. All who are wise show him reverence. ”

¹Praise the LORD! Praise the name of the LORD! Praise him, you who serve the LORD,

²you who serve in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God.

³Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; celebrate his lovely name with music.

⁴For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel for his own special treasure.

⁵I know the greatness of the LORD — that our Lord is greater than any other god.

⁶The LORD does whatever pleases him throughout all heaven and earth, and on the seas and in their depths.

⁷He causes the clouds to rise over the whole earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses.

⁸He destroyed the firstborn in each Egyptian home, both people and animals.

⁹He performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt against Pharaoh and all his people.

¹⁰He struck down great nations and slaughtered mighty kings —

¹¹Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan.

¹²He gave their land as an inheritance, a special possession to his people Israel.

¹³Your name, O LORD, endures forever; your fame, O LORD, is known to every generation.

¹⁴For the LORD will give justice to his people and have compassion on his servants.

¹⁵The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands.

¹⁶They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see.

¹⁷They have ears but cannot hear, and mouths but cannot breathe.

¹⁸And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them.

¹⁹O Israel, praise the LORD! O priests — descendants of Aaron — praise the LORD!

²⁰O Levites, praise the LORD! All you who fear the LORD, praise the LORD!

²¹The LORD be praised from Zion, for he lives here in Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!

¹My child, if you have put up security for a friend’s debt or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger —

²if you have trapped yourself by your agreement and are caught by what you said —

³follow my advice and save yourself, for you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy. Now swallow your pride; go and beg to have your name erased.

⁴Don’t put it off; do it now! Don’t rest until you do.

⁵Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter, like a bird fleeing from a net.

⁶Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise!

⁷Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work,

⁸they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.

⁹But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up?

¹⁰A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest —

¹¹then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

¹²What are worthless and wicked people like? They are constant liars,

¹³signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye, a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers.

¹⁴Their perverted hearts plot evil, and they constantly stir up trouble.

¹⁵But they will be destroyed suddenly, broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing.

¹⁶There are six things the LORD hates — no, seven things he detests:

¹⁷haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent,

¹⁸a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong,

¹⁹a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family.

²⁰My son, obey your father’s commands, and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.

²¹Keep their words always in your heart. Tie them around your neck.

²²When you walk, their counsel will lead you. When you sleep, they will protect you. When you wake up, they will advise you.

²³For their command is a lamp and their instruction a light; their corrective discipline is the way to life.

²⁴It will keep you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman.

²⁵Don’t lust for her beauty. Don’t let her coy glances seduce you.

²⁶For a prostitute will bring you to poverty, but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life.

²⁷Can a man scoop a flame into his lap and not have his clothes catch on fire?

²⁸Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet?

²⁹So it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife. He who embraces her will not go unpunished.

³⁰Excuses might be found for a thief who steals because he is starving.

³¹But if he is caught, he must pay back seven times what he stole, even if he has to sell everything in his house.

³²But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool, for he destroys himself.

³³He will be wounded and disgraced. His shame will never be erased.

³⁴For the woman’s jealous husband will be furious, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.

³⁵He will accept no compensation, nor be satisfied with a payoff of any size.

¹Then the people of Ephraim mobilized an army and crossed over the Jordan River to Zaphon. They sent this message to Jephthah: “Why didn’t you call for us to help you fight against the Ammonites? We are going to burn down your house with you in it!”

²Jephthah replied, “I summoned you at the beginning of the dispute, but you refused to come! You failed to help us in our struggle against Ammon.

³So when I realized you weren’t coming, I risked my life and went to battle without you, and the LORD gave me victory over the Ammonites. So why have you now come to fight me?”

⁴The people of Ephraim responded, “You men of Gilead are nothing more than fugitives from Ephraim and Manasseh.” So Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and attacked the men of Ephraim and defeated them.

⁵Jephthah captured the shallow crossings of the Jordan River, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim tried to go back across, the men of Gilead would challenge him. “Are you a member of the tribe of Ephraim?” they would ask. If the man said, “No, I’m not,”

⁶they would tell him to say “Shibboleth.” If he was from Ephraim, he would say “Sibboleth,” because people from Ephraim cannot pronounce the word correctly. Then they would take him and kill him at the shallow crossings of the Jordan. In all, 42,000 Ephraimites were killed at that time.

⁷Jephthah judged Israel for six years. When he died, he was buried in one of the towns of Gilead.

⁸After Jephthah died, Ibzan from Bethlehem judged Israel.

⁹He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He sent his daughters to marry men outside his clan, and he brought in thirty young women from outside his clan to marry his sons. Ibzan judged Israel for seven years.

¹⁰When he died, he was buried at Bethlehem.

¹¹After Ibzan died, Elon from the tribe of Zebulun judged Israel for ten years.

¹²When he died, he was buried at Aijalon in Zebulun.

¹³After Elon died, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, judged Israel.

¹⁴He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. He judged Israel for eight years.

¹⁵When he died, he was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.

¹Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses.

²Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon. There the LORD will display his glory, the splendor of our God.

³With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees.

⁴Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.”

⁵And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf.

⁶The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland.

⁷The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.

⁸And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways; fools will never walk there.

⁹Lions will not lurk along its course, nor any other ferocious beasts. There will be no other dangers. Only the redeemed will walk on it.

¹⁰Those who have been ransomed by the LORD will return. They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness.

¹But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property.

²He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest.

³Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself.

⁴The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!”

⁵As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified.

⁶Then some young men got up, wrapped him in a sheet, and took him out and buried him.

⁷About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

⁸Peter asked her, “Was this the price you and your husband received for your land?” “Yes,” she replied, “that was the price.”

⁹And Peter said, “How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too.”

¹⁰Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

¹¹Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened.

¹²The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon’s Colonnade.

¹³But no one else dared to join them, even though all the people had high regard for them.

¹⁴Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord — crowds of both men and women.

¹⁵As a result of the apostles’ work, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter’s shadow might fall across some of them as he went by.

¹⁶Crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all healed.

¹⁷The high priest and his officials, who were Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.

¹⁸They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.

¹⁹But an angel of the Lord came at night, opened the gates of the jail, and brought them out. Then he told them,

²⁰“Go to the Temple and give the people this message of life!”

²¹So at daybreak the apostles entered the Temple, as they were told, and immediately began teaching. When the high priest and his officials arrived, they convened the high council — the full assembly of the elders of Israel. Then they sent for the apostles to be brought from the jail for trial.

²²But when the Temple guards went to the jail, the men were gone. So they returned to the council and reported,

²³“The jail was securely locked, with the guards standing outside, but when we opened the gates, no one was there!”

²⁴When the captain of the Temple guard and the leading priests heard this, they were perplexed, wondering where it would all end.

²⁵Then someone arrived with startling news: “The men you put in jail are standing in the Temple, teaching the people!”

²⁶The captain went with his Temple guards and arrested the apostles, but without violence, for they were afraid the people would stone them.

²⁷Then they brought the apostles before the high council, where the high priest confronted them.

²⁸“We gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man’s name!” he said. “Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him, and you want to make us responsible for his death!”

²⁹But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.

³⁰The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross.

³¹Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven.

³²We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him.”

³³When they heard this, the high council was furious and decided to kill them.

³⁴But one member, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was an expert in religious law and respected by all the people, stood up and ordered that the men be sent outside the council chamber for a while.

³⁵Then he said to his colleagues, “Men of Israel, take care what you are planning to do to these men!

³⁶Some time ago there was that fellow Theudas, who pretended to be someone great. About 400 others joined him, but he was killed, and all his followers went their various ways. The whole movement came to nothing.

³⁷After him, at the time of the census, there was Judas of Galilee. He got people to follow him, but he was killed, too, and all his followers were scattered.

³⁸“So my advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown.

³⁹But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!”

⁴⁰The others accepted his advice. They called in the apostles and had them flogged. Then they ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go.

⁴¹The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.

⁴²And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: “Jesus is the Messiah.”