Day 20 of 90

^15:1Immediately in the morning the chief priests, with the elders, scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation, bound Jesus, carried him away, and delivered him up to Pilate. ^15:2Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered, “So you say.” ^15:3The chief priests accused him of many things. ^15:4Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer? See how many things they testify against you!” ^15:5But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate marveled. ^15:6Now at the feast he used to release to them one prisoner, whomever they asked of him. ^15:7There was one called Barabbas, bound with his fellow insurgents, men who in the insurrection had committed murder. ^15:8The multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do as he always did for them. ^15:9Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” ^15:10For he perceived that for envy the chief priests had delivered him up. ^15:11But the chief priests stirred up the multitude, that he should release Barabbas to them instead. ^15:12Pilate again asked them, “What then should I do to him whom you call the King of the Jews?” ^15:13They cried out again, “Crucify him!” ^15:14Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they cried out exceedingly, “Crucify him!” ^15:15Pilate, wishing to please the multitude, released Barabbas to them, and handed over Jesus, when he had flogged him, to be crucified. ^15:16The soldiers led him away within the court, which is the Praetorium; and they called together the whole cohort. ^15:17They clothed him with purple; and weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on him. ^15:18They began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ^15:19They struck his head with a reed and spat on him, and bowing their knees, did homage to him. ^15:20When they had mocked him, they took the purple cloak off him, and put his own garments on him. They led him out to crucify him. ^15:21They compelled one passing by, coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with them that he might bear his cross. ^15:22They brought him to the place called Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, “The place of a skull.” ^15:23They offered him wine mixed with myrrh to drink, but he didn’t take it. ^15:24Crucifying him, they parted his garments among them, casting lots on them, what each should take. ^15:25It was the third hour when they crucified him. ^15:26The superscription of his accusation was written over him: “THE KING OF THE JEWS.” ^15:27With him they crucified two robbers, one on his right hand, and one on his left. ^15:28The Scripture was fulfilled which says, “He was counted with transgressors.” ^15:29Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads and saying, “Ha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, ^15:30save yourself, and come down from the cross!” ^15:31Likewise, also the chief priests mocking among themselves with the scribes said, “He saved others. He can’t save himself. ^15:32Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe him.” Those who were crucified with him also insulted him. ^15:33When the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. ^15:34At the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is, being interpreted, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ^15:35Some of those who stood by, when they heard it, said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” ^15:36One ran, and filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Let him be. Let’s see whether Elijah comes to take him down.” ^15:37Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and gave up the spirit. ^15:38The veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. ^15:39When the centurion, who stood by opposite him, saw that he cried out like this and breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” ^15:40There were also women watching from afar, among whom were both Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; ^15:41who, when he was in Galilee, followed him and served him; and many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem. ^15:42When evening had now come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ^15:43Joseph of Arimathaea, a prominent council member who also himself was looking for God’s Kingdom, came. He boldly went in to Pilate, and asked for Jesus’ body. ^15:44Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead long. ^15:45When he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. ^15:46He bought a linen cloth, and taking him down, wound him in the linen cloth and laid him in a tomb which had been cut out of a rock. He rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. ^15:47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses, saw where he was laid. ^16:1When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. ^16:2Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. ^16:3They were saying among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” ^16:4for it was very big. Looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back. ^16:5Entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. ^16:6He said to them, “Don’t be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him! ^16:7But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He goes before you into Galilee. There you will see him, as he said to you.’” ^16:8They went out, and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had come on them. They said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid. ^16:9Now when he had risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. ^16:10She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. ^16:11When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they disbelieved. ^16:12After these things he was revealed in another form to two of them as they walked, on their way into the country. ^16:13They went away and told it to the rest. They didn’t believe them, either. ^16:14Afterward he was revealed to the eleven themselves as they sat at the table; and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they didn’t believe those who had seen him after he had risen. ^16:15He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to the whole creation. ^16:16He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned. ^16:17These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new languages; ^16:18they will take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it will in no way hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” ^16:19So then the Lord, after he had spoken to them, was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. ^16:20They went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen.

¹Since many have undertaken to set in order a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us, ²even as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word delivered them to us, ³it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus; ⁴that you might know the certainty concerning the things in which you were instructed. ⁵There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the priestly division of Abijah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. ⁷But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years. ⁸Now while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his division ⁹according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰The whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹²Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. ¹³But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard. Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. ¹⁴You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord.” ¹⁸Zacharias said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” ¹⁹The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰Behold, you will be silent and not able to speak until the day that these things will happen, because you didn’t believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.” ²¹The people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marveled that he delayed in the temple. ²²When he came out, he could not speak to them. They perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple. He continued making signs to them, and remained mute. ²³When the days of his service were fulfilled, he departed to his house. ²⁴After these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and she hid herself five months, saying, ²⁵“Thus has the Lord done to me in the days in which he looked at me, to take away my reproach among men.” ²⁶Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸Having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!” ²⁹But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be. ³⁰The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹Behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and shall name him ‘Jesus.’ ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.” ³⁴Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?” ³⁵The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God. ³⁶Behold, Elizabeth your relative also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. ³⁷For nothing spoken by God is impossible.” ³⁸Mary said, “Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. ³⁹Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah, ⁴⁰and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴²She called out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy! ⁴⁵Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!” ⁴⁶Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord. ⁴⁷My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, ⁴⁸for he has looked at the humble state of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed. ⁴⁹For he who is mighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name. ⁵⁰His mercy is for generations and generations on those who fear him. ⁵¹He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. ⁵²He has put down princes from their thrones, and has exalted the lowly. ⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things. He has sent the rich away empty. ⁵⁴He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy, ⁵⁵as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his offspring forever.” ⁵⁶Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her house. ⁵⁷Now the time that Elizabeth should give birth was fulfilled, and she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. ⁶⁰His mother answered, “Not so; but he will be called John.” ⁶¹They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” ⁶²They made signs to his father, what he would have him called. ⁶³He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, “His name is John.” They all marveled. ⁶⁴His mouth was opened immediately and his tongue freed, and he spoke, blessing God. ⁶⁵Fear came on all who lived around them, and all these sayings were talked about throughout all the hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶All who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, “What then will this child be?” The hand of the Lord was with him. ⁶⁷His father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, ⁶⁸“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people; ⁶⁹and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David ⁷⁰(as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old), ⁷¹salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; ⁷²to show mercy toward our fathers, to remember his holy covenant, ⁷³the oath which he swore to Abraham our father, ⁷⁴to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, should serve him without fear, ⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. ⁷⁶And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, ⁷⁷to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins, ⁷⁸because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the dawn from on high will visit us, ⁷⁹to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death; to guide our feet into the way of peace.” ⁸⁰The child was growing and becoming strong in spirit, and was in the desert until the day of his public appearance to Israel.