The Jewish Annotated New Testament (69 page)

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At that time prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.
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One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine over all the world; and this took place during the reign of Claudius.
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The disciples determined that according to their ability, each would send relief to the believers
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living in Judea;
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this they did, sending it to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

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About that time King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church.
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He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword.
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After he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (This was during the festival of Unleavened Bread.)
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When he had seized him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover.
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While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him.

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The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison.
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Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists.
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The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.” He did so. Then he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”
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Peter
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went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision.
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After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him.
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Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”

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As soon as he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many had gathered and were praying.
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When he knocked at the outer gate, a maid named Rhoda came to answer.
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On recognizing Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the gate, she ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate.
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They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she insisted that it was so. They said, “It is his angel.”
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Meanwhile Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the gate, they saw him and were amazed.
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He motioned to them with his hand to be silent, and described for them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he added, “Tell this to James and to the believers.”
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Then he left and went to another place.

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When morning came, there was no small commotion among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.
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When Herod had searched for him and could not find him, he examined the guards and ordered them to be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.

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Now Herod
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was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they came to him in a body; and after winning over Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for a reconciliation, because their country depended on the king’s country for food.
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On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat on the platform, and delivered a public address to them.
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The people kept shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a mortal!”
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And immediately, because he had not given the glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

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But the word of God continued to advance and gain adherents.
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Then after completing their mission Barnabas and Saul returned to
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Jerusalem and brought with them John, whose other name was Mark.

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Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the ruler,
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and Saul.
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While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
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Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

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So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia; and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
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When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John also to assist them.
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When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they met a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet, named Bar-Jesus.
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He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God.
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But the magician Elymas (for that is the translation of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
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But Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him
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and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?
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And now listen—the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind for a while, unable to see the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he went about groping for someone to lead him by the hand.
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When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

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Then Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. John, however, left them and returned to Jerusalem;
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but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.
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After the reading of the law and the prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent them a message, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, give it.”
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So Paul stood up and with a gesture began to speak:

“You Israelites,
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and others who fear God, listen.
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The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it.
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For about forty years he put up with
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them in the wilderness.
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After he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance
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for about four hundred fifty years. After that he gave them judges until the time of the prophet Samuel.
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Then they asked for a king; and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years.
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When he had removed him, he made David their king. In his testimony about him he said, ‘I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes.’
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Of this man’s posterity God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised;
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before his coming John had already proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
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And as John was finishing his work, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but one is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of the sandals
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on his feet.’

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“My brothers, you descendants of Abraham’s family, and others who fear God, to us
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the message of this salvation has been sent.
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Because the residents of Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize him or understand the words of the prophets that are read every sabbath, they fulfilled those words by condemning him.
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Even though they found no cause for a sentence of death, they asked Pilate to have him killed.
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When they had carried out everything that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.
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But God raised him from the dead;
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and for many days he appeared to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and they are now his witnesses to the people.
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And we bring you the good news that what God promised to our ancestors
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he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm,

‘You are my Son;
         today I have begotten you.’

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As to his raising him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,

‘I will give you the holy promises made to
              David.’

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Therefore he has also said in another       
     psalm,

    ‘You will not let your Holy One experience
                   corruption.’

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For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, died,
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was laid beside his ancestors, and experienced corruption;
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but he whom God raised up experienced no corruption.
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Let it be known to you therefore, my brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you;
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by this Jesus
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everyone who believes is set free from all those sins
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from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.
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Beware, therefore, that what the prophets said does not happen to you: