Let Us Go to the House of the Lord

A Song of ^mAscents. Of David.

The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand Signs

1 ^fAnd the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and ^gto test him ^hthey asked him to show them ⁱa sign from heaven. 2 He answered them,^{1 j}“When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ ^kYou know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret ^lthe signs of the times. 4 ^mAn evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So ⁿhe left them and departed.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees

5 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 Jesus said to them, “Watch and ^obeware of ^pthe leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” 8 But ^qJesus, aware of this, said, ^r“O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9 ^sDo you not yet perceive? Do you not remember ^tthe five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 10 Or ^uthe seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 11 How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? ^oBeware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 ^vThen they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of ^wthe teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

13 ^xNow when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say ^yJohn the Baptist, others say ^zElijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, ^a“You are ^bthe Christ, ^cthe Son of ^dthe living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, ^e“Blessed are you, ^fSimon Bar-Jonah! For ^gflesh and blood has not revealed this to you, ^hbut my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, ⁱyou are Peter, and ^jon this rock² I will build my church, and ^kthe gates of ^lhell³ shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you ^mthe keys of the kingdom of heaven, and ⁿwhatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed⁴ in heaven.” 20 ^oThen he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

21 ^pFrom that time Jesus began to show his disciples that ^qhe must go to Jerusalem and ^rsuffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on ^sthe third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord!⁵ This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, ^t“Get behind me, Satan! You are ^ua hindrance⁶ to me. For you ^vare not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^wdeny himself and ^xtake up his cross and follow me. 25 For ^xwhoever would save his life⁷ will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For ^ywhat will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or ^zwhat shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 ^aFor the Son of Man is going to come with ^bhis angels in the glory of his Father, and ^cthen he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not ^dtaste death ^euntil they see the Son of Man ^fcoming in his kingdom.”

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

1 When ^fthe day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like ^ga mighty rushing wind, and ^hit filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues ⁱas of fire appeared to them and rested¹ on each one of them. 4 And they were all ^jfilled with the Holy Spirit and began ^kto speak in other tongues ^las the Spirit gave them utterance.

5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And ^mat this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And ⁿthey were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking ^oGalileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and ^pMedes and ^qElamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and ^rproselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And ^sall were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others ^tmocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost

14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, ^usince it is only the third hour of the day.² 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, ^da man attested to you by God ^ewith ^fmighty works and wonders and signs that ^gGod did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus,^{3 h}delivered up according to ⁱthe definite plan and ^jforeknowledge of God, ^kyou crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 ^lGod raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because ^mit was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him,

29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about ^tthe patriarch David ^uthat he both died and ^vwas buried, and ^whis tomb is with us to this day. 30 ^xBeing therefore a prophet, and knowing that ^yGod had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that ^zhe was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus ^aGod raised up, ^band of that we all are witnesses. 33 ^cBeing therefore ^dexalted at the right hand of God, and having received from ^ethe Father ^fthe promise of the Holy Spirit, ^ghe has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For ^hDavid did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that ^jGod has made him ^kboth Lord and Christ, this Jesus ^lwhom you crucified.”

37 Now when ^mthey heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, ⁿwhat shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, ^o“Repent and ^pbe baptized every one of you ^qin the name of Jesus Christ ^rfor the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive ^sthe gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For ^tthe promise is for you and ^ufor your children and for all ^vwho are far off, everyone ^wwhom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, ^x“Save yourselves from this ^ycrooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and ^zthere were added that day about three thousand souls.

The Fellowship of the Believers

42 And ^athey devoted themselves to the apostles’ ^bteaching and the ^cfellowship, to ^dthe breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe⁴ came upon every soul, and ^emany wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and ^fhad all things in common. 45 And ^fthey were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, ^gattending the temple ^htogether and ⁱbreaking bread in their homes, they received their food ^jwith glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and ^khaving favor with all the people. And the Lord ^ladded to their number ^mday by day those who ⁿwere being saved.