And what father among you, whose son asks [him] {{Some ancient manuscripts add for a loaf of bread, will give him a stone [instead]? Or, [if he asks]}} for a fish, will give him a snake [instead]?

If therefore your whole body [i.e., your entire life] is full of light [i.e., sees and responds to things correctly], with no blind spots [i.e., areas where you do not see and act correctly], your body [i.e., your life] will be fully illuminated [i.e., directed into proper conduct] just like a bright, shining lamp illuminating you [i.e., enabling you to see and respond to things properly]."

And when one of the people who were reclining at the [supper] table with Jesus heard this, he said to Him, "The person who will eat bread in the [coming] kingdom of God is [certainly] blessed."

But when he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread to eat, and here I am, dying from hunger!

For the Son of man [will come] in His day just like lightning which flashes from one part of the sky and lights up the other part.

So, Jesus stopped and ordered the beggar to be brought to Him. And when he came near, Jesus asked him,

So, they brought the colt to Jesus and spread their clothing on it, [then] placed Jesus on it [i.e., held the animal still as Jesus mounted it, since it had never been ridden before. See verse 30].

Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. [Note: This was the annual Jewish festival commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage under Moses' leadership].

Then the day came for the Festival of Unleavened Bread [to be held], on which the Passover [lamb] was to be sacrificed.

Then He took a [small] loaf of bread, and after He had given thanks to God, He broke it and gave [pieces] to His apostles, and said, "This is [i.e., represents] my [physical] body which is [to be] given for you; continue to do this [i.e., eat it regularly] to remember me by."

For I tell you that this [passage of Scripture], which was written about me, must be fulfilled [Isa. 53:12]: 'And He [i.e., Jesus] was counted with [i.e., as though He were one of] the criminals.' For the part [of that passage] that refers to me is being fulfilled."

and said to them, "You brought this man to me, claiming he was inciting people to disloyalty [i.e., to the government]. And look, I questioned him in front of you people but did not find him guilty of the charges you

or Herod have brought [against him]. For Herod sent him back to us and now I find that he has not done anything deserving of death.

And it happened when Jesus had reclined at the dinner table with them [Note: See Matt. 23:6], that He took a [small] loaf of bread, asked God's blessing on it, then broke it and gave [pieces] to the two men.

Then the two men recounted what happened along the road and how Jesus was recognized by them when He broke the loaf of bread.

So, Andrew brought Simon Peter to Jesus. [And when] Jesus saw him, He said [to him], "You are Simon, the son of John [Note: Peter's father is called Jonah in Matt. 16:17]; you will be called Cephas (which means Peter [i.e., "a stone." See Matt. 16:18])."

The one who has the bride is the groom; but the best man, who stands up with him and listens to him [take his vows], is very happy when he hears him speak. So, [now] my joy is complete [i.e. over hearing about Jesus' ministry].

So, the disciples said to one another, "No one has brought Him anything to eat [have they]?"

So Jesus, looking up and seeing a large crowd coming to Him, said to Philip [Note: He was one of the apostles, whose home town was at nearby Bethsaida. See 1:44], "Where are we going to buy [enough] bread, so that this crowd can eat?"

Philip answered Him, "Not even two hundred coins' worth of bread would be enough to feed them if everyone ate only a little bit." [Note: The amount here indicated was two hundred days of a farm laborer's pay, or about $14,000 in 1994].

"There is a little boy here who has five [small] loaves of barley bread and two [probably smoked] fish. But what is this amount for [feeding] so many people?"

Then Jesus took the loaves of bread, and [after] giving thanks [to God], He distributed [pieces] to those who were reclining. He did the same thing with the fish, [giving them] as much as they wanted.

So, they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces left over from the five loaves of barley bread which they had eaten.

(However, meanwhile, some other [small] boats had come from Tiberias [i.e., a small town on the west side of the lake] near where they had eaten bread after the Lord had given thanks).

Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I tell you, you people are looking for me because you got to eat the loaves of bread and were satisfied and not because you saw [miraculous] signs. [See verse 14].

Our forefathers ate the [supernatural] 'manna' in the desert, as it is written [Neh. 9:15], 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"

So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I tell you, it was not [really] Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who is [now] giving you the real bread from heaven.

For the bread God gives is the One [see verse 35] who comes down from heaven, and [He] gives [spiritual] life to the world."

Then they said to Him, "Sir, [please] give us this bread all the time."

Jesus replied, "I am the bread who gives [spiritual] life; the person who comes to me will never get hungry [again], and the one who believes in me will never get thirsty [again].

So the Jews, [who were assembled in the synagogue. See verse 59] began complaining about Jesus because He had said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven."

I am the bread of life.

[But] this is the bread that has come down from heaven [i.e., Jesus is referring to Himself], so that a person who eats of it [i.e., believes in Jesus] will not die [spiritually].

I am the living bread who came down from heaven; if anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. Yes, and the bread that I will give [him] is my physical body, [so] that the world can have [never ending] life."

This is the bread that came down from heaven [i.e., Jesus is referring to Himself]. [It is] not like [the bread] our forefathers ate and [then] died. The person who eats this bread will live forever."

Some experts in the law of Moses and Pharisees brought [to Him] a woman who had been caught committing an immoral sexual act and stood her in the middle of the group.

Now the slave does not remain part of the family forever, [but] the son does.

You belong to your father the devil, and you are [always] wanting to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the [very] beginning [Note: This is probably a reference to Satan's influence on Adam, Eve and Cain in the Garden of Eden] and does not stand for the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he only speaks what is part of his nature, because he is a liar and the father of [all] liars.

[So], they brought the man, who had been blind, to the Pharisees.

But you do not believe me, because you are not [part] of my sheep.

Jesus answered, "It is the person to whom I give a piece of bread after dipping it [in the sauce bowl]." So, when He had dipped the piece of bread, He took it [out] and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.

Then after [he ate] the piece of bread, Satan entered Judas' heart. So, Jesus said to him, "Do what you are going to do, and do it quickly."

So, after eating the piece of bread, Judas went out immediately. And it was nighttime.

while Peter stood outside at the gate. So, the other disciple, who was [well-] known to the head priest, went outside and spoke to the girl gatekeeper, [who] then brought Peter inside [too].

Then when Pilate heard [them say] this, he brought Jesus outside [again] and sat down on the judge's bench at a place called 'The Stone Pavement,' but in the Hebrew language is called 'Gabbatha.'

Nicodemus, the man who first came to Jesus one night, also went with him [i.e., to claim Jesus' body]. He brought about a seventy-five pound mixture of myrrh and aloes [i.e., aromatic spices used for embalming].

So, when they got to shore, they saw a charcoal fire burning there with fish [cooking] on it and [some] bread.

[So], Jesus went [over to them] and took the bread and fish and gave it to them.

And these [new converts] continued regularly [to listen] to the teaching of the apostles and to share with them; they broke bread [in memory of Jesus] and continued praying.

And when these men had Peter and John brought before them, they asked, "By whose authority or in what name have you done this thing [i.e., healed the crippled man]?"

And no one lacked anything, for all who owned property or houses sold [some of] them and brought the money

He owned a field, but [due to the great need] sold it and brought the money and gave it to the apostles [for distribution].

and brought [only] a part of the selling price and gave it to the apostles; but the man and his wife had kept this a secret.

But Peter said to Ananias, "Why has Satan filled your heart [causing you] to deceive the Holy Spirit by keeping back part of the selling price of the land [while representing it as the full price]?

And when the apostles heard this, they entered the Temple about dawn and began teaching [about Jesus]. [A little later] the head priest and the Sadducees [see verse 17] called the Council [i.e., the Sanhedrin] and all of the ruling body of Jewish leaders together and sent to the jail to have the apostles brought in to them [for further questioning].

[Immediately] the captain, with his officers, went [to the Temple] and brought the apostles back again, but did not use any violence because they feared that the people might stone them.

And so they brought them in [to their headquarters] to appear before the Council [for questioning]. The head priest spoke to them, [saying],

And they stirred up the people, the elders and the teachers of the law of Moses and searched for him, seized him and brought him before the Council.

Our forefathers also brought this Tabernacle with them under Joshua's leadership when they entered [Canaan] to occupy the land of these Gentile nations. God removed these nations as our forefathers advanced through the land, up until the reign of King David,

But Saul brought devastation to the church by entering everyone's house and dragging men and women off to jail.

And when he got close to Damascus, suddenly a [bright, See 22:6] light from the sky shone all around him.

So, Barnabas brought him to the [other] apostles and explained to them how he had seen the Lord [while] traveling on the road [to Damascus] and how he had boldly preached in the name of Jesus in that city.

And when the brothers [in the Jerusalem church] learned about this, they brought him down to Caesarea and then sent him on to Tarsus, [his home town].

Now at Joppa [Note: This was also a town on the west coast of Palestine, today called "Jaffa," and is now a part of Tel Aviv] there was a certain disciple named Tabitha (she was also called Dorcas, which means "Gazelle"). She practiced many good deeds and always gave money to poor people.

Cornelius [then] said, "Four days ago, when I was at home, praying at the appointed hour (i.e., three o'clock in the afternoon) [See verse 3], suddenly a man in bright clothing appeared in front of me.

and when he found him, he brought him [back] to Antioch. So, for an entire year Saul and Barnabas gathered the church together and taught many people. [It was] here in Antioch that the disciples were first [divinely] called Christians.

When he realized that this act pleased the Jews, he proceeded to have Peter arrested also. [This happened] during the Festival of Unleavened Bread [See Exodus 12:15ff].

So, Peter was arrested and put in jail with four groups of four soldiers each guarding him. Herod planned to have him brought before the people after the Passover Festival was over.

Then on the night that Herod was planning to have him brought [before the court], Peter was asleep, chained between two soldiers, with guards stationed at the jail doors.

Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance of the city, brought bulls and wreaths of flowers to the gates [of the heathen temple], wanting to offer [animal] sacrifices on behalf of the crowds.

and yet He did not leave them without evidence about Himself. He gave you good [things], brought rain from the sky, [provided] fruitful harvests and filled [your bodies] with food and your hearts with joy."

So, they were sent on their way with the backing of the [Antioch] church and traveled through both Phoenicia and Samaria, telling them about the conversion of the Gentiles. This brought great rejoicing to all the brothers [who heard about it].

And when they brought them before the city officials, they made this charge [against them]: "These Jewish men are causing too much trouble in our city,

The jailor called for torches [to be brought], then rushed in [to the cell block], shaking with fear, and fell down [on his knees] before Paul and Silas.

Then he brought them up into his house and prepared a meal for them. So, he and everyone in his household, who had believed in God [and were immersed], rejoiced greatly.

But [other] Jews became jealous and, recruiting certain ungodly riffraff, they gathered a mob and brought the city to near-riot conditions. They [even] attacked Jason's house and attempted to bring Paul and Silas before the [assembly of] people.

But when Gallio was magistrate of Achaia [i.e., the southern province of Greece] the Jews joined forces to attack Paul and brought him before the court of justice,

After this [incident] Paul remained [in Corinth] for some time before leaving the brothers and sailing for Syria with Priscilla and Aquila. Paul shaved his head while in Cenchrea as part of a vow he had taken.

And a large number of them, who had been involved in occultic practices, brought their books [on the occult] and began burning them publicly. When they calculated the cost [of the books] it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. [Note: The actual amount was approximately years of a farm laborer's pay, or more than

[Here is what happened]: A certain manufacturer of silver objects named Demetrius, who made silver replicas of the temple of Artemis [i.e., a Greek goddess], brought much business to his workmen.

For you have brought these men here --- [men] who have neither desecrated our temple nor defamed our goddess.

And we [ourselves] sailed away from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread [Note: This was the Jewish feast commemorating deliverance from Egyptian bondage], and five days later [we] joined them at Troas [i.e., the seven men mentioned in verses

And on the first day of the week [i.e., Sunday], when we [disciples] had gathered together to break bread [i.e., the Lord's Supper. See I Cor. 11:20-24], Paul delivered a message that lasted until midnight, [since] he was planning to leave [Troas] the next day.

After that Paul went upstairs, broke bread and ate [a common meal]. [Following the meal] Paul talked with them for a long time, even until it got daylight, and then he left.

[In the meantime] they brought the young fellow [back upstairs] alive, and were greatly comforted.

But we went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos [i.e., a seaport town near Troas], where we expected to take Paul on board. This is how Paul had planned it, intending to go there himself by land.

When he met us at Assos, we took him on board, then [together] we went to Mitylene [i.e., a town on a nearby island].

When we sighted Cyprus [i.e., a large island], we sailed past it on our port side and arrived at Tyre [i.e., a major seaport] in Syria [i.e., on the west coast of Palestine], where the ship was to unload its cargo.

And after greeting them Paul reported one by one the things that God had brought about among the Gentiles through his ministry.

shouting, "[You] Israelites, help [us]! This man is teaching people everywhere [to be] against our people [i.e., the Jews], the law of Moses and this place [i.e., the Temple]; and in addition to that he has also brought Greeks [i.e., Gentiles] into the Temple and has [thereby] contaminated this holy place."

As Paul was being brought into the headquarters building, he said to the commander, "Can I speak with you?" The commander replied [with surprise], "You know the Greek language?

the commander ordered Paul to be brought to headquarters and requested that he be interrogated by means of a flogging, in order to learn the reason why people were shouting against him.

But the next day the commander released Paul [from the chains] because he wanted to know what specific charges the Jews has against him. So, he ordered the leading priests and the entire [Jewish] Council to assemble, then brought Paul down and placed him in front of them.

When Paul realized that part [of the Sanhedrin] were Sadducees and the other part were Pharisees, he lifted up his voice before the Council and said, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee. And it is concerning our hope that the dead will be raised that I have been brought to trial."

And he [also] requested that they furnish animals for Paul to ride so he could be brought safely to Felix, the governor.

So, I brought him before the Council because I wanted to know the reasons for the charges [they were] bringing against him.

Five days later the head priest, Ananias, came down [to Caesarea] with certain [Jewish] elders and an attorney [named] Tertullus, who brought their case against Paul before the governor.

So, Felix allowed Paul to remain in chains, because he wanted to gain favor with the Jews [during that period of time]. Two years passed and Felix was succeeded by Portius Festus.

to do them a favor by having Paul brought [from Caesarea] to Jerusalem, for they were plotting to kill him on the way.

When Paul appeared, the [Jewish] leaders who had accompanied Festus down from Jerusalem gathered around him and brought many serious charges against him, which they were not able to prove.