If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin. Now they have no excuse for their sin.

If I had not done the works among them that no one else has done, they would not have sin. Now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father.

Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It was early morning. They did not enter the headquarters themselves; otherwise they would be defiled and unable to eat the Passover.

They answered him, “If this man weren’t a criminal, we wouldn’t have handed Him over to you.”

“My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. As it is, My kingdom does not have its origin here.”

“You would have no authority over Me at all,” Jesus answered him, “if it hadn’t been given you from above. This is why the one who handed Me over to you has the greater sin.”

For these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: Not one of His bones will be broken.

“I assure you: When you were young, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where you don’t want to go.”

He said this to signify by what kind of death he would glorify God. After saying this, He told him, “Follow Me!”

So this report spread to the brothers that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not tell him that he would not die, but, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?”

And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if they were written one by one, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written.

But what God predicted through the mouth of all the prophets—that His Messiah would suffer—He has fulfilled in this way.

Many signs and wonders were being done among the people through the hands of the apostles. By common consent they would all meet in Solomon’s Colonnade.

As a result, they would carry the sick out into the streets and lay them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them.

Then the Twelve summoned the whole company of the disciples and said, “It would not be right for us to give up preaching about God to handle financial matters.

God spoke in this way:

His descendants would be strangers
in a foreign country,
and they would enslave
and oppress them 400 years.

He dealt deceitfully with our race and oppressed our ancestors by making them leave their infants outside, so they wouldn’t survive.

He assumed his brothers would understand that God would give them deliverance through him, but they did not understand.

Saul, however, was ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison.

As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s water! What would keep me from being baptized?”

Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine throughout the Roman world. This took place during the time of Claudius.

After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them: “Brothers, you are aware that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the gospel message and believe.

As Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of a crime or of moral evil, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you Jews.

Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the One who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.”

But when some became hardened and would not believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he withdrew from them and met separately with the disciples, conducting discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so he would not have to spend time in Asia, because he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, for the day of Pentecost.

grieving most of all over his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they escorted him to the ship.

Since he would not be persuaded, we stopped talking and simply said, “The Lord’s will be done!”

Then the next day, Paul took the men, having purified himself along with them, and entered the temple, announcing the completion of the purification days when the offering for each of them would be made.

At the same time he was also hoping that money would be given to him by Paul. For this reason he sent for him quite often and conversed with him.

Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.”

“Tomorrow you will hear him,” he replied.

To this very day, I have obtained help that comes from God, and I stand and testify to both small and great, saying nothing else than what the prophets and Moses said would take place—

that the Messiah must suffer, and that as the first to rise from the dead, He would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles.”

After hoisting it up, they used ropes and tackle and girded the ship. Then, fearing they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the drift-anchor, and in this way they were driven along.

For many days neither sun nor stars appeared, and the severe storm kept raging. Finally all hope that we would be saved was disappearing.

They expected that he would swell up or suddenly drop dead. But after they waited a long time and saw nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

For the hearts of these people
have grown callous,
their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes;
otherwise they might see with their eyes
and hear with their ears,
understand with their heart,
and be converted,
and I would heal them.

God presented Him to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus.

For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

What should we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet.

in order that the law’s requirement would be accomplished in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.

And just as Isaiah predicted:

If the Lord of Hosts had not left us offspring,
we would have become like Sodom,
and we would have been made like Gomorrah.

For I would not dare say anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed,

None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

I did not mean the immoral people of this world or the greedy and swindlers or idolaters; otherwise you would have to leave the world.

For the unbelieving husband is set apart for God by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is set apart for God by the husband. Otherwise your children would be corrupt, but now they are set apart for God.

But I have used none of these rights, and I have not written this to make it happen that way for me. For it would be better for me to die than for anyone to deprive me of my boast!

If we were properly evaluating ourselves, we would not be judged,

If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?

And if they were all the same part, where would the body be?

so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other.

yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, in order to teach others also, than 10,000 words in another language.

Indeed, we personally had a death sentence within ourselves, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.

I wrote this very thing so that when I came I wouldn’t have pain from those who ought to give me joy, because I am confident about all of you that my joy will also be yours.

But I sent the brothers so our boasting about you in the matter would not prove empty, and so you would be prepared just as I said.

For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we, not to mention you, would be embarrassed in that situation.

I wish you would put up with a little foolishness from me. Yes, do put up with me.

What I say in this matter of boasting, I don’t speak as the Lord would, but foolishly.

especially because of the extraordinary revelations. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so I would not exalt myself.

For am I now trying to win the favor of people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ.

But we did not give up and submit to these people for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would be preserved for you.

They asked only that we would remember the poor, which I made every effort to do.

Now the Scripture saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and told the good news ahead of time to Abraham, saying, All the nations will be blessed through you.

The purpose was that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles by Christ Jesus, so that we could receive the promised Spirit through faith.

Why then was the law given? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come. The law was put into effect through angels by means of a mediator.

Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly be by the law.

What happened to this sense of being blessed you had? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.

Those who want to make a good impression in the flesh are the ones who would compel you to be circumcised—but only to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.

Indeed, he was so sick that he nearly died. However, God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have one grief on top of another.

For you remember our labor and hardship, brothers. Working night and day so that we would not burden any of you, we preached God’s gospel to you.

But you, brothers, are not in the dark, for this day to overtake you like a thief.

we did not eat anyone’s food free of charge; instead, we labored and struggled, working night and day, so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

It is not that we don’t have the right to support, but we did it to make ourselves an example to you so that you would imitate us.

But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate His extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

So if you consider me a partner, accept him as you would me.

Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s household, as a testimony to what would be said in the future.

And who did He swear to that they would not enter His rest, if not those who disobeyed?

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.

Now if He were on earth, He wouldn’t be a priest, since there are those offering the gifts prescribed by the law.

For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second one.

Otherwise, He would have had to suffer many times since the foundation of the world. But now He has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

Otherwise, wouldn’t they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, once purified, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?

If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return.

since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

By His own choice, He gave us a new birth by the message of truth so that we would be the firstfruits of His creatures.

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours; yet he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the land.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that would come to you searched and carefully investigated.

They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when He testified in advance to the messianic sufferings and the glories that would follow.

For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy command delivered to them.

They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.

Then another horse went out, a fiery red one, and its horseman was empowered to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. And a large sword was given to him.

So a white robe was given to each of them, and they were told to rest a little while longer until the number would be completed of their fellow slaves and their brothers, who were going to be killed just as they had been.

He was permitted to give a spirit to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could both speak and cause whoever would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

He threw him into the abyss, closed it, and put a seal on it so that he would no longer deceive the nations until the 1,000 years were completed. After that, he must be released for a short time.