Page images
PDF
EPUB

1702

ACTS II-PETER'S FIRST SERMON

16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;1

17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:' 26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:

27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in the grave, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.

29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day,

30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;

31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in the grave, neither his flesh did see corruption. 32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.

3

34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,3 35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.

36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God

[blocks in formation]
[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small]

Zacchaeus in the Tree

AFTER THE NOTED ENGLISH ENGRAVER BRENDAMOUR.

+

"And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore-tree to see him: for he was to pass that way."-Luke, 19, 4.

Ο

NE other impressive incident took place in pres

ence of the accompanying multitude near Jericho. There was a rich publican named Zacchæus, the chief of all the publicans. He was a good-hearted man and, having heard much of the good deeds of Jesus, desired to see Him. Now Zaccheus was of short stature; hence when he saw the vast crowd that approached with Jesus, he knew it would be impossible for him to see from the ground, so he climbed a tree, a sycamore tree, by the roadside.

Jesus did not pass. Instead He paused beneath the tree and called to the publican, "Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to-day I must abide at thy house." Zacchæus was delighted; but the crowd protested, for the Jews hated the publicans. They cried out to Jesus that this man was a sinner. The sturdy publican answered, protesting that he gave half his wealth in charity. Jesus, unmoved as ever by the clamor of prejudice, declared that though a publican, Zaccheus was also a Jew as much as any of them; if he were a sinner, so much the more had he need of Christ. "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."

That night, therefore, Jesus dined with Zaccheus at Jericho; perhaps He lingered also a night, the Sabbath night, at Bethany, the home of Mary and Martha; His triumphal entry into Jerusalem was made upon a Sunday, Palm Sunday.

[graphic]
« PreviousContinue »