Sunday, April 12

1The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,

2until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen,

3to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

4And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, 'which,' He said, 'you have heard from Me;

5for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.'

6Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, 'Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?'

7And He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.

8But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.'

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2He was in the beginning with God.

3All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

4In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

5And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.

8He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

9That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

10He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

11He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

12But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:

13who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

15John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, 'This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.' '

16And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.

17For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.