Bright Saturday

As the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.

¹²When Peter saw it, he responded to the people, “You men of Israel, why do you marvel at this man? Why do you fasten your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him walk? ¹³The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had determined to release him. ¹⁴But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, ¹⁵and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, to which we are witnesses. ¹⁶By faith in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which is through him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

After these things, Jesus came with his disciples into the land of Judea. He stayed there with them and baptized. ²³John also was baptizing in Enon near Salim, because there was much water there. They came and were baptized; ²⁴for John was not yet thrown into prison. ²⁵Therefore a dispute arose on the part of John’s disciples with some Jews about purification. ²⁶They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, he baptizes, and everyone is coming to him.”

²⁷John answered, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. ²⁸You yourselves testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before him.’ ²⁹He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore my joy is made full. ³⁰He must increase, but I must decrease.

³¹“He who comes from above is above all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. ³²What he has seen and heard, of that he testifies; and no one receives his witness. ³³He who has received his witness has set his seal to this, that God is true.