Commemoration of the Apparition of the Sign of the Precious Cross over Jerusalem in 351 AD; Martyr Acacius the Centurion at Byzantium (303); Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem

Agrippa said to Paul, “You may speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand, and made his defense.

¹²“Whereupon as I traveled to Damascus with the authority and commission from the chief priests, ¹³at noon, O king, I saw on the way a light from the sky, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who traveled with me. ¹⁴When we had all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

¹⁵“I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶But arise, and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you a servant and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will reveal to you; ¹⁷delivering you from the people and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you, ¹⁸to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

¹⁹“Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, ²⁰but declared first to them of Damascus, at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.

Jesus came therefore again to Cana of Galilee, where he made the water into wine. There was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. ⁴⁷When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to him and begged him that he would come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. ⁴⁸Jesus therefore said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will in no way believe.”

⁴⁹The nobleman said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

⁵⁰Jesus said to him, “Go your way. Your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. ⁵¹As he was going down, his servants met him and reported, saying “Your child lives!” ⁵²So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. They said therefore to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour, the fever left him.” ⁵³So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” He believed, as did his whole house. ⁵⁴This is again the second sign that Jesus did, having come out of Judea into Galilee.