from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.”

就是从约翰施洗起，直到主离开我们被接上升的日子为止，必须从那常与我们作伴的人中立一位与我们同作耶稣复活的见证。”

就是從約翰施洗起，直到主離開我們被接上升的日子為止，必須從那常與我們作伴的人中立一位與我們同作耶穌復活的見證。」

從約翰之施洗起、到主從我們中間被接上升的日子為止，所有同我們來往的這些人中間、必須有一位、同我們作他復活的見證。』

自約翰施洗始、至其別我接昇之日、須於常與我儕偕者、選舉一人、同證其復起也、

自約翰施洗至耶穌升天之日宜更有一人、共證耶穌復生、

自約翰施洗、至其別我升天之日、有常與我偕者、必由其中選一人、可與我儕同證耶穌復活、

即自如望施洗、至其昇天之日、與我同處之人中、遴選一人、共為耶穌復活之見證。』

beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

That time began when John was baptizing. It ended when Jesus was taken up from us. The one we choose must join us in telling people that Jesus rose from the dead.”

beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us— one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.”

beginning from the baptism of John until the day he was taken up from us— from among these, it is necessary that one become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us— one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

beginning from the baptism of John, unto the day that he was received up from us, of these must one become a witness with us of his resurrection.

beginning from the baptism of John until the day He was taken up from us— from among these, it is necessary that one become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.

beginning from his baptism by John until the day he was taken up from us– one of these must become a witness of his resurrection together with us.”

beginning from the baptism of John, to the day that he was received up from us, of these one must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere— in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him.

The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all.

It was now the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, the Roman emperor. Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea; Herod Antipas was ruler over Galilee; his brother Philip was ruler over Iturea and Traconitis; Lysanias was ruler over Abilene.Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. At this time a message from God came to John son of Zechariah, who was living in the wilderness.Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.Isaiah had spoken of John when he said,“ He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,‘ Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!The valleys will be filled, and the mountains and hills made level. The curves will be straightened, and the rough places made smooth.And then all people will see the salvation sent from God.’”When the crowds came to John for baptism, he said,“ You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee the coming wrath?Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other,‘ We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.”The crowds asked,“ What should we do?”John replied,“ If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.”Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked,“ Teacher, what should we do?”He replied,“ Collect no more taxes than the government requires.”“ What should we do?” asked some soldiers. John replied,“ Don’t extort money or make false accusations. And be content with your pay.”Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon, and they were eager to know whether John might be the Messiah.John answered their questions by saying,“ I baptize you with water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am— so much greater that I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never ending fire.”John used many such warnings as he announced the Good News to the people.

This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It beganjust as the prophet Isaiah had written:“ Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way.He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,‘ Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’”This messenger was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.All of Judea, including all the people of Jerusalem, went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.His clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.John announced:“ Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am— so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals.I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”

So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak?

Before he came, John the Baptist preached that all the people of Israel needed to repent of their sins and turn to God and be baptized.As John was finishing his ministry he asked,‘ Do you think I am the Messiah? No, I am not! But he is coming soon— and I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the sandals on his feet.’

This encounter took place in Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said,“ Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!He is the one I was talking about when I said,‘ A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”Then John testified,“ I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him.I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me,‘ The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples.As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared,“ Look! There is the Lamb of God!”When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.Jesus looked around and saw them following.“ What do you want?” he asked them. They replied,“ Rabbi”( which means“ Teacher”),“ where are you staying?”“ Come and see,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day.Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus.Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him,“ We have found the Messiah”( which means“ Christ”).Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said,“ Your name is Simon, son of John— but you will be called Cephas”( which means“ Peter”).The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him,“ Come, follow me.”Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him,“ We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”“ Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael.“ Can anything good come from Nazareth?”“ Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.As they approached, Jesus said,“ Now here is a genuine son of Israel— a man of complete integrity.”“ How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus replied,“ I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”Then Nathanael exclaimed,“ Rabbi, you are the Son of God— the King of Israel!”Jesus asked him,“ Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.”Then he said,“ I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”

And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.

In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was,“ Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said,“ He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,‘ Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’”John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John.And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them.“ You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed.“ Who warned you to flee the coming wrath?Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.Don’t just say to each other,‘ We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.“ I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am— so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never ending fire.”Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John.But John tried to talk him out of it.“ I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said,“ so why are you coming to me?”But Jesus said,“ It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize him.After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him.And a voice from heaven said,“ This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”