but their witnes agreed not together And there arose certayne brought false witnesse against hym saying We hearâ— hym saye I wyll destroye this temple that is made with handes and within three daies I will builde another made without handes But yet theyr witnesses agreed not together In the meane season suche of the priestes as were chiefe in dignitie amoÌ„g whom as euery one was higheste in authoritie so was the same more wicked then the other and with them the residue of the counsell leste they shoulde haue semed to be rather murtherers then auengers of heresye and vngodlynesse sought for sum witnesse agaynst Iesus wherby they might put him to death They desired nothyng els but his death and destruccion who freelye offered all men life euerlastyng Yet could there no mete witnesse be found Iesus onely was he against whom mans craftines coulde fynde no coÌ„uenient witnesse For nowe there came in many before the Iudges who deposed against hym but their witnesse was so simple and sleÌ„der that it appeared not to those moste vniust felowes themselues sufficient to condemne him whome they hadde in very dede coÌ„demned alreadye among themselues before he was brought vnto his arraignement At the length there rose vp certain persons who gaue sore euidence against hym saying we will denounce vnto you suche thynges as we knowe certainly to bee true For we hearde hym saye with these eares I will destroy this temple made by mannes handes and after three dayes expired I will builde another that shall not be made with the handes of manne They woulde that this saying shoulde appeare to be a blasphemye spoken against the Lordes temple Yet did not their witnesse albeit to aggrauate the haynousnes of the crime it conteyned sum truthe seme lawfull and sufficient A man would haue sayed that the iudges had taken conscience in the matter and fauoured the defendaunte Howbeit this diligence of the priestes was for nothing els but bicause Iesus should not by any meanes be quit and escape this iudgement ¶ And the hye priest slode by amongest them and asked Iesus saying answerest thou nothing How is it that these beare witnesse against the But he helde his peace answered nothing Agayne the highest priest asked hym and saied vnto hym Arte thou Christ the sonne of the blessed And Iesus sayd I am Yet all this while is there nothyng doen agaynst hym There nedeth the helpe of the highest priest or bishop of all to destroye Iesu. He therfore perceyuing that the matter weÌ„t but easily forward rose vp in the middes of the couÌ„cel and began to speake vnto Iesus sekyng sum occasion of his wordes wherby he might condemne him Hearest thou sayth he what crimes are layed vnto thy charge Haste thou no answere to make hereunto Iesus held his peace and gaue hym not a word to answere For for what purpose shoulde he haue answered to those thynges which themselues iudged but light matters and of no wayght Therfore the highest Byshoppe styll sought occasion and questioned with hym saying Art thou that selfsame Christe the sonne of God who is euer to be praysed Iesus confessed he was For it was not his parte to denye that thyng whiche it behoued all men to knowe ¶ And ye shall see the sonne of man sitting on the right hande of power and comming in the cloudes of heauen Then the hye priest rent his clothes and sayed what nede we of any further witnesses ye haue hearde a blasphemy what thinke ye And they all condemned hym to be worthy of death sum began to spyt at him to couet his face and to beate him with fistes and to saye vnto hym Areade And the seruauntes buffetted hym on the face And because he knewe they woulde not beleue in hym or at the leastwise woulde contemne him by reason of the weakenesse of his body he added an other sentence to feare them withall You shall see ê™ he the sonne of manne sitting on the right hande of the diuine maiestie and cummyng on hygh in the cloudes of heauen with great glory and many aungels waytyng vpon him He meant of his seconde cumming when he will retourne not lykewyse lowe as he was then but in diuine maiestie a iudge both of the quicke and dead The wicked priestes were ignoraunt in the lawe yet mighte they haue learned of the Phariseis that both the cumminges of Messias were prophecied of by the prophetes the one not regarded and passed on the other royall and dreadfull But they had no leysure to compare Iesus dedes with the prophecies and foresayinges of the prophetes All that euer they wente aboute was nothyng els but to bryng hym to destruccion Here the highest priest clokyng his wickednesse with a vysure of Godlynesse rent and tare his clothes therby to make the blasphemy to appeare more haynous and detestable What nedeth there saieth he any further witnes yourselues haue heard an open blasphemy The wicked Bishop desyrous to set forth his owne glorye coulde not abide to heare Christes glorye aduaunced supposyng that what glory and prayse soeuer had been geuen to Christ thesame shoulde haue been to the great derogacion and minishyng of his maiestie â—oodnesse caused him a litle before to ryse out of his place and yet in so doyng he gaue reuerence vnto the sonne of god Now doeth he rente his clothes prophecying hereby how it shall cum to passe that the true bishop raignyng the carnall and figuratiue bishophode shal be cleane abolished and set aside The glorious sinagoge was rent but Christes coate remaineth still whole What is farther from blasphemy then to set forth the glory of the sonne of God then to testifie that all shall come to passe whatsoeuer the Prophetes haue prophecied to cum And yet the vngracious bishop iudgeth this to be suche a blasphemye as nedeth no witnesses What saith he thinke you here in All they with one coÌ„sent gaue iudgement that this saying was an offence worthy of death Forsothe a mete and a worthy councell for suche a priest Nowe is it to be considered howe theuangelyke veritie is entreated in such councels where as a wicked priest who faine would be taken for a god cannot abide to haue the glorye of the sonne of god auaunced where the Scribes do not vtter what thei haue learned of the prophetes where the head men and elders of the people be in a conspiracie with the chief prelates of the temple where suche waged seruauntes hyred souldiers beare a stroke as are of theyr owne naughtie disposicion enclined to all mischiefe For now some of them began to spitte at Iesus as thoughe he had been lawfully condemned and other some couered his face with a vayle and after they had buffeted hym sayed Prophecie and arrade who hath striken the. Thus they reprochefully scorned hym because he suffred the people to take hym for a prophete Furthermore the priestes seruauntes dyd lykewyse beat and buffet hym These thinges were more fell
coloure some cause of death maye be layed vnto hym Whereupon thus speake they vnto hym If thou be thatsame Christe whome accordyng to the godly sayinges of the prophetes we looke for tell it vs playnly But Iesus knowyng them to moue suche question 's not of any purpose to learne the trueth but to hunt for some matier of false accusacion agaynst hym thus made answere vnto them If I shall tell you what I am ye wyll not geue credite vnto me and in case I shoulde question with you by the testimonies of the scriptures what maner of mā it was promised that Messias should be and whether thesame tokens doe iustely agree in my person ye wyll not aunswere accordyng to your consciences as men that haue not anye earnest desyre to learne that is true nor yet to teache it Neyther wyll ye vpon any suche cause or consideracion acquite and discharge me if I shall declare myne innocencie vnto you For ye doe not by youre opposyng and examining me meane eyther vpō knowlage of the trueth to discharge me if I be innocent or to condēne me beyng found guiltie as in lawfull iudgementes is commonly vfed to bee doen but for this entent that the thyng which ye haue determined to doe ye maye seme to doe by some tytle and colour of iustice Therfore wyll not I tell you the thyng whiche though ye knowe yet ye wyll not knowe but an other thing will I tell you whiche ye shall one daye fynde to be true The sonne of man who at this present moment by reason of the weakenesse of his humayne nature and of his humilitie is not agnised and knowlaged of you beyng proud and hault mynded men shall in tyme to come be aboue earth on hye syttyng on the right hande of Gods Maiestie These wordes did Iesus speake to th entent that forasmuche as they had more mynde and wyll to putte Iesus to death because he was in fourme of humilitie by whome they mighte haue been saued then to enbrace hym they should haue knowledge that they should an other daye see hym a iudge a punisher of theyr vngodlynesse whō being a salueour promised and so many hūdred yeres loked for they would not now acknowlage Suche a worde semed vnto them all a meete and sufficient occasion to laye some false accusacion agaynste him in case he woulde no more but openly take vpon hym that he was the sonne of god Whereupon they saye Why than arte thou thatsame sonne of God of whome the foretellynges of the prophetes doe make mencion To this question doeth Iesus in suche wise tempre his aunswere that he neither woulde deny hymself to be that he was nor geue vnto them any occasion or matter falsely to laye to his charge nor yet as touchyng hymselfe shewe any spyce or poynte of arrogancie For the Lorde had more minde eche where by his actes and dedes to declare his diuine nature of godhead that was in him then in woordes to professe it or take it vpon him He therfore in this wyse shaped his aunswere Ye saye that I am after an hūble and lowly sorte geuing a by knowlage that the thing whiche they demaunded in manier fourme of a question as a thyng doubtful might with as fewe wordes as they vsed by only alteryng the manier of pronunciacion be spoken in a playne affirmacion that so it was But they iudgeing thissame to be a cause sufficient enough wherefore to accuse hym of blasphemy then the which crime there was none other emong the Iewes more worthie death sayed Why doe we yet styl require witnes we oure owne selues haue hearde a manifeste blasphemie out of his mouth Upō this verdite did all the whole coumpainy quickely agree as men that had afore decreed by any title whatsoeuer it were to put Iesus to death The .xxiii. Chapter And the whole multitude of them arose and led hym vnto Pylate And they began to accuse hym saying We founde this felowe peruertyng the people and forbidding to paye tribute to Ceasar and saying that he is Christe and a kyng And Pilate opposed hym saying arte thou the kyng of Iewes He aunswered hym and sayed thou sayest it Than sayed Pilate to the high priestes and the people I fynde no faulte in this man And they were the more fierce saying He moueth the people teachyng throughoute all Iewry and begonne at Galile euen to this place WHan they had found out a cause as to theimselues appered fit enough to put hym to death it remayned that they might remoue also the enuie and displeasure of his death from themselues and laye it on others Wherupon they thought it best to shift him ouer from themselues into Pilate the lieutenauntes handes to bee arayned before him to the entent he might seme to had been putte to death not by the Iewes but by the Gentiles Wherefore all the counsayle with the multitude also whom they had drawē to the partakyng of theyr wicked dede aryse vp altogether and bring Iesus to Pilate the Lorde president and lieutenaunte of Iewry For he though he were no Iewe hymself yet was an head officer there vnder the Emperour And here first of all the Iewes doe deliuer to the Gentiles and alienate from themselues theyr Messias beyng sent of God to them The Gentiles receiue him and wurship him whan he was commended and betaken to them The Lorde was already condemned by a foreiudgement in the counsaile of the Iewes with whō any pretense or coloure were it neuer so slendre did suffise as with mē that with rageyng madnesse thirsted the death of the innocent But because at the benche of a Pagane and heathē iudge there was more equitie in ministryng of iustice then in the courte of the Iewes it was necessarye to haue forged witnesses whiche shoulde laye many and great crymes to his charge who alone of all creatures was clere from all crime The beginnyng of theyr accusacion was of this sorte We founde and tooke this felowe with the manier as he was subuertyng our nacion For he forbade that any tribute should bee payed to the Emperour and in all his talke he hath auouched himselfe to be Messias the king These two crimes they thought they had gaily well deuised and that thesame crimes should excedyng greatly moue the mynde of the Lorde deputie for that aswel the one as the other of them comprised a spice of high treasō against Cesar So naughtily do these moste shamelesse craftie forgers of lyes assaulte the veritie euangelicall For what can bee deuised more shamelesse then suche lyes as these Iesus afore that tyme whan a piece of coyne was shewed vnto hym had made aunswere in this manier Geue and pay ye vnto Cesar such thinges as belong vnto Cesar and to god such thinges as belong vnto god And to be made a kyng whereas it had afore been willyngly offreed hym by the Iewes of their owne mocion he woulde none of it but fled
Maiestie and a common peace and tranquillitie And truly Pilate made this searche and enquirie not that he did take it to be true but to get some matter of him that was accused wherwith he might reproue the Iewes of falsehood Howbeit though Iesus knew wel inough the Iewes to haue falsely appeached hym that he should be desirous of a kyngdome to the Emperours losse or in despite of his highnesse yet to the entent he myght open and disclose the malice of the Iewes and commende the reasonablenesse equitie muche better in Pilate then in the Byshops and Phariseis though he were but a Gentyle and set naught by the Iewes religion for this skill I saye Iesus made hym aunswere saying Whether thinkest thou of thine owne coÌ„iecture that I am desyrouse of a kingdome or haue the Iewes accused me herof to thee Pilate both to declare his owne innoceÌ„cie the malice of the Iewes too sayeth I doe not coÌ„iecture this of mine owne head neyther doe I see in thee any thyng agreable thereunto It is a Iewes tale of a king to come Thinkest thou me to be a Iewe Thy quarelling couÌ„trey folkes and the Byshops committed thee into my handes seking all the meanes they can to haue thee put to death but because it is not the fashion of Rome to putte any vncondemned person to death if therfore thou haste not traÌ„sgressed in the trayterous desire of a kingdom then what faute beside haste thou made Because Pilate asked him of these thynges simply and meaning good fayth entending to deliuer the innocente Iesus did vouchesafe to aunswere hym by a rydle prouerbially teaching that it was an other maner of kingdom wherof the Prophetes had spoken a farre more excellent kingdom then is the kingdom of this worlde whiche consisteth in mans lawes in the ayde of meÌ„ which haue no power but vpoÌ„ bodies Howbeit he signified this kingdom to be an heaueÌ„ly kingdom which could not couet the kingdom of the worlde but contemne it and should not harme it but auaunce it into a better kinde My kingdom sayth Christ is no suche kingdom as the Emperours is his kingdom is terrestriall but mine is celestial And for the cause am I affeccionate to nothing that can harme the Emperours maiestie If my kingdom were of this world the world should not handle me as it doth vnreuenged For euen I be ye sure should haue as other kynges hath a garde of harnessed men I should haue squiers for the body suche as should onely attende vpon myne owne persone I should haue plentie of well appoynted men and lacke no ayde or succoure that would fight for me that it should not be in the Iewes power to doe the thyng they goe about against me vnrequired At this presente I haue fewe disciples and those that I haue bee vnapte to warre weake and poore I my selfe beyng vnarmed and no wartyer euen one that seketh to the helpe of other because my kyngdome is not of this worlde ¶ Pilate therfore sayed vnto hym Arte thou a kyng then Iesus aunswered thou sayest that I am a king For this cause was I borne and for this cause came I into the world that I should beare witnes vnto the trueth And all that are of the trueth heare my voyce Pilate sayde vnto hym What thyng is trueth And when he had sayed this he wente oute agayne vnto the Iewes and sayeth vnto them I fynde in hym no cause at all ye haue a custome that I should delyuer you one looce at â—aster wyll ye that I looce vnto you the king of the Iewes Then cryed they all agayne saying Not hym but Barrabas the same Barrabas was a murtherer Forasmuche as Pylate beyng a laye man and a Gentile did not fully vnderstande this mistye and darke saying albeit he heard that Iesus dyd not vtterly renâ—unce and denye the name of a kyng but dyd put a difference of kingdomes Pilate therfore sayed vnto hym Is it then true that thou arte somewhere a kyng whatsoeuer kynde of kyngdome it be and thou not perteynyng to vs Here now Iesus beyng earnestly asked of the iudge whether he were any waye a kyng or naye confesseth the trueth with great temperaunce and modestye with muche sobrietie and good aduisemente aunsweryng thus Thou sayest I am a kyng for whosoeuer asketh a question with lyke numbre of wordes the pronunciacion onely chaunged affirmeth the thyng And Iesus sayed further It is not my parte to denye any trueth namely consyderyng that for this cause I was borne and came into the worlde that I should deceyue no maÌ„ with any lye but that I shoulde beare witnes vnto the trueth He that hath a simple meke mynde not blynded with the lustes and desires of this worlde acknowlegeth lyketh well and heareth my voyce But Pilate hauyng no further intelligence of that whiche was spoken then that he supposed the thyng to be no matter for hym to know and as yet Christe had made Pilate no apte aunswere therewith either to sette the Iewes at a quiet or to dispatche them thence after he had asked of Iesus what was that trueth wherof he spake and was come into the worlde to beare witnes therof Pilate I saye wente oute agayne vnto the Iewes not tarrying for an aunswere of the thing that he questioned of What nedeth many woordes sayeth Pilate I haue examined the man and can fynde no faulte in hym worthy death Nor I am not here president and chiefe iustice vnder the Emperour because I shoulde with my sentence condemne the innocente but in case he be noysome to you and that ye thynke him fautye which I fynde not yet it standeth with equitie and good indifferencie that if ye wyl not spare and forbeare hym as an innocent at leastwaye in the honor of this holy feast and for religion sake pardon hym his life as an offender And in dede it is here a custome amonges you that in this feast of Phase whiche is of you moste highly solemnised and kept moste holye of all feastes I should at your request pardon and set at libertie some one offender Therfore ye shall haue free eleccion to chose the one of twayne eyther Barrabas that arrant these and notable robber a disturber of the publique peace or this Iesus a man in my iudgement fautlesse whome some folke sayeth is the kyng of Iewes It were beste surely that this man yea though he haue doen amysse should fele and enioye the graciouse fauour and priuiledge of youre solemne feast Wyll ye therfore that I forgeue this persone for your sakes for of trueth the president did not looke for so great outragiousnes in the Iewes that they woulde preferre a felowe openly knoweÌ„ full of mischiefe and a valiaunt ranke thefe before Iesus a man moste meke and innocent But the Iewes with a whole consenâ— and with a great lowde voyce cryed all of them We will not haue Iesus geuen vs but Barrabas The .xix. Chapter Then Pylate toke
whyther the Scribes and seniours dyd resorte But Peter alone for the other disciples beyng afrayed were fledde euery man hys waye although hys skirmishe came not well to passe yet he coulde leaue of vtterly the care of hys maister whome he loued hartely â–ª and yet again he durst not be present with hym notwithstanding he folowed as it might be a farre of and at length in the darke as vnknowen he entred into the court of Cayphas Finally entryng in he sate among the ministers warming him at the coles that whereas he coulde not defende Iesus yet at the least he myght see what shoulde be the ende of the iudgemente For as yet Peter had sum hope in hys mynde ¶ The chiefe priestes and elders and al the counsell sought false witnesse against Iesus for to put hym to deathe but founde none yea whan manye false wytnesses came yet they founde none At laste cause two false witnesses sayed he sayed I am able to destroye the temple of God and builde it agayne in three dayes And the chiefe prieste arose and sayed vnto hym Answerest thou nothyng why do these beare witnes agaynst thee But Iesus helde hys peace And the chiefe priest answered and sayed vnto hym I charge the by the lyuyng God that thou tel vs whether thou be Christ the sonne of God Iesus sayeth vnto hym Thou hast sayed Neuerthelesse I saye vnto you hereafter ye shall see the sonne of man sittyng on the ryght hande of power and cummyng in the cloudes of the skye Further the chiefe priestes and the whole counsel to make sum apperaunce of a lawfull and iust iudgement went about to suborne and set furth false witnesses agaynst Iesus whose innoceÌ„cie was so greate that it was very harde so to lye of him that the lye myght haue any colour of truth And after that many false witnesses came furth but of suche sorte that theyr testimonies saiynges were so yll framed together that they confounded themselfes insomuche that they were not thought meete neyther of those iudges neither of that cumpany At length cummeth furth two false witnesses whiche sayed He sayed I canne destroye the temple of God after three dayes make it vp They toke occasion of this lye by the wordes of Christe who sayed looce thys temple and in three dayes I wyll rayse it vp meanyng thereby that he shoulde be slayne of them but within three dayes he should lyue agayne The witnesses to make the thing more odious dyd depraue and mystake these woordes whiche they vnderstoode not For he sayed not I can destroye but looce ye and he sayed not I wyll build agayne but I wyll rayse vp appliyng it to hys body whiche should be slayne and lyue againe Therfore at thys testimonye because it semed to bee of some weyght and no nother was found more meete and conuenient the chyefe of the priestes roose vp and counterfeityng the person of a iuste iudge as thought he woulde geue Iesus liberty to defende hymselfe sayed Doest thou make no answere to these testimonies whiche be brought agaynst thee But Iesus helde his peace knowyng that whatsoeuer he sayed should be reproued mistaken Than the chiefe of the priestes desyryng to wreste out sumwhat wherby Iesus myght be condemned for nowe hys madnes was such that al tariyng semed to long sayeth vnto hym I coniure the by the liuing God tel vs whether thou be Christ the sonne of God This was a crafty question of the wicked byshop If he had denied that he was the sonne of God he would haue cryed out why than takest thou vpon thee the thing that thou arte not If he had affirmed it he woulde haue falsely accused hym for blasphemy If he had holde hys peace being required and adiured he shoulde seme to despise God and the authoritie of the highe prieste And what was he that dyd adiure hym A wicked bisshop whiche had boughte of Herode for money the annuall honoure and he which did assault the soÌ„ne of God adiured him by God Yet Iesus as it were shewing a reuerence to the honour that he did beare beyng demaunded whether he was Christ the sonne of God aunswered Thou hast spoken so confessing himselfe to be that he was that yet he auoyded the faulte of arrogancie And he added a thing whiche oughte to haue reuoked the wicked bishop from his purposed wickednes yet ê™ he thys I say vnto you hereafter ye shall see the sonne of man sittyng on the ryghte hande of the power of God and comming with maiestie in the cloudes of heauen He gaue to vnderstande that he being than lowe and condemned of the wicked shoulde once come with the power of God to be iudge ouer all the worlde ¶ Than the high priest rent his clothes saying He hath spoken blasphemie what nede ye of any moe witnesses Lo now ye haue hearde hys blasphemie what thinke ye They answered and sayde He is worthy to dye Than dyd they spitte in hys face and buffered hym with theyr fystes And other smote hym on the face with the palme of their handes saying Tell vs Christe who is he that smote thee The chiefe prieste beyng the more prouoked with this saying to thyntente that through the counterfeyted zeale of religion he myghte make the cryme of Christe the more sore he rente hys garmentes and sayde he speaketh blasphemously He doeth vsurpe and take vpon him diuine honour wheras he is but man What nedeth there any more witnesses Beholde nowe ye haue hearde manifeste blasphemie What thynke ye They aunswered he hath deserued deathe Than they began to handle hym cruelly with mockes and skornes as though he had bene lawefully condemned whiche also Iesus suffered moste mekely to geue vnto his a perfect example of pacience They did spette in his face and coueryng hys face they gaue hym buffettes and blowes Agayne some stroke hym on the face with theyr handes saying prophecye and tell vs Christ who is it that stryketh the With these skornes and rebukes they caste him in the teeth because he woulde bee taken for Messias and because he was honoured of the people by the name of a Prophete ¶ Peter sate without in the courte and a damsell came vnto hym saying Thou also waste with Iesus of Galile but he denied it before them all saying I wot not what thou sayest Whan he was goen in to the porche another wenche sawe hym and sayde vnto them that were there This felowe also was with Iesus of Nazareth And he denied it agayne with an othe saying I dyd not knowe the man A whyle after came they that stode by and sayde vnto Peter Surely thou art one of them for thy speche doth bewraye the. Than he began to curse and sweare that he knewe not the manne and immediately the cocke crâ—we And Peter remembred the saying of Iesus whiche he spake vnto hym before the cocke crowe thou shalt deny me thryse and he went out and wept bitterly In the
yf anye thing be taken from hym then he that setteth great store by that litle he hath and neuer maketh an ende to augment and encrease thesame Hereby he seemed to meane Iudas who albeit that he forsoke all that euer he had as the other dyd and folowed Iesus yet afterwarde was he perceiued to be a more naughtie couetous wretche theÌ„ those which after the iudgement of the worlde be rychest With suche woordes Iesus framed the myndes of his disciples by lytle and litle against the most greuous storme of all that was at hand the mencion wherof they vtterly abhorred For nowe began he to goe vp to Ierusalem the whiche name the disciples hated bycause they had hearde saye how theyr maister should there suffer muche shame and vilanie In other places of the ghospell it is oft tymes mencioned howe they went before as when beyng hungry they plucked the eares of corne In this vyage they coulde not so doe For it is a painfull iourney to goe vp to Ierusalem It is for them that be of valiant courage and strong in spirite and suche in whom this world hath naught that is his Therfore Iesus nowe goeth before and the disciples folowe after all heauy and murmuring against hym because he would willingly put himselfe in manifest daunger of lyfe They both maruayled what minde he had so to do and also feared their owne partes leste he woulde bring them into lyke daunger Suche disciples so grosse and weake withall suffered Iesus and doth it greue vs sith we be weake our selfes to beare with the dulnesse of the weake They gaped after a kyngdom they desyred to be partakers of glory and reasoned who should haue the chife place or preeminence but they vtterly abhorred that thing whiche was moste necessary for theyr saluacion ¶ And Iesus toke the .xii. agayne and began to tell them what thinges should happen vnto him Beholde we go vp to Ierusalem and the sonne of manne shall be delyuâ—red vnto the hie priestes and vnto the Scribes and they shall condemne hym to death and shall deliuer him to the Gentiles and they shall mocke him and scourge him spitte vpon him and kill him And the thâ—ede daye he shall ryse agayne Iesus therfore to geue vs an ensample how we ought in instructing of our neyghbour to teache him rather necessary thinges then delectable rather holsome thinges then pleasant After he had called vnto hym the .xii. whome his will was should not onely be witnesses â–ª but also in some pointes partakers with him of this storme Iesus I say printed in theyr myndes what he had first couertly and anon after plainly foreshewed vnto them saying Loe the tyme is nowe cum that I haue so ofte told you of We go vp to IerusaleÌ„ to th entent you maye perceyue that I willingly and wittinglye will suffer what tourmentes and passion soeuer I shall be put vnto For I must not flye syth the tyme appointed of god is present this sacrifice shal be made at Ierusalem because that place is appointed thereunto And the sonne of man shall be deliuered into the handes of the chief priestes Scribes Phariseis and elders of the people They shall condemne hym as a felon and a wicked person and at the leÌ„gthe after they haue accused hym of diuerse crimes iudge hym to deathe And then incontinent shall they deliuer hym as a notorious misdoer to the heathen people that they may mocke hym and spitte vpon him To be shorte he shal be scourged and slayne but on the thyrde day he shal arise again from death to lyfe It is nedefull for you to knowe remembre these thynges specially for twoe causes partly leste ye thynke that the same beyng altogether wrought accordyng to Gods determinacion be done by hasard of fortune vnknowyng to me or againste my wyll partly leste this storme wheÌ„ it is cumme trouble you out of measure as men that thought nothing thereon For it is not mete you shoulde take it greuously that I wyll willingly suffre for your cause according as my father hath determined I shall doe neyther is it conuenient that you should be dismayed as at a thyng whiche hath chaunced vnloked for sith I haue so ofte times warned you hereof before ¶ And Iames and Iohn the sonnes of zebede came vnto him saying Maister we woulde that thou shouldest do for vs whatsoeuer we desyre He said vnto theÌ„ What would ye that I should do for you They said vnto him Great vnto vs that we maye syt one on thy right hand and the other on thy left hand in thy glory But Iesus said vnto theÌ„ ye wâ—â— not what ye aske Can ye drinke of the cup that I drinke of â–ª and be baptised with the baptisme that I am baptised with And they sayd vnto him That we can Iesus sayd vnto them ye shall in dede drinke of the cuppe that I drinke of and with the baptisme that I am baptised withall shal ye be baptised in But to sit on my right hand and on my left hend is not rayne to geue but it shall happen vnto them for whome it is prepared Now when the Apostles were all in their dumpes and like men amased by reason of these wordes and durst not now counsayll hym to the coÌ„trary two of them that it is to wete Iohn and Iames the sonnes of zebede came vnto hym alone These .ii. after they heard hym speake of his resurreccion conceiued good hope that that same kyngdome which he had so oft tymes promysed to cumme shoulde very shortly begyn For as yet they had not cleane cast out of their mindes the desyre of worldly aduauncemeâ—t For they set their mother a worke by her desyred him to haue summe preemineÌ„ce soueraigne dignitie geuen theÌ„ in thesame kingdom but or euer they vttered theyr minde they did what they coulde to get a faythfull promise of him before haÌ„de to haue theyr requeste graunted because it should not theÌ„ be lawful for him to deny it them The Lord makyng as though he woulde deny theÌ„ nothing whatsoeuer they demaunded bad theÌ„ tel on hardely what great thing it was that thei sued for For it semed that they would desyre some weyghty thyng or hygh promocioÌ„ Lorde saye they oure peticion and suite is to haue this honourable preferment in thy kyngdome that we may sit nexte the the one of vs on thy ryghthand and the other on thy lefte Iesus by askyng them a question plainly bewrayed theyr ignoraunce and rudenes For as yet they dreamed vpon a certayne corporall kyngdome as yet theyr myndes were vpon the primacy Howbeit it was then no time to rebuke theÌ„ for theyr grosse ymaginacion but yet bryngeth he theÌ„ agayne to the remembraunce of death the whiche they so muche abhorred Because sayeth he ye perceiue not what maner a thyng the kyngdome of God is therefore ye woâ—te not what ye desyre You seke after vaynglory and consydre not by what meanes the true glory
tourmentes and affliccions were the waye to euerlasting ioyes that death were the way to lyfe eternall These thinges the quicke syghted of this world see not perfitely who do not onely with all theyr iyen loke after rule riches honoures pleasures and long life but also endeuoyre themselues to get thesame by vnlefull meanes as by counsayling before with Astronomiers Soothsayers Inchaunters or Necromanciers These thinges I saye they onely see whiche beleue the doctrine of the gospell and haue sure truste that they shall receyue and enioye the reward promised in thesame The .xi. Chapter ¶ And when they came nie to Ierusalem vnto â—ethphage and Bethany besides mounte Oliuete he sendeth forthe two of his disciples and sayth vnto them Go your waye into the towne that is ouer against you and assone as ye he entred into yt ye shall find a Colte bound whereon neuer man sate lewse him and bring him hither And yf any man saye vnto you why doe ye so say ye that the lord hath nede of him and streyght way he will send him hither And they went their way and found the Colte tyed by the doore without in a place where two wayes mette And they lewsed him And diuers of them that stode there sayde vnto them what do ye lewsing the Colte And they sayde vnto them euen as Iesus had commaunded And they let them go And they broughte the Colte to Iesus and cast theyr garmeÌ„tes on him And he sat vpon him And many spred theyr garmeÌ„tes in the waye other cut downe braunches of the trees and strawed them in the waie And they that wente before and they that folowed cryed saying Hosanna Blessed is he that cummeth in the name of the lorde Blessed be the kingdome that cummeth in the name of him that is Lorde of our father Dauid Hosanna in the highest THat thing was not yet wrought in the mindes of the disciples whiche Iesus expressed and set out by a figure in the blind man They yet sawe not perfitly with their inward iyes how happy is the death of those that folow Christes deathe They yet dreamed vpon this worldly kyngdom The lord therfore because he woulde the better fasteÌ„ this in their mindes how such as will folow him ought in no wise to desyre the kingdom of this world shewed them a spectacle wherby he derided and laughed to shorne all worldly pompe glorye as a thing that lasteth but for a season and soone shall perish yet by the same he plainely declared that he could haue commaunded whomsoeuer he woulde to do what it had pleased hym saue that his will and pleasure was rather to obey the wil of the heauenly father Finally he woulde haue all menne to know howe he was the selfesame persone whome the Iewes awayted for to cumme so many hundred yeares before according to the prophecies and foresayinges of the Prophetes for the saluacion of the whole worlde When therefore he approched and was nye vnto Hierusalem for he was by Bethphage and Bethany whiche are two litle townes in the mountaine called mounte Oliuete from whence a manne might haue sene Ierusalem he sente oute from thence two of his disciples geuing them in commaundement to do as foloweth Go ye saith he into that towne whiche you see yondre directly against you and by and by as ye be entred in you shall finde an Asses foale tied at the gate the whiche is not yet broken and whereupon no man hath ridden vnto this day leuse it and bring it hither vnto me And if any man aske you the question why you vntie it say again the lord hath nede of this and straight waies he shall send it hither to me The disciples went their way as they were bidden and so came and found an Asses foale tyed before the gate in a place wheras two wayes met and leused it In the meane while some of those that stode by when thei sawe straunge ment vntie the foale saide vnto them Syrs what meane you Why vntie you the foale The disciples made no other aunswere then the lorde commaunded them to make saying the Lorde hath nede herof The other notwithstanding it was vnknowen vnto them whom they called theyr Lorde did yet let the foale goe without anye further questioning or reasoning the matter with them The disciples after they had vntied it broughte it vnto Iesus Here I woulde haue the earnestly monished good reader that not onely the wordes whiche Iesus Christ spake but also whatsoeuer he did all his lyfe long was not doen at all auentures but by the counsayle and wisedome of god for mannes erudicion For there is nothing that hath not in it either an ensample set out to th entent to moue and styrre vs to vertue and godly lyuyng or a representacion of the olde prophecies or a fulfilling of the fygures wherwith the lawe dyd as it had bene with certaine darke misteries or riddles sygnifie Christe or els a sygnificacion of thinges that afterwardes shoulde happen and cum to passe And wheras the misticall sence of euerye thing is diligently to be searched out yet the more he approched vnto the tyme of his death when the busynesse of oure saluacion shoulde chiefly be wrought the more holyer mysteries were all thynges full of For nowe was that tyme at hand the whiche he greatly thirstyng and desyring all mennes saluacion spake of before saying when I shal be lifted vp from the earth I will draw all thynges vnto me For there was not roume ynoughe in Iewry for his charitie And there the fruite of the ghospell dyd not counteruayle the labour and diligence of the tiller For this cause Christe sent for the wilde and vnbroken asses foale wherupon no man had sytten before This foale signifieth the Gentiles who neyther obeyed the lawe of nature nor were vnder Moses lawes For vpon the Asses that is to saye the Synagoges backe both Moses and the prophetes had ridden Certaine of the newe disciples are nowe sent out to call the Gentiles who call them not to Moses but to Iesus Here woulde there not lacke some whiche woulde brable and speake against them and saye What do you why vntie you the foale For this foale had both many and also vncertaine Maysters and was tyed and stode where two wayes met Whoso is not obedient vnto goddes commaundementes hath as manye maisters as he hath vices that he serueth and is subdued vnto and is so tyed that he hath no house but standeth in sight where two wayes mete readie for euerye manne that wyll take hym But when Iesu calleth no man hathe power to resiste The Iewes cryed and sayde This saluacion is oures by promyse Why then are the Heathen Idolatours ioyned with vs Unto them aunswere was made he that is the Lorde of all hath nede of suche foales He is nowe wery with labouring in vayne among the Iewes and desyreth to reste hym vpon the vnbroken foale That this foale is vnbroken doeth not displease hym
Iesus he saluted and kyssed him according vnto his accustomed manoure Neyther dyd Iesus here abate any parte of his ientilnesse towardes the traytour He only nipped him by the conscience saying My frende for what entent art thou cumme He knew right wel howe he would neuer tourne from his wickednesse and yet vsed he all the meanes that myght be to refourme hym teachyng vs hereby to vse all the gentlenesse and fayre meanes we can possible towardes synners because we be vncertaine whether they will one daye tourne and cum to ameÌ„dment If they amend then haue we wun the soule health of our euenchristen yf they ameÌ„de not yet shall not our gentle demenure be vnrewarded A kysse is a sygne of mutuall loue charitie Charitie declareth vs to be the disciples of Iesu. Wherfore there is no greater point of enmitie then a fayned kysse Certes such a kysse do false prophetes eâ—eÌ„ in these dayes gyue vnto Iesu whiche vnder pretence of christian godlynesse serue their belyes and seke after the prayse of the world and in stede of the spirituall fredoÌ„e teache a very Iewishe religion At the token of this veâ—â—mous kysse the souldiers layed handes on hym and bound hym The disciples when they sawe this rufflyng and busynesse waxed fumishe and angrye And nowe Peter cleane forgettyng what the Lorde had tolde hym before thought the tyme was cum wherin it shoulde be his part to do summe worthy feate according as he had right couragiouslye and lyke a bolde man promised to do He drewe out his swearde and strake the high bishops seruaunt called Malchus because he more fierse then the rest first hasted to laye handes on Iesus Howbeit the Lorde so ordred the stroke of his right hande that he dyd Malchus no other harme saue alonely cut of his right eare the whiche thesame moste gracious lord anone as he had rebuked his disciple restored agayne and so made hym amendes for the hurt of this small and daungerles wounde So beneficiall was Iesus to all men that we ought to be ashamed to haue so muche as a wyll or an entente to be reuenged vpon any man I will not saye to hurte suche as hath not deserued our displeasure ¶ And Iesus answered and sayde vnto them ye be cum our as vnto a thefe with swerdes and with â—â—aues for to take me I was dayly with you in the temple teaching and ye toke me not But these thinges cum to passe that the scriptures should be fulfilled And they all forsoke hym and ranne awaye And there folowed hym a certaine young man clothed in lynnen vpon the bare and the young menne caught hym and he left his lynnen garment and fled from thence naked And they â—â—d Iesus awaie to the hye priest of all and with him came all the hye priestes and the elders and the Scribes And Peter folowed hym a great waye of euen tyll he was cumme into the palace of the hye prieste and he sate with the seruauntes and warmed hymselfe at the fyre Further as Iesus will not be defended with any other aydes then with the swerd of the gospel the whiche pearceth to the innermost partes of mens hartes so was it his wil that this armed company of souldiers should know that he could not haue been apprehended by any puissaunce or power of man vnlesse he had both willinglye and wittingly put hymselfe into their handes to be taken Therfore he turned him vnto them and sayed sirs what ayleth you to cum out hyther to me at midnight with sweardes and stanes as vnto a thefe that woulde stand at his defence with lyke weapon I was daylye at Ierusalem not priuely but openlye where euery body might see me in the place where moste haunt and resort of people is I meane in the temple healyng sycke folke and teachyng the trueth I was euer weaponlesse and accoÌ„panied but with a small number of disciples who wer likewise without armour and weapon Why dyd ye not there take me Surely you might haue done it then with lesse businesse if it had been so decreed But this is your tyme insomuche that you may by goddes sufferaunce do nowe to me what ye luste And that it shoulde so be the scriptures whiche caÌ„â—notlye haue foreshewed many yeares sithens Whan he had sayd â—o there was but who might firste lay handes on hym and anon the disciples fearyng themselues forsoke theyr lorde and raÌ„ne awaye sum to one place and 〈◊〉 to another It is lawfull for weake persons to flye who are not as yet 〈◊〉 and able to suffre persecucion Albeit there chaunceth a tyme when that to flye is nothyng els but to deny Christe There must we not flye but euen of our own accorde hasten to dye When that by thy death the Gospel taketh more disprofite then commoditie then flye awaye and hyde thy selfe But when that by thesame the ghospell hath muche profyte and contrarily greate disprofite and hinderaunce if thou auoyde the daunger therof then sticke not to go and mete the hangman There was among the twelue a certayne young strypplyng yâ— loued Iesus more theÌ„ the rest folowed hym being led with his armes bouÌ„d like a captiue or prysoner whose baâ—e bodye was clothed with one finelynneâ— garment only Hym they knewe and toke But he caste of his lynnen vesture and so escaped out of theyr handes sauing his lyfe by the losse of his garment He that so flyeth after the spirituall sence flyeth happely For what els is this bodye but the vesture and garmente of the soule As ofte as Satan layethe hande vpon the soule passe not vpon the linnen garmente and so saue thy selfe and escape out of his daunger Nowe beholde howe theuangelike veriâ—ie is handeled after it is betrayed of a wicked disciple The eruell garison of souldiers leadeth it bounde to the chiefe menne of bothe the states who are in a coÌ„spiracie to destroye it Fyrste it is brought vnto the hyghest priest There is no more mortall an enemy vnto Iesu then is a wicked Byshop Nowe because the matters should seme to be done with more auctoritie thither assembled all the priestes Scribes and elders This is the authoritie of this world whiche is in a conspiracie aganste poore symple and playne veritie but yet inuincible withal Al this while Peters hert fayled him not Howbeit he folowed Iesus a loofe and was nowe a cloked disciple and no meruayle sithe the tyme drewe nere when he would deny him For mans bolde stomacke is good for nothing els of it selfe but to make the synner more outragiously to offende Therefore he preased into the palace of the highest priest there sate amidmoÌ„g the lewde and vngracious companie of seruauntes and warmed himselfe by the fire as one that would be rather a beholder of the Lordes passion then a folower ¶ And the hye priestes and all the councel sought for witnesse agaynst Iesu to put hym in death found none for many bare false witnesse against hym
vnto this Sicamine tree plucke thy selfe vp by the rootes and plant thy selfe in the sea and it shoulde obeie you The Apostles because they well perceyued by these saiynges of Iesus that faithe is the fountaine of all euangelicall vertues whiche fayth the Lord did so diligentely require in them as a thyng necessarye yf they should bee hable to worke miracles whiche faith he dyd so many times allow and cōmend yea euen in many alienes too that wer not borne in Iewry which faithe could obteine any manier thyng what euer it were and throughe whiche fayth euen theyr owne selfes also had putte awaye soondry diseases from men and hadde cast out deiuils and because they knewe and remembred well that onely through defaulte and wante of faithe in theim it hadde hapened that they coulde not deliuer a certaine persone afore beeyng possessed with a dumme deiuill Albeit one shall not be a fitte man for the other necessarie preceptes of the ghospell neither onlesse he haue conceiued an vndoubted faith and truste in hys herte For whan will he despise the sensuall pleasures of this worlde whan will he poure oute his gooddes to bestowe theim on the poore whan wyll he releasse and clerelye forgeue a displeasure or a wrong dooen vnto hym by his brother whan will he dooe suche persones good as haue dooen hym the contrarye whan will he mekely and pacientelye take enpriesonmente scourgeyng with roddes and the peines of death which is not fully and throughly perswaded that he hathe an vnestimable large rewarde prepared for hym in heauen Thys thyng I saye because the Apostles well vnderstoode they saye vnto the lorde Maister forasmuche as we haue no goodnesse at all but of thee we praye thee that thou wilte encreace our faythe in vs. The Lorde hereupon as one that well knewe the Apostles to bee as yet grosse and vnperfeicte and to make requeste to haue their fayth encreace chiefly for such a purpose that they myghte haue the more power to shewe myracles dooethe in dede allowe and ratifye the strength and power of fayth yf it bee syncere and pure in a body as it ought to bee but he opened vnto theim that thesame oughte to bee coupled with humilitie and sobrenesse of the moste perfeicte degree and that it oughte not to bee shewed foorth for vainglorious bostyng but at suche times alwaies as either the preseruacion of the neighbour orels the glorye of God dooeth at the poynte of some extremitie necessarily require it And hereupon sayeth he by a similitude or comparison If ye haue fayth as a graine or corne of mustarsede whiche is litell in quantye and lowe by the grounde ne putteth not foorth his vertue of bityng the toungue excepte it be bruised in some thing or broken betwene the teeth ye shall saye to this Sycamine tree whiche by reason that the rootes are taken of a great wyde coumpace within the grounde semeth vnpossible by any strength or power to be plucked vp out of his place bee thou plucked vp by the roote and bee thou remoued into the sea there to stande as fast rooted as thou standest here nowe it shal obey your bidding Tertes by the graine of mustardsede the Lorde signifyed himselfe who wheras he shewed and vsed hymselfe the moste lowest and meanesse of al creatures yet dyd he hyde within hym a secrete power of the nature of the godhed which thā neuer afore vttred it selfe whan the grayne of his bodye was bruised on the crosse was in deathe as it were burried within the grounde The effectuall strengthe of this grayne wrought in the disciples whereof they oughte not to haue vsurped any porcion to theyr owneselfes as the which were not the principall autours ne heade dooers of the thynges that they wroughte but onelye ministers and seruauntes assured to be punished if they had lingred or slacked to goe through with executyng that was geuen theim in charge commission to dooe and bounde to putte ouer all the lande prayse vnto god if any thing had or shoulde by meane of theim bee iolyly or royally wel doen. ¶ Who is it of you if he had a seruaunte ploughing or feding cattalle that wil say vnto him whan he cometh from the fielde Goe quickely and sitte down to meate saieth not rather vnto him dresse wherewith I maie sup and girde vp thy self and serue me til I haue eaten and drounken afterward eate thou and drinke thou dooeth he thanke the seruaunte because he did the thinges that wer commaunded vnto him I trowe not So likewise ye whan ye haue dooen all those thinges whiche are commaunded you saye we are vnprofitable seruauntes we haue dooen that whiche was our duetie to dooe This good lesson afore goyng the lorde dyd by addyng thereunto an other parable engraue in the hertes of his disciples Whiche of you sayed he is a maister so muche for a seruauntes ease or commoditie to dwelle withall that in case he haue a seruaunt that is a tiller of hys grounde or his hearde to kepe hys cattall wyll saye to hym by and by as soone as he is come home from hys weorke out of the fielde Geat thee yonder goe sitte the downe to meate and well not rather thus speake come on make readye somewhat for me to haue to my supper and girde thy clothes to thee and come awaite vpon me vntill I shall haue taken my repaste of meate and drinke and than shalte thou take thee some meate and drinke afterwarde And yet this notwithstandyng that the saied seruaunte dyd vprightly and faythfully that his duetye was to do in the fielde dooeth his maister vse to geue hym thankes because he hath dooen all that was geuen hym in commaundemente to bee dooen I thynke not but he would haue punished hym well and truelye in case he had not dooen it And why so veraily for none other respecte or consideracion but because they are seruauntes and euen of duetye oughe all theyr seruyce to theyr mayster to whom theimselfes and all are due as to the true owener And as for the thanke and praise of all that euer is dooen the maister taketh to hymselfe who is accoumpted for the dooer of the thynges whatsoeuer he dooeth by meane of theim who without hym can vtterly dooe no manier good thyng at all And in lyke manier euen ye too take not vnto youre selfes the glorie of youre well dooynges but onely do ye your faithfull labour as your duetie is And whan ye shall haue dooen all thynges whiche been enioyned or commaunded you yet saye ye Unprofitable seruauntes we are what our duetye was to dooe we haue dooen and no more For this humilitie shal conserue and kepe the Iewel of feyth perfecte in you Al the rest of thynges leaue ye vnto your Lord. Leat none of you take into his owne handes as due vnto hym any honour ne preuent he not the iudgement of the Lorde He best knoweth hys owne
But all those came of Goddes liberalitie and not of his owne nature that was geuen hym at the firste yet he was chosen and sente of God for this purpose that accordyng to the prophecie that was prophecied of hym before he myght beare witnes of that godly lyght whiche being couered with his manhed was conuersaunt in the worlde not as who say that he whiche was God and so declared before by the voice of the father shoulde nede mannes witnes but to thintent he might by all manier of meanes cause hymselfe to bee had in credit with the people he woulde that Iohn shoulde bee the goer before the lyghte as the day sterre appearing before sheweth the rysyng of the sunne to the woorlde And also that by his preachyng he shoulde prepare mennes mindes to receyue that lyght whiche shoulde immediatly come after And because synne is the lâ—t wherby the heauenly lyght is not admitted and receyued Iohn dyd allure and call all people to penaunce proclaming openly that the kyngdome of heauen was at hande for the firste degree or step to the lyghte is that men shoulde hate their owne darkenes And this Iohn was of so great auctoritie emonge the Iewes for the excellente holines of his liuinge that many toke him for Christe himselfe whereby Christ would the rather bee coÌ„mended to the Iewes by his witnes as that time required to thintente that litle by litle as men do commonly vse he might crepe into the mindes of the people for otherwise the meaner person is alwaye wount to bee commended by the witnes of the greater And Esay had promised that at Christes cuâ—ming there shoulde a certaine excellente lighte arise and springe vp to theym whiche did liue in darkenes and in the shadowe of deathe and for that cause before that Christe was notable by his miracles many suspected Iohn to haue been the light whiche was promised of the Prophete But Iohn was onelye the publisher before of the true lighte and not the light it selfe Therefore Christe as the oportunitie of that time serued did as ye woulde saye abuse both the errour of the Iewes and the auctoritie of Iohn to prepare the mindes of all men to the faithe of the gospell Truely Iohn was a certaine light that is to saye a burninge candle and geuinge lighte feruently burninge in godlines and geuing light by holynes of life neuertheles he was nor the lighte whiche should bring life to the whole worlde but the woord of God whereof wee doe speake at this presente was that true light euer proceding from God the father the fountaine of all light from whence what soeuer is lightsome in heauen and earth boroweth his lighte what sparke of witte what knowlage of trueth what light of faith soeuer there be either emong men or Angels all the same cummeth from this fountaine ¶ That lyght was the true light which lighteth euery man that cummeth into the world As this worlde is blind without the sunne so all thinges are darke without this light The worlde also was full of darkenes on euery syde because sinne and abhominable errours did reigne in euery place And in the tyme of this darkenes there did often tymes shine foorth men excellent in holynes of lyfe as a lytell sterre in the moste darkest nightes and gaue some lyght as it were thorow a cloud howbeit they dyd it but to the Iewes only or to the borderers of Iewry but this true light geueth lyght not onely to one nacion but to all men that come into the darkenes of this worlde The Iewes went about to challenge this lyght seuerally to themselues because they thought it to be promised to theim onely for asmuche as touchyng the fleshe it dyd spring of theim and emonge theim but that light came to geue lyght to the hertes of all nacions of the whole world thorow the faith of the gospel Neither Scithian Iewe Spaniard Gothian Englisheman kynges nor bondmen be excluded from this lyght The lyght came to geue light to al men asmuche as lay in it but if any continue in their darkenes the faute is not in the lyght but in hym that frowardely loueth darkenes and abhorreth the lyght For the lyght shineth to al meÌ„ because none might pretend any excuse when willingly wittingly he perisheth thorow his owne faute As if a man shoulde get a knocke at noone daies because he woulde not lyfte vp his iyes ¶ He was in the world and the world was made by hym and the world 〈◊〉 hym not This woord of God was alwaies in the worlde not as who say that he whiche is without measure can bee contayned in any circuite of place but he was so in the world as the deuise of the workeman is in his woorke and as the ruler is in that thing he ruleth Also at that tyme this lyght dyd shine in the worlde sumwhat opening the godly power wisedom and goodnes therof by these thinges which were wunderfully creat by it and by this meanes it did then after a sorte speake to mankinde But many putting their felicitie in the visible thinges of this worlde whome for that cause of good righte our lorde Iesus did accustome to cal by the name of the worlde when he taughte them eternall thinges they beinge blinded with earthly affeccions did not acknowleage their maker The darkenes of mindes was so greate that the worlde knewe not the maker thereof but did wurship serpentes oxen goates lekes oynions yea that whiche is more vile then all these stockes stones dispising him of whome they had receiued both that themselfes were and all that they had ¶ He came emong his owne and his owne receiued him not They being accustomed to darkenes did abhorre the light and being blinded with sinne did enbrace deathe in stede of life yea and whan he did shewe himselfe more familiarly to the worlde being conuersaunt liuing in his manhed emonges men he was not knowen of them whiche had dedicate themselfes wholy to this worlde Neither is it any meruail though the gentiles beeynge woorshippers of ydols measuring all thinges by the commodities of this life being also ignorant of the prophetes and the lawe did not acknowleage him whiles he liued here in the shape of a man This is more to be meruayled at â–ª that when he came specially to his owne people to whome Messias had ben promised by so many prophecies of the prophetes to whom he had bene shadowed with so many figures of whom he had ben loked for so many hundreth yeares before which saw him do miracles heard his teaching yet they wer so far from receiuing of him that with fierce mindes they wente about his destruccion whiche came specially to saue them And procured that innocentes death who frely brought life to his enemies They sawe did not see heard and did not heare hauing intelligence did not vnderstand whiche thorow a froward study of the lawe did rise against him whom the
his disciples kepyng silence for feare because he of late escaping the handes of the Iewes was thought to be more safe in the deserte Iesus sayd vnto them Let vs go into Iewrie again WheÌ„ the disciples heard Iewry named remembryng howe vengeable and cruell the Phariseis hatred was cowardes him and how often they had taken vp stones to cast at him how ofteÌ„ they endeuored themselues to apprehende hym the disciples I saye stoode in dreade not onely of theyr maisters harme but also of theyr owne For as yet they had not receiued the holy ghost and bare a certayne worldely affeccion towardes Iesus themselues lykewise through feblenes lothyng death Therefore dissuading him from goyng agayne into Iewrie they say Sir haue you forgotten how that there a while agoe the Iewes would haue stoned you vnlesse ye had secretely withdrawen youre selfe And will you goe thither agayne puttyng your selfe in open daunger But Iesus did coumforte theyr fearefulnesse by a parable signifying that nothing is to be dredde of them that cleane to Christ who is the light of the worlde For the night hath vayn feares The daye knoweth no suche terrours Hathe not the daye sayeth Christe twelue houres The night shall not come before his tyme. In the meane tyme whosoeuer walketh in the daye stumbleth not for why the sunne maketh him to see and to eschewe stumblyng But the sunne beeynge taken awaye whosoeuer walketh in the night stumbleth because he lacketh light I am the light of the worlde it is right mete that you be guided by me and folow my conductyng and not to goe before the lighte Be not afrayde before the tyme. So long as I geue light vnto you there is no ieopardie The night shall come wheÌ„ you beeing disseuered from me shall bee troubled ¶ This sayd he and after he sayd vnto them our frende Lazarus sleapeth but I got to wake him out of slepe Then sayd his disciples Lord if he slepe he shal doe well inough Howbeit Iesus spake of hys death but they thought that he had spoken of the naturall slepe Then sayd Iesus vnto theÌ„ playnly Lazarus is dead and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there because ye may beleue neuertheles let vs goe vnto him When Iesus had with this saying mitigate the Apostles feare he sheweth the cause of his goyng furth on his iourney saying Our frende Lazarus sleapeth I therfore go hence to wake him When as the disciples that were troubled with feare supposed that Iesus dyd not speake of very deathe but of the common slepe they aunswer Sir if he slepe there is no cause why you should goe thither for slepe in sicke folke is woont to bee a token of recouery of health The disciples wer loth to go into Iewry again and therfore to the vttermost of theyr power they doe auoyde the causes of going thither But Iesus did by litle and litle prepare the myndes of his earnestly to consyder and beholde the miracle to come For he had therfore leauer say fyrst he was aslepe then dead to the entente he might after the vsage of holye scripture shewe the hope of the resurreccion For they be rather aslepe then dead whiche reste to lyue agayne Neyther is it so easy for any of vs to awake hym that sleapeth as it is for the Lorde to call the dead to lyfe Therefore the discyples not vnderstandyng the thyng that he spake of sleape and waking out of sleape to let them know that no hidde thyng was vnknowen to him he sayth vnto them more playnly Lazarus is dead nor he added not the thing that was than more stoute to be spoken as concerning the raysing him vp agayn For he woulde rather that to be signifyed than expressed and hys mynde was rather to dooe the thyng than promyse it euery where makyng readye for vs an exaumple of modestye and temperaunce And because he aunswered them that tolde hym his frende was sicke that that sickenes was not deadly but chaunced to the entente that Goddes glorye and hys sonnes also shoulde bee set furthe by it a lyke thyng sheweth he to his disciples saying I am glad that I was not there while my freÌ„de was sicke and dyed and for youre cause I reioyce that youre truste whiche I perceyue to bee weake as yet may bee strengthed and confirmed with a more euident miracle For if the sicke man had mended and recouered healthe I being present it might haue bene thought a casualtie in case I had at hys sisters requestes raysed hym that had bene newly dead the Phariseis whiche fynde faulte with all thynges mighte haue layed for them that it had bene a lacking of senses or but a swouning no death for that sumtimes happeneth in some diseases that the bodies lying a long time in swoune come to lyfe agayn Now for asmuche as it is a very death in dede there shal be a more plenteouse matter of beliefe Therfore let vs go to him The going thither pleased not the disciples for feare of the Iewes which feare slacke sore in theyr mindes and yet coulde they not improue the godly and weightie cause of that iourney And albeit Iesus was not ignoraunt what thing troubled the myndes of his disciples and though also he swaged theyr dreade by reason that he sayed he shoulde goe to Bethania and not to Hierusalem yet neuerthelesse the nyenesse of the place that they feared made also theyr timorouse myndes afrayd Then sayed Thomas which is called Didimus vnto the disciples let vs also â—o that we may die with hym Then went Iesus and fouÌ„d that he had lien in his graue tower daies already Bethanie was â—yt vnto Hierusalem about fiftene furlonges of and many of the Iewes came to Martha and Marie to coumfortt them ouer theyr brother The disciples being carefull and pensyfe and yet durste they not refuse to do their maisters commaundement Thomas whome the Grekes cal Didimus and in Latine is named geminus a twinne being more timorouse than the rest sayeth vnto his felowes let vs also goe if it be certaynly thus to dye with him for as muche as his determinate mynde is to bring bothe himselfe and his into a manyfeste peril of lyfe wheras he may so deuise that bothe shall be in safetie Iesus than went furth with hys disciples to Bethania founde that Lazarus had lyen in hys graue fower dayes alreadye Uerily Bethania was about fiftene furlonges of from Hierusalem and thereof came the discyples feare and thereupon also arose occasion that caused the miracle haue moe witnesses and lokers vpon For the nighnes of the place caused many to come thither out of Hierusalem euen of fauoure they beare to Marie and Martha and of neyghbourlye duetie to coumforte them in the deathe of theyr brother Whiche kinde of office and duetie was wont to be doen to riche folke euen for honour sake Martha assone as she hearde that Iesus was cumming went and met him but Marie sate stil in the
all meanes had bene proued geue place to the obstinate furye of the Iewes Iesus I saye woulde make no aunswere at all vnto the president leste he should be thought to haue made any meane howe to get oute of theyr handes because he would not seme to be compelled to death And that hitherto he made aunswere was because he would haue recorde of his innoceÌ„cie but his pleasure was to dye willingly and gladly ¶ Then sayed Pylate vnto hym Speakest thou not vnto me knowest thou not that I haue power to crucifie thee and haue power to looce thee Iesus aunswered Thou couldeste haue no power at all agaynst me except it were geuen the from aboue therfore he that delyuered me vnto thee hath the more synne And froÌ„ thence furthe sought Pilate meanes to looce hym but the Iewes cryed saying If thou let hym go thou arte not Ceasars frende for whosoeuer maketh hymselfe a kyng is agaynst Ceasar When Pilate heard that saying he broughte Iesus furth satte down to geue sentence in a place that is called the pauemeÌ„t but in the Hebrue toÌ„gue Babatha It was the preparyng daye of Easter about the sixt houre And he sayth vnto the Iewes Behold your kyng They cryed awaye with him awaye with hym crucifye him Pilate sayeth vnto them Shall I crucifye your kyng The hye priestes aunswered We haue no kyng but Ceasar Then delyuered he hym vnto them to bee crucifyed Pylate meruaylyng at the mans silence standyng in hasarde of his lyfe consideryng he had the iudge so muche his frende that he dyd prouoke hym to aunswere saied Why doest not thou that arte in ieoperdye of lyfe make me an aunswere knowest thou not that I haue power and auctoritie ouer thee whyther thou shalt lyue or dye for I am the presidente and chiefe iustice of this region And it dependeth vpon my will and pleasure whether thou shalte be crucified or quitte and let looce Unto these woordes Iesus made no suche aunswere as the presidente loked for whiche presidente desyred to be instructed for the defence of Iesus cause intendyng to bee in steade of a iudge an aduocate on the defendauntes syde But because that waye it shoulde somewhat haue appeared that Iesus hadde not bene willyng to haue dyed he aunswered no suche lyke thyng But his aunswere was onelye concernyng the power whiche Pylate dyd arrogantelye attribute to hymselfe signyfying that it was neyther in Pylates power to sette hym at libertie seyng that the power whiche he had shoulde condescende to the furie of the Iewes nor that Pilate hymselfe shoulde be able to doe oughte agaynst hym excepte he woulde of his owne voluntary wyll suffer it of trueth thou hast sayeth Iesus power accordyng to mannes lawes but thou couldest haue no power on me vnlesse it hadde been permitted thee of him whose power passeth all mannes power And in dede thou fauourest innocencie but yet the naughtines of other ouercummeth thee and leadeth thee from the righte trade Wherfore the people of the Iewes which be the auctours of this my passion and deathe and that with theyr violence constrayneth the iudge to condemne an innocent persone sinne more greuously When Pilate heard this and thereby perceyued bothe the modestie and the clearenes of him that was accused and that also the malice of the Iewes yea and his owne indifferencie too was not vnknowen to the same the more Pilate fauoured him because he sawe that the manne was nothing moued or disquieted no not with the peryll of death that he stode in when Pilate coÌ„sidered all this he wrought al maner waies that at leaste by some meanes he might cleare and sette Iesus at libertie The Iewes perceyuyng thesame and that the presidente made light of the cryme whiche fyrste was layed against hym concernyng Moses lawe and that he ceased not to doe all that he coulde to dimisse Iesus they fall in hand againe with the first fault whiche to be neglecte they declare to be daungerous to the iudge hymselfe and saye therfore Though it doe not appertayneÌ„ vnto the that he hath offended against our God certaynly wheras he hath offended against the Emperoure thou haste to doe withall Whosoeuer maketh clayme to a kingdome without the Emperours commaundement offendeth in the cryme of lease maiestie committeth hye treason But this felowe maketh himselfe a king if thou therfore doe let looâ—e acquite him thou which fauourest his enemy art not yâ— Emperours frendes After that Pilate had heard the Bishops and Phariseis that were conspired together against Iesus the mayne multitude withal cry out these wordes aloude although he was not ignoraunt that they went about a false matter yet because he sawe well that the malice whiche the priestes and Phariseis bare towarde Iesus could not be appeasâ—d and sawe also that the headmen and the common people were wunderfully consentyng to the sayed grudge and malice and all they with one agremeÌ„t brute to take away this one mans life furthermore when Pilate perceiued also Iesus to be in dede nothyng fawtie at al but symple a poore innocent man that made no shifte for himselfe and lykewise thought in the meane tyme howe that vnder Emperours many had been in daungerouse hasarde of very enuy without any iust cause And thought too of himselfe that he alreadye had sufficiently traueiled against the whole conspiracie agreed vpon betwene the noble menne and the commons in the defence of one poore mannes innocencie Pilate I tell you vpon these skilles determined with hymselfe to condescende and satisfie theyr malice but in suche sorte that in condemning Iesus he thought withal to get him his pardon and deliueraunce and begynnyng to speake firste of his owne innoceÌ„cie deriued the grudge of the wicked facte vnto the Iewes and layed it vpon theyr heades Nowe than was Iesus therfore brought forth as giltie when as in condemnyng of hym no kynde of lawfull iudgement was vsed Pilate sate downe in the place of lawful iudgemeÌ„t on hye to geue sentence he sate in a high place to be seen of all folke and of the height it is called of the Hebrewes Gabatha the Grekes verily call it Lithostrotos because it was paued For so it behoueth Iesus condemnacion to be solemne publike leste his innocencie should be hidde from any man For so to be condemned was to be quitte and cleared Iesus was deliuered vp to the crosse but the iudge gaue sentence vpon the Iewes And nowe the tyme drewe nye that according to the maner of the solemne feaste innocente bloude should be offered in sacrifice for the saluacion of the worlde for it was the Sabboth euen nowe called good fryday whiche falleth in the Easter feast aboute the sixt houre And therfore the Iewes called more vrgently vpoÌ„ the matter vnwittingly doyng therby seruice to the thyng that God appoynted that is to haue this sacrifice made in conueniente tyme and due season And so than Pilate nowe by reason of his Iudiciall garment
any thyng that his brothers necessitie requyred But the apostles which were as chiefe pieres of thys newe citie beeyng dispurueyed of worldely goodes but ryche in gyftes of the holy ghost augmented theyr company euery day more than other bearyng wytnes of our Lord Iesus Christes resurreccion with wonderfull great stedfastnesse of mynde and myghty power in workyng of miracles For his resurreccion was pryncipally to be perswaded by witnes of miracles For many one at his death had been present and not a fewe had been pryuy to his buriall And so lyued thys newe comminaltie vnder ryght valyaunte Capitaynes hauyng aboundaunce of all thinges for what they lacked in goodes was supplied and borne out with mutuall loue and concorde For although many one were poore yet was there none amongest them that lacked For as many as were possessioners eyther of landes or houses made sale of them and brought the pryce therof and laied it at the Apostles feete that they whom reuerently as fathers they regarded myght distribute the same goodes in common at theyr owne pleasure Fynally there was no lesse vpryghtnes amongest them that dealed the pryce of mennes possessions then was with those whiche brought it Trueth and vpryght dealyng is seldome founde among stewardes of housholde and layers out of money But here was that distribucion made among them accordyng to euery mannes necessitie without any choyse had of persons There was in this company one Ioseph whome the apostles by syrname called Barnabas whiche woorde in the Sirians toung betokeneth sonne of comforte by bloud and auncestry a Leuyte borne in Cipres This Ioseph bycause he dyd excell among other in great giftes and qualities of the mynde by reason wherof he was called Barnabas for the ioyfull comforte that the multitude had of his accesse was an example for many to folowe that lyberaliâ—ie whiche was semely for the ghospel For wheras he had lande in Cypres he solde it and brought the pryce therof and layed it at the Apostles feete as though it had been a vyle thyng and woorthy to be despised But yet were the Apostles of suche holynes that they would take nothyng therof for them selues aboue other The .v. Chapter ¶ A certayne man named â—nanias with Saphira his wyfe solde a possession and kepte awaye parte of the pryce his wyfe also being of counsell and brought a certayne part and layed it downe at the apostles feete But Peter said Ananias howe is it that Sathan hath fylled thyne herte that thou shouldest lye vnto the holy ghost and kepe awaie part of the pryce of the landes Pertayned it not vnto the onlyâ— after it was solde was it not in thyne owne power why hast thou conceiued this thing in thine herte thou hast lyed not vnto meÌ„ but vnto God Whan Ananias heard these wordes he fell downe and geue vp that ghost And great feare came on all them that hearde these thynges And the young men arose vp and put him aparte and carryed him out and buryed hym BUt lyke as Barnabas playne trueth without colourable deceite moued many to folowe his lyberalitie so was here an exaÌ„ple to put al people in feare that in matters of spiritual charge one should not deceyue an other For the holy ghost loueth playnes of hearte and hateth al deceite dissimulacion In like maner Iudas among the twelue Apostles was an example that no man shoulde put affiaunce in hymselfe but that eche manne should with all carefull diligence continewe in doyng his dutie There was of this companie a certayne man called Ananias one farre vnlyke vnto his owne name because he throughly not consented to the gracious fauour of God This Ananias had a wyfe called Saphira not vnlyke vnto the housbande Whan that Ananias more ambicious of honour theÌ„ desirous of perfite holynesse sawe dyuerse persons hyghly commended of all menne for their free sincere lyberalitie he solde his lande laied vp parte of the money his wyfe being pryuy therunto and allowing the same that of the two partes wherein his money was deuided the one shoulde purchase him prayse of the people with an estimation also or fame of holynesse the other woulde he kepe for himselfe yf any nede should happen distructing doubtlesse the holy ghoste and more caring or prouiding for himselfe then for the whole company of his brethren rekenyng thus with himselfe yf other dye for hunger I am sufficiently prouided for Suche forecasting was not besemyng a man that should put his whole affiance in Christe who promysed that they shoulde wante nothyng that seketh for the kyngdome of god and the rightwysenes therof neyther was this imaginacion mete for hym whiche shoulde bee of one will wyth other and of one mynde Whan he had brought to the apostles feete parte of the money that his liuelode was solde for Peter vnderstandyng by inspiracion of the holy ghoste whiche was in him aboundauntly the mannes vngodly dissimulacion sayed Ananias where as thou hast once dedicate thy selfe to the holy ghost and seen his power by so many tokens euidently declared why hast thou suffered the deuill nowe eftesones to put this in thy mynde to take by stelth awaye parte of that money whiche thou receyuedst for thy lyuelode as though thou couldest face downe the holy ghost with a lye who can in nowyse be deceyued and to bryng into this companie suche a presidente moste daungerouse If we had constrayned thee to sell thy liuelode against thy will some cause peraduenture it might haue been for to dissemble nowe sence thou diddest this of thyne owne free wyll whiche thou haste done to what purpose auayled it to deface that thyng with hypocryse whiche should haue bene to other an example of liberalitie Mightest not thou haue kept thy lande in thyne owne hand yf thou wouldest and moreouer after thou haddest solde it couldest not thou haue reserued the money wholy vnto thy selfe They for theyr trueth playne dealyng are well commended whiche of theyr owne free will bringeth forth all that they haue For we enforce no man thus to doe yf he be not willyng to thesame Upon what occasion than hast thou stablyshed in thy minde thus to disseÌ„ble in this matter It is not man that thou hast made this lye vnto but almightie god Yf thou thinkest that god may be deceyued thyne opinion of him is false and vngodly But yf thou beleue that he is pryuie to all thynges eyther thou despisest his righteousnesse or els thou thynkest that he fauoureth falsehood Ananias than perceyuing that thapostles knewe hys falsehood sodaynly fell downe as one that had be stricken to the herte with a sharpe rebuke and yelded vp the ghoste One for an example suffered death that many myght be therby preserued For after that this facte was bruted abrode it made many sore afrayed that none durste enterpryse any suche lyke offence against the holy ghost Young men remoued thence the dead corse and whan they had carryed it foorth buryed it
the name of Iesus yea as one that endeuoured hymselfe to expresse the vertuous steppes of thapostles But forasmuche as exceliente vertue procureth it selfe enuie lyke as dothe the sterne wynde draw to hym the white cloudes certayne rose vp againste Steuen of diuers felowshyppes of the whiche one was called Libertines another Cyrenites sum of Alexandria an other sorte of suche that came out of Cilicia and Asia For to these countreyes whiche were ioynyng vnto Siria aboue al other were the Iewes dispersed all these sortes as though they had be of one conspiracie arose together against Steuen dysputyng with him and yet coulde not all they although manye in numbre stand in reasoning against this one yong mans wisdome the liuely force of his courage for because the holy ghost whoÌ„ he was ful of spake in him Than sent they men whiche sayed we haue heard him speake blasphemous woordes against Moises against God and they moued the people and the elders the Scribes and came vpon him and caught him brought him to the councel brought forth false witnesse whiche sayed This man ceaseth not to speake blasphemous woordes againste this holy place and the law for we heard him saie this Iesus of Nazareth shal destroy this place and shal chaunge the ordinaunces whiche Moyses gaue vs. And all they that sate in the couÌ„cel loked stedfastly on him saw his face as it had ben the face of an angell Marke me here the maner and fashion of the wicked Whan they had caste of al trueth vnable to make theyr partie good in disputacion thei fell to practise of foregeyng lyes and beyng once put to the wurse by wisdome of the holye ghoste they gaue themselues wholy to the practyse of diuilyshe deceytes For they brought in certaine men with false witnes that saied thei heard Steuen spoâ—ke blasphemous wordes against Moyses against god And there was none offence among the Iewes that more deserued deathe than did blasphemy and more detested with the people Consider here good reader lyke inuencions againste the seruaunte as wer before practised againste the Maister They brought in false accusers bycause they would not be seen in theyr owne persons to reuenge the inwarde grief of their mindes whiche thei had conceiued for the blancke they wer put vnto beyng menne of themselues insufficient to cope with Steuen in disputacion An hainouse crime â—ought they out by their false ymaginacion against him and cloked theyr cankred malice with a pretensed loue to religion Than wer the people with the elders also Scribes by meanes of these false tale tellers whiche had been preuelye sent in sore moued against Steuen insomuche as all they with one assent together toke hym violently awaye and haled hym before the councell Here came they furth before them that wer the hyred recordes for to playe out their partes and to saye this man haue neuer done breaking out into blasphemouse woordes againste this place bothe holy and with all vs honorable and agaynste Moyses lawe that was delyuered vs of god For we hearde hym saye that Iesus of Nazareth woulde destroye this place and chaunge the ordinaunces that Moyses gaue vs. But this was Steuens reporte vpon relacion of the apostles howe Iesus had prophecied to them that the temple and citie lykewyse should be of theyr enemyes ouerthrowen euen from the foundacion for the peoples infidelitie This rehersall of Steuen craftely they wrested to a false and sâ—launderouse accusacion A man myght well affirme these to bee thesame persones the accused Iesus reportyng thus of his woordes we hearde hym saiynge I wyll destroye this temple and sette vp an other in thre dayes But Steuen at this sharpe and cruel accusacion was nothing moued in his mynde for he was cleare in his conscience insomuch that he from the botome of his herte appeared in his very countenaunce to be innocent For the minde that knoweth euel by it self is neuer out of feare This his stedfastnes in couÌ„tenaunce put his accusers soone to rebuke for theyr shameles falshood For those that sate there in counsayle beholdynge hym and markyng well howe boldelye he toke the offence that was layed to his charge same hym so lytle discouraged at the matter or dismayde that his face seemed to vtter by countenaunce sum thynge aboue mannes excellencie and a certayne chearfulnes withall and maiestie besemyng for an Aungell to haue The .vii. Chapter ¶ Than sayed the chief priest is it euen so And he saied ye meÌ„ brethren fathers herken The god of glory appeared vnto our father Abraham whaÌ„ he was in Mesopotamia before he dwelt in â—harran saied vnto him Get the out of thy countrey and from thy kinâ—ed cum into the lande which I shal shewe the. Than came he out of the lande of Chalde and dwelt in Charran And froÌ„ thence whaÌ„ his father was dead he brought him into this lande in which ye nowe dwel and he gaue him none inheritauÌ„ce in it no not the bredeth of a foote And promysed that he would geue it to hym possesse to his feede after hym when as yet he had no childe THan demauÌ„ded the high prieste of the accused person to thintent he might frame his senteÌ„ce in iudgement towardes him after forme of lawe as he did before in condemning Christe this questioÌ„ whether he had ought to answer to those thiÌ„ges whether he would acknowledge the offence that was brought againste him Than Steuen beyng inspyred with the holye ghoste beganne in this wise to make answere to the playnte profoundly with a rehersall made euen from the beginning Honorable audience all that here be presente eyther brethren by trade of our cuntrey religion either els by reason of auncientnes and authoritie fathers geue eare to me in my defeÌ„ce of innocencie as ye haue done to mine accusers paciently I haue neyther vsed to speake contumeliously against god neither against Moyses nor against the temple but my endeuoure hath been not disagreynge here from Moyses to aduaunce goddes glory and that spirituall temple am I a buyldyng like as god commaunded me wherin god that is the very spirite is best pleased It is no blasphemy for a man to set furth that thing to the vttermost of his power whiche Moyses shadowed in figures whiche the prophetes being inspired with goddes holy spirite hath before spoken of whiche the sonne of god the was sent downe to earth for the same purpose hath both begonne and put his owne in credite withall to finyshe which the holy ghoste now perfourmeth for all peoples saluacioÌ„ through them that beleue the gospel But to striue so obstinately against the will of god beyng so well knowen and so bounteous towarde al men is naught els then to hate god is none other thing than to blaspheme god Whiche obstinate maner this nacion hath not of late daies begonne but what they haue begonne longe agoe to do now they neuer ceasse to continewe so that nowe we
wer vanquished in their accion by piththy reasons There was nothing here spoken by him of god but godlye nothing of Moses but honorably of the lawe nothyng but accordyng to the meaning therof of the temple nothynge contumelyously And yet their hartes for anger were a breakyng in sundre and thei grinded their teethe togither lyke woode men and frantyke So loth were they to see their owne glorie dimynished and his glorye published and praysed whose glorye alone god woulde haue openly declared to all men If he hadde praysed Moyses or Abraham they woulde haue forborne hym but now that Iesus should be alyue that he should stande on the ryght hande of god lyke as Dauid prophecied that coulde not they abide But as they had be al stryken than or turned into a fury or madnes thei stopped their eares againste so holsome doctrine and communicacion and ran al at once vpon Steuen violently with outragious cries And as though he had ben thā conuict and condemned for blasphemie they cast hym oute of the citie expressyng in this one poynte alone Moyses lawe and there they stoned hym And the witnesses as though they had gotten the vpperhande of hym whose dewtye was after Moyses lawe to cast the first stone to thintente they myght the redier be to that cruel murther layed downe their garmētes at a young mans feete called Saule who than of ignoraunce and loue towarde hys countrey law fauoured the wicked parte Soone vpō this they began to stone Steuen who neither contended againe neither spake woordes to thē of any reproche but made to him whome he had seen his inuocacion and sayde Lorde Iesu take to the my soule Therby mayst thou know him to be Iesus disciple For in lyke maner sayed he vpon the crosse father I commend my spirite into thy handes After this whyle the stones flygh on euery syde and he was kneling vpon the grounde he cried out aloude with an highe voyce and an inwarde great affeccion of mynde and sayed lorde laye not this vnto their charge for they know not what they do how playnly doth the seruaunt expresse his mayster This was the laste woorde before his deathe after the whiche he departed this lyfe as it were with a sounde slepe in the lorde in whome whosoeuer dyeth doth not dye in very dede but falleth into a slepe and shall agayne after he hath taken his pleasaunt test awake to lyfe euerlasting It besemeth as many as be trewe christians to dye in suche a mynde And so Steuen ryghte well agreyng to his name deserued first of all the crowne of martyrdome and offered vp to the Lorde the first fruytes of sacrifice that were seamely for the gospell The .viii. Chapter Saule consented vnto his death And at that tyme there was a great persecuciō against the congregacion whiche was at Ierusalem And they wer all scattered abrode throwout the regions of Iewry and Samaria But deuout persons dressed Steuen and made greate lamentacion ouer hym As for Saul he made hauocke of the congregacion entred into euery house drewe out both men and women thrust theim into prison Therfore they that were scattered abrode went euerye where preachyng the woorde of God SOme there were emong that multitude whiche were not than perswaded that Iesus was the sonne of God and so by meane of suche ignoraunce their offence was the lesse thoughe it excused them not of murther forasmuche as they beyng so blinded of their owne inordinate desyres had leauer auenge then learne the trueth Yet of all other none were lesse to be holden excused than the byshoppes scribes and phariseis Sum agayne there were whiche of very ignoraunce not of any malice beleued that it was a pleasant sacrifice to god to dispatche the worlde of them whiche went aboute to subuert the lawe that god had left to man Albeit charitie of the gospell excuseth yea those thinges whiche cannot be with man excused Amongest those that of plaine ignoraunce did amysse and of no maliciouse mynde Saule was accompted one who was borne in the Isle Tarsus a young man fauoryng Moyses lawe excedyngly whiche afterwarde became of a rauenynge woulfe a meke lambe of a cruel persecutor of Christes gospell and egre defender of the lybertye therof But stones verely cast he none that tyme at Steuen but was assentyng to them that had condemned and stoned hym and for this purpose kepte he their garmentes that he myghte be accounted one amongest the rest of them that stoned him And yet were not the malyciouse Iewes quieted in their mindes with the murther of this one person but a wonderful great persecution begūne sone after to ryse against the church of Christ whiche than was at Hierusalem in somuche as all they were scatered into sondry coastes of Iudea and Samaria sauyng the twelue apostles whiche were more constante in mynde and stedfast than other were neyther coulde the maliciouse Iewes ought do agaynst them no more coulde they agaynst the other but vpon Iesus the lordes sufferaunce The lorde had permytted them in tyme of persecucion to flye from citie to citie And this theyr fliyng proceded not so muche of anye feare the disciples were in as it came of the wil and ordinaunce of god that of their teachinges as it were of seedes cast in many places abrode a plentifull haruest myght the soner cum forth in Christes religion The twelue apostles and no moo like faithfull shepherdes shranke not awaye for all the great storme but abode styll by it at Hierusalē But sum well dysposed persones because they perceiued Steuen vnworthely oppressed by subornate witnesse caused the dead body to be buried Of suche a godly loue or affecciō was Ioseph moued and Nycodemus to prouide dyligently for the lorde Iesus funeralles but Steuens death was celebrate after the Iewishe facion or maner with weapynge and wailynge of good men For Christen people taketh the death of suche that dye for Christes glory to their great Ioye and comforte and as it were for the victorie of goddes enemyes and yf there be any teares shedde it is not for his sake that is dead but eyther for suche manquellers that purchaseth them selues helle either els for Christes flocke beyng destitute of a necessary shepherd In these daies Saul whiche had before declared at the stoning of Steuē sum tryal of his zeale began of a great displeasure that he had conceyued against the Christiās lyke an hungry woulfe that teareth in peces scattereth abrode a flocke of shepe euē so to wast goddes congregacion pursuynge them that fledde searching them oute that lay hid walkynge about to euery house and wher he thought any to be of Christes professiō furiously there russhed he in haling men and lykewyse women into prison more cruell the trueth to say then were the priestes Scribes of the which none at al put womē to any trouble or busines This did that yong man of a good zeale but of a noughty iudgemēt And
in al people he that feareth him worketh righteousnes he is accepted with him Than Peter perceyuing their vnfayned meanyng opened his mouthe and began to speake in thys wyse I doe ryght well perceiue that in the syght of God one person is not preferred before another but that in all countreys who that feareth God and liueth lyke a good man vprightly to God and the worlde is set by of hym Ye know the preachyng that god sent vnto the children of Israel preaching peace by Iesus Christ which is lord ouer al thynges Which preaching was published throughout al Iewry and began in Galile after the baptysme which Iohn preached how god anoynted Iesus of Nazareth with the holy gost with power Which Iesus went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed with the deuill for god was with him For asmuche as I vnderstande that you are free from oure lawe and yet neuertheles that ye woorship one God whiche is the true God as we do that dayly ye offer thorowe prayer sacrifice and seeke hys fauoure by succouring of the nedye For why this is thonely thyng that the lawe and prophetes doe teache And although that God hath nowe at the last perfourmed that thing whiche he long sence promysed by the mouthes of his prophetes that he woulde sende Messias that is to saye Christe shewyng to the Israelites his wyll nowe not by meane of any prophete but by hys onely begotten sonne Iesus Christ and proferyng them thorow fayth obedyence to hym whome he sent â–ª remission of synne and that he eftsones wil be reconciled with theym Yet that notwithstandyng bycause there is none other God but he as well of the Gentiles as also of the Israelites his wyll is that this fauour be shewed to all men whosoeuer beleueth the gospell And I am assured that the rumour of this thyng beeyng sparsed as it is thorowout all Iewrye is hearde among you also howe that Iesus walked ouer all partes of Iewry exhortyng all men to repentaunce bearyng wytnes that the kyngdome of God is euen at hand And chiefely hys beginning to preache was aboute Galilee after he had ben christened of Iohn whiche was his foremessanger and openlye bare witnesse of hym the Iesus of Nazareth was the lambe of God that should take away the synnes of the worlde and that god had anoynted hys Messias with the holy ghoste â–ª whome he had seene in lykenesse of a doue as cummyng from heauen and restyng on his heade and that it was onely he that shoulde Christen all the faythfull not in water as he hymselfe Christened but wyth an heauenly power And this oure lorde Iesus also expressed in deades walkyng thorowout all partes of Iewry helpyng all men not onely in teachyng the heauenly Philosophye of the gospell whereby the soule is healed but also in curyng the sycke castyng oute of deuyls healyng lepers and reysyng the dead and to be shorte in helpyng all men whome the deuyll by tyranny kept vnder hys yoke For as he onely was free from all synne so he only was hable and of power to vanquishe the tyranny of the deuyll the whiche raygneth ouer theym that leadeth theyr lyfe in synne For God expressed hys might in his sonne whiche all Satans power was not hable to withstande All these thynges beyng coÌ„monly spoken of thorowout Iewry I am assured that you likewise haue heard and doe beleue them And we are witnesses of all thynges whiche he dyd in the lande of the Iewes and at Ierusalem whome they â—â—ewe and hanged on tree hym God reysed of the thyrd day aud shewed him openly not to all the people but vnto vs witnesses chosen before of god for the same intente whiche did eate and drynke wyth hym after he arose from deathe And he commaunded vs to preache vnto the people and to testifye that it is he which is ordeyned of God to be the iudge of quicke and dead To him geue al the Prophetes witnes that thorow his name whosoeuer beleueth in him shall receiue remission of sinnes But that you maye more surely beleue thys we that were conuersaunte wyth hym both in house and in all other places as long as he beyng manne lyued among men doe beare wytnes of all suche thinges as he did in all coastes of Iewry and in Hierusalem also whome the highe priestes scribes and Pharisees with the consentes bothe of the nobilitie and the commens put to death fastenyng hym on the crosse rendryng hym euyll thankes for hys so manyfolde benefites employed on theym But God by whose permission all these thinges were doen for the health of man restored him to lyfe the third day after his death and endowed him with life euerlasting To make this certainly to be beleued he did personally appeare alyue he was hearde sene and felt also with the handes not of all the people as he had bene before his death but of certayne that were before chosen witnesses by God purposely of vs I say vnto whom he appered after he had arisen from death being conuersauÌ„t on earth fowertie dayes we did eate and drinke wyth hym and he wyth vs lykewyse lest we should doubte in our myndes whether his body were in very dede raysed or not And before he went into heauen he commaunded vs whome he before had chosen to this office that we should openly preache to euery man and beare witnes that he was one whom god had aduaunced to hyghe estate and power that in thendâ— of the worlde he shal be iudge of all bothe quicke and dead In the meane space a sure and an easy remedy is profered euery man For all the prophetes long synce with one consente prophecied the very same of hym that we teache that it is onely he in whose name remyssyon of synne shal be geuen not to the Iewes onely but to all nacions also thorow out the worlde not by merite of their woorkes wherein the Iewes put confidence but by fayth wherby we beleue the ghospell and by meane of the ghospell beleue in Christe Whyle Peter yet spake these woordes the holy ghost fell on all them whiche hearde the preachyng And they of the circumcision whiche beleued were astonied as many as came with Peter because that on the Gentyles also was shedde out the gyft of the holy ghost For they hearde them speake with tongues and magnified god Then aunswered Peter can any man forbyd water that these should not be baptised which haue receiued the holy ghost as well as we And he commaunded them to bee baptysed in the name of the lorde Than prayed they him to tarie a fewe dayes Peter had not yet made an ende of his tale and beholde the holy ghoste visibly descendyng from heauen came on all that had hearde and beleued the apostles wordes Whiche thing made the Iewes that were conuerted to the ghospell and had come in Peters company from Ioppa to beare wytnes to those thynges that were for to be
moue you any thing or of those that be rewlers there whiche in condemning Iesus to death whome they woulde not knowleage for their Messias nor vnderstande the Prophetes whiche yet bee read euery sabboth daye to them hath vnawares fulfilled that that was before prophecyed For so was it determyned by the wyll of god and so did the Prophetes with one conseÌ„t signifie and declare before that one that was free from al sinne should be sacrifysed as a lambe without spotte for the sinnes of all men And what the priestes Pharisees Scribes and other of the piers with the conseite also of the commons had assayed all meanes and coulde finde no iust câ—use why they shoulde put him to death yet obteyned they with importunâ— clamours of Pilate that he woulde put him to death And whan they haâ— this vnaduisedly fulfilled all those thynges that wer spoken before of hyâ— by the mouth of the prophetes they toke him downe from the crosse aâ—â—â—ayed hym in his graue But he whom man of malyce had slayne by the permission of god the very same was reysed from death by the power lykewâ—se of God the thirde daye according as it was before prophecied And leseâ—â— shoulde thinke this to bee but a vayne tale that I tel you he was seene â—â—arde felt and in his owne person knowen of his dysciples that folowed hym whan he went from Galile to Hierusalem to suffre by the space after he rose from death to lyfe of fowertie dayes and they be almoste all aliuâ— vntâ—ll this day testifying faythfully before all the people those thinges that they sawe with their eyes and heard with their eares and felt with their hands ¶ And we declare vnto you how that the promise whiche was made to the fathers God hath fulfylled vnto their children euen vnto vs in that he reâ—ed vp Iesus again euen as it is written in the first psalme Thou art my sonne this dâ— haue I begotteÌ„ the. As concerniâ—â— that he reysed him vp from death now no more to returne to corrupcioÌ„ he 〈…〉 wise The holy promises to Dauid made wyll I geue faithfully to you â—â—â—fore he saith also in an other place Thou shalt not suffre thine holy to see corrupcioÌ„ For Dauid afâ—er he had in his tyme fulfilled the will of god fell on sleape was laid vnto his fathers sawe corrupcion but he whome god reysed againe saw no corrupcioÌ„ And we lykewyse beyng commaunded by our sauiour to execute the office of apostles doe witnesse that god hath now fulfylled his promyse to you and your posteritie in raysing Iesus from death to lyfe whiche thing long ago was promysed to Abraham and Dauid your forefathers and to your other auncestâ—â—â— by the mouthes of the prophetes For this is the same sonne of god borne of the virgin Mary as concerning his humayne nature and bodye of whome the father himselfe speaketh in the first misticall psalme saying thou art my sonne I haue begotten the this daye And that he hath reysed him from death to lyfe who shall neuer after be more subiecte to mortalitie or death he affirmeth by his prophete Esaye saying I wil perforume vnto you faithfully the promyse that I made vnto Dauid Now had he kept no promise if he had not raysed Iesus to lyfe euerlasting For this was his promyse vnto Dauid I haue once sworne to Dauid as I am holy and I wil not deceiue hym his seed shall continue for euer and his throne or royall seate shall continue as the Sunne in my sight as the full Moone without ende as a faithfull witnesse in heauen But ye see now that none of the lynage of Dauid obtayneth this kindom but this prophecie signified Christ that sitteth on the right-hand of his father and enioyeth the kyngdom that neuer shall haue ende Of this selfe same matter speaketh also the .xv. psalme in this wyse Thou shalt not suffre thy holy to see corrupcion Whiche prophecie can not be referred to kyng Dauid in his owne personne of whome we certaynly knowe that after that he had liued and reigned as long as pleased god he than died was buried sembleably as his auncestry was before him But if to see corrupcion be nothing els but to die than his graue whiche yet vnto this daye is remaining among vs where his bones lye dothe euidently proue that he hath sene corrupcion Wherfore this prophecy cannot be referred vnto hym but to thother whome we preache vnto you of whom god raysed from death to lyfe â—re his body began to putrifie and made him immortall ¶ Be it knowen vnto you therefore ye men and brethren that through this man is preached vnto you remission of sinnes and that by him all that beleue are iustified from all thinges from whiche ye coulde not be iustified by the law of Moyses Beware therefore lest that fal on you whiche is spoken of in the prophetes Beholde ye despisers wondre and perish ye for I dooe a woorke in your dayes whiche ye shal not beleue though a man declare it to you Be it therfore knowen vnto you brethren that thorow thaforesayde Iesus ye haue profered vnto you remission of sinnes and freedom from all offenses which you coulde not hitherto be cleane ridde of by keping of the lawe For the lawe was vnperfect takeÌ„ carnally neither coulde it put awaye all sinnes but punished sum of them nether it helped all nacions But through this same Iesus eche man without respecte of any persone or els offence hath righteousnesse or iustificacion and innocencie profered vnto him so that he beleue the promyses of the ghospel Beware therfore lest it may be spoken of you that god threteneth to the vnfaithful and those that resiste the preaching of his ghospell saying by the mouthe of his prophet Abacuc Looke ye dispisers and maruayle ye beyng amased and euen dye for angre for I woorke in your dayes a woorke that ye shall not beleue thoughe a man tell you of it Who euer yet did beleue that a virgin shoulde beare a childe Who woulde haue thought that all countreyes should obtaine life euerlasting by the death of one man Who woulde haue beleued that a man beyng slaine and buried coulde within three dayes aryse agayne from death to lyfe euerlasting This wondrefull woorke god accordynge to his promyse heretofore made hath wrought nowe in your time Become not ye despisers bee not occasion that your selues perish through stubberne and wylfull vnbeliefe but beleue ye in him embrace ye that health of soule whiche is now frely profered vnto you ¶ When the Iewes were gon out of the congregacion the Gentiles besought that they would preache the worde to them the next Sabboth When the congregacion was broken vp many of the Iewes and vertuous proselites folowed Paule Barnabas which spake to them and exhorted them to continue in the grace of God After Paule had concluded and she hearers began to departe they desyred Paule and Barnabas that they
whose name was Gamaliel and euen from my chyldehoode was I diligently instructed in the lawe of my countrey earnestly bent to the honouring of the true God in suche sorte as ye do to this presente tyme insomuche that I for the affeccion that I bare to the lawe dyd persecute this doctrine of the ghospell whiche I nowe professe pursuyng suche as professed thesame not to pryson and bandes onely but also to death entendyng nothyng els then persecucion with sore threatnynges and sondry kyndes of death againste the professours of the ghospell byndyng and castyng into pryson bothe man and woman that stycked to the sayed doctrine And that I tell nothinge otherwyse then trueth he can beare me wytnesse whiche was than the high priest and all the other auncientes with him from whom I receyued letters and tooke my iourney towardes Damasco that I myght bryng theÌ„ prysoners from thence to Hierusalem whiche proâ—essed Christes name to the entente that they myght be punyshed accordyng to the dyscrecion of the priestes and elders ¶ And it fortuned as I made my iourney and was come nygh vnto Damasco about none sodaynly there shone from heauen a great lyght rounde about me and I tell vnto the yerth and I heard a voyce saying vnto me Saule Saule why persecutest thou me And I aunswered what art thou Lord And he saied vnto me I am Iesus of Nazareth whome thou persecutest And they that were with me sawe veryly a lyght and were afrayed but they heard not the voyce of hym that spake with me And I sayed what shall I do Lord And the Lord sayed vnto me aryse and go into Damasco and there it shall be tolde the of all thinges whiche are appoynted for the to doe And when I sawe nothyng for the bryghtnesse of the lyght I was led by the hande of them that were with me â–ª and came into Damasco And one Ananias a perfecte manne and as pertaynyng to the lawe hauing good reporte of all the Iewes whiche dwelt there came vnto me and stoode and sayed vnto me Brother Saule receyue thy sighte And the same houre I receyued my syght and sawe him And he sayed the God of our fathers hath ordeyned the before that thou shouldest know his wil and shouldest here the voyce of his mouth for thou shalt be his witnesse vnto all men of those thinges whiche thou hast seen and heard And nowe why tariest thou Aryse and be baptised and washe awaye thy synnes in callyng on the name of the Lorde This mynde dyd I than beare them for none other cause then for the affeccion that I had to the lawe and to our relygion whiche I had receyued of my forefathers whiche thing is the occasion that ye nowe at this presente are so muche against me Nowe wyll I tell you by what occasion I chaunged my mynde whiche whan ye shall perceyue perchaunce ye also wyll turne your myndes For it chaunced whan as I went thyther and was almoste at Damasco aboute high noone sodaynlye a great lyght compassed me about from heauen wherewyth stricken I was and I fell downe to the grounde and hearde a voyce speake vnto me from heauen saying Saule Saule why doest thou persecute me Unto whome whan I had made aunswer What art thou lorde the voice saied againe I am Iesus of Nazareth whom thou pursuest But my companions that were with me sawe the light and were sore afrayed as for the voyce that spake vnto me they hearde it not Than sayed I Lorde what is thy wyll that I shoulde doe The lorde made aunswer againe in this wyse Aryse and go to Damasco There shall eche thynge that thou must doe be tolde thee And where myne iyes were so daseled with the brightnes of that lyght that I coulde see nothyng at all my felowes led me by the hande vntyll I came to Damasco There mette I with a good man and one that for his vpryght walkyng in the lawe was also Godly named Ananias of whome all the Iewes that dwelt than at Damasco reported well This Ananias standyng by me sayed thus Brother Saule receyue thy syght againe And I forthwith receyued my syght and sawe him Than sayed he The God of our fathers hath chosen and ordeyned the for this ende that thou shouldest knowe his wyll and that thou shouldest see him that is onely iuste whiche iustifyeth all thynge and that thou shouldest heare the voyce of his mouthe For Iesus was in the same lyghte that daseled thyne iyes and it was his voyce that thou dyddest here forbecause thou shalte bee a wytnes vnto him before all menne of those thinges whiche thou hast seene and hearde and now seeing this is the wyll of god wherefore doest thou stay Aryse and be christened and washe awaye thy synnes callyng vnto his name whom thou before hast persecuted ¶ And it fortuned that when I was come agayne to Hierusalem and prayed in the temple I was in a traunce saw him saying vnto me Make haste and get the quickely out of Hierusalem for they wil not receyue thy witnes that thou be arest of me And I sayed Lord they knowe that I prysoned and bet in euery Synagoge them that beleued on thee And when the bloud of thy witnes Steuen washed I also stode by and coÌ„sented vnto his death and kept the tayment of them that slewe hym And he sayed vnto me departe for I wyll sende thee a farre hence vnto the Gentyles These thynges doen at Damasco when as I within shorte space after had returned vnto Ierusalem beeyng than a newe man and was praying in the temple rauished I was besydes my selfe and Iesus I sawe whiche sayed vnto me Make haste and get the spedely out of Hierusalem for here wyl they not receyue thy testimony of me Than aunswered I in this wyse Lorde I haue a good hope that I shall doe good amonge this people forasmuche as themselues knowe that I for fauoure that I dyd beare vnto the law cruelly handled thy disciples halyng into pryson as many as I coulde take whyppyng them in all congregacions that gaue credence vnto thy gospell And yet was I not satisfyed with this doyng But whan the bloude of Steuen was shed whiche by his death bare faithfull witnes of the and with great boldnes and constancie I also was by whan they stoned hym consented to the death of the innocent man insomuche thaÌ„ I kepte their garmentes whiche brought hym to the place of execucion and that fyrst began to cast stones at him And seyng that euery man may well vnderstande by this howe muche affeccionate I was once towardes the lawe they may now ryghte well perceyue that I chaunged not myne intent without great causes many shall be founde that wyll so muche the more gladly folowe myne ensample the more they shall see that my zeale was towardes this olde religion for loue whereof I the more cruelly persecuted thyne Whan I had this sayed the Lorde aunswered Goe I say and
fathers house bee in anye mansionâ—s c. I am the waye of trueth and life No manne cummeth to the father but by me c. He that hath seen me hath seen the father whatsoeuer ye aske in my name Peace I leaue vâ—tâ— you The prince of this worlde cummeth hath nothing in me Arise let vs go hence Yf ye byde in me c aske what ye â—yl and it shall bee geuen you CoÌ„tinue 〈◊〉 in my loue c. But nowe haue they nothing to cloke theyr sinne withall It is expedient for you that I goe awaye For if I goe not away the coÌ„forter wil not cum vnto you and of righteousnesse c. Of iudâ—emeÌ„t because the prince of this world is iudgâ—d already What is this that he sayeth vnto vs after a while Whatsoeuer ye shall aske my father in my name he shall geue it you Now ye beleue c I desâ—eâ— not that thou shouldest take them c. The glorye which thou gauest me I haue geuen them Peter stode at the doore without I euer taught in the Synagogue My kyngdome is not of this worlde c. For this cause was I borne c Hayle king of the Iewes Whoso maketh hymselfe a kyng is against Ceasar It was the preparyng daye of Easter aboute the siâ—te houre The wrytyng was Iesus of Nazareth c. One of the souldiers thrust him into the syde and furth â—â— came there out watâ—r and bloude They haue takeÌ„ awaye the lord c. Iesus than came and toke breade c. Folow 〈◊〉 me To whome also he shewed hym selfe alyue after hys passon And commaunded them that they shoulde not departe from Ierusalem c. For Iohn truly baptised with water Whan they therefore were cuÌ„ together they asked of hiÌ„ sayinge Lorde c. And he sayed vnto theÌ„ It is not for you c. And while they looked stedfastiye vp towarde heauen beholde c. They went vp into a parlour And whan he was hanged he burst a sunder c. And no man dwellyng therin c. And whan they praied they sayed c. And they gaue foorth theyr lottes Whan the fiftie daies wer cum to an ende And there appared vnto theÌ„ cloueÌ„ touÌ„ges c. And they wet filled all with the holy gost c Whan thys was noysed about the multitude came together They wordred at and maruailed They were all amased woâ—dred c. But Peter stepped forth With the eleuen With youre eares beare ye my wordes For these men are not as ye suppose c. Whome God hath reysed vp and loosed the sorowes of death For Dauyd speaketh of him Afore hande I saw god all wayes beefore me For he is both dead buried c. Therfore seyng he was a prophete He knowiÌ„g this before spake of the resurreccioÌ„ of Christ. Wherof all we are witnesses For Dauid is not asceÌ„ded into heauen God hathe made the same Iesus whâ—me ye haue crucifyed Lord and Christ. For the promyse â–ª was made to you and to your childreÌ„ And with many other woordes bare he witnesse c. And exâ—orted tâ—em saying Saue your selues from this vntoward generacion Then they that gladly receyued his preaching c. In breaking of bread c. And in prayers And feare came ouer euery soule And solde their possessioÌ„s and goodes And brake bread from house to house c. Whan he sawe Peter Iohn c. In the name of Iesus Christe of Nazareth arise and walke Of that which we are witnesses Whan the tyme of refreshing coÌ„meth And preached in Iesus the resurrection froÌ„ death And whan they had set them before them they asked by what power or in what name haue ye doen this Let vs threaten charge them c. So threatned they theÌ„ and let theÌ„ go c. And whan they heardâ— that they lift vp their voyces to God with one accord And assone as they had made theyr prayer the place moued where they were c. And they were fylled with the holy ghoste they spake the wordes of God boldly And distribucion was made vnto euery man accordyng as he had nede A certyne man named Ananias c Ananias howe is it that SathaÌ„ hath fylled thyne herte that thou shouldest lie vnto the holy ghost c. Whan Ananias hearde these woordes he fell downe and gaue vp the ghoste c. Than Peter sayed vnto her why haue ye agreed together to tempte the spirite of the lorde c. And of the others durst no maÌ„ ioyne himselfe to theÌ„ Neuertheles the people magnifyed theym And they laied handes on the Apostles put them in the 〈◊〉 pryson And they brought theÌ„ without violence For they feared the people c. Beholde ye haue fylled Hierusalem with youre doctrine The God of our fathers reised vp Iesus whome ye slew and haue hanged on tree For before those dayes rose vp one Theudas And they departed from the couÌ„sell reioysyng that they were couÌ„ted worthy to suffer rebuke for his name It is not meete that we shoulde leaue the woorde of god serue tables Wherefore brethren loke ye out among you seuen of honest reporte c. And they chose SteueÌ„ a man ful of faith and of the holy ghost c. And theâ— moued the people the elders and the Scribes For we hearde hym saye this Iesus of Nazareth shal destroye this place Get the 〈◊〉 of the countrey â–ª 〈◊〉 thy 〈◊〉 And promised that â—â— would geâ—â— it to hym to possesse And he gaue him the couenaunt of circuÌ„cision Who made the a ruler and iudge ouer vs This man receiued the worde of life to geue vnto vs c. And they made a calfe in those dayes and offered sacrifices And ye toke vnto you the tabernacle of Moloch Which of â— Prophetes haue not your fathers persecuted And the witnesses laied downe their clothes at a younge mans feete whose name was Saule Lorde laye not this sinne to their charge And at that time there was a great persecucion against the coÌ„gregacion whiche was at IerusaleÌ„ As for Saul he made hauocke of the congregacyon c. But as sone as they gaue credit to Philippes c. They were baptised bothe men women c. The herte â— is not right in the sight of god RepeÌ„t therfore of this thy wickednes c. Praye ye to the lorde for me that none of these thiÌ„ges c. And behold a man of Ethiopia And as they went on their waye And assone as they wâ—â— cum oute of the water And there was a certayne discyple They watched the gates day and nyght to kyll hym And turned hym to the body said Tabitha aryse A deuouâ—e maÌ„ and one that feared God Beholde I am he whoÌ„e ye seke what is the cause wherfore ye are cumme Than called he theÌ„ 〈◊〉 lodged theÌ„ It is an vnlawful thiÌ„g for a man yâ— is a Iew to company or cum vnto an alien For what enteÌ„t haue ye sent for me Howe