John 12:19-36

¹⁹ The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “See how you accomplish nothing. Behold, the world has gone after him.” ²⁰ Now there were certain Greeks among those that went up to worship at the feast. ²¹ These, therefore, came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” ²² Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn, Andrew came with Philip, and they told Jesus. ²³ Jesus answered them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Most certainly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵ He who loves his life will lose it. He who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life. ²⁶ If anyone serves me, let him follow me. Where I am, there will my servant also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. ²⁷ “Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this time?’ But for this cause I came to this time. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name!” Then there came a voice out of the sky, saying, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” ²⁹ The multitude therefore, who stood by and heard it, said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” ³⁰ Jesus answered, “This voice hasn’t come for my sake, but for your sakes. ³¹ Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out. ³² And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” ³³ But he said this, signifying by what kind of death he should die. ³⁴ The multitude answered him, “We have heard out of the law that the Christ remains forever. How do you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up?’ Who is this Son of Man?” ³⁵ Jesus therefore said to them, “Yet a little while the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, that darkness doesn’t overtake you. He who walks in the darkness doesn’t know where he is going. ³⁶ While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become children of light.” Jesus said these things, and he departed and hid himself from them.

Acts 17:19-28

¹⁹ They took hold of him, and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is, which is spoken by you? ²⁰ For you bring certain strange things to our ears. We want to know therefore what these things mean.” ²¹ Now all the Athenians and the strangers living there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing. ²² Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus, and said, “You men of Athens, I perceive that you are very religious in all things. ²³ For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I announce to you. ²⁴ The God who made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands, ²⁵ neither is he served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself gives to all life and breath, and all things. ²⁶ He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons, and the boundaries of their dwellings, ²⁷ that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ²⁸ ‘For in him we live, and move, and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’