Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 6, verses 8-15

⁵ of whom Steven, a man full of faith and the holy Ghost, is one, ¹² who is taken of those whom he confounded in disputing, ¹³ and after falsely accused of blasphemy against the Law and the temple

⁸And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.

⁹Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.

¹⁰And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.

¹¹Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.

¹²And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council,

¹³And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law:

¹⁴For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.

¹⁵And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.

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6:9 There arose certain of the synagogue which is called - It was one and the same synagogue which consisted of these several nations. Saul of Cilicia was doubtless a member of it; whence it is not at all improbable, that Gamaliel presided over it.Libertines - So they were styled, whose fathers were once slaves, and afterward made free. This was the ease of many Jews who had been taken captive by the Romans.

6:14 We have heard him say - So they might. But yet the consequence they drew would not follow.

6:15 As the face of an angel - Covered with supernatural lustre.They reckoned his preaching of Jesus to be the Christ was destroying Moses and the law; and God bears witness to him, with the same glory as he did to Moses, when he gave the law by him.

John, Chapter 6, verses 22-29

¹⁶ But, withdrawing himself, he walketh on the sea to his disciples, ²⁶ reproveth the people flocking after him, and all the fleshly hearers of his word

²²The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone;

²³(Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:)

²⁴When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.

²⁵And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?

²⁶Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

²⁷Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

²⁸Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

²⁹Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Read more:John, Chapter 6

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6:22 Who had stood on the other side - They were forced to stay a while, because there were then no other vessels; and they stayed the less unwillingly, because they saw that Jesus was not embarked.

6:26 Our Lord does not satisfy their curiosity, but corrects the wrong motive they had in seeking him: because ye did eat - Merely for temporal advantage. Hitherto Christ had been gathering hearers: he now begins to try their sincerity, by a figurative discourse concerning his passion, and the fruit of it, to be received by faith.

6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth - For bodily food: not for that only not chiefly: not at all, but in subordination to grace, faith, love, the meat which endureth to everlasting life.Labour, work for this; for everlasting life. So our Lord expressly commands, work for life, as well as from life: from a principle of faith and love. Him hath the Father sealed - By this very miracle, as well as by his whole testimony concerning him.See Joh 3:33.Sealing is a mark of the authenticity of a writing.

6:28 The works of God - Works pleasing to God.

6:29 This is the work of God - The work most pleasing to God, and the foundation of all others: that ye believe - He expresses it first properly, afterward figuratively.


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Catholic lectionary for 20 April 2026

Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 6, verses 8-15

John, Chapter 6, verses 22-29