28 passages · Jesus and the church
Jesus comes from Galilee to be baptized by John, who hesitates but consents when Jesus says it fits God's purposes. As Jesus comes up from the water, the Spirit descends like a dove and a voice from heaven calls him the beloved Son.
During the meal Jesus gives the disciples bread as his body and a cup as his blood of the covenant, poured out for the forgiveness of sins, and says he will not drink again until the kingdom. They sing a hymn and go out.
On a mountain in Galilee the eleven see Jesus; they worship, though some doubt. He says all authority is his and sends them to make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching, promising to be with them always.
John the Baptist preaches repentance and baptizes crowds in the Jordan, living simply in the wilderness. He announces that a more powerful one is coming who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus comes from Nazareth and is baptized by John. The Spirit descends like a dove and a voice from heaven calls him the beloved Son.
Jesus breaks bread and gives the cup, calling them his body and his blood of the covenant poured out for many, and says he will not drink again until the kingdom. They sing a hymn and go out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus tells the Eleven to preach the gospel to everyone, promising that those who believe and are baptized will be saved and that signs will accompany believers. He is then taken up to heaven, and the disciples preach everywhere.
Luke dates John's ministry by Roman and Jewish rulers and says God's word came to John. John preaches repentance and baptism for forgiveness, as Isaiah foretold.
People wonder whether John is the Christ, but he says someone more powerful is coming to baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. Luke then notes that Herod imprisoned John for rebuking him.
As Jesus prays after being baptized, heaven opens, the Spirit descends like a dove, and a voice declares Him God's beloved Son.
Jesus says He came to cast fire on the earth and has a baptism to undergo, and that His coming will bring division, even within families.
At the Passover meal Jesus says he has longed to eat it with them before he suffers. He gives them bread as his body and a cup as the new covenant in his blood, telling them to do this in remembrance of him.
Jesus and His disciples baptize in Judea while John also baptizes nearby. John's disciples worry that everyone is going to Jesus, and John replies that he is only the bridegroom's friend and Jesus must increase.
The Jews argue about how He can give His flesh to eat. Jesus says that eating His flesh and drinking His blood brings eternal life and abiding in Him, unlike the manna.
Deeply moved, the listeners ask what they should do. Peter urges them to repent and be baptized, and about three thousand accept his message and are baptized that day.
The Lord sends a reluctant disciple, Ananias, to Saul, explaining Saul is His chosen instrument to the Gentiles. Ananias lays hands on him, his sight returns, and he is baptized.
While Peter is still speaking, the Holy Spirit comes on the listeners, who speak in tongues and praise God. Astonished, Peter orders that they be baptized, since they received the Spirit just as the Jewish believers had.
Apollos, an eloquent scholar of Scripture from Alexandria, teaches about Jesus but knows only John's baptism. Priscilla and Aquila explain the way of God more fully, and he goes on to Achaia to help believers and debate publicly.
At Ephesus Paul finds about twelve disciples who only knew John's baptism and had not heard of the Holy Spirit. After Paul explains, they are baptized in Jesus's name, and the Spirit comes on them when he lays hands on them.
Paul recounts the bright light near Damascus, the voice of Jesus, and his blindness. He tells how Ananias restored his sight and told him he would be God's witness to everyone and should be baptized.
On the fourteenth night the sailors sense land and try to flee in the lifeboat, but Paul tells the soldiers to stop them. At dawn Paul urges everyone to eat, gives thanks over bread, and the 276 aboard are encouraged.
Paul rejects the idea that believers should continue in sin so grace may increase. He says that in baptism they were united with Christ in his death so they might live a new life.
Paul tells them to flee idolatry, pointing out that the bread and cup are a participation in Christ, and that pagan sacrifices involve demons. They cannot share both the Lord's table and the table of demons.
Paul says their gatherings do more harm than good: divisions appear, some eat ahead without sharing, and some go hungry while others get drunk. Paul says this is not really the Lord's Supper.
Paul recounts what he received and passed on: on the night He was betrayed, Jesus took bread and the cup, gave them as His body and the new covenant in His blood, and told them to do this in remembrance. Doing so proclaims the Lord's death until He comes.
Paul warns against eating and drinking in an unworthy manner, urging self-examination and recognizing the body. He links present weakness and illness to this and tells them to wait for one another.
Through faith, all are sons of God in Christ, baptized into him. In Christ there is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female, and if they belong to Christ they are Abraham's offspring and heirs.
Peter says Christ suffered once for sins to bring us to God, and was made alive in the Spirit, and then compares the flood saving Noah's family with baptism. Christ is now at God's right hand with angels and powers under Him.