a thread opens
And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, so that he might bear it after Jesus.
The Vigil
Today’s scroll, one verse at a time — each linked to the last by the cross-references rather than by any model of you. The same vigil for everyone, and a different one tomorrow.
Now there were in the church at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
from Luke 23:26
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
from Acts 13:1
Now for a long season Israel has been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.
from Ephesians 4:11
And that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken to them by the hand of Moses.
from II Chronicles 15:3
a thread opens
Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent you, and believe the gospel.
from Acts 20:21
And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
from Mark 1:15
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD has anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
from Matthew 10:7
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
from Isaiah 61:1 · a strong link
And when he was in affliction, he begged the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,
from Psalms 51:17
a thread opens
Be it known to you therefore, men and brothers, that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins:
And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
from Acts 13:38 · a strong link
And he said, It is a light thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give you for a light to the Gentiles, that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth.
from Luke 24:47
The LORD has made known his salvation: his righteousness has he openly showed in the sight of the pagans.
from Isaiah 49:6 · a strong link
The LORD has made bore his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
from Psalms 98:2 · a strong link
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
from Isaiah 52:10
What I tell you in darkness, that speak you in light: and what you hear in the ear, that preach you upon the housetops.
a thread opens
Because he has appointed a day, in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.
And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.
from Acts 17:31
Before the LORD: for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.
from Psalms 9:8 · a strong link
And I saw heaven opened, and look, a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he does judge and make war.
from Psalms 96:13 · a strong link
a thread opens
For truly against your holy child Jesus, whom you have anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
from Acts 4:27 · a strong link
I give you charge in the sight of God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;
from Matthew 27:2
And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Are you the King of the Jews? And Jesus said to him, You say.
from I Timothy 6:13 · a strong link
And Pilate asked him, Are you the King of the Jews? And he answering said to him, You say it.
from Matthew 27:11
a thread opens
You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do you.
And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,
from Acts 7:51
And when Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will perhaps hate us, and will certainly repay us all the evil which we did to him.
from Acts 7:9
The wicked flee when no man pursues: but the righteous are bold as a lion.
from Genesis 50:15
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you: because he trusts in you.
from Proverbs 28:1 · a strong link
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you: not as the world gives, give I to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
from Isaiah 26:3 · a strong link
a thread opens
And he said to me, Depart: for I will send you far hence to the Gentiles.
But the Lord said to him, Go your way: for he is a chosen vessel to me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
from Acts 22:21 · a strong link
Of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of his power.
from Acts 9:15 · a strong link
Now to him that is able to do immeasurably more than all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
from Ephesians 3:7 · a strong link
Let a little water, please, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:
from Ephesians 3:20
And he said, Look now, my lords, turn in, please, into your servant’s house, and stay all night, and wash your feet, and you shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, No; but we will remain in the street all night.
from Genesis 18:4 · a strong link
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
from Genesis 19:2
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Luke 23:26 along this chain. Today’s own vigil is laid separately.
Each verse follows the one before it along the chain a study Bible draws — a century old, public, and compiled by people arguing about Scripture rather than about how long you stay. Every card says which verse it came from and opens the chapter it belongs to. Today’s vigil is the same for every reader and is worked out from the date alone, so there is no account, no counter, and nothing stored in your browser or ours.
The text is the Lantern Modern Standard. The links are openbible.info’s cross-reference set (CC BY), the same apparatus behind the reader’s Echoes drawer. Read a whole book · Today’s table