a thread opens
You fools and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold?
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.
You fools and blind: for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift?
from Matthew 23:17
Seven days you shall make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatever touches the altar shall be holy.
from Matthew 23:19 · a strong link
And you shall anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy.
from Exodus 29:37
And you shall offer every day a young bull for a sin offering for atonement: and you shall cleanse the altar, when you have made an atonement for it, and you shall anoint it, to sanctify it.
from Exodus 40:10
a thread opens
Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then has God also to the Gentiles granted repentance to life.
from Acts 20:21
And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said to him, You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
from Acts 11:18
But there rose up some of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
from Acts 21:20
And certain men who came down from Judea taught the brothers, and said, Except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved.
from Acts 15:5
Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised.
from Acts 15:1
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 all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
from Acts 13:38
Namely, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them; and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
from II Corinthians 5:18
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus:
from II Corinthians 5:19
And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offenses to justification.
from Romans 3:24
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
from Romans 5:16
For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
from Galatians 3:10
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.
In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
from Acts 17:31
Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
from Romans 2:16 · a strong link
Even the mystery which has been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
from Romans 16:25
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,
By stretching forth your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of your holy child Jesus.
from Acts 4:27 · a strong link
Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
from Acts 4:30
As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
from Acts 3:6
Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
from II Corinthians 6:10
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.
To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,
from Acts 7:51
We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:
from Acts 7:39
And the children of Israel said to them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of food, and when we did eat bread to the full; for you have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
from Numbers 11:5 · a strong link
And the people chode with Moses, and spoke, saying, If only that we had died when our brothers died before the LORD!
from Exodus 16:3
Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.
from Numbers 20:3
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
At my first defense no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
from Acts 9:15
And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
from II Timothy 4:16 · a strong link
And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
from Acts 7:60
And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as you will.
from Luke 22:41
Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears to him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
from Matthew 26:39 · a strong link
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Matthew 23:17 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