heal the sick in that town, and say to the people there, 'The Kingdom of God has come near you.'

"The command that I am giving you today is not too difficult or beyond your reach.

Nor is it on the other side of the ocean. You do not have to ask, 'Who will go across the ocean and bring it to us, so that we may hear it and obey it?'

"My fellow Israelites, descendants of Abraham, and all Gentiles here who worship God: it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent!

Take care, then, so that what the prophets said may not happen to you:

But Paul and Barnabas spoke out even more boldly: "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we will leave you and go to the Gentiles.

What it says is this: "God's message is near you, on your lips and in your heart"---that is, the message of faith that we preach.

But concerning Israel he says, "All day long I held out my hands to welcome a disobedient and rebellious people."

He reflects the brightness of God's glory and is the exact likeness of God's own being, sustaining the universe with his powerful word. After achieving forgiveness for the sins of all human beings, he sat down in heaven at the right side of God, the Supreme Power.