Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” ¹  Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, ²  tax collectors ³  and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God!

Now on the first day of the feast of ¹  Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and said, ²  “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ³ 

But no one is able to enter a strong man’s ¹  house and steal his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can thoroughly plunder his house. ² 

He said to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and to throw it to the dogs.” ¹ 

He said to them, “Elijah does indeed come first, and restores all things. And why is it written that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be despised?

Now ¹  on the first day of the feast of ²  Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, ³  Jesus’ ⁴  disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ⁵ 

Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so ¹  the last state of that person ²  is worse than the first.” ³ 

Meanwhile, ¹  when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus ²  began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against ³  the yeast of the Pharisees, ⁴  which is hypocrisy. ⁵ 

But one after another they all ¹  began to make excuses. ²  The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, ³  and I must go out and see it. Please excuse me.’ ⁴ 

For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t sit down ¹  first and compute the cost ²  to see if he has enough money to complete it?

Or what king, going out to confront another king in battle, will not sit down ¹  first and determine whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose ²  the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

(His disciples did not understand these things when they first happened, ¹  but when Jesus was glorified, ²  then they remembered that these things were written about him and that these things had happened ³  to him.) ⁴ 

Now very early on the first day of the week, ¹  while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene ²  came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been moved away from the entrance. ³ 

Both Paul and Barnabas replied courageously, ¹  “It was necessary to speak the word of God ²  to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy ³  of eternal life, we ⁴  are turning to the Gentiles. ⁵ 

On the first day ¹  of the week, when we met ²  to break bread, Paul began to speak ³  to the people, and because he intended ⁴  to leave the next day, he extended ⁵  his message until midnight.

When they arrived, he said to them, “You yourselves know how I lived ¹  the whole time I was with you, from the first day I set foot ²  in the province of Asia, ³ 

but I declared to those in Damascus first, and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, ¹  and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, ²  performing deeds consistent with ³  repentance.

But the centurion, ¹  wanting to save Paul’s life, ²  prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land, ³ 

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹ 

But again I ask, didn’t Israel understand? ¹  First Moses says, “I will make you jealous by those who are not a nation; with a senseless nation I will provoke you to anger.” ²