³ Joseph said to his brothers, “I’m Joseph! Is my father really still alive?” His brothers couldn’t respond because they were terrified before him.

⁴ Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me,” and they moved closer. He said, “I’m your brother Joseph! The one you sold to Egypt. ⁵ Now, don’t be upset and don’t be angry with yourselves that you sold me here. Actually, God sent me before you to save lives. ⁶ We’ve already had two years of famine in the land, and there are five years left without planting or harvesting. ⁷ God sent me before you to make sure you’d survive^[a] and to rescue your lives in this amazing way. ⁸ You didn’t send me here; it was God who made me a father to Pharaoh, master of his entire household, and ruler of the whole land of Egypt.

⁹ “Hurry! Go back to your father. Tell him this is what your son Joseph says: ‘God has made me master of all of Egypt. Come down to me. Don’t delay. ¹⁰ You may live in the land of Goshen, so you will be near me, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and everyone with you. ¹¹ I will support you there, so you, your household, and everyone with you won’t starve, since the famine will still last five years.’

¹⁵ He kissed all of his brothers and wept, embracing them. After that, his brothers were finally able to talk to him.

Psalm 37^[a]

Of David.

³⁵ But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come back?” ³⁶ Look, fool! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t come back to life unless it dies. ³⁷ What you put in the ground doesn’t have the shape that it will have, but it’s a bare grain of wheat or some other seed. ³⁸ God gives it the sort of shape that he chooses, and he gives each of the seeds its own shape.

⁴² It’s the same with the resurrection of the dead: a rotting body is put into the ground, but what is raised won’t ever decay. ⁴³ It’s degraded when it’s put into the ground, but it’s raised in glory. It’s weak when it’s put into the ground, but it’s raised in power. ⁴⁴ It’s a physical body when it’s put into the ground, but it’s raised as a spiritual body.

If there’s a physical body, there’s also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ So it is also written, The first human, Adam, became a living person,^[a] and the last Adam became a spirit that gives life. ⁴⁶ But the physical body comes first, not the spiritual one—the spiritual body comes afterward. ⁴⁷ The first human was from the earth made from dust; the second human is from heaven. ⁴⁸ The nature of the person made of dust is shared by people who are made of dust, and the nature of the heavenly person is shared by heavenly people. ⁴⁹ We will look like^[b] the heavenly person in the same way as we have looked like the person made from dust.

⁵⁰ This is what I’m saying, brothers and sisters: Flesh and blood can’t inherit God’s kingdom. Something that rots can’t inherit something that doesn’t decay.

Behaving as God’s children

²⁷ “But I say to you who are willing to hear: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. ²⁸ Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ If someone slaps you on the cheek, offer the other one as well. If someone takes your coat, don’t withhold your shirt either. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks and don’t demand your things back from those who take them. ³¹ Treat people in the same way that you want them to treat you.

³² “If you love those who love you, why should you be commended? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ If you do good to those who do good to you, why should you be commended? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ If you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, why should you be commended? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to be paid back in full. ³⁵ Instead, love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing in return. If you do, you will have a great reward. You will be acting the way children of the Most High act, for he is kind to ungrateful and wicked people. ³⁶ Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate.

³⁷ “Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good portion—packed down, firmly shaken, and overflowing—will fall into your lap. The portion you give will determine the portion you receive in return.”