Book of Common Prayer

⁴ The Messiah, you see, is the goal of the law, so that covenant membership may be available for all who believe.

The fulfillment of the covenant

⁵ Moses writes, you see, about the covenant membership defined by the law, that “the person who performs the law’s commands shall live in them.” ⁶ But the faith-based covenant membership puts it like this: “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who shall go up to heaven?’ ” (in other words, to bring the Messiah down), ⁷ “or, ‘Who shall go down into the depths?’ ” (in other words, to bring the Messiah up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we proclaim); ⁹ because if you profess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ Why? Because covenant membership comes by believing with the heart, and salvation comes by professing with the mouth. ¹¹ The Bible says, you see, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, since the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich towards all who call upon him. ¹³ “All who call upon the name of the Lord,” you see, “will be saved.”

The call to the world, and the failure of Israel

¹⁴ So how are they to call on someone when they haven’t believed in him? And how are they to believe if they don’t hear? And how will they hear without someone announcing it to them? ¹⁵ And how will people make that announcement unless they are sent? As the Bible says, “How beautiful are the feet of the ones who bring good news of good things.”

¹⁶ But not all obeyed the good news. Isaiah asks, you see, “Lord, who has believed our report?” ¹⁷ So faith comes from hearing, and hearing comes from the word of the Messiah.

²⁹ “Woe betide you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets, and you decorate the memorials of the righteous, ³⁰ and you say, ‘If we’d lived in the days of our ancestors, we wouldn’t have gone along with them in killing the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves that you are the children of the people who murdered the prophets! ³² Well then, go ahead: complete the work your ancestors began! ³³ You snakes, you nest of vipers, how can you escape the judgment of Gehenna?”

Judgment on Jerusalem and its leaders

³⁴ “Because of all this,” Jesus concluded, “I’m sending you prophets, wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify. Some of them you will whip in your synagogues. You’ll chase them from town to town. ³⁵ That’s how all the righteous blood that’s been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah—you murdered him between sanctuary and altar—all that blood will come upon you. ³⁶ I’m telling you the solemn truth: it will all come on this generation.

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often have I longed to gather up your children, the way a hen gathers up her brood under her wings, and you didn’t want me to! ³⁸ Now, see here: your house has been abandoned by God; it’s a ruin. ³⁹ Yes, I tell you: you won’t see me again from now on until you say, ‘God’s blessing on the coming one, the one who comes in the Lord’s own name!’ ”