Book of Common Prayer

The Creator Is Making Known His Wrath And His Mercy In Humankind

¹⁹ Therefore you will say to me, “Why then does He still find-fault? For who has resisted^[a] His will?” ²⁰ O human, on the contrary, who are you, the one answering-back to God? The thing formed will not say to the one having formed it, “Why did you make me like-this?”, will it? ²¹ Or does not the potter have authority over the clay to make from the same lump one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? ²² But what if God, wanting^[b] to demonstrate His wrath and to make-known His power, bore^[c] with much patience vessels of wrath having been prepared^[d] for destruction, ²³ and did so in order that He might make-known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy which He prepared-beforehand^[e] for glory— ²⁴ even us whom He called not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles?

He Is Making Those Not His People His Own Children

²⁵ As^[f] He says also in Hosea: “I will call ‘Not My people’, ‘My people’; and ‘Not having been loved’, ‘Having been loved’” [Hos 2:23]. ²⁶ “And it shall be in the place where it was said to them ‘you are not My people’, there they will be called sons of the living God” [Hos 1:10].

But Only a Remnant of Israel Will Be Saved

²⁷ But^[g] Isaiah cries-out concerning Israel: “If the number of the sons of Israel should be like the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved. ²⁸ For the Lord will accomplish^[h] His word upon the earth, completing^[i] and cutting-short^[j]” [in Isa 10:22-23]. ²⁹ And just as Isaiah said-before [in Isa 1:9]: “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left-behind a seed for us, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have been likened^[k] as Gomorrah”.

Israel Pursued a Righteousness Through The Law, And Did Not Attain It

³⁰ Therefore, what shall we say? That Gentiles, the ones not pursuing righteousness, took-hold-of ^[l] righteousness— but a righteousness by faith. ³¹ But Israel, pursuing the Law of righteousness, did not attain to that Law. ³² For what reason? Because they pursued it not by faith, but as-if it was by works. They stumbled on the Stone of stumbling, ³³ just as it has been written [in Isa 28:16]: “Behold— I am laying in Zion a Stone of stumbling and a Rock of falling. And the one putting-faith upon Him will not be put-to-shame”.

While Passing On, Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

9 And while passing on, He saw a man blind from birth. ² And His disciples asked Him, saying “Rabbi, who sinned— this one or his parents, that he should be born blind?” ³ Jesus answered, “Neither this one sinned nor his parents, but it was in order that the works of God might be made-visible in him. ⁴ We must be working the works of the One having sent Me while it is day. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ When I am in the world, I am the light of the world”. ⁶ Having said these things, He spat on the ground and made mud from the saliva, and smeared its mud on the eyes, ⁷ and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated “Sent”^[a]). So he went away and washed, and came^[b] [back] seeing. ⁸ Then the neighbors, and the ones seeing him formerly— because^[c] he was a beggar— were saying “Is not this the one sitting and begging?” ⁹ Others were saying that “This is he”. Others were saying, “No, but he is like him”. That one was saying that “I am he”. ¹⁰ So they were saying to him, “How then were your eyes opened?” ¹¹ That one answered, “The man being called Jesus made mud and smeared it on my eyes, and said to me ‘Go to Siloam and wash’. So having gone away and washed, I received-sight”. ¹² And they said to him, “Where is that One?” He says, “I do not know”.

The Pharisees Were Divided Over This Sign, Because It Was Done On a Sabbath

¹³ They bring him to the Pharisees— the formerly blind one. ¹⁴ Now it was a Sabbath on the day Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. ¹⁵ Therefore the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received-sight. And the one said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see”. ¹⁶ Then some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath”. But others were saying, “How is a sinful man able to do such signs?” And there was a division among them. ¹⁷ So they say to the blind one again, “What do you say about Him, seeing-that He opened your eyes?” And the one said that “He is a prophet”.