M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Joshua’s Retirement Address to Israel
23 Many years later, after the Lord had given peace[a] between Israel and all its surrounding enemies, and after Joshua had become very old, 2 Joshua called together all Israel, including their leaders, officials, judges, and tribal officers. He told them, “I am old now after having lived many years. 3 You have seen everything that the Lord your God has done to all of these nations on your behalf, because it has been the Lord your God who has been fighting on your behalf. 4 Now look, I have allocated these nations that remain as an inheritance for your tribes, including all of the nations that I have eliminated, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean[b] Sea to the west.[c] 5 The Lord your God will expel them in front of you, driving them out of your sight. You will take possession of this land, just as the Lord your God promised you. 6 Stand very strong, then, so you can obey and carry out everything written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning neither to the right nor to the left of it. 7 That way, you will not mingle with those nations that remain among you, nor mention the name of their gods, nor make oaths by them,[d] nor serve them, nor worship them. 8 Instead, you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have done today, 9 because the Lord has expelled great and strong nations ahead of you. Now as for you, not a single man has been able to oppose you right to this day. 10 A single man makes a thousand flee, because the Lord your God is the one who is fighting for you, just as he promised you.
11 “So be very diligent to love the Lord your God, 12 because if you ever turn back and cling to those who remain of these nations by intermarrying with them and associating one with another, 13 know for certain that the Lord your God will not continue to drive out these nations ahead of you. Instead, they will be a snare and a trap for you, a whip to your backs, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the Lord your God has given you.
14 “Look here: today I’m going down the path that everyone on earth takes, and you know with all your hearts and souls that not a single word of all of the good things that the Lord your God spoke about you has failed to happen. Everything has been fulfilled about you—not one of them has failed. 15 However, just as all of the good things have come about that the Lord your God promised, so also the Lord will bring upon you all of the threats until he has destroyed you from possessing this good land that he[e] has given you. 16 When you break the covenant of the Lord your God that he commanded you to obey by going to serve other gods and worship them, then the anger of the Lord will blaze against you, and you will perish quickly from this good land that he gave you.”
A Crippled Man is Healed
3 One afternoon, Peter and John were on their way to the Temple for the three o’clock prayer time.[a] 2 Now a man who had been crippled from birth was being carried in. Every day people[b] would lay him at what was called the Beautiful Gate so that he could beg from those who were going into the Temple. 3 When he saw that Peter and John were about to go into the Temple, he asked them to give him something.
4 Peter, along with John, looked him straight in the eye and said, “Look at us!” 5 So the man[c] watched them closely, expecting to get something from them. 6 However, Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold, but I’ll give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus the Messiah[d] from Nazareth, walk!”[e] 7 Then Peter[f] took hold of his right hand and began to help him up. Immediately his feet and ankles became strong, 8 and he sprang to his feet, stood up, and began to walk. Then he went with them into the Temple, walking, jumping, and praising God.
9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 they knew that he was the man who used to sit and beg at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
Peter Speaks to the Onlookers
11 While he was holding on to Peter and John, all the people came running to them in what was called “Solomon’s Colonnade”. They were dumbfounded. 12 When Peter saw this, he told the people: “Fellow Israelis, why are you wondering about this, and why are you staring at us as if by our own power or godliness we made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of our ancestors—has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you betrayed and rejected in the presence of Pilate, even though he had decided to let him go. 14 You rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer released to you, 15 and you killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead. We are witnesses to that. 16 It is his name—that is, by faith in his name—that has healed this man whom you see and know. Yes, the faith that comes through Jesus[g] has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.
17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance like your leaders. 18 This is how God fulfilled what he had predicted through the voice of all the prophets—that his Messiah[h] would suffer. 19 Therefore, repent and turn to him to have your sins blotted out, 20 so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and so that he may send you Jesus, whom he appointed long ago to be the Messiah.[i] 21 He must remain in heaven until the time of universal restitution, which God announced long ago through the voice of his holy prophets. 22 In fact, Moses said,
‘The Lord[j] your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to everything he tells you.[k] 23 Any person who will not listen to that prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.’[l]
24 “Indeed, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who followed him, also announced these days. 25 You are the descendants of the prophets and the heirs[m] of the covenant that God made with your[n] ancestors when he told Abraham, ‘Through your descendant[o] all the families of the earth will be blessed.’[p] 26 When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning every one of you from your evil ways.”
Jeremiah’s Complaint about Justice
12 You are righteous, Lord,
even when I bring a complaint to you.
But I want to discuss justice with you.
Why does the way of the wicked prosper,
while all who are treacherous are at ease?
2 You plant them and they take root,
they grow and bear fruit.
“You are near to us,” they say with their mouths,
but the truth is that you’re far from their hearts.
3 You know me, Lord.
You see me and test my thoughts[a] toward you.
Pull the wicked[b] out like sheep for slaughter;
set them apart for the day of butchering.[c]
4 How long will the land mourn
and the vegetation of every field dry up?
Because of the wickedness of those who live in it,
animals and birds are swept away.
For they say, “He does not see our future.”
God’s Reply to Jeremiah
5 Indeed, if you run with others on foot,
and they tire you out,
how can you compete with horses?
You are secure[d] in a land at peace,
but how will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?
6 Indeed, even your brothers and your father’s family
conspire against you.
Even they cry out after you loudly.
Don’t believe them, even though they speak friendly words to you.
7 I’ll forsake my house,
I’ll abandon my inheritance.
I’ll give the beloved of my heart
into the hand of her enemies.
8 My inheritance has become like a lion in the forest to me.
She roars at me; therefore, I hate her.
9 Is my inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to me?
Are the other[e] birds of prey all around her coming against her?
Go, gather all the wild animals and
bring them to devour it.
10 Many shepherds will destroy my vineyard.
They’ll trample down my portion.
They’ll turn my pleasant portion
into a desolate desert.
11 They’ll make it into a desolate place,
and, desolate, it will cry out in mourning to me.
The whole land will be desolate
because no one takes it to heart.
12 On all the barren heights in the desert
destroyers will come.
Indeed, a sword of the Lord will devour from
one end of the land to the other.
There will be no peace[f] for any person.[g]
13 They have sown wheat,
but they have harvested thorns.
They have tired themselves out,
but they don’t show a profit.
Now be disappointed about your harvest
because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
God’s Word about Judah’s Neighbors
14 This is what the Lord says about all the wicked neighbors who strike out against the land[h] I’ve given to my people Israel as their inheritance:[i] “I’m about to uproot them from their land, and I’ll uproot the house of Judah from among them. 15 After I’ve uprooted them, I’ll again have compassion on them. I’ll return each one of them to his inheritance, and each one to his own land. 16 If they have learned the ways of my people well, to swear by my name: ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ just as they once taught my people to swear by Baal, then they’ll be built up among my people. 17 But if they don’t listen, then I’ll completely uproot that nation and destroy it,” declares the Lord.
The Plot to Kill Jesus(A)
26 When Jesus had finished saying all these things,[a] he told his disciples, 2 “You know that the Passover will take place in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
3 Then the high priests and the elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas. 4 They conspired to arrest Jesus by treachery and to kill him. 5 But they kept saying, “This must not happen during the festival. Otherwise, there’ll be a riot among the people.”
A Woman Anoints Jesus(B)
6 While Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume and poured it on his head while he sat at the table. 8 But when the disciples saw this, they became irritated and said, “Why this waste? 9 Surely this perfume could’ve been sold for a high price and the money[b] given to the destitute.”
10 But knowing this,[c] Jesus asked them, “Why are you bothering the woman? She has done a beautiful thing for me. 11 You’ll always have the destitute with you, but you’ll not always have me. 12 When she poured this perfume on my body, she was preparing me for burial. 13 I tell all of you[d] with certainty, wherever this gospel is proclaimed throughout the whole world, what she has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus(C)
14 Then one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the high priests 15 and inquired, “What are you willing to give me if I betray Jesus[e] to you?” They offered him 30 pieces of silver, 16 and from then on he began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus.[f]
The Passover with the Disciples(D)
17 On the first day of the Festival[g] of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover meal?”
18 He said, “Go to a certain man in the city and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near. I will celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.”’”[h] 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal.
20 When evening came, Jesus[i] was sitting at the table with the Twelve.[j] 21 While they were eating, he said, “I tell all of you[k] with certainty, one of you is going to betray me.”
22 Feeling deeply distressed, each one began to ask him, “Surely I am not the one, Lord?”
23 He replied, “The man who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man is going away, just as it has been written about him. How terrible it will be for that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had never been born.”
25 Then Judas, who was going to betray him, asked, “Rabbi,[l] I’m not the one, am I?”
Jesus[m] told him, “You have said so.”
The Lord’s Supper(E)
26 While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and handed it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it. This is my body.”
27 Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, 28 because this is my blood of the new[n] covenant that is being poured out for many people for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell all of you[o] I will never again drink the product of the vine until that day when I drink it with you once again in my Father’s kingdom.”
30 After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial(F)
31 Then Jesus told them, “All of you will turn against me this very night, because it is written,
‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’[p]
32 However, after I have been raised, I will go to Galilee ahead of you.”
33 But Peter told him, “Even if everyone else turns against you, I certainly won’t!”
34 Jesus told him, “I tell you[q] with certainty, before a rooster crows this very night, you will deny me three times.”
35 Peter told him, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” And all the disciples said the same thing.
Jesus Prays in the Garden of Gethsemane(G)
36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane. He told the disciples, “Sit down here while I go over there and pray.” 37 Taking Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him, he began to be grieved and troubled. 38 Then he told them, “I’m so deeply grieved that I feel I’m about to die. Wait here and stay awake with me.”
39 Going on a little farther, he fell on his face and prayed, “O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not what I want but what you want.”
40 When he went back to the disciples, he found them asleep. He told Peter, “So, you men couldn’t stay awake with me for one hour, could you? 41 All of you must stay awake and pray that you won’t be tempted. The spirit is indeed willing, but the body[r] is weak.”
42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if this cup cannot go away unless I drink it, let your will be done.” 43 Then he came back and found them asleep, because they could not keep their eyes open. 44 After leaving them again, he went away and prayed again for the third time, saying the same thing.
45 Then he came back to the disciples and told them, “You might as well keep on sleeping and resting.[s] Look! The time is near for the Son of Man to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Get up! Let’s go! See, the one who is betraying me is near!”
Jesus is Arrested(H)
47 Just then, while Jesus[t] was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. A large crowd armed with swords and clubs was with him. They were from the high priests and elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer personally had given them a signal, saying, “The one I kiss[u] is the man. Arrest him.”
49 So Judas[v] immediately went up to Jesus and said, “Hello, Rabbi!”[w] and kissed him tenderly.
50 Jesus asked him, “Friend, why are you here?”[x] Then the other men[y] surged forward, took hold of Jesus, and arrested him.
51 Suddenly, one of the men with Jesus reached out his hand, drew his sword, and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his ear. 52 Jesus told him, “Put your sword back in its place! Everyone who uses a sword will be killed by a sword. 53 Don’t you think that I could call on my Father, and he would send me more than twelve legions of angels now? 54 How, then, would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say this must happen?”
55 At this point,[z] Jesus asked the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as if I were a bandit?[aa] Day after day I sat teaching in the Temple, yet you didn’t arrest me. 56 But all of this has happened so that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.”
Then all the disciples deserted Jesus[ab] and ran away.
Jesus is Tried before the High Priest(I)
57 Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had assembled. 58 Peter, however, followed him at a distance as far as the high priest’s courtyard. He went inside and sat down with the servants to see how this would end.
59 Meanwhile, the high priests and the whole Council[ac] were looking for false testimony against Jesus in order to have him put to death. 60 But they couldn’t find any, even though many false witnesses had come forward. At last two men came forward 61 and stated, “This man said, ‘I can destroy the sanctuary of God and rebuild it in three days.’”
62 At this, the high priest stood up and asked Jesus,[ad] “Don’t you have any answer to what these men are testifying against you?” 63 But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest told him, “I command you by the living God to tell us if you are the Messiah,[ae] the Son of God!”
64 Jesus told him, “You have said so. Nevertheless I tell you, from now on you will see ‘the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power’[af] and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven.’”[ag]
65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? Listen! You yourselves have just heard the blasphemy! 66 What is your verdict?”
They replied, “He deserves to die!”
67 Then they spit in his face and hit him. Some slapped him, 68 saying, “Prophesy to us, you Messiah![ah] Who hit[ai] you?”
Peter Denies Jesus(J)
69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard when a servant girl came up to him and said, “You, too, were with Jesus the Galilean.”
70 But he denied it in front of them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” he exclaimed.
71 As he went out to the gateway, another woman saw him and told those who were there, “This man was with Jesus from Nazareth.”[aj]
72 Again he denied it and swore with an oath, “I don’t know the man!”
73 After a little while, the people who were standing there came up and told Peter, “Obviously you’re also one of them, because your accent gives you away.”
74 Then he began to curse violently. “I don’t know the man!” he swore solemnly. Just then a rooster crowed. 75 Peter remembered the words of Jesus when he said, “Before a rooster crows, you’ll deny me three times.” Then he went outside and cried bitterly.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.