M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The First-Born Die

11 The Lord said to Moses, “I will bring trouble upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt one more time. After that he will let you go. He will not only let you go, but he will make you leave. ² Tell the people that each man should ask his neighbor and each woman ask her neighbor for things made of silver and gold.” ³ Then the Lord gave the people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians. And the man Moses was respected in the land of Egypt, in the eyes of Pharaoh’s servants and the people.

⁴ Moses said, “The Lord says this: ‘About midnight I will go through Egypt. ⁵ And all the first-born in the land of Egypt will die, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the first-born of the servant girl grinding the grain, and even the first-born of the cattle. ⁶ There will be loud crying in all the land of Egypt, more than has ever been heard before or will ever be heard again. ⁷ Not even a dog will make a sound against those of Israel, man or animal, so you may know that the Lord divides Egypt from Israel.’ ⁸ All these who are your servants will come to me and bow in front of me. They will say, ‘Go away, you and all the people who follow you.’ After that I will go.” And he went away from Pharaoh very angry. ⁹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you. So I will do more powerful works in the land of Egypt.” ¹⁰ Moses and Aaron did all these great works in front of Pharaoh. But the Lord made Pharaoh’s heart hard. He did not let the people of Israel leave his land.

The Passover

12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ² “This month will be the beginning of months. It will be the first month of the year to you. ³ Speak to the people of Israel when they are gathered together. Tell them that on the tenth day of this month, every man must take a lamb for those of his father’s house, a lamb for each house. ⁴ If those in the house are too few to eat a lamb, let him and his nearest neighbor take the right amount for the number of people. Divide the lamb by how much each can eat. ⁵ Your lamb must be perfect, a male lamb one year old. You may take it from the sheep or the goats. ⁶ Keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then all the people of Israel are to kill it in the evening. ⁷ Then they must take some of the blood and put it on the wood pieces at the sides and top of the door of each house where they will eat it. ⁸ They must eat the meat that same night, made ready over a fire. They will eat it with bread made without yeast and with bitter plants. ⁹ Do not eat any of it if it is not cooked or if it is made ready by boiling. But cook it over a fire, its head, legs and inside parts. ¹⁰ Do not save any of it until morning. Burn with fire whatever is left of it before morning.

¹¹ “Eat it with your shoes on your feet and your walking stick in your hand. And you must eat it in a hurry. It is the time the Lord will pass over. ¹² For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night. And I will kill all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and animal. I will punish all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. ¹³ But the blood will mark for you the houses where you live. When I see the blood I will pass over you. And no trouble will come upon you to destroy you when I punish the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ “This day will be for you to remember. You must remember it by having a special supper in honor to the Lord. All of you must keep it as a law forever. ¹⁵ Seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. On the first day you must get all the yeast out of your houses. Whoever eats anything with yeast from the first day until the seventh day will be taken away from Israel. ¹⁶ On the first day you must have a holy meeting of the people, and another holy meeting on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to get ready what every person must eat. You may do only that. ¹⁷ You must have the special supper of bread without yeast. For on this same day I brought your family groups out of the land of Egypt. So all of you must remember this day as a law forever.

¹⁸ “In the first month, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day, you must eat bread made without yeast. ¹⁹ There must be no yeast found in your houses for seven days. For whoever eats anything with yeast, that person, stranger or born in the land, will be cut off from the people of Israel. ²⁰ Do not eat anything with yeast. You must eat bread made without yeast in all your homes.”

²¹ Then Moses called for all the leaders of Israel. He said to them, “Go and choose lambs for your families, and kill the Passover lamb.

Another Man Healed on the Day of Rest

14 On the Day of Rest Jesus went into the house of one of the leaders of the proud religious law-keepers to eat. They all watched Jesus to see what He would do. ² A man who had very large arms and legs because of a sickness was put before Jesus. ³ Jesus asked the teachers of the Law and the proud religious law-keepers, “Does the Law say it is right to heal on the Day of Rest, or not?” ⁴ They did not answer. Jesus took hold of the man and healed him and sent him away. ⁵ Then Jesus said to the leaders, “If one of you had a cow or donkey that fell into a hole, would you not go at once and pull it out on the Day of Rest?” ⁶ And they were not able to answer His questions.

Jesus Teaches about How to Live with Others

⁷ Jesus had been watching those who were asked to come to supper. They were all trying to get the important seats. He told them a picture-story, saying, ⁸ “When you are asked by someone to a wedding supper, do not take the important seat. Someone more important than you may have been asked to come also. ⁹ The one who asked both of you to come may say to you, ‘The important seat is for this man.’ Then you will be ashamed as you take the last place. ¹⁰ But when you are asked to come to the table, sit down on the last seat. Then the one who asked you may come and say to you, ‘Friend, go to a more important place.’ Then you will be shown respect in front of all who are at the table with you. ¹¹ Whoever makes himself look more important than he is will find out how little he is worth. Whoever does not try to honor himself will be made important.”

¹² Then Jesus said to the man who asked Him to eat in his house, “When you have a supper, do not ask your friends or your brothers or your family or your rich neighbors. They will ask you to come to their place for a supper. That way you will be paid back for what you have done. ¹³ When you have a supper, ask poor people. Ask those who cannot walk and those who are blind. ¹⁴ You will be happy if you do this. They cannot pay you back. You will get your pay when the people who are right with God are raised from the dead.”

¹⁵ When one of those eating at the table with Jesus heard this, he said, “Everyone is happy who will eat in the holy nation of God.”

The Picture-Story of the Big Supper ^(A)

¹⁶ Then Jesus said to the leader of the proud religious law-keepers, “There was a man who was giving a big supper. He asked many people to come to eat. ¹⁷ When it was about time to eat, he sent one of the servants he owned to tell those he had asked, saying, ‘Come, everything is ready now.’ ¹⁸ They all gave different reasons why they could not come. The first said, ‘I have bought some land and I must go and see it. Do not expect me to come.’ ¹⁹ Another one said, ‘I have bought ten cows to use for working in my fields. I must go and try them out. Do not expect me to come.’ ²⁰ And another one said, ‘I have just been married and I cannot come.’

²¹ “The servant went back to his owner and told him these things. Then his owner became angry. He said to his servant, ‘Hurry into the streets and narrow roads of the city and bring poor people here. Bring those whose bodies are diseased. Bring those who cannot walk and those who are blind.’ ²² The servant came back and said, ‘Sir, what you told me to do has been done. But there are still some empty places.’ ²³ Then the owner said to his servant, ‘Go out along the roads leading away from the city and into the fields. Tell them they must come. Do this so my house will be filled. ²⁴ I tell you, not one of those I had asked will eat of my supper.’”

Giving Up Things of This Earth ^(B)

²⁵ Many people followed Jesus. Then He turned around and said to them, ²⁶ “If any man comes to Me and does not have much more love for Me than for his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be My follower. ²⁷ If he does not carry his cross and follow Me, he cannot be My follower.

²⁸ “If one of you wanted to build a large building, you would sit down first and think of how much money it would take to build it. You would see if you had enough money to finish it, ²⁹ or when the base of the building is finished, you might see that you do not have enough money to finish it. Then all who would see it would make fun of you. ³⁰ They would say, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’

³¹ “What if a king is going to war with another king? Will he not sit down first and decide if he is able to go with 10,000 men against the other king who is coming with 20,000 men? ³² Or, he will send a soldier to the other king while he is still a long way off. He will ask what can be done to have peace. ³³ In the same way, whoever does not give up all that he has, cannot be My follower.

³⁴ “Salt is good. But if salt has lost its taste, how can it be made to taste like salt again? ³⁵ It is no good for the field or the waste place. Men throw it away. You have ears, then listen!”

Job Tells of His Past Days

29 Then Job spoke again and said, ² “If only I could be now as I was in the months past when God watched over me! ³ His lamp shined over my head then and by His light I walked through darkness. ⁴ Those days were my best days when God was my friend watching over my tent. ⁵ The All-powerful was still with me, and my children were around me. ⁶ My path was washed with milk, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for me. ⁷ When I went to the city gate and took my place with the leaders of the city, ⁸ the young men saw me and let me go by. The old men rose and stood. ⁹ The leaders stopped talking, and put their hands on their mouths. ¹⁰ The voices of the rulers were quiet. Their tongues held to the roof of their mouths. ¹¹ Those who heard me, honored me. Those who saw me, respected me, ¹² because I helped the poor man when he cried for help and the child without parents who had no one to help him. ¹³ Good came to me from the man who was dying. And I made the heart of the woman whose husband had died sing for joy. ¹⁴ I put on what was right and good, and it clothed me. The right things done were my coat and head-covering. ¹⁵ I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the man who could not walk. ¹⁶ I was a father to those in need. And I helped those I did not know who had a need. ¹⁷ I broke the jaws of the sinful, and took from their teeth what they had taken. ¹⁸ Then I thought, ‘I will die in my nest. My days will be as many as the sand. ¹⁹ My roots go to the water. As the water is on the grass in the early morning, it will be all night on my branches. ²⁰ My honor is always new to me, and my bow is new in my hand.’

²¹ “Men listened to me and waited. They were quiet so they could hear my words of wisdom. ²² After I spoke, they did not speak again. My words stayed with them. ²³ They waited for me as for rain. And they opened their mouths as for the spring rain. ²⁴ I looked at them with joy when they were not sure of themselves, and the light of my face gave them comfort. ²⁵ I decided the way for them and sat as their leader. I lived as a king among his army, and like one who gives comfort to those in sorrow.

Jesus Christ Was Raised from the Dead

15 Christian brothers, I want to tell the Good News to you again. It is the same as I preached to you before. You received it and your faith has been made strong by it. ² This is what I preached to you. You are saved from the punishment of sin by the Good News if you keep hold of it, unless your faith was worth nothing.

³ First of all, I taught you what I had received. It was this: Christ died for our sins as the Holy Writings said He would. ^{(A) 4} Christ was buried. He was raised from the dead three days later as the Holy Writings said He would. ^{(B) 5} Christ was seen by Peter. After that, the twelve followers saw Him. ⁶ After that, more than 500 of His followers saw Him at one time. Most of them are still here, but some have died. ⁷ After that, James saw Christ. Then all the missionaries saw Him. ⁸ Last of all, Christ showed Himself to me as if I had been born too late. ⁹ For I am the least important of all the missionaries. I should not be called a missionary because I made it so hard for God’s church. ¹⁰ I am different now. It is all because of what God did for me by His loving-favor. His loving-favor was not wasted. I worked harder than all the other missionaries. But it was not I who worked. It was God’s loving-favor working through me. ¹¹ It makes no difference how you heard the Good News. It could have been through the other missionaries or through me. The important thing is this: We preached the Good News to you and you believed it.

We Will Be Raised from the Dead Also

¹² We preached to you that Christ has been raised from the dead. But some of you say that people are not raised from the dead. Why do you say this? ¹³ If the dead are not raised, then Christ was not raised from the dead. ¹⁴ If Christ was not raised from the dead, then what we preach to you is worth nothing. Your faith in Christ is worth nothing. ¹⁵ That makes us all liars because we said that God raised Christ from the dead. But God did not raise Christ from the dead if the dead do not come to life again. ¹⁶ If the dead are not raised, then not even Christ was raised from the dead. ¹⁷ If Christ was not raised from the dead, your faith is worth nothing and you are still living in your sins. ¹⁸ Then the Christians who have already died are lost in sin. ¹⁹ If we have hope in Christ in this life only, we are more sad than anyone else.

²⁰ But it is true! Christ has been raised from the dead! He was the first One to be raised from the dead and all those who are in graves will follow. ²¹ Death came because of a man, Adam. Being raised from the dead also came because of a Man, Christ. ²² All men will die as Adam died. But all those who belong to Christ will be raised to new life. ²³ This is the way it is: Christ was raised from the dead first. Then all those who belong to Christ will be raised from the dead when He comes again. ²⁴ Next, at the end of the world, Christ will give His holy nation over to God the Father. Christ will have destroyed every nation and power. ²⁵ Christ must be King until He has destroyed all those who hate Him and work against Him. ²⁶ The last thing that will be destroyed is death. ²⁷ The Holy Writings say that God has put all things under Christ’s feet except Himself. ²⁸ When Christ is over all things, He will put Himself under God Who put all things under Christ. And God will be over all things.

²⁹ What good will it do people if they are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised, why are people baptized for them? ³⁰ Why are we also in danger every hour? ³¹ I say this, Christian brothers, I have joy in what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for you. That is why I face death every day. ³² As men look at it, what good has it done for me in the city of Ephesus to fight with men who act like wild animals? If the dead are not raised, we might as well be like those who say, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

³³ Do not let anyone fool you. Bad people can make those who want to live good become bad. ³⁴ Keep your minds awake! Stop sinning. Some do not know God at all. I say this to your shame.

The Body That Will Be Raised

³⁵ Someone will say, “How are the dead raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” ³⁶ What a foolish question! When you plant a seed, it must die before it starts new life. ³⁷ When you put it in the earth, you are not planting the body which it will become. You put in only a seed. ³⁸ It is God Who gives it a body just as He wants it to have. Each kind of seed becomes a different kind of body.

³⁹ All flesh is not the same. Men have one kind of flesh. Animals have another kind. Fish have another kind, and birds have another kind. ⁴⁰ There are bodies in the heavens. There are bodies on earth. Their greatness is not the same. ⁴¹ The sun has its greatness. The moon has its greatness. Stars have their greatness. One star is different from another star in greatness.

⁴² It is the same with people who are raised from the dead. The body will turn back to dust when it is put in a grave. When the body is raised from the grave, it will never die. ⁴³ It has no greatness when it is put in a grave, but it is raised with shining-greatness. It is weak when it is put in a grave, but it is raised with power. ⁴⁴ It is a human body when it dies, but it is a God-like body when it is raised from the dead. There are human bodies and there are God-like bodies. ⁴⁵ The Holy Writings say, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” But the last Adam (Christ) is a life-giving Spirit.

⁴⁶ We have these human bodies first. Then we are given God-like bodies that are ready for heaven. ⁴⁷ Adam was the first man. He was made from the dust of the earth. Christ was the second man. He came down from heaven. ⁴⁸ All men of the earth are made like Adam. But those who belong to Christ will have a body like the body of Christ Who came from heaven. ⁴⁹ Now, our bodies are like Adam’s body. But in heaven, our bodies will be like the body of Christ.

⁵⁰ Christian brothers, our bodies which are made of flesh and blood will not go into the holy nation of God. That which dies can have no part in that which will never die. ⁵¹ For sure, I am telling you a secret. We will not all die, but we will all be changed. ⁵² In a very short time, no longer than it takes for the eye to close and open, the Christians who have died will be raised. It will happen when the last horn sounds. The dead will be raised never to die again. Then the rest of us who are alive will be changed. ⁵³ Our human bodies made from dust must be changed into a body that cannot be destroyed. Our human bodies that can die must be changed into bodies that will never die. ⁵⁴ When this that can be destroyed has been changed into that which cannot be destroyed, and when this that does die has been changed into that which cannot die, then it will happen as the Holy Writings said it would happen. They said, “Death has no more power over life.” ^{(C) 55} O death, where is your power? O death, where are your pains? ⁵⁶ The pain in death is sin. Sin has power over those under the Law. ⁵⁷ But God is the One Who gives us power over sin through Jesus Christ our Lord. We give thanks to Him for this.

⁵⁸ So then, Christian brothers, because of all this, be strong. Do not allow anyone to change your mind. Always do your work well for the Lord. You know that whatever you do for Him will not be wasted.