M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Josiah Celebrates the Passover Feast

35 Josiah celebrated the Passover Feast in Jerusalem to honor the Lord. The Passover lamb was killed on the 14th day of the first month. ² Josiah appointed the priests to their duties. He cheered them up as they served the Lord at his temple. ³ The Levites taught all the people of Israel. The Levites had been set apart to the Lord. Josiah said to them, “Put the sacred ark of the covenant in the temple Solomon built. He was the son of David and king of Israel. The ark must not be carried around on your shoulders. Serve the Lord your God. Serve his people Israel. ⁴ Prepare yourselves by families in your groups. Do it based on the directions written by David, the king of Israel, and by his son Solomon.

⁵ “Stand at the temple. Stand there with a group of Levites for each group of families among your people. ⁶ Kill the Passover lambs. Set yourselves apart to the Lord. Prepare the lambs for your people. Do what the Lord commanded through Moses.”

⁷ Josiah provided animals for the Passover offerings. He gave them for all the people who were there. He gave a total of 30,000 lambs and goats and 3,000 oxen. He gave all of them from his own possessions.

⁸ His officials also gave freely. They gave to the people and the priests and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah and Jehiel were in charge of God’s temple. They gave the priests 2,600 Passover lambs and 300 oxen. ⁹ Konaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel also gave offerings. So did Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad. All of them were the leaders of the Levites. They gave 5,000 Passover lambs and 500 oxen for the Levites.

¹⁰ The Passover service was arranged. The priests stood in their places. The Levites were in their groups. That’s what the king had ordered. ¹¹ The Passover lambs were killed. The priests splashed against the altar the blood handed to them. The Levites skinned the animals. ¹² They set the burnt offerings to one side. These offerings were for the smaller family groups to offer to the Lord. That’s what was written in the Book of Moses. The Levites did the same thing with the oxen. ¹³ They cooked the Passover animals over the fire, just as the law required. They boiled the holy offerings in pots, large kettles and pans. They served the offerings quickly to all the people. ¹⁴ After that, they got things ready for themselves and the priests. That’s because the priests, who were from the family line of Aaron, were busy until dark. They were sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat parts. The Levites got things ready for themselves and for the priests, who belonged to Aaron’s family line.

¹⁵ Those who played music were from the family line of Asaph. They were in the places that had been set up by David, Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun. Jeduthun had been the king’s prophet. The guards at each gate didn’t have to leave their places. That’s because their brother Levites got things ready for them.

¹⁶ So at that time the entire service to honor the Lord was carried out. The Passover Feast was celebrated. The burnt offerings were sacrificed on the Lord’s altar. That’s what King Josiah had ordered. ¹⁷ The Israelites who were there celebrated the Passover Feast at that time. They observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. ¹⁸ The Passover Feast hadn’t been observed like that in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated a Passover Feast like Josiah’s. He celebrated it with the priests and Levites. All the people of Judah and Israel were there along with the people of Jerusalem. He celebrated it with them too. ¹⁹ That Passover Feast was celebrated in the 18th year of Josiah’s rule.

Josiah Dies

²⁰ Josiah had put the temple in order. After all of that, Necho went up to fight at Carchemish. He was king of Egypt. Carchemish was on the Euphrates River. Josiah marched out to meet Necho in battle. ²¹ But Necho sent messengers to him. They said, “Josiah king of Judah, there isn’t any trouble between you and me. I’m not attacking you at this time. I’m at war with another country. God told me to hurry. He’s with me. So stop opposing him. If you don’t, he’ll destroy you.”

²² But Josiah wouldn’t turn away from Necho. Josiah wore different clothes so people wouldn’t recognize him. He wanted to go to war against Necho. He wouldn’t listen to what God had commanded Necho to say. Instead, Josiah went out to fight him on the plains of Megiddo.

²³ Men who had bows shot arrows at King Josiah. After he was hit, he told his officers, “Take me away. I’m badly wounded.” ²⁴ So they took him out of his chariot. They put him in his other chariot. They brought him to Jerusalem. There he died. He was buried in the tombs of his family. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him.

²⁵ Jeremiah wrote songs of sadness about Josiah. To this day all the male and female singers remember Josiah by singing those songs. That became a practice in Israel. The songs are written down in the Book of the Songs of Sadness.

²⁶ Josiah did many things that showed he was faithful to the Lord. Those things and the other events of Josiah’s rule were in keeping with what is written in the Law of the Lord. ²⁷ All the events from beginning to end are written down. They are written in the records of the kings of Israel and Judah.

A New Heaven and a New Earth

21 I saw “a new heaven and a new earth.” (Isaiah 65:17) The first heaven and the first earth were completely gone. There was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem. It was coming down out of heaven from God. It was prepared like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ I heard a loud voice from the throne. It said, “Look! God now makes his home with the people. He will live with them. They will be his people. And God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death.’ (Isaiah 25:8) And there will be no more sadness. There will be no more crying or pain. Things are no longer the way they used to be.”

⁵ He who was sitting on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down. You can trust these words. They are true.”

⁶ He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give water to anyone who is thirsty. The water will come from the spring of the water of life. It doesn’t cost anything! ⁷ Those who have victory will receive all this from me. I will be their God, and they will be my children. ⁸ But others will be thrown into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. Those who are afraid and those who do not believe will be there. Murderers and those who make themselves impure will join them. Those who commit sexual sins and those who practice witchcraft will go there. Those who worship statues of gods and all who tell lies will be there too. The lake of fire is the second death.”

The New Jerusalem is the Bride of the Lamb

⁹ One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. The bowls were filled with the seven last plagues. The angel said, “Come. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” ¹⁰ Then he carried me away in a vision. The Spirit took me to a huge, high mountain. He showed me Jerusalem, the Holy City. It was coming down out of heaven from God. ¹¹ It shone with the glory of God. It gleamed like a very valuable jewel. It was like a jasper, as clear as crystal. ¹² The city had a huge, high wall with 12 gates. Twelve angels were at the gates, one at each of them. On the gates were written the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. ¹³ There were three gates on the east and three on the north. There were three gates on the south and three on the west. ¹⁴ The wall of the city had 12 foundations. Written on them were the names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb.

¹⁵ The angel who talked with me had a gold measuring rod. He used it to measure the city, its gates and its walls. ¹⁶ The city was laid out like a square. It was as long as it was wide. The angel measured the city with the rod. It was 1,400 miles long. It was as wide and high as it was long. ¹⁷ The angel measured the wall as human beings measure things. It was 200 feet thick. ¹⁸ The wall was made out of jasper. The city was made out of pure gold, as pure as glass. ¹⁹ The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of jewel. The first foundation was made out of jasper. The second was made out of sapphire. The third was made out of agate. The fourth was made out of emerald. ²⁰ The fifth was made out of onyx. The sixth was made out of ruby. The seventh was made out of chrysolite. The eighth was made out of beryl. The ninth was made out of topaz. The tenth was made out of turquoise. The eleventh was made out of jacinth. The twelfth was made out of amethyst. ²¹ The 12 gates were made from 12 pearls. Each gate was made out of a single pearl. The main street of the city was made out of gold. It was gold as pure as glass that people can see through clearly.

²² I didn’t see a temple in the city. That’s because the Lamb and the Lord God who rules over all are its temple. ²³ The city does not need the sun or moon to shine on it. God’s glory is its light, and the Lamb is its lamp. ²⁴ The nations will walk by the light of the city. The kings of the world will bring their glory into it. ²⁵ Its gates will never be shut, because there will be no night there. ²⁶ The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. ²⁷ Only what is pure will enter the city. No one who causes people to believe lies will enter it. No one who does shameful things will enter it either. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will enter the city.

3 The Lord who rules over all says, “I will send my messenger. He will prepare my way for me. Then suddenly the Lord you are looking for will come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant will come. He is the one you long for.”

² But who can live through the day when he comes? Who will be left standing when he appears? He will be like a fire that makes things pure. He will be like soap that makes things clean. ³ He will act like one who makes silver pure. And he will purify the Levites, just as gold and silver are purified with fire. Then these men will bring proper offerings to the Lord. ⁴ And the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to him. It will be as it was in days and years gone by.

⁵ “So I will come and put you on trial. I will be quick to bring charges against all of you,” says the Lord who rules over all. “I will bring charges against you sinful people who do not have any respect for me. That includes those who practice evil magic. It includes those who commit adultery and those who tell lies in court. It includes those who cheat workers out of their pay. It includes those who treat widows badly. It also includes those who mistreat children whose fathers have died. And it includes those who take away the rights of outsiders in the courts.

Breaking the Covenant by Stealing From God

⁶ “I am the Lord. I do not change. That is why I have not destroyed you members of Jacob’s family. ⁷ You have turned away from my rules. You have not obeyed them. You have lived that way ever since the days of your people of long ago. Return to me. Then I will return to you,” says the Lord who rules over all.

“But you ask, ‘How can we return?’

⁸ “Will a mere human being dare to steal from God? But you rob me!

“You ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’

“By holding back your offerings. You also steal from me when you do not bring me a tenth of everything you produce. ⁹ So you are under my curse. In fact, your whole nation is under my curse. That is because you are robbing me. ¹⁰ Bring the entire tenth to the storerooms in my temple. Then there will be plenty of food. Test me this way,” says the Lord. “Then you will see that I will throw open the windows of heaven. I will pour out so many blessings that you will not have enough room to store them. ¹¹ I will keep bugs from eating up your crops. And your grapes will not drop from the vines before they are ripe,” says the Lord. ¹² “Then all the nations will call you blessed. Your land will be delightful,” says the Lord who rules over all.

Israel Speaks With Pride Against the Lord

¹³ “You have spoken with pride against me,” says the Lord.

“But you ask, ‘What have we spoken against you?’

¹⁴ “You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God. What do we gain by obeying his laws? And what do we get by pretending to be sad in front of the Lord? ¹⁵ But now we call proud people blessed. Things go well with those who do what is evil. And God doesn’t even punish those who test him.’ ”

Those Who Respect the Lord

¹⁶ Those who had respect for the Lord talked with one another. And the Lord heard them. A list of people and what they did was written in a book in front of him. It included the names of those who respected the Lord and honored him.

¹⁷ “The day is coming when I will judge,” says the Lord who rules over all. “On that day they will be my special treasure. I will spare them just as a father loves and spares his son who serves him. ¹⁸ Then once again you will see the difference between godly people and sinful people. And you will see the difference between those who serve me and those who do not.

The Tomb Is Empty

20 Early on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. It was still dark. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the entrance. ² So she ran to Simon Peter and another disciple, the one Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb! We don’t know where they have put him!”

³ So Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. ⁴ Both of them were running. The other disciple ran faster than Peter. He reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there. But he did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came along behind him. He went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there. ⁷ He also saw the funeral cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place. It was separate from the linen. ⁸ The disciple who had reached the tomb first also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹ They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

¹¹ But Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she cried, she bent over to look into the tomb. ¹² She saw two angels dressed in white. They were seated where Jesus’ body had been. One of them was where Jesus’ head had been laid. The other sat where his feet had been placed.

¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said. “I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴ Then she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But she didn’t realize that it was Jesus.

¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”

She thought he was the gardener. So she said, “Sir, did you carry him away? Tell me where you put him. Then I will go and get him.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him. Then she cried out in the Aramaic language, “Rabboni!” Rabboni means Teacher.

¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me. I have not yet ascended to the Father. Instead, go to those who believe in me. Tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news. She said, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

¹⁹ On the evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were together. They had locked the doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Jesus came in and stood among them. He said, “May peace be with you!” ²⁰ Then he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were very happy when they saw the Lord.

²¹ Again Jesus said, “May peace be with you! The Father has sent me. So now I am sending you.” ²² He then breathed on them. He said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Jesus Appears to Thomas

²⁴ Thomas was one of the 12 disciples. He was also called Didymus. He was not with the other disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵ So they told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “First I must see the nail marks in his hands. I must put my finger where the nails were. I must put my hand into his side. Only then will I believe.”

²⁶ A week later, Jesus’ disciples were in the house again. Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus came in and stood among them. He said, “May peace be with you!” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here. See my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

²⁸ Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen me but still have believed.”

The Purpose of John’s Gospel

³⁰ Jesus performed many other signs in front of his disciples. They are not written down in this book. ³¹ But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. If you believe this, you will have life because you belong to him.