M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The Lord Tells Abraham To Offer Isaac as a Sacrifice

22 ^(A) Some years later God decided to test Abraham, so he spoke to him.

Abraham answered, “Here I am, Lord.”

^2 (B) The Lord said, “Go get Isaac, your only son, the one you dearly love! Take him to the land of Moriah, and I will show you a mountain where you must sacrifice him to me on the fires of an altar.” ³ So Abraham got up early the next morning and chopped wood for the fire. He put a saddle on his donkey and set out with Isaac and two servants for the place where God had told him to go.

⁴ Three days later Abraham looked off in the distance and saw the place. ⁵ He told his servants, “Stay here with the donkey, while my son and I go over there to worship. We will come back.”

⁶ Abraham put the wood on Isaac's shoulder, but he carried the hot coals and the knife. As the two of them walked along, ^7-8 Isaac said, “Father, we have the coals and the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?”

“My son,” Abraham answered, “God will provide the lamb.”

The two of them walked on, and ^9 (C) when they reached the place that God had told him about, Abraham built an altar and placed the wood on it. Next, he tied up his son and put him on the wood. ^10 (D) He then took the knife and got ready to kill his son. ¹¹ But the Lord's angel shouted from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am!” he answered.

¹² “Don't hurt the boy or harm him in any way!” the angel said. “Now I know that you truly obey God, because you were willing to offer him your only son.”

¹³ Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the bushes. So he took the ram and sacrificed it instead of his son.

¹⁴ Abraham named that place “The Lord Will Provide.” And even now people say, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”^[a]

¹⁵ The Lord's angel called out from heaven a second time:

^16 (E) You were willing to offer your only son to the Lord, and so he makes you this solemn promise, ^17 (F) “I will bless you and give you such a large family, that someday your descendants will be more numerous than the stars in the sky or the grains of sand along the seashore. They will defeat their enemies and take over the cities where their enemies live. ^18 (G) You have obeyed me, and so you and your descendants will be a blessing to all nations on earth.”

¹⁹ Abraham and Isaac went back to the servants who had come with him, and they returned to Abraham's home in Beersheba.

The Children of Nahor

^20-23 Abraham's brother Nahor had married Milcah, and Abraham was later told that they had eight sons. Uz was their first-born; Buz was next, and then there was Kemuel the father of Aram; their other five sons were: Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel the father of Rebekah. ²⁴ Nahor also had another wife.^[b] Her name was Reumah, and she had four sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem

(Mark 11.1-11; Luke 19.28-38; John 12.12-19)

21 When Jesus and his disciples came near Jerusalem, he went to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives and sent two of them on ahead. ² He told them, “Go into the next village, where you will at once find a donkey and her colt. Untie the two donkeys and bring them to me. ³ If anyone asks why you are doing this, just say, ‘The Lord^[a] needs them.’ He will at once let you have the donkeys.”

⁴ So God's promise came true, just as the prophet had said,

⁶ The disciples left and did what Jesus had told them to do. ⁷ They brought the donkey and its colt and laid some clothes on their backs. Then Jesus got on.

⁸ Many people spread clothes in the road, while others put down branches^[b] which they had cut from trees. ^9 (B) Some people walked ahead of Jesus and others followed behind. They were all shouting,

¹⁰ When Jesus came to Jerusalem, everyone in the city was excited and asked, “Who can this be?”

¹¹ The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Jesus in the Temple

(Mark 11.15-19; Luke 19.45-48; John 2.13-22)

¹² Jesus went into the temple and chased out everyone who was selling or buying. He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and the benches of the ones who were selling doves. ^13 (C) He told them, “The Scriptures say, ‘My house should be called a place of worship.’ But you have turned it into a place where robbers hide.”

¹⁴ Blind and lame people came to Jesus in the temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ But the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses were angry when they saw his miracles and heard the children shouting praises to the Son of David.^{[e] 16 (D)} The men said to Jesus, “Don't you hear what those children are saying?”

“Yes, I do!” Jesus answered. “Don't you know that the Scriptures say, ‘Children and infants will sing praises’?” ¹⁷ Then Jesus left the city and went out to the village of Bethany, where he spent the night.

Jesus Puts a Curse on a Fig Tree

(Mark 11.12-14,20-24)

¹⁸ When Jesus got up the next morning, he was hungry. He started out for the city, ¹⁹ and along the way he saw a fig tree. But when he came to it, he found only leaves and no figs. So he told the tree, “You will never again grow any fruit!” Right then the fig tree dried up.

²⁰ The disciples were shocked when they saw how quickly the tree had dried up. ^21 (E) But Jesus said to them, “If you have faith and don't doubt, I promise you can do what I did to this tree. And you will be able to do even more. You can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will. ²² If you have faith when you pray, you will be given whatever you ask for.”

A Question about Jesus' Authority

(Mark 11.27-33; Luke 20.1-8)

²³ Jesus had gone into the temple and was teaching when the chief priests and the leaders of the people came up to him. They asked, “What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”

²⁴ Jesus answered, “I have just one question to ask you. If you answer it, I will tell you where I got the right to do these things. ²⁵ Who gave John the right to baptize? Was it God in heaven or merely some human being?”

They thought it over and said to each other, “We can't say God gave John this right. Jesus will ask us why we didn't believe John. ²⁶ On the other hand, these people think John was a prophet, and we are afraid of what they might do to us. That's why we can't say it was merely some human who gave John the right to baptize.” ²⁷ So they told Jesus, “We don't know.”

Jesus said, “Then I won't tell you who gave me the right to do what I do.”

A Story about Two Sons

²⁸ Jesus said:

I will tell you a story about a man who had two sons. Then you can tell me what you think. The father went to the older son and said, “Go work in the vineyard today!” ²⁹ His son told him he would not do it, but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ The man then told his younger son to go work in the vineyard. The boy said he would, but he didn't go. ³¹ Which one of the sons obeyed his father?

“The older one,” the chief priests and leaders answered.

Then Jesus told them:

You can be sure tax collectors^[f] and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you ever will! ^32 (F) When John the Baptist showed you how to do right, you would not believe him. But these evil people did believe. And even when you saw what they did, you still would not change your minds and believe.

Renters of a Vineyard

(Mark 12.1-12; Luke 20.9-19)

^33 (G) Jesus told the chief priests and leaders to listen to this story:

A land owner once planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it and dug a pit to crush the grapes in. He also built a lookout tower. Then he rented out his vineyard and left the country.

³⁴ When it was harvest time, the owner sent some servants to get his share of the grapes. ³⁵ But the renters grabbed those servants. They beat up one, killed one, and stoned one of them to death. ³⁶ He then sent more servants than he did the first time. But the renters treated them in the same way.

³⁷ Finally, the owner sent his own son to the renters, because he thought they would respect him. ³⁸ But when they saw the man's son, they said, “Someday he will own the vineyard. Let's kill him! Then we can have it all for ourselves.” ³⁹ So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

⁴⁰ Jesus asked, “When the owner of that vineyard comes, what do you suppose he will do to those renters?”

⁴¹ The chief priests and leaders answered, “He will kill them in some horrible way. Then he will rent out his vineyard to people who will give him his share of grapes at harvest time.”

^42 (H) Jesus replied, “You surely know that the Scriptures say,

People Who Settled in Jerusalem

11 The nation's leaders and their families settled in Jerusalem. But there was room for only one out of every ten of the remaining families, and so they asked God to show them^[a] who would live there. ² Then everyone else asked God to bless those who were willing to live in Jerusalem.

^3 (A) Some of the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, the temple workers, and the descendants of Solomon's servants lived on their own property in the towns of Judah. But the leaders of the province lived in Jerusalem with their families.

The Judah Tribe

^4-6 From the Judah tribe, two leaders settled in Jerusalem with their relatives. One of them was Athaiah son of Uzziah. His ancestors were Zechariah, Amariah, Shephatiah, Mahalalel, and Perez, the son of Judah. From the descendants of Perez, 468 of the best men lived in Jerusalem.

The other leader from Judah was Maaseiah the son of Baruch. His ancestors were Colhozeh, Hazaiah, Adaiah, Joiarib, Zechariah, and Shelah, the son of Judah.

The Benjamin Tribe

^7-8 From the Benjamin tribe, three leaders settled in Jerusalem. The first was Sallu son of Meshullam, and the others were Gabbai and Sallai. Sallu's ancestors were Joed, Pedaiah, Kolaiah, Maaseiah, Ithiel, and Jeshaiah. Altogether, there were 928 men of the Benjamin tribe living in Jerusalem. ⁹ Joel son of Zichri was their leader, and Judah son of Hassenuah was second in command.

Priests

¹⁰ Four priests settled in Jerusalem. The first was Jedaiah; he was the son of Joiarib and the uncle of Jachin.^[b]

¹¹ The second priest to settle there was Seraiah son of Hilkiah. His ancestors were Meshullam, Zadok, Meraioth, and Ahitub, who had been a high priest. ¹² Altogether, there were 822 from his clan who served in the temple.

The third priest to settle there was Adaiah son of Jeroham. His ancestors were Pelaliah, Amzi, Zechariah, Pashhur, and Malchijah. ¹³ Altogether, there were 242 clan leaders among his relatives.

The fourth priest to settle there was Amashsai son of Azarel. His ancestors were Ahzai, Meshillemoth, and Immer. ¹⁴ Altogether, there were 128 brave warriors from their clans, and their leader was Zabdiel son of Haggedolim.

Levites

¹⁵ Several Levites settled in Jerusalem. First, there was Shemaiah son of Hasshub. His ancestors were Azrikam, Hashabiah, and Bunni.

¹⁶ Next, there were Shabbethai and Jozabad, the Levite leaders in charge of the work outside the temple.

¹⁷ Then there was Mattaniah son of Mica. His ancestors were Zabdi and Asaph. Mattaniah led the temple choir in the prayer of praise. Bakbukiah, who also settled in Jerusalem, was his assistant.

Finally, there was Abda son of Shammua; his grandfather was Galal, and his great-grandfather was Jeduthun.

¹⁸ Altogether, 284 Levites settled in the holy city.

Temple Guards and Others

¹⁹ One hundred seventy-two temple guards settled in Jerusalem; their leaders were Akkub and Talmon.

²⁰ The rest of the Israelites, including priests and Levites, lived on their own property in the other towns of Judah. ²¹ But the temple workers lived in the section of Jerusalem known as Ophel, and the two men in charge of them were Ziha and Gishpa.

²² Uzzi son of Bani was the leader of the Levites in Jerusalem. His grandfather was Hashabiah, his great-grandfather was Mattaniah, and his great-great-grandfather was Mica. He belonged to the Asaph clan that was in charge of the music for the temple services, ²³ though the daily choice of music and musicians was decided by royal decree of the Persian king.

²⁴ The people of Israel were represented at the Persian court by Pethahiah son of Meshezabel from the Zerah clan of the Judah tribe.

The People in the Other Towns and Villages

²⁵ Some of the people of Judah lived in the following towns near their farms: Kiriath-Arba, Dibon, Jekabzeel, ²⁶ Jeshua, Moladah, Beth-Pelet, ²⁷ Hazar-Shual, Beersheba, ²⁸ Ziklag, Meconah, ²⁹ Enrimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth, ³⁰ Zanoah, Adullam, Lachish, and Azekah. In fact, they settled the towns from Beersheba in the south to Hinnom Valley in the north.

³¹ The people of Benjamin lived in the towns of Geba, Michmash, Aija, Bethel with its nearby villages, ³² Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, ³³ Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, ³⁴ Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, ³⁵ Lod, and Ono, as well as in Craft Valley. ³⁶ Several groups of Levites from the territory of Judah were sent to live among the people of Benjamin.

Paul Goes to Jerusalem

21 After saying goodbye, we sailed straight to Cos. The next day we reached Rhodes and from there sailed on to Patara. ² We found a ship going to Phoenicia, so we got on board and sailed off.

³ We came within sight of Cyprus and then sailed south of it on to the port of Tyre in Syria, where the ship was going to unload its cargo. ⁴ We found the Lord's followers and stayed with them for a week. The Holy Spirit had told them to warn Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. ⁵ But when the week was over, we started on our way again. All the men, together with their wives and children, walked with us from the town to the seashore. We knelt on the beach and prayed. ⁶ Then after saying goodbye to each other, we got into the ship, and they went back home.

⁷ We sailed from Tyre to Ptolemais, where we greeted the followers and stayed with them for a day. ^8 (A) The next day we went to Caesarea and stayed with Philip, the preacher. He was one of the seven men who helped the apostles, ⁹ and he had four unmarried^[a] daughters who prophesied.

^10 (B) We had been in Caesarea for several days, when the prophet Agabus came to us from Judea. ¹¹ He took Paul's belt, and with it he tied up his own hands and feet. Then he told us, “The Holy Spirit says that some of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will tie up the man who owns this belt. They will also hand him over to the Gentiles.” ¹² After Agabus said this, we and the followers living there begged Paul not to go to Jerusalem.

¹³ But Paul answered, “Why are you crying and breaking my heart? I am not only willing to be put in jail for the Lord Jesus, but I am even willing to die for him in Jerusalem!”

¹⁴ Since we could not get Paul to change his mind, we gave up and prayed, “Lord, please make us willing to do what you want.”

¹⁵ Then we got ready to go to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ Some of the followers from Caesarea went with us and took us to stay in the home of Mnason. He was from Cyprus and had been a follower from the beginning.

Paul Visits James

¹⁷ When we arrived in Jerusalem, the Lord's followers gladly welcomed us. ¹⁸ Paul went with us to see James^[b] the next day, and all the church leaders were present. ¹⁹ Paul greeted them and told how God had used him to help the Gentiles. ²⁰ Everyone who heard this praised God and said to Paul:

My friend, you can see how many tens of thousands of our people have become followers! And all of them are eager to obey the Law of Moses. ²¹ But they have been told that you are teaching those who live among the Gentiles to disobey this Law. They claim that you are telling them not to circumcise their sons or to follow our customs.

²² What should we do now that our people have heard you are here? ^23 (C) Please do what we ask, because four of our men have made special promises to God. ²⁴ Join with them and prepare yourself for the ceremony that goes with the promises. Pay the cost for their heads to be shaved. Then everyone will learn that the reports about you are not true. They will know you do obey the Law of Moses.

^25 (D) Some while ago we told the Gentile followers what we think they should do. We instructed them not to eat anything offered to idols. They were told not to eat any meat with blood still in it or the meat of an animal that has been strangled. They were also told not to commit any terrible sexual sins.^[c]

²⁶ The next day Paul took the four men with him and got himself ready at the same time they did. Then he went into the temple and told when the final ceremony would take place and when an offering would be made for each of them.

Paul Is Arrested

²⁷ When the period of seven days for the ceremony was almost over, some of the Jewish people from Asia saw Paul in the temple. They got a large crowd together and started attacking him. ²⁸ They were shouting, “Friends, help us! This man goes around everywhere, saying bad things about our nation and about the Law of Moses and about this temple. He has even brought shame to this holy temple by bringing in Gentiles.” ^29 (E) Some of them thought that Paul had brought Trophimus from Ephesus into the temple, because they had seen them together in the city.

³⁰ The whole city was in an uproar, and the people turned into a mob. They grabbed Paul and dragged him out of the temple. Then suddenly the doors were shut. ³¹ The people were about to kill Paul when the Roman army commander heard that all Jerusalem was starting to riot. ³² So he quickly took some soldiers and officers and ran to where the crowd had gathered.

As soon as the mob saw the commander and soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ³³ The army commander went over and arrested him and had him bound with two chains. Then he tried to find out who Paul was and what he had done. ³⁴ Part of the crowd shouted one thing, and part of them shouted something else. But they were making so much noise that the commander could not find out a thing. Then he ordered Paul to be taken into the fortress. ³⁵ As they reached the steps, the crowd became so wild that the soldiers had to lift Paul up and carry him. ³⁶ The crowd followed and kept shouting, “Kill him! Kill him!”

Paul Speaks to the Crowd

³⁷ When Paul was about to be taken into the fortress, he asked the commander, “Can I say something to you?”

“How do you know Greek?” the commander asked. ³⁸ “Aren't you that Egyptian who started a riot not long ago and led 4,000 terrorists into the desert?”

³⁹ “No!” Paul replied. “I am a Jew from Tarsus, an important city in Cilicia. Please let me speak to the crowd.”

⁴⁰ The commander told him he could speak, so Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the people. When they were quiet, he spoke to them in Aramaic:^[d]