M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
33 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place. You and the people you brought up out of Egypt must leave it. Go up to the land I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I said to them, ‘I will give it to your children after you.’ 2 I will send an angel ahead of you. I will drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 3 Go up to the land that has plenty of milk and honey. But I will not go with you. You are stubborn. I might destroy you on the way.”
4 When the people heard these painful words, they began to mourn. No one put on any jewelry. 5 The Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are stubborn. If I went with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your jewelry. Then I will decide what to do with you.’ ” 6 So the people took off their jewelry at Mount Horeb.
The Tent of Meeting
7 Moses used to take a tent and set it up far outside the camp. He called it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone who wanted to ask the Lord a question would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 8 When Moses would go out to the tent, everyone would get up and stand at the entrances to their tents. They would watch Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses would go into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down. It would stay at the entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 The people would see the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent. Then all of them would stand and worship at the entrances to their tents. 11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face like one would speak to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp. But Joshua, his young helper, didn’t leave the tent. Joshua was the son of Nun.
Moses and the Glory of the Lord
12 Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people.’ But you haven’t let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know your name. I know all about you. And I am pleased with you.’ 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me more about yourself. Then I can know you. And I can continue to please you. Remember that this nation is your people.”
14 The Lord replied, “I will go with you. And I will give you rest.”
15 Then Moses said to him, “If you don’t go with us, don’t send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and your people? You must go with us. How else will we be different from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
17 The Lord said to Moses, “I will do exactly what you have asked. I am pleased with you. And I know your name. I know all about you.”
18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
19 The Lord said, “I will make all my goodness pass in front of you. And I will announce my name, the Lord, in front of you. I will have mercy on whom I have mercy. And I will show love to those I love. 20 But you can’t see my face,” he said. “No one can see me and stay alive.”
21 The Lord continued, “There is a place near me where you can stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in an opening in the rock. I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand. You will see my back. But my face must not be seen.”
Mary Pours Perfume on Jesus at Bethany
12 It was six days before the Passover Feast. Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived. Lazarus was the one Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 A dinner was given at Bethany to honor Jesus. Martha served the food. Lazarus was among the people at the table with Jesus. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard. It was an expensive perfume. She poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the sweet smell of the perfume.
4 But Judas Iscariot didn’t like what Mary did. He was one of Jesus’ disciples. Later he was going to hand Jesus over to his enemies. Judas said, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold? Why wasn’t the money given to poor people? It was worth a year’s pay.” 6 He didn’t say this because he cared about the poor. He said it because he was a thief. Judas was in charge of the money bag. He used to help himself to what was in it.
7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “The perfume was meant for the day I am buried. 8 You will always have the poor among you. But you won’t always have me.”
9 Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there, so they came. But they did not come only because of Jesus. They also came to see Lazarus. After all, Jesus had raised him from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus too. 11 Because of Lazarus, many of the Jews were starting to follow Jesus. They were believing in him.
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
12 The next day the large crowd that had come for the feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches from palm trees and went out to meet him. They shouted,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Psalm 118:25,26)
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it. This is just as it is written in Scripture. It says,
15 “City of Zion, do not be afraid.
See, your king is coming.
He is sitting on a donkey’s colt.” (Zechariah 9:9)
16 At first, Jesus’ disciples did not understand all this. They realized it only after he had received glory. Then they realized that these things had been written about him. They realized that these things had been done to him.
17 A crowd had been with Jesus when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead. So they continued to tell everyone about what had happened. 18 Many people went out to meet him. They had heard that he had done this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “This isn’t getting us anywhere. Look how the whole world is following him!”
Jesus Tells About His Coming Death
20 There were some Greeks among the people who went up to worship during the feast. 21 They came to ask Philip for a favor. Philip was from Bethsaida in Galilee. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew. Then Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
23 Jesus replied, “The time has come for the Son of Man to receive glory. 24 What I’m about to tell you is true. Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only one seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it. But anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it and have eternal life. 26 Anyone who serves me must follow me. And where I am, my servant will also be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
27 “My soul is troubled. What should I say? ‘Father, keep me from having to go through with this’? No. This is the very reason I have come to this point in my life. 28 Father, bring glory to your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven. It said, “I have brought glory to my name. I will bring glory to it again.” 29 The crowd there heard the voice. Some said it was thunder. Others said an angel had spoken to Jesus.
30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now it is time for the world to be judged. Now the prince of this world will be thrown out. 32 And I am going to be lifted up from the earth. When I am, I will bring all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show them how he was going to die.
34 The crowd spoke up. “The Law tells us that the Messiah will remain forever,” they said. “So how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”
35 Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light. Do this before darkness catches up with you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. 36 While you have the light, believe in it. Then you can become children of light.” When Jesus had finished speaking, he left and hid from them.
Some Jews Believe and Some Don’t
37 Jesus had performed so many signs in front of them. But they still would not believe in him. 38 This happened as Isaiah the prophet had said it would. He had said,
“Lord, who has believed what we’ve been saying?
Who has seen the Lord’s saving power?” (Isaiah 53:1)
39 For this reason, they could not believe. As Isaiah says in another place,
40 “The Lord has blinded their eyes.
He has closed their minds.
So they can’t see with their eyes.
They can’t understand with their minds.
They can’t turn to the Lord. If they could, he would heal them.” (Isaiah 6:10)
41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.
42 At the same time that Jesus did those signs, many of the Jewish leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees, they would not openly admit they believed. They were afraid they would be thrown out of the synagogue. 43 They loved praise from people more than praise from God.
44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only. They also believe in the one who sent me. 45 The one who looks at me sees the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world to be its light. So no one who believes in me will stay in darkness.
47 “I don’t judge a person who hears my words but does not obey them. I didn’t come to judge the world. I came to save the world. 48 But there is a judge for anyone who does not accept me and my words. These words I have spoken will judge them on the last day. 49 I did not speak on my own. The Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have said. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So everything I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”
Wisdom and Foolishness Call Out
9 Wisdom has built her house.
She has set up its seven pillars.
2 She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine.
She has also set her table.
3 She has sent out her servants.
She calls out from the highest point of the city.
4 She says, “Let all who are childish come to my house!”
She speaks to those who have no sense. She says,
5 “Come and eat my food.
Drink the wine I have mixed.
6 Leave your childish ways and you will live.
Walk in the way of understanding.”
7 When you correct someone who makes fun of others, you might be laughed at.
When you warn a sinner, you might get hurt.
8 Don’t warn those who make fun of others, or they will hate you.
Warn those who are wise, and they will love you.
9 Teach a wise person, and they will become even wiser.
Teach a person who does right, and they will learn even more.
10 If you want to become wise, you must begin by respecting the Lord.
To know the Holy One is to gain understanding.
11 Through wisdom, you will live a long time.
Years will be added to your life.
12 If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you.
If you make fun of others, you alone will suffer.
13 The woman called Foolishness is wild.
She is childish and knows nothing.
14 She sits at the door of her house.
She sits at the highest point of the city.
15 She calls out to those who pass by.
She calls out to those who go straight on their way. She says,
16 “Let all who are childish come to my house!”
She speaks to those who have no sense.
17 She says, “Stolen water is sweet.
Food eaten in secret tastes good!”
18 But they don’t know that dead people are there.
They don’t know that her guests are deep in the place of the dead.
God Has Given Us New Life Through Christ
2 You were living in your sins and lawless ways. But in fact you were dead. 2 You used to live as sinners when you followed the ways of this world. You served the one who rules over the spiritual forces of evil. He is the spirit who is now at work in those who don’t obey God. 3 At one time we all lived among them. Our desires were controlled by sin. We tried to satisfy what they wanted us to do. We followed our desires and thoughts. God was angry with us like he was with everyone else. That’s because of the kind of people we all were. 4 But God loves us deeply. He is full of mercy. 5 So he gave us new life because of what Christ has done. He gave us life even when we were dead in sin. God’s grace has saved you. 6 God raised us up with Christ. He has seated us with him in his heavenly kingdom. That’s because we belong to Christ Jesus. 7 He has done it to show the riches of his grace for all time to come. His grace can’t be compared with anything else. He has shown it by being kind to us. He was kind to us because of what Christ Jesus has done. 8 God’s grace has saved you because of your faith in Christ. Your salvation doesn’t come from anything you do. It is God’s gift. 9 It is not based on anything you have done. No one can brag about earning it. 10 We are God’s creation. He created us to belong to Christ Jesus. Now we can do good works. Long ago God prepared these works for us to do.
God’s New Family of Jews and Gentiles
11 You who are not Jews by birth, here is what I want you to remember. You are called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “circumcised.” But they have only been circumcised in their bodies by human hands. 12 Before you believed in Christ, you were separated from him. You were not considered to be citizens of Israel. You were not included in what the covenants promised. You were without hope and without God in the world. 13 At one time you were far away from God. But now you belong to Christ Jesus. He spilled his blood for you. This has brought you near to God.
14 Christ himself is our peace. He has made Jews and Gentiles into one group of people. He has destroyed the hatred that was like a wall between us. 15 Through his body on the cross, Christ set aside the law with all its commands and rules. He planned to create one new people out of Jews and Gentiles. He wanted to make peace between them. 16 He planned to bring both Jews and Gentiles back to God as one body. He planned to do this through the cross. On that cross, Christ put to death their hatred toward one another. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away. He also preached peace to those who were near. 18 Through Christ we both come to the Father by the power of one Holy Spirit.
19 So you are no longer outsiders and strangers. You are citizens together with God’s people. You are also members of God’s family. 20 You are a building that is built on the apostles and prophets. They are the foundation. Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone in the building. 21 The whole building is held together by him. It rises to become a holy temple because it belongs to the Lord. 22 And because you belong to him, you too are being built together. You are being made into a house where God lives through his Spirit.
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