M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

4 After the whole nation had gone across the Jordan River, the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, ² “Choose 12 men from among the people. Choose one from each tribe. ³ Tell them to get 12 stones from the middle of the river. They must pick them up from right where the priests stood. They must carry the stones over with all of you. And they must put them down at the place where you will stay tonight.”

⁴ So Joshua called together the 12 men he had appointed from among the Israelites. There was one man from each tribe. ⁵ He said to them, “Go back to the middle of the Jordan River. Go to where the ark of the Lord your God is. Each one of you must pick up a stone. You must carry it on your shoulder. There will be as many stones as there are tribes in Israel. ⁶ The stones will serve as a reminder to you. In days to come, your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ ⁷ Tell them that the Lord cut off the flow of water in the Jordan River. Tell them its water stopped flowing when the ark of the covenant of the Lord went across. The stones will always remind the Israelites of what happened there.”

⁸ So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan River. There was one stone for each of the tribes of Israel. It was just as the Lord had told Joshua. The people carried the stones with them to their camp. There they put them down. ⁹ Joshua also piled up 12 stones in the middle of the river. He piled them up right where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are still there to this very day.

¹⁰ The priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan River. They stayed there until the people had done everything the Lord had commanded Joshua. It was just as Moses had directed Joshua. All the people went across quickly. ¹¹ As soon as they did, the ark of the Lord and the priests also went across to the other side. The people were watching them. ¹² Among the people who went across the river were men from the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh. The men were ready for battle. They went across ahead of the rest of the Israelites. It was just as Moses had directed them. ¹³ There were about 40,000 of them. All of them were ready for battle. They went across in front of the ark of the Lord. They marched to the plains around Jericho. They were prepared to go to war.

¹⁴ That day the Lord honored Joshua in the eyes of all the Israelites. They had respect for Joshua as long as he lived. They respected him just as much as they had respected Moses.

¹⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, ¹⁶ “Command the priests to come up out of the Jordan River. They are carrying the ark where the tablets of the covenant law are kept.”

¹⁷ So Joshua gave a command to the priests. He said, “Come up out of the Jordan River.”

¹⁸ Then the priests came up out of the river. They were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord. As soon as they stepped out on dry ground, the water of the Jordan began to flow again. It went over its banks, just as it had done before.

¹⁹ On the tenth day of the first month the people went up out of the Jordan River. They camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. ²⁰ Joshua set up the 12 stones at Gilgal. They were the ones the people had taken out of the Jordan. ²¹ Then he spoke to the Israelites. He said, “In days to come, your children after you will ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ ²² Their parents must tell them, ‘Israel went across the Jordan River on dry ground.’ ²³ The Lord your God dried up the Jordan for you until you had gone across it. He did to the Jordan River the same thing he had done to the Red Sea. He dried up the Red Sea ahead of us until we had gone across it. ²⁴ He did it so that all the nations on earth would know that he is powerful. He did it so that you would always have respect for the Lord your God.”

A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.

A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.

A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. A psalm of David.

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath Day

12 One Sabbath day Jesus walked through the grainfields. His disciples were hungry. So they began to break off some heads of grain and eat them. ² The Pharisees saw this. They said to Jesus, “Look! It is against the Law to do this on the Sabbath day. But your disciples are doing it anyway!”

³ Jesus answered, “Haven’t you read about what David did? He and his men were hungry. ⁴ So he entered the house of God. He and his men ate the holy bread. Only priests were allowed to eat it. ⁵ Haven’t you read the Law? It tells how every Sabbath day the priests in the temple have to do their work on that day. But they are not considered guilty. ⁶ I tell you that something more important than the temple is here. ⁷ Scripture says, ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ (Hosea 6:6) You don’t know what those words mean. If you did, you would not bring charges against those who are not guilty. ⁸ The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath day.”

⁹ Going on from that place, Jesus went into their synagogue. ¹⁰ A man with a weak and twisted hand was there. The Pharisees were trying to accuse Jesus of a crime. So they asked him, “Does the Law allow us to heal on the Sabbath day?”

¹¹ He said to them, “What if one of your sheep falls into a pit on the Sabbath day? Won’t you take hold of it and lift it out? ¹² A person is worth more than sheep! So the Law allows us to do good on the Sabbath day.”

¹³ Then Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out. It had been made as good as new. It was just as good as the other hand. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and planned how to kill Jesus.

God’s Chosen Servant

¹⁵ Jesus knew all about the Pharisees’ plans. So he left that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were sick. ¹⁶ But he warned them not to tell other people about him. ¹⁷ This was to make what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah come true. It says,

Jesus and Beelzebul

²² A man controlled by demons was brought to Jesus. The man was blind and could not speak. Jesus healed him. Then the man could speak and see. ²³ All the people were amazed. They said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

²⁴ The Pharisees heard this. So they said, “This fellow drives out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons.”

²⁵ Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “Every kingdom that fights against itself will be destroyed. Every city or family that is divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶ If Satan drives out Satan, he fights against himself. Then how can his kingdom stand? ²⁷ You say I drive out demons by the power of Beelzebul. Then by whose power do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. ²⁸ But suppose I drive out demons by the Spirit of God. Then the kingdom of God has come to you.

²⁹ “Or think about this. How can you enter a strong man’s house and just take what the man owns? You must first tie him up. Then you can rob his house.

³⁰ “Anyone who is not with me is against me. Anyone who does not gather sheep with me scatters them. ³¹ So here is what I tell you. Every kind of sin and every evil word spoken against God will be forgiven. But speaking evil things against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. ³² Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. A person like that won’t be forgiven either now or in days to come.

³³ “If you make a tree good, its fruit will be good. If you make a tree bad, its fruit will be bad. You can tell a tree by its fruit. ³⁴ You nest of poisonous snakes! How can you who are evil say anything good? Your mouths say everything that is in your hearts. ³⁵ A good man says good things. These come from the good that is stored up inside him. An evil man says evil things. These come from the evil that is stored up inside him. ³⁶ But here is what I tell you. On judgment day, everyone will have to account for every empty word they have spoken. ³⁷ By your words you will be found guilty or not guilty.”

The Sign of Jonah

³⁸ Some of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law came to Jesus. They said, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

³⁹ He answered, “Evil and unfaithful people ask for a sign! But none will be given except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ Jonah was in the belly of a huge fish for three days and three nights. Something like that will happen to the Son of Man. He will spend three days and three nights in the grave. ⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will stand up on judgment day with the people now living. And the Ninevites will prove that these people are guilty. The men of Nineveh turned away from their sins when Jonah preached to them. And now something more important than Jonah is here. ⁴² The Queen of the South will stand up on judgment day with the people now living. And she will prove that they are guilty. She came from very far away to listen to Solomon’s wisdom. And now something more important than Solomon is here.

⁴³ “What happens when an evil spirit comes out of a person? It goes through dry areas looking for a place to rest. But it doesn’t find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives there, it finds the house empty. The house has been swept clean and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then the evil spirit goes and takes with it seven other spirits more evil than itself. They go in and live there. That person is worse off than before. That is how it will be with the evil people of today.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

⁴⁶ While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside. They wanted to speak to him. ⁴⁷ Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside. They want to speak to you.”

⁴⁸ Jesus replied to him, “Who is my mother? And who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹ Jesus pointed to his disciples. He said, “Here is my mother! Here are my brothers! ⁵⁰ Anyone who does what my Father in heaven wants is my brother or sister or mother.”