Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹¹ God has wonderful power. And we ask him to give you all the strength you need to go through all your troubles, to be very patient in them, and to be happy.

¹² Thank the Father who has made us ready to be with the people of God who live in his light.

¹³ He has set us free from the kingdom where it is dark. And he has put us into the kingdom where his dear Son rules.

¹⁴ Because of his Son, we are set free and the wrong things we have done are forgiven.

¹⁵ The Son is like God who cannot be seen. He was his Son before anything was made.

¹⁶ He made everything in the sky and on the earth. He made the things which can be seen and the things which cannot be seen. That means angels, kings, great powers, and rulers. They were all made by him and for him.

¹⁷ He himself was before all things. And he holds all things together.

¹⁸ He is also the head of the body which is the church [the people who believe in Jesus Christ]. He is the beginning, the first one to rise from death, so that he would be the first one in everything.

¹⁹ God wanted Christ to have everything in himself.

²⁰ And God chose him to be the one who would bring all things back to himself. God made peace by the blood which Christ gave on his cross. He would bring back all things on earth and in heaven.

³³ They came to the place called Calvary (the head bone.) There they nailed the two bad men to the crosses also. They put one man on the right side of Jesus and one man on the left side of him.

³⁴ Jesus said, `Father, forgive them! They do not know what they are doing.' The soldiers played a game to see how they should divide his clothes.

³⁵ The people stood around watching. But the rulers made fun of him. They said, `He saved other people. He should save himself if he is God's Christ, God's chosen one!'

³⁶ The soldiers made fun of him. They came and brought him wine to drink.

³⁷ They said, `If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!'

³⁸ The sign that was put above Jesus' head said, `This is the King of the Jews.'

³⁹ One of the bad men who was hanging there said wrong things against Jesus. He said `If you are the Christ, why do you not save yourself and us?'

⁴⁰ But the other bad man told him to stop. He said, `Do you not even fear God? You are being punished just as he is.

⁴¹ It is right for us to be punished because we have done wrong things. But this man has done nothing bad.'

⁴² He said to Jesus, `Lord, remember me when you become a King.'

⁴³ And Jesus said to him, `I tell you the truth. Today you will be with me in God's garden of paradise.'