Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁹ He came to a cave, and stayed there. The word of the Lord came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁰ Elijah said, “I have been very careful to serve the Lord, the God of All. For the people of Israel have turned away from Your agreement. They have torn down Your altars and have killed with the sword the men who speak for You. Only I am left, and they want to kill me.”

God Speaks to Elijah

¹¹ So the angel said, “Go and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And the Lord passed by. A strong wind tore through the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind the earth shook. But the Lord was not in the shaking of the earth. ¹² After the earth shook, a fire came. But the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a sound of gentle blowing. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he put his coat over his face, and went out and stood at the opening of the hole. Then a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁴ He said, “I have been very careful to serve the Lord, the God of All. For the people of Israel have turned away from Your agreement. They have torn down Your altars. And they have killed with the sword the men who speak for You. Only I am left, and they want to kill me.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the desert of Damascus. When you get there, set apart Hazael to be the king of Syria. ¹⁶ Set apart Nimshi’s son Jehu to be the king of Israel. And set apart Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah to speak for God in your place. ¹⁷ Jehu will kill the one who gets away from the sword of Hazael. Elisha will kill the one who gets away from the sword of Jehu. ¹⁸ But I will leave 7,000 in Israel whose knees have not bowed down in front of Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

⁸ I will listen to what God the Lord will say. For He will speak peace to His people, to those who are right with Him. But do not let them turn again to foolish things. ⁹ For sure His saving power is near those who fear Him, so His shining-greatness may live in the land. ¹⁰ Loving-kindness and truth have met together. Peace and what is right and good have kissed each other. ¹¹ Truth comes up from the earth. And what is right and good looks down from heaven. ¹² Yes, the Lord will give what is good. And our land will give its fruit. ¹³ What is right and good will go before Him and make a way for His steps.

⁵ Moses writes that the man who obeys the Law has to live by it. ⁶ But when a man puts his trust in Christ, he is made right with God. You do not need to ask yourself, “Who will go up to heaven to bring Christ down?” ⁷ And you do not need to ask, “Who will go below and bring Christ up from the dead?” ⁸ This is what it says, “The Good News is near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart.” ^(A) This Good News tells about putting your trust in Christ. This is what we preach to you. ⁹ If you say with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved from the punishment of sin. ¹⁰ When we believe in our hearts, we are made right with God. We tell with our mouth how we were saved from the punishment of sin. ¹¹ The Holy Writings say, “No one who puts his trust in Christ will ever be put to shame.” ^{(B) 12} There is no difference between the Jews and the people who are not Jews. They are all the same to the Lord. And He is Lord over all of them. He gives of His greatness to all who call on Him for help. ¹³ For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved from the punishment of sin.

¹⁴ But how can they call on Him if they have not put their trust in Him? And how can they put their trust in Him if they have not heard of Him? And how can they hear of Him unless someone tells them? ¹⁵ And how can someone tell them if he is not sent? The Holy Writings say, “The feet of those who bring the Good News are beautiful.” ^(C)

Jesus Walks on the Water ^(A)

²² At once Jesus had His followers get into the boat. He told them to go ahead of Him to the other side while He sent the people away. ²³ After He had sent them away, He went up the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone. ²⁴ By this time the boat was far from land and was being thrown around by the waves. The wind was strong against them.

²⁵ Just before the light of day, Jesus went to them walking on the water. ²⁶ When the followers saw Him walking on the water, they were afraid. They said, “It is a spirit.” They cried out with fear. ²⁷ At once Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take hope. It is I. Do not be afraid!”

²⁸ Peter said to Jesus, “If it is You, Lord, tell me to come to You on the water.” ²⁹ Jesus said, “Come!” Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water to Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the strong wind, he was afraid. He began to go down in the water. He cried out, “Lord, save me!” ³¹ At once Jesus put out His hand and took hold of him. Jesus said to Peter, “You have so little faith! Why did you doubt?”

³² When Jesus and Peter got into the boat, the wind stopped blowing. ³³ Those in the boat worshiped Jesus. They said, “For sure, You are the Son of God!”