Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Thanksgiving to God

¹⁰ “This is what the Lord says: ‘You are saying about this place, “It is a ruin without people and without animals.” Yet in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem which are desolate places without inhabitants and without animals, there will again be heard ¹¹ the sounds of rejoicing and gladness, the sounds of the bridegroom and the bride, and the sounds of those saying,

as they bring thanksgiving offerings to the Lord’s Temple. For I’ll restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,’ declares the Lord.

¹² “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘In this place that is now a ruin without people or animals, and in all its towns there will again be pasture for shepherds resting their flocks. ¹³ In the towns of the hill country, in the towns of the Shephelah,^[a] in the towns of the Negev,^[b] in the territory of Benjamin, in the areas around Jerusalem, and in the towns of Judah flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who counts them,’ says the Lord.”

The Righteous Branch and the Davidic Covenant

¹⁴ “‘Look, the time is coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I’ll fulfill the good promise that I spoke concerning the house of Israel and Judah. ¹⁵ In those days and at that time I’ll cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he will uphold justice and righteousness in the land. ¹⁶ At that time Judah will be delivered and Jerusalem will dwell in safety. And this is the name people^[c] will call it, “The Lord is Our Righteousness.”’

³² Now Jesus and his disciples^[a] had been on the road going up to Jerusalem, with Jesus walking ahead of them. They were astonished, and the others who followed were afraid.

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection a Third Time^(A)

Once again, Jesus^[b] took the Twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to him. ³³ “Pay attention! We’re going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the high priests and the scribes, and they’ll condemn him to death. Then they’ll hand him over to the unbelievers,^{[c] 34} and they’ll make fun of him, spit on him, whip him, and kill him. But after three days he’ll be raised.”

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus^(A)

⁴⁶ Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus,^[a] his disciples, and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus (that is, the son of Timaeus) was sitting by the road. ⁴⁷ When he heard that Jesus of Nazareth was there, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸ Many people sternly told him to be quiet, but he started shouting even louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁹ So Jesus stopped and said, “Call him!”

So they called the blind man and told him, “Have courage! Get up. He’s calling you.” ⁵⁰ He threw off his coat, jumped up, and went to Jesus.

⁵¹ Then Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

The blind man told him, “Rabbouni,^[b] I want to see again.”

⁵² Jesus told him, “Go. Your faith has made you well.” At once the man^[c] could see again, and he began to follow Jesus^[d] down the road.