Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁴ For sure He took on Himself our troubles and carried our sorrows. Yet we thought of Him as being punished and hurt by God, and made to suffer. ⁵ But He was hurt for our wrong-doing. He was crushed for our sins. He was punished so we would have peace. He was beaten so we would be healed. ⁶ All of us like sheep have gone the wrong way. Each of us has turned to his own way. And the Lord has put on Him the sin of us all.

⁷ Men made it very hard for Him and caused Him to suffer, yet He did not open His mouth. He was taken like a lamb to be put to death. A sheep does not make a sound while its wool is cut and He did not open His mouth. ⁸ He was taken away as a prisoner and then judged. Who among the people of that day cared that His life was taken away from the earth? He was hurt because of the sin of the people who should have been punished. ⁹ They gave Him a grave with the sinful, but with the rich at His death, for He had done no wrong, and there was nothing false in His mouth.

¹⁰ But it was the will of the Lord to crush Him, causing Him to suffer. Because He gives His life as a gift on the altar for sin, He will see His children. Days will be added to His life, and the will of the Lord will do well in His hand. ¹¹ He will see what the suffering of His soul brings, and will be pleased. By what He knows, the One Who is right and good, My Servant, will carry the punishment of many and He will carry their sins. ¹² So I will give Him a share among the great. He will divide the riches with the strong, because He gave up His life. They thought of Him as One Who broke the Law. Yet He Himself carried the sin of many, and prayed for the sinners.

⁹ Because you have made the Lord your safe place, and the Most High the place where you live, ¹⁰ nothing will hurt you. No trouble will come near your tent.

¹¹ For He will tell His angels to care for you and keep you in all your ways. ¹² They will hold you up in their hands. So your foot will not hit against a stone. ¹³ You will walk upon the lion and the snake. You will crush under your feet the young lion and the snake.

¹⁴ Because he has loved Me, I will bring him out of trouble. I will set him in a safe place on high, because he has known My name. ¹⁵ He will call upon Me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will take him out of trouble and honor him. ¹⁶ I will please him with a long life. And I will show him My saving power.

The Job of a Religious Leader

5 Every Jewish religious leader is chosen from among men. He is a helper standing between God and men. He gives gifts on the altar in worship to God from the people. He gives blood from animals for the sins of the people. ² A Jewish religious leader is weak in many ways because he is just a man himself. He knows how to be gentle with those who know little. He knows how to help those who are doing wrong. ³ Because he is weak himself, he must give gifts to God for his own sins as well as for the sins of the people. ⁴ A Jewish religious leader does not choose this honor for himself. God chooses a man for this work. Aaron was chosen this way.

Christ Is Our Religious Leader Who Has Made the Way for Man to Go to God

⁵ It is the same way with Christ. He did not choose the honor of being a Religious Leader Who has made the way for man to go to God. Instead, God said to Christ, “You are My Son. Today I have become Your Father.” ^{(A) 6} God says in another part of His Word, “You will be a Religious Leader forever. You will be like Melchizedek.” ^{(B) 7} During the time Jesus lived on earth, He prayed and asked God with loud cries and tears. Jesus’ prayer was to God Who was able to save Him from death. God heard Christ because Christ honored God. ⁸ Even being God’s Son, He learned to obey by the things He suffered. ⁹ And having been made perfect, He planned and made it possible for all those who obey Him to be saved from the punishment of sin. ¹⁰ In God’s plan He was to be a Religious Leader Who made the way for man to go to God. He was like Melchizedek.

James and John Ask Jesus Something Hard ^(A)

³⁵ James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus. They said, “Teacher, we would like to have You do for us whatever we ask You.” ³⁶ He said to them, “What would you like to have Me do for you?” ³⁷ They said to Him, “Let one of us sit by Your right side and the other by Your left side when You receive Your great honor in heaven.” ³⁸ Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Can you take the suffering I am about to take? Can you be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” ³⁹ They said to Him, “Yes, we can.” Jesus said to them, “You will, for sure, suffer the way I will suffer. You will be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with. ⁴⁰ But to sit on My right side or on My left side is not for Me to give. It will be given to those for whom it has been made ready.” ⁴¹ The other ten followers heard it. They were angry with James and John. ⁴² Jesus called them to Him and said, “You know that those who are made leaders over the nations show their power to the people. Important leaders use their power over the people. ⁴³ It must not be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great among you, let him care for you. ⁴⁴ Whoever wants to be first among you, must be the one who is owned and cares for all. ⁴⁵ For the Son of Man did not come to be cared for. He came to care for others. He came to give His life so that many could be bought by His blood and be made free from sin.”