Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Always Love and Obey God

6 “These are the commands, the laws, and the rules that the Lord your God told me to teach you. Obey these laws in the land that you are entering to live in. ² You and your descendants must respect the Lord your God as long as you live. You must obey all his laws and commands that I give you. If you do this, you will have a long life in that new land. ³ Israelites, listen carefully and obey these laws. Then everything will be fine with you. You will have many children, and you will get the land filled with many good things^[a]—just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised.

⁴ “Listen, people of Israel! The Lord is our God. The Lord is the only God. ⁵ You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. ⁶ Always remember these commands that I give you today. ⁷ Be sure to teach them to your children. Talk about these commands when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road. Talk about them when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them on your hands and wear them on your foreheads to help you remember my teachings. ⁹ Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

Aleph^[a]

Worship Under the New Agreement

¹¹ But Christ has already come to be the high priest. He is the high priest of the good things we now have. But Christ does not serve in a place like the tent that those other priests served in. He serves in a better place. Unlike that tent, this one is perfect. It was not made by anyone here on earth. It does not belong to this world. ¹² Christ entered the Most Holy Place only one time—enough for all time. He entered the Most Holy Place by using his own blood, not the blood of goats or young bulls. He entered there and made us free from sin forever.

¹³ The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a cow were sprinkled on those who were no longer pure enough to enter the place of worship. The blood and ashes made them pure again—but only their bodies. ¹⁴ So surely the blood sacrifice of Christ can do much more. Christ offered himself through the eternal Spirit^[a] as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will make us completely clean from the evil we have done. It will give us clear consciences so that we can worship the living God.

Which Command Is the Most Important?^(A)

²⁸ One of the teachers of the law came to Jesus. He heard Jesus arguing with the Sadducees and the Pharisees. He saw that Jesus gave good answers to their questions. So he asked him, “Which of the commands is the most important?”

²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important command is this: ‘People of Israel, listen! The Lord our God is the only Lord. ³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’^{[a] 31} The second most important command is this: ‘Love your neighbor^[b] the same as you love yourself.’^[c] These two commands are the most important.”

³² The man answered, “That was a good answer, Teacher. You are right in saying that God is the only Lord and that there is no other God. ³³ And you must love God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your strength. And you must love others the same as you love yourself. These commands are more important than all the animals and sacrifices we offer to God.”

³⁴ Jesus saw that the man answered him wisely. So he said to him, “You are close to God’s kingdom.” And after that time, no one was brave enough to ask Jesus any more questions.