Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

42 See my servant,^[a] whom I uphold; my Chosen One in whom I delight. I have put my Spirit upon him; he will reveal justice to the nations of the world. ² He will be gentle—he will not shout nor quarrel in the streets. ³ He will not break the bruised reed, nor quench the dimly burning flame. He will encourage the fainthearted, those tempted to despair. He will see full justice given to all who have been wronged. ⁴ He won’t be satisfied^[b] until truth and righteousness prevail throughout the earth, nor until even distant lands beyond the seas have put their trust in him.

⁵ The Lord God who created the heavens and stretched them out, who created the earth and everything in it, who gives life and breath and spirit to everyone in all the world, he is the one who says to his Servant, the Messiah^[c]: ⁶ “I the Lord have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will guard and support you, for I have given you to my people as the personal confirmation of my covenant with them.^[d] You shall also be a light to guide the nations unto me. ⁷ You will open the eyes of the blind and release those who sit in prison darkness and despair. ⁸ I am the Lord! That is my name, and I will not give my glory to anyone else; I will not share my praise with carved idols. ⁹ Everything I prophesied came true, and now I will prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it happens.”

⁵ Your steadfast love, O Lord, is as great as all the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. ⁶ Your justice is as solid as God’s mountains. Your decisions are as full of wisdom as the oceans are with water. You are concerned^[a] for men and animals alike. ⁷ How precious is your constant love, O God! All humanity takes refuge in the shadow of your wings. ⁸ You feed them with blessings from your own table and let them drink from your rivers of delight.

⁹ For you are the Fountain of life; our light is from your light. ¹⁰ Pour out your unfailing love on those who know you! Never stop giving your blessings^[b] to those who long to do your will.

¹¹ Don’t let these proud men trample me. Don’t let their wicked hands push me around.

¹¹ He came as High Priest of this better system that we now have. He went into that greater, perfect tabernacle in heaven, not made by men nor part of this world, ¹² and once for all took blood into that inner room, the Holy of Holies, and sprinkled it on the mercy seat; but it was not the blood of goats and calves. No, he took his own blood, and with it he, by himself, made sure of our eternal salvation.

¹³ And if under the old system the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of young cows could cleanse men’s bodies from sin, ¹⁴ just think how much more surely the blood of Christ will transform our lives and hearts. His sacrifice frees us from the worry of having to obey the old rules and makes us want to serve the living God. For by the help of the eternal Holy Spirit, Christ willingly gave himself to God to die for our sins—he being perfect, without a single sin or fault. ¹⁵ Christ came with this new agreement so that all who are invited may come and have forever all the wonders God has promised them. For Christ died to rescue them from the penalty of the sins they had committed while still under that old system.

12 Six days before the Passover ceremonies began, Jesus arrived in Bethany where Lazarus was—the man he had brought back to life. ² A banquet was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus sat at the table with him. ³ Then Mary took a jar of costly perfume made from essence of nard, and anointed Jesus’ feet with it and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with fragrance.

⁴ But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples—the one who would betray him—said, ⁵ “That perfume was worth a fortune. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” ⁶ Not that he cared for the poor, but he was in charge of the disciples’ funds and often dipped into them for his own use!

⁷ Jesus replied, “Let her alone. She did it in preparation for my burial. ⁸ You can always help the poor, but I won’t be with you very long.”

⁹ When the ordinary people of Jerusalem heard of his arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus—the man who had come back to life again. ¹⁰ Then the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus too, ¹¹ for it was because of him that many of the Jewish leaders had deserted and believed in Jesus as their Messiah.