Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Davidic Psalm.

Praise to the Majestic Lord

¹² Then the Spirit lifted me up and I heard a great earthquake behind me and the glory of the Lord arose from his place, ¹³ accompanied by the sound of the wings of the living creatures gently touching each other and with the sound of the wheels emanating from the front, accompanied by a great earthquake.

Ezekiel Addresses the Israelis

¹⁴ Then the Spirit lifted me up and carried me away. I went bitterly with an angry attitude as the hand of the Lord rested on me. ¹⁵ I came to the exiles at Tel-abib by the Chebar River and sat down among them for seven days, appalled. ¹⁶ At the end of the seven days, this message from the Lord came to me: ¹⁷ “Son of Man,” he said,^[a] “I’ve appointed you to be a watchman^[b] over the house of Israel. Therefore when you hear a message that comes from me, you are to warn them for me.

¹⁸ “So when I say to a wicked person, ‘You’re about to die,’ if you don’t warn or instruct that wicked person that his behavior^[c] is wicked so he can live, that wicked person will die in his sin, but I’ll hold you responsible for his death.^{[d] 19} If you warn the wicked person, and he doesn’t repent of his wickedness or of his wicked behavior,^[e] he’ll die in his sin, but you will have saved your own life.

²⁰ “When a righteous man abandons his righteousness to practice unrighteousness, I’ll set a stumbling block before him. He’ll die. If you don’t warn him, he’ll die in his sin and the righteous deeds that he had practiced won’t be remembered, but you’ll be held responsible for his death.^{[f] 21} If you warn the righteous person, so that he^[g] doesn’t commit sin, then he’ll live, since he had been warned. And you will have saved your life.”

Peter Declares His Faith in Jesus^(A)

¹⁸ One day, while Jesus^[a] was praying privately and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

¹⁹ They answered, “Some say^[b] John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others one of the ancient prophets who has come back to life.”

²⁰ He asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

“God’s Messiah,”^[c] Peter replied.

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection^(B)

²¹ He gave them strict orders, commanding them not to tell this to anyone. ²² He said, “The Son of Man must suffer a great deal and be rejected by the elders, the high priests, and the scribes. Then he must be killed, but on the third day he will be raised.”

²³ Then he told all of them, “If anyone wants to come with me, he must deny himself, pick up his cross every day, and follow me continuously, ²⁴ because whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. ²⁵ What profit will a person have if he gains the whole world, but destroys himself or is lost? ²⁶ If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and the glory of^[d] the Father and the holy angels. ²⁷ I tell you with certainty, some people who are standing here won’t experience^[e] death until they see the kingdom of God.”