Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A New Day Is Coming

9 But there will be an end to the gloom those people suffered. In the past, people thought the land of Zebulun and Naphtali was not important. But later, that land will be honored—the land along the sea, the land east of the Jordan River, and Galilee where people from other nations live. ² Those people lived in darkness, but they will see a great light. They lived in a place as dark as death, but a great light will shine on them.

³ God, you will make the nation grow, and you will make the people happy. They will rejoice in your presence as they do at harvest time. It will be like the joy when people take their share of things they have won in war. ⁴ That will happen because you will lift the heavy yoke off their shoulders and take away their heavy burden. You will take away the rod that the enemy used to punish your people, as you did when you defeated Midian.^[a]

A song of David.

Stop Arguing With Each Other

¹⁰ Brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, I beg all of you to agree with each other. You should not be divided into different groups. Be completely joined together again with the same kind of thinking and the same purpose.

¹¹ My brothers and sisters, some members of Chloe’s family told me that there are arguments among you. ¹² This is what I mean: One of you says, “I follow Paul,” and someone else says, “I follow Apollos.” Another says, “I follow Peter,”^[a] and someone else says, “I follow Christ.” ¹³ Christ cannot be divided into different groups. It wasn’t Paul who died on the cross for you, was it? Were you baptized in Paul’s name? ¹⁴ I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius. ¹⁵ I am thankful because now no one can say that you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶ (I also baptized the family of Stephanas, but I don’t remember that I myself baptized any others.) ¹⁷ Christ did not give me the work of baptizing people. He gave me the work of telling the Good News. But he sent me to tell the Good News without using clever speech, which would take away the power that is in the cross^[b] of Christ.

God’s Power and Wisdom in Christ Jesus

¹⁸ The teaching about the cross seems foolish to those who are lost. But to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Jesus Begins His Work in Galilee^(A)

¹² Jesus heard that John was put in prison, so he went back to Galilee. ¹³ But he did not stay in Nazareth. He went to live in Capernaum, a town near Lake Galilee in the area near Zebulun and Naphtali. ¹⁴ He did this to give full meaning to what the prophet Isaiah said:

¹⁷ From that time Jesus began to tell people his message: “Change your hearts and lives, because God’s kingdom is now very near.^[a]”

Jesus Chooses Some Followers^(C)

¹⁸ As Jesus was walking by Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and Simon’s brother Andrew. These brothers were fishermen, and they were fishing in the lake with a net. ¹⁹ Jesus said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you a different kind of fishermen. You will bring in people, not fish.” ²⁰ Simon and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed him.

²¹ Jesus continued walking by Lake Galilee. He saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee. They were preparing their nets to catch fish. Jesus told the brothers to come with him. ²² So they immediately left the boat and their father, and they followed Jesus.

Jesus Teaches and Heals the People^(D)

²³ Jesus went everywhere in the country of Galilee. He taught in the synagogues and told the Good News about God’s kingdom. And he healed all the people’s diseases and sicknesses.