Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A song of thanks.

God Repeats His Call to Moses

²⁸ The Lord spoke to Moses again in the land of Egypt. ²⁹ He said, “I am the Lord. Tell the king of Egypt everything I tell you.”

³⁰ But Moses, standing there before the Lord, said, “You know me. I’m a very bad speaker. How will I make the king listen to me?”

7 The Lord said to Moses, “See how important I have made you? In speaking to Pharaoh, you will be like God, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. ² You will tell Aaron everything that I command you. Then he will tell the king what I say. And Pharaoh will let the Israelites leave this country. ³ But I will make Pharaoh stubborn so that he will not do what you tell him. Then I will do many miracles in Egypt to prove who I am. ⁴ But he will still refuse to listen. So then I will punish Egypt very much. And I will lead my army, my people, out of that land. ⁵ I will punish the people of Egypt, and they will learn that I am the Lord. Then I will lead my people out of their country.”

⁶ Moses and Aaron did what the Lord told them. ⁷ Moses was 80 years old at the time, and Aaron was 83.

Moses’ Walking Stick Becomes a Snake

⁸ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹ “Pharaoh will ask you to prove your power. He will ask you to do a miracle. Tell Aaron to throw his walking stick on the ground. While Pharaoh is watching, the stick will become a snake.”

¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and obeyed the Lord. Aaron threw his walking stick down. While Pharaoh and his officers watched, the stick became a snake.

¹¹ So Pharaoh called for his wise men and magicians. These men used their magic, and they were able to do the same thing as Aaron. ¹² They threw their walking sticks on the ground, and their sticks became snakes. But then Aaron’s walking stick ate theirs. ¹³ Pharaoh still refused to let the people go, just as the Lord had said. Pharaoh refused to listen to Moses and Aaron.

God’s Law and Human Traditions^(A)

7 Some Pharisees and some teachers of the law came from Jerusalem and gathered around Jesus. ² They saw that some of his followers ate food with hands that were not clean, meaning that they did not wash their hands in a special way. ³ The Pharisees and all the other Jews never eat before washing their hands in this special way. They do this to follow the traditions they have from their great leaders who lived long ago. ⁴ And when these Jews buy something in the market, they never eat it until they wash it in a special way. They also follow other rules from their people who lived before them. They follow rules like the washing of cups, pitchers, and pots.^[a]

⁵ The Pharisees and teachers of the law said to Jesus, “Your followers don’t follow the traditions we have from our great leaders who lived long ago. They eat their food with hands that are not clean. Why do they do this?”

⁶ Jesus answered, “You are all hypocrites. Isaiah was right when he wrote these words from God about you:

⁸ You have stopped following God’s commands, preferring instead the man-made rules you got from others.”

⁹ Then he said, “You show great skill in avoiding the commands of God so that you can follow your own teachings! ¹⁰ Moses said, ‘You must respect your father and mother.’^[b] He also said, ‘Whoever says anything bad to their father or mother must be killed.’^{[c] 11} But you teach that people can say to their father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you, but I will not use it for you. I will give it to God.’ ¹² You are telling people that they do not have to do anything for their father or mother. ¹³ So you are teaching that it is not important to do what God said. You think it is more important to follow those traditions you have, which you pass on to others. And you do many things like that.”