Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

To the Director: A Psalm by the descendants of Korah.

Restore Us, God

²⁴ I’m going to remove you from the nations, gather you from all of the territories, and bring you all back to your own land. ²⁵ I’ll sprinkle pure water on you all, and you’ll be cleansed from your impurity and from all of your idols.”

²⁶ “‘“I’m going to give you a new heart, and I’m going to give you a new spirit within all of your deepest parts. I’ll remove that rock-hard heart of yours^[a] and replace it with one that’s sensitive to me.^{[b] 27} I’ll place my spirit within you, empowering you to live according to^[c] my regulations and to keep my just decrees. ²⁸ You’ll live in the land that I gave to your ancestors, you’ll be my people, and I will be your God.

Jesus’ Authority is Challenged^(A)

²⁷ Then they went into Jerusalem again. While Jesus^[a] was walking in the Temple, the high priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him ²⁸ and asked him, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority to do them?”

²⁹ Jesus told them, “I’ll ask you one question.^[b] Answer me, and then I’ll tell you by what authority I’m doing these things. ³⁰ Was John’s authority to baptize^[c] from heaven or from humans? Answer me.”

³¹ They began discussing this among themselves. “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he’ll say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ³² But if we say, ‘From humans’…?” They were afraid of the crowd, because everyone really thought John was a prophet.

³³ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Then Jesus told them, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I’m doing these things.”