Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.

¹³ A very large crowd of people gathered together in Jerusalem. They went there to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It took place in the second month. ¹⁴ They removed the altars in Jerusalem. They cleared away the altars for burning incense. They threw all the altars into the Kidron Valley.

¹⁵ They killed the Passover lamb on the 14th day of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed of how they had lived. They set themselves apart to the Lord. They brought burnt offerings to his temple. ¹⁶ Then they did their regular tasks just as the Law of Moses, the man of God, required. The Levites gave the blood of the animals to the priests. The priests splashed it against the altar. ¹⁷ Many people in the crowd hadn’t set themselves apart to the Lord. They weren’t “clean.” They couldn’t set apart their lambs to him. So the Levites had to kill the Passover lambs for all of them. ¹⁸ Many people came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun. Most of them hadn’t made themselves pure and “clean.” But they still ate the Passover meal. That was against what was written in the law. But Hezekiah prayed for them. He said, “The Lord is good. May he forgive everyone ¹⁹ who wants to worship God with all their heart. God is the Lord, the God of their people. May God forgive them even if they aren’t ‘clean’ in keeping with the rules of the temple.” ²⁰ The Lord answered Hezekiah’s prayer. He healed the people.

²¹ The people of Israel who were in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They celebrated for seven days with great joy. The Levites and priests praised the Lord every day. They praised the Lord with loud musical instruments. The instruments had been set apart to the Lord.

²² Hezekiah spoke words that gave hope to all the Levites. They understood how to serve the Lord well. For the seven days of the feast they ate the share given to them. They also sacrificed friendship offerings. They praised the Lord, the God of their people.

²³ Then the whole community agreed to celebrate the feast for seven more days. So for another seven days they celebrated with joy. ²⁴ Hezekiah, the king of Judah, provided 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep and goats for the community. The officials provided 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep and goats for them. A large number of priests set themselves apart to the Lord. ²⁵ The entire community of Judah was filled with joy. So were the priests and Levites. And so were all the people who had gathered together from Israel. That included the outsiders who had come from Israel. It also included those who lived in Judah. ²⁶ There was great joy in Jerusalem. There hadn’t been anything like it in Israel since the days of Solomon, the son of David. Solomon had been king of Israel. ²⁷ The priests and Levites gave their blessing to the people. God heard them. Their prayer reached all the way to heaven. It’s the holy place where God lives.

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Man Who Could Not Walk

2 A few days later, Jesus entered Capernaum again. The people heard that he had come home. ² So many people gathered that there was no room left. There was not even room outside the door. And Jesus preached the word to them. ³ Four of those who came were carrying a man who could not walk. ⁴ But they could not get him close to Jesus because of the crowd. So they made a hole by digging through the roof above Jesus. Then they lowered the man through it on a mat. ⁵ Jesus saw their faith. So he said to the man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

⁶ Some teachers of the law were sitting there. They were thinking, ⁷ “Why is this fellow talking like that? He’s saying a very evil thing! Only God can forgive sins!”

⁸ Right away Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? ⁹ Is it easier to say to this man, ‘Your sins are forgiven’? Or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? ¹⁰ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So Jesus spoke to the man who could not walk. ¹¹ “I tell you,” he said, “get up. Take your mat and go home.” ¹² The man got up and took his mat. Then he walked away while everyone watched. All the people were amazed. They praised God and said, “We have never seen anything like this!”