Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A song to sing as we climb.
David wrote this song.
131 Lord, I am not proud.
I do not think that I am a great person.
I do not try to do great things.
I do not worry about things that are too hard for me to understand.
2 Instead, I am quiet
and there is peace in my mind.
I am like a young child who sits on his mother's knee.
Yes, I have peace in my mind.
3 Israel's people, trust the Lord to help you,
now and for ever.
Do not trust Egypt to help
31 It will be very bad for those people who expect that Egypt will help them. They think that Egypt's many horses and chariots will keep them safe. They trust the power of Egypt's strong soldiers who ride on horses. But those people do not trust the Holy God of Israel. They do not ask the Lord to help them.
2 But the Lord is very wise. He will bring trouble to people, as he has promised. He will not change his mind. He will punish wicked people, as well as those who help them to do evil things.
3 The men in Egypt are human. They are not God. Their horses are weak animals, not powerful spirits. When the Lord lifts up his hand to punish them, the strong helpers will not be able to stand. The people who expected them to help will fall down too. They will all come to an end together.
The Lord will keep his people safe
4 This is what the Lord said to me:
‘The Lord Almighty will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill. He will come like a strong young lion that roars when it has caught a lamb to eat. Even if a whole crowd of shepherds come to chase it away, their shouts will not make the lion afraid.[a] 5 The Lord Almighty will make Jerusalem safe. He will protect it like a bird that protects its nest. He will pass over the city and he will rescue it.[b]
6 Israelite people, you have turned completely against the Lord. Now turn back to him! 7 The time will come when everyone must throw away their gold and silver idols. It was a sin for you to make them for yourselves.
8 The Assyrian soldiers will die in battle. But humans did not make the sword that will kill them. It is God's sword that will destroy them. The Assyrians will run away from that sword. But their strong young men will have to do hard work as slaves. 9 Their strongest soldiers will run away because they are afraid. The officers of their army will be afraid when they see the Lord's battle flag.’
That is what the Lord says. His fire is in Zion. Yes, his hot oven is in Jerusalem.
Jesus teaches about the Devil
14 One day, Jesus was telling a bad spirit to go out of a man. Because of the bad spirit, the man could not speak. But after it had gone out of him, the man could speak again. All the people that were watching were surprised at this. 15 But some people in the crowd were not happy with Jesus and they said, ‘This man can send bad spirits out of people because Beelzebul gives him authority.[a] That is Satan, the one who rules all the bad spirits.’
16 Some other people wanted to test Jesus to see what he would do. So they asked him, ‘Do something powerful for us to see. Then we will know that God has really sent you.’[b]
17 But Jesus knew what those people were thinking. He said to them, ‘If armies in a country start to fight each other, they will destroy their own country. If people in one family fight against each other, they will destroy their own family. 18 So Satan would not fight against himself. If he did that, it would be the end of his kingdom. But you say that Beelzebul helps me to destroy bad spirits. 19 If that is true, what do you say about your own disciples? They also send bad spirits out of people. You would not say that it is Satan's power that helps them. So your own people show that you are wrong about this. 20 When I send bad spirits out of people, I use the power of God. This shows that God has come to rule among you.
21 When a strong man has all the weapons he needs to fight with, he can take care of his own house. Nobody will be able to rob him of the things inside his house. 22 But someone may come who is stronger than he is. That man will attack him and beat him. The strong man believed his weapons would keep him safe. But the stronger man will take his weapons away. He will take the strong man's things and give them to other people.[c]
23 If someone does not agree to help me, he is working against me. You should work with me to bring people to me for help. If you do not do that, you are making people run away from me.’[d]
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