Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

God's Promise to Abraham

17 When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him again and said, “I am God All-Powerful. If you obey me and always do right, ² I will keep my solemn promise to you and give you more descendants than can be counted.” ³ Abram bowed with his face to the ground, and God said:

^4-5 (A) I promise that you will be the father of many nations. So now I'm changing your name from Abram to Abraham.^{[a] 6} I will give you a lot of descendants, and they will become great nations. Some of them will even be kings.

^7 (B) I will always keep the promise I have made to you and your descendants, because I am your God and their God.

¹⁵ Abraham, from now on your wife's name will be Sarah instead of Sarai. ¹⁶ I will bless her, and you will have a son by her. She will become the mother of nations, and some of her descendants will even be kings.

The Promise Is for All Who Have Faith

^13 (A) God promised Abraham and his descendants that he would give them the world. This promise wasn't made because Abraham had obeyed a law, but because his faith in God made him acceptable. ^14 (B) If Abraham and his descendants were given this promise because they had obeyed a law, then faith would mean nothing, and the promise would be worthless.

¹⁵ God becomes angry when his Law is broken. But where there isn't a law, it cannot be broken. ^16 (C) Everything depends on having faith in God, so that God's promise is assured by his gift of undeserved grace. This promise isn't only for Abraham's descendants who have the Law. It is for all who are Abraham's descendants because they have faith, just as he did. Abraham is the ancestor of us all. ^17 (D) The Scriptures say that Abraham would become the ancestor of many nations. This promise was made to Abraham because he had faith in God, who raises the dead to life and creates new things.

^18 (E) God promised Abraham a lot of descendants. And when it all seemed hopeless, Abraham still had faith in God and became the ancestor of many nations. ^19 (F) Abraham's faith never became weak, not even when he was nearly 100 years old. He knew he was almost dead and that his wife Sarah could not have children. ²⁰ But Abraham never doubted or questioned God's promise. His faith made him strong, and he gave all the credit to God.

²¹ Abraham was certain that God could do what he had promised. ²² So God accepted him, ²³ just as we read in the Scriptures. But these words were not written only for Abraham. ²⁴ They were written for us, since we will also be accepted because of our faith in God, who raised our Lord Jesus to life. ^25 (G) God gave Jesus to die for our sins, and he raised him to life, so that we would be made acceptable to God.

Jesus Speaks about His Suffering and Death

(Matthew 16.21-28; Luke 9.22-27)

³¹ Jesus began telling his disciples what would happen to him. He said, “The nation's leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make the Son of Man suffer terribly. He will be rejected and killed, but three days later he will rise to life.” ³² Then Jesus explained clearly what he meant.

Peter took Jesus aside and told him to stop talking like that. ³³ But when Jesus turned and saw the disciples, he corrected Peter. He said to him, “Satan, get away from me! You are thinking like everyone else and not like God.”

^34 (A) Jesus then told the crowd and the disciples to come closer, and he said:

If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me. ^35 (B) If you want to save your life,^[a] you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me and for the good news, you will save it. ³⁶ What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? ³⁷ What could you give to get back your soul?

³⁸ Don't be ashamed of me and my message among these unfaithful and sinful people! If you are, the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

The True Glory of Jesus

(Matthew 17.1-13; Luke 9.28-36)

^2 (A) Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him. They went up on a high mountain, where they could be alone. There in front of the disciples, Jesus was completely changed. ³ And his clothes became much whiter than any bleach on earth could make them. ⁴ Then Elijah and Moses appeared and were talking with Jesus.

⁵ Peter said to Jesus, “Teacher, it is good for us to be here! Let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶ But Peter and the others were terribly frightened, and he did not know what he was talking about.

^7 (B) The shadow of a cloud passed over and covered them. From the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, and I love him. Listen to what he says!” ⁸ At once the disciples looked around, but they saw only Jesus.

⁹ As Jesus and his disciples were coming down the mountain, he told them not to say a word about what they had seen, until the Son of Man had been raised from death.