Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Believers Share What They Own
32 All the believers were agreed in heart and mind. They didn’t claim that anything they had was their own. Instead, they shared everything they owned. 33 With great power the apostles continued their teaching. They were telling people that the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead. And God’s grace was working powerfully in all of them. 34 So there were no needy persons among them. From time to time, those who owned land or houses sold them. They brought the money from the sales. 35 They put it down at the apostles’ feet. It was then given out to anyone who needed it.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. A psalm of David.
133 How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in peace!
2 It’s like the special olive oil
that was poured on Aaron’s head.
It ran down on his beard
and on the collar of his robe.
3 It’s as if the dew of Mount Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
There the Lord gives his blessing.
He gives life that never ends.
The Word of Life Became a Human Being
1 Here is what we announce to everyone about the Word of life. The Word was already here from the beginning. We have heard him. We have seen him with our eyes. We have looked at him. Our hands have touched him. 2 This life has appeared. We have seen him. We are witnesses about him. And we announce to you this same eternal life. He was already with the Father. He has appeared to us. 3 We announce to you what we have seen and heard. We do it so you can share life together with us. And we share life with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing this to make our joy complete.
Walking in the Light
5 Here is the message we have heard from him and announce to you. God is light. There is no darkness in him at all. 6 Suppose we say that we share life with God but still walk in the darkness. Then we are lying. We are not living out the truth. 7 But suppose we walk in the light, just as he is in the light. Then we share life with one another. And the blood of Jesus, his Son, makes us pure from all sin.
8 Suppose we claim we are without sin. Then we are fooling ourselves. The truth is not in us. 9 But God is faithful and fair. If we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins. He will forgive every wrong thing we have done. He will make us pure. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar. His word is not in us.
2 My dear children, I’m writing this to you so that you will not sin. But suppose someone does sin. Then we have a friend who speaks to the Father for us. He is Jesus Christ, the Blameless One. 2 He gave his life to pay for our sins. But he not only paid for our sins. He also paid for the sins of the whole world.
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were together. They had locked the doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Jesus came in and stood among them. He said, “May peace be with you!” 20 Then he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were very happy when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “May peace be with you! The Father has sent me. So now I am sending you.” 22 He then breathed on them. He said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Jesus Appears to Thomas
24 Thomas was one of the 12 disciples. He was also called Didymus. He was not with the other disciples when Jesus came. 25 So they told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “First I must see the nail marks in his hands. I must put my finger where the nails were. I must put my hand into his side. Only then will I believe.”
26 A week later, Jesus’ disciples were in the house again. Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus came in and stood among them. He said, “May peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here. See my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen me but still have believed.”
The Purpose of John’s Gospel
30 Jesus performed many other signs in front of his disciples. They are not written down in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. If you believe this, you will have life because you belong to him.
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