Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Supreme Ruler[a]
47 Clap your hands for joy, all peoples!
Praise God with loud songs!
2 The Lord, the Most High, is to be feared;
he is a great king, ruling over all the world.
3 He gave us victory over the peoples;
he made us rule over the nations.
4 He chose for us the land where we live,
the proud possession of his people, whom he loves.
5 God goes up to his throne.
There are shouts of joy and the blast of trumpets,
as the Lord goes up.
6 Sing praise to God;
sing praise to our king!
7 God is king over all the world;
praise him with songs!
8 God sits on his sacred throne;
he rules over the nations.
9 The rulers of the nations assemble
with the people[b] of the God of Abraham.
More powerful than all armies is he;
he rules supreme.
1 (A)Dear Theophilus:
In my first book I wrote about all the things that Jesus did and taught from the time he began his work 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven. Before he was taken up, he gave instructions by the power of the Holy Spirit to the men he had chosen as his apostles. 3 For forty days after his death he appeared to them many times in ways that proved beyond doubt that he was alive. They saw him, and he talked with them about the Kingdom of God. 4 (B)And when they came together,[a] he gave them this order: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift I told you about, the gift my Father promised. 5 (C)John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus Is Taken Up to Heaven
6 When the apostles met together with Jesus, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time give the Kingdom back to Israel?”
7 Jesus said to them, “The times and occasions are set by my Father's own authority, and it is not for you to know when they will be. 8 (D)But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 (E)After saying this, he was taken up to heaven as they watched him, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They still had their eyes fixed on the sky as he went away, when two men dressed in white suddenly stood beside them 11 and said, “Galileans, why are you standing there looking up at the sky? This Jesus, who was taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way that you saw him go to heaven.”
The Supreme Ruler[a]
47 Clap your hands for joy, all peoples!
Praise God with loud songs!
2 The Lord, the Most High, is to be feared;
he is a great king, ruling over all the world.
3 He gave us victory over the peoples;
he made us rule over the nations.
4 He chose for us the land where we live,
the proud possession of his people, whom he loves.
5 God goes up to his throne.
There are shouts of joy and the blast of trumpets,
as the Lord goes up.
6 Sing praise to God;
sing praise to our king!
7 God is king over all the world;
praise him with songs!
8 God sits on his sacred throne;
he rules over the nations.
9 The rulers of the nations assemble
with the people[b] of the God of Abraham.
More powerful than all armies is he;
he rules supreme.
God the King
93 The Lord is king.
He is clothed with majesty and strength.
The earth is set firmly in place
and cannot be moved.
2 Your throne, O Lord, has been firm from the beginning,
and you existed before time began.
3 The ocean depths raise their voice, O Lord;
they raise their voice and roar.
4 The Lord rules supreme in heaven,
greater than the roar of the ocean,
more powerful than the waves of the sea.
5 Your laws are eternal, Lord,
and your Temple is holy indeed,
forever and ever.
Paul's Prayer
15 For this reason, ever since I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God's people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks to God for you. I remember you in my prayers 17 and ask the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, to give you the Spirit, who will make you wise and reveal God to you, so that you will know him. 18 I ask that your minds may be opened to see his light, so that you will know what is the hope to which he has called you, how rich are the wonderful blessings he promises his people, 19 and how very great is his power at work in us who believe. This power working in us is the same as the mighty strength 20 (A)which he used when he raised Christ from death and seated him at his right side in the heavenly world. 21 Christ rules there above all heavenly rulers, authorities, powers, and lords; he has a title superior to all titles of authority in this world and in the next. 22 (B)God put all things under Christ's feet and gave him to the church as supreme Lord over all things. 23 The church is Christ's body, the completion of him who himself completes all things everywhere.[a]
44 Then he said to them, “These are the very things I told you about while I was still with you: everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the writings of the prophets, and the Psalms had to come true.”
45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “This is what is written: the Messiah must suffer and must rise from death three days later, 47 and in his name the message about repentance and the forgiveness of sins must be preached to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 (A)And I myself will send upon you what my Father has promised. But you must wait in the city until the power from above comes down upon you.”
Jesus Is Taken Up to Heaven(B)
50 (C)Then he led them out of the city as far as Bethany, where he raised his hands and blessed them. 51 (D)As he was blessing them, he departed from them and was taken up into heaven.[a] 52 They worshiped him and went back into Jerusalem, filled with great joy, 53 and spent all their time in the Temple giving thanks to God.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.