Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
12 (A) Show respect for the Sabbath Day—it belongs to me. 13 (B) You have six days when you can do your work, 14 but the seventh day of the week belongs to me, your God. No one is to work on that day—not you, your children, your oxen or donkeys or any other animal, not even those foreigners who live in your towns. And don't make your slaves do any work. 15 This special day of rest will remind you that I reached out my mighty arm and rescued you from slavery in Egypt.
(By Asaph for the music leader.[a])
God Makes Us Strong
1 Be happy and shout to God
who makes us strong!
Shout praises to the God
of Jacob.
2 Sing as you play tambourines
and the lovely sounding
stringed instruments.
3 (A) Sound the trumpets and start
the New Moon Festival.[b]
We must also celebrate
when the moon is full.
4 This is the law in Israel,
and it was given to us
by the God of Jacob.
5 The descendants of Joseph
were told to obey it,
when God led them out
from the land of Egypt.
In a voice unknown to me,
I heard someone say:
6 “I lifted the burden
from your shoulder
and took the heavy basket
from your hands.
7 (B) When you were in trouble,
I rescued you,
and from the thunderclouds,
I answered your prayers.
Later I tested you
at Meribah Spring.[c]
8 “Listen, my people,
while I, the Lord,
correct you!
Israel, if you would only
pay attention to me!
9 (C) Don't worship foreign gods
or bow down to gods
you know nothing about.
10 I am the Lord your God.
I rescued you from Egypt.
Just ask, and I will give you
whatever you need.
5 We are not preaching about ourselves. Our message is that Jesus Christ is Lord. He also sent us to be your servants. 6 (A) The Scriptures say, “God commanded light to shine in the dark.” Now God is shining in our hearts to let you know that his glory is seen in Jesus Christ.
7 We are like clay jars in which this treasure is stored. The real power comes from God and not from us. 8 We often suffer, but we are never crushed. Even when we don't know what to do, we never give up. 9 In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we are knocked down, we get up again. 10-11 We face death every day because of Jesus. Our bodies show what his death was like, so his life can also be seen in us. 12 This means that death is working in us, but life is working in you.
A Question about the Sabbath
(Matthew 12.1-8; Luke 6.1-5)
23 (A) One Sabbath Jesus and his disciples were walking through some wheat fields. His disciples were picking grains of wheat as they went along.[a] 24 Some Pharisees asked Jesus, “Why are your disciples picking grain on the Sabbath? They are not supposed to do that!”
25 (B) Jesus answered, “Haven't you read what David did when he and his followers were hungry and in need? 26 (C) It was during the time of Abiathar the high priest. David went into the house of God and ate the sacred loaves of bread that only priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his followers.”
27 Jesus finished by saying, “People were not made for the good of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for the good of people. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord over the Sabbath.”
A Man with a Paralyzed Hand
(Matthew 12.9-14; Luke 6.6-11)
3 The next time Jesus went into the synagogue, a man with a paralyzed hand was there. 2 The Pharisees[b] wanted to accuse Jesus of doing something wrong, and they kept watching to see if Jesus would heal him on the Sabbath.
3 Jesus told the man to stand up where everyone could see him. 4 Then he asked, “On the Sabbath should we do good deeds or evil deeds? Should we save someone's life or destroy it?” But no one said a word.
5 Jesus was angry as he looked around at the people. Yet he felt sorry for them because they were so stubborn. Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did, and his bad hand was healed.
6 The Pharisees left. And at once they started making plans with Herod's followers[c] to kill Jesus.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.