Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking in the garden. It was during the coolest time of the day. They hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called out to the man. “Where are you?” he asked.

¹⁰ “I heard you in the garden,” the man answered. “I was afraid, because I was naked. So I hid.”

¹¹ The Lord God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten fruit from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?”

¹² The man said, “It’s the fault of the woman you put here with me. She gave me some fruit from the tree. And I ate it.”

¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?”

The woman said, “The serpent tricked me. That’s why I ate the fruit.”

¹⁴ So the Lord God spoke to the serpent. He said, “Because you have done this,

A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.

¹³ It is written, “I believed, and so I have spoken.” (Psalm 116:10) We have that same spirit of faith. So we also believe and speak. ¹⁴ We know that God raised the Lord Jesus from the dead. And he will also raise us up with Jesus. And he will present both you and us to himself. ¹⁵ All this is for your benefit. God’s grace is reaching more and more people. So they will become more and more thankful. They will give glory to God.

¹⁶ We don’t give up. Our bodies are becoming weaker and weaker. But our spirits are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ Our troubles are small. They last only for a short time. But they are earning for us a glory that will last forever. It is greater than all our troubles. ¹⁸ So we don’t spend all our time looking at what we can see. Instead, we look at what we can’t see. That’s because what can be seen lasts only a short time. But what can’t be seen will last forever.

Waiting for Our New Bodies

5 We know that the earthly tent we live in will be destroyed. But we have a building made by God. It is a house in heaven that lasts forever. Human hands did not build it.

Jesus Is Accused by Teachers of the Law

²⁰ Jesus entered a house. Again a crowd gathered. It was so large that Jesus and his disciples were not even able to eat. ²¹ His family heard about this. So they went to take charge of him. They said, “He is out of his mind.”

²² Some teachers of the law were there. They had come down from Jerusalem. They said, “He is controlled by Beelzebul! He is driving out demons by the power of the prince of demons.”

²³ So Jesus called them over to him. He began to speak to them using stories. He said, “How can Satan drive out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom fights against itself, it can’t stand. ²⁵ If a family is divided, it can’t stand. ²⁶ And if Satan fights against himself, and his helpers are divided, he can’t stand. That is the end of him. ²⁷ In fact, none of you can enter a strong man’s house unless you tie him up first. Then you can steal things from his house. ²⁸ What I’m about to tell you is true. Everyone’s sins and evil words against God will be forgiven. ²⁹ But whoever speaks evil things against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. Their guilt will last forever.”

³⁰ Jesus said this because the teachers of the law were saying, “He has an evil spirit.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

³¹ Jesus’ mother and brothers came and stood outside. They sent someone in to get him. ³² A crowd was sitting around Jesus. They told him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside. They are looking for you.”

³³ “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” he asked.

³⁴ Then Jesus looked at the people sitting in a circle around him. He said, “Here is my mother! Here are my brothers! ³⁵ Anyone who does what God wants is my brother or sister or mother.”