Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Poisonous Stew

³⁸ When Elisha returned to ^(A)Gilgal, there was ^(B)a famine in the land. ^[a]As ^(C)the sons of the prophets ^(D)were sitting before him, he said to his servant, “^(E)Put on the large pot and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” ³⁹ Then one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, for they did not know what they were. ⁴⁰ So they poured it out for the men to eat. And as they were eating of the stew, they cried out and said, “O man of God, there is ^(F)death in the pot.” And they were unable to eat. ⁴¹ But he said, “Now bring meal.” ^(G)He threw it into the pot and said, “Pour it out for the people that they may eat.” Then there was no harm in the pot.

³¹ Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “^(A)Rabbi, eat.” ³² But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” ³³ So the ^(B)disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” ³⁴ Jesus *said to them, “My food is to ^(C)do the will of Him who sent Me and to ^(D)accomplish His work. ³⁵ Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white ^(E)for harvest. ³⁶ Already he who reaps is receiving ^(F)wages and is gathering ^(G)fruit for ^(H)life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. ³⁷ For in this case the saying is true, ‘^(I)One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”