Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
4 But he took away all our weakness!
He carried our pain for us.
We thought that he was receiving punishment for his own sins.
We thought that God was causing him to suffer.
5 But it was our sins that caused his wounds.
The bad things that we had done crushed him.
The punishment that he received
has brought peace to us.
The wounds that he received
have made us well.
6 We have all turned away,
like sheep that take the wrong path.
Each of us has turned to follow our own way.
But the Lord has taken all our sins
and put the punishment on him.
7 People were cruel to him,
and he received much pain.
But he did not say anything to complain.
He was like a lamb that people were leading away to kill.
He was like a sheep when they are cutting off its wool,
but it makes no noise.
In the same way, he did not say anything.
8 They spoke lies to accuse him in court.
Then they led him away to kill him.
And nobody at that time said that it was wrong.
His life in this world quickly came to an end.
And it was the sins of our own people that caused him to die.
9 They decided to bury him with wicked people.
But his body was put in a rich man's grave.
He had not done anything to hurt anyone.
He had not told lies to deceive people.
10 But it was the Lord who chose to hurt his servant.
He caused his servant to receive much pain.
His servant died to remove people's guilt.
As a result, God will bless him with many descendants,
and he will have a long life.
What the Lord wants will happen,
because of what his servant does.
11 When God's servant sees the result of his pain,
he will understand what he has done.
And he will be happy.
The Lord says,
‘My righteous servant will cause many people to be “not guilty”,
because he will take the punishment for all their sins.
12 So I will put him in a place of honour,
as a great person deserves.
He will share the good things that powerful men receive
when they have won a battle.
He deserves this, because he agreed to die as a sacrifice.
People thought that he himself was a sinner
when he took away the sins of many people.
He prayed that God would forgive sinners.’
9 You have come to the Lord to make you safe.
The Most High God has become your home.
10 No bad thing will happen to you.
No illness will come to your home.
11 For God will tell his angels to keep you safe.[a]
They will protect you wherever you go.
12 They will hold you safely in their hands,
so that you do not hurt your foot on a stone.[b]
13 You will win against lions and snakes.
You will walk over them!
14 The Lord says, ‘If someone loves me,
I will keep him safe.
Because he worships me,
I will protect him.
15 When he calls to me for help,
I will answer him.
When he has trouble,
I will be with him.
I will rescue him,
and people will respect him.
16 I will give to him a long life,
so that he is happy.
He will see that I have the power to save people.’
5 Every leader of God's priests comes from among the people. That special priest's work is to serve God on behalf of God's people. He offers gifts and sacrifices to God, so that God will forgive the people's sins. 2 That priest himself may often do wrong things, because he is weak and human. As a result, he understands other people who make mistakes. He can be kind to people who do wrong things. 3 But, because he himself does wrong things, he must offer sacrifices to God on behalf of himself, as well as on behalf of the people.
4 Nobody decides for himself to become a leader of the priests. God himself must choose him. That is how Aaron became a priest.[a]
5 It is the same with Christ. He did not choose himself to be God's special priest. He did not choose to make himself important like that. God chose him. God showed that Christ was very important. God said to him:
‘You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.’[b]
6 And in another place in the Bible God says this:
‘You will be a priest for ever,
in the same way that Melchizedek was a priest long ago.’[c]
7 When Jesus Christ lived on earth as a man, he often prayed to God. He asked God to help him. He prayed strongly and he cried loudly with many tears. He knew that God could save him from death. And God listened to Jesus when he prayed, because Jesus served God.[d]
8 Jesus is God's Son. But he still had trouble and pain. In that way, he learned to obey God completely. 9 As a result, Jesus became the person who can save everyone who obeys him. Because of Jesus, God forgives their sins for ever. 10 God has chosen Jesus to be his special priest in the same way that Melchizedek was.
James and John ask Jesus to do something for them
35 James and John, who were Zebedee's sons, came to Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘we want to ask you for something. Please do it for us.’
36 ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Jesus asked them.
37 They said to him, ‘When you are king, we want to rule with you. One of us will sit at your right side and the other one at your left side.’
38 Jesus said to them, ‘You do not understand what you are asking for. I will have much pain and trouble. Are you ready to have the same pain? Are you ready to die in the way that I will die?’
39 James and John replied, ‘Yes, we can do all that.’
Jesus said to them, ‘Yes, that is true. You will have pain like mine. And people will want to kill you like me. 40 But I cannot promise that you will sit at my right side or at my left side. God has chosen the people who will sit there. He has prepared the places for those people.’
41 When the other ten disciples heard about this, they were angry with James and John. 42 But Jesus told the disciples to come to him. He said to them, ‘You know the things that rulers of other countries do. They show that they have much power over their people. The leaders of those countries use great authority over their people. 43 But you should not be like that. Instead, the person who wants to be great among you must become like your servant. 44 Anyone who wants to be the most important person among you must work hard for you all. 45 Even the Son of Man came to earth to be a servant to other people. He did not come here to have servants who must work for him. No, he came to die so that many people can be free.’
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