Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for Deliverance
126 When the Lord brought us back to Jerusalem,[a]
it was like a dream!
2 How we laughed, how we sang for joy!
Then the other nations said about us,
“The Lord did great things for them.”
3 Indeed he did great things for us;
how happy we were!
4 Lord, make us prosperous again,[b]
just as the rain brings water back to dry riverbeds.
5 Let those who wept as they planted their crops,
gather the harvest with joy!
6 Those who wept as they went out carrying the seed
will come back singing for joy,
as they bring in the harvest.
3 (A)Give strength to hands that are tired
and to knees that tremble with weakness.
4 Tell everyone who is discouraged,
“Be strong and don't be afraid!
God is coming to your rescue,
coming to punish your enemies.”
5 (B)The blind will be able to see,
and the deaf will hear.
6 The lame will leap and dance,
and those who cannot speak will shout for joy.
Streams of water will flow through the desert;
7 the burning sand will become a lake,
and dry land will be filled with springs.
Where jackals used to live,
marsh grass and reeds will grow.
The Messengers from John the Baptist(A)
18 When John's disciples told him about all these things, he called two of them 19 and sent them to the Lord to ask him, “Are you the one John said was going to come, or should we expect someone else?”
20 When they came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to ask if you are the one he said was going to come, or should we expect someone else?”
21 At that very time Jesus healed many people from their sicknesses, diseases, and evil spirits, and gave sight to many blind people. 22 (B)He answered John's messengers, “Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind can see, the lame can walk, those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases are made clean,[a] the deaf can hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor. 23 How happy are those who have no doubts about me!”
24 After John's messengers had left, Jesus began to speak about him to the crowds: “When you went out to John in the desert, what did you expect to see? A blade of grass bending in the wind? 25 What did you go out to see? A man dressed up in fancy clothes? People who dress like that and live in luxury are found in palaces! 26 Tell me, what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes indeed, but you saw much more than a prophet. 27 (C)For John is the one of whom the scripture says: ‘God said, I will send my messenger ahead of you to open the way for you.’ 28 I tell you,” Jesus added, “John is greater than anyone who has ever lived. But the one who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than John.”
29 (D)All the people heard him; they and especially the tax collectors were the ones who had obeyed God's righteous demands and had been baptized by John. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law rejected God's purpose for themselves and refused to be baptized by John.
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.