Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

God’s Agreement with Abram

15 After these things happened, the Lord spoke his word to Abram in a vision. God said, “Abram, don’t be afraid. I will defend you. And I will give you a great reward.”

² But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me? I have no son. So my slave Eliezer from Damascus will get everything I own after I die.” ³ Abram said, “Look, you have given me no son. So a slave born in my house will inherit everything I have.”

⁴ Then the Lord spoke his word to Abram. He said, “That slave will not be the one to inherit what you have. You will have a son of your own. And your son will inherit what you have.”

⁵ Then God led Abram outside. God said, “Look at the sky. There are so many stars you cannot count them. And your descendants will be too many to count.”

⁶ Abram believed the Lord. And the Lord accepted Abram’s faith, and that faith made him right with God.

⁷ God said to Abram, “I am the Lord who led you out of Ur of Babylonia. I did that so I could give you this land to own.”

⁸ But Abram said, “Lord God, how can I be sure that I will own this land?”

⁹ The Lord said to Abram, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old goat and a three-year-old male sheep. Also bring me a dove and a young pigeon.”

¹⁰ Abram brought them all to God. Then Abram killed the animals and cut each of them into two pieces. He laid each half opposite the other half. But he did not cut the birds in half. ¹¹ Later, large birds flew down to eat the animals. But Abram chased them away.

¹² As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep. While he was asleep, a very terrible darkness came.

¹⁷ The sun went down, and it was very dark. Suddenly a smoking firepot and a blazing torch passed between the halves of the dead animals.^{[a] 18} So on that day the Lord made an agreement with Abram. The Lord said, “I will give this land to your descendants. I will give them the land between the river of Egypt and the great river Euphrates.

A Song of Trust in God

Of David.

¹⁷ Brothers, all of you should try to follow my example and to copy those who live the way we showed you. ¹⁸ Many people live like enemies of the cross of Christ. I have often told you about them, and it makes me cry to tell you about them now. ¹⁹ The way they live is leading them to destruction. Instead of serving God, they do whatever their bodies want. They do shameful things, and they are proud of it. They think only about earthly things. ²⁰ But our homeland is in heaven, and we are waiting for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven. ²¹ He will change our humble bodies and make them like his own glorious body. Christ can do this by his power. With that power he is able to rule all things.

What the Christians Are to Do

4 My dear brothers, I love you and want to see you. You bring me joy and make me proud of you. Continue following the Lord as I have told you.

Jesus Will Die in Jerusalem

³¹ At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Go away from here! Herod wants to kill you!”

³² Jesus said to them, “Go tell that fox Herod, ‘Today and tomorrow I am forcing demons out of people and finishing my work of healing. Then, on the third day, I will reach my goal.’ ³³ Yet I must be on my way today and tomorrow and the next day. Surely it cannot be right for a prophet to be killed anywhere except in Jerusalem.

³⁴ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets. You kill with stones those men that God has sent you. Many times I wanted to help your people. I wanted to gather them together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you did not let me. ³⁵ Now your home will be left completely empty. I tell you, you will not see me again until that time when you will say, ‘God bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord.’”^[a]

Jesus with Moses and Elijah

²⁸ About eight days after Jesus said these things, he took Peter, James, and John and went up on a mountain to pray. ²⁹ While Jesus was praying, his face was changed, and his clothes became shining white. ³⁰ Then two men were talking with Jesus. The men were Moses and Elijah.^{[a] 31} They appeared in heavenly glory, talking with Jesus about his death which would happen in Jerusalem. ³² Peter and the others were asleep. But they woke up and saw the glory of Jesus. They also saw the two men who were standing with him. ³³ When Moses and Elijah were about to leave, Peter said, “Master, it is good that we are here. We will put three tents here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (Peter did not know what he was saying.)

³⁴ While Peter was saying these things, a cloud came down all around them. Peter, James, and John became afraid when the cloud covered them. ³⁵ A voice came from the cloud. The voice said, “This is my Son. He is the One I have chosen. Obey him.”

³⁶ When the voice finished speaking, only Jesus was there. Peter, James, and John said nothing. At that time they told no one about what they had seen.

Jesus Heals a Sick Boy

³⁷ The next day, Jesus, Peter, James, and John came down from the mountain. A large crowd met Jesus. ³⁸ A man in the crowd shouted to Jesus, “Teacher, please come and look at my son. He is the only child I have. ³⁹ An evil spirit comes into my son, and then he shouts. He loses control of himself, and he foams at the mouth. The evil spirit keeps on hurting him and almost never leaves him. ⁴⁰ I begged your followers to make the evil spirit leave my son, but they could not do it.”

⁴¹ Jesus answered, “You people who live now have no faith. Your lives are all wrong. How long must I be with you and be patient with you?” Then Jesus said to the man, “Bring your son here.”

⁴² While the boy was coming, the demon threw him on the ground. The boy lost control of himself. But Jesus gave a strong command to the evil spirit. Then the boy was healed, and Jesus gave him back to his father. ⁴³ All the people were amazed at the great power of God.

Jesus Talks About His Death

The people were all wondering about the things Jesus did. But he said to his followers,