Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Fourth Servant Song
The Lord’s Servant Suffers for Straying Sheep
13 Look, my servant will succeed.[a]
He will rise. He will be lifted up. He will be highly exalted.
14 Just as many were appalled at him[b]—
his appearance was so disfigured that he did not look like a man,
and his form was disfigured more than any other person—
15 so he will sprinkle[c] many nations,
and kings will shut their mouths because of him,
because they will see something they had never been told before,
and they will understand something they had never heard before.
53
Who has believed our report,
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot[d]
and like a root from dry ground.
He had no attractiveness and no majesty.
When we saw him, nothing about his appearance made us desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man who knew grief,
who was well acquainted with suffering.
Like someone whom people cannot bear to look at,
he was despised,
and we thought nothing of him.
4 Surely he was taking up our weaknesses,[e]
and he was carrying our sufferings.
We thought it was because of God
that he was stricken, smitten, and afflicted,
5 but it was because of our rebellion that he was pierced.
He was crushed for the guilt our sins deserved.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all have gone astray like sheep.
Each of us has turned to his own way,
but the Lord has charged all our guilt to him.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth.
Like a lamb he was led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep[f] that is silent in front of its shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
8 He was taken away without a fair trial[g] and without justice,
and of his generation, who even cared?[h]
So, he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was struck because of the rebellion of my people.
9 They would have assigned him a grave with the wicked,
but he was given a grave with the rich in his death,
because he had done no violence,
and no deceit was in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him
and to allow him to suffer.
Because you[i] made his life a guilt offering, he will see offspring.
He will prolong his days,
and the Lord’s gracious plan will succeed in his hand.
11 After his soul experiences anguish, he will see the light of life.[j]
He will provide satisfaction.[k]
Through their knowledge of him, my just servant will justify the many,
for he himself carried their guilt.[l]
12 Therefore I will give him an allotment among the great,[m]
and with the strong he will share plunder,
because he poured out his life to death,
and he let himself be counted with rebellious sinners.
He himself carried the sin of many,
and he intercedes for the rebels.
Psalm 22
Why Have You Forsaken Me?
Heading
For the choir director. According to “Doe of the Dawn.”[a]
A psalm by David.
Part One: The Messiah’s Suffering
The Messiah’s Plea
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
My groaning does nothing to save me.
2 My God, I call out by day, but you do not answer.
I call out by night, but there is no relief for me.[b]
God’s Help in the Past
3 Yet you are seated as the Holy One, praised by Israel.
4 In you our fathers trusted.
They trusted and you delivered them.
5 They cried out to you, and they were rescued.
They trusted in you, and they were not disappointed.
God’s Present Absence
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me. They sneer.
They shake their heads.
8 They say, “Trust in the Lord.”[c]
“Let the Lord deliver him.
Let him rescue him, if he delights in him.”[d]
The Mutual Love of Father and Son
9 But you are the one who brought me out of the belly.
You made me trust when I was at my mother’s breasts.
10 I was cast on you from the womb.
From the belly of my mother you have been my God.
11 Do not be distant from me, for distress is near,
and there is no one to help.
The Power of His Enemies
12 Many bulls surround me.
Strong bulls from Bashan encircle me.
13 Enemies open their mouths wide against me,
like a lion that tears its prey and roars.
14 Like water I am poured out.
All my bones are pulled apart.
My heart has become like wax.
It has melted in the middle of my chest.
15 My strength is dried up like broken pottery,
and my tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth.
You lay me in the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded me.
A band of evil men has encircled me.
They have pierced[e] my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
They stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my garments among them.
For my clothing they cast lots.
The Greater Power of God
19 But you, O Lord, do not be distant.
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver my life from the sword,
my only life from the power of the dog.
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion.
From the horns of the wild oxen you have answered me.[f]
Part Two: The Messiah’s Glory
The Messiah’s Vow
22 I will declare your name to my brothers.
In the midst of the congregation I will praise you.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised nor detested the affliction of the afflicted.
He has not hidden his face from him,
but when he cried out to him, he heard.
25 You are the source of my praise in the great congregation.[g]
I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who fear him.
The Glory of Messiah’s Kingdom
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied.
Those who seek him will praise the Lord—
may he live in your hearts forever![h]
27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations will bow down before you.
28 For the kingdom belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will eat and bow down.
All who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.[i]
30 Descendants will serve him.
For generations people will be told about the Lord.
31 They will come and proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet to be born—
because he has done it.
16 This is the covenant I will make with them
after those days, says the Lord.
I will put my laws on their hearts
and I will write them on their mind.[a]
17 Then he adds:
And I will not remember their sins and their lawlessness any longer.[b]
18 Now where these sins are forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.
Confidence Through Christ
19 Brothers,[c] we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place through the blood of Jesus. 20 It is a new and living way he opened for us through the curtain, that is, his flesh. 21 We also have a great priest over the house of God. 22 So let us approach with a sincere heart, in the full confidence of faith, because our hearts have been sprinkled to take away a bad conscience, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold on firmly to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.
Do Not Keep On Sinning
24 Let us also consider carefully how to spur each other on to love and good works. 25 Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have the habit of doing. Rather, let us encourage each other, and all the more as you see the Day[d] approaching.
Jesus Is Our High Priest
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest, who has gone through the heavens, namely, Jesus the Son of God, let us continue to hold on to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin. 16 So let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
7 In the days of his flesh,[a] he offered prayers and pleas with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was the Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. 9 After he was brought to his goal, he became the source of eternal salvation for everyone who obeys him,
The Arrest
18 After saying these things, Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley,[a] where there was a garden. He and his disciples went into it.
2 Now Judas, who was betraying him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3 So Judas took the company of soldiers and some guards from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.
4 Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who are you looking for?”
5 “Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied.
“I am he,” Jesus told them.
Judas, the betrayer, was standing with them. 6 When Jesus told them, “I am he,” they backed away and fell to the ground.
7 Then Jesus asked them again, “Who are you looking for?”
“Jesus the Nazarene,” they said.
8 “I told you that I am he,” Jesus replied. “So if you are looking for me, let these men go.” 9 This was to fulfill the statement he had spoken: “I did not lose any of those you have given me.”
10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.
11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath. Shall I not drink the cup my Father has given me?”
12 Then the company of soldiers, their commander, and the Jewish guards arrested Jesus and bound him. 13 First they led him to Annas, because he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year. 14 Now it was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews, “It is better that one man die for the people.”
Peter Denies Jesus
15 Simon Peter and another disciple kept following Jesus. That disciple was known to the high priest, so he went into the high priest’s courtyard with Jesus. 16 But Peter stood outside by the door. So the other disciple, the one known to the high priest, went out and talked to the girl watching the door and brought Peter in.
17 “You are not one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” the girl at the door asked Peter.
“I am not!” he said.
18 The servants and guards were standing around a fire of coals that they had made because it was cold. While they warmed themselves, Peter was standing with them, warming himself too.
Jesus Before Annas
19 The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.
20 Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I always taught in a synagogue or at the temple, where all the Jews gather. I said nothing in secret. 21 Why are you questioning me? Ask those who heard what I told them. Look, they know what I said.”
22 When he said this, one of the guards standing there hit Jesus in the face. “Is that how you answer the high priest?” he demanded.
23 “If I said something wrong,” Jesus answered, “testify about what was wrong. But if I was right, why did you hit me?”
24 Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
Peter Denies Again
25 Simon Peter continued to stand there warming himself. So they said to him, “You are not one of his disciples too, are you?”
He denied it, saying, “I am not!”
26 One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?”
27 Peter denied it again, and just then a rooster crowed.
Jesus Before Pilate
28 Early in the morning, the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium. They did not enter the Praetorium themselves, so that they would not become ceremonially unclean. (They wanted to be able to eat the Passover meal.) 29 So Pilate went out to them and said, “What charge do you bring against this man?”
30 They answered him, “If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.”
31 Pilate told them, “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.”
The Jews said, “It’s not legal for us to put anyone to death.” 32 This happened so that the statement Jesus had spoken indicating what kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.
33 Pilate went back into the Praetorium and summoned Jesus. He asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
34 Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own, or did others tell you about me?”
35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?”
36 Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight so that I would not be handed over to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here.”
37 “You are a king then?” Pilate asked.
Jesus answered, “I am, as you say, a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
38 “What is truth?” Pilate said to him.
After he said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against him. 39 But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at the Passover. So do you want me to release the King of the Jews for you?”
40 Then they shouted back, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” (Now Barabbas was a rebel.)
“Behold the Man!”
19 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers also twisted together a crown of thorns and placed it on his head. Then they threw a purple robe around him. 3 They kept coming to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they kept hitting him in the face.
4 Pilate went outside again and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.”
5 So Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”
6 When the chief priests and guards saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
Pilate told them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no basis for a charge against him.”
7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. 9 He went back inside the palace again and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?”
But Jesus gave him no answer.
10 So Pilate asked him, “Are you not talking to me? Don’t you know that I have the authority to release you or to crucify you?”
11 Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over me at all if it had not been given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”
12 From then on Pilate tried to release Jesus. But the Jews shouted, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar! Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar!”
13 When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside. He sat down on the judge’s seat at a place called the Stone Pavement, or Gabbatha in Aramaic. 14 It was about the sixth hour[b] on the Preparation Day for the Passover. Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is your king!”
15 They shouted, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!”
Pilate said to them, “Should I crucify your king?”
“We have no king but Caesar!” the chief priests answered.
16 So then Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.
“They Crucified Him”
So they took Jesus away. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to what is called the Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him with two others, one on each side, and Jesus in the middle.
19 Pilate also had a notice written and fastened on the cross. It read, “Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews.”
20 Many of the Jews read this notice, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek.
21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that ‘this man said, “I am the King of the Jews.”’”
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier. They also took his tunic, which was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it. Instead, let’s cast lots to see who gets it.” This was so that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says:
They divided my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.[c]
So the soldiers did these things.
Jesus’ Compassion for His Mother
25 Jesus’ mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene were standing near the cross.
26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother!” And from that time this disciple took her into his own home.
Jesus Gives Up His Life
28 After this, knowing that everything had now been finished, and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said, “I thirst.”
29 A jar full of sour wine was sitting there. So they put a sponge soaked in sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.
30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished!” Then, bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.
The Piercing of Jesus’ Side
31 Since it was the Preparation Day, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses over the Sabbath (because that Sabbath was a particularly important day). They asked Pilate to have the men’s legs broken and the bodies taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who was crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other man.
33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear. Immediately blood and water came out. 35 The one who saw it has testified, and his testimony is true. He knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. 36 Indeed, these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, “Not one of his bones will be broken.”[d] 37 Again another Scripture says, “They will look at the one they pierced.”[e]
Jesus’ Burial
38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him remove Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave him permission, he came and took Jesus’ body away. 39 Nicodemus, who earlier had come to Jesus at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-two pounds.[f]
40 They took Jesus’ body and bound it with linen strips along with the spices, in accord with Jewish burial customs.
41 There was a garden at the place where Jesus was crucified. And in the garden was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. 42 So they laid Jesus there, because it was the Jewish Preparation Day, and the tomb was near.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.