Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁹ That night Paul had a vision. In the vision, a man from Macedonia came to him. The man stood there and begged, “Come over to Macedonia. Help us!” ¹⁰ After Paul had seen the vision, we immediately prepared to leave for Macedonia. We understood that God had called us to tell the Good News to those people.

Lydia Becomes a Christian

¹¹ We left Troas in a ship, and we sailed straight to the island of Samothrace. The next day we sailed to Neapolis.^{[a] 12} Then we went by land to Philippi, the leading city in that part of Macedonia. It is also a Roman colony.^[b] We stayed there for several days.

¹³ On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the river. There we thought we would find a special place for prayer. Some women had gathered there, so we sat down and talked with them. ¹⁴ There was a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira. Her job was selling purple cloth. She worshiped the true God. The Lord opened her mind to pay attention to what Paul was saying. ¹⁵ She and all the people in her house were baptized. Then Lydia invited us to her home. She said, “If you think I am truly a believer in the Lord, then come stay in my house.” And she persuaded us to stay with her.

Everyone Should Praise God

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A song of praise.

¹⁰ The angel carried me away by the Spirit to a very large and high mountain. He showed me the holy city, Jerusalem. It was coming down out of heaven from God.

²² I did not see a temple in the city. The Lord God All-Powerful and the Lamb are the city’s temple. ²³ The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it. The glory of God is its light, and the Lamb is the city’s lamp. ²⁴ By its light the people of the world will walk. The kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. ²⁵ The city’s gates will never be shut on any day, because there is no night there. ²⁶ The greatness and the honor of the nations will be brought into it. ²⁷ Nothing unclean will ever enter the city. No one who does shameful things or tells lies will ever go into it. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will enter the city.

22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life. The river was shining like crystal. It flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the street of the city. The tree of life was on each side of the river. It produces fruit 12 times a year, once each month. The leaves of the tree are for the healing of all people. ³ Nothing that God judges guilty will be in that city. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be there. And God’s servants will worship him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. ⁵ There will never be night again. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun. The Lord God will give them light. And they will rule like kings forever and ever.

²³ Jesus answered, “If anyone loves me, then he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. ²⁴ He who does not love me does not obey my teaching. This teaching that you hear is not really mine. It is from my Father, who sent me.

²⁵ “I have told you all these things while I am with you. ²⁶ But the Helper will teach you everything. He will cause you to remember all the things I told you. This Helper is the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name.

²⁷ “I leave you peace. My peace I give you. I do not give it to you as the world does. So don’t let your hearts be troubled. Don’t be afraid. ²⁸ You heard me say to you, ‘I am going, but I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you should be happy that I am going back to the Father because he is greater than I am. ²⁹ I have told you this now, before it happens. Then when it happens, you will believe.

Jesus Heals a Man at a Pool

5 Later Jesus went to Jerusalem for a special Jewish feast. ² In Jerusalem there is a pool with five covered porches. In the Jewish language^[a] it is called Bethzatha.^[b] This pool is near the Sheep Gate. ³ Many sick people were lying on the porches beside the pool. Some were blind, some were crippled, and some were paralyzed [and they waited for the water to move. ⁴ Sometimes an angel of the Lord came down to the pool and stirred up the water. After the angel did this, the first person to go into the pool was healed from any sickness he had].^{[c] 5} There was a man lying there who had been sick for 38 years. ⁶ Jesus saw the man and knew that he had been sick for a very long time. So Jesus asked him, “Do you want to be well?”

⁷ The sick man answered, “Sir, there is no one to help me get into the pool when the water starts moving. I try to be the first one into the water. But when I try, someone else always goes in before I can.”

⁸ Then Jesus said, “Stand up. Pick up your mat and walk.” ⁹ And immediately the man was well. He picked up his mat and began to walk.

The day all this happened was a Sabbath day.