Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹¹ The Lord and King says, “I myself will search for my sheep. I will look after them. ¹² A shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them. And I will look after my sheep. I will save them from all the places where they were scattered on a dark and cloudy day. ¹³ I will bring them out from among the nations. I will gather them together from other countries. I will bring them into their own land. There they will eat grass on the mountains and in the valleys. And they will eat in all the fields of Israel. ¹⁴ I will take care of them in the best grasslands. They will eat grass on the highest mountains of Israel. There they will lie down in the finest grasslands. They will eat grass in the best places on Israel’s mountains. ¹⁵ I myself will take care of my sheep. I will let them lie down in safety,” announces the Lord and King. ¹⁶ “I will search for the lost. I will bring back those who have wandered away. I will bandage the ones who are hurt. I will make the weak ones stronger. But I will destroy those who are fat and strong. I will take good care of my sheep. I will treat them fairly.”

²⁰ So the Lord and King speaks to them. He says, “I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the skinny sheep. ²¹ You push the other sheep around with your hips and shoulders. You use your horns to butt all the weak sheep. Finally, you drive them away. ²² But I will save my sheep. They will not be carried off anymore. I will judge between one sheep and another. ²³ I will place one shepherd over them. He will belong to the family line of my servant David. He will take good care of them. He will look after them. He will be their shepherd. ²⁴ I am the Lord. I will be their God. And my servant from David’s family line will be the prince among them. I have spoken. I am the Lord.

Paul Prays and Gives Thanks

¹⁵ I have heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus. I have also heard about your love for all God’s people. That is why ¹⁶ I have not stopped thanking God for you. I always remember you in my prayers. ¹⁷ I pray to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is the glorious Father. I keep asking him to give you the wisdom and understanding that come from the Holy Spirit. I want you to know God better. ¹⁸ I pray that you may understand more clearly. Then you will know the hope God has chosen you to receive. You will know that what God will give his holy people is rich and glorious. ¹⁹ And you will know God’s great power. It can’t be compared with anything else. His power works for us who believe. It is the same mighty strength ²⁰ God showed. He showed this when he raised Christ from the dead. God seated him at his right hand in his heavenly kingdom. ²¹ There Christ sits far above all who rule and have authority. He also sits far above all powers and kings. He is above every name that is appealed to in this world and in the world to come. ²² God placed all things under Christ’s rule. He appointed him to be ruler over everything for the church. ²³ The church is Christ’s body and is filled by Christ. He fills everything in every way.

The Sheep and the Goats

³¹ “The Son of Man will come in all his glory. All the angels will come with him. Then he will sit in glory on his throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered in front of him. He will separate the people into two groups. He will be like a shepherd who separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep to his right and the goats to his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will speak to those on his right. He will say, ‘My Father has blessed you. Come and take what is yours. It is the kingdom prepared for you since the world was created. ³⁵ I was hungry. And you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty. And you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger. And you invited me in. ³⁶ I needed clothes. And you gave them to me. I was sick. And you took care of me. I was in prison. And you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the people who have done what is right will answer him. ‘Lord,’ they will ask, ‘when did we see you hungry and feed you? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you as a stranger and invite you in? When did we see you needing clothes and give them to you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘What I’m about to tell you is true. Anything you did for one of the least important of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘You are cursed! Go away from me into the fire that burns forever. It has been prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² I was hungry. But you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty. But you gave me nothing to drink. ⁴³ I was a stranger. But you did not invite me in. I needed clothes. But you did not give me any. I was sick and in prison. But you did not take care of me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty and not help you? When did we see you as a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison and not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘What I’m about to tell you is true. Anything you didn’t do for one of the least important of these, you didn’t do for me.’

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to be punished forever. But those who have done what is right will receive eternal life.”