Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A shiggaion of David. He sang it to the Lord about Cush, who was from the tribe of Benjamin.

⁷ “Son of man, I have appointed you as a prophet to warn the people of Israel. So listen to my message. Give them a warning from me. ⁸ Suppose I say to a sinful person, ‘You can be sure that you will die.’ And suppose you do not try to get them to change their ways. Then they will die because they have sinned. And I will hold you responsible for their death. ⁹ But suppose you do warn that sinful person. You tell them to change their ways. But they do not change. Then they will die because they have sinned. But you will have saved yourself.

¹⁰ “Son of man, speak to the Israelites. Tell them, ‘You are saying, “Our sins and the wrong things we have done weigh us down. We are wasting away because we have sinned so much. So how can we live?” ’ ¹¹ Tell them, ‘When sinful people die, it does not give me any joy. But when they turn away from their sins and live, that makes me very happy. And that is just as sure as I am alive,’ announces the Lord and King. ‘So turn away from your sins! Change your evil ways! Why should you die, people of Israel?’

¹² “Son of man, speak to your people. Tell them, ‘Suppose a godly person does not obey the Lord. Then the right things that person has done in the past count for nothing. Suppose a sinful person turns away from doing wrong things. Then the wrong things that person has done in the past won’t bring them judgment. A godly person who sins won’t be allowed to live. That’s true even though they used to do right things.’ ¹³ Suppose I tell a godly person that they will live. And they trust in the fact that they used to do what is right. But now they do what is evil. Then I will not remember any of the right things they have done. They will die because they have done so many evil things. ¹⁴ Suppose I say to a sinful person, ‘You can be sure you will die.’ And then they turn away from their sin. They do what is fair and right. ¹⁵ They return things they take to make sure loans are repaid. They give back what they have stolen. They obey my rules that give life. They do not do what is evil. Then you can be sure they will live. They will not die. ¹⁶ None of the sins they have committed will be held against them. They have done what is fair and right. So you can be sure they will live.

¹⁷ “In spite of that, your people say, ‘What the Lord does isn’t fair.’ But it is what you do that is not fair. ¹⁸ Suppose a godly person stops doing what is right. And they do what is evil. Then they will die because of it. ¹⁹ But suppose a sinful person turns away from the evil things they have done. And they do what is fair and right. Then they will live by doing that. ²⁰ In spite of that, you Israelites say, ‘What the Lord does isn’t fair.’ But I will judge each of you based on how you have lived.”

¹⁹ Jesus answered, “What I’m about to tell you is true. The Son can do nothing by himself. He can do only what he sees his Father doing. What the Father does, the Son also does. ²⁰ This is because the Father loves the Son. The Father shows him everything he does. Yes, and the Father will show the Son even greater works than these. And you will be amazed. ²¹ The Father raises the dead and gives them life. In the same way, the Son gives life to anyone he wants to. ²² Also, the Father does not judge anyone. He has given the Son the task of judging. ²³ Then all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

²⁴ “What I’m about to tell you is true. Anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. They will not be judged. They have crossed over from death to life. ²⁵ What I’m about to tell you is true. A time is coming for me to give life. In fact, it has already begun. The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God. Those who hear it will live. ²⁶ The Father has life in himself. He has allowed the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷ And the Father has given him the authority to judge. This is because he is the Son of Man.

²⁸ “Do not be amazed at this. A time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice. ²⁹ They will all come out of their graves. People who have done what is good will rise and live again. People who have done what is evil will rise and be found guilty. ³⁰ I can do nothing by myself. I judge only as I hear. And my judging is fair. I do not try to please myself. I try to please the one who sent me.

Being a Witness About Jesus

³¹ “If I am a witness about myself, what I say is not true. ³² There is someone else who is a witness in my favor. And I know that what he says about me is true.

³³ “You have sent people to John the Baptist. He has been a witness to the truth. ³⁴ I do not accept what a person says. I only talk about what John says so that you can be saved. ³⁵ John was like a lamp that burned and gave light. For a while you chose to enjoy his light.

³⁶ “What I say about myself is more important than what John says about me. I am doing the works the Father gave me to finish. These works are a witness that the Father has sent me. ³⁷ The Father who sent me is himself a witness about me. You have never heard his voice. You have never seen what he really looks like. ³⁸ And his word does not live in you. That’s because you do not believe the one he sent. ³⁹ You study the Scriptures carefully. You study them because you think they will give you eternal life. The Scriptures you study are a witness about me. ⁴⁰ But you refuse to come to me and receive life.