Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

For the director of music. A psalm of David to be played on flutes.

A Prophet Accuses Ahab

³⁵ There was a group of people called the group of the prophets. A message from the Lord came to one of their members. He said to his companion, “Strike me down with your weapon.” But he wouldn’t do it.

³⁶ The prophet said, “You haven’t obeyed the Lord. So as soon as you leave me, a lion will kill you.” The companion went away. And a lion found him and killed him.

³⁷ The prophet found another man. He said, “Please strike me down.” So the man struck him down and wounded him. ³⁸ Then the prophet went and stood by the road. He waited for the king to come by. He pulled his headband down over his eyes so no one would recognize him. ³⁹ The king passed by. Then the prophet called out to him. He said, “I went into the middle of the battle. Someone came to me with a prisoner. He said, ‘Guard this man. Don’t let him get away. If he does, you will pay for his life with yours. Or you can pay 75 pounds of silver.’ ⁴⁰ While I was busy here and there, the man disappeared.”

The king of Israel spoke to him. He told him, “What you’ve just said is what will happen to you.”

⁴¹ Then the prophet quickly removed the headband from his eyes. The king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. ⁴² He told the king, “The Lord says, ‘You have set a man free. But I had said he should be set apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. So you must pay for his life with yours. You must pay for his people’s lives with the lives of your people.’ ” ⁴³ The king of Israel was angry. He was in a bad mood. He went back to his palace in Samaria.

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Man Who Could Not Walk

¹⁷ One day Jesus was teaching. Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. They heard that the Lord had given Jesus the power to heal the sick. ¹⁸ So some men came carrying a man who could not walk. He was lying on a mat. They tried to take him into the house to place him in front of Jesus. ¹⁹ They could not find a way to do this because of the crowd. So they went up on the roof. Then they lowered the man on his mat through the opening in the roof tiles. They lowered him into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

²⁰ When Jesus saw that they had faith, he spoke to the man. He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

²¹ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to think, “Who is this fellow who says such an evil thing? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

²² Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? ²³ Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’? Or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he spoke to the man who could not walk. “I tell you,” he said, “get up. Take your mat and go home.” ²⁵ Right away, the man stood up in front of them. He took his mat and went home praising God. ²⁶ Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with wonder. They said, “We have seen unusual things today.”