Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Offering of Isaac

22 Now after these things, God tested [the faith and commitment of] Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he answered, “Here I am.” ² God said, “Take now your son, your only son [of ^[a]promise], whom you love, Isaac, and go to the region of ^[b]Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” ³ So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and then he got up and went to the place of which God had told him. ⁴ On the third day [of travel] Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ Abraham said to his servants, “Settle down and stay here with the donkey; the ^[c]young man and I will go over there and worship [God], and we will come back to you.”^{(A) 6} Then Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it ^[d]on [the shoulders of] Isaac his son, and he took the ^[e]fire (firepot) in his own hand and the [sacrificial] knife; and the two of them walked on together. ⁷ And Isaac said to Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Isaac said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” ⁸ Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself ^[f]a lamb for the burnt offering.” So the two walked on together.

⁹ When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood, and bound Isaac his son and placed him on the altar, on top of the wood.^{(B) 10} Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to ^[g]kill his son.^{(C) 11} But the ^[h]Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” He answered, “Here I am.” ¹² The Lord said, “Do not reach out [with the knife in] your hand against the boy, and do nothing to [harm] him; for now I know that you fear God [with reverence and profound respect], since you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son [of promise].” ¹³ Then Abraham looked up and glanced around, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering (ascending sacrifice) instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham named that place ^[i]The Lord Will Provide. And it is said to this day, “On the mountain of the Lord it ^[j]will be seen and provided.”

Prayer for Help in Trouble.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts and passions. ¹³ Do not go on offering members of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness. But offer yourselves to God [in a decisive act] as those alive [raised] from the dead [to a new life], and your members [all of your abilities—sanctified, set apart] as instruments of righteousness [yielded] to God. ¹⁴ For sin will no longer be a master over you, since you are not under Law [as slaves], but under [unmerited] grace [as recipients of God’s favor and mercy].

¹⁵ What then [are we to conclude]? Shall we sin because we are not under Law, but under [God’s] grace? Certainly not! ¹⁶ Do you not know that when you continually offer yourselves to someone to do his will, you are the slaves of the one whom you obey, either [slaves] of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness (right standing with God)? ¹⁷ But thank God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient with all your heart to the standard of teaching in which you were instructed and to which you were committed. ¹⁸ And having been set free from sin, you have become the slaves of righteousness [of conformity to God’s will and purpose]. ¹⁹ I am speaking in [familiar] human terms because of your natural limitations [your spiritual immaturity]. For just as you presented your bodily members as slaves to impurity and to [moral] lawlessness, leading to further lawlessness, so now offer your members [your abilities, your talents] as slaves to righteousness, leading to ^[a]sanctification [that is, being set apart for God’s purpose].

²⁰ When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness [you had no desire to conform to God’s will]. ²¹ So what benefit did you get at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? [None!] For the outcome of those things is death! ²² But now since you have been set free from sin and have become [willing] slaves to God, you have your benefit, resulting in sanctification [being made holy and set apart for God’s purpose], and the outcome [of this] is eternal life. ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Reward of Service

⁴⁰ “He who receives and welcomes you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.^{(A) 41} He who receives and welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous (honorable) man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. ⁴² And whoever gives to one of these little ones [these who are humble in rank or influence] even a cup of cold water to drink because he is my disciple, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.”