Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Isaac’s Sons

¹⁹ Now these are the records of the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac. ²⁰ Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean (Syrian) of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean. ²¹ Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was unable to conceive children; and the Lord granted his prayer and Rebekah his wife conceived [twins]. ²² But the children struggled together within her [kicking and shoving one another]; and she said, “If it is so [that the Lord has heard our prayer], why then am I this way?” So she went to inquire of the Lord [praying for an answer]. ²³ The Lord said to her,

²⁴ When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. ²⁵ The first came out reddish all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau (hairy). ²⁶ Afterward his brother came out, and his hand grasped Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob (^[a]one who grabs by the heel, supplanter). Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

²⁷ When the boys grew up, Esau was an able and skilled hunter, a man of the outdoors, but Jacob was a quiet and peaceful man, living in tents. ²⁸ Now Isaac loved [and favored] Esau, because ^[b]he enjoyed eating his game, but Rebekah loved [and favored] Jacob. ²⁹ Jacob had cooked [reddish-brown lentil] stew [one day], when Esau came from the field and was famished; ³⁰ and Esau said to Jacob, “Please, let me have a quick swallow of that red stuff there, because I am exhausted and famished.” For that reason Esau was [also] called Edom (Red). ³¹ Jacob answered, “First sell me your ^[c]birthright (the rights of a firstborn).” ³² Esau said, “Look, I am about to die [if I do not eat soon]; so of what use is this birthright to me?” ³³ Jacob said, “Swear [an oath] to me today [that you are selling it to me for this food]”; so he swore [an oath] to him, and sold him his birthright. ³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and got up and went on his way. In this way Esau scorned his birthright.^(A)

Nun.

Escape from Bondage

8 Therefore there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior].^{(A) 2} For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has set you free from the law of sin and of death. ³ For what the Law could not do [that is, overcome sin and remove its penalty, its power] being weakened by the flesh [man’s nature without the Holy Spirit], God did: He sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful man as an offering for sin. And He condemned sin in the flesh [subdued it and overcame it in the person of His own Son],^{(B) 4} so that the [righteous and just] requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not live our lives in the ways of the flesh [guided by worldliness and our sinful nature], but [live our lives] in the ways of the Spirit [guided by His power]. ⁵ For those who are living according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh [which gratify the body], but those who are living according to the Spirit, [set their minds on] the things of the Spirit [His will and purpose]. ⁶ Now the mind of the flesh is death [both now and forever—because it pursues sin]; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace [the spiritual well-being that comes from walking with God—both now and forever]; ⁷ the mind of the flesh [with its sinful pursuits] is actively hostile to God. It does not submit itself to God’s law, since it cannot, ⁸ and those who are in the flesh [living a life that caters to sinful appetites and impulses] cannot please God.

⁹ However, you are not [living] in the flesh [controlled by the sinful nature] but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God lives in you [directing and guiding you]. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him [and is not a child of God].^{(C) 10} If Christ lives in you, though your [natural] body is dead because of sin, your spirit is alive because of righteousness [which He provides]. ¹¹ And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.

Jesus Teaches in Parables

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting beside the sea [of Galilee].^{(A) 2} But such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat there [positioning Himself as a teacher], while the whole crowd stood on the shore.

³ He told them many things in ^[a]parables, saying, “Listen carefully: a sower went out to sow [seed in his field]; ⁴ and as he sowed, some seed fell beside the road [between the fields], and the birds came and ate it. ⁵ Other seed fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil; and at once they sprang up because they had no depth of soil. ⁶ But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, and thorns came up and choked them out. ⁸ Other seed fell on good soil and yielded grain, some a hundred times as much [as was sown], some sixty [times as much], and some thirty. ⁹ He who has ears [to hear], let him hear and heed My words.”

The Sower Explained

¹⁸ “Listen then to the [meaning of the] parable of the sower:^{(A) 19} When anyone hears the word of the kingdom [regarding salvation] and does not understand and grasp it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. ²⁰ The one on whom seed was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and at once welcomes it with joy; ²¹ yet he has no [substantial] root in himself, but is only temporary, and when pressure or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he stumbles and falls away [abandoning the One who is the source of salvation]. ²² And the one on whom seed was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the worries and distractions of the world and the deceitfulness [the superficial pleasures and delight] of riches choke the word, and it yields no fruit. ²³ And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands and grasps it; he indeed bears fruit and yields, some a hundred times [as much as was sown], some sixty [times as much], and some thirty.”^(B)