Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Messiah and his brothers and sisters

¹⁰ This is how it works out. Everything exists for the sake of God and because of him; and it was appropriate that, in bringing many children to glory, he should make perfect, through suffering, the one who leads the way to salvation. ¹¹ For the one who makes others holy, and the ones who are made holy, all belong to a single family.

This is why he isn’t ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters, ¹² when he says,

¹³ and again,

and again,

¹⁴ Since the children share in blood and flesh, he too shared in them, in just the same way, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and set free the people who all their lives long were under the power of slavery because of the fear of death. ¹⁶ It’s obvious, you see, that he isn’t taking special thought for angels; he’s taking special thought for Abraham’s family. ¹⁷ That’s why he had to be like his brothers and sisters in every way, so that he might become a merciful and trustworthy high priest in God’s presence, to make atonement for the sins of the people. ¹⁸ He himself has suffered, you see, through being put to the test, and that’s why he is able to help those who are being tested right now.

Travels to Egypt

¹³ After the Magi had gone, suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.

“Get up,” he said, “and take the child, and his mother, and hurry off to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to hunt for the child, to kill him.”

¹⁴ So he got up and took the child and his mother by night, and went off to Egypt. ¹⁵ He stayed there until the death of Herod. This happened to fulfill what the Lord said through the prophet:

¹⁶ When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the Magi, he flew into a towering rage. He dispatched people to kill all the boys in Bethlehem, and in all its surrounding districts, from two years old and under, according to the time the Magi had told him. ¹⁷ That was when the word that came through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

¹⁹ After the death of Herod, suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt.

²⁰ “Get up,” he said, “and take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel. Those who wanted to kill the child are dead.”

²¹ So he got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.

²² But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling Judaea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go back there. After being advised in a dream, he went off to the region of Galilee. ²³ When he got there, he settled in a town called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what the prophet had spoken: