Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Thanksgiving for Victory
118 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
2 Let the people of Israel say,
“His love continues forever.”
19 Open for me the Temple gates.
Then I will come in and thank the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s gate;
only those who are good may enter through it.
21 Lord, I thank you for answering me.
You have saved me.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
became the cornerstone.
23 The Lord did this,
and it is wonderful to us.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad today!
25 Please, Lord, save us;
please, Lord, give us success.
26 God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless all of you from the Temple of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has shown kindness to us.
With branches in your hands, join the feast.
Come to the corners of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will thank you;
you are my God, and I will praise your greatness.
29 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
Jesus Enters Jerusalem as a King
21 As Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem, they stopped at Bethphage at the hill called the Mount of Olives. From there Jesus sent two of his followers 2 and said to them, “Go to the town you can see there. When you enter it, you will quickly find a donkey tied there with its colt. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkeys, say that the Master needs them, and he will send them at once.”
4 This was to bring about what the prophet had said:
5 “Tell the people of Jerusalem,
‘Your king is coming to you.
He is gentle and riding on a donkey,
on the colt of a donkey.’” Isaiah 62:11; Zechariah 9:9
6 The followers went and did what Jesus told them to do. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt to Jesus and laid their coats on them, and Jesus sat on them. 8 Many people spread their coats on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The people were walking ahead of Jesus and behind him, shouting,
“Praise[a] to the Son of David!
God bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord! Psalm 118:26
Praise to God in heaven!”
10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, all the city was filled with excitement. The people asked, “Who is this man?”
11 The crowd said, “This man is Jesus, the prophet from the town of Nazareth in Galilee.”
God’s Servant Obeys
4 The Lord God gave me the ability to teach
so that I know what to say to make the weak strong.
Every morning he wakes me.
He teaches me to listen like a student.
5 The Lord God helps me learn,
and I have not turned against him
nor stopped following him.
6 I offered my back to those who beat me.
I offered my cheeks to those who pulled my beard.
I won’t hide my face from them
when they make fun of me and spit at me.
7 The Lord God helps me,
so I will not be ashamed.
I will be determined,
and I know I will not be disgraced.
8 He shows that I am innocent, and he is close to me.
So who can accuse me?
If there is someone, let us go to court together.
If someone wants to prove I have done wrong,
he should come and tell me.
9 Look! It is the Lord God who helps me.
So who can prove me guilty?
Look! All those who try will become useless like old clothes;
moths will eat them.
9 Lord, have mercy, because I am in misery.
My eyes are weak from so much crying,
and my whole being is tired from grief.
10 My life is ending in sadness,
and my years are spent in crying.
My troubles are using up my strength,
and my bones are getting weaker.
11 Because of all my troubles, my enemies hate me,
and even my neighbors look down on me.
When my friends see me,
they are afraid and run.
12 I am like a piece of a broken pot.
I am forgotten as if I were dead.
13 I have heard many insults.
Terror is all around me.
They make plans against me
and want to kill me.
14 Lord, I trust you.
I have said, “You are my God.”
15 My life is in your hands.
Save me from my enemies
and from those who are chasing me.
16 Show your kindness to me, your servant.
Save me because of your love.
Be Unselfish Like Christ
5 In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus.
6 Christ himself was like God in everything.
But he did not think that being equal with God was something to be used for his own benefit.
7 But he gave up his place with God and made himself nothing.
He was born as a man
and became like a servant.
8 And when he was living as a man,
he humbled himself and was fully obedient to God,
even when that caused his death—death on a cross.
9 So God raised him to the highest place.
God made his name greater than every other name
10 so that every knee will bow to the name of Jesus—
everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.
11 And everyone will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord
and bring glory to God the Father.
Judas Becomes an Enemy of Jesus
14 Then one of the twelve apostles, Judas Iscariot, went to talk to the leading priests. 15 He said, “What will you pay me for giving Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty silver coins. 16 After that, Judas watched for the best time to turn Jesus in.
Jesus Eats the Passover Meal
17 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the followers came to Jesus. They said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover meal?”
18 Jesus answered, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: “The chosen time is near. I will have the Passover with my followers at your house.”’” 19 The followers did what Jesus told them to do, and they prepared the Passover meal.
20 In the evening Jesus was sitting at the table with his twelve followers. 21 As they were eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will turn against me.”
22 This made the followers very sad. Each one began to say to Jesus, “Surely, Lord, I am not the one who will turn against you, am I?”
23 Jesus answered, “The man who has dipped his hand with me into the bowl is the one who will turn against me. 24 The Son of Man will die, just as the Scriptures say. But how terrible it will be for the person who hands the Son of Man over to be killed. It would be better for him if he had never been born.”
25 Then Judas, who would give Jesus to his enemies, said to Jesus, “Teacher, surely I am not the one, am I?”
Jesus answered, “Yes, it is you.”
The Lord’s Supper
26 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread and thanked God for it and broke it. Then he gave it to his followers and said, “Take this bread and eat it; this is my body.”
27 Then Jesus took a cup and thanked God for it and gave it to the followers. He said, “Every one of you drink this. 28 This is my blood which is the new[a] agreement that God makes with his people. This blood is poured out for many to forgive their sins. 29 I tell you this: I will not drink of this fruit of the vine[b] again until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
30 After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus’ Followers Will Leave Him
31 Jesus told his followers, “Tonight you will all stumble in your faith on account of me, because it is written in the Scriptures:
‘I will kill the shepherd,
and the sheep will scatter.’ Zechariah 13:7
32 But after I rise from the dead, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
33 Peter said, “Everyone else may stumble in their faith because of you, but I will not.”
34 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, tonight before the rooster crows you will say three times that you don’t know me.”
35 But Peter said, “I will never say that I don’t know you! I will even die with you!” And all the other followers said the same thing.
Jesus Prays Alone
36 Then Jesus went with his followers to a place called Gethsemane. He said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him, and he began to be very sad and troubled. 38 He said to them, “My heart is full of sorrow, to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me.”
39 After walking a little farther away from them, Jesus fell to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, do not give me this cup[c] of suffering. But do what you want, not what I want.” 40 Then Jesus went back to his followers and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “You men could not stay awake with me for one hour? 41 Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. The spirit wants to do what is right, but the body is weak.”
42 Then Jesus went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this painful thing to be taken from me, and if I must do it, I pray that what you want will be done.”
43 Then he went back to his followers, and again he found them asleep, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So Jesus left them and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing.
45 Then Jesus went back to his followers and said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? The time has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to sinful people. 46 Get up, we must go. Look, here comes the man who has turned against me.”
Jesus Is Arrested
47 While Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve apostles, came up. With him were many people carrying swords and clubs who had been sent from the leading priests and the Jewish elders of the people. 48 Judas had planned to give them a signal, saying, “The man I kiss is Jesus. Arrest him.” 49 At once Judas went to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Teacher!” and kissed him.
50 Jesus answered, “Friend, do what you came to do.”
Then the people came and grabbed Jesus and arrested him. 51 When that happened, one of Jesus’ followers reached for his sword and pulled it out. He struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.
52 Jesus said to the man, “Put your sword back in its place. All who use swords will be killed with swords. 53 Surely you know I could ask my Father, and he would give me more than twelve armies of angels. 54 But it must happen this way to bring about what the Scriptures say.”
55 Then Jesus said to the crowd, “You came to get me with swords and clubs as if I were a criminal. Every day I sat in the Temple teaching, and you did not arrest me there. 56 But all these things have happened so that it will come about as the prophets wrote.” Then all of Jesus’ followers left him and ran away.
Jesus Before the Leaders
57 Those people who arrested Jesus led him to the house of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders were gathered. 58 Peter followed far behind to the courtyard of the high priest’s house, and he sat down with the guards to see what would happen to Jesus.
59 The leading priests and the whole Jewish council tried to find something false against Jesus so they could kill him. 60 Many people came and told lies about him, but the council could find no real reason to kill him. Then two people came and said, 61 “This man said, ‘I can destroy the Temple of God and build it again in three days.’”
62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Aren’t you going to answer? Don’t you have something to say about their charges against you?” 63 But Jesus said nothing.
Again the high priest said to Jesus, “I command you by the power of the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
64 Jesus answered, “Those are your words. But I tell you, in the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God, the Powerful One, and coming on clouds in the sky.”
65 When the high priest heard this, he tore his clothes and said, “This man has said things that are against God! We don’t need any more witnesses; you all heard him say these things against God. 66 What do you think?”
The people answered, “He should die.”
67 Then the people there spat in Jesus’ face and beat him with their fists. Others slapped him. 68 They said, “Prove to us that you are a prophet, you Christ! Tell us who hit you!”
Peter Says He Doesn’t Know Jesus
69 At that time, as Peter was sitting in the courtyard, a servant girl came to him and said, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.”
70 But Peter said to all the people there that he was never with Jesus. He said, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
71 When he left the courtyard and was at the gate, another girl saw him. She said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 Again, Peter said he was never with him, saying, “I swear I don’t know this man Jesus!”
73 A short time later, some people standing there went to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of those who followed Jesus. The way you talk shows it.”
74 Then Peter began to place a curse on himself and swear, “I don’t know the man.” At once, a rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered what Jesus had told him: “Before the rooster crows, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” Then Peter went outside and cried painfully.
Jesus Is Taken to Pilate
27 Early the next morning, all the leading priests and elders of the people decided that Jesus should die. 2 They tied him, led him away, and turned him over to Pilate, the governor.
Judas Kills Himself
3 Judas, the one who had given Jesus to his enemies, saw that they had decided to kill Jesus. Then he was very sorry for what he had done. So he took the thirty silver coins back to the priests and the leaders, 4 saying, “I sinned; I handed over to you an innocent man.”
The leaders answered, “What is that to us? That’s your problem, not ours.”
5 So Judas threw the money into the Temple. Then he went off and hanged himself.
6 The leading priests picked up the silver coins in the Temple and said, “Our law does not allow us to keep this money with the Temple money, because it has paid for a man’s death.” 7 So they decided to use the coins to buy Potter’s Field as a place to bury strangers who died in Jerusalem. 8 That is why that field is still called the Field of Blood. 9 So what Jeremiah the prophet had said came true: “They took thirty silver coins. That is how little the Israelites thought he was worth. 10 They used those thirty silver coins to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”[d]
Pilate Questions Jesus
11 Jesus stood before Pilate the governor, and Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “Those are your words.”
12 When the leading priests and the elders accused Jesus, he said nothing.
13 So Pilate said to Jesus, “Don’t you hear them accusing you of all these things?”
14 But Jesus said nothing in answer to Pilate, and Pilate was very surprised at this.
Pilate Tries to Free Jesus
15 Every year at the time of Passover the governor would free one prisoner whom the people chose. 16 At that time there was a man in prison, named Barabbas,[e] who was known to be very bad. 17 When the people gathered at Pilate’s house, Pilate said, “Whom do you want me to set free: Barabbas[f] or Jesus who is called the Christ?” 18 Pilate knew that they turned Jesus in to him because they were jealous.
19 While Pilate was sitting there on the judge’s seat, his wife sent this message to him: “Don’t do anything to that man, because he is innocent. Today I had a dream about him, and it troubled me very much.”
20 But the leading priests and elders convinced the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be freed and for Jesus to be killed.
21 Pilate said, “I have Barabbas and Jesus. Which do you want me to set free for you?”
The people answered, “Barabbas.”
22 Pilate asked, “So what should I do with Jesus, the one called the Christ?”
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
23 Pilate asked, “Why? What wrong has he done?”
But they shouted louder, “Crucify him!”
24 When Pilate saw that he could do nothing about this and that a riot was starting, he took some water and washed his hands[g] in front of the crowd. Then he said, “I am not guilty of this man’s death. You are the ones who are causing it!”
25 All the people answered, “We and our children will be responsible for his death.”
26 Then he set Barabbas free. But Jesus was beaten with whips and handed over to the soldiers to be crucified.
27 The governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s palace, and they all gathered around him. 28 They took off his clothes and put a red robe on him. 29 Using thorny branches, they made a crown, put it on his head, and put a stick in his right hand. Then the soldiers bowed before Jesus and made fun of him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 They spat on Jesus. Then they took his stick and began to beat him on the head. 31 After they finished, the soldiers took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.
Jesus Is Crucified
32 As the soldiers were going out of the city with Jesus, they forced a man from Cyrene, named Simon, to carry the cross for Jesus. 33 They all came to the place called Golgotha, which means the Place of the Skull. 34 The soldiers gave Jesus wine mixed with gall[h] to drink. He tasted the wine but refused to drink it. 35 When the soldiers had crucified him, they threw lots to decide who would get his clothes.[i] 36 The soldiers sat there and continued watching him. 37 They put a sign above Jesus’ head with a charge against him. It said: this is jesus, the king of the jews. 38 Two robbers were crucified beside Jesus, one on the right and the other on the left. 39 People walked by and insulted Jesus and shook their heads, 40 saying, “You said you could destroy the Temple and build it again in three days. So save yourself! Come down from that cross if you are really the Son of God!”
41 The leading priests, the teachers of the law, and the Jewish elders were also making fun of Jesus. 42 They said, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself! He says he is the king of Israel! If he is the king, let him come down now from the cross. Then we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God, so let God save him now, if God really wants him. He himself said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 And in the same way, the robbers who were being crucified beside Jesus also insulted him.
Jesus Dies
45 At noon the whole country became dark, and the darkness lasted for three hours. 46 About three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” This means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
47 Some of the people standing there who heard this said, “He is calling Elijah.”
48 Quickly one of them ran and got a sponge and filled it with vinegar and tied it to a stick and gave it to Jesus to drink. 49 But the others said, “Don’t bother him. We want to see if Elijah will come to save him.”
50 But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice and died.
51 Then the curtain in the Temple[j] was torn into two pieces, from the top to the bottom. Also, the earth shook and rocks broke apart. 52 The graves opened, and many of God’s people who had died were raised from the dead. 53 They came out of the graves after Jesus was raised from the dead and went into the holy city, where they appeared to many people.
54 When the army officer and the soldiers guarding Jesus saw this earthquake and everything else that happened, they were very frightened and said, “He really was the Son of God!”
55 Many women who had followed Jesus from Galilee to help him were standing at a distance from the cross, watching. 56 Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John were there.
Jesus Is Buried
57 That evening a rich man named Joseph, a follower of Jesus from the town of Arimathea, came to Jerusalem. 58 Joseph went to Pilate and asked to have Jesus’ body. So Pilate gave orders for the soldiers to give it to Joseph. 59 Then Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. 60 He put Jesus’ body in a new tomb that he had cut out of a wall of rock, and he rolled a very large stone to block the entrance of the tomb. Then Joseph went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other woman named Mary were sitting near the tomb.
The Tomb of Jesus Is Guarded
62 The next day, the day after Preparation Day, the leading priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 They said, “Sir, we remember that while that liar was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be guarded closely till the third day. Otherwise, his followers might come and steal the body and tell people that he has risen from the dead. That lie would be even worse than the first one.”
65 Pilate said, “Take some soldiers and go guard the tomb the best way you know.” 66 So they all went to the tomb and made it safe from thieves by sealing the stone in the entrance and putting soldiers there to guard it.
Pilate Questions Jesus
11 Jesus stood before Pilate the governor, and Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “Those are your words.”
12 When the leading priests and the elders accused Jesus, he said nothing.
13 So Pilate said to Jesus, “Don’t you hear them accusing you of all these things?”
14 But Jesus said nothing in answer to Pilate, and Pilate was very surprised at this.
Pilate Tries to Free Jesus
15 Every year at the time of Passover the governor would free one prisoner whom the people chose. 16 At that time there was a man in prison, named Barabbas,[a] who was known to be very bad. 17 When the people gathered at Pilate’s house, Pilate said, “Whom do you want me to set free: Barabbas[b] or Jesus who is called the Christ?” 18 Pilate knew that they turned Jesus in to him because they were jealous.
19 While Pilate was sitting there on the judge’s seat, his wife sent this message to him: “Don’t do anything to that man, because he is innocent. Today I had a dream about him, and it troubled me very much.”
20 But the leading priests and elders convinced the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be freed and for Jesus to be killed.
21 Pilate said, “I have Barabbas and Jesus. Which do you want me to set free for you?”
The people answered, “Barabbas.”
22 Pilate asked, “So what should I do with Jesus, the one called the Christ?”
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
23 Pilate asked, “Why? What wrong has he done?”
But they shouted louder, “Crucify him!”
24 When Pilate saw that he could do nothing about this and that a riot was starting, he took some water and washed his hands[c] in front of the crowd. Then he said, “I am not guilty of this man’s death. You are the ones who are causing it!”
25 All the people answered, “We and our children will be responsible for his death.”
26 Then he set Barabbas free. But Jesus was beaten with whips and handed over to the soldiers to be crucified.
27 The governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s palace, and they all gathered around him. 28 They took off his clothes and put a red robe on him. 29 Using thorny branches, they made a crown, put it on his head, and put a stick in his right hand. Then the soldiers bowed before Jesus and made fun of him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 They spat on Jesus. Then they took his stick and began to beat him on the head. 31 After they finished, the soldiers took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.
Jesus Is Crucified
32 As the soldiers were going out of the city with Jesus, they forced a man from Cyrene, named Simon, to carry the cross for Jesus. 33 They all came to the place called Golgotha, which means the Place of the Skull. 34 The soldiers gave Jesus wine mixed with gall[d] to drink. He tasted the wine but refused to drink it. 35 When the soldiers had crucified him, they threw lots to decide who would get his clothes.[e] 36 The soldiers sat there and continued watching him. 37 They put a sign above Jesus’ head with a charge against him. It said: this is jesus, the king of the jews. 38 Two robbers were crucified beside Jesus, one on the right and the other on the left. 39 People walked by and insulted Jesus and shook their heads, 40 saying, “You said you could destroy the Temple and build it again in three days. So save yourself! Come down from that cross if you are really the Son of God!”
41 The leading priests, the teachers of the law, and the Jewish elders were also making fun of Jesus. 42 They said, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself! He says he is the king of Israel! If he is the king, let him come down now from the cross. Then we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God, so let God save him now, if God really wants him. He himself said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 And in the same way, the robbers who were being crucified beside Jesus also insulted him.
Jesus Dies
45 At noon the whole country became dark, and the darkness lasted for three hours. 46 About three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” This means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
47 Some of the people standing there who heard this said, “He is calling Elijah.”
48 Quickly one of them ran and got a sponge and filled it with vinegar and tied it to a stick and gave it to Jesus to drink. 49 But the others said, “Don’t bother him. We want to see if Elijah will come to save him.”
50 But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice and died.
51 Then the curtain in the Temple[f] was torn into two pieces, from the top to the bottom. Also, the earth shook and rocks broke apart. 52 The graves opened, and many of God’s people who had died were raised from the dead. 53 They came out of the graves after Jesus was raised from the dead and went into the holy city, where they appeared to many people.
54 When the army officer and the soldiers guarding Jesus saw this earthquake and everything else that happened, they were very frightened and said, “He really was the Son of God!”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.