Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Peter Preaches—What Joel Said Would Happen Has Happened
14 Then Peter stood up with the eleven missionaries and spoke with a loud voice, “Men of the country of Judea and all of you who are living in Jerusalem, I want you to know what is happening. So listen to what I am going to say.
36 The whole Jewish nation must know for sure that God has made this Jesus, both Lord and Christ. He is the One you nailed to a cross!”
They Ask Peter What They Should Do
37 When the Jews heard this, their hearts were troubled. They said to Peter and to the other missionaries, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Be sorry for your sins and turn from them and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and your sins will be forgiven. You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you and your children. It is to all people everywhere. It is to as many as the Lord our God will call.”
40 He said many other things. He helped them understand that they should keep themselves from the sinful people of this day. 41 Those who believed what he said were baptized. There were about 3,000 more followers added that day.
Praises to God for Being Saved from Death
116 I love the Lord, because He hears my voice and my prayers. 2 I will call on Him as long as I live, because He has turned His ear to me. 3 The strings of death are all around me. And the fear of the grave came upon me. I suffered with trouble and sorrow. 4 Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I beg You, save my life!”
12 What should I give to the Lord for all the good things He has done for me? 13 I will show Him my thanks for saving me with a gift of wine and praise His name. 14 I will keep my promises to the Lord before all His people. 15 The death of His holy ones is of great worth in the eyes of the Lord. 16 For sure I am Your servant, O Lord. I am Your servant, the son of the woman who served You. You have set me free from my chains. 17 I will give a gift of thanks to You and call on the name of the Lord. 18 I will keep my promises to the Lord before all His people, 19 in the holy place of the Lord, and in the center of you, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!
17 The Father is the One Who judges you by what you do. He does not respect one person more than another. If you call Him Father, be sure you honor Him with love and fear all the days of your life here on earth. 18 You know you were not bought and made free from sin by paying gold or silver which comes to an end. And you know you were not saved from the punishment of sin by the way of life that you were given from your early fathers. That way of life was worth nothing. 19 The blood of Christ saved you. This blood is of great worth and no amount of money can buy it. Christ was given as a lamb without sin and without spot. 20 Long before the world was made, God chose Christ to be given to you in these last days. 21 Because of Christ, you have put your trust in God. He raised Christ from the dead and gave Him great honor. So now your faith and hope are in God.
The Living Word
22 You have made your souls pure by obeying the truth through the Holy Spirit. This has given you a true love for the Christians. Let it be a true love from the heart. 23 You have been given a new birth. It was from a seed that cannot die. This new life is from the Word of God which lives forever.
The Followers of Jesus Do Not Believe He Is Risen (A)
13 That same day two of His followers were going to the town of Emmaus. It was about a two-hour walk from Jerusalem. 14 They talked of all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking together, Jesus Himself came and walked along with them. 16 Something kept their eyes from seeing Who He was.
17 He said to them, “What are you talking about as you walk?” They stood still and looked sad. 18 One of them, whose name was Cleopas, said to Him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who has not heard of the things that have happened here these days?” 19 Jesus said to them, “What things?” They answered, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth. He was the great One Who spoke for God. He did powerful works and spoke powerful words in the sight of God and the people. 20 And the religious leaders and the leaders of the people gave Him over to be killed and nailed Him to a cross. 21 We were hoping He was the One Who was going to make the Jewish people free. But it was three days ago when these things happened.
22 “Some of the women of our group have surprised us and made us wonder. They went to the grave early this morning. 23 They did not find His body. They came back saying they had seen angels in a special dream who said that He was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the grave and found it as the women had said. But they did not see Him.”
25 Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish men. How slow you are to believe what the early preachers have said. 26 Did not Christ have to go through these hard things to come into His shining-greatness?” 27 Jesus kept on telling them what Moses and all the early preachers had said about Him in the Holy Writings.
28 When they came to the town where they were going, Jesus acted as if He were going farther. 29 But they said to Him, “Stay with us. It will soon be evening. The day is about over.” He went in to stay with them. 30 As He sat at the table with them, He took the bread and gave thanks and broke it. Then He gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened and they knew Him. Then He left them and could not be seen. 32 They said to each other, “Were not our hearts filled with joy when He talked to us on the road about what the Holy Writings said?”
33 Then they got up at once and went back to Jerusalem. They found the eleven followers together and others with them. 34 They said, “For sure the Lord is risen and was seen by Simon.” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road and how they came to know Him when He broke the bread.
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