Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Passover

12 While Moses and Aaron were still in Egypt, the Lord spoke to them. He said, ² “This month^[a] will be the first month of the year for you. ³ This command is for the whole community of Israel: On the tenth day of this month each man must get one lamb for the people in his house. ⁴ If there are not enough people in his house to eat a whole lamb, then he should invite some of his neighbors to share the meal. There must be enough lamb for everyone to eat. ⁵ The lamb must be a one-year-old male, and it must be completely healthy. This animal can be either a young sheep or a young goat. ⁶ You should watch over the animal until the 14th day of the month. On that day all the people of the community of Israel must kill these animals just before dark. ⁷ You must collect the blood from these animals and put it on the top and sides of the doorframe of every house where the people eat this meal.

⁸ “On this night you must roast the lamb and eat all the meat. You must also eat bitter herbs and bread made without yeast. ⁹ You must not eat the lamb raw or boiled in water. You must roast the whole lamb over a fire. The lamb must still have its head, legs, and inner parts. ¹⁰ You must eat all the meat that night. If any of the meat is left until morning, you must burn it in the fire.

¹¹ “When you eat the meal, you must be fully dressed and ready to travel. You must have your sandals on your feet and your walking stick in your hand. You must eat in a hurry, because this is the Lord’s Passover.

¹² “Tonight I will go through Egypt and kill every firstborn man and animal in Egypt. In this way I will judge all the gods of Egypt and show that I am the Lord. ¹³ But the blood on your houses will be a special sign. When I see the blood, I will pass over^[b] your house. I will cause bad things to happen to the people of Egypt. But none of these bad diseases will hurt you.

¹⁴ “You will always remember tonight—it will be a special festival for you. Your descendants will honor the Lord with this festival forever.

Loving Others Is the Only Law

⁸ You should owe nothing to anyone, except that you will always owe love to each other. The person who loves others has done all that the law commands. ⁹ The law says, “You must not commit adultery, you must not murder anyone, you must not steal, you must not want what belongs to someone else.”^[a] All these commands and all other commands are really only one rule: “Love your neighbor^[b] the same as you love yourself.”^{[c] 10} Love doesn’t hurt others. So loving is the same as obeying all the law.

¹¹ I say this because you know that we live in an important time. Yes, it is now time for you to wake up from your sleep. Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is almost finished. The day is almost here. So we should stop doing whatever belongs to darkness. We should prepare ourselves to fight evil with the weapons that belong to the light. ¹³ We should live in a right way, like people who belong to the day. We should not have wild parties or be drunk. We should not be involved in sexual sin or any kind of immoral behavior. We should not cause arguments and trouble or be jealous. ¹⁴ But be like the Lord Jesus Christ, so that when people see what you do, they will see Christ. Don’t think about how to satisfy the desires of your sinful self.

When Someone Hurts You^(A)

¹⁵ “If your brother or sister in God’s family does something wrong, go and tell them what they did wrong. Do this when you are alone with them. If they listen to you, then you have helped them to be your brother or sister again. ¹⁶ But if they refuse to listen, go to them again and take one or two people with you. Then there will be two or three people who will be able to tell all that happened.^{[a] 17} If they refuse to listen to them, tell the church. And if they refuse to listen to the church, treat them as you would treat someone who does not know God or who is a tax collector.

¹⁸ “I can assure you that when you speak judgment here on earth, it will be God’s judgment. And when you promise forgiveness here on earth, it will be God’s forgiveness.^{[b] 19} To say it another way, if two of you on earth agree on anything you pray for, my Father in heaven will do what you ask. ²⁰ Yes, if two or three people are together believing in me, I am there with them.”