Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹⁶ My telling the good news is not something for me to be proud of. It is something I must do. Yes, it would be very, very wrong for me if I did not tell the good news.

¹⁷ If I do it because I want to do it, I get my pay. But if I do not want to do it, it is still my duty to do it.

¹⁸ So what is my pay? My pay is to tell the good news and not be paid for it! That is why I do not use my right to take pay for telling the good news.

¹⁹ Even though I am no one's slave, yet I have made myself a slave to everyone. I have done this so that I might win more people to Christ.

²⁰ When I was with the Jews, I lived like the Jews, so that I might win the Jews to Christ. I was not under the law. But I lived as if I was under the law of the Jews. I did this so that I might win to Christ those who are under the law.

²¹ When I was with those who do not have the law of the Jews, I lived as if I did not have the law of the Jews. I did this so that I might win them also. Of course, I myself have laws. I follow the laws of Christ.

²² When I was with weak people, I lived like a weak person. I did this so that I might win weak people to Christ. I lived like all kinds of people to save some of them.

²³ I do all this for the good news, so that I also will have some of its blessing.

²⁹ As soon as they came out of the meeting house, they went to the home of Simon and Andrew. James and John went also.

³⁰ Simon's wife's mother was sick and was lying down. She had a fever. Right away they told Jesus about her.

³¹ Jesus went to her. He took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her right away, and she began to do things to help them.

³² That evening when the sun went down, people brought to Jesus all the sick people and those who had bad spirits.

³³ All the people in the city crowded around the door.

³⁴ He healed many sick people. He drove the bad spirits out of people. And he did not let them speak because they knew who he was.

³⁵ The next morning Jesus got up long before daylight. He went out to a place by himself. There he talked with God.

³⁶ Simon and his friends went out after Jesus.

³⁷ When they found him they said, `Everyone is looking for you.'

³⁸ Jesus said, `We must go to the next towns. I must tell the good news to the people there too. That is why I came here.'

³⁹ Then Jesus talked to the people in all the meeting houses in all the country of Galilee. He also made the bad spirits come out of people.