Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

BETH

The temple will be beautiful

2 On the 21st day of the seventh month, the Lord spoke again to Haggai, his prophet. ² The Lord told Haggai that he must speak to Zerubbabel and to Joshua. Shealtiel's son, Zerubbabel, was the ruler of Judah. Jehozadak's son, Joshua was the leader of the priests. The Lord also told Haggai to speak his message to all the people who had returned to live in Jerusalem. The Lord told Haggai to say this to them all:

³ The Lord says, ‘Some of you will remember how beautiful my temple was in past times. Look at it now! It seems nothing like it was before. ⁴ But now, Zerubbabel, be strong and brave! Joshua too, and all you people who belong here in Judah, be strong and brave! Now begin to work, because I am with you to help you. That is what I, the Almighty Lord, say to you. ⁵ Do not be afraid. Remember that I made a promise to your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt. I promised them that I would be with them. My Spirit is now with you too.

⁶ I, the Almighty Lord also tell you this: Soon, I will cause the sky and the whole earth to shake. I will also cause the sea and the land to shake. ⁷ I will cause people in all the nations of the world to shake with fear. They will come here to offer their valuable gifts. At that time, I will cause my temple to be full of glory. I, the Almighty Lord, tell you this. ⁸ Yes, all the silver and gold in the world belongs to me. And I promise you this: ⁹ This new temple will be even more beautiful than the old temple in past times. Here in this place I will bless my people.’ That is what the Almighty Lord says.

²⁰ On the same day, the Lord spoke to Haggai again. He said:

²¹ ‘Speak to Zerubbabel, the ruler of Judah. Tell him that I will cause the sky and the whole earth to shake. ²² Tell him that I will destroy the power of foreign kings. I will destroy their armies. Their horses and chariots will fall down. Their soldiers will fight against each other. They will kill each other with their swords.

²³ But I, the Almighty Lord say this to you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel.^[a] You are my servant and I have chosen you. On that special day, I will give to you the authority to rule on my behalf. That is the message of the Almighty Lord.’

³⁴ The crowd said, ‘The Bible tells us that the Messiah will continue for ever. So why do you say, “People must lift up the Son of Man”? Who is this Son of Man?’ ³⁵ Jesus answered, ‘The light will be with you for only a short time longer. So continue to walk while you still have the light. Do that, so that the dark will not come over you. Anyone who walks in the dark does not know where they are going. ³⁶ While you still have the light with you, believe in that light. So then you will become children of light.’ When Jesus had said this, he went away. He hid himself from them.^[a]

Many people still do not believe in Jesus

³⁷ Jesus had done many miracles that the people themselves had seen. But even then, they still did not believe in him. ³⁸ This showed that the prophet Isaiah had spoken true words when he said:^[b]

³⁹ Isaiah spoke also about why the people could not believe.^{[c] 40} He said:

⁴¹ Long ago, Isaiah saw the great glory of Christ. That is why he said these things. He was speaking about Jesus.

⁴² But even at that time, many of the Jewish leaders did believe in Jesus. But they were afraid of the Pharisees. So they did not tell people that they believed. They were afraid that the Pharisees would send them away from their meeting places. ⁴³ The Pharisees wanted other people to praise them, more than they wanted God to praise them.

Jesus' message warns people

⁴⁴ Jesus said in a loud voice, ‘Anyone who believes in me does not believe only in me. That person believes also in the one who sent me. ⁴⁵ Anyone who looks at me does not see only me. They see also him who sent me. ⁴⁶ I have come into the world to be a light for people. Everyone who believes in me will not remain in the dark. That is why I came. ⁴⁷ Not everyone who hears my words will obey them. I will not judge anyone who is like that. I did not come to judge the people in the world. I came to save them. ⁴⁸ But there is something that will judge people who refuse to believe in me. Those are people who do not accept my message. The message that I have spoken will itself judge people like that on the last day. ⁴⁹ The words that I have spoken did not come from me myself. They came from the Father, who sent me. He told me what message I must speak. He told me the words I must say. ⁵⁰ The message that the Father has given me causes people to have life for ever. I know that. So I speak only those things that the Father has said to me.’