Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹⁰ “This is what the Lord says: ‘You people say that your country is an empty desert. There are no people or animals living there.’ It is now quiet in the streets of Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah. But it will be noisy there soon. ¹¹ There will be sounds of joy and happiness. There will be the happy sounds of a bride and groom. There will be the sounds of people bringing their gifts to the Lord’s Temple. They will say, ‘Praise the Lord All-Powerful! The Lord is good! His faithful love will last forever!’ They will say this because I will again do good things to Judah. It will be as it was in the beginning.” This is what the Lord said.

¹² The Lord All-Powerful says, “This place is empty now. There are no people or animals living here. But there will be people in all the towns of Judah. There will be shepherds, and there will be pastures where they will let their flocks rest. ¹³ Shepherds will count their sheep as the sheep walk in front of them. They will be counting their sheep all around the country—in the hill country, in the western foothills, in the Negev, and in all the other towns of Judah.”

The Good Branch

¹⁴ This message is from the Lord: “I made a special promise to the people of Israel and Judah. The time is coming when I will do what I promised. ¹⁵ At that time I will make a good ‘branch’ grow from David’s family. That branch will do what is good and right for the country. ¹⁶ When he rules, Judah will be saved. The people of Jerusalem will live in safety. This will be his name: ‘The Lord Makes Things Right For Us.’”

Jesus Talks Again About His Death^(A)

³² Jesus and those with him were on their way to Jerusalem. He was at the front of the group. His followers were wondering what was happening, and the people who followed behind them were feeling afraid. Jesus gathered the twelve apostles again and talked with them alone. He told them what would happen in Jerusalem. ³³ He said, “We are going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the leading priests and teachers of the law. They will say that he must die and will hand him over to the foreigners, ³⁴ who will laugh at him and spit on him. They will beat him with whips and kill him. But on the third day after his death, he will rise to life again.”

Jesus Heals a Blind Man^(A)

⁴⁶ Then they came to the town of Jericho. When Jesus left there with his followers, a large crowd was with them. A blind man named Bartimaeus (meaning “son of Timaeus”) was sitting by the road. He was always begging for money. ⁴⁷ He heard that Jesus from Nazareth was walking by. So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, please help me!”

⁴⁸ Many people criticized the blind man and told him to be quiet. But he shouted more and more, “Son of David, please help me!”

⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.”

So they called the blind man and said, “You can be happy now. Stand up! Jesus is calling you.” ⁵⁰ The blind man stood up quickly. He left his coat there and went to Jesus.

⁵¹ Jesus asked the man, “What do you want me to do for you?”

He answered, “Teacher, I want to see again.”

⁵² Jesus said, “Go. You are healed because you believed.” Immediately the man was able to see again. He followed Jesus down the road.