Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Prayer of Thanks for Victory

¹⁰ The Lord said, “People are saying that this place is like a desert, that it has no people or animals living in it. And they are right; the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem are empty; no people or animals live there. But in these places you will hear again ^11 (A)the shouts of gladness and joy and the happy sounds of wedding feasts. You will hear people sing as they bring thank offerings to my Temple; they will say,

I will make this land as prosperous as it was before. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

¹² The Lord Almighty said, “In this land that is like a desert and where no people or animals live, there will once again be pastures where shepherds can take their sheep. ¹³ In the towns in the hill country, in the foothills, and in southern Judah, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, and in the towns of Judah, shepherds will once again count their sheep. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

^14 (B)The Lord said, “The time is coming when I will fulfill the promise that I made to the people of Israel and Judah. ¹⁵ At that time I will choose as king a righteous descendant of David. That king will do what is right and just throughout the land. ¹⁶ The people of Judah and of Jerusalem will be rescued and will live in safety. The city will be called ‘The Lord Our Salvation.’

Jesus Speaks a Third Time about His Death^(A)

³² Jesus and his disciples were now on the road going up to Jerusalem. Jesus was going ahead of the disciples, who were filled with alarm; the people who followed behind were afraid. Once again Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and spoke of the things that were going to happen to him. ³³ “Listen,” he told them, “we are going up to Jerusalem where the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. They will condemn him to death and then hand him over to the Gentiles, ³⁴ who will make fun of him, spit on him, whip him, and kill him; but three days later he will rise to life.”

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus^(A)

⁴⁶ They came to Jericho, and as Jesus was leaving with his disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus son of Timaeus was sitting by the road. ⁴⁷ When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me!”

⁴⁸ Many of the people scolded him and told him to be quiet. But he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called the blind man. “Cheer up!” they said. “Get up, he is calling you.”

⁵⁰ So he threw off his cloak, jumped up, and came to Jesus.

⁵¹ “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

“Teacher,” the blind man answered, “I want to see again.”

⁵² “Go,” Jesus told him, “your faith has made you well.”

At once he was able to see and followed Jesus on the road.