Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Saving Goodness.

The Triumphal Entry

11 ^(A)As they *approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and ^(B)Bethany, near ^(C)the Mount of Olives, He *sent two of His disciples, ² and *said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. ³ If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ you say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he ^[a]will send it back here.” ⁴ They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they *untied it. ⁵ Some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” ⁶ They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission. ^7 (D)They *brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it; and He sat on it. ⁸ And many spread their coats in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. ⁹ Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting:

^11 (G)Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, ^(H)He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem

¹² On the next day ^(A)the large crowd who had come to ^(B)the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³ took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “^(C)Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the ^(D)King of Israel.” ¹⁴ Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, ¹⁵ “^(E)Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” ^16 (F)These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus ^(G)was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him.

^5 (A)Have this attitude ^[a]in yourselves which was also in ^(B)Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, although He ^(C)existed in the ^(D)form of God, ^(E)did not regard equality with God a thing to be ^[b]grasped, ⁷ but ^[c](F)emptied Himself, taking the form of a ^(G)bond-servant, and ^(H)being made in the likeness of men. ⁸ Being found in appearance as a man, ^(I)He humbled Himself by becoming ^(J)obedient to the point of death, even ^(K)death ^[d]on a cross. ^9 (L)For this reason also, God ^(M)highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him ^(N)the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus ^(O)every knee will bow, of ^(P)those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is ^(Q)Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Death Plot and Anointing

14 ^(A)Now ^(B)the Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes ^(C)were seeking how to seize Him by stealth and kill Him; ² for they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise there might be a riot of the people.”

^3 (D)While He was in ^(E)Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very ^(F)costly perfume of pure ^[a]nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head. ⁴ But some were indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted? ⁵ For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred ^[b]denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her. ⁶ But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. ⁷ For you always have ^(G)the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me. ⁸ She has done what she could; ^(H)she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial. ⁹ Truly I say to you, ^(I)wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”

^10 (J)Then Judas Iscariot, ^(K)who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to ^[c]betray Him to them. ¹¹ They were glad when they heard this, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time.

The Last Passover

^12 (L)On the first day of ^(M)Unleavened Bread, when ^[d]the Passover lamb was being ^(N)sacrificed, His disciples *said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?” ¹³ And He *sent two of His disciples and *said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him; ¹⁴ and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is My ^(O)guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ ¹⁵ And he himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; prepare for us there.” ¹⁶ The disciples went out and came to the city, and found it just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

^17 (P)When it was evening He *came with the twelve. ¹⁸ As they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will ^[e]betray Me—^[f]one who is eating with Me.” ¹⁹ They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, “Surely not I?” ²⁰ And He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, ^[g]one who dips with Me in the bowl. ²¹ For the Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man ^[h]by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good ^[i]for that man if he had not been born.”

The Lord’s Supper

^22 (Q)While they were eating, He took some bread, and ^[j]after a ^(R)blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.” ²³ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ²⁴ And He said to them, “This is My ^(S)blood of the ^(T)covenant, which is poured out for many. ²⁵ Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

^26 (U)After singing a hymn, they went out to ^(V)the Mount of Olives.

^27 (W)And Jesus *said to them, “You will all ^[k]fall away, because it is written, ‘^(X)I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.’ ²⁸ But after I have been raised, ^(Y)I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” ²⁹ But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may ^[l]fall away, yet I will not.” ³⁰ And Jesus *said to him, “Truly I say to you, that ^[m](Z)this very night, before ^(AA)a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times.” ³¹ But Peter kept saying insistently, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all were saying the same thing also.

Jesus in Gethsemane

^32 (AB)They *came to a place named Gethsemane; and He *said to His disciples, “Sit here until I have prayed.” ³³ And He *took with Him Peter and ^[n]James and John, and began to be very ^(AC)distressed and troubled. ³⁴ And He *said to them, “^(AD)My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.” ³⁵ And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began to pray that if it were possible, ^(AE)the hour might ^[o]pass Him by. ³⁶ And He was saying, “^(AF)Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; ^(AG)yet not what I will, but what You will.” ³⁷ And He *came and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? ^38 (AH)Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ³⁹ Again He went away and prayed, saying the same ^[p]words. ⁴⁰ And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him. ⁴¹ And He *came the third time, and *said to them, “^[q]Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough; ^(AI)the hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being ^[r]betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴² Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”

Betrayal and Arrest

^43 (AJ)Immediately while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, *came up ^[s]accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs, who were from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. ⁴⁴ Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him and lead Him away ^[t]under guard.” ⁴⁵ After coming, Judas immediately went to Him, saying, “^(AK)Rabbi!” and kissed Him. ⁴⁶ They laid hands on Him and seized Him. ⁴⁷ But one of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and ^[u]cut off his ear. ⁴⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a robber? ⁴⁹ Every day I was with you ^(AL)in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me; but this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures.” ⁵⁰ And they all left Him and fled.

⁵¹ A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they *seized him. ⁵² But he ^[v]pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.

Jesus before His Accusers

^53 (AM)They led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes *gathered together. ⁵⁴ Peter had followed Him at a distance, ^(AN)right into ^(AO)the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the ^[w]officers and ^(AP)warming himself at the ^[x]fire. ⁵⁵ Now the chief priests and the whole ^[y](AQ)Council kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. ⁵⁶ For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not consistent. ⁵⁷ Some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying, ⁵⁸ “We heard Him say, ‘^(AR)I will destroy this ^[z]temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’” ⁵⁹ Not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. ⁶⁰ The high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, “Do You not answer? ^[aa]What is it that these men are testifying against You?” ^61 (AS)But He kept silent and did not answer. ^(AT)Again the high priest was questioning Him, and ^[ab]saying to Him, “Are You ^[ac]the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” ⁶² And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see ^(AU)the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and ^(AV)coming with the clouds of heaven.” ^63 (AW)Tearing his clothes, the high priest *said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? ⁶⁴ You have heard the ^(AX)blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. ⁶⁵ Some began to ^(AY)spit at Him, and ^[ad](AZ)to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, “^(BA)Prophesy!” And the officers ^[ae]received Him with ^[af]slaps in the face.

Peter’s Denials

^66 (BB)As Peter was below in ^(BC)the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest *came, ⁶⁷ and seeing Peter ^(BD)warming himself, she looked at him and *said, “You also were with Jesus the ^(BE)Nazarene.” ⁶⁸ But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he ^(BF)went out onto the ^[ag]porch.^{[ah] 69} The servant-girl saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, “This is one of them!” ⁷⁰ But again ^(BG)he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, ^(BH)for you are a Galilean too.” ⁷¹ But he began to ^[ai]curse and swear, “I do not know this man you are talking about!” ⁷² Immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, “Before ^(BI)a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” ^[aj]And he began to weep.

Jesus before Pilate

15 ^(BJ)Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole ^[ak](BK)Council, immediately held a consultation; and binding Jesus, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate. ^2 (BL)Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He *answered him, “It is as you say.” ³ The chief priests began to accuse Him ^[al]harshly. ⁴ Then Pilate questioned Him again, saying, “Do You not answer? See how many charges they bring against You!” ⁵ But Jesus ^(BM)made no further answer; so Pilate was amazed.

^6 (BN)Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested. ⁷ The man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection. ⁸ The crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them. ⁹ Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” ¹⁰ For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. ¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd ^(BO)to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead. ¹² Answering again, Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” ¹³ They shouted ^[am]back, “Crucify Him!” ¹⁴ But Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!” ¹⁵ Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus ^(BP)scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

^16 (BQ)The soldiers took Him away into ^(BR)the ^[an]palace (that is, the Praetorium), and they *called together the whole Roman ^[ao](BS)cohort. ¹⁷ They *dressed Him up in purple, and after twisting a crown of thorns, they put it on Him; ¹⁸ and they began to acclaim Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ They kept beating His head with a ^[ap]reed, and spitting on Him, and kneeling and bowing before Him. ²⁰ After they had mocked Him, they took the purple robe off Him and put His own garments on Him. And they *led Him out to crucify Him.

^21 (BT)They *pressed into service a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and ^(BU)Rufus), to bear His cross.

The Crucifixion

^22 (BV)Then they *brought Him to the place ^(BW)Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. ²³ They tried to give Him ^(BX)wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it. ²⁴ And they *crucified Him, and *^(BY)divided up His garments among themselves, casting ^[aq]lots for them to decide ^[ar]what each man should take. ²⁵ It was the ^[as](BZ)third hour ^[at]when they crucified Him. ²⁶ The inscription of the charge against Him ^[au]read, “^(CA)THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

²⁷ They *crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left. ²⁸ [^[av]And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with transgressors.”] ²⁹ Those passing by were ^[aw]hurling abuse at Him, ^(CB)wagging their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who are going to ^(CC)destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, ³⁰ save Yourself, and come down from the cross!” ³¹ In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, “^(CD)He saved others; ^[ax]He cannot save Himself. ³² Let this Christ, ^(CE)the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” ^(CF)Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.

^33 (CG)When the ^[ay](CH)sixth hour came, darkness ^[az]fell over the whole land until the ^[ba](CI)ninth hour. ³⁴ At the ^(CJ)ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “^(CK)Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” ³⁵ When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, “Behold, He is calling for Elijah.” ³⁶ Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “^[bb]Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.” ^37 (CL)And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. ^38 (CM)And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. ^39 (CN)When the centurion, who was standing ^[bc]right in front of Him, saw ^[bd]the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was ^[be]the Son of God!”

^40 (CO)There were also some women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of ^[bf]James ^(CP)the ^[bg]Less and Joses, and ^(CQ)Salome. ⁴¹ When He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and ^[bh](CR)minister to Him; and there were many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.

Jesus Is Buried

^42 (CS)When evening had already come, because it was ^(CT)the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea came, a ^(CU)prominent member of the Council, who himself was ^(CV)waiting for the kingdom of God; and he ^(CW)gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead. ⁴⁵ And ascertaining this from ^(CX)the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. ⁴⁶ Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth and laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. ^47 (CY)Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were looking on to see where He was laid.

Jesus before Pilate

15 ^(A)Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole ^[a](B)Council, immediately held a consultation; and binding Jesus, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate. ^2 (C)Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He *answered him, “It is as you say.” ³ The chief priests began to accuse Him ^[b]harshly. ⁴ Then Pilate questioned Him again, saying, “Do You not answer? See how many charges they bring against You!” ⁵ But Jesus ^(D)made no further answer; so Pilate was amazed.

^6 (E)Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested. ⁷ The man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection. ⁸ The crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them. ⁹ Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” ¹⁰ For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. ¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd ^(F)to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead. ¹² Answering again, Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” ¹³ They shouted ^[c]back, “Crucify Him!” ¹⁴ But Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!” ¹⁵ Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus ^(G)scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

^16 (H)The soldiers took Him away into ^(I)the ^[d]palace (that is, the Praetorium), and they *called together the whole Roman ^[e](J)cohort. ¹⁷ They *dressed Him up in purple, and after twisting a crown of thorns, they put it on Him; ¹⁸ and they began to acclaim Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ They kept beating His head with a ^[f]reed, and spitting on Him, and kneeling and bowing before Him. ²⁰ After they had mocked Him, they took the purple robe off Him and put His own garments on Him. And they *led Him out to crucify Him.

^21 (K)They *pressed into service a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and ^(L)Rufus), to bear His cross.

The Crucifixion

^22 (M)Then they *brought Him to the place ^(N)Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. ²³ They tried to give Him ^(O)wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it. ²⁴ And they *crucified Him, and *^(P)divided up His garments among themselves, casting ^[g]lots for them to decide ^[h]what each man should take. ²⁵ It was the ^[i](Q)third hour ^[j]when they crucified Him. ²⁶ The inscription of the charge against Him ^[k]read, “^(R)THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

²⁷ They *crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left. ²⁸ [^[l]And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with transgressors.”] ²⁹ Those passing by were ^[m]hurling abuse at Him, ^(S)wagging their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who are going to ^(T)destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, ³⁰ save Yourself, and come down from the cross!” ³¹ In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, “^(U)He saved others; ^[n]He cannot save Himself. ³² Let this Christ, ^(V)the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” ^(W)Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.

^33 (X)When the ^[o](Y)sixth hour came, darkness ^[p]fell over the whole land until the ^[q](Z)ninth hour. ³⁴ At the ^(AA)ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “^(AB)Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” ³⁵ When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, “Behold, He is calling for Elijah.” ³⁶ Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “^[r]Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.” ^37 (AC)And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. ^38 (AD)And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. ^39 (AE)When the centurion, who was standing ^[s]right in front of Him, saw ^[t]the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was ^[u]the Son of God!”

^40 (A)There were also some women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of ^[a]James ^(B)the ^[b]Less and Joses, and ^(C)Salome. ⁴¹ When He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and ^[c](D)minister to Him; and there were many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.

Jesus Is Buried

^42 (E)When evening had already come, because it was ^(F)the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea came, a ^(G)prominent member of the Council, who himself was ^(H)waiting for the kingdom of God; and he ^(I)gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead. ⁴⁵ And ascertaining this from ^(J)the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. ⁴⁶ Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth and laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. ^47 (K)Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were looking on to see where He was laid.