Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The New Way of Life

³² The many followers acted and thought the same way. None of them said that any of their things were their own, but they shared all things. ³³ The missionaries told with much power how Jesus was raised from the dead. God’s favor was on them all. ³⁴ No one was in need. All who owned houses or pieces of land sold them and brought the money from what was sold. ³⁵ They gave it to the missionaries. It was divided to each one as he had need.

A Song of Praise

133 See, how good and how pleasing it is for brothers to live together as one! ² It is like oil of great worth poured on the head, flowing down through the hair on the face, even the face of Aaron, and flowing down to his coat. ³ It is like the morning water of Hermon coming down upon the hills of Zion. For there the Lord has given the gift of life that lasts forever.

Christ—the Word of Life

1 Christ is the Word of Life. He was from the beginning. We have heard Him and have seen Him with our own eyes. We have looked at Him and put our hands on Him. ² Christ Who is Life was shown to us. We saw Him. We tell you and preach about the Life that lasts forever. He was with the Father and He has come down to us. ³ We are preaching what we have heard and seen. We want you to share together with us what we have with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. ⁴ We are writing this to you so our joy may be full.

Christians Are to Live in the Light

⁵ This is what we heard Him tell us. We are passing it on to you. God is light. There is no darkness in Him. ⁶ If we say we are joined together with Him but live in darkness, we are telling a lie. We are not living the truth. ⁷ If we live in the light as He is in the light, we share what we have in God with each other. And the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, makes our lives clean from all sin. ⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we lie to ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we tell Him our sins, He is faithful and we can depend on Him to forgive us of our sins. He will make our lives clean from all sin. ¹⁰ If we say we have not sinned, we make God a liar. And His Word is not in our hearts.

Christ Is Our Helper

2 My dear children, I am writing this to you so you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, there is One Who will go between him and the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the One Who is right with God. ² He paid for our sins with His own blood. He did not pay for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world.

Jesus Was Seen by His Followers—Thomas Was Not There

¹⁹ It was evening of the first day of the week. The followers had gathered together with the doors locked because they were afraid of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “May you have peace.” ²⁰ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. When the followers saw the Lord, they were filled with joy.

Jesus Sends His Followers to Preach ^(A)

²¹ Then Jesus said to them again, “May you have peace. As the Father has sent Me, I also am sending you.” ²² When Jesus had said this, He breathed on them. He said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you say that people are free of sins, they are free of them. If you say that people are not free of sins, they still have them.”

Thomas Does Not Believe Jesus Is Raised from the Dead ^(B)

²⁴ Thomas was not with them when Jesus came. He was one of the twelve followers and was called the Twin. ²⁵ The other followers told him, “We have seen the Lord!” He said to them, “I will not believe until I see the marks made by the nails in His hands. I will not believe until I put my finger into the marks of the nails. I will not believe until I put my hand into His side.”

Jesus Was Seen Again by His Followers—Thomas Was There

²⁶ Eight days later the followers were again inside a house. Thomas was with them. The doors were locked. Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “May you have peace!” ²⁷ He said to Thomas, “Put your finger into My hands. Put your hand into My side. Do not doubt, believe!” ²⁸ Thomas said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you believe. Those are happy who have never seen Me and yet believe!” ³⁰ Jesus did many other powerful works in front of His followers. They are not written in this book. ³¹ But these are written so you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. When you put your trust in Him, you will have life that lasts forever through His name.