Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together. They came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old. Your sons don’t live as you do. So appoint a king to lead us. We want a king just like the kings all the other nations have.”
6 Samuel wasn’t pleased when they said, “Give us a king to lead us.” So he prayed to the Lord. 7 The Lord told him, “Listen to everything the people are saying to you. You are not the one they have turned their backs on. I am the one they do not want as their king. 8 They are doing just as they have always done. They have deserted me and served other gods. They have done that from the time I brought them up out of Egypt until this day. Now they are deserting you too. 9 Let them have what they want. But give them a strong warning. Let them know what the king who rules over them will expect to be done for him.”
10 Samuel told the people who were asking him for a king everything the Lord had said. 11 Samuel told them, “Here’s what the king who rules over you will expect to be done for him. He will take your sons. He’ll make them serve with his chariots and horses. They will run in front of his chariots.
12 He’ll choose some of your sons to be commanders of thousands of men. Some will be commanders of fifties. Others will have to plow his fields and gather his crops. Still others will have to make weapons of war and parts for his chariots. 13 He’ll also take your daughters. Some will have to make perfume. Others will be forced to cook and bake. 14 He will take away your best fields and vineyards and olive groves. He’ll give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and a tenth of your grapes. He’ll give it to his officials and attendants.
16 He will also take your male and female servants. He’ll take your best cattle and donkeys. He’ll use all of them any way he wants to. 17 He will take a tenth of your sheep and goats. You yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that time comes, you will cry out for help because of the king you have chosen. But the Lord won’t answer you at that time.”
19 In spite of what Samuel said, the people refused to listen to him. “No!” they said. “We want a king to rule over us. 20 Then we’ll be like all the other nations. We’ll have a king to lead us. He’ll go out at the head of our armies and fight our battles.”
14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come on. Let’s go to Gilgal. There we’ll agree again to have Saul as our king.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal. There, with the Lord as witness, they made Saul their king. There they sacrificed friendship offerings to the Lord. And there Saul and all the Israelites celebrated with great joy.
A psalm of David.
138 Lord, I will praise you with all my heart.
In front of those who think they are gods
I will sing praise to you.
2 I will bow down facing your holy temple.
I will praise your name,
because you are always loving and faithful.
You have honored your holy word
even more than your own fame.
3 When I called out to you, you answered me.
You made me strong and brave.
4 Lord, may all the kings on earth praise you
when they hear about what you have decided.
5 Lord, may they sing about what you have done,
because your glory is great.
6 Though the Lord is high above all, he cares for the lowly.
Though he is in heaven above, he sees them on earth below.
7 Trouble is all around me,
but you keep me alive.
You reach out your hand to put a stop to the anger of my enemies.
With your powerful right hand you save me.
8 Lord, you will show that I was right to trust you.
Lord, your faithful love continues forever.
You have done so much for us, so don’t stop now.
13 It is written, “I believed, and so I have spoken.” (Psalm 116:10) We have that same spirit of faith. So we also believe and speak. 14 We know that God raised the Lord Jesus from the dead. And he will also raise us up with Jesus. And he will present both you and us to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit. God’s grace is reaching more and more people. So they will become more and more thankful. They will give glory to God.
16 We don’t give up. Our bodies are becoming weaker and weaker. But our spirits are being renewed day by day. 17 Our troubles are small. They last only for a short time. But they are earning for us a glory that will last forever. It is greater than all our troubles. 18 So we don’t spend all our time looking at what we can see. Instead, we look at what we can’t see. That’s because what can be seen lasts only a short time. But what can’t be seen will last forever.
Waiting for Our New Bodies
5 We know that the earthly tent we live in will be destroyed. But we have a building made by God. It is a house in heaven that lasts forever. Human hands did not build it.
Jesus Is Accused by Teachers of the Law
20 Jesus entered a house. Again a crowd gathered. It was so large that Jesus and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 His family heard about this. So they went to take charge of him. They said, “He is out of his mind.”
22 Some teachers of the law were there. They had come down from Jerusalem. They said, “He is controlled by Beelzebul! He is driving out demons by the power of the prince of demons.”
23 So Jesus called them over to him. He began to speak to them using stories. He said, “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom fights against itself, it can’t stand. 25 If a family is divided, it can’t stand. 26 And if Satan fights against himself, and his helpers are divided, he can’t stand. That is the end of him. 27 In fact, none of you can enter a strong man’s house unless you tie him up first. Then you can steal things from his house. 28 What I’m about to tell you is true. Everyone’s sins and evil words against God will be forgiven. 29 But whoever speaks evil things against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. Their guilt will last forever.”
30 Jesus said this because the teachers of the law were saying, “He has an evil spirit.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
31 Jesus’ mother and brothers came and stood outside. They sent someone in to get him. 32 A crowd was sitting around Jesus. They told him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside. They are looking for you.”
33 “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” he asked.
34 Then Jesus looked at the people sitting in a circle around him. He said, “Here is my mother! Here are my brothers! 35 Anyone who does what God wants is my brother or sister or mother.”
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