Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁴ Then all the leaders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵ They told him, “You’re old, and your sons aren’t following your example. Now appoint a king to judge us so that we will be like all the other nations.”

⁶ But Samuel considered it wrong for them to request a king to judge them. So Samuel prayed to the Lord. ⁷ The Lord told Samuel, “Listen to everything the people are saying to you. They haven’t rejected you; they’ve rejected me. ⁸ They’re doing just what they’ve done since I took them out of Egypt—leaving me and serving other gods. ⁹ Listen to them now, but be sure to warn them and tell them about the rights of a king.”

¹⁰ Then Samuel told the people who had asked him for a king everything the Lord had said. ¹¹ Samuel said, “These are the rights of a king:

He will draft your sons, make them serve on his chariots and horses, and make them run ahead of his chariots.

¹² He will appoint them to be his officers over 1,000 or over 50 soldiers, to plow his ground and harvest his crops, and to make weapons and equipment for his chariots.

¹³ He will take your daughters and have them make perfumes, cook, and bake.

¹⁴ He will take the best of your fields, vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his officials.

¹⁵ He will take a tenth of your grain and wine and give it to his aids and officials.

¹⁶ He will take your male and female slaves, your best cattle,^[a] and your donkeys for his own use.

¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your flocks.

In addition, you will be his servants.

¹⁸ “When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king whom you have chosen for yourselves. The Lord will not answer you when that day comes.”

¹⁹ But the people refused to listen to Samuel. They said, “No, we want a king! ²⁰ Then we, too, will be like all the other nations. Our king will judge us, lead us out ⌞to war⌟, and fight our battles.”

¹⁴ Samuel told the troops, “Come, let’s go to Gilgal and there acknowledge ⌞Saul’s⌟ kingship.” ¹⁵ Then all the troops went to Gilgal, and there in the Lord’s presence, they confirmed Saul as their king. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings to the Lord. Saul and all of Israel’s soldiers celebrated.

By David.

¹³ The following is written, “I believed; therefore, I spoke.” We have that same spirit of faith. We also believe; therefore, we also speak. ¹⁴ We know that the one who brought the Lord Jesus back to life will also bring us back to life through Jesus. He will present us to God together with you.

¹⁵ All this is for your sake so that, as God’s kindness ^[a] overflows in the lives of many people, it will produce even more thanksgiving to the glory of God. ¹⁶ That is why we are not discouraged. Though outwardly we are wearing out, inwardly we are renewed day by day. ¹⁷ Our suffering is light and temporary and is producing for us an eternal glory that is greater than anything we can imagine. ¹⁸ We don’t look for things that can be seen but for things that can’t be seen. Things that can be seen are only temporary. But things that can’t be seen last forever.

Faith Guides Our Lives

5 We know that if the life we live here on earth is ever taken down like a tent, we still have a building from God. It is an eternal house in heaven that isn’t made by human hands.

Jesus Is Accused of Working with Beelzebul^(A)

²⁰ Then Jesus went home. Another crowd gathered so that Jesus and his disciples could not even eat. ²¹ When his family heard about it, they went to get him. They said, “He’s out of his mind!”

²² The experts in Moses’ Teachings who had come from Jerusalem said, “Beelzebul is in him,” and “He forces demons out of people with the help of the ruler of demons.”

²³ Jesus called them together and used this illustration: “How can Satan force out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot last. ²⁵ And if a household is divided against itself, that household will not last. ²⁶ So if Satan rebels against himself and is divided, he cannot last. That will be the end of him.

²⁷ “No one can go into a strong man’s house and steal his property. First he must tie up the strong man. Then he can go through the strong man’s house and steal his property.

²⁸ “I can guarantee this truth: People will be forgiven for any sin or curse. ²⁹ But whoever curses the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. He is guilty of an everlasting sin.” ³⁰ Jesus said this because the experts in Moses’ Teachings had said that he had an evil spirit.

The True Family of Jesus^(B)

³¹ Then his mother and his brothers arrived. They stood outside and sent someone to ask him to come out. ³² The crowd sitting around Jesus told him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you.”

³³ He replied to them, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” ³⁴ Then looking at those who sat in a circle around him, he said, “Look, here are my mother and my brothers. ³⁵ Whoever does what God wants is my brother and sister and mother.”