Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Holy Spirit Comes on All Who Listen
34 Then Peter began to speak: “Now I really am beginning to understand that God does not show favoritism, 35 but in every nation, anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 He sent his word to the people of Israel, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
37 “You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached. 38 God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil, because God was with him.
39 “Indeed, we are witnesses of all the things he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem, yet they killed him by hanging him on a cross.[a] 40 But God raised him on the third day and caused him to be seen, 41 not by all the people, but by the witnesses God had already chosen—by us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify solemnly that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that, through his name, everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins.”
The Lord’s New Creation
17 Watch this! I am about to create new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered.
They will not come to mind.
18 Instead, rejoice and celebrate forever, because of what I am creating.
Watch this! I am about to create Jerusalem to be a source of gladness,
and her people will be a source of joy.
19 I also will be glad because of Jerusalem,
and I will rejoice over my people.
The sound of weeping will not be heard in her again,
nor will the sound of crying.
20 There will never again be an infant there who lives for only a few days,
or an elderly man who does not fill out all his days,
for one who dies at a hundred will be considered a young man,
and one who fails to attain the age of one hundred will be regarded
as cursed.
21 Then they will build houses and live in them.
They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They will not build a house and have another person live in it.
They will not plant and have another person eat the crop,
for the days of my people will be like the days of a tree,
and my chosen ones will enjoy all the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor only to receive nothing,
and they will not give birth to children doomed to disaster,
for they will be offspring who are blessed by the Lord,
and their descendants will be with them.
24 Then even before they call, I will answer.
While they are still speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb will graze together,
and lions will eat straw like cattle,
but the serpent will eat dust as its food.
They will not harm or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain,
says the Lord.
Psalm 118
The Stone the Builders Rejected
Introduction
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
2 Let Israel say now: Yes, his mercy endures forever.
The Messiah’s Joy in Victory
14 My strength and song is the Lord,
and he has become salvation for me.
15 Loud shouts of victory are heard in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord has done a mighty deed!
16 The right hand of the Lord is lifted high!
The right hand of the Lord has done a mighty deed!”
17 I will not die. No, I will live,
and I will proclaim the works of the Lord.
18 The Lord has chastened me severely,
but he has not handed me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of righteousness.
I will enter them. I will give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate to the Lord.
The righteous enter it.
21 I will give you thanks,
because you answered me,
and you have become salvation for me.
The Joy in Victory of Messiah’s Followers
22 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.[a]
23 This is from the Lord.
It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
19 If our hope in Christ applies only to this life, we are the most pitiful people of all.
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came by a man, the resurrection of the dead also is going to come by a man. 22 For as in Adam they all die, so also in Christ they all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ as the firstfruits and then Christ’s people, at his coming. 24 Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has done away with every other ruler and every other authority and power. 25 For he must reign “until he has put all his enemies under his feet.”[a] 26 Death is the last enemy to be done away with.
The Holy Spirit Comes on All Who Listen
34 Then Peter began to speak: “Now I really am beginning to understand that God does not show favoritism, 35 but in every nation, anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 He sent his word to the people of Israel, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
37 “You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached. 38 God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil, because God was with him.
39 “Indeed, we are witnesses of all the things he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem, yet they killed him by hanging him on a cross.[a] 40 But God raised him on the third day and caused him to be seen, 41 not by all the people, but by the witnesses God had already chosen—by us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify solemnly that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that, through his name, everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins.”
The Resurrection
20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she left and ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,” she told them, “and we don’t know where they put him!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple went out, heading for the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and got to the tomb first. 5 Bending over, he saw the linen cloths lying there, yet he did not go in.
6 Then Simon Peter, who was following him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there. 7 The cloth that had been on Jesus’ head was not lying with the linen cloths, but was folded up in a separate place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who arrived at the tomb first, also entered. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not yet understand the Scripture that he must rise from the dead.)
10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
11 But Mary stood outside facing the tomb, weeping. As she wept, she bent over, looking into the tomb. 12 She saw two angels in white clothes sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She told them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they have laid him.”
14 After she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not know it was Jesus.
15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?”
Supposing he was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you carried him off, tell me where you laid him, and I will get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned and replied in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means, “Teacher”).
17 Jesus told her, “Do not continue to cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father—to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” She also told them the things he said to her.
The Resurrection
24 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women[a] went to the tomb, carrying the spices they had prepared. 2 They found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb. 3 When they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men stood by them in dazzling clothing. 5 The women were terrified and bowed down with their faces to the ground.
The men said to them, “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has been raised! Remember how he told you while he was still in Galilee 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again?” 8 Then they remembered his words.
9 When they returned from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles. 11 Yet these words seemed to them like nonsense, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over to look in, he saw only the strips of linen cloth. He went home, amazed at what had happened.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.