Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God

The Sign of Two Baskets of Figs

24 The ^(A)Lord showed me, and there were two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord, after Nebuchadnezzar ^(B)king of Babylon had carried away captive ^(C)Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. ² One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten, they were so ^(D)bad. ³ Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.”

⁴ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁵ “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I ^[a]acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. ⁶ For I will set My eyes on them for good, and ^(E)I will bring them back to this land; ^(F)I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. ⁷ Then I will give them ^(G)a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be ^(H)My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me ^(I)with their whole heart.

⁸ ‘And as the bad ^(J)figs which cannot be eaten, they are so bad’—surely thus says the Lord—‘so will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, his princes, the ^(K)residue of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and ^(L)those who dwell in the land of Egypt. ⁹ I will deliver them to ^(M)trouble into all the kingdoms of the earth, for their harm, ^(N)to be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them. ¹⁰ And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they are ^[b]consumed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.’ ”

Jesus Again Predicts His Death^(A)

⁴³ And they were all amazed at the majesty of God.

But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, ^44 (B)“Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” ^45 (C)But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.

Who Is the Greatest?^(D)

^46 (E)Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest. ⁴⁷ And Jesus, ^(F)perceiving the thought of their heart, took a ^(G)little child and set him by Him, ⁴⁸ and said to them, ^(H)“Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and ^(I)whoever receives Me ^(J)receives Him who sent Me. ^(K)For he who is least among you all will be great.”