Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

^8 (A)Then, a new king, who knew nothing about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. ⁹ He said to his people, “These Israelites are so numerous and strong that they are a threat to us. ^10 (B)In case of war they might join our enemies in order to fight against us, and might escape from^[a] the country. We must find some way to keep them from becoming even more numerous.” ¹¹ So the Egyptians put slave drivers over them to crush their spirits with hard labor. The Israelites built the cities of Pithom and Rameses to serve as supply centers for the king. ¹² But the more the Egyptians oppressed the Israelites, the more they increased in number and the farther they spread through the land. The Egyptians came to fear the Israelites ^13-14 and made their lives miserable by forcing them into cruel slavery. They made them work on their building projects and in their fields, and they had no pity on them.

¹⁵ Then the king of Egypt spoke to Shiphrah and Puah, the two midwives who helped the Hebrew women. ¹⁶ “When you help the Hebrew women give birth,” he said to them, “kill the baby if it is a boy; but if it is a girl, let it live.” ¹⁷ But the midwives were God-fearing and so did not obey the king; instead, they let the boys live. ¹⁸ So the king sent for the midwives and asked them, “Why are you doing this? Why are you letting the boys live?”

¹⁹ They answered, “The Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they give birth easily, and their babies are born before either of us gets there.” ^20-21 Because the midwives were God-fearing, God was good to them and gave them families of their own. And the Israelites continued to increase and become strong. ^22 (C)Finally the king issued a command to all his people: “Take every newborn Hebrew boy and throw him into the Nile, but let all the girls live.”

The Birth of Moses

2 During this time a man from the tribe of Levi married a woman of his own tribe, ^2 (D)and she bore him a son. When she saw what a fine baby he was, she hid him for three months. ³ But when she could not hide him any longer, she took a basket made of reeds and covered it with tar to make it watertight. She put the baby in it and then placed it in the tall grass at the edge of the river. ⁴ The baby's sister stood some distance away to see what would happen to him.

⁵ The king's daughter came down to the river to bathe, while her servants walked along the bank. Suddenly she noticed the basket in the tall grass and sent a slave woman to get it. ⁶ The princess opened it and saw a baby boy. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.

⁷ Then his sister asked her, “Shall I go and call a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for you?”

⁸ “Please do,” she answered. So the girl went and brought the baby's own mother. ⁹ The princess told the woman, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So she took the baby and nursed him. ^10 (E)Later, when the child was old enough, she took him to the king's daughter, who adopted him as her own son. She said to herself, “I pulled him out of the water, and so I name him Moses.”^[b]

God the Protector of His People^[a]

Life in God's Service

12 So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer. ² Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God—what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect.

³ And because of God's gracious gift to me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you should. Instead, be modest in your thinking, and judge yourself according to the amount of faith that God has given you. ^4 (A)We have many parts in the one body, and all these parts have different functions. ⁵ In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body. ^6 (B)So we are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us. If our gift is to speak God's message, we should do it according to the faith that we have; ⁷ if it is to serve, we should serve; if it is to teach, we should teach; ⁸ if it is to encourage others, we should do so. Whoever shares with others should do it generously; whoever has authority should work hard; whoever shows kindness to others should do it cheerfully.

Peter's Declaration about Jesus^(A)

¹³ Jesus went to the territory near the town of Caesarea Philippi, where he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

^14 (B)“Some say John the Baptist,” they answered. “Others say Elijah, while others say Jeremiah or some other prophet.”

¹⁵ “What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?”

^16 (C)Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷ “Good for you, Simon son of John!” answered Jesus. “For this truth did not come to you from any human being, but it was given to you directly by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And so I tell you, Peter: you are a rock, and on this rock foundation I will build my church, and not even death will ever be able to overcome it. ^19 (D)I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven; what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”

²⁰ Then Jesus ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.