Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
118 Praise the Lord because he is good!
His faithful love will last forever!
2 Israel, say it:
“His faithful love will last forever!”
19 Gates of goodness, open for me,
and I will come in and worship the Lord.
20 Those are the Lord’s gates,
and only good people can go through them.
21 Lord, I thank you for answering my prayer.
I thank you for saving me.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
became the cornerstone.
23 The Lord made this happen,
and we think it is wonderful!
24 This is the day the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be happy today!
25 The people say, “Praise the Lord!
The Lord saved us![a]
26 Welcome to the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”
The priests answer, “We welcome you to the Lord’s house!
27 The Lord is God, and he accepts us.
Tie up the lamb for the sacrifice and carry it to the horns of the altar.”
28 Lord, you are my God, and I thank you.
My God, I praise you!
29 Praise the Lord because he is good.
His faithful love will last forever.
Jesus Enters Jerusalem Like a King(A)
11 Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem. They came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives. There Jesus sent two of his followers to do something. 2 He said to them, “Go to the town you can see there. When you enter it, you will find a young donkey that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here to me. 3 If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkey, tell them, ‘The Master needs it. He will send it back soon.’”
4 The followers went into the town. They found a young donkey tied in the street near the door of a house, and they untied it. 5 Some people were standing there and saw this. They asked, “What are you doing? Why are you untying that donkey?” 6 The followers answered the way Jesus told them, and the people let them take the donkey.
7 The followers brought the donkey to Jesus. They put their coats on it, and Jesus sat on it. 8 Many people spread their coats on the road for Jesus. Others cut branches in the fields and spread the branches on the road. 9 Some of them were walking ahead of Jesus. Others were walking behind him. Everyone shouted,
10 “God bless the kingdom of our father David.
That kingdom is coming!
Praise to God in heaven!”
11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the Temple. He looked at everything in the Temple area, but it was already late. So he went to Bethany with the twelve apostles.
Jesus Enters Jerusalem Like a King(A)
12 The next day the people in Jerusalem heard that Jesus was coming there. These were the crowds of people who had come to the Passover festival. 13 They took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Jesus. They shouted,
God bless the King of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a donkey and rode on it, as the Scriptures say,
15 “Do not be afraid, people of Zion[b]!
Look! Your king is coming.
He is riding on a young donkey.” (C)
16 The followers of Jesus did not understand at that time what was happening. But after he was raised to glory, they understood that this was written about him. Then they remembered that they had done these things for him.
God’s Servant Depends on God
4 The Lord God gave me the ability to teach, so now I teach these sad people. Every morning he wakes me and teaches me like a student. 5 The Lord God helps me learn, and I have not turned against him. I will not stop following him. 6 I will let those people beat me and pull the hair from my beard. I will not hide my face when they say bad things to me and spit at me. 7 The Lord God will help me, so the bad things they say will not hurt me. I will be strong. I know I will not be disappointed.
8 God is with me, and he is the one who shows that I am innocent. So no one can say I am guilty. If anyone wants to try to prove me wrong, they should come here, and we will have a trial. 9 But look, the Lord God helps me, so no one can prove me guilty. As for them, they will all be like worthless old clothes, eaten by moths.
9 Lord, I have many troubles, so be kind to me.
I have cried until my eyes hurt.
My throat and stomach are aching.
10 Because of my sin, my life is ending in grief;
my years are passing away in sighs of pain.
My life is ending in weakness.
My strength is draining away.
11 My enemies despise me,
and even my neighbors have turned away.
When my friends see me in the street,
they turn the other way.
They are afraid to be around me.
12 People want to forget me like someone already dead,
thrown away like a broken dish.
13 I hear them whispering about me.
They have turned against me and plan to kill me.
14 Lord, I trust in you.
You are my God.
15 My life is in your hands.
Save me from those who are persecuting me.
16 Please welcome and accept your servant.[a]
Be kind to me and save me.
Learn From Christ to Be Unselfish
5 In your life together, think the way Christ Jesus thought.
6 He was like God in every way,
but he did not think that his being equal with God was something to use for his own benefit.
7 Instead, he gave up everything, even his place with God.
He accepted the role of a servant, appearing in human form.
During his life as a man,
8 he humbled himself by being fully obedient to God,
even when that caused his death—death on a cross.
9 So God raised him up to the most important place
and gave him the name that is greater than any other name.
10 God did this so that every person will bow down to honor the name of Jesus.
Everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth will bow.
11 They will all confess, “Jesus Christ is Lord,”
and this will bring glory to God the Father.
The Jewish Leaders Plan to Kill Jesus(A)
14 It was now only two days before the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and teachers of the law were trying to find a way to arrest Jesus without the people seeing it. Then they could kill him. 2 They said, “But we cannot arrest Jesus during the festival. We don’t want the people to be angry and cause a riot.”
A Woman Does Something Special(B)
3 Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper. While he was eating there, a woman came to him. She had an alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume made of pure nard. She opened the jar and poured the perfume on Jesus’ head.
4 Some of the followers there saw this. They were upset and complained to each other. They said, “Why waste that perfume? 5 It was worth a full year’s pay.[a] It could have been sold and the money given to those who are poor.” And they told the woman what a bad thing she had done.
6 Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you giving her such trouble? She did a very good thing for me. 7 You will always have the poor with you,[b] and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 This woman did the only thing she could do for me. She poured perfume on my body before I die to prepare it for burial. 9 The Good News will be told to people all over the world. And I can assure you that everywhere the Good News is told, the story of what this woman did will also be told, and people will remember her.”
Judas Agrees to Help Jesus’ Enemies(C)
10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve apostles, went to talk to the leading priests about handing Jesus over to them. 11 They were very happy about this, and they promised to pay him. So he waited for the best time to hand Jesus over to them.
The Passover Meal(D)
12 It was now the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread—the day the lambs were killed for the Passover. Jesus’ followers came to him and said, “We will go and prepare everything for you to eat the Passover meal. Where do you want us to have the meal?”
13 Jesus sent two of his followers into the city. He said to them, “Go into the city. You will see a man carrying a jar of water. He will come to you. Follow him. 14 He will go into a house. Tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks that you show us the room where he and his followers can eat the Passover meal.’ 15 The owner will show you a large room upstairs that is ready for us. Prepare the meal for us there.”
16 So the followers left and went into the city. Everything happened the way Jesus said. So the followers prepared the Passover meal.
17 In the evening Jesus went to that house with the twelve apostles. 18 While they were all at the table eating, he said, “Believe me when I say that one of you will hand me over to my enemies—one of you eating with me now.”
19 The followers were very sad to hear this. Each one said to Jesus, “Surely I am not the one!”
20 Jesus answered, “It is one of you twelve—the one who is dipping his bread in the same bowl with me. 21 The Son of Man will suffer what the Scriptures say will happen to him. But it will be very bad for the one who hands over the Son of Man to be killed. It would be better for him if he had never been born.”
The Lord’s Supper(E)
22 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread and thanked God for it. He broke off some pieces, gave them to his followers and said, “Take and eat this bread. It is my body.”
23 Then he took a cup of wine, thanked God for it, and gave it to them. They all drank from the cup. 24 Then he said, “This wine is my blood, which will be poured out for many to begin the new agreement from God to his people. 25 I want you to know, I will not drink this wine again until that day when I drink it in God’s kingdom and the wine is new.”
26 They all sang a song and then went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus Says His Followers Will Leave Him(F)
27 Then Jesus told the followers, “You will all lose your faith. The Scriptures say,
‘I will kill the shepherd,
and the sheep will run away.’ (G)
28 But after I am killed, I will rise from death. Then I will go to Galilee. I will be there before you come.”
29 Peter said, “All the other followers may lose their faith. But my faith will never be shaken.”
30 Jesus answered, “The truth is, tonight you will say you don’t know me. You will say it three times before the rooster crows twice.”
31 But Peter strongly protested, “I will never say I don’t know you! I will even die with you!” And all the other followers said the same thing.
Jesus Prays Alone(H)
32 Jesus and his followers went to a place named Gethsemane. He said to them, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 But he told Peter, James, and John to come with him. He began to be very distressed and troubled, 34 and he said to them, “My heart is so heavy with grief, I feel as if I am dying. Wait here and stay awake.”
35 Jesus went on a little farther away from them, fell to the ground, and prayed. He asked that, if possible, he would not have this time of suffering. 36 He said, “ Abba,[c] Father! You can do all things. Don’t make me drink from this cup.[d] But do what you want, not what I want.”
37 Then he went back to his followers and found them sleeping. He said to Peter, “Simon, why are you sleeping? Could you not stay awake with me for one hour? 38 Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. Your spirit wants to do what is right, but your body is weak.”
39 Again Jesus went away and prayed the same thing. 40 Then he went back to the followers and again found them sleeping. They could not stay awake. They did not know what they should say to him.
41 After Jesus prayed a third time, he went back to his followers. He said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? That’s enough! The time has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to the control of sinful men. 42 Stand up! We must go. Here comes the man who is handing me over to them.”
Jesus Is Arrested(I)
43 While Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve apostles, came there. He had a big crowd of people with him, all carrying swords and clubs. They had been sent from the leading priests, the teachers of the law, and the older Jewish leaders.
44 Judas[e] planned to do something to show them which one was Jesus. He said, “The one I kiss will be Jesus. Arrest him and guard him while you lead him away.” 45 So Judas went over to Jesus and said, “Teacher!” Then he kissed him. 46 The men grabbed Jesus and arrested him. 47 One of the followers standing near Jesus grabbed his sword and pulled it out. He swung it at the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.
48 Then Jesus said, “Why do you come to get me with swords and clubs as if I were a criminal? 49 Every day I was with you teaching in the Temple area. You did not arrest me there. But all these things have happened to show the full meaning of what the Scriptures said.” 50 Then all of Jesus’ followers left him and ran away.
51 One of those following Jesus was a young man wearing only a linen cloth. When the people tried to grab him, 52 he left the cloth in their hands and ran away naked.
Jesus Before the Jewish Leaders(J)
53 Those who arrested Jesus led him to the house of the high priest. All the leading priests, the older Jewish leaders, and the teachers of the law were gathered there. 54 Peter followed Jesus but stayed back at a distance. He followed him to the yard of the high priest’s house. He went into the yard and sat there with the guards, warming himself by their fire.
55 The leading priests and the whole high council tried to find something that Jesus had done wrong so they could kill him. But the council could find no proof that would allow them to kill Jesus. 56 Many people came and told lies against Jesus, but they all said different things. None of them agreed.
57 Then some others stood up and told more lies against Jesus. They said, 58 “We heard this man[f] say, ‘I will destroy this Temple built by human hands. And three days later, I will build another Temple not made by human hands.’” 59 But also what these people said did not agree.
60 Then the high priest stood up before everyone and said to Jesus, “These people said things against you. Do you have something to say about their charges? Are they telling the truth?” 61 But Jesus said nothing to answer him.
The high priest asked Jesus another question: “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the blessed God?”
62 Jesus answered, “Yes, I am the Son of God. And in the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right side of God All-Powerful. And you will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven.”
63 When the high priest heard this, he tore his clothes in anger. He said, “We don’t need any more witnesses! 64 You all heard these insults to God. What do you think?”
Everyone agreed that Jesus was guilty and must be killed. 65 Some of the people there spit at him. They covered his eyes and hit him with their fists. They said, “Be a prophet[g] and tell us who hit you!” Then the guards led Jesus away and beat him.
Peter Is Afraid to Say He Knows Jesus(K)
66 While Peter was still in the yard, a servant girl of the high priest came there. 67 She saw him warming himself by the fire. She looked closely at him and said, “You were with Jesus, that man from Nazareth.”
68 But Peter said this was not true. “That makes no sense,” he said. “I don’t know what you are talking about!” Then he left and went to the entrance of the yard, and a rooster crowed.[h]
69 When the servant girl saw him there, she began saying again to the people standing around, “This man is one of them.” 70 Again Peter said it was not true.
A short time later, the people standing there said, “We know you are one of them, because you are from Galilee.”
71 Then Peter began to curse. He said, “I swear to God, I don’t know this man you are talking about!”
72 As soon as Peter said this, the rooster crowed the second time. Then he remembered what Jesus had told him: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” Then Peter began to cry.
Governor Pilate Questions Jesus(L)
15 Very early in the morning, the leading priests, the older Jewish leaders, the teachers of the law, and the whole high council decided what to do with Jesus. They tied him, led him away, and handed him over to Governor Pilate.
2 Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “Yes, that is right.”
3 The leading priests accused Jesus of many things. 4 So Pilate asked Jesus another question. He said, “You can see that these people are accusing you of many things. Why don’t you answer?”
5 But Jesus still did not answer, and this really surprised Pilate.
Pilate Tries but Fails to Free Jesus(M)
6 Every year at the Passover time the governor would free one prisoner—whichever one the people wanted. 7 There was a man in prison at that time named Barabbas. He and the rebels with him had been put in prison for committing murder during a riot.
8 The people came to Pilate and asked him to free a prisoner as he always did. 9 Pilate asked them, “Do you want me to free the king of the Jews?” 10 Pilate knew that the leading priests had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous of him. 11 But the leading priests persuaded the people to ask Pilate to free Barabbas, not Jesus.
12 Pilate asked the people again, “So what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?”
13 The people shouted, “Kill him on a cross!”
14 Pilate asked, “Why? What wrong has he done?”
But the people shouted louder and louder, “Kill him on a cross!”
15 Pilate wanted to please the people, so he set Barabbas free for them. And he told the soldiers to beat Jesus with whips. Then he handed him over to the soldiers to be killed on a cross.
16 Pilate’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s palace (called the Praetorium). They called all the other soldiers together. 17 They put a purple robe on Jesus, made a crown from thorny branches, and put it on his head. 18 Then they began shouting, “Welcome, king of the Jews!” 19 They kept on beating his head with a stick and spitting on him. Then they bowed down on their knees and pretended to honor him as a king. 20 After they finished making fun of him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him out of the palace to be killed on a cross.
Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross(N)
21 There was a man from Cyrene named Simon walking into the city from the fields. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. The soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. 22 They led Jesus to the place called Golgotha. (Golgotha means “The Place of the Skull.”) 23 There they gave him some wine mixed with myrrh, but he refused to drink it. 24 The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. Then they divided his clothes among themselves, throwing dice to see who would get what.
25 It was nine o’clock in the morning when they nailed Jesus to the cross. 26 There was a sign with the charge against him written on it. It said, “ the king of the jews.” 27 They also nailed two criminals to crosses beside Jesus—one on the right and the other on the left. 28 [i]
29 People walked by and said bad things to Jesus. They shook their heads and said, “You said you could destroy the Temple and build it again in three days. 30 So save yourself! Come down from that cross!”
31 The leading priests and the teachers of the law were also there. They made fun of Jesus the same as the other people did. They said to each other, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself! 32 If he is really the Messiah, the king of Israel, he should come down from the cross now. When we see this, then we will believe in him.” The criminals on the crosses beside Jesus also said bad things to him.
Jesus Dies(O)
33 At noon the whole country became dark. This darkness continued until three o’clock. 34 At three o’clock Jesus cried out loudly, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.” This means “My God, my God, why have you left me alone?”[j]
35 Some of the people standing there heard this. They said, “Listen! He is calling Elijah.”[k]
36 One man there ran and got a sponge. He filled the sponge with sour wine and tied it to a stick. Then he used the stick to give the sponge to Jesus to get a drink from it. The man said, “We should wait now and see if Elijah will come to take him down from the cross.”
37 Then Jesus cried out loudly and died.
38 When Jesus died, the curtain in the Temple was torn into two pieces. The tear started at the top and tore all the way to the bottom. 39 The army officer who was standing there in front of the cross saw what happened when Jesus died. The officer said, “This man really was the Son of God!”
40 Some women were standing away from the cross, watching. Among these women were Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of James and Joses. (James was her youngest son.) 41 These were the women who had followed Jesus in Galilee and cared for him. Many other women who had come with Jesus to Jerusalem were also there.
Jesus Is Buried(P)
42 This day was called Preparation day. (That means the day before the Sabbath day.) It was becoming dark. 43 A man named Joseph from Arimathea was brave enough to go to Pilate and ask for Jesus’ body. Joseph was an important member of the high council. He was one of the people who wanted God’s kingdom to come.
44 Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead. So he called for the army officer in charge and asked him if Jesus was already dead. 45 When Pilate heard it from the officer, he told Joseph he could have the body.
46 Joseph bought some linen cloth. He took the body from the cross, wrapped it in the linen, and put the body in a tomb that was dug in a wall of rock. Then he closed the tomb by rolling a large stone to cover the entrance. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw the place where Jesus was put.
Governor Pilate Questions Jesus(A)
15 Very early in the morning, the leading priests, the older Jewish leaders, the teachers of the law, and the whole high council decided what to do with Jesus. They tied him, led him away, and handed him over to Governor Pilate.
2 Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “Yes, that is right.”
3 The leading priests accused Jesus of many things. 4 So Pilate asked Jesus another question. He said, “You can see that these people are accusing you of many things. Why don’t you answer?”
5 But Jesus still did not answer, and this really surprised Pilate.
Pilate Tries but Fails to Free Jesus(B)
6 Every year at the Passover time the governor would free one prisoner—whichever one the people wanted. 7 There was a man in prison at that time named Barabbas. He and the rebels with him had been put in prison for committing murder during a riot.
8 The people came to Pilate and asked him to free a prisoner as he always did. 9 Pilate asked them, “Do you want me to free the king of the Jews?” 10 Pilate knew that the leading priests had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous of him. 11 But the leading priests persuaded the people to ask Pilate to free Barabbas, not Jesus.
12 Pilate asked the people again, “So what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?”
13 The people shouted, “Kill him on a cross!”
14 Pilate asked, “Why? What wrong has he done?”
But the people shouted louder and louder, “Kill him on a cross!”
15 Pilate wanted to please the people, so he set Barabbas free for them. And he told the soldiers to beat Jesus with whips. Then he handed him over to the soldiers to be killed on a cross.
16 Pilate’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s palace (called the Praetorium). They called all the other soldiers together. 17 They put a purple robe on Jesus, made a crown from thorny branches, and put it on his head. 18 Then they began shouting, “Welcome, king of the Jews!” 19 They kept on beating his head with a stick and spitting on him. Then they bowed down on their knees and pretended to honor him as a king. 20 After they finished making fun of him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him out of the palace to be killed on a cross.
Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross(C)
21 There was a man from Cyrene named Simon walking into the city from the fields. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. The soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. 22 They led Jesus to the place called Golgotha. (Golgotha means “The Place of the Skull.”) 23 There they gave him some wine mixed with myrrh, but he refused to drink it. 24 The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. Then they divided his clothes among themselves, throwing dice to see who would get what.
25 It was nine o’clock in the morning when they nailed Jesus to the cross. 26 There was a sign with the charge against him written on it. It said, “ the king of the jews.” 27 They also nailed two criminals to crosses beside Jesus—one on the right and the other on the left. 28 [a]
29 People walked by and said bad things to Jesus. They shook their heads and said, “You said you could destroy the Temple and build it again in three days. 30 So save yourself! Come down from that cross!”
31 The leading priests and the teachers of the law were also there. They made fun of Jesus the same as the other people did. They said to each other, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself! 32 If he is really the Messiah, the king of Israel, he should come down from the cross now. When we see this, then we will believe in him.” The criminals on the crosses beside Jesus also said bad things to him.
Jesus Dies(D)
33 At noon the whole country became dark. This darkness continued until three o’clock. 34 At three o’clock Jesus cried out loudly, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.” This means “My God, my God, why have you left me alone?”[b]
35 Some of the people standing there heard this. They said, “Listen! He is calling Elijah.”[c]
36 One man there ran and got a sponge. He filled the sponge with sour wine and tied it to a stick. Then he used the stick to give the sponge to Jesus to get a drink from it. The man said, “We should wait now and see if Elijah will come to take him down from the cross.”
37 Then Jesus cried out loudly and died.
38 When Jesus died, the curtain in the Temple was torn into two pieces. The tear started at the top and tore all the way to the bottom. 39 The army officer who was standing there in front of the cross saw what happened when Jesus died. The officer said, “This man really was the Son of God!”
40 Some women were standing away from the cross, watching. Among these women were Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of James and Joses. (James was her youngest son.) 41 These were the women who had followed Jesus in Galilee and cared for him. Many other women who had come with Jesus to Jerusalem were also there.
Jesus Is Buried(A)
42 This day was called Preparation day. (That means the day before the Sabbath day.) It was becoming dark. 43 A man named Joseph from Arimathea was brave enough to go to Pilate and ask for Jesus’ body. Joseph was an important member of the high council. He was one of the people who wanted God’s kingdom to come.
44 Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead. So he called for the army officer in charge and asked him if Jesus was already dead. 45 When Pilate heard it from the officer, he told Joseph he could have the body.
46 Joseph bought some linen cloth. He took the body from the cross, wrapped it in the linen, and put the body in a tomb that was dug in a wall of rock. Then he closed the tomb by rolling a large stone to cover the entrance. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw the place where Jesus was put.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International