Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Each generation faces strong peer pressure to follow the world’s ways, especially during adolescence. That pressure can twist an innocent young man inside out until he is nearly unrecognizable to those close to him. Once gang mentality takes over, that young man could easily find himself in unexpected and troublesome situations. Wisdom calls, and her voice is clear: Remember your parents’ instruction. Avoid violence and violent people. If you don’t, violence will find you.
20 There’s another voice in town.
It belongs to Lady Wisdom, who calls out in the street.
She cries out in the town square,
21 At the city gates, in the noisy city streets,
you can hear her speaking over the racket.
22 Lady Wisdom: You simple, naive people, how long will you love your feeble ways?
You simpletons, how long will you enjoy making fun of what you don’t understand?
You fools, how long will you hate learning what truly matters?
23 Turn to me and receive my gentle correction;
Watch and I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will share with you my wise words in order to redirect your lives.
24 You hear, but you have refused to answer my call.
My hands reached out, but no one noticed.
25 All my advice, all my correction, all have been neglected—
you wanted nothing of them.
26 So I will be the laughter you hear when misfortune comes, and it will come.
I will be the mocking sound when panic grips you—
27 When panic comes like a stormy blast,
when misfortune sweeps in like a whirlwind,
when sorrow and anguish weigh you down.
28 This is when they will call on me, but I will not respond;
they will be frantic to find me, but they won’t be able.
29 Because they despised knowledge of my ways,
and they also refused to respect and honor the Eternal,
30 Because they rejected my advice
and turned down my correction,
31 They will surely get what’s coming to them:
they’ll be forced to eat the fruit of their wicked ways;
they’ll gorge themselves on the consequences of their choices.
32 You see, it’s turning away from me that brings death to the simple,
and it’s self-satisfaction that destroys the fools.
33 But those who listen to me now will live under divine protection;
they can rest knowing they are out of harm’s way.
Psalm 19
For the worship leader. A song of David.
1 The celestial realms announce God’s glory;
the skies testify of His hands’ great work.
2 Each day pours out more of their sayings;
each night, more to hear and more to learn.
3 Inaudible words are their manner of speech,
and silence, their means to convey.
4 Yet from here to the ends of the earth, their voices[a] have gone out;
the whole world can hear what they say.[b]
God stretched out in these heavens a tent for the sun,
5 And the sun is like a groom
who, after leaving his room, arrives at the wedding in splendor;
He is the strong runner
who, favored to win in his race, is eager to face his challenge.
6 He rises at one end of the skies
and runs in an arc overhead;
nothing can hide from his heat, from the swelter of his daily tread.
7 The Eternal’s law is perfect,
turning lives around.
His words are reliable and true,
instilling wisdom to open minds.
8 The Eternal’s directions are correct,
giving satisfaction to the heart.
God’s commandments are clear,
lending clarity to the eyes.
9 The awe of the Eternal is clean,
sustaining for all of eternity.
The Eternal’s decisions are sound;
they are right through and through.
10 They are worth more than gold—
even more than abundant, pure gold.
They are sweeter to the tongue than honey
or the drippings of the honeycomb.
11 In addition to all that has been said,
Your servant will find, hidden in Your commandments, both a strong warning
and a great reward for keeping them.
12 Who could possibly know all that he has done wrong?
Forgive my hidden and unknown faults.
13 As I am Your servant, protect me from my bent toward pride,
and keep sin from ruling my life.
If You do this, I will be without blame,
innocent of the great breach.
14 May the words that come out of my mouth and the musings of my heart
meet with Your gracious approval,
O Eternal, my Rock,
O Eternal, my Redeemer.
3 My brothers and sisters, do not encourage a large number of you to become teachers because teachers will be held to a higher standard. 2 We all stumble along the way. If a person never speaks hurtful words or shouts in anger or profanity, then he has achieved perfection. The one who can control his tongue can also control the rest of his body. 3 It’s like when we place a metal bit into a horse’s mouth to ride it; we can control its entire body with the slightest movement of our hands. 4 Have you ever seen a massive ship sailing effortlessly across the water? Despite its immense size and the fact that it is propelled by mighty winds, a small rudder directs the ship in any direction the pilot chooses. 5 It’s just the same with our tongues! It’s a small muscle, capable of marvelous undertakings.
And do you know how many forest fires begin with a single ember from a small campfire? 6 The tongue is a blazing fire seeking to ignite an entire world of vices. The tongue is unique among all parts of the body because it is capable of corrupting the whole body. If that were not enough, it ignites and consumes the course of creation with a fuel that originates in hell itself. 7 Humanity is capable of taming every bird and beast in existence, even reptiles and sea creatures great and small. 8 But no man has ever demonstrated the ability to tame his own tongue! It is a spring of restless evil, brimming with toxic poisons. 9 Ironically this same tongue can be both an instrument of blessing to our Lord and Father and a weapon that hurls curses upon others who are created in God’s own image. 10 One mouth streams forth both blessings and curses. My brothers and sisters, this is not how it should be. 11 Does a spring gush crystal clear freshwater and moments later spurt out bitter salt water? 12 My brothers and sisters, does a fig tree produce olives? Is there a grapevine capable of growing figs? Can salt water give way to freshwater?
Bethsaida is the hometown of at least three of Jesus’ emissaries—Peter, Andrew, and Philip—and possibly James and John as well. Jesus performs many miracles there, most notably the feeding of the 5,000. However, this miracle—the healing of the blind man—is the only miracle in all the Gospels that is done in stages instead of instantly.
Of course, there’s no way to know for sure why Jesus chooses to heal this man partly before He heals him entirely. Jesus frequently links faith, or lack of faith, with the healings. Bethsaida is a town He criticizes for its lack of faith (Matthew 11:21–22). So it’s likely He wants to demonstrate to His disciples that their inability to see His purpose can be healed, too, even if it takes time.
27 As He traveled with His disciples into the villages of Caesarea Philippi, He posed an important question to them.
Jesus: Who do the people say that I am?
28 They told Him about the great speculation concerning His identity.
Disciples: Some of them say You are John the Baptist,[a] others say Elijah, while others say one of the prophets of old.
Jesus (pressing the question): 29 And who do you say that I am?
Peter: You are God’s Anointed, the Liberating King.
Jesus: 30 Don’t tell anyone. It is not yet time.
31 And He went on to teach them many things about Himself: how the Son of Man would suffer; how He would be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes; how He would be killed; and how, after three days, God would raise Him from the dead.
32 He said all these things in front of them all, but Peter took Jesus aside to rebuke Him.
Peter represents the best and worst in humanity. One day, Peter drops everything to become a follower of Jesus; the next, he’s busy putting his foot in his mouth. Peter is always responding to Jesus, frequently making mistakes, but never drifting far from Jesus’ side. In this passage, Peter verbalizes God’s word and Satan’s temptation—almost in the same breath. Peter thinks he understands who Jesus is, but he still has a lot to learn about what Jesus has come to do.
Jesus (seeing His disciples surrounding them): 33 Get behind Me, you tempter! You’re thinking only of human things, not of the things God has planned.
34 He gathered the crowd and His disciples alike.
Jesus: If any one of you wants to follow Me, you will have to give yourself up to God’s plan, take up your cross, and do as I do. 35 For any one of you who wants to be rescued will lose your life, but any one of you who loses your life for My sake and for the sake of this good news will be liberated. 36 Really, what profit is there for you to gain the whole world and lose yourself in the process? 37 What can you give in exchange for your life? 38 If you are ashamed of Me and of what I came to teach to this adulterous and sinful generation, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when He comes in the glory of His Father along with the holy messengers at the final judgment.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.