Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we proclaim); ⁹ because if you profess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ Why? Because covenant membership comes by believing with the heart, and salvation comes by professing with the mouth. ¹¹ The Bible says, you see, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, since the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich towards all who call upon him. ¹³ “All who call upon the name of the Lord,” you see, “will be saved.”

Temptation in the wilderness

4 Jesus returned from the Jordan, filled with the spirit. The spirit took him off into the wilderness ² for forty days, to be tested by the devil. He ate nothing during that time, and at the end of it he was hungry.

³ “If you are God’s son,” said the devil, “tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

⁴ “It is written,” replied Jesus, “ ‘It isn’t only bread that keeps you alive.’ ”

⁵ The devil then took him up and showed him, in an instant, all the kingdoms of the world.

⁶ “I will give you authority over all of this,” said the devil, “and all the prestige that goes with it. It’s been given to me, you see, and I give it to anyone I like. ⁷ So it can all be yours . . . if you will just worship me.”

⁸ “It is written,” replied Jesus, “ ‘The Lord your God is the one you must worship; he is the only one you must serve.’ ”

⁹ Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and stood him on a pinnacle of the Temple.

“If you are God’s son,” he said, “throw yourself down from here; ¹⁰ it’s written, after all, that ‘He will give his angels a command about you, to look after you’; ¹¹ and ‘They will carry you in their hands, so that you won’t hit your foot against a stone.’ ”

¹² “It has been said,” replied Jesus, “ ‘You mustn’t put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

¹³ When the devil had finished each temptation, he left him until another opportunity.