Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Song of God’s Majesty and Love

A praise of David.^[a]

The Temple Lies in Ruins

1 In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day, the word of Yahweh came through^[a] Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, ² “Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘This people says, “The time has not come to rebuild the temple of Yahweh.’” ^{[b] 3} And the word of Yahweh came through^[c] Haggai the prophet, saying, ⁴ “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your houses that have been paneled while this house^[d] is desolate?” ⁵ And so then, thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Consider your ways!^{[e] 6} You have sown much but have harvested little. You have eaten without being satisfied; you have drunk without being satiated;^[f] you have worn clothes without being warm; the one who earns wages puts it in a pouch with holes.’^{[g] 7} Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Consider your ways!^{[h] 8} Go up the mountain and bring wood and build the house^[i] so that I may be pleased with it and honored,’ says Yahweh. ⁹ ‘You have looked for much, and look! It came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?’ declares^[j] Yahweh of hosts. ‘Because my house is desolate and you are running each to your own house! ¹⁰ Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld the dew and the earth has withheld its produce. ¹¹ I have called for a drought on the land and the hills,^[k] on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, on what the soil produces, on human beings and wild animals,^[l] and on all their labor.’”^[m]

¹² Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all the remnant of the people gave heed to the voice of Yahweh their God and to the words of Haggai the prophet, as Yahweh their God had sent him, and the people feared Yahweh.^{[n] 13} And Haggai the messenger of Yahweh spoke to the people with the message of Yahweh, saying, “‘I am with you’ declares^[o] Yahweh.” ¹⁴ And Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and did the work on the house of Yahweh of hosts, their God, ¹⁵ on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius.

Jesus’ Authority Challenged

20 And it happened that on one of the days while^[a] he was teaching the people in the temple courts^[b] and proclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes approached together with the elders ² and said, saying to him, “Tell us, by what authority you are doing these things, or who is the one who gave you this authority? ³ And he answered and^[c] said to them, “I also will ask you a question, and you tell me: ⁴ The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? ⁵ And they discussed this^[d] with one another, saying, “If we say ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.” ⁷ And they replied that they did not know where it was from. ⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”