Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
68 “Blessed be the Lord, Israel’s God!
He’s come to his people and bought them their freedom.
69 He’s raised up a horn of salvation for us
in David’s house, the house of his servant,
70 just as he promised, through the mouths of his prophets,
the holy ones, speaking from ages of old:
71 salvation from our enemies, rescue from hatred,
72 mercy to our ancestors, keeping his holy covenant.
73 He swore an oath to Abraham our father,
74 to give us deliverance from fear and from foes,
so we might worship him, 75 holy and righteous
before his face to the end of our days.
76 You, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest One,
You’ll go before the Lord, preparing his way,
77 letting his people know of salvation,
through the forgiveness of all their sins.
78 The heart of our God is full of mercy,
that’s why his daylight has dawned from on high,
79 bringing light to the dark, as we sat in death’s shadow,
guiding our feet in the path of peace.”
The Messiah’s work in the heavenly sanctuary
23 That’s why it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly objects to be purified in this way, while the heavenly things themselves require better sacrifices than these. 24 For the Messiah did not enter into a sanctuary made by human hands, the copy and pattern of the heavenly one, but into the heavenly one itself, where he now appears in God’s presence on our behalf.
25 Nor did he intend to offer himself over and over again, in the same way as the high priest goes into the sanctuary year after year with blood that is not his own. 26 Had that been the case, he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. Instead, he has appeared once, at the close of the ages, to put away sin by the sacrifice of his own self.
27 Furthermore, just as it is laid down that humans have to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so the Messiah, having been offered once and for all to take away the sins of many, will appear a second time. This will no longer have anything to do with sin. It will be in order to save those who are eagerly awaiting him.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.