Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
For the choir director; on the gittith; [a] by Asaph.
81 Sing joyfully to God, our strength.
Shout happily to the God of Jacob.
2 Begin a psalm, and strike a tambourine.
Play lyres and harps with their pleasant music.
3 Blow the ram’s horn on the day of the new moon,
on the day of the full moon,
on our festival days.
4 This is a law for Israel,
a legal decision from the God of Jacob.
5 These are the instructions God set in place for Joseph
when Joseph rose to power over Egypt.
I heard a message I did not understand:
6 “I removed the burden from his shoulder.
His hands were freed from the basket.
7 When you were in trouble, you called out ⌞to me⌟, and I rescued you.
I was hidden in thunder, but I answered you.
I tested your ⌞loyalty⌟ at the oasis of Meribah. Selah
8 Listen, my people, and I will warn you.
Israel, if you would only listen to me!
9 Never keep any strange god among you.
Never worship a foreign god.
10 I am the Lord your God, the one who brought you out of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 “But my people did not listen to me.
Israel wanted nothing to do with me.
12 So I let them go their own stubborn ways
and follow their own advice.
13 If only my people would listen to me!
If only Israel would follow me!
14 I would quickly defeat their enemies.
I would turn my power against their foes.
15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe in front of him,
and their time ⌞for punishment⌟ would last forever.
16 But I would feed Israel with the finest wheat
and satisfy them with honey from a rock.”
4 Listen to the Lord’s word, descendants of Jacob,
all the families in the nation of Israel.
5 This is what the Lord says:
What did your ancestors find wrong with me
that they went so far away from me?
They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.
6 They didn’t ask, “Where is the Lord,
who brought us from Egypt?
He led us through the desert,
through a wasteland and its pits,
a land of drought and the shadow of death.
No one lives there or travels there.”
7 I brought them into a fertile land
to eat its fruit and its produce.
They came and made my land unclean.[a]
They made my property disgusting.
8 The priests didn’t ask, “Where is the Lord?”
Those who deal with my teachings didn’t know me.
The rulers rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal
and followed statues that couldn’t help them.
9 “That is why I am bringing charges against you,” declares the Lord,
“and I am bringing charges against your grandchildren.
10 Go over to the coasts of Cyprus, and see.
Send ⌞someone⌟ to Kedar, and observe closely.
See if there has ever been anything like this.
11 Has any nation ever exchanged gods?
(Their gods aren’t really gods.)
Yet, my people have exchanged their Glory
for something that doesn’t help them.
12 Be horrified over this, heaven.
Be terribly afraid,” declares the Lord.
13 “My people have done two things wrong.
They have abandoned me,
the fountain of life-giving water.
They have also dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that can’t hold water.
14 When the festival was half over, Jesus went to the temple courtyard and began to teach. 15 The Jews were surprised and asked, “How can this man be so educated when he hasn’t gone to school?”
16 Jesus responded to them, “What I teach doesn’t come from me but from the one who sent me. 17 Those who want to follow the will of God will know if what I teach is from God or if I teach my own thoughts. 18 Those who speak their own thoughts are looking for their own glory. But the man who wants to bring glory to the one who sent him is a true teacher and doesn’t have dishonest motives. 19 Didn’t Moses give you his teachings? Yet, none of you does what Moses taught you. So why do you want to kill me?”
20 The crowd answered, “You’re possessed by a demon! Who wants to kill you?”
21 Jesus answered them, “I performed one miracle, and all of you are surprised by it. 22 Moses gave you the teaching about circumcision (although it didn’t come from Moses but from our ancestors). So you circumcise a male on a day of rest—a holy day. 23 If you circumcise a male on the day of rest—a holy day, to follow Moses’ Teachings, why are you angry with me because I made a man entirely well on the day of rest—a holy day? 24 Stop judging by outward appearance! Instead, judge correctly.”
25 Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem said, “Isn’t this the man they want to kill? 26 But look at this! He’s speaking in public, and no one is saying anything to him! Can it be that the rulers really know that this man is the Messiah? 27 However, we know where this man comes from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.”
28 Then, while Jesus was teaching in the temple courtyard, he said loudly, “You know me, and you know where I come from. I didn’t decide to come on my own. The one who sent me is true. He’s the one you don’t know. 29 I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”
30 The Jews tried to arrest him but couldn’t because his time had not yet come.
31 However, many people in the crowd believed in him. They asked, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more miracles than this man has?”
37 On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus was standing ⌞in the temple courtyard⌟. He said loudly, “Whoever is thirsty must come to me to drink. 38 As Scripture says, ‘Streams of living water will flow from deep within the person who believes in me.’ ” 39 Jesus said this about the Spirit, whom his believers would receive. The Spirit was not yet evident, as it would be after Jesus had been glorified.
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