Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

God Chooses Abram

12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s family. Go to the land I will show you.

⁴ So Abram went, just as the Lord had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Harran. ⁵ He took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot. They took all the people and possessions they had acquired in Harran. They started out for the land of Canaan. And they arrived there.

⁶ Abram traveled through the land. He went as far as the large tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were living in the land. ⁷ The Lord appeared to Abram at Shechem. He said, “I will give this land to your family who comes after you.” So Abram built an altar there to honor the Lord, who had appeared to him.

⁸ From there, Abram went on toward the hills east of Bethel. He set up his tent there. Bethel was to the west, and Ai was to the east. Abram built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord.

⁹ Then Abram left and continued south toward the Negev Desert.

¹³ Abraham and his family received a promise. God promised that Abraham would receive the world. It would not come to him because he obeyed the law. It would come because of his faith, which made him right with God. ¹⁴ Do those who depend on the law receive the promise? If they do, faith would mean nothing. God’s promise would be worthless. ¹⁵ The law brings God’s anger. Where there is no law, the law can’t be broken.

¹⁶ The promise is based on God’s grace. The promise comes by faith. All of Abraham’s children will certainly receive the promise. And it is not only for those who are ruled by the law. Those who have the same faith that Abraham had are also included. He is the father of us all. ¹⁷ It is written, “I have made you a father of many nations.” (Genesis 17:5) God considers Abraham to be our father. The God that Abraham believed in gives life to the dead. Abraham’s God also creates things that did not exist before.

¹⁸ When there was no reason for hope, Abraham believed because he had hope. He became the father of many nations, exactly as God had promised. God said, “That is how many children you will have.” (Genesis 15:5) ¹⁹ Abraham did not become weak in his faith. He accepted the fact that he was past the time when he could have children. At that time Abraham was about 100 years old. He also realized that Sarah was too old to have children. ²⁰ But Abraham kept believing in God’s promise. He became strong in his faith. He gave glory to God. ²¹ He was absolutely sure that God had the power to do what he had promised. ²² That’s why “God accepted Abraham because he believed. So his faith made him right with God.” (Genesis 15:6) ²³ The words “God accepted Abraham’s faith” were written not only for Abraham. ²⁴ They were written also for us. We believe in the God who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. So God will accept our faith and make us right with himself. ²⁵ Jesus was handed over to die for our sins. He was raised to life in order to make us right with God.

Jesus Chooses Matthew and Eats With Sinners

⁹ As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew. He was sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him. Matthew got up and followed him.

¹⁰ Later Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house. Many tax collectors and sinners came. They ate with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹ The Pharisees saw this. So they asked the disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹² Jesus heard this. So he said, “Those who are healthy don’t need a doctor. Sick people do. ¹³ Go and learn what this means, ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ (Hosea 6:6) I have not come to get those who think they are right with God to follow me. I have come to get sinners to follow me.”

Jesus Heals a Dead Girl and a Suffering Woman

¹⁸ While Jesus was saying this, a synagogue leader came. He got down on his knees in front of Jesus. He said, “My daughter has just died. But come and place your hand on her. Then she will live again.” ¹⁹ Jesus got up and went with him. So did his disciples.

²⁰ Just then a woman came up behind Jesus. She had a sickness that made her bleed. It had lasted for 12 years. She touched the edge of his clothes. ²¹ She thought, “I only need to touch his clothes. Then I will be healed.”

²² Jesus turned and saw her. “Dear woman, don’t give up hope,” he said. “Your faith has healed you.” The woman was healed at that moment.

²³ When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house, he saw the noisy crowd and people playing flutes. ²⁴ He said, “Go away. The girl is not dead. She is sleeping.” But they laughed at him. ²⁵ After the crowd had been sent outside, Jesus went in. He took the girl by the hand, and she got up. ²⁶ News about what Jesus had done spread all over that area.