Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Lord’s First Promise to Abram

12 The Lord said to Abram,

The Lord’s Second Promise to Abram

⁴ So Abram left, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. ⁵ Abram set out for Canaan. He took along his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the servants they had acquired in Haran.

⁶ They arrived in Canaan, and Abram traveled through the land to the oak tree belonging to Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. ⁷ Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I’m going to give this land to your descendants.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

⁸ He moved on to the hills east of Bethel, and he put up his tent—with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He also built an altar to the Lord there and worshiped the Lord. ⁹ Abram kept moving toward the Negev.

¹³ So it was not by obeying the laws in Moses’ Teachings that Abraham or his descendants received the promise that he would inherit the world. Rather, he received this promise through God’s approval that comes by faith. ¹⁴ If those who obey Moses’ Teachings are the heirs, then faith is useless and the promise is worthless. ¹⁵ The laws in Moses’ Teachings bring about anger. But where those laws don’t exist, they can’t be broken. ¹⁶ Therefore, the promise is based on faith so that it can be a gift.^[a] Consequently, the promise is guaranteed for every descendant, not only for those who are descendants by obeying Moses’ Teachings but also for those who are descendants by believing as Abraham did. He is the father of all of us, ¹⁷ as Scripture says: “I have made you a father of many nations.”

Abraham believed when he stood in the presence of the God who gives life to dead people and calls into existence things that don’t even exist. ¹⁸ When there was nothing left to hope for, Abraham still hoped and believed. As a result, he became a father of many nations, as he had been told: “That is how many descendants you will have.” ¹⁹ Abraham didn’t weaken. Through faith he regarded the facts: His body was already as good as dead now that he was about a hundred years old, and Sarah was unable to have children. ²⁰ He didn’t doubt God’s promise out of a lack of faith. Instead, giving honor to God ⌞for the promise⌟, he became strong because of faith ²¹ and was absolutely confident that God would do what he promised. ²² That is why Abraham’s faith was regarded as the basis of his approval by God.

²³ But the words “his faith was regarded as the basis of his approval by God” were written not only for him ²⁴ but also for us. Our faith will be regarded as the basis of our approval by God—each of us who believe in the one who brought Jesus, our Lord, back to life. ²⁵ Jesus, our Lord, was handed over to death because of our failures and was brought back to life so that we could receive God’s approval.

Jesus Chooses Matthew to Be a Disciple^(A)

⁹ When Jesus was leaving that place, he saw a man sitting in a tax office. The man’s name was Matthew. Jesus said to him, “Follow me!” So Matthew got up and followed him.

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

¹² When Jesus heard that, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor; those who are sick do. ¹³ Learn what this means: ‘I want mercy, not sacrifices.’ I’ve come to call sinners, not people who think they have God’s approval.”

A Synagogue Leader’s Daughter and the Woman with Chronic Bleeding^(A)

¹⁸ A ⌞synagogue⌟ leader came to Jesus while he was talking to John’s disciples. He bowed down in front of Jesus and said, “My daughter just died. Come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.”

¹⁹ Jesus and his disciples got up and followed the man.

²⁰ Then a woman came up behind Jesus and touched the edge of his clothes. She had been suffering from chronic bleeding for twelve years. ²¹ She thought, “If I only touch his clothes, I’ll get well.”

²² When Jesus turned and saw her he said, “Cheer up, daughter! Your faith has made you well.” At that very moment the woman became well.

²³ Jesus came to the ⌞synagogue⌟ leader’s house. He saw flute players and a noisy crowd. ²⁴ He said to them, “Leave! The girl is not dead. She’s sleeping.” But they laughed at him.

²⁵ When the crowd had been put outside, Jesus went in, took her hand, and the girl came back to life.

²⁶ The news about this spread throughout that region.