Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

God saved me from death^[a]

Abraham's sons

21 The Lord was kind to Sarah. He did what he had promised to do for her. ² Sarah became pregnant. She gave birth to a son for Abraham when he was very old. This happened at the time when God had said that it would.^[a]

³ Abraham called his son ‘Isaac’. This is the son that Sarah gave birth to. ⁴ When Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him. That is what God had told him to do.^[b]

⁵ Abraham was 100 years old when his son, Isaac, was born. ⁶ Sarah said, ‘Now God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears about what has happened will be happy with me.’ ⁷ She also said, ‘Abraham would never have thought that I would feed a child at my breasts. But I have given birth to a son for him, even when he is old.’

Jesus is greater than Moses

3 So, Christian friends, think carefully about who Jesus is. Like us, God has chosen you to belong to him. We tell people that we believe in Jesus as the messenger that God has sent. He helps us as God's most important priest. ² That is what God sent Jesus to do. Jesus did everything that God wanted, just like Moses. Moses served God well when he was the leader of God's people long ago. ³ We know that someone who builds a house is more important than the house itself. In the same way, we should praise Jesus more than we praise Moses, because Jesus is greater. ⁴ Every house has someone who built it. But God is the one who has built all things. ⁵ We say that Moses served God well, like a servant in God's house. He took care of all God's people. In this way, Moses showed clearly the message that God would speak later. ⁶ But Christ serves in God's house as a son, not as a servant. He is the leader of God's people today. And we are God's people. We belong to his house if we continue to believe in Christ. We must be brave. We must continue to show people clearly that we trust God. He will do what he has promised to do.