Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
ז Zayin
49 Remember what you have said to me.
You have given me hope.
50 Even when I suffer, I am comforted
because you promised to keep me alive.
51 Proud people make fun of me without mercy.
But I don’t turn away from your law.
52 Lord, I remember the laws you gave long ago.
I find comfort in them.
53 I am very angry
because evil people have turned away from your law.
54 No matter where I live,
I sing about your orders.
55 Lord, during the night I remember who you are.
That’s why I keep your law.
56 I have really done my best
to obey your rules.
10 The Lord your God will bring you into the land of Canaan. He gave his word. He promised he would give the land to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The land has large, wealthy cities you didn’t build. 11 It has houses filled with all kinds of good things you didn’t provide. The land has wells you didn’t dig. And it has vineyards and groves of olive trees you didn’t plant. You will have plenty to eat. 12 But be careful that you don’t forget the Lord. Remember that he brought you out of Egypt. That’s the land where you were slaves.
13 Worship the Lord your God. He is the only one you should serve. When you make promises, do so in his name. 14 Don’t serve the gods of the nations around you. 15 The Lord your God is among you. He wants you to worship only him. If you worship other gods, God will be very angry with you. And he will destroy you from the face of the land. 16 Don’t test the Lord your God as you did at Massah. 17 Be sure to obey the Lord’s commands. Obey the terms and rules he has given you. 18 Do what is right and good in the Lord’s eyes. Then things will go well with you. You will go in and take over the land. It’s the good land the Lord promised to your people of long ago. 19 You will drive out all your enemies to make room for you. That’s what the Lord said would happen.
20 Later on, your child might ask you, “What is the meaning of the terms, rules and laws the Lord our God has commanded you to obey?” 21 If they do ask you, tell them, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. But the Lord used his mighty hand to bring us out of Egypt. 22 With our own eyes we saw the Lord send amazing signs. They were great and terrible. He sent them on Egypt and Pharaoh and everyone in his house. 23 But the Lord brought us out of Egypt. He planned to bring us into the land of Canaan and give it to us. It’s the land he promised to our people of long ago. 24 The Lord our God commanded us to obey all his rules. He commanded us to honor him. If we do, we will always succeed and be kept alive. That’s what is happening today. 25 We must make sure we obey the whole law in the sight of the Lord our God. That’s what he has commanded us to do. If we obey his law, we’ll be doing what he requires of us.”
The Plan to Kill Jesus
45 Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary saw what Jesus did. So they believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees. They told the Pharisees what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
“What can we do?” they asked. “This man is performing many signs. 48 If we let him keep on doing this, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come. They will take away our temple and our nation.”
49 One of the Jewish leaders spoke up. His name was Caiaphas. He was high priest at that time. He said, “You don’t know anything at all! 50 You don’t realize what is good for you. It is better if one man dies for the people than if the whole nation is destroyed.”
51 He did not say this on his own because he was high priest at that time. He prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation. 52 He also prophesied that Jesus would die for God’s children scattered everywhere. He would die to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on, the Jewish rulers planned to kill Jesus.
54 Jesus no longer moved around openly among the people of Judea. Instead, he went away to an area near the desert. He went to a village called Ephraim. There he stayed with his disciples.
55 It was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast. Many people went up from the country to Jerusalem. They went there for the special washing that would make them pure before the Passover Feast. 56 They kept looking for Jesus as they stood in the temple courtyard. They asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the feast at all?” 57 But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders. They had commanded anyone who found out where Jesus was staying to report it. Then they could arrest him.
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