Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Thanksgiving for Victory
118 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
2 Let the people of Israel say,
“His love continues forever.”
19 Open for me the Temple gates.
Then I will come in and thank the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s gate;
only those who are good may enter through it.
21 Lord, I thank you for answering me.
You have saved me.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
became the cornerstone.
23 The Lord did this,
and it is wonderful to us.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad today!
25 Please, Lord, save us;
please, Lord, give us success.
26 God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless all of you from the Temple of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has shown kindness to us.
With branches in your hands, join the feast.
Come to the corners of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will thank you;
you are my God, and I will praise your greatness.
29 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
10 “You are saying, ‘Our country is an empty desert, without people or animals.’ But this is what the Lord says: It is now quiet in the streets of Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, without people or animals, but it will be noisy there soon! 11 There will be sounds of joy and gladness and the happy sounds of brides and bridegrooms. There will be the sounds of people bringing to the Temple of the Lord their offerings of thanks to the Lord. They will say,
‘Praise the Lord All-Powerful,
because the Lord is good!
His love continues forever!’
They will say this because I will again do good things for Judah, as I did in the beginning,” says the Lord.
12 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: “This place is empty now, without people or animals. But there will be shepherds in all the towns of Judah and pastures where they let their flocks rest. 13 Shepherds will again count their sheep as the sheep walk in front of them. They will count them in the mountains and in the western hills, in southern Judah and the land of Benjamin, and around Jerusalem and the other towns of Judah!” says the Lord.
The Good Branch
14 The Lord says, “The time is coming when I will do the good thing I promised to the people of Israel and Judah.
15 In those days and at that time,
I will make a good branch sprout from David’s family.
He will do what is fair and right in the land.
16 At that time Judah will be saved,
and the people of Jerusalem will live in safety.
The branch will be named:
The Lord Does What Is Right.”
Jesus Talks About His Death
32 As Jesus and the people with him were on the road to Jerusalem, he was leading the way. His followers were amazed, but others in the crowd who followed were afraid. Again Jesus took the twelve apostles aside and began to tell them what was about to happen in Jerusalem. 33 He said, “Look, we are going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be turned over to the leading priests and the teachers of the law. They will say that he must die, and they will turn him over to the non-Jewish people, 34 who will laugh at him and spit on him. They will beat him with whips and crucify him. But on the third day, he will rise to life again.”
Jesus Heals a Blind Man
46 Then they came to the town of Jericho. As Jesus was leaving there with his followers and a great many people, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus son of Timaeus was sitting by the road. 47 When he heard that Jesus from Nazareth was walking by, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 Many people warned the blind man to be quiet, but he shouted even more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Tell the man to come here.”
So they called the blind man, saying, “Cheer up! Get to your feet. Jesus is calling you.” 50 The blind man jumped up, left his coat there, and went to Jesus.
51 Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man answered, “Teacher, I want to see.”
52 Jesus said, “Go, you are healed because you believed.” At once the man could see, and he followed Jesus on the road.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.