Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The finished achievement of the Messiah

¹¹ Thus it comes about that every priest stands daily at his duty, offering over and over the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But Jesus offered a single sacrifice on behalf of sins, for all time, and then “sat down at the right hand of God.” ¹³ From that moment on he is waiting “until his enemies are made a stool for his feet.” ¹⁴ By a single sacrifice, you see, he has made perfect forever those who are sanctified.

¹⁵ The holy spirit bears witness to this too. For, after it is said,

then he adds:

¹⁸ Where these are put away, there is no longer a sacrifice for sin.

So—come to worship!

¹⁹ So then, my brothers and sisters, we have boldness to go into the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus. ²⁰ He has inaugurated a brand new, living path through the curtain (that is, his earthly body). ²¹ We have a high priest who is over God’s house. ²² Let us therefore come to worship, with a true heart, in complete assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from a bad conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

²³ Let us hold on tightly to our confession of hope, without being diverted; the one who announced the message to us is trustworthy! ²⁴ Let us, as well, stir up one another’s minds to energetic effort in love and good works. ²⁵ We mustn’t neglect meeting together, as some are now doing. Instead, we must encourage one another, and all the more as you can see the great day coming closer.

Signs of the end

13 As they were going out of the Temple, one of Jesus’ disciples said to him, “Teacher! Look at these huge stones, and these huge buildings!”

² “You see these enormous buildings?” said Jesus. “There will not be one single stone left on top of another. They will all be torn down.”

³ Peter, James, John and Andrew approached him privately as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the Temple.

⁴ “Tell us,” they asked. “When will these things happen? What will be the sign that these things are about to be completed?”

⁵ “Take care that nobody deceives you,” Jesus began to say to them. ⁶ “Plenty of people will come in my name, saying ‘I’m the one!’ and they will lead plenty astray. ⁷ But whenever you hear about wars, and rumors of wars, don’t be disturbed. These things have to happen, but it doesn’t mean the end is here. ⁸ One nation will rise up against another; one kingdom will rise up against another. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines too. These are the first pains of childbirth.