Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁴ John, to the seven churches in Asia: grace to you and peace from He Who Is and Who Was and Who Is To Come, and from the seven spirits that are before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus the Messiah, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Glory to the one who loved us, and freed us from our sins by his blood, ⁶ and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and father—glory and power be to him forever and ever. Amen.

⁷ Look! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye shall see him; yes, even those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth shall mourn because of him. Yes! Amen.

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, Who Is and Who Was and Who Is To Come, the Almighty.

My kingdom is not from this world

³³ So Pilate went back in to the Praetorium and spoke to Jesus.

“Are you the King of the Jews?” he asked.

³⁴ “Was it your idea to ask that?” asked Jesus. “Or did other people tell you about me?”

³⁵ “I’m not a Jew, am I?” retorted Pilate. “Your own people, and the chief priests, have handed you over to me! What have you done?”

³⁶ “My kingdom isn’t the sort that grows in this world,” replied Jesus. “If my kingdom were from this world, my supporters would have fought, to stop me being handed over to the Judaeans. So then, my kingdom is not the sort that comes from here.”

³⁷ “So!” said Pilate. “You are a king, are you?”

“You’re the one who’s calling me a king,” replied Jesus. “I was born for this; I’ve come into the world for this: to give evidence about the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”