Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Thanksgiving for Return from Captivity.

A Song of Ascents.

²¹ Then ^(A)Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “^[a]Go and ^(B)take for yourselves ^[b]lambs according to your families, and slay ^(C)the Passover lamb. ^22 (D)You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and ^[c]apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning.

A Memorial of Redemption

²³ For ^(E)the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will ^(F)not allow the ^(G)destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you. ²⁴ And ^(H)you shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever. ²⁵ When you enter the land which the Lord will give you, as He has ^[d]promised, you shall observe this ^[e]rite. ^26 (I)And when your children say to you, ‘^[f]What does this rite mean to you?’ ²⁷ you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to ^(J)the Lord ^[g]who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but ^[h]spared our homes.’” ^(K)And the people bowed low and worshiped.

^45 (A)Therefore many of the Jews ^(B)who came to Mary, and ^(C)saw what He had done, believed in Him. ⁴⁶ But some of them went to the ^(D)Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.

Conspiracy to Kill Jesus

⁴⁷ Therefore ^(E)the chief priests and the Pharisees ^(F)convened a ^(G)council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many ^[a](H)signs. ⁴⁸ If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our ^(I)place and our nation.” ⁴⁹ But one of them, ^(J)Caiaphas, ^(K)who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, ⁵⁰ nor do you take into account that ^(L)it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” ⁵¹ Now he did not say this ^[b]on his own initiative, but ^(M)being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, ⁵² and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also ^(N)gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. ⁵³ So from that day on they ^(O)planned together to kill Him.

⁵⁴ Therefore Jesus ^(P)no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called ^(Q)Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.

⁵⁵ Now ^(R)the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover ^(S)to purify themselves. ⁵⁶ So they ^(T)were seeking for Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?” ⁵⁷ Now ^(U)the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him.