Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A psalm by David.

¹² Then the Spirit lifted me, and behind me I heard a loud thundering voice say, “Blessed is the Lord’s glory, which left this place.” ¹³ I also heard the noise of the wings of the living creatures touching one another and the noise of the wheels beside them as well as a loud rumbling. ¹⁴ Then the Spirit lifted me and took me away. I went away feeling bitter and angry. The strong power of the Lord came over me. ¹⁵ I went to Tel Abib, to the exiles who lived by the Chebar River. I sat there among them for seven days. I was stunned.

Ezekiel Is Appointed to Be a Watchman

¹⁶ After seven days the Lord spoke his word to me. He said, ¹⁷ “Son of man, I have made you a watchman over the people of Israel. Listen to what I say, and warn them for me. ¹⁸ Suppose I tell you that wicked people will surely die, but you don’t warn them or speak out so that they can change their wicked ways in order to save their lives. Then these wicked people will die because of their sin, but I will hold you responsible for their deaths. ¹⁹ But suppose you warn the wicked people, and they don’t turn from their wicked ways. Then they will die because of their sin, but you will save yourself. ²⁰ If righteous people turn from living the right way and do wrong, I will make them stumble, and they will die. If you don’t warn them, they will die because of their sin, and the right things they did will not be remembered. I will hold you responsible for their deaths. ²¹ But if you warn righteous people not to sin, and they don’t sin, they will certainly live because they listened to the warning. You will save yourself.”

Peter Declares His Belief about Jesus^(A)

¹⁸ Once when Jesus was praying privately and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

¹⁹ They answered, “Some say you are John the Baptizer, others Elijah, and still others say that one of the prophets from long ago has come back to life.”

²⁰ He asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, whom God has sent.”

²¹ He ordered them not to tell this to anyone.

Jesus Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life^(B)

²² Jesus said that the Son of Man would have to suffer a lot. He would be rejected by the leaders, the chief priests, and the experts in Moses’ Teachings. He would be killed, but on the third day he would come back to life.

What It Means to Follow Jesus^(C)

²³ He said to all of them, “Those who want to come with me must say no to the things they want, pick up their crosses every day, and follow me. ²⁴ Those who want to save their lives will lose them. But those who lose their lives for me will save them. ²⁵ What good does it do for people to win the whole world but lose their lives by destroying them? ²⁶ If people are ashamed of me and what I say, the Son of Man will be ashamed of those people when he comes in the glory that he shares with the Father and the holy angels.

²⁷ “I can guarantee this truth: Some people who are standing here will not die until they see God’s kingdom.”