The Season of Lent

So the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came and told him this:

There were two men in a city. One was rich and one poor. ²The rich man had a large number of flocks and herds. ³The poor man did not own anything except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He raised it so that it grew up together with him and his children. It ate from his food and drank from his cup. It slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. ⁴When a traveler came to the rich man, the rich man was unwilling to take an animal from his flock or from his herd to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. So he took the lamb from the poor man and prepared it for the man who had come to him.

⁵David’s anger flared up against that man. He said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this is as good as dead. ⁶In place of that lamb, he will restore four lambs, because he did this and had no pity.”

⁷Nathan told David, “You are the man. This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says.”

I anointed you king over Israel. I rescued you from the hand of Saul. ⁸I gave the house of your master to you, and I gave the wives of your master into your embrace. I gave you the house of Israel and the house of Judah. If this was too little, I would have added even more. ⁹Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in his eyes? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword. You have taken his wife as your own wife. You have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. ¹⁰So now the sword will not depart from your house forever, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.

¹¹This is what the Lord says. Look! I am raising up disaster against you from your own house. Right in front of your eyes I will take your wives and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie down with your wives in the sight of the sun. ¹²Because you acted in secret, I will do this in front of all Israel in broad daylight.

¹³David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

Nathan said to David, “The Lord himself has put away your sin. You will not die.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, inasmuch as God is making an appeal through us. We urge you, on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

^6:1As fellow workers we also urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. ²For he says:

At a favorable time I listened to you,

and in the day of salvation I helped you.

Look, now is the favorable time! See, now is the day of salvation!

Jesus told this parable to certain people who trusted in themselves (that they were righteous) and looked down on others: ¹⁰“Two men went up to the temple courts to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people, robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week. I give a tenth of all my income.’

¹³“However the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even lift his eyes up to heaven, but was beating his chest and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

¹⁴“I tell you, this man went home justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

A challenger who represented the Philistines came out from the camp of the Philistines. He was named Goliath of Gath. He was nine feet, six inches tall. ⁵He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he wore scaled body armor, which was made of more than one hundred pounds of bronze. ⁶He had bronze greaves on his shins and a bronze spear slung between his shoulders. ⁷The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spearhead was made of fifteen pounds of iron. His shield bearer went out ahead of him.

⁸He would stand up and shout to the armies of Israel, “Why have you come out to line up in battle formation? I am a Philistine, and you are servants of Saul, aren’t you? Choose a man to represent you, and let him come down to me. ⁹If he is able to fight with me and kill me, we will be your servants. But if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our servants, and you will serve us.” ¹⁰The Philistine would say, “I defy the ranks of Israel today! Give me a man, and we will fight each other!” ¹¹When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they lost their courage and were terrified.

³²David said to Saul, “Do not let anyone lose heart because of this Philistine! Your servant will go and fight him.”

³³But Saul said to David, “You cannot go against this Philistine to fight with him, because you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior since he was a youth.”

³⁴David said to Saul, “Your servant has been taking care of his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, ³⁵I went after it and struck it and rescued the lamb out of its mouth. When the lion reared up against me, I grabbed it by its mane, struck it, and killed it. ³⁶Your servant struck both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has defied the ranks of the living God.” ³⁷David added, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Saul said to David, “Go then! May the Lord be with you.” ³⁸So Saul dressed David in his own gear. He placed a bronze helmet on his head and dressed him in scaled body armor. ³⁹David strapped his sword over his gear. David tried to walk around in them, since he had never trained with this kind of equipment before.

David said to Saul, “I cannot go in these, because I have never trained with them.” So David took them off.

⁴⁰Then David took his staff in his hand and picked five smooth stones out of the stream bed and put them into the pouch of his shepherd’s bag. He took his sling in his hand and approached the Philistine.

⁴⁵Then David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel, whom you have defied. ⁴⁶Today the Lord will hand you over to me. I will strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth. Then all the earth will know that there is a God in Israel, ⁴⁷and all those gathered here will know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear, for the battle belongs to the Lord, and he will deliver you into our hand.”

⁴⁸Then, when the Philistine started advancing to attack David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹David put his hand into his bag, took a stone from it, shot it from his sling, and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown to the ground.

Therefore, since we have a great high priest, who has gone through the heavens, namely, Jesus the Son of God, let us continue to hold on to our confession. ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin. ¹⁶So let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, ²where he was tempted by the Devil for forty days. He did not eat anything during those days. When they came to an end, he was hungry. ³The Devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

⁴Jesus answered him, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”

⁵The Devil led him up to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ⁶The Devil told him, “I will give you all this power and the glory of these kingdoms, because it has been entrusted to me, and I can give it to anyone I want. ⁷So, if you worship me, it will all be yours.”

⁸Jesus answered him, “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”

⁹The Devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here, ¹⁰because it is written:

He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you.

¹¹And,

they will lift you up with their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

¹²Jesus answered him, “It says: ‘You shall not test the Lord your God.’”

¹³When the Devil had finished every temptation, he left him until an opportune time.

When Jeremiah had finished saying everything the Lord had commanded him to say to all the people, then the priests, the prophets, and all the people seized him and said, “You must die! ⁹Why do you prophesy in the name of the Lord that this house will be like Shiloh and that this city will be desolate with no one living here?” All the people crowded around Jeremiah in the House of the Lord.

¹⁰When the officials of Judah heard about these things, they came up from the king’s house to the House of the Lord and sat in the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s house.

¹¹Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, “This man deserves the sentence of death because he has been prophesying against this city, as you heard with your own ears.”

¹²Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and to all the people, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the things that you have heard. ¹³Now reform your ways and your actions, and obey the Lord your God. Then the Lord will relent and not bring about the disaster he has pronounced against you. ¹⁴But as for me, look, I am in your hands. Do with me whatever seems good and right in your eyes. ¹⁵But you can be certain of this. If you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live here, for it is true that the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.”

Brothers, join together in imitating me and in paying attention to those who are walking according to the pattern we gave you. ¹⁸To be sure, many walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. I told you about them often, and now I am saying it while weeping. ¹⁹Their end is destruction, their god is their appetite, and their glory is in their shame. They are thinking only about earthly things. ²⁰But our citizenship is in heaven. We are eagerly waiting for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹By the power that enables him to subject all things to himself, he will transform our humble bodies to be like his glorious body.

^4:1So then, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, in this way keep standing firm in the Lord, my dear friends.

In that very hour, some Pharisees came to him and said, “Leave, and go away from here, because Herod wants to kill you.”

³²He said to them, “Go tell that fox, ‘Look, I am going to drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal. ³³Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, because it cannot be that a prophet would be killed outside Jerusalem!’

³⁴“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I have wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁵Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you will say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Now Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, a priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ²The Angel of the Lord appeared to him in blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire, but the bush was not burning up. ³So he said, “I will go over and look at this amazing sight—to find out why the bush is not burning up.”

⁴When the Lord saw that Moses had gone over to take a look, God called to him from the middle of the bush and said, “Moses! Moses!”

Moses said, “I am here.”

⁵The Lord said, “Do not come any closer. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶He then said, “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

⁷The Lord said, “I have certainly seen the misery of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry for help because of their slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. ⁸So I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ⁹Now indeed, the Israelites’ cry for help has come to me. Yes, I have seen how the Egyptians are oppressing them. ¹⁰Come now, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

¹¹But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

¹²So he said, “I will certainly be with you. This will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will serve God on this mountain.”

¹³But Moses said to God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I say to them?”

¹⁴So God replied to Moses, “I am who I am.” He also said, “You will say this to the Israelites: I am has sent me to you.”

¹⁵God also told Moses, “Say this to the Israelites: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered from generation to generation.’

For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, ²and they were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. ³They all ate the same spiritual food ⁴and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them—and that rock was Christ! ⁵Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them. He had them die in the wilderness.

⁶Now these things took place as examples to warn us not to desire evil things the way they did. ⁷Do not become idolaters like some of them—as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to celebrate wildly.” ⁸And let us not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell. ⁹Let us not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and so were being destroyed by the serpents. ¹⁰And do not grumble, as some of them grumbled, and were destroyed by the destroyer. ¹¹All these things that were happening to them had meaning as examples, and they were written down to warn us, to whom the end of the ages has come.

¹²So let him who thinks he stands be careful that he does not fall. ¹³No testing has overtaken you except ordinary testing. But God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tested beyond your ability, but when he tests you, he will also bring about the outcome that you are able to bear it.

At that time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. ²He answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered these things? ³I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all perish too. ⁴Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse sinners than all the people living in Jerusalem? ⁵I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all perish too.”

⁶He told them this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it, but he did not find any. ⁷So he said to the gardener, ‘Look, for three years now I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and I have found none. Cut it down. Why even let it use up the soil?’ ⁸But the gardener replied to him, ‘Sir, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put fertilizer on it. ⁹If it produces fruit next year, fine. But if not, then cut it down.’”

In that day you will say:

I will give thanks to you, Lord,

for though you were angry with me,

your anger has turned away,

and you comfort me.

²Surely God is my salvation.

I will trust him and will not be afraid,

because Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song,

and he has become my salvation.

³Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

⁴In that day you will say:

Give thanks to the Lord! Proclaim his name.

Declare among the peoples what he has done.

Proclaim that his name is exalted!

⁵Sing to the Lord, for he has done amazing things!

Let this be known in all the earth!

⁶Shout aloud and sing for joy, daughter of Zion,

for the Holy One of Israel is great among you!

So then, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ²For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. ³Indeed, what the law was unable to do, because it was weakened by the flesh, God did, when he sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to deal with sin. God condemned sin in his flesh, ⁴so that the righteous decree of the law would be fully satisfied in us who are not walking according to the flesh, but according to the spirit.

⁵To be sure, those who are in harmony with the sinful flesh think about things the way the sinful flesh does, and those in harmony with the spirit think about things the way the spirit does. ⁶Now, the way the sinful flesh thinks results in death, but the way the spirit thinks results in life and peace. ⁷For the mind-set of the sinful flesh is hostile to God, since it does not submit to God’s law, and in fact, it cannot. ⁸Those who are in the sinful flesh cannot please God.

⁹But you are not in the sinful flesh but in the spirit, if indeed God’s Spirit lives in you. And if someone does not have the Spirit of Christ, that person does not belong to Christ. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but your spirit is alive because of righteousness.

All the tax collectors and sinners were coming to Jesus to hear him. ²But the Pharisees and the experts in the law were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³He told them this parable:

¹¹Jesus said, “A certain man had two sons. ¹²The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. ¹³Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all that he had and traveled to a distant country. There he wasted his wealth with reckless living. ¹⁴After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵He went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶He would have liked to fill his stomach with the carob pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, and I am dying from hunger! ¹⁸I will get up, go to my father, and tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. ¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’

²⁰“He got up and went to his father. While he was still far away, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, hugged his son, and kissed him. ²¹The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²²“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick, bring out the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us eat and celebrate, ²⁴because this son of mine was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found.’ Then they began to celebrate.

²⁵“His older son was in the field. As he approached the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶He called one of the servants and asked what was going on. ²⁷The servant told him, ‘Your brother is here! Your father killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸The older brother was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him.

²⁹He answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I’ve been serving you, and I never disobeyed your command, but you never gave me even a young goat so that I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰But when this son of yours arrived after wasting your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’

³¹“The father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. ³²But it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found.’”

This is what the Lord says,

who makes a road through the sea

and a path through mighty waters,

¹⁷who brings out the chariot and the horses,

the army and the strong warrior.

They will all lie down together.

They will not get up.

They are extinguished.

Like a wick they go out.

¹⁸Do not remember the former things.

Do not keep thinking about ancient things.

¹⁹Watch, I am about to do a new thing.

Now it will spring up. Don’t you know about it?

Indeed I will make a road in the wilderness.

In the wasteland I will make rivers.

²⁰The wild animals, the jackals and ostriches, will honor me,

because I am providing water in the wilderness,

rivers in a parched wasteland,

to provide water for my chosen people to drink.

²¹This people that I formed for myself will declare my praise.

If anyone else thinks that he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶in regard to zeal, persecuting the church; in regard to the righteousness that is in the law, blameless.

⁷But, whatever things were a profit for me, these things I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. ⁸But even more than that, I consider everything to be a loss because of what is worth far more: knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake, I have lost all things and consider them rubbish, so that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, which comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God by faith. ¹⁰I do this so that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, ¹¹in the hope that in some way I may arrive at the resurrection from the dead.

¹²Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus also took hold of me. ¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it yet, but there is one thing I do: Forgetting the things that are behind and straining toward the things that are ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal, for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to some tenant farmers, and went away on a journey for a long time. ¹⁰When it was the right time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenant farmers beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹The man went ahead and sent yet another servant, but they also beat him, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. ¹²He then sent yet a third. They also wounded him and threw him out. ¹³The owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my son, whom I love. Perhaps they will respect him.’

¹⁴“But when the tenant farmers saw him, they talked it over with one another. They said, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him, so that the inheritance will be ours.’ ¹⁵They threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. So what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶He will come and destroy those tenant farmers and give the vineyard to others.”

When they heard this, they said, “May it never be!”

¹⁷But he looked at them and said, “Then what about this that is written:

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone? 

¹⁸“Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush the one on whom it falls.” 

¹⁹That very hour the chief priests and the experts in the law began looking for a way to lay hands on him, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.

Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen one in whom I delight.

I am placing my Spirit on him.

He will announce a just verdict for the nations.

²He will not cry out.

He will not raise his voice.

He will not make his voice heard in the street.

³A bent reed he will not break,

and a dimly burning wick he will not snuff out.

He will faithfully bring forth a just verdict.

⁴He will not burn out, and he will not be broken

until he establishes justice on the earth.

The coastlands will wait for his law.

Indeed, let this attitude be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. ⁶Though he was by nature God, he did not consider equality with God as a prize to be displayed, ⁷but he emptied himself by taking the nature of a servant. When he was born in human likeness, and his appearance was like that of any other man, ⁸he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. ⁹Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

After Jesus had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. ²⁹As he came near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples ahead, ³⁰saying, “Go to the village ahead of you. When you enter it, you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you will say this: ‘The Lord needs it.’”

³²Those who were sent ahead went and found things just as he had told them. ³³As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

³⁴They said, “The Lord needs it.”

³⁵Then they brought the colt to Jesus. They threw their robes on the colt and set Jesus on it. ³⁶As he went along, people spread their robes on the road. ³⁷As he was approaching the slope of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began to praise God joyfully, with a loud voice, for all the miracles they had seen, ³⁸saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

³⁹Some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

⁴⁰He replied, “I tell you, if these people would be silent, the stones would cry out.” The Sixth Sunday in Lent—Sunday of the Passion

Christian Worship: Hymnal (2021) 3-Year Lectionary, Year C

Evangelical Heritage Version^®

The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. ²The chief priests and the experts in the law were trying to find some way to put Jesus to death, because they were afraid of the people. ³Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve. ⁴He went away and spoke with the chief priests and officers of the temple guard about how he could betray Jesus to them. ⁵They were glad and agreed to give him money. ⁶He promised to do it and was looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus to them away from the crowd.

⁷The day of Unleavened Bread arrived, when it was necessary to sacrifice the Passover lamb. ⁸Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it.”

⁹They said to him, “Where do you want us to prepare it?”

¹⁰He told them, “Just as you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters. ¹¹Tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” ’ ¹²He will show you a large, furnished upper room. Make preparations there.” ¹³They went and found things just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

¹⁴When the hour had come, Jesus reclined at the table with the twelve apostles. ¹⁵He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, ¹⁶for I tell you, I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁷He took a cup, gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves, ¹⁸for I tell you, from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

¹⁹He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁰In the same way, he took the cup after the supper, saying, “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is being poured out for you.

²¹“But look, the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. ²²The Son of Man is going to go as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!”

²³They began to discuss with one another which of them it was who was going to do this.

²⁴A dispute arose among the disciples about which of them was considered to be greatest. ²⁵But he told them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who have authority over them are called Benefactors. ²⁶But it is not to be that way with you. Instead, let the greatest among you become like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves. ²⁷For who is greater, one who reclines at the table or one who serves? Isn’t it the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. ²⁸You are those who have remained with me in my trials. ²⁹I am going to grant a kingdom to you, just as my Father granted to me, ³⁰so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. And you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

³¹The Lord said, “Simon, Simon, pay attention: Satan has asked to have you all, so that he may sift you as wheat. ³²But I prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have returned to me, strengthen your brothers.”

³³He said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death!”

³⁴But Jesus replied, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you deny three times that you know me.”

³⁵He said to them, “When I sent you out without money bag, traveler’s bag, and sandals, did you lack anything?”

“Nothing,” they said.

³⁶Then he told them, “But now, let the one who has a money bag take it, and likewise a traveler’s bag. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. ³⁷For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘He was counted with transgressors.’ Indeed, what is written about me is going to have its fulfillment.”

³⁸They said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.”

He said to them, “That is enough.”

³⁹Jesus left and went out to the Mount of Olives, as was his custom. His disciples followed him. ⁴⁰When he reached the place, he told them, “Keep praying that you may not enter into temptation.”

⁴¹He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, ⁴²“Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.”

⁴³An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. ⁴⁴As he was in agony, he prayed more fervently. His sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground.

⁴⁵When he rose from prayer, he went to the disciples and found them sleeping as a result of sorrow. ⁴⁶He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and keep praying so that you may not enter into temptation.”

⁴⁷While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd appeared, and the man called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He came near to Jesus to kiss him. ⁴⁸But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

⁴⁹When those who were around him saw what was about to happen, they said to him, “Lord, should we strike with a sword?” ⁵⁰Then one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.

⁵¹But Jesus responded, “Stop! No more of this!” Then he touched the servant’s ear and healed him. ⁵²Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come out against him, “Have you come out as you would against a robber, with swords and clubs? ⁵³Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour—when darkness rules.”

⁵⁴Then they seized him, led him away, and brought him into the high priest’s house.

Peter followed at a distance. ⁵⁵When they had lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. ⁵⁶A servant girl saw him sitting near the light. She looked closely at him and said, “This man also was with him.”

⁵⁷But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.”

⁵⁸After a little while someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them!”

But Peter answered, “Man, I am not!”

⁵⁹After about one hour had passed, someone else was firmly insisting, “Truly this man was with him too, because he is a Galilean!”

⁶⁰But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about!” At that very moment, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. ⁶¹The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the Lord’s word, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today you will deny me three times.” ⁶²He went outside and wept bitterly.

⁶³The men who were holding Jesus in custody mocked him while they were beating him. ⁶⁴They blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” ⁶⁵And they went on saying many other blasphemous things against him.

⁶⁶As soon as it was day, the council of the elders of the people met together, both the chief priests and experts in the law. They brought him into their Sanhedrin and said, ⁶⁷“If you are the Christ, tell us.”

But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, ⁶⁸and if I ask you, you will not answer me or release me. ⁶⁹But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”

⁷⁰They all said, “Are you then the Son of God?”

He said to them, “I am what you are saying.”

⁷¹Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? For we ourselves have heard it from his own mouth!”

^23:1The whole group of them got up and brought him before Pilate. ²They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this fellow misleading our nation, forbidding the payment of taxes to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.”

³Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”

“It is as you say,” Jesus replied.

⁴Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”

⁵But they kept insisting, “He stirs up the people, teaching all through Judea, beginning from Galilee all the way here.”

⁶When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man was a Galilean. ⁷When he learned that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem during those days.

⁸When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad. For a long time, he had wanted to see him, because he had heard many things about him. He hoped to see some miracle performed by him. ⁹He questioned him with many words, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰The chief priests and the experts in the law stood there, vehemently accusing him. ¹¹Herod, along with his soldiers, treated him with contempt and ridiculed him. Dressing him in bright clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. ¹²Herod and Pilate became friends with each other on that day. Before this they had been enemies of each other.

¹³Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, ¹⁴and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one who is misleading the people. Look, I have examined him in your presence. I have found in this man no basis for the charges you are bringing against him. ¹⁵Herod did not either, for he sent him back to us. See, he has done nothing worthy of death. ¹⁶So I will have him flogged and release him.”

¹⁷Pilate needed to release one prisoner to them at the Festival. ¹⁸But they all shouted together with one voice: “Take him away! Release Barabbas to us!” ¹⁹Barabbas had been thrown in prison for a rebellion in the city and for murder.

²⁰Pilate addressed them again, because he wanted to release Jesus. ²¹But they kept shouting, “Crucify! Crucify him!”

²²He said to them the third time, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found no grounds for sentencing him to death. So I will whip him and release him.” ²³But they kept pressuring him with loud voices, demanding that he be crucified. And their voices were overwhelming. ²⁴So Pilate decided that what they demanded would be done. ²⁵He released the one they had asked for, who had been thrown in prison for rebellion and murder, but he handed Jesus over to their will.

²⁶As they led him away, they seized Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country. They placed the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷A large crowd of people was following him, including women who were mourning and wailing for him. ²⁸Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹Be sure of this: The days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never gave birth, and the breasts that never nursed.’ ³⁰Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ ³¹For if they do these things to the green wood, what will happen to the dry?”

³²Two other men, who were criminals, were led away with Jesus to be executed.

³³When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified him there with the criminals, one on his right and the other on his left.

³⁴Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

They cast lots to divide his garments among them. ³⁵The people stood watching. The rulers were ridiculing him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, the Chosen One!”

³⁶The soldiers also made fun of him. Coming up to him, they offered him sour wine, ³⁷saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”

³⁸There was also an inscription written above him: “This is the King of the Jews.”

³⁹One of the criminals hanging there was blaspheming him, saying, “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

⁴⁰But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same condemnation? ⁴¹We are punished justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for what we have done, but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.”

⁴³Jesus said to him, “Amen I tell you: Today you will be with me in paradise.”

⁴⁴It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, ⁴⁵while the sun was darkened. Then the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

⁴⁷When the centurion saw what had happened, he began to glorify God, saying, “This man really was righteous.” ⁴⁸When all the groups of people who had gathered to see this spectacle saw what had happened, they returned home beating their chests. ⁴⁹All those who knew Jesus, and the women who followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

⁵⁰Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man. ⁵¹He had not agreed with their plan and action. He was looking forward to the kingdom of God. ⁵²This man went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. ⁵³He took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and placed it in a tomb that was cut out of rock, where no one had yet been laid. ⁵⁴It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was beginning. ⁵⁵The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed after Joseph, and they observed the tomb and how his body was laid there. ⁵⁶Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

Yes, the days are coming, declares the Lord,

when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel

and with the house of Judah.

³²It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers,

when I took them by the hand

and led them out of the land of Egypt.

They broke that covenant of mine,

although I was a husband to them, declares the Lord.

³³But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days,

declares the Lord.

I will put my law in their minds,

and I will write it on their hearts.

I will be their God,

and they will be my people.

³⁴No longer will each one teach his neighbor,

or each one teach his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,”

because they will all know me,

from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord,

for I will forgive their guilt,

and I will remember their sins no more.

The Holy Spirit also testifies in Scripture to us, for first he said:

¹⁶This is the covenant I will make with them

after those days, says the Lord.

I will put my laws on their hearts

and I will write them on their mind.

¹⁷Then he adds:

And I will not remember their sins and their lawlessness any longer.

¹⁸Now where these sins are forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.

¹⁹Brothers, we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place through the blood of Jesus. ²⁰It is a new and living way he opened for us through the curtain, that is, his flesh. ²¹We also have a great priest over the house of God. ²²So let us approach with a sincere heart, in the full confidence of faith, because our hearts have been sprinkled to take away a bad conscience, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. ²³Let us hold on firmly to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.

²⁴Let us also consider carefully how to spur each other on to love and good works. ²⁵Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have the habit of doing. Rather, let us encourage each other, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

The day of Unleavened Bread arrived, when it was necessary to sacrifice the Passover lamb. ⁸Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it.”

⁹They said to him, “Where do you want us to prepare it?”

¹⁰He told them, “Just as you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters. ¹¹Tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’ ¹²He will show you a large, furnished upper room. Make preparations there.” ¹³They went and found things just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

¹⁴When the hour had come, Jesus reclined at the table with the twelve apostles. ¹⁵He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, ¹⁶for I tell you, I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁷He took a cup, gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves, ¹⁸for I tell you, from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

¹⁹He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁰In the same way, he took the cup after the supper, saying, “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is being poured out for you.

Look, my servant will succeed.

He will rise. He will be lifted up. He will be highly exalted.

¹⁴Just as many were appalled at him—

his appearance was so disfigured that he did not look like a man,

and his form was disfigured more than any other person—

¹⁵so he will sprinkle many nations,

and kings will shut their mouths because of him,

because they will see something they had never been told before,

and they will understand something they had never heard before.

^53:1Who has believed our report,

and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

²He grew up before him like a tender shoot

and like a root from dry ground.

He had no attractiveness and no majesty.

When we saw him, nothing about his appearance made us desire him.

³He was despised and rejected by men,

a man who knew grief,

who was well acquainted with suffering.

Like someone whom people cannot bear to look at,

he was despised,

and we thought nothing of him.

⁴Surely he was taking up our weaknesses,

and he was carrying our sufferings.

We thought it was because of God

that he was stricken, smitten, and afflicted,

⁵but it was because of our rebellion that he was pierced.

He was crushed for the guilt our sins deserved.

The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

⁶We all have gone astray like sheep.

Each of us has turned to his own way,

but the Lord has charged all our guilt to him.

⁷He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

yet he did not open his mouth.

Like a lamb he was led to the slaughter,

and like a sheep that is silent in front of its shearers,

he did not open his mouth.

⁸He was taken away without a fair trial and without justice,

and of his generation, who even cared?

So, he was cut off from the land of the living.

He was struck because of the rebellion of my people.

⁹They would have assigned him a grave with the wicked,

but he was given a grave with the rich in his death,

because he had done no violence,

and no deceit was in his mouth.

¹⁰Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him

and allow him to suffer.

Because you made his life a guilt offering, he will see offspring.

He will prolong his days,

and the Lord’s gracious plan will succeed in his hand.

¹¹After his soul experiences anguish, he will see the light of life.

He will provide satisfaction.

Through their knowledge of him, my just servant will justify the many,

for he himself carried their guilt.

¹²Therefore I will give him an allotment among the great,

and with the strong he will share plunder,

because he poured out his life to death,

and he let himself be counted with rebellious sinners.

He himself carried the sin of many,

and he intercedes for the rebels.

In fact, those who rely on the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the book of the law.” ¹¹Clearly no one is declared righteous before God by the law, because “The righteous will live by faith.” ¹²The law does not say “by faith.” Instead it says, “The one who does these things will live by them.”

¹³Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. As it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.”

Carrying his own cross, he went out to what is called the Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. ¹⁸There they crucified him with two others, one on each side, and Jesus in the middle.

¹⁹Pilate also had a notice written and fastened on the cross. It read, “Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews.”

²⁰Many of the Jews read this notice, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek.

²¹So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that ‘this man said, “I am the King of the Jews.”’”

²²Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

²³When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier. They also took his tunic, which was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. ²⁴So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it. Instead, let’s cast lots to see who gets it.” This was so that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says:

They divided my garments among them

and cast lots for my clothing.

So the soldiers did these things.

²⁵Jesus’ mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene were standing near the cross.

²⁶When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son!” ²⁷Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother!” And from that time this disciple took her into his own home.

²⁸After this, knowing that everything had now been finished, and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said, “I thirst.”

²⁹A jar full of sour wine was sitting there. So they put a sponge soaked in sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.

³⁰When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished!” Then, bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.