M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
50 As his father passed on, Joseph threw himself onto his father’s face, crying and kissing him. 2 Then Joseph told the physicians in his service to embalm his father and prepare him for the journey. So the physicians embalmed Israel. 3 It took 40 days to embalm him because that’s how long it takes to embalm a body properly. And the Egyptians paid their respects by mourning and weeping for him for 70 days.
4 When the time of mourning had passed, Joseph addressed Pharaoh’s household.
Joseph: If I have found favor with you, please speak to Pharaoh on my behalf. 5 My father made me swear an oath. He said, “I am about to die. I want you to bury me in the tomb I made for myself in the land of Canaan.” So I ask that you allow me to go out of Egypt to bury my father. When I have honored his request, I will return to Egypt.
Pharaoh: 6 Go up to Canaan, and bury your father as he made you swear to do.
7 So Joseph went up to Canaan to bury his father. And all of Pharaoh’s servants went with him in a long procession that included the elders of Pharaoh’s household and the land of Egypt. 8 Joseph’s own household, his brothers, and his father’s household joined in the solemn march. Only their children, flocks, and herds were left in the land of Goshen. 9 Both chariots and charioteers accompanied him as well. It was a grand procession. 10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad near Canaan but still beyond the Jordan River, the great company of mourners paused to observe seven days of mourning for Joseph’s father. The weeping and lamentation grew so loud that 11 the people who lived there, the Canaanites, could not help but notice the profound grief expressed on the threshing floor of Atad.
Canaanites: The Egyptians must have experienced a terrible loss to mourn so deeply.
This is why this place of mourning that lies beyond the Jordan was renamed Abel-mizraim.
12 So Jacob’s sons carried out his last instructions as he had directed. 13 They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah near Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite so he could have a place to bury his family. 14 After he had buried his father, Joseph gathered his brothers and the vast company of mourners who had journeyed with him to bury his father, and they all returned to Egypt.
15 When Joseph’s brothers began to realize the implications of their father’s death, Joseph’s brothers began to worry.
Joseph’s Brothers: What if Joseph still bears a grudge in some way against us and decides to pay us back in full for all of the wrong we did to him?
16 So they sent a message to Joseph.
Joseph’s Brothers’ Message: Your father gave us this instruction before he died. 17 He told us to say to you, “Please, I beg you. Forgive the crime of your brothers and the sins they committed against you. They were wrong to treat you so badly.” So please do what your father asked and forgive the crime that we, the servants of the God of your father, committed against you.
Joseph cried when they spoke these words to him. 18 And his brothers approached and fell at his feet.
Joseph’s Brothers: Look! We are your slaves.
Joseph: 19 Don’t be afraid. Am I to judge instead of God? It is not my place. 20 Even though you intended to harm me, God intended it only for good, and through me, He preserved the lives of countless people, as He is still doing today. 21 So don’t worry. I will provide for you myself—for you and your children.
This same sentiment is expressed in Paul’s letter to the Romans (8:28). God can take even the meanest intention and make it work for good for His devoted followers.
So Joseph reassured them and continued to speak kindly to them.
22 Now Joseph remained in Egypt for the rest of his life—he and all of his father’s household. He lived to be 110 years old, 23 long enough to see Ephraim’s children down to the third generation. Joseph adopted the children of Machir (Manasseh’s son) and brought them up as his own. 24 One day, Joseph told his brothers,
Joseph (to his brothers): I am about to die, but God will someday come to you, lead you out of this land, and bring you back to the land He swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
25 At that, Joseph made the rest of Israel’s sons swear to him an oath.
Joseph: When God comes to you, you must take my bones along with you out of this place and back to our homeland.
26 Then Joseph died. He was 110 years old, and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.
The story of Joseph ends with the children of Israel living in Egypt. They live there in peace and security through many generations knowing that their future is not in Egypt; their future is in another land, a land of promise, a land most of them have never seen.
3 Our story continues 15 years after Tiberius Caesar had begun his reign over the empire. Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod ruled Galilee, his brother Philip ruled Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruled Abilene.
More than any other Gospel writer, Luke wants to situate the story of Jesus in secular history. In particular, he gives details of the emperor, governor, and other client rulers. With a toxic mixture of cruelty and might, these authorities lord their power over the common people. Yet these high and mighty are—as Mary’s poem describes—destined to be brought down in the presence of a new kind of king and a new kind of kingdom. Jesus will exercise His authority in a radically different way—not through domination and violence, but through love, healing, compassion, and service.
John’s father Zacharias is a priest who serves in Jerusalem at the temple. Among their other duties, priests perform ritual cleansings necessary for Jewish worshipers who become ceremonially unclean—perhaps through contact with outsiders (non-Jewish people), perhaps through contact with blood or a dead body, perhaps through a physical illness. But when John appears on the scene, he hasn’t followed in his father’s footsteps. He’s not fulfilling the role of the priest, but rather of the prophet. He works far outside of Jerusalem, and he baptizes people in the Jordan River, not near the temple. It’s as if John is performing a symbolic drama: If you want to be in tune with God, the temple and its normal routines can’t help you anymore. Instead of being cleansed there, you should come out to this radical preacher and let him cleanse you in the river. And his message isn’t a polite, tame message. It’s fiery and intense! God isn’t interested in just routine religion. He wants changed lives!
2 In Jerusalem Annas and Caiaphas were high priests in the temple. And in those days, out in the wilderness, John (son of Zacharias) received a message from God.
3 John brought this divine message to all those who came to the Jordan River. He preached that people should be ritually cleansed through baptism as an expression of changed lives for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As Isaiah the prophet had said,
A solitary voice is calling:
“Go into the wilderness;
prepare the road for the Eternal One’s journey.
In the desert, repair and straighten
every mile of our True God’s highway.
5 Every low place will be lifted
and every high mountain,
every hill will be humbled;
The crooked road will be straightened out
and rough places ironed out smooth;
6 Then the radiant glory of the Eternal One will be revealed.
All flesh together will take it in.”[a]
7 In fulfillment of those words, crowds streamed out from the villages and towns to be baptized[b] by John at the Jordan.
John the Baptist: You bunch of venomous snakes! Who told you that you could escape God’s coming wrath? 8 Don’t just talk of turning to God; you’d better bear the authentic fruit of a changed life. Don’t take pride in your religious heritage, saying, “We have Abraham for our father!” Listen—God could turn these rocks into children of Abraham!
9 God wants you to bear fruit! If you don’t produce good fruit, then you’ll be chopped down like a fruitless tree and made into firewood. God’s ax is taking aim and ready to swing!
People: 10 What shall we do to perform works from changed lives?
John the Baptist: 11 The person who has two shirts must share with the person who has none. And the person with food must share with the one in need.
12 Some tax collectors were among those in the crowd seeking baptism.[c]
Tax Collectors: Teacher, what kind of fruit is God looking for from us?
John the Baptist: 13 Stop overcharging people. Only collect what you must turn over to the Romans.
Soldiers: 14 What about us? What should we do to show true change?
John the Baptist: Don’t extort money from people by throwing around your power or making false accusations, and be content with your pay.
15 John’s bold message seized public attention, and many began wondering if John might himself be the Anointed One promised by God.
John the Baptist: 16 I baptize[d] you with water, but One is coming—One far more powerful than I, One whose sandals I am not worthy to untie—who will baptize[e] you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 He is coming like a farmer at harvesttime, tools in hand to separate the wheat from the chaff. He will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire, and He will gather the genuine wheat into His barn.
18 He preached with many other provocative figures of speech and so conveyed God’s message to the people—the time had come to rethink everything. 19 But John’s public preaching ended when he confronted Herod, the ruler of Galilee, for his many corrupt deeds, including taking Herodias, the ruler’s sister-in-law, as his own wife. 20 Herod responded by throwing John into prison.
21 But before John’s imprisonment, when he was still preaching and ritually cleansing through baptism[f] the people in the Jordan River, Jesus also came to him to be baptized. As Jesus prayed, the heavens opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit came upon Him in a physical manifestation that resembled a dove. A voice echoed out from heaven.
Voice from Heaven: You are My Son,[g] the Son I love, and in You I take great pleasure.
What does it mean for Jesus to be baptized by John? If John’s baptism symbolizes a rejection of the religious establishment centered in the temple in Jerusalem, then Jesus’ baptism by John symbolizes that He is aligned with this radical preacher. Jesus isn’t simply coming to strengthen or even renew the centers of power. Instead, He is joining John at the margins to be part of something wild and new that God is doing. And the vivid manifestation of God’s pleasure—the dovelike appearance and the voice from heaven—suggests that even though Jesus is in a sense aligning Himself with John, John is simply the opening act and Jesus is the main attraction. The choreography between John’s work and Jesus’ work continues, but from this point on, Jesus is in the center of the story.
23 At this, the launch of Jesus’ ministry, Jesus was about 30 years old.
He was assumed to be the son of Joseph, the son of Eli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Hesli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Heber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
16 Then Job reiterated his innocence.
2 Job: All the things from you sound the same.
You are all terrible as comforters!
3 Have we reached the end of your windy words,
or are you sick with something that compels you to argue with me?
4 If we were to trade places,
I could rattle on as you do.
I could compose eloquent speeches as you do
and shake my head smugly at you and your problems.
5 But I believe I would use my words to encourage you;
my lips would move only to offer you relief.
6 And yet, I am not you, you are not me,
and my words are of no real use:
When I speak, my pain is not relieved;
if I remain silent, it does not go away.
7 God has drained me utterly;
He has made those near to me desolate—killed my family and my servants.
8 You have shriveled me up;
my withered form stands as a witness against me;
my body, haggard and thin, testifies to my face.
9 In anger He hunts me down and tears at me;
in rancor His teeth grind on my flesh;
His eyes are locked on me as a foe,
eager to destroy still more of me.
10 My foes taunt me, their mouths gape in derision,
they slap my cheek in disgust, and they conspire against me.
11 God has forsaken me to young thugs
and flung me into the hands of evildoers who lie in wait for me.
12 I was living a good life—a quiet, peaceful life—
when He began to beat on me;
He throttled my neck, tore me apart,
and then propped me up
at the far end of the field, making me a target.
13 His archers have now gathered around me.
In cold blood He splits my belly open and spills my bile on the earth.
14 He charged like a soldier storming a stronghold
until my walls were breached, broken down, one after another.
Job in his despair and frustration responds as he and his friends have been taught by previous generations to display grief: by donning sackcloth and covering the head with dust to show devastation, as if everything has been lost even to the point of death.
15 Job: Well, I have sewed the sackcloth to my very skin
and buried my mighty forehead in the dirt.
16 My face, red and hot, boils over in tears;
the shadow of darkness lies heavy on my eyelids,
17 No matter that my hands are free of violence,
and my prayer is pure.
18 O earth, do not conceal my blood!
And when they seek to silence my cry, refuse a place for its burial.
19 Look! Even at this very moment, my witness is there, in heaven;
my advocate is seated on high.
20 My only friends scoff at me; they persist in mocking me;
even now my eyes well up in tears to God,
21 Appealing to God as a mere man,
as a human being might for the sake of his friend.
22 Only a few years left now,
and I will go down the path from which I cannot return.
17 Job: My spirit has collapsed; my days have been blotted out;
the grave is prepared for me.
2 There are mockers all around me;
my eyes are fixed on their unwarranted opposition of me.
3 Show me a sign! Vouch for me, God!
Who is there to give me his hand, guaranteeing his pledge?
4 I think no one is there because You have closed up their minds,
made them unable to see or understand;
so You will honor none of them.
5 You have heard, “Whoever denounces his friends for land
will watch his children go blind.”
6 But God has turned me into a swear word for everyone;
I have become a symbol of human darkness;
I am the face on whom one spits.
7 All my afflictions cloud my vision;
the members of my body are wasting away;
I am a mere shadow of what it once was.
8 Those of moral fiber are appalled at this;
innocent men grow indignant at the wicked.
9 Even still, the righteous embrace their way of life;
those with clean hands go from strong to stronger.
10 By contrast, I look to you, my friends, and I say,
“Come ahead, all of you; try your words once more.”
I still won’t expect to find a wise man among you.
11 Even now my days have passed me by;
My plans lie broken at my feet;
the secret wishes of my heart grow cold.
12 And yet my friends say, this loss of hope is for good,
turning my dark night into what appears to them as day.
In the pitch darkness, these broken plans and secret wishes speak to me.
They say, “There is light nearby.”
13 If I hope only to live in the land of the dead,
if I prepare for myself a bed in the darkness,
14 If I speak to my burial pit, calling it “Father,”
and to the worms in the earth, calling them “Mother” and “Sister,”
15 Then where will I find my hope?
And who will see it?
16 Will hope go with me to the place of death?
Will hope accompany me into the ground?
4 Rather than power brokers, think of us as servants of the Anointed One, the Liberating King, caretakers of the mysteries of God. 2 Because we are in this particular role, it is especially important that we are people of fidelity and integrity. 3 It makes little difference to me how you or any human court passes judgment on me. I even resist the temptation to compare myself to the ever-changing human standard. 4 Although I am not aware of any flaw that might exclude me from this divine service, that’s not the reason I stand acquitted—the only supreme judge, our Lord, will examine me in the proper time. 5 So resist the temptation to act as judges before all the evidence is in. When the Lord comes, He will draw our buried motives, thoughts, and deeds (even things we don’t know or admit to ourselves) out of the dark shadows of our hearts into His light. When this happens, the voice of God will speak to each of us the only praise that will ever matter.
6 Right now, brothers and sisters, the best thing I can do for you is to apply these principles to the situation with Apollos and me. Maybe we can show you the meaning of the saying, “not beyond the things written.” If you learn that, perhaps none of you will swell with pride because you fall into the seductive trap of pitting one against the other. 7 Is there any reason to consider yourselves better than others? What do you have that you didn’t receive? If you received it as a gift, why do you boast like it is something you achieved on your own?
8 Now let’s see if I have it straight. You suppose that you already have all you need. You already are rich and prosperous. And without us you’ve already begun to reign like kings. To be honest, I wish you did reign so that we could reign with you 9 because it seems to me that God has put His emissaries[a] at the end of the line, like convicts in their final walk to certain death. We have become a spectacle to the rest of the world—to all people and heaven’s messengers. 10 We are nothing but fools for the cause of the Anointed One while you are wise in Him. Am I right? We are feeble and tired while you are mighty and full of life. You are well respected by others while we’re treated as contemptuous creatures by pretty much everyone everywhere. 11 Up to this very minute, we are famished, we are thirsty, and our clothes are shabby, practically rotted to pieces. We are homeless, hapless wanderers. 12 But still we labor, working with our hands to meet our needs because, despite all of this, when a fist is raised against us, we respond with a blessing; when we face violence and persecution, we stay on mission; and 13 when others choose taunts and slander against us, we speak words of encouragement and reconciliation. We’re treated as the scum of the earth—and I am not talking in the past tense; I mean today! We’re the scraps of society, nothing more than the foulest human rubbish.
Paul explains and exemplifies the goals of a mature believer in a way that may be easily contrasted with the desires of an immature believer. He is seeking love and truth more than popularity, embracing suffering rather than comfort. In fact, he disregards popularity and comfort completely so that he isn’t distracted from the love and truth of Jesus. This could be a powerful force in the world if believers embraced this kind of maturity.
14 I am not telling you all this so that you’ll feel guilty or be ashamed of how you have acted. I am only trying to warn you, just as a father would warn his children. 15 You may have 10,000 instructors in the faith of the Anointed One, but you have only one father. In Jesus the Anointed I have become your father through my efforts in spreading the good news. 16 So as your father in the faith, I want to encourage you to live as I have lived. Imitate my life. 17 This is one of the reasons I sent Timothy to be with you. He is my dearly loved and faithful child in the Lord. His mission is to remind you of the way I experience life in the Anointed. In all the churches everywhere I go, I teach the same lessons the same way, and I live out those lessons. 18 But the reality is, some of you have put yourselves on pedestals and live like you are high above the rest—it’s as if you assumed I would not return to confront your misguided pride. 19 But I am coming. Lord willing, I will be with you soon. Then I will know what power is backing those arrogant folks and their words. 20 The kingdom of God is not a realm of grandiose talk; it is a realm of power. 21 So tell me what you want. Should I visit you, rod in hand ready to discipline a crew of self-important people; or should I embrace you, love you, and gently teach you as we celebrate the blessings of God together?
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.