Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Praise to God for His Everlasting Mercy

The Triumphal Entry^(A)

²⁸ When He had said this, ^(B)He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. ^29 (C)And it came to pass, when He drew near to ^[a]Bethphage and ^(D)Bethany, at the mountain called ^(E)Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, ³⁰ saying, “Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. ³¹ And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it?’ thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it.’ ”

³² So those who were sent went their way and found it just ^(F)as He had said to them. ³³ But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, “Why are you loosing the colt?”

³⁴ And they said, “The Lord has need of him.” ³⁵ Then they brought him to Jesus. ^(G)And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. ³⁶ And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.

³⁷ Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to ^(H)rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, ³⁸ saying:

³⁹ And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”

⁴⁰ But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, ^(K)the stones would immediately cry out.”

The Humbled and Exalted Christ

^5 (A)Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, ^(B)being in the form of God, did not consider it ^[a]robbery to be equal with God, ^7 (C)but ^[b]made Himself of no reputation, taking the form ^(D)of a bondservant, and ^(E)coming in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and ^(F)became ^(G)obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. ^9 (H)Therefore God also ^(I)has highly exalted Him and ^(J)given Him the name which is above every name, ^10 (K)that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and ^(L)that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper

^14 (A)When the hour had come, He sat down, and the ^[a]twelve apostles with Him. ¹⁵ Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; ¹⁶ for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it ^(B)until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁷ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; ¹⁸ for ^(C)I say to you, ^[b]I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

^19 (D)And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My ^(E)body which is given for you; ^(F)do this in remembrance of Me.”

²⁰ Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, ^(G)“This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. ^21 (H)But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. ^22 (I)And truly the Son of Man goes ^(J)as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”

^23 (K)Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

The Disciples Argue About Greatness

^24 (L)Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. ^25 (M)And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ ^26 (N)But not so among you; on the contrary, ^(O)he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. ^27 (P)For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet ^(Q)I am among you as the One who serves.

²⁸ “But you are those who have continued with Me in ^(R)My trials. ²⁹ And ^(S)I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, ³⁰ that ^(T)you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, ^(U)and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial^(V)

^31 [c]And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, ^(W)Satan has asked for you, that he may ^(X)sift you as wheat. ³² But ^(Y)I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, ^(Z)strengthen your brethren.”

³³ But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.”

^34 (AA)Then He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.”

Supplies for the Road

^35 (AB)And He said to them, “When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?”

So they said, “Nothing.”

³⁶ Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. ³⁷ For I say to you that this which is written must still be ^[d]accomplished in Me: ^(AC)‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’ For the things concerning Me have an end.”

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

And He said to them, “It is enough.”

The Prayer in the Garden^(AD)

^39 (AE)Coming out, ^(AF)He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. ^40 (AG)When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

^41 (AH)And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, ⁴² saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless ^(AI)not My will, but Yours, be done.” ^43 [e]Then ^(AJ)an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. ^44 (AK)And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

⁴⁵ When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. ⁴⁶ Then He said to them, “Why ^(AL)do you sleep? Rise and ^(AM)pray, lest you enter into temptation.”

Betrayal and Arrest in Gethsemane^(AN)

⁴⁷ And while He was still speaking, ^(AO)behold, a multitude; and he who was called ^(AP)Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. ⁴⁸ But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a ^(AQ)kiss?”

⁴⁹ When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” ⁵⁰ And ^(AR)one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.

⁵¹ But Jesus answered and said, “Permit even this.” And He touched his ear and healed him.

^52 (AS)Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, “Have you come out, as against a ^(AT)robber, with swords and clubs? ⁵³ When I was with you daily in the ^(AU)temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your ^(AV)hour, and the power of darkness.”

Peter Denies Jesus, and Weeps Bitterly^(AW)

^54 (AX)Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest’s house. ^(AY)But Peter followed at a distance. ^55 (AZ)Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. ⁵⁶ And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, “This man was also with Him.”

⁵⁷ But he denied ^[f]Him, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.”

^58 (BA)And after a little while another saw him and said, “You also are of them.”

But Peter said, “Man, I am not!”

^59 (BB)Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, “Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a ^(BC)Galilean.”

⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are saying!”

Immediately, while he was still speaking, ^[g]the rooster crowed. ⁶¹ And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then ^(BD)Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, ^(BE)“Before the rooster ^[h]crows, you will deny Me three times.” ⁶² So Peter went out and wept bitterly.

Jesus Mocked and Beaten^(BF)

^63 (BG)Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and ^(BH)beat Him. ^64 [i]And having blindfolded Him, they ^(BI)struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, “Prophesy! Who is the one who struck You?” ⁶⁵ And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.

Jesus Faces the Sanhedrin^(BJ)

^66 (BK)As soon as it was day, ^(BL)the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, ^67 (BM)“If You are the Christ, tell us.”

But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will ^(BN)by no means believe. ⁶⁸ And if I ^[j]also ask you, you will by no means answer ^[k]Me or let Me go. ^69 (BO)Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.”

⁷⁰ Then they all said, “Are You then the Son of God?”

So He said to them, ^(BP)“You rightly say that I am.”

^71 (BQ)And they said, “What further testimony do we need? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.”

Jesus Handed Over to Pontius Pilate^(BR)

23 Then ^(BS)the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to ^(BT)Pilate. ² And they began to ^(BU)accuse Him, saying, “We found this fellow ^(BV)perverting ^[l]the nation, and ^(BW)forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying ^(BX)that He Himself is Christ, a King.”

^3 (BY)Then Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

He answered him and said, “It is as you say.”

⁴ So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, ^(BZ)“I find no fault in this Man.”

⁵ But they were the more fierce, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from ^(CA)Galilee to this place.”

Jesus Faces Herod

⁶ When Pilate heard ^[m]of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean. ⁷ And as soon as he knew that He belonged to ^(CB)Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. ⁸ Now when Herod saw Jesus, ^(CC)he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because ^(CD)he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. ⁹ Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him ^(CE)nothing. ¹⁰ And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him. ^11 (CF)Then Herod, with his ^[n]men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate. ¹² That very day ^(CG)Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.

Taking the Place of Barabbas^(CH)

^13 (CI)Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, ¹⁴ said to them, ^(CJ)“You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, ^(CK)having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; ¹⁵ no, neither did Herod, for ^[o]I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him. ^16 (CL)I will therefore chastise Him and release Him” ^17 (CM)(for^[p] it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).

¹⁸ And ^(CN)they all cried out at once, saying, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas”— ¹⁹ who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.

²⁰ Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them. ²¹ But they shouted, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”

²² Then he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go.”

²³ But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men ^[q]and of the chief priests prevailed. ²⁴ So ^(CO)Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested. ^25 (CP)And he released ^[r]to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.

The King on a Cross^(CQ)

^26 (CR)Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.

²⁷ And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. ²⁸ But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ^29 (CS)For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’ ³⁰ Then they will begin ^(CT)‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’ ^31 (CU)For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?”

^32 (CV)There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. ³³ And ^(CW)when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. ^34 [s]Then Jesus said, “Father, ^(CX)forgive them, for ^(CY)they do not know what they do.”

And ^(CZ)they divided His garments and cast lots. ³⁵ And ^(DA)the people stood looking on. But even the ^(DB)rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.”

³⁶ The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him ^(DC)sour wine, ³⁷ and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”

^38 (DD)And an inscription also was ^[t]written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

^39 (DE)Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, ^[u]“If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”

⁴⁰ But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done ^(DF)nothing wrong.” ⁴² Then he said ^[v]to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

⁴³ And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in ^(DG)Paradise.”

Jesus Dies on the Cross^(DH)

^44 (DI)Now it ^[w]was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. ⁴⁵ Then the sun was ^[x]darkened, and ^(DJ)the veil of the temple was torn in ^[y]two. ⁴⁶ And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ^(DK)‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” ^(DL)Having said this, He breathed His last.

^47 (DM)So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”

⁴⁸ And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. ^49 (DN)But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Jesus Buried in Joseph’s Tomb^(DO)

^50 (DP)Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. ⁵¹ He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, ^(DQ)who^[z] himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. ⁵² This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ^53 (DR)Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. ⁵⁴ That day was ^(DS)the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.

⁵⁵ And the women ^(DT)who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and ^(DU)they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. ⁵⁶ Then they returned and ^(DV)prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath ^(DW)according to the commandment.

Jesus Handed Over to Pontius Pilate^(A)

23 Then ^(B)the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to ^(C)Pilate. ² And they began to ^(D)accuse Him, saying, “We found this fellow ^(E)perverting ^[a]the nation, and ^(F)forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying ^(G)that He Himself is Christ, a King.”

^3 (H)Then Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

He answered him and said, “It is as you say.”

⁴ So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, ^(I)“I find no fault in this Man.”

⁵ But they were the more fierce, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from ^(J)Galilee to this place.”

Jesus Faces Herod

⁶ When Pilate heard ^[b]of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean. ⁷ And as soon as he knew that He belonged to ^(K)Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. ⁸ Now when Herod saw Jesus, ^(L)he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because ^(M)he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. ⁹ Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him ^(N)nothing. ¹⁰ And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him. ^11 (O)Then Herod, with his ^[c]men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate. ¹² That very day ^(P)Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.

Taking the Place of Barabbas^(Q)

^13 (R)Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, ¹⁴ said to them, ^(S)“You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, ^(T)having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; ¹⁵ no, neither did Herod, for ^[d]I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him. ^16 (U)I will therefore chastise Him and release Him” ^17 (V)(for^[e] it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).

¹⁸ And ^(W)they all cried out at once, saying, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas”— ¹⁹ who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.

²⁰ Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them. ²¹ But they shouted, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”

²² Then he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go.”

²³ But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men ^[f]and of the chief priests prevailed. ²⁴ So ^(X)Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested. ^25 (Y)And he released ^[g]to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.

The King on a Cross^(Z)

^26 (AA)Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.

²⁷ And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. ²⁸ But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ^29 (AB)For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’ ³⁰ Then they will begin ^(AC)‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’ ^31 (AD)For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?”

^32 (AE)There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. ³³ And ^(AF)when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. ^34 [h]Then Jesus said, “Father, ^(AG)forgive them, for ^(AH)they do not know what they do.”

And ^(AI)they divided His garments and cast lots. ³⁵ And ^(AJ)the people stood looking on. But even the ^(AK)rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.”

³⁶ The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him ^(AL)sour wine, ³⁷ and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”

^38 (AM)And an inscription also was ^[i]written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

^39 (AN)Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, ^[j]“If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”

⁴⁰ But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done ^(AO)nothing wrong.” ⁴² Then he said ^[k]to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

⁴³ And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in ^(AP)Paradise.”

Jesus Dies on the Cross^(AQ)

^44 (AR)Now it ^[l]was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. ⁴⁵ Then the sun was ^[m]darkened, and ^(AS)the veil of the temple was torn in ^[n]two. ⁴⁶ And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ^(AT)‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” ^(AU)Having said this, He breathed His last.

^47 (AV)So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”

⁴⁸ And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. ^49 (AW)But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.