Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Servant, the Light to the Gentiles
49 “Listen, (A)O coastlands, to Me,
And take heed, you peoples from afar!
(B)The Lord has called Me from the womb;
From the [a]matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.
2 And He has made (C)My mouth like a sharp sword;
(D)In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me,
And made Me (E)a polished shaft;
In His quiver He has hidden Me.”
3 “And He said to me,
(F)‘You are My servant, O Israel,
(G)In whom I will be glorified.’
4 (H)Then I said, ‘I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain;
Yet surely my [b]just reward is with the Lord,
And my [c]work with my God.’ ”
5 “And now the Lord says,
Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him,
So that Israel (I)is [d]gathered to Him
(For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord,
And My God shall be My strength),
6 Indeed He says,
‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a (J)light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
God the Rock of Salvation
71 In (A)You, O Lord, I put my trust;
Let me never be put to shame.
2 (B)Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape;
(C)Incline Your ear to me, and save me.
3 (D)Be my [a]strong refuge,
To which I may resort continually;
You have given the (E)commandment to save me,
For You are my rock and my fortress.
4 (F)Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,
Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
5 For You are (G)my hope, O Lord God;
You are my trust from my youth.
6 (H)By You I have been [b]upheld from birth;
You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb.
My praise shall be continually of You.
7 (I)I have become as a wonder to many,
But You are my strong refuge.
8 Let (J)my mouth be filled with Your praise
And with Your glory all the day.
9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
Do not forsake me when my strength fails.
10 For my enemies speak against me;
And those who lie in wait for my life (K)take counsel together,
11 Saying, “God has forsaken him;
Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him.”
12 (L)O God, do not be far from me;
O my God, (M)make haste to help me!
13 Let them be [c]confounded and consumed
Who are adversaries of my life;
Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor
Who seek my hurt.
14 But I will hope continually,
And will praise You yet more and more.
Christ the Power and Wisdom of God(A)
18 For the [a]message of the cross is (B)foolishness to (C)those who are perishing, but to us (D)who are being saved it is the (E)power of God. 19 For it is written:
(F)“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”
20 (G)Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the [b]disputer of this age? (H)Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the (I)wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For (J)Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, (K)to the Jews a [c]stumbling block and to the [d]Greeks (L)foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ (M)the power of God and (N)the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Glory Only in the Lord
26 For [e]you see your calling, brethren, (O)that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many [f]noble, are called. 27 But (P)God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the [g]base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and (Q)righteousness and sanctification and redemption— 31 that, as it is written, (R)“He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”
The Fruitful Grain of Wheat
20 Now there (A)were certain Greeks among those (B)who came up to worship at the feast. 21 Then they came to Philip, (C)who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
23 But Jesus answered them, saying, (D)“The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, (E)unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much [a]grain. 25 (F)He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him (G)follow Me; and (H)where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.
Jesus Predicts His Death on the Cross
27 (I)“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? (J)But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name.”
(K)Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”
29 Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”
30 Jesus answered and said, (L)“This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now (M)the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, (N)if I am [b]lifted up from the earth, will draw (O)all peoples to Myself.” 33 (P)This He said, signifying by what death He would die.
34 The people answered Him, (Q)“We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”
35 Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer (R)the light is with you. (S)Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; (T)he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become (U)sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and (V)was hidden from them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.