Preschool

⁹Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.

¹⁰While the sons of Israel camped at Gilgal they observed the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the desert plains of Jericho.¹¹On the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain.¹²The manna ceased on the day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land, so that the sons of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate some of the yield of the land of Canaan during that year.

¹How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,

Whose sin is covered!

²How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity,

And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

³When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away

Through my groaning all day long.

⁴For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;

My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.

Selah.

⁵I acknowledged my sin to You,

And my iniquity I did not hide;

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”;

And You forgave the guilt of my sin.

Selah.

⁶Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found;

Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.

⁷You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble;

You surround me with songs of deliverance.

Selah.

⁸I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;

I will counsel you with My eye upon you.

⁹Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,

Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,

Otherwise they will not come near to you.

¹⁰Many are the sorrows of the wicked,

But he who trusts in the LORD, lovingkindness shall surround him.

¹¹Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones;

And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.

¹⁶Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Himin this way no longer.¹⁷Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.¹⁸Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,¹⁹namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

²⁰Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.²¹He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

The Lost Sheep

¹Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him.²Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

³So He told them this parable, saying,⁴“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?⁵“When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.⁶“And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’⁷“I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

The Lost Coin

⁸“Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?⁹“When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’¹⁰“In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Prodigal Son

¹¹And He said, “A man had two sons.¹²“The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them.¹³“And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.¹⁴“Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished.¹⁵“So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.¹⁶“And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.¹⁷“But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!¹⁸‘I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight;¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”’²⁰“So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.²¹“And the 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 slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet;²³and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;²⁴for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.

²⁵“Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.²⁶“And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be.²⁷“And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’²⁸“But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.²⁹“But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends;³⁰but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’³¹“And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.³²‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’”

¹⁶Thus says the LORD,

Who makes a way through the sea

And a path through the mighty waters,

¹⁷Who brings forth the chariot and the horse,

The army and the mighty man

(They will lie down together and not rise again;

They have been quenched and extinguished like a wick):

¹⁸“Do not call to mind the former things,

Or ponder things of the past.

¹⁹“Behold, I will do something new,

Now it will spring forth;

Will you not be aware of it?

I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,

Rivers in the desert.

²⁰“The beasts of the field will glorify Me,

The jackals and the ostriches,

Because I have given waters in the wilderness

And rivers in the desert,

To give drink to My chosen people.

²¹“The people whom I formed for Myself

Will declare My praise.

The Shortcomings of Israel

¹When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion,

We were like those who dream.

²Then our mouth was filled with laughter

And our tongue with joyful shouting;

Then they said among the nations,

“The LORD has done great things for them.”

³The LORD has done great things for us;

We are glad.

⁴Restore our captivity, O LORD,

As the streams in the South.

⁵Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.

⁶He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,

Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

⁴although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more:⁵circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee;⁶as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.

⁷But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.⁸More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,⁹and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,¹⁰that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;¹¹in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

¹²Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.¹³Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,¹⁴I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Mary Anoints Jesus

¹Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.²So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at thetable with Him.³Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.⁴But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, *said,⁵“Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?”⁶Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.⁷Therefore Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial.⁸“For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”

⁴The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples,

That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word.

He awakens Me morning by morning,

He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

⁵The Lord GOD has opened My ear;

And I was not disobedient

Nor did I turn back.

⁶I gave My back to those who strike Me,

And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;

I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.

⁷For the Lord GOD helps Me,

Therefore, I am not disgraced;

Therefore, I have set My face like flint,

And I know that I will not be ashamed.

⁸He who vindicates Me is near;

Who will contend with Me?

Let us stand up to each other;

Who has a case against Me?

Let him draw near to Me.

⁹Behold, the Lord GOD helps Me;

Who is he who condemns Me?

Behold, they will all wear out like a garment;

The moth will eat them.

⁹Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;

My eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body also.

¹⁰For my life is spent with sorrow

And my years with sighing;

My strength has failed because of my iniquity,

And my body has wasted away.

¹¹Because of all my adversaries, I have become a reproach,

Especially to my neighbors,

And an object of dread to my acquaintances;

Those who see me in the street flee from me.

¹²I am forgotten as a dead man, out of mind;

I am like a broken vessel.

¹³For I have heard the slander of many,

Terror is on every side;

While they took counsel together against me,

They schemed to take away my life.

¹⁴But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD,

I say, “You are my God.”

¹⁵My times are in Your hand;

Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.

¹⁶Make Your face to shine upon Your servant;

Save me in Your lovingkindness.

⁵Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,⁶who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,⁷but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.⁸Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.⁹For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,¹¹and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus before Pilate

¹Then the whole body of them got up and brought Him before Pilate.²And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.”³So Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and said, “It is as you say.”⁴Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.”⁵But they kept on insisting, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee even as far as this place.”

⁶When Pilate heard it, he asked whether the man was a Galilean.⁷And when he learned that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who himself also was in Jerusalem at that time.

Jesus before Herod

⁸Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him.⁹And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing.¹⁰And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently.¹¹And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate.¹²Now Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for before they had been enemies with each other.

Pilate Seeks Jesus’ Release

¹³Pilate summoned the chief priests and the rulers and the people,¹⁴and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion, and behold, having examined Him before you, I have found no guilt in this man regarding the charges which you make against Him.¹⁵“No, nor has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by Him.¹⁶“Therefore I will punish Him and release Him.”¹⁷[Now he was obliged to release to them at the feast one prisoner.]

¹⁸But they cried out all together, saying, “Away with this man, and release for us Barabbas!”¹⁹(He was one who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection made in the city, and for murder.)²⁰Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again,²¹but they kept on calling out, saying, “Crucify, crucify Him!”²²And he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has this man done? I have found in Him no guilt demanding death; therefore I will punish Him and release Him.”²³But they were insistent, with loud voices asking that He be crucified. And their voices began to prevail.²⁴And Pilate pronounced sentence that their demand be granted.²⁵And he released the man they were asking for who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, but he delivered Jesus to their will.

Simon Bears the Cross

²⁶When they led Him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus.

²⁷And following Him was a large crowd of the people, and of women who were mourning and lamenting Him.²⁸But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.²⁹“For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’³⁰“Then they will begin TOSAY TO THE MOUNTAINS, ‘FALL ON US,’ AND TO THE HILLS, ‘COVER US.’³¹“For if they do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

³²Two others also, who were criminals, were being led away to be put to death with Him.

The Crucifixion

³³When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.³⁴But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.³⁵And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.”³⁶The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine,³⁷and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!”³⁸Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

³⁹One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!”⁴⁰But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?⁴¹“And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”⁴²And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!”⁴³And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

⁴⁴It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour,⁴⁵because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two.⁴⁶And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.” Having said this, He breathed His last.⁴⁷Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent.”⁴⁸And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts.⁴⁹And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, seeing these things.

Jesus Is Buried