Matthew 26:36–56; Romans 11:1–24; Psalm 64; Deuteronomy 6–8

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Matthew 26:36–56

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

36 mThen Jesus went with them eto a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, Sit here, while I go over there and pray. 37 And taking with him nPeter and othe two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, pMy soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and qwatch1 with me. 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face rand prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible, let sthis cup pass from me; tnevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 qWatch and upray that you vmay not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, wyour will be done. 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for xtheir eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for ythe third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, Sleep and take your rest later on.2 See, zthe hour is at hand, and athe Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

47 bWhile he was still speaking, cJudas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, The one I will kiss is the man; seize him. 49 And he came up to Jesus at once and said, Greetings, dRabbi! And he kissed him. 50 Jesus said to him, eFriend, fdo what you came to do.3 Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. 51 And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his gsword and struck the servant4 of the high priest and cut off his ear. 52 Then Jesus said to him, Put your sword back into its place. For hall who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 iDo you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me jmore than twelve klegions of angels? 54 lBut how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so? 55 At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day mI sat in the temple nteaching, and you did not seize me. 56 But lall this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. oThen all the disciples left him and fled.


Romans 11:1–24

The Remnant of Israel

I ask, then, hhas God rejected his people? By no means! For iI myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,1 a member of the tribe of Benjamin. jGod has not rejected his people whom he kforeknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? lLord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life. But what is God’s reply to him? mI have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal. So too at the present time there is na remnant, chosen by grace. oBut if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

What then? pIsrael failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest qwere hardened, as it is written,

rGod gave them a spirit of stupor,

seyes that would not see

and ears that would not hear,

down to this very day.

And David says,

tLet their table become a snare and a trap,

a stumbling block and a retribution for them;

10  let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,

and bend their backs forever.

Gentiles Grafted In

11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass usalvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion2 mean!

13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as vI am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and wthus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means xthe reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16 yIf the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

17 But if zsome of the branches were broken off, and you, aalthough a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root3 of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in. 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you bstand fast through faith. So cdo not become proud, but dfear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, eprovided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise fyou too will be cut off. 23 And geven they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.


Psalm 64

Hide Me from the Wicked

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

Hear my voice, O God, in my mcomplaint;

preserve my life from dread of the enemy.

Hide me from nthe secret plots of the wicked,

from the throng of evildoers,

who owhet their tongues like swords,

who paim bitter words like arrows,

shooting from qambush at the blameless,

shooting at him suddenly and rwithout fear.

They shold fast to their evil purpose;

they talk of tlaying snares secretly,

thinking, uWho can see them?

They search out injustice,

saying, We have accomplished a diligent search.

For vthe inward mind and heart of a man are deep.

wBut God shoots his arrow at them;

they are wounded suddenly.

They are brought to ruin, with their own xtongues turned against them;

all who ysee them will zwag their heads.

Then all mankind yfears;

they atell what God has brought about

and ponder what he has done.

10  Let bthe righteous one rejoice in the Lord

and ctake refuge in him!

Let all dthe upright in heart exult!


Deuteronomy 6–8

The Greatest Commandment

Now this is zthe commandmentthe statutes and the rules1that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that ayou may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and bthat your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, cas the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

Hear, O Israel: dThe Lord our God, the Lord is one.2 You eshall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And fthese words that I command you today shall be on your heart. gYou shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. hYou shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. iYou shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

10 And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give youwith great and good cities jthat you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plantand when you eat and are full, 12 kthen take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13 It is lthe Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and mby his name you shall swear. 14 You shall not ngo after other gods, othe gods of the peoples who are around you 15 for pthe Lord your God in your midst qis a jealous Godrlest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.

16 sYou shall not put the Lord your God to the test, tas you tested him at Massah. 17 You shall udiligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you. 18 vAnd you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers 19 wby thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has promised.

20 xWhen your son asks you in time to come, What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you? 21 then you shall say to your son, yWe were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 And zthe Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. 23 And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. 24 And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, ato fear the Lord our God, bfor our good always, that che might preserve us alive, as we are this day. 25 And dit will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.

A Chosen People

When the eLord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, fthe Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations gmore numerous and mightier than you, hand when the Lord your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must idevote them to complete destruction.3 jYou shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. kYou shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. lThen the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you mquickly. But thus shall you deal with them: nyou shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their npillars and chop down their nAsherim and oburn their carved images with fire.

For pyou are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be pa people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but qit is because the Lord loves you and is keeping rthe oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, sthe faithful God twho keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10 and urepays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. vHe will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. 11 wYou shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.

12 xAnd because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the Lord your God will keep with you ythe covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers. 13 He will zlove you, bless you, and multiply you. aHe will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you. 14 You shall be blessed above all peoples. bThere shall not be male or female barren among you or among your livestock. 15 And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and none of the evil cdiseases of Egypt, which you knew, will he inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you. 16 And dyou shall consume all the peoples that the Lord your God will give over to you. eYour eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be fa snare to you.

17 If you say in your heart, These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them? 18 gyou shall not be afraid of them but you shall hremember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, 19 the great trials that your eyes saw, ithe signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. So will the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. 20 Moreover, jthe Lord your God will send hornets among them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you are destroyed. 21 You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is kin your midst, la great and awesome God. 22 mThe Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once,4 lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you. 23 nBut the Lord your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed. 24 And ohe will give their kings into your hand, and you shall pmake their name perish from under heaven. qNo one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them. 25 The carved images of their gods ryou shall burn with fire. You sshall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, lest you be tensnared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. 26 And you shall not bring an abominable thing into your house and become devoted to destruction5 like it. You shall utterly detest and abhor it, ufor it is devoted to destruction.

Remember the Lord Your God

The whole commandment that I command you today vyou shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you wthese forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, xtesting you yto know what was in your heart, zwhether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and alet you hunger and bfed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that cman does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word6 that comes from the mouth of the Lord. dYour clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that, eas a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, fa land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, gof vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

11 Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, 12 hlest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 ithen your heart be lifted up, and you jforget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15 who kled you through the great and terrifying wilderness, lwith its fiery serpents and scorpions mand thirsty ground where there was no water, nwho brought you water out of the flinty rock, 16 who fed you in the wilderness with omanna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, pto do you good in the end. 17 Beware qlest you say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth. 18 You shall remember the Lord your God, for rit is he who gives you power to get wealth, sthat he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, tI solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. 20 Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, uso shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.