Matthew 28:1–10; Romans 15:14–33; Psalm 70; Deuteronomy 32

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Matthew 28:1–10

The Resurrection

mNow after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and nthe other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for oan angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. pHis appearance was like lightning, and qhis clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and rbecame like dead men. But the angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, sas he said. Come, see the place where he1 lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, the is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you. So they departed quickly from the tomb uwith fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus vmet them and said, Greetings! And they came up and wtook hold of his feet and xworshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid; ygo and tell zmy brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.


Romans 15:14–33

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

14 mI myself am satisfied about you, my brothers,1 that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with nall knowledge and able to instruct one another. 15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, obecause of the grace given me by God 16 to be pa minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles qin the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that rthe offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have sreason to be proud of tmy work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except uwhat Christ has accomplished through me vto bring the Gentiles to obedienceby word and deed, 19 wby the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of Godso that xfrom Jerusalem and all the way around yto Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, zlest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but as it is written,

aThose who have never been told of him will see,

and those who have never heard will understand.

Paul’s Plan to Visit Rome

22 This is the reason why bI have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and csince I have longed for many years to come to you, 24 I hope to see you in passing as I go dto Spain, and eto be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 At present, however, fI am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. 26 For gMacedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do it, and indeed hthey owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. 28 When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected,2 I will leave ifor Spain by way of you. 29 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing3 of Christ.

30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by jthe love of the Spirit, kto strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31 lthat I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that mmy service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and nbe refreshed in your company. 33 May othe God of peace be with you all. Amen.


Psalm 70

O Lord, Do Not Delay

To the choirmaster. Of David, ffor the memorial offering.

gMake haste, O God, to deliver me!

O Lord, make haste to help me!

Let them be put to shame and confusion

who seek my life!

Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor

who delight in my hurt!

Let them turn back because of their shame

who say, Aha, Aha!

May all who seek you

rejoice and be glad in you!

May those who love your salvation

say evermore, God is great!

But I am poor and needy;

hhasten to me, O God!

You are my help and my deliverer;

O Lord, do not delay!


Deuteronomy 32

Give ear, kO heavens, and I will speak,

and let lthe earth hear the words of my mouth.

May mmy teaching drop as the rain,

my speech distill as the dew,

like gentle rain upon the tender grass,

and nlike showers upon the herb.

For I will proclaim the name of the Lord;

ascribe ogreatness to our God!

pThe Rock, qhis work is perfect,

for rall his ways are justice.

A God of faithfulness and swithout iniquity,

just and upright is he.

They have dealt corruptly with him;

they are no longer his children tbecause they are blemished;

they are ua crooked and twisted generation.

Do you thus repay the Lord,

you foolish and senseless people?

Is not he vyour father, who wcreated you,

who xmade you and established you?

yRemember the days of old;

consider the years of many generations;

zask your father, and he will show you,

your elders, and they will tell you.

When the Most High agave to the nations their inheritance,

when he bdivided mankind,

he fixed the borders1 of the peoples

according to the number of the sons of God.2

But the Lord’s portion is his people,

Jacob his allotted heritage.

10  He found him cin a desert land,

and in the howling waste of the wilderness;

he dencircled him, he cared for him,

he ekept him as the apple of his eye.

11  fLike an eagle that stirs up its nest,

that flutters over its young,

spreading out its wings, catching them,

bearing them on its pinions,

12  gthe Lord alone guided him,

hno foreign god was with him.

13  iHe made him ride on the high places of the land,

and he ate the produce of the field,

and he suckled him with jhoney out of the rock,

and koil out of lthe flinty rock.

14  Curds from the herd, and milk from the flock,

with fat3 of lambs,

rams of Bashan and goats,

with the very finest4 of the wheat

and you drank foaming wine made from mthe blood of the grape.

15  But nJeshurun grew fat, and okicked;

pyou grew fat, stout, and sleek;

qthen he forsook God rwho made him

and scoffed at sthe Rock of his salvation.

16  tThey stirred him to jealousy with strange gods;

with abominations they provoked him to anger.

17  uThey sacrificed to demons that were no gods,

to gods they had never known,

to vnew gods that had come recently,

whom your fathers had never dreaded.

18  You were unmindful of wthe Rock that bore5 you,

and you xforgot the God who gave you birth.

19  yThe Lord saw it and spurned them,

because of the provocation of zhis sons and his daughters.

20  And he said, aI will hide my face from them;

I will see what their end will be,

for they are a perverse generation,

children in whom is no faithfulness.

21  bThey have made me jealous with what is no god;

they have provoked me to anger cwith their idols.

So dI will make them jealous with those who are no people;

I will provoke them to anger with ea foolish nation.

22  For fa fire is kindled by my anger,

and it burns to gthe depths of Sheol,

devours the earth and its increase,

and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.

23  And I will heap disasters upon them;

hI will spend my arrows on them;

24  they shall be wasted with hunger,

and devoured by plague

and poisonous pestilence;

I will send ithe teeth of beasts against them,

with the venom of jthings that crawl in the dust.

25  kOutdoors the sword shall bereave,

and indoors terror,

for young man and woman alike,

the nursing child with the man of gray hairs.

26  lI would have said, I will cut them to pieces;

mI will wipe them from human memory,

27  had I not feared provocation by the enemy,

lest their adversaries should misunderstand,

lest they should say, nOur hand is triumphant,

it was not the Lord who did all this.

28  For they are a nation void of counsel,

and there is ono understanding in them.

29  pIf they were wise, they would understand this;

they would qdiscern their latter end!

30  How could rone have chased a thousand,

and two have put ten thousand to flight,

unless their Rock shad sold them,

and the Lord had given them up?

31  For ttheir rock is not as our Rock;

uour enemies are by themselves.

32  For their vine vcomes from the vine of Sodom

and from the fields of Gomorrah;

their grapes are grapes of wpoison;

their clusters are bitter;

33  their wine is the poison of xserpents

and the cruel venom of asps.

34  Is not this laid up in store with me,

ysealed up in my treasuries?

35  zVengeance is mine, and recompense,6

afor the time when their foot shall slip;

for bthe day of their calamity is at hand,

and their doom comes swiftly.

36  For cthe Lord will vindicate7 his people

dand have compassion on his servants,

when he sees that their power is gone

and there is none remaining, ebond or free.

37  Then he will say, fWhere are their gods,

gthe rock in which they took refuge,

38  who ate the fat of their sacrifices

and drank the wine of their drink offering?

Let them rise up and help you;

let them be your protection!

39  See now that hI, even I, am he,

and there is no god beside me;

iI kill and I make alive;

jI wound and I heal;

and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.

40  For kI lift up my hand to heaven

and swear, As I live forever,

41  if I lsharpen my flashing sword8

and my hand takes hold on judgment,

I will take vengeance on my adversaries

and will repay those who hate me.

42  I will make my arrows drunk with blood,

and mmy sword shall devour flesh

with the blood of the slain and the captives,

from the nlong-haired heads of the enemy.

43  oRejoice with him, O heavens;9

bow down to him, all gods,10

for he pavenges the blood of his children11

and takes vengeance on his adversaries.

He repays those who hate him12

and cleanses13 his people’s land.14

44 Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and qJoshua15 the son of Nun. 45 And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, rTake to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, sthat you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. 47 For it is no empty word for you, tbut your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.

Moses’ Death Foretold

48 That very day the Lord spoke to Moses, 49 Go up uthis mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for a possession. 50 And die on the mountain which you go up, and be gathered to your people, as vAaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 wbecause you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel. 52 For xyou shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there, into the land that I am giving to the people of Israel.