Lent Readings: Sunday 11 March

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LEAVING IGNORANCE FOR AWARENESS...

Psalm 75 TNIV

For the director of music. To the tune of "Do Not Destroy." A psalm of Asaph. A song.

^{[a] 1} We praise you, God,
we praise you, for your Name is near;
people tell of your wonderful deeds.

² You say, "I choose the appointed time;
it is I who judge with equity.

³ When the earth and all its people quake,
it is I who hold its pillars firm. ^[b]

⁴ To the arrogant I say, 'Boast no more,'
and to the wicked, 'Do not lift up your horns. ^[c]

⁵ Do not lift your horns against heaven;
do not speak with outstretched neck.'"

⁶ No one from the east or the west
or from the desert can exalt themselves.

⁷ It is God who judges:
He brings one down, he exalts another.

⁸ In the hand of the LORD is a cup
full of foaming wine mixed with spices;
he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth
drink it down to its very dregs.

⁹ As for me, I will declare this forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob,

¹⁰ who says, "I will cut off the horns of all the wicked,
but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up."

Jeremiah 5:20-31 TNIV

²⁰ "Announce this to the house of Jacob
and proclaim it in Judah:

²¹ Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,
who have eyes but do not see,
who have ears but do not hear:

²² Should you not fear me?" declares the LORD.
"Should you not tremble in my presence?
I made the sand a boundary for the sea,
an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
they may roar, but they cannot cross it.

²³ But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;
they have turned aside and gone away.

²⁴ They do not say to themselves,
'Let us fear the LORD our God,
who gives autumn and spring rains in season,
who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.'

²⁵ Your wrongdoings have kept these away;
your sins have deprived you of good.

²⁶ "Among my people are the wicked
who lie in wait like those who snare birds
and like those who set traps to catch people.

²⁷ Like cages full of birds,
their houses are full of deceit;
they have become rich and powerful

²⁸ and have grown fat and sleek.
Their evil deeds have no limit;
they do not seek justice.
They do not promote the case of the fatherless;
they do not defend the just cause of the poor.

²⁹ Should I not punish them for this?"
declares the LORD.
"Should I not avenge myself
on such a nation as this?

³⁰ "A horrible and shocking thing
has happened in the land:

³¹ The prophets prophesy lies,
the priests rule by their own authority,
and my people love it this way.
But what will you do in the end?

Romans 3:19-31 TNIV

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. ²⁰ Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

Righteousness Through Faith

²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness is given through faith in ^[a] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, ^[b] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

²⁷ Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the "law" that requires faith. ²⁸ For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from observing the law. ²⁹ Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, ³⁰ since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. ³¹ Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

John 7:1-13 TNIV

Jesus Goes to the Festival of Tabernacles

¹ After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want ^[a] to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. ² But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, ³ Jesus' brothers said to him, "Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. ⁴ No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." ⁵ For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

⁶ Therefore Jesus told them, "My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. ⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. ⁸ You go to the Festival. I am not ^[b] going up to this Festival, because my time has not yet fully come." ⁹ Having said this, he stayed in Galilee.

¹⁰ However, after his brothers had left for the Festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. ¹¹ Now at the Festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus and asking, "Where is he?"

¹² Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, "He is a good man."

Others replied, "No, he deceives the people." ¹³ But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders.