Lent Readings: Wednesday 28 March

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LEAVING DESPAIR FOR HOPE...

Psalm 128 TNIV

A song of ascents.

¹ Blessed are all who fear the LORD,
who walk in obedience to him.

² You will eat the fruit of your labor;
blessings and prosperity will be yours.

³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.

⁴ Yes, this will be the blessing
for the man who fears the LORD.

⁵ May the LORD bless you from Zion;
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.

⁶ May you live to see your children's children—
peace be on Israel.

Jeremiah 25:30-38 TNIV

³⁰ "Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them:
" 'The LORD will roar from on high;
he will thunder from his holy dwelling
and roar mightily against his land.
He will shout like those who tread the grapes,
shout against all who live on the earth.

³¹ The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth,
for the LORD will bring charges against the nations;
he will bring judgment on all humankind
and put the wicked to the sword,' "
declares the LORD.

³² This is what the LORD Almighty says:
"Look! Disaster is spreading
from nation to nation;
a mighty storm is rising
from the ends of the earth."

³³ At that time those slain by the LORD will be everywhere—from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered up or buried, but will be like dung lying on the ground.

³⁴ Weep and wail, you shepherds;
roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock.
For your time to be slaughtered has come;
you will fall like the best of the rams. ^[a]

³⁵ The shepherds will have nowhere to flee,
the leaders of the flock no place to escape.

³⁶ Hear the cry of the shepherds,
the wailing of the leaders of the flock,
for the LORD is destroying their pasture.

³⁷ The peaceful meadows will be laid waste
because of the fierce anger of the LORD.

³⁸ Like a lion he will leave his lair,
and their land will become desolate
because of the sword ^[b] of the oppressor
and because of the LORD's fierce anger.

Romans 10:14-21 TNIV

¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵ And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" ^[a]

¹⁶ But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?" ^{[b] 17} Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. ¹⁸ But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:
"Their voice has gone out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world." ^[c]

¹⁹ Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says,
"I will make you envious by those who are not a nation;
I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding." ^[d]

²⁰ And Isaiah boldly says,
"I was found by those who did not seek me;
I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me." ^[e]

²¹ But concerning Israel he says,
"All day long I have held out my hands
to a disobedient and obstinate people." ^[f]

John 10:1-18 TNIV

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

¹ "Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ² The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." ⁶ Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

⁷ Therefore Jesus said again, "Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. ⁹ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. ^[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

¹¹ "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."