March 25

Matthew 28:11-20

The Report of the Guard

[11] While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. [12] And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers [13] and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ [14] And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” [15] So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

The Great Commission

[16] Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. [17] And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. [18] And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Romans 16

Personal Greetings

[1] I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, [2] that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

[3] Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, [4] who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. [5] Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. [6] Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. [7] Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. [8] Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. [9] Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. [10] Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. [11] Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. [12] Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. [13] Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. [14] Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. [15] Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. [16] Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

Final Instructions and Greetings

[17] I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. [18] For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. [19] For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. [20] The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

[21] Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

[22] I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.

[23] Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.

Doxology

[25] Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages [26] but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—[27] to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Psalm 71

Forsake Me Not When My Strength Is Spent

    [1] In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;

        let me never be put to shame! 

    [2] In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;

        incline your ear to me, and save me! 

    [3] Be to me a rock of refuge,

        to which I may continually come;

    you have given the command to save me,

        for you are my rock and my fortress.

    [4] Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,

        from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man. 

    [5] For you, O Lord, are my hope,

        my trust, O LORD, from my youth. 

    [6] Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;

        you are he who took me from my mother’s womb.

    My praise is continually of you.

    [7] I have been as a portent to many,

        but you are my strong refuge. 

    [8] My mouth is filled with your praise,

        and with your glory all the day. 

    [9] Do not cast me off in the time of old age;

        forsake me not when my strength is spent. 

    [10] For my enemies speak concerning me;

        those who watch for my life consult together 

    [11] and say, “God has forsaken him;

        pursue and seize him,

        for there is none to deliver him.”

    [12] O God, be not far from me;

        O my God, make haste to help me! 

    [13] May my accusers be put to shame and consumed;

        with scorn and disgrace may they be covered

        who seek my hurt. 

    [14] But I will hope continually

        and will praise you yet more and more. 

    [15] My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,

        of your deeds of salvation all the day,

        for their number is past my knowledge. 

    [16] With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come;

        I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

    [17] O God, from my youth you have taught me,

        and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. 

    [18] So even to old age and gray hairs,

        O God, do not forsake me,

    until I proclaim your might to another generation,

        your power to all those to come. 

    [19] Your righteousness, O God,

        reaches the high heavens.

    You who have done great things,

        O God, who is like you? 

    [20] You who have made me see many troubles and calamities

        will revive me again;

    from the depths of the earth

        you will bring me up again. 

    [21] You will increase my greatness

        and comfort me again.

    [22] I will also praise you with the harp

        for your faithfulness, O my God;

    I will sing praises to you with the lyre,

        O Holy One of Israel. 

    [23] My lips will shout for joy,

        when I sing praises to you;

        my soul also, which you have redeemed. 

    [24] And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,

    for they have been put to shame and disappointed

        who sought to do me hurt.

Deuteronomy 33

Moses’ Final Blessing on Israel

[1] This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the people of Israel before his death. [2] He said, 

    “The LORD came from Sinai

        and dawned from Seir upon us;

        he shone forth from Mount Paran;

    he came from the ten thousands of holy ones,

        with flaming fire at his right hand. 

    [3] Yes, he loved his people,

        all his holy ones were in his hand;

    so they followed in your steps,

        receiving direction from you, 

    [4] when Moses commanded us a law,

        as a possession for the assembly of Jacob. 

    [5] Thus the LORD became king in Jeshurun,

        when the heads of the people were gathered,

        all the tribes of Israel together.

    [6] “Let Reuben live, and not die,

        but let his men be few.”

    [7] And this he said of Judah: 

    “Hear, O LORD, the voice of Judah,

        and bring him in to his people.

    With your hands contend for him,

        and be a help against his adversaries.”

    [8] And of Levi he said, 

    “Give to Levi your Thummim,

        and your Urim to your godly one,

    whom you tested at Massah,

        with whom you quarreled at the waters of Meribah; 

    [9] who said of his father and mother,

        ‘I regard them not’;

    he disowned his brothers

        and ignored his children.

    For they observed your word

        and kept your covenant. 

    [10] They shall teach Jacob your rules

        and Israel your law;

    they shall put incense before you

        and whole burnt offerings on your altar. 

    [11] Bless, O LORD, his substance,

        and accept the work of his hands;

    crush the loins of his adversaries,

        of those who hate him, that they rise not again.”

    [12] Of Benjamin he said, 

    “The beloved of the LORD dwells in safety.

    The High God surrounds him all day long,

        and dwells between his shoulders.”

    [13] And of Joseph he said, 

    “Blessed by the LORD be his land,

        with the choicest gifts of heaven above,

        and of the deep that crouches beneath, 

    [14] with the choicest fruits of the sun

        and the rich yield of the months, 

    [15] with the finest produce of the ancient mountains

        and the abundance of the everlasting hills, 

    [16] with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness

        and the favor of him who dwells in the bush.

    May these rest on the head of Joseph,

        on the pate of him who is prince among his brothers. 

    [17] A firstborn bull—he has majesty,

        and his horns are the horns of a wild ox;

    with them he shall gore the peoples,

        all of them, to the ends of the earth;

    they are the ten thousands of Ephraim,

        and they are the thousands of Manasseh.”

    [18] And of Zebulun he said, 

    “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,

        and Issachar, in your tents. 

    [19] They shall call peoples to their mountain;

        there they offer right sacrifices;

    for they draw from the abundance of the seas

        and the hidden treasures of the sand.”

    [20] And of Gad he said, 

    “Blessed be he who enlarges Gad!

        Gad crouches like a lion;

        he tears off arm and scalp. 

    [21] He chose the best of the land for himself,

        for there a commander’s portion was reserved;

    and he came with the heads of the people,

        with Israel he executed the justice of the LORD,

        and his judgments for Israel.”

    [22] And of Dan he said, 

    “Dan is a lion’s cub

        that leaps from Bashan.”

    [23] And of Naphtali he said, 

    “O Naphtali, sated with favor,

        and full of the blessing of the LORD,

        possess the lake and the south.”

    [24] And of Asher he said, 

    “Most blessed of sons be Asher;

        let him be the favorite of his brothers,

        and let him dip his foot in oil. 

    [25] Your bars shall be iron and bronze,

        and as your days, so shall your strength be.

    [26] “There is none like God, O Jeshurun,

        who rides through the heavens to your help,

        through the skies in his majesty. 

    [27] The eternal God is your dwelling place,

        and underneath are the everlasting arms.

    And he thrust out the enemy before you

        and said, ‘Destroy.’ 

    [28] So Israel lived in safety,

        Jacob lived alone,

    in a land of grain and wine,

        whose heavens drop down dew. 

    [29] Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you,

        a people saved by the LORD,

    the shield of your help,

        and the sword of your triumph!

    Your enemies shall come fawning to you,

        and you shall tread upon their backs.”

Deuteronomy 34

The Death of Moses

[1] Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, [2] all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, [3] the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. [4] And the LORD said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” [5] So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD, [6] and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day. [7] Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated. [8] And the people of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.

[9] And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses. [10] And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, [11] none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, [12] and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.