Readings

Matthew 27:27–54 (NIV84)

²⁷Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him.

²⁸They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him,

²⁹and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said.

³⁰They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.

³¹After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

³²As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.

³³They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull).

³⁴There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.

³⁵When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

³⁶And sitting down, they kept watch over him there.

³⁷Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews.

³⁸Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.

³⁹Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads

⁴⁰and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”

⁴¹In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him.

⁴²“He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.

⁴³He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

⁴⁴In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

⁴⁵From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.

⁴⁶About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

⁴⁷When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

⁴⁸Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink.

⁴⁹The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

⁵⁰And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

⁵¹At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.

⁵²The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.

⁵³They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

⁵⁴When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

Romans 12:1–8 (NIV84)

¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

³For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

⁴Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,

⁵so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

⁶We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.

⁷If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;

⁸if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.