Exodus 12; Exodus 13; Matthew 16

Exodus 12

1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in Egypt:

2 "This month is to be the first month of the year for you.

3 Give these instructions to the whole community of Israel: On the tenth day of this month each man must choose either a lamb or a young goat for his household.

4 If his family is too small to eat a whole animal, he and his next-door neighbor may share an animal, in proportion to the number of people and the amount that each person can eat.

5 You may choose either a sheep or a goat, but it must be a one-year-old male without any defects.

6 Then, on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, the whole community of Israel will kill the animals.

7 The people are to take some of the blood and put it on the doorposts and above the doors of the houses in which the animals are to be eaten.

8 That night the meat is to be roasted, and eaten with bitter herbs and with bread made without yeast.

9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled, but eat it roasted whole, including the head, the legs, and the internal organs.

10 You must not leave any of it until morning; if any is left over, it must be burned.

11 You are to eat it quickly, for you are to be dressed for travel, with your sandals on your feet and your walking stick in your hand. It is the Passover Festival to honor me, the Lord.

12 "On that night I will go through the land of Egypt, killing every first-born male, both human and animal, and punishing all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord.

13 The blood on the doorposts will be a sign to mark the houses in which you live. When I see the blood, I will pass over you and will not harm you when I punish the Egyptians.

14 You must celebrate this day as a religious festival to remind you of what I, the Lord, have done. Celebrate it for all time to come."

15 The Lord said, "For seven days you must not eat any bread made with yeast - eat only unleavened bread. On the first day you are to get rid of all the yeast in your houses, for if anyone during those seven days eats bread made with yeast, he shall no longer be considered one of my people.

16 On the first day and again on the seventh day you are to meet for worship. No work is to be done on those days, but you may prepare food.

17 Keep this festival, because it was on this day that I brought your tribes out of Egypt. For all time to come you must celebrate this day as a festival.

18 From the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month to the evening of the twenty-first day, you must not eat any bread made with yeast.

19 For seven days no yeast must be found in your houses, for if anyone, native-born or foreign, eats bread made with yeast, he shall no longer be considered one of my people."

21 Moses called for all the leaders of Israel and said to them, "Each of you is to choose a lamb or a young goat and kill it, so that your families can celebrate Passover.

22 Take a sprig of hyssop, dip it in the bowl containing the animal's blood, and wipe the blood on the doorposts and the beam above the door of your house. Not one of you is to leave the house until morning.

23 When the Lord goes through Egypt to kill the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the beams and the doorposts and will not let the Angel of Death enter your houses and kill you.

24 You and your children must obey these rules forever.

25 When you enter the land that the Lord has promised to give you, you must perform this ritual.

26 When your children ask you, "What does this ritual mean?'

27 you will answer, "It is the sacrifice of Passover to honor the Lord, because he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. He killed the Egyptians, but spared us.' " The Israelites knelt down and worshiped.

28 Then they went and did what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

29 At midnight the Lord killed all the first-born sons in Egypt, from the king's son, who was heir to the throne, to the son of the prisoner in the dungeon; all the first-born of the animals were also killed.

30 That night, the king, his officials, and all the other Egyptians were awakened. There was loud crying throughout Egypt, because there was not one home in which there was not a dead son.

31 That same night the king sent for Moses and Aaron and said, "Get out, you and your Israelites! Leave my country; go and worship the Lord, as you asked.

32 Take your sheep, goats, and cattle, and leave. Also pray for a blessing on me."

33 The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country; they said, "We will all be dead if you don't leave."

34 So the people filled their baking pans with unleavened dough, wrapped them in clothing, and carried them on their shoulders.

35 The Israelites had done as Moses had said, and had asked the Egyptians for gold and silver jewelry and for clothes.

36 The Lord made the Egyptians respect the people and give them what they asked for. In this way the Israelites carried away the wealth of the Egyptians.

37 The Israelites set out on foot from Rameses for Sukkoth. There were about 600,000 men, not counting women and children.

38 A large number of other people and many sheep, goats, and cattle also went with them.

39 They baked unleavened bread from the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for they had been driven out of Egypt so suddenly that they did not have time to get their food ready or to prepare leavened dough.

40 The Israelites had lived in Egypt for 430 years.

41 On the day the 430 years ended, all the tribes of the Lord's people left Egypt.

42 It was a night when the Lord kept watch to bring them out of Egypt; this same night is dedicated to the Lord for all time to come as a night when the Israelites must keep watch.

43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "These are the Passover regulations: No foreigner shall eat the Passover meal,

44 but any slave that you have bought may eat it if you circumcise him first.

45 No temporary resident or hired worker may eat it.

46 The whole meal must be eaten in the house in which it was prepared; it must not be taken outside. And do not break any of the animal's bones.

47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate this festival,

48 but no uncircumcised man may eat it. If a foreigner has settled among you and wants to celebrate Passover to honor the Lord, you must first circumcise all the males of his household. He is then to be treated like a native-born Israelite and may join in the festival.

49 The same regulations apply to native-born Israelites and to foreigners who settle among you."

50 All the Israelites obeyed and did what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

51 On that day the Lord brought the Israelite tribes out of Egypt.

Exodus 13

1 The Lord said to Moses,

2 "Dedicate all the first-born males to me, for every first-born male Israelite and every first-born male animal belongs to me."

3 Moses said to the people, "Remember this day - the day on which you left Egypt, the place where you were slaves. This is the day the Lord brought you out by his great power. No leavened bread is to be eaten.

4 You are leaving Egypt on this day in the first month, the month of Abib.

5 The Lord solemnly promised your ancestors to give you the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. When he brings you into that rich and fertile land, you must celebrate this festival in the first month of every year.

6 For seven days you must eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to honor the Lord.

7 For seven days you must not eat any bread made with yeast; there must be no yeast or leavened bread anywhere in your land.

8 When the festival begins, explain to your sons that you do all this because of what the Lord did for you when you left Egypt.

9 This observance will be a reminder, like something tied on your hand or on your forehead; it will remind you to continue to recite and study the Law of the Lord, because the Lord brought you out of Egypt by his great power.

10 Celebrate this festival at the appointed time each year.

11 "The Lord will bring you into the land of the Canaanites, which he solemnly promised to you and your ancestors. When he gives it to you,

12 you must offer every first-born male to the Lord. Every first-born male of your animals belongs to the Lord,

13 but you must buy back from him every first-born male donkey by offering a lamb in its place. If you do not want to buy back the donkey, break its neck. You must buy back every first-born male child of yours.

14 In the future, when your son asks what this observance means, you will answer him, "By using great power the Lord brought us out of Egypt, the place where we were slaves.

15 When the king of Egypt was stubborn and refused to let us go, the Lord killed every first-born male in the land of Egypt, both human and animal. That is why we sacrifice every first-born male animal to the Lord, but buy back our first-born sons.

16 This observance will be a reminder, like something tied on our hands or on our foreheads; it will remind us that the Lord brought us out of Egypt by his great power.' "

17 When the king of Egypt let the people go, God did not take them by the road that goes up the coast to Philistia, although it was the shortest way. God thought, "I do not want the people to change their minds and return to Egypt when they see that they are going to have to fight."

18 Instead, he led them in a roundabout way through the desert toward the Red Sea. The Israelites were armed for battle.

19 Moses took the body of Joseph with him, as Joseph had made the Israelites solemnly promise to do. Joseph had said, "When God rescues you, you must carry my body with you from this place."

20 The Israelites left Sukkoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the desert.

21 During the day the Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud to show them the way, and during the night he went in front of them in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel night and day.

22 The pillar of cloud was always in front of the people during the day, and the pillar of fire at night.

Matthew 16

1 Some Pharisees and Sadducees who came to Jesus wanted to trap him, so they asked him to perform a miracle for them, to show that God approved of him.

2 But Jesus answered, "When the sun is setting, you say, "We are going to have fine weather, because the sky is red.'

3 And early in the morning you say, "It is going to rain, because the sky is red and dark.' You can predict the weather by looking at the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs concerning these times!

4 How evil and godless are the people of this day! You ask me for a miracle? No! The only miracle you will be given is the miracle of Jonah." So he left them and went away.

5 When the disciples crossed over to the other side of the lake, they forgot to take any bread.

6 Jesus said to them, "Take care; be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

7 They started discussing among themselves, "He says this because we didn't bring any bread."

8 Jesus knew what they were saying, so he asked them, "Why are you discussing among yourselves about not having any bread? What little faith you have!

9 Don't you understand yet? Don't you remember when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand men? How many baskets did you fill?

10 And what about the seven loaves for the four thousand men? How many baskets did you fill?

11 How is it that you don't understand that I was not talking to you about bread? Guard yourselves from the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!"

12 Then the disciples understood that he was not warning them to guard themselves from the yeast used in bread but from the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

13 Jesus went to the territory near the town of Caesarea Philippi, where he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

14 "Some say John the Baptist," they answered. "Others say Elijah, while others say Jeremiah or some other prophet."

15 "What about you?" he asked them. "Who do you say I am?"

16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

17 "Good for you, Simon son of John!" answered Jesus. "For this truth did not come to you from any human being, but it was given to you directly by my Father in heaven.

18 And so I tell you, Peter: you are a rock, and on this rock foundation I will build my church, and not even death will ever be able to overcome it.

19 I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven; what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven."

20 Then Jesus ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

21 From that time on Jesus began to say plainly to his disciples, "I must go to Jerusalem and suffer much from the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. I will be put to death, but three days later I will be raised to life."

22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "God forbid it, Lord!" he said. "That must never happen to you!"

23 Jesus turned around and said to Peter, "Get away from me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my way, because these thoughts of yours don't come from God, but from human nature."

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If any of you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me.

25 For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for my sake, you will find it.

26 Will you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not! There is nothing you can give to regain your life.

27 For the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each one according to his deeds.

28 I assure you that there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Son of Man come as King."