Leviticus 21; Leviticus 22; Matthew 28

Leviticus 21

1 The Lord said to Moses: "Speak to Aaron's sons, the priests, and tell them: A priest is not to make himself ceremonially unclean for a [dead] person among his relatives,

2 except for his immediate family: his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother.

3 He may make himself unclean for his young unmarried sister in his immediate family.

4 He is not to make himself unclean for those related to him by marriage and so defile himself.

5 "Priests may not make bald spots on their heads, shave the edge of their beards, or make gashes on their bodies.

6 They are to be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, because they present the fire offerings to the Lord, the food of their God. They must be holy.

7 They are not to marry a woman defiled by prostitution or divorced by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God.

8 You are to consider him holy since he presents the food of your God. He will be holy to you because I, the Lord who sets you apart, am holy.

9 If a priest's daughter defiles herself by promiscuity, she defiles her father; she must be burned up.

10 "The priest who is highest among his brothers, who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been ordained to wear the garments, must not dishevel his hair or tear his garments.

11 He must not go near any dead person or make himself unclean [even] for his father or mother.

12 He must not leave the sanctuary or he will desecrate the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him; I am the Lord.

13 "He is to marry a woman who is a virgin.

14 He is not to marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one defiled by prostitution. He is to marry a virgin from his own people,

15 so that he does not corrupt his bloodline among his people, for I am the Lord who sets him apart."

16 The Lord spoke to Moses:

17 "Tell Aaron: None of your descendants throughout your generations who has a physical defect is to come near to present the food of his God.

18 No man who has any defect is to come near: no man who is blind, lame, facially disfigured, or deformed;

19 no man who has a broken foot or hand,

20 or who is a hunchback or a dwarf, or who has an eye defect, a festering rash, scabs, or a crushed testicle.

21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a defect is to come near to present the fire offerings to the Lord. He has a defect and is not to come near to present the food of his God.

22 He may eat the food of his God from what is especially holy as well as from what is holy.

23 But because he has a defect, he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar. He is not to desecrate My sanctuaries, for I am the Lord who sets them apart."

24 Moses said [this] to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.

Leviticus 22

1 The Lord spoke to Moses:

2 "Tell Aaron and his sons to deal respectfully with the holy offerings of the Israelites that they have consecrated to Me, so they do not profane My holy name; I am the Lord.

3 Say to them: If any man from any of your descendants throughout your generations is in a state of uncleanness yet approaches the holy offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the Lord, that person will be cut off from My presence; I am the Lord.

4 No man of Aaron's descendants who has a skin disease or a discharge is to eat from the holy offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything made unclean by a dead person or by a man who has an emission of semen,

5 or whoever touches any swarming creature that makes him unclean or any person who makes him unclean-whatever his uncleanness-

6 the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening and is not to eat from the holy offerings unless he has bathed his body with water.

7 When the sun has set, he will become clean, and then he may eat from the holy offerings, for that is his food.

8 He must not eat an animal that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts, making himself unclean by it; I am the Lord.

9 They must keep My instruction, or they will be guilty and die because they profane it; I am the Lord who sets them apart.

10 "No one outside a priest's family is to eat the holy offering. A foreigner staying with a priest or a hired hand is not to eat the holy offering.

11 But if a priest purchases someone with his money, that person may eat it, and those born in his house may eat his food.

12 If the priest's daughter is married to a man outside a priest's family, she is not to eat from the holy contributions.

13 But if the priest's daughter becomes widowed or divorced, has no children, and returns to her father's house as in her youth, she may share her father's food. But no outsider may share it.

14 If anyone eats a holy offering in error, he must add a fifth to its value and give the holy offering to the priest.

15 The priests must not profane the holy offerings the Israelites give to the Lord

16 and have them bear the penalty of restitution if the people eat their holy offerings. For I am the Lord who sets them apart."

17 The Lord spoke to Moses:

18 "Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them: Any man of the house of Israel or of the foreign residents in Israel who presents his offering-whether they present freewill gifts or payment of vows to the Lord as burnt offerings-

19 must offer an unblemished male from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for you to be accepted.

20 You are not to present anything that has a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.

21 "When a man presents a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or flock, it has to be unblemished to be acceptable; there must be no defect in it.

22 You are not to present any [animal] to the Lord that is blind, injured, maimed, or has a running sore, festering rash, or scabs; you may not put any of them on the altar as a fire offering to the Lord.

23 You may sacrifice as a freewill offering any animal from the herd or flock that has an elongated or stunted limb, but it is not acceptable as a vow offering.

24 You are not to present to the Lord anything that has bruised, crushed, torn, or severed [testicles]; you must not sacrifice [them] in your land.

25 Neither you nor a foreigner are to present food to your God from any of these animals. They will not be accepted for you because they are deformed and have a defect."

26 The Lord spoke to Moses:

27 "When an ox, sheep, or goat is born, it must remain with its mother for seven days; from the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as a gift, a fire offering to the Lord.

28 But you are not to slaughter an animal from the herd or flock on the same day as its young.

29 When you sacrifice a thank offering to the Lord, sacrifice it so that you may be accepted.

30 It is to be eaten on the same day. Do not let any of it remain until morning; I am the Lord.

31 "You are to keep My commands and do them; I am the Lord.

32 You must not profane My holy name; I must be treated as holy among the Israelites. I am the Lord who sets you apart,

33 the One who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord."

Matthew 28

1 After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to view the tomb.

2 Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached [the tomb]. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it.

3 His appearance was like lightning, and his robe was as white as snow.

4 The guards were so shaken from fear of him that they became like dead men.

5 But the angel told the women, "Don't be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.

6 He is not here! For He has been resurrected, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay.

7 Then go quickly and tell His disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead. In fact, He is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see Him there.' Listen, I have told you."

8 So, departing quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to tell His disciples the news.

9 Just then Jesus met them and said, "Good morning!" They came up, took hold of His feet, and worshiped Him.

10 Then Jesus told them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see Me there."

11 As they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.

12 After the priests had assembled with the elders and agreed on a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money

13 and told them, "Say this, 'His disciples came during the night and stole Him while we were sleeping.'

14 If this reaches the governor's ears, we will deal with him and keep you out of trouble."

15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been spread among Jewish people to this day.

16 The 11 disciples traveled to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them.

17 When they saw Him, they worshiped, but some doubted.

18 Then Jesus came near and said to them, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

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 everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."