Leviticus 21; Leviticus 22; Matthew 28

Leviticus 21

1 The Lord commanded Moses to tell the Aaronite priests, "No priest is to make himself ritually unclean by taking part in the funeral ceremonies when a relative dies,

2 unless it is his mother, father, son, daughter, brother,

3 or unmarried sister living in his house.

4 He shall not make himself unclean at the death of those related to him by marriage.

5 "No priest shall shave any part of his head or trim his beard or cut gashes on his body to show that he is in mourning.

6 He must be holy and must not disgrace my name. He offers food offerings to me, and he must be holy.

7 A priest shall not marry a woman who has been a prostitute or a woman who is not a virgin or who is divorced; he is holy.

8 The people must consider the priest holy, because he presents the food offerings to me. I am the Lord; I am holy and I make my people holy.

9 If a priest's daughter becomes a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she shall be burned to death.

10 "The High Priest has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been consecrated to wear the priestly garments, so he must not leave his hair uncombed or tear his clothes to show that he is in mourning.

11 He has been dedicated to me and is not to make himself ritually unclean nor is he to defile my sacred Tent by leaving it and entering a house where there is a dead person, even if it is his own father or mother.

13 He shall marry a virgin,

14 not a widow or a divorced woman or a woman who has been a prostitute. He shall marry only a virgin from his own clan.

15 Otherwise, his children, who ought to be holy, will be ritually unclean. I am the Lord and I have set him apart as the High Priest."

16 The Lord commanded Moses

17 to tell Aaron, "None of your descendants who has any physical defects may present the food offering to me. This applies for all time to come.

18 No man with any physical defects may make the offering: no one who is blind, lame, disfigured, or deformed;

19 no one with a crippled hand or foot;

20 no one who is a hunchback or a dwarf; no one with any eye or skin disease; and no eunuch.

21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any physical defects may present the food offering to me.

22 Such a man may eat the food offered to me, both the holy food offering and the very holy food offering,

23 but because he has a physical defect, he shall not come near the sacred curtain or approach the altar. He must not profane these holy things, because I am the Lord and I make them holy."

24 This, then, is what Moses said to Aaron, the sons of Aaron, and to all the people of Israel.

Leviticus 22

1 The Lord commanded Moses

2 to tell Aaron and his sons, "You must not bring disgrace on my holy name, so treat with respect the sacred offerings that the people of Israel dedicate to me. I am the Lord.

3 If any of your descendants, while he is ritually unclean, comes near the sacred offerings which the people of Israel have dedicated to me, he can never again serve at the altar. This applies for all time to come. I am the Lord.

4 "None of the descendants of Aaron who has a dreaded skin disease or a discharge may eat any of the sacred offerings until he is ritually clean. Any priest is unclean if he touches anything which is unclean through contact with a corpse or if he has an emission of semen

5 or if he has touched an unclean animal or person.

6 Any priest who becomes unclean remains unclean until evening, and even then he may not eat any of the sacred offerings until he has taken a bath.

7 After the sun sets he is clean, and then he may eat the sacred offerings, which are his food.

8 He shall not eat the meat of any animal that has died a natural death or has been killed by wild animals; it will make him unclean. I am the Lord.

9 "All priests shall observe the regulations that I have given. Otherwise, they will become guilty and die, because they have disobeyed the sacred regulations. I am the Lord and I make them holy.

10 "Only a member of a priestly family may eat any of the sacred offerings; no one else may eat them - not even someone staying with a priest or hired by him.

11 But a priest's slaves, bought with his own money or born in his home, may eat the food the priest receives.

12 A priest's daughter who marries someone who is not a priest may not eat any of the sacred offerings.

13 But a widowed or divorced daughter who has no children and who has returned to live in her father's house as a dependent may eat the food her father receives as a priest. Only a member of a priestly family may eat any of it.

14 "If any people who are not members of a priestly family eat any of the sacred offerings without intending to, they must repay the priest its full value plus an additional 20 percent.

15 The priests shall not profane the sacred offerings

16 by letting any unauthorized people eat them; this would bring guilt and punishment on such people. I am the Lord and I make the offerings holy."

17 The Lord commanded Moses

18 to give Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel the following regulations. When any Israelite or any foreigner living in Israel presents a burnt offering, whether as fulfillment of a vow or as a freewill offering, the animal must not have any defects.

19 To be accepted, it must be a male without any defects.

20 If you offer any animal that has any defects, the Lord will not accept it.

21 When anyone presents a fellowship offering to the Lord, whether as fulfillment of a vow or as a freewill offering, the animal must be without any defects if it is to be accepted.

22 Do not offer to the Lord any animal that is blind or crippled or mutilated, or that has a running sore or a skin eruption or scabs. Do not offer any such animals on the altar as a food offering.

23 As a freewill offering you may offer an animal that is stunted or not perfectly formed, but it is not acceptable in fulfillment of a vow.

24 Do not offer to the Lord any animal whose testicles have been crushed, cut, bruised, or torn off. This is not permitted in your land.

25 Do not offer as a food offering any animal obtained from a foreigner. Such animals are considered defective and are not acceptable.

26 When a calf or a lamb or a kid is born, it must not be taken from its mother for seven days, but after that it is acceptable as a food offering.

28 Do not sacrifice a cow and its calf or a sheep and its lamb or a goat and its kid on the same day.

29 When you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, follow the rules so that you will be accepted;

30 eat it the same day and leave none of it until the next morning.

31 The Lord said, "Obey my commands; I am the Lord.

32 Do not bring disgrace on my holy name; all the people of Israel must acknowledge me to be holy. I am the Lord and I make you holy;

33 and I brought you out of Egypt to become your God. I am the Lord."

Matthew 28

1 After the Sabbath, as Sunday morning was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

2 Suddenly there was a violent earthquake; an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled the stone away, and sat on it.

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

4 The guards were so afraid that they trembled and became like dead men.

5 The angel spoke to the women. "You must not be afraid," he said. "I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.

6 He is not here; he has been raised, just as he said. Come here and see the place where he was lying.

7 Go quickly now, and tell his disciples, "He has been raised from death, and now he is going to Galilee ahead of you; there you will see him!' Remember what I have told you."

8 So they left the tomb in a hurry, afraid and yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, "Peace be with you." They came up to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.

10 "Do not be afraid," Jesus said to them. "Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me."

11 While the women went on their way, some of the soldiers guarding the tomb went back to the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened.

12 The chief priests met with the elders and made their plan; they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers

13 and said, "You are to say that his disciples came during the night and stole his body while you were asleep.

14 And if the Governor should hear of this, we will convince him that you are innocent, and you will have nothing to worry about."

15 The guards took the money and did what they were told to do. And so that is the report spread around by the Jews to this very day.

16 The eleven disciples went to the hill in Galilee where Jesus had told them to go.

17 When they saw him, they worshiped him, even though some of them doubted.

18 Jesus drew near and said to them, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

19 Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

20 and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age."