Daily Bible CEV February 04 Scroll

Jesus Appears to Two Disciples
(Mark 16.12, 13)

Luke 24 ¹³That same day two of Jesus' disciples were going to the village of Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴As they were talking and thinking about what had happened, ¹⁵Jesus came near and started walking along beside them. ¹⁶But they did not know who he was.

¹⁷Jesus asked them, "What were you talking about as you walked along?"

The two of them stood there looking sad and gloomy. ¹⁸Then the one named Cleopas asked Jesus, "Are you the only person from Jerusalem who didn't know what was happening there these last few days?"

¹⁹"What do you mean?" Jesus asked.

They answered:

Those things that happened to Jesus from Nazareth. By what he did and said he showed that he was a powerful prophet, who pleased God and all the people. ²⁰Then the chief priests and our leaders had him arrested and sentenced to die on a cross. ²¹We had hoped that he would be the one to set Israel free! But it has already been three days since all this happened.

²²Some women in our group surprised us. They had gone to the tomb early in the morning, ²³but did not find the body of Jesus. They came back, saying that they had seen a vision of angels who told them that he is alive. ²⁴Some men from our group went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said. But they didn't see Jesus either.

²⁵Then Jesus asked the two disciples, "Why can't you understand? How can you be so slow to believe all that the prophets said? ²⁶Didn't you know that the Messiah would have to suffer before he was given his glory?" ²⁷Jesus then explained everything written about himself in the Scriptures, beginning with the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets.

²⁸When the two of them came near the village where they were going, Jesus seemed to be going farther. ²⁹They begged him, "Stay with us! It's already late, and the sun is going down." So Jesus went into the house to stay with them.

³⁰After Jesus sat down to eat, he took some bread. He blessed it and broke it. Then he gave it to them. ³¹At once they knew who he was, but he disappeared. ³²They said to each other, "When he talked with us along the road and explained the Scriptures to us, didn't it warm our hearts?" ³³So they got right up and returned to Jerusalem.

The two disciples found the eleven apostles and the others gathered together. ³⁴And they learned from the group that the Lord was really alive and had appeared to Peter. ³⁵Then the disciples from Emmaus told what happened on the road and how they knew he was the Lord when he broke the bread.

What Jesus' Followers Must Do
(Matthew 28.16-20; Mark 16.14-18; John 20.19-23; Acts 1.6-8)

³⁶While Jesus' disciples were talking about what had happened, Jesus appeared and greeted them. ³⁷They were frightened and terrified because they thought they were seeing a ghost.

³⁸But Jesus said, "Why are you so frightened? Why do you doubt? ³⁹Look at my hands and my feet and see who I am! Touch me and find out for yourselves. Ghosts don't have flesh and bones as you see I have."

⁴⁰After Jesus said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. ⁴¹The disciples were so glad and amazed that they could not believe it. Jesus then asked them, "Do you have something to eat?" ⁴²They gave him a piece of baked fish. ⁴³He took it and ate it as they watched.

⁴⁴Jesus said to them, "While I was still with you, I told you that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Books of the Prophets, and in the Psalms had to happen."

⁴⁵Then he helped them understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶He told them:

The Scriptures say that the Messiah must suffer, then three days later he will rise from death. ⁴⁷They also say that all people of every nation must be told in my name to turn to God, in order to be forgiven. So beginning in Jerusalem, ⁴⁸you must tell everything that has happened. ⁴⁹I will send you the one my Father has promised, but you must stay in the city until you are given power from heaven.

Jesus Returns to Heaven
(Mark 16.19, 20; Acts 1.9-11)

⁵⁰Jesus led his disciples out to Bethany, where he raised his hands and blessed them. ⁵¹As he was doing this, he left and was taken up to heaven. ⁵²After his disciples had worshiped him, they returned to Jerusalem and were very happy. ⁵³They spent their time in the temple, praising God.

The Missing Cup

Genesis 44 ^1-2Later, Joseph told the servant in charge of his house, "Fill the men's grain sacks with as much as they can hold and put their money in the sacks. Also put my silver cup in the sack of the youngest brother." The servant did as he was told.

³Early the next morning, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. ⁴But they had not gone far from the city when Joseph told the servant, "Go after those men! When you catch them, say, 'My master has been good to you. So why have you stolen his silver cup? ⁵Not only does he drink from his cup, but he also uses it to learn about the future. You have done a terrible thing.' "

⁶When the servant caught up with them, he said exactly what Joseph had told him to say. ⁷But they replied, "Sir, why do you say such things? We would never do anything like that! ⁸We even returned the money we found in our grain sacks when we got back to Canaan. So why would we want to steal any silver or gold from your master's house? ⁹If you find that one of us has the cup, then kill him, and the rest of us will become your slaves."

¹⁰"Good!" the man replied, "I'll do what you have said. But only the one who has the cup will become my slave. The rest of you can go free."

¹¹Each of the brothers quickly put his sack on the ground and opened it. ¹²Joseph's servant started searching the sacks, beginning with the one that belonged to the oldest brother. When he came to Benjamin's sack, he found the cup. ¹³This upset the brothers so much that they began tearing their clothes in sorrow. Then they loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.

¹⁴When Judah and his brothers got there, Joseph was still at home. So they bowed down to Joseph, ¹⁵who asked them, "What have you done? Didn't you know I could find out?"

¹⁶"Sir, what can we say?" Judah replied. "How can we prove we are innocent? God has shown that we are guilty. And now all of us are your slaves, especially the one who had the cup."

¹⁷Joseph told them, "I would never punish all of you. Only the one who was caught with the cup will become my slave. The rest of you are free to go home to your father."

Judah Pleads for Benjamin

¹⁸Judah went over to Joseph and said:

Sir, you have as much power as the king himself, and I am only your slave. Please don't get angry if I speak. ¹⁹You asked us if our father was still alive and if we had any more brothers. ²⁰So we told you, "Our father is a very old man. In fact, he was already old when Benjamin was born. Benjamin's brother is dead. Now Benjamin is the only one of the two brothers who is still alive, and our father loves him very much."

²¹You ordered us to bring him here, so you could see him for yourself. ²²We told you that our father would die if Benjamin left him. ²³But you warned us that we could never see you again, unless our youngest brother came with us. ²⁴So we returned to our father and reported what you had said.

²⁵Later our father told us to come back here and buy more grain. ²⁶But we answered, "We can't go back to Egypt without our youngest brother. We will never be let in to see the governor, unless he is with us."

²⁷Sir, our father then reminded us that his favorite wife had given birth to two sons. ²⁸One of them was already missing and had not been seen for a long time. My father thinks the boy was torn to pieces by some wild animal, ²⁹and he said, "I am an old man. If you take Benjamin from me, and something happens to him, I will die of a broken heart."

³⁰That's why Benjamin must be with us when I go back to my father. He loves him so much ³¹that he will die if Benjamin doesn't come back with me. ³²I promised my father that I would bring him safely home. If I don't, I told my father he could blame me the rest of my life.

³³Sir, I am your slave. Please let me stay here in place of Benjamin and let him return home with his brothers. ³⁴How can I face my father if Benjamin isn't with me? I couldn't bear to see my father in such sorrow.

Psalm 35
[A psalm by David.]
A Prayer for Protection from Enemies

¹Fight my enemies, LORD! Attack my attackers!

Shield me and help me.

³Aim your spear at everyone who hunts me down,

but promise to save me.

⁴Let all who want to kill me

be disappointed and disgraced.

Chase away and confuse all who plan to harm me.

⁵Send your angel after them

and let them be like straw in the wind.

⁶Make them run in the dark on a slippery road,

as your angel chases them.

⁷I did them no harm, but they hid a net to trap me,

and they dug a deep pit to catch and kill me.

⁸Surprise them with disaster! Trap them in their own nets

and let them fall and rot in the pits they have dug.

⁹I will celebrate and be joyful

because you, LORD, have saved me.

¹⁰Every bone in my body will shout:

"No one is like the LORD!"

You protect the helpless from those in power;

you save the poor and needy from those who hurt them.

¹¹Liars accuse me of crimes I know nothing about.

¹²

They repay evil for good, and I feel all alone.

¹³When they were sick, I wore sackcloth

and went without food.

I truly prayed for them,

¹⁴

as I would for a friend or a relative.

I was in sorrow and mourned, as I would for my mother.

¹⁵I have stumbled, and worthless liars I don't even know

surround me and sneer.

¹⁶Worthless people make fun and never stop laughing.

¹⁷But all you do is watch! When will you do something?

Save me from the attack of those vicious lions.

¹⁸And when your people meet, I will praise you

and thank you, Lord, in front of them all.

¹⁹Don't let my brutal enemies be glad because of me.

They hate me for no reason.

Don't let them wink behind my back.

²⁰They say hurtful things, and they lie to people

who want to live in peace.

²¹They are quick to accuse me.

They say, "You did it! We saw you ourselves."

²²You see everything, LORD! Please don't keep silent

or stay so far away.

²³Fight to defend me, Lord God,

²⁴

and prove that I am right by your standards.

Don't let them laugh at me ²⁵or say to each other,

"Now we've got what we want!

We'll gobble him down!"

²⁶Disappoint and confuse all who are glad

to see me in trouble,

but disgrace and embarrass my proud enemies

who say to me, "You are nothing!"

²⁷Let all who want me to win be happy and joyful.

From now on let them say, "The LORD is wonderful!

God is glad when all goes well for his servant."

²⁸Then I will shout all day,

"Praise the LORD God! He did what was right."

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