Lenten Reading: Palm Sunday

Reading Guide for Lent

Today is Palm Sunday.  We’ll read the passage in Mark where Palm Sunday got started and the Psalm that the people sang when they saw Jesus.

The 6^th Sunday in Lent

Sunday March 20, 2016

Palm Sunday

Gospel Reading:  Mark 11:1-11

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

11      As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, ²saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’ ”

⁴They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, ⁵some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” ⁶They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. ⁷When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. ⁸Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. ⁹Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

¹⁰“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

¹¹Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

Psalm Reading:  Psalm 118

Note:  This is the Psalm that the crowds in Mark 11  sang as Jesus entered Jerusalem.

¹Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

his love endures forever.

²Let Israel say:

“His love endures forever.”

³Let the house of Aaron say:

“His love endures forever.”

⁴Let those who fear the Lord say:

“His love endures forever.”

⁵When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord;

he brought me into a spacious place.

⁶The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.

What can human beings do to me?

⁷The Lord is with me; he is my helper.

I look in triumph on my enemies.

⁸It is better to take refuge in the Lord

than to trust in human beings.

⁹It is better to take refuge in the Lord

than to trust in princes.

¹⁰All the nations surrounded me,

but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.

¹¹They surrounded me on every side,

but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.

¹²They swarmed around me like bees,

but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns;

in the name of the Lord I cut them down.

¹³I was pushed back and about to fall,

but the Lord helped me.

¹⁴The Lord is my strength and my defense;

he has become my salvation.

¹⁵Shouts of joy and victory

resound in the tents of the righteous:

“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!

¹⁶     The Lord’s right hand is lifted high;

the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”

¹⁷I will not die but live,

and will proclaim what the Lord has done.

¹⁸The Lord has chastened me severely,

but he has not given me over to death.

¹⁹Open for me the gates of the righteous;

I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.

²⁰This is the gate of the Lord

through which the righteous may enter.

²¹I will give you thanks, for you answered me;

you have become my salvation.

²²The stone the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

²³the Lord has done this,

and it is marvelous in our eyes.

²⁴The Lord has done it this very day;

let us rejoice today and be glad.

²⁵Lord, save us!

Lord, grant us success!

²⁶Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

From the house of the Lord we bless you.

²⁷The Lord is God,

and he has made his light shine on us.

With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession

up to the horns of the altar.

²⁸You are my God, and I will praise you;

you are my God, and I will exalt you.

²⁹Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

his love endures forever.

The Holy Bible : Today's New International Version. 2005. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.