Matthew 18
The
Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven
“At
that time the disciples came to JESUS and asked,
‘Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 HE called a little child to HIM,
and placed the child among them.
3 And HE said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like
little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this
child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 And whoever welcomes one such child in MY Name welcomes
ME.’
Causing to Stumble
6 ‘If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who
believe in ME—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone
hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause
people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom
they come!
8 If your hand or your foot causes you to
stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life
maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into
eternal fire.
9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it
out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to
have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.’
The Parable of the Wandering Sheep
10 ‘See that you do not despise one of these little ones.
For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of MY
FATHER IN HEAVEN.’
12 ‘What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and
one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go
to look for the one that wandered off?
13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier
about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.
14 In the same way YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN is not
willing that any of these little ones should perish.
Dealing With Sin in the Church
15 ‘If your brother or sister
sins,
go and point out their
fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won
them over.
16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others
along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or
three witnesses.’
17 If they still
refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even
to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
18 ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be
bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be
loosed in heaven.
19 ‘Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth
agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by MY FATHER
IN HEAVEN.
20 For where two or three gather in MY Name, there am I
with them.’
The Parable of the Unmerciful
Servant
21 Then Peter came to JESUS and asked, ‘LORD, how many times
shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven
times?”
22 JESUS
answered, ‘I
tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’
23 ‘Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king
who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten
thousand bags of gold
was brought to him.
25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered
that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay
the debt.
26 ‘At this the servant fell on his knees before
him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’
27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the
debt and let him go.
28 ‘But when that servant went out, he found one of his
fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.
He grabbed him and began to choke
him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 ‘But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man
thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.
31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they
were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 ‘Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked
servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.
33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant
just as I had on you?’
34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to
be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 ‘This is how MY HEAVENLY FATHER will treat each
of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
