Who Is Greatest in the Father's Kingdom?
18 1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of our Father?"
2 Calling a little child to him, he placed the child among them, 3 and said, "Truly I tell you, unless you turn and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of our Father." 4 "Whoever therefore humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of our Father." 5 "And whoever welcomes one such little child in my name welcomes me."
Causing the Little Ones to Stumble
6 "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."
7 "How terrible for the world because of the things that cause stumbling! Such things must come, but how terrible for 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 the eternal fire." 9 "And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear 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." a a v9 Gehenna was a burning rubbish valley outside Jerusalem; Jesus used it as a vivid image of final judgment.
The Father Searches for the One Lost Sheep
10 "See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven." 11 b b v11 This verse is not in the earliest manuscripts; later copies add: “For the Son of Man came to save the lost.”
12 "What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders off, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to search for the one that wandered away?" 13 "And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that did not wander away." 14 "In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."
When a Brother Sins Against You
15 "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault between the two of you alone. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over." 16 "But if he will not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." 17 "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would an outsider 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, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven." 20 "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am among them."
The Father's Forgiveness and Ours
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"
22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." 23 "For this reason the kingdom of our Father is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants." 24 "As he began to settle them, a man who owed millions of dollars was brought to him." 25 "Since he could not pay, his master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold, and the debt repaid." 26 "So the servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.'" 27 "The master of that servant, his heart moved with compassion, released him and forgave him the debt."
28 "But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred days' wages. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded."
29 "His fellow servant fell down and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'" 30 "But he refused. Instead, he went and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt." 31 "When his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and went and told their master everything that had taken place." 32 "Then the master summoned him. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.'" 33 "Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?" 34 "In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he paid back everything he owed." 35 "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you, unless you forgive your brother from your heart."