Matthew 18
18
The Greatest in the Kingdom
Mk 9:33–37; Lk 9:46–48
1#Mk 9:33–37; Lk 9:46–48At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2Jesus called a little child to Him and set him in their midst, 3#1Pe 2:2; 1Co 14:20and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4#Mt 23:11–12Therefore whoever humbles himself like this little child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5#Mt 25:40And whoever receives one such little child in My name receives Me.
Temptations to Sin
Mk 9:42–48; Lk 17:1–2
6#Mk 9:42“But whoever misleads one of these little ones who believe in Me, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung about his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. 7#Lk 17:1; 1Co 11:19Woe to the world because of temptations! For it must be that temptations come, but woe to that man by whom the temptation comes! 8#Mt 5:29–30; 25:41Therefore if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life lame or maimed than having two hands or two feet to be thrown into eternal fire. 9#Mt 5:22; 5:29And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than having two eyes to be thrown into the fire of hell.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
Lk 15:5–7
10#Lk 1:19; Heb 1:14“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11#Lk 19:10For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
12#Lk 15:4–7; Mt 21:28“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go in search for the one which went astray? 13And if he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine which never went astray. 14#Jn 17:12So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
The Brother Who Sins
Lk 17:3
15#Lev 19:17; 1Co 9:19–21“Now if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16#Dt 19:15; Jn 8:17But if he does not listen, then take with you one or two others, that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every word may be established.#Ps 8:2. 17#2Th 3:6; Mt 5:46If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
18#Mt 16:19; Jn 20:23“Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19#Mt 7:7; Ac 12:5“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. 20#Mt 28:20; Jn 20:19For where two or three are assembled in My name, there I am in their midst.”
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
21#Mt 18:15; Lk 17:3–4Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
23#Mt 13:24“Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24When he began to settle the accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.#Several million pounds. 25#Lev 25:39; 2Ki 4:1But since he was not able to pay, his master ordered that he be sold with his wife, their children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26#Mt 8:2“So the servant fell on his knees, pleading with him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
28#Mt 20:2“But that same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.#A few pounds. He laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe.’
29“So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and entreated him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’
30“But he would not and went and threw him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31So when his fellow servants saw what took place, they were very sorry and went and told their master all that had taken place.
32“Then his master, after he had summoned him, said to him, ‘O you wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33#Col 3:13Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, even as I had pity on you?’ 34#Mt 5:25–26His master was angry and delivered him to the jailers until he should pay all his debt.
35#Pr 21:13; Mt 6:14–15“So also My heavenly Father will do to each of you, if from your heart you do not forgive your brother for his trespasses.”
Currently Selected:
Matthew 18: MEV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Military Bible Association
Matthew 18
18
The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven
1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5And 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. 7Woe 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! 8If 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. 9And 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. [11]#18:11 Some manuscripts include here the words of Luke 19:10.
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? 13And 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. 14In 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 # 18:15 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a fellow disciple, whether man or woman; also in verses 21 and 35. sins,#18:15 Some manuscripts sins against you go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16But 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.’#18:16 Deut. 19:15 17If 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 # 18:18 Or will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be#18:18 Or will have been 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. 20For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
21Then 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?”
22Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.#18:22 Or seventy times seven
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold#18:24 Greek ten thousand talents; a talent was worth about 20 years of a day laborer’s wages. was brought to him. 25Since 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.’ 27The 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. # 18:28 Greek a hundred denarii ; a denarius was the usual daily wage of a day laborer (see 20:2). 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. 31When 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. 33Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34In 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.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.