Matthew 18
18
Who Is the Greatest in the Kingdom Realm?
1At that time the disciples came to ask Jesus, “Who is considered to be the greatest in heaven’s kingdom realm?” # 18:1 The Aramaic is “Who will reign in the kingdom realm of heaven?”
2Jesus called a little one # 18:2 Or “toddler.” The Greek word is paidion, either a boy or a girl. to his side and said to them, 3“Learn this well: Unless you dramatically change your way of thinking and become teachable like a little child # 18:3 The word Jesus used in Aramaic is talitha, which comes from the word for “wounded lamb.” Those hearing Jesus would have heard both meanings: “a little child” and “a wounded lamb.” , you will never be able to enter in. 4Whoever continually humbles himself # 18:4 This means “to see yourself as unimportant in your own eyes.” to become like this little child is the greatest one in heaven’s kingdom realm. 5And if you tenderly care for this little one # 18:5 The Greek uses the word for hospitality. The “little child” becomes a representative of unimportant people in general. Treating the least with care and respect makes us truly great. on my behalf, you are tenderly caring for me. 6But if anyone abuses # 18:6 The Greek word is skandalizō and can also mean “to scandalize,” “to put a stumbling block before them,” “to offend,” or “to cause to sin.” one of these little ones who believes in me, it would be better for him to have a heavy boulder tied around his neck and be hurled into the deepest sea than to face the punishment he deserves! # 18:6 The Hebrew Matthew adds, “It would be better for him to never have been born!”
7“Misery will come to the one who lures people away into sin. Troubles and obstacles to your faith are inevitable, but great devastation will come to the one guilty of causing others to stumble! 8If your hand clings to sin, cut it off and throw it away. If your foot continually steps onto sin’s path, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better for you to enter into heaven crippled and maimed than to have both hands and both feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. 9And if your eye is always focusing on sin, pluck it out and throw it away. For it is better for you to enter into heaven with one eye than to be thrown into hell fire with two. # 18:9 Although the language Jesus uses is hyperbolic, the drastic measures he instructs us to take in order to stay pure remain valid. The last phrase is literally “into the Gehenna of fire!”
10“Be careful that you not corrupt # 18:10 As translated from the Aramaic, which uses a figure of speech (“to bring down”) that is best translated “to corrupt” or “degrade.” The Greek is “despise,” or “look down upon.” one of these little ones. For I can assure you that in heaven each of their guardian angels # 18:10 As translated from the Aramaic. The Greek is simply “angels.” always sees the face of my heavenly Father.”
A Parable of the Lost Lamb
11“The Son of Man has come to give life to all who are lost. # 18:11 As translated from the Hebrew Matthew, the Aramaic, and a few Greek texts. Many reliable Greek manuscripts do not have this verse, and it is missing in many modern translations. See Ezek. 34:16. 12Think of it this way: If a man owns a hundred sheep and one lamb wanders away and is lost, won’t he leave the ninety-nine grazing the hillside and thoroughly search for the one lost lamb? 13And if he finds his lost lamb, he rejoices over it, more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14Now you should understand that it is never the desire of your heavenly Father that a single one of these little ones should be lost.”
Restoring Broken Relationships
15“If your fellow believer sins against you, # 18:15 Although the words “against you,” are not found in the most reliable Greek manuscripts, they are included in the Hebrew Matthew and Aramaic, along with a number of Greek texts. The Hebrew Matthew indicates that Jesus addressed these words to Peter directly: “At that time Jesus said to Simon, called Keefa . . .” you must go to that one privately and attempt to resolve the matter. If he responds, your relationship is restored. # 18:15 See Lev. 19:17. 16But if his heart is closed to you, then go to him again, taking one or two others with you. You’ll be fulfilling what the Scripture teaches when it says, ‘Every word may be verified by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ # 18:16 See Deut. 19:16. 17And if he refuses to listen, then share the issue with the congregation in hopes of restoration. If he still refuses to respond, even to the church, then you must disregard him as though he were an outsider, on the same level as an unrepentant sinner. # 18:17 Or “a pagan or a tax collector.” Again, this is in hope of ultimate restoration. For even pagans and tax collectors can be saved. God is able to turn the wandering one back, as Jesus taught in the parable of the lost lamb (see vv. 11–14).
18“Receive this truth: Whatever you forbid on earth will be considered to be forbidden in heaven, # 18:18 Or “Whatever you bind [Aramaic ‘harness’] on earth will have been bound in heaven.” See Matt. 16:19 and footnote. and whatever you release on earth will be considered to be released in heaven. 19Again, I give you an eternal truth: If two of you agree to ask God for something in a symphony of prayer, # 18:19 The Greek word used here is sumphoneo, from which we get our English word “symphony.” The Aramaic is “if you are deserving of what you pray for.” The implication is that God will not give you what you are not yet ready for, just as an earthly father would not give his eight-year-old a car to drive. my heavenly Father will do it for you. 20For wherever two or three come together in honor of my name, # 18:20 Or “in my name.” I am right there with them!”
Unlimited Forgiveness
21Later Peter approached Jesus and said, “How many times do I have to forgive my fellow believer who keeps offending me? Seven times?” # 18:21 The Hebrew Matthew is “Seven times in one day?”
22Jesus answered, “Not seven times, Peter, but seventy times seven times! # 18:22 Or “seventy-seven times.” This is a metaphor for an attitude of forgiveness that is limitless. 23The lessons of forgiveness in heaven’s kingdom realm can be illustrated like this:
“There once was a king who had servants who had borrowed money from the royal treasury. He decided to settle accounts with each of them. 24As he began the process, it came to his attention that one of his servants # 18:24 Although the Greek uses the word for “servant,” it means someone who ruled under the king, perhaps one of his magistrates or cabinet members who had authority over finances. owed him one billion dollars. # 18:24 Or “ten thousand talents,” an unbelievable amount of money. A talent could be compared to the wages earned over decades. The number ten thousand is a Hebrew metaphor for “myriad.” The point is, the servant owed a huge amount of money that he was simply unable to repay. So he summoned the servant before him and said to him, ‘Pay me what you owe me.’ 25When his servant was unable to repay his debt, the king ordered that he be sold as a slave along with his wife and children and every possession they owned as payment toward his debt. 26The servant threw himself facedown at his master’s feet and begged for mercy. ‘Please be patient with me. Just give me more time and I will repay you all that I owe.’ 27Upon hearing his pleas, the king had compassion on his servant, and released him, and forgave his entire debt.
28“No sooner had the servant left when he met one of his fellow servants, who owed him twenty thousand dollars # 18:28 Or “one hundred silver coins.” This would be a denarii, which is about a day’s wages. So the servant owed his friend about three months’ wages. He seized him by the throat and began to choke him, saying, ‘You’d better pay me right now everything you owe me!’ 29His fellow servant threw himself facedown at his feet and begged, ‘Please be patient with me. If you’ll just give me time, I will repay you all that is owed.’ 30But the one who had his debt forgiven stubbornly refused to forgive what was owed him. He had his fellow servant thrown into prison and demanded he remain there until he repaid the debt in full.
31“When his associates saw what was going on, they were outraged and went to the king and told him the whole story. 32The king said to him, ‘You scoundrel! # 18:32 The Hebrew Matthew is “You servant of Belial!” Is this the way you respond to my mercy? Because you begged me, I forgave you the massive debt that you owed me. 33Why didn’t you show the same mercy to your fellow servant that I showed to you?’ 34In a fury of anger, the king turned him over to the prison guards to be tortured until all his debt was repaid. 35In this same way, my heavenly Father will deal with any of you if you do not release forgiveness from your heart # 18:35 The Hebrew Matthew is “with a perfect heart.” toward your fellow believer.”
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Matthew 18: TPT
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Learn More About The Passion TranslationMatthew 18
18
(We have not yet translated 18:1-14. You can read those stories and messages in Mark 9:34-47; Luke 15:3-7; 17:1-2.)
What if a Christian does something wrong to you?
15Jesus told his followers, “If another one of my followers does something wrong to you, then you have to go to them and talk about it. Just the 2 of you can talk about it together, while you are alone. If they listen to you, and if they agree with you, then you can call them your friend again.#Luke 17:3
16But if they don’t want to listen to you, then take one or 2 other people with you, and go to that person. These other people will hear you talk about the wrong things that person did, and they will hear what that person says, and they will find out what is true.#Deuteronomy 19:15 17If that person will not listen to all of you, then go to the church, and tell the people in the church what happened. Let them sort it out and talk to that person. If that person doesn’t want to listen to them, then you can treat them like somebody that doesn’t follow me. They are like somebody that doesn’t know God, or like somebody that doesn’t do what God says.”
18Then Jesus told his followers, “Listen. You are the people that will know what God wants. If you all agree that something here on this earth is wrong, it will be something that God in heaven already said is wrong. And if you all agree that something here on this earth is all right, it will be something that God in heaven already said is all right.#Matthew 16:19; John 20:23
19I’m telling you this again. If you agree together about something, even if it is only 2 of you, and then you ask my father in heaven to do that thing, then he will do it for you. 20You see, if you get together to respect me, I will be right there with you, even if it is only 2 or 3 of you at that time.”
The story about the work-man that was hard on another man
21Then Peter went up to Jesus and said, “Teacher, if somebody is always doing wrong things to me, how many times do I have to forget it and not do payback to that person? If I forget it 7 times, is that enough? Then if they do another wrong thing, I can do payback, right?”
22Jesus said, “No, not 7 times, but I say lots of times, like 77 times.”#Luke 17:3-4; Genesis 4:24
23-24Then Jesus told them a story. He said, “I will tell you a picture story to show you what it’s like in God’s family. There was a big boss that loaned some money to his workers. After a while he wanted them to give it back. So he started to check up on them, and he got his soldiers to bring those workers to him. They brought a work-man that borrowed a real lot of money, like millions of dollars, and the boss said, ‘Give me that money now.’
25The work-man said, ‘No, not yet. I haven’t got any money right now.’ The big boss was angry. He wanted to get some money back, so he told his soldiers, ‘Grab this man, and his wife, and his kids, and all his things, and sell them to another man. He will make them work for no pay.’
26Then the work-man got down on his knees in front of the big boss and said to him, ‘Please, please give me more time, then I will give you back all your money.’
27Then the big boss felt sorry for his work-man, and he changed his mind, and he said, ‘All right, you don’t have to give that money back to me. I’ll forget it. You can go free now.’
28But after that, his work-man went away, and he met another man. Before this time, that other man borrowed a little bit of money from the work-man, just 100 dollars. So the work-man grabbed that other man’s neck and said, ‘Give me back that money right now. It’s my money.’
29That other man went down on his knees and said, ‘Please, please give me more time. Then I will give you back your money.’
30But the work-man said, ‘No way. I will not forget what you owe me.’ And he put that man in jail, and he told the boss over the jail to keep him there until he gives back all of that money.
31Some of the other workers saw what happened, and they were not happy about it. So they went to the big boss and told him all about it. 32Then the big boss got the work-man to come in, and said to him, ‘You are really bad. You asked me to forget about all my money that you borrowed. It was millions of dollars. And I was good to you. I said that you didn’t have to give it back to me. 33So now you have to feel sorry for that other man and be good to him, just like I felt sorry for you.’ 34The big boss was really angry, and he told the soldiers to grab that work-man, to beat him up, and to put him in jail. He will stay there until he can give all that money back to the big boss.”
35Then Jesus said, “It’s like that with you too. You have to be good to all my other followers. If they do something bad to you, don’t do payback to them. Just forget it. Then, in the same way, my father in heaven will not do payback to you.”
(We have not yet translated chapter 19. You can read those stories and messages in Mark 10:1-31.)
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