Matthew 18
18
Greatness in the Kingdom
(Mark 9:33–37; Luke 9:46–48)
1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3Then he said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Whoever becomes like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5And whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me.
Causing Others to Lose Faith
(Mark 9:42–50; Luke 17:1–4)
6“These little ones believe in me. It would be best for the person who causes one of them to lose faith to be drowned in the sea with a large stone hung around his neck. 7How horrible it will be for the world because it causes people to lose their faith. Situations that cause people to lose their faith will arise. How horrible it will be for the person who causes someone to lose his faith!
8“If your hand or your foot causes you to lose your faith, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life disabled or injured than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into everlasting fire. 9If your eye causes you to lose your faith, 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 hellfire.
10“Be careful not to despise these little ones. I can guarantee that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father, who is in heaven.#18:10 Some manuscripts and translations add verse 11: “The Son of Man came to save the lost.”
The Lost Sheep
(Luke 15:1–7)
12“What do you think? Suppose a man has 100 sheep and one of them strays. Won’t he leave the 99 sheep in the hills to look for the one that has strayed? 13I can guarantee this truth: If he finds it, he is happier about it than about the 99 that have not strayed. 14In the same way, your Father in heaven does not want one of these little ones to be lost.
Dealing with Believers When They Do Wrong
15“If a believer does something wrong,#18:15 Some manuscripts and translations add “against you.” go, confront him when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have won back that believer. 16But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you so that every accusation may be verified by two or three witnesses. 17If he ignores these witnesses, tell it to the community of believers. If he also ignores the community, deal with him as you would a heathen or a tax collector. 18I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you imprison, God will imprison. And whatever you set free, God will set free.
19“I can guarantee again that if two of you agree on anything here on earth, my Father in heaven will accept it. 20Where two or three have come together in my name, I am there among them.”
Personally Forgiving Others
21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked him, “Lord, how often do I have to forgive a believer who wrongs me? Seven times?”
22Jesus answered him, “I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy times seven.
23“That is why the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24When he began to do this, a servant who owed him millions of dollars was brought to him. 25Because he could not pay off the debt, the master ordered him, his wife, his children, and all that he had to be sold to pay off the account. 26Then the servant fell at his master’s feet and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay everything!’
27“The master felt sorry for his servant, freed him, and canceled his debt. 28But when that servant went away, he found a servant who owed him hundreds of dollars. He grabbed the servant he found and began to choke him. ‘Pay what you owe!’ he said.
29“Then that other servant fell at his feet and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you.’ 30But he refused. Instead, he turned away and had that servant put into prison until he would repay what he owed.
31“The other servants who worked with him saw what had happened and felt very sad. They told their master the whole story.
32“Then his master sent for him and said to him, ‘You evil servant! I canceled your entire debt, because you begged me. 33Shouldn’t you have treated the other servant as mercifully as I treated you?’
34“His master was so angry that he handed him over to the torturers until he would repay everything that he owed. 35That is what my Father in heaven will do to you if each of you does not sincerely forgive other believers.”
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Matthew 18
18
Who is the Greatest?
(Mk 9.33–37; Lk 9.46–48)
1 #
Lk 22.24
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, asking, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
2So Jesus called a child, made him stand in front of them, 3#Mk 10.15; Lk 18.17and said, “I assure you that unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven. 4The greatest in the Kingdom of heaven is the one who humbles himself and becomes like this child. 5And whoever welcomes in my name one such child as this, welcomes me.
Temptations to Sin
(Mk 9.42–48; Lk 17.1–2)
6 “If anyone should cause one of these little ones to lose his faith in me, it would be better for that person to have a large millstone tied round his neck and be drowned in the deep sea. 7How terrible for the world that there are things that make people lose their faith! Such things will always happen — but how terrible for the one who causes them!
8 #
Mt 5.30
“If your hand or your foot makes you lose your faith, cut it off and throw it away! It is better for you to enter life without a hand or a foot than to keep both hands and both feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. 9#Mt 5.29And if your eye makes you lose your faith, take it out and throw it away! It is better for you to enter life with only one eye than to keep both eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
(Lk 15.3–7)
10 “See that you don't despise any of these little ones. Their angels in heaven, I tell you, are always in the presence of my Father in heaven. # 18.10 Some manuscripts add verse 11: For the Son of Man came to save the lost (see Lk 19.10).
12 “What do you think a man does who has 100 sheep and one of them gets lost? He will leave the other 99 grazing on the hillside and go and look for the lost sheep. 13When he finds it, I tell you, he feels far happier over this one sheep than over the 99 that did not get lost. 14In just the same way your#18.14 your; some manuscripts have my. Father in heaven does not want any of these little ones to be lost.
A Brother or Sister who Sins
15 #
Lk 17.3
“If your brother sins against you, # 18.15 Some manuscripts do not have against you . go to him and show him his fault. But do it privately, just between yourselves. If he listens to you, you have won your brother back. 16#Deut 19.15But if he will not listen to you, take one or two other persons with you, so that ‘every accusation may be upheld by the testimony of two or more witnesses,’ as the scripture says. 17And if he will not listen to them, then tell the whole thing to the church. Finally, if he will not listen to the church, treat him as though he were a pagan or a tax collector.
Prohibiting and Permitting
18 #
Mt 16.19; Jn 20.23 “And so I tell all of you: what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.
19 “And I tell you more: whenever two of you on earth agree about anything you pray for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three come together in my name, I am there with them.”
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
21 #
Lk 17.3–4
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him? Seven times?”
22 #
Gen 4.24
“No, not seven times,” answered Jesus, “but seventy times seven,#18.22 seventy times seven; or 77 times. 23because the Kingdom of heaven is like this. Once there was a king who decided to check on his servants' accounts. 24He had just begun to do so when one of them was brought in who owed him millions of pounds. 25The servant did not have enough to pay his debt, so the king ordered him to be sold as a slave, with his wife and his children and all that he had, in order to pay the debt. 26The servant fell on his knees before the king. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay you everything!’ 27The king felt sorry for him, so he forgave him the debt and let him go.
28 “Then the man went out and met one of his fellow-servants who owed him a few pounds. He grabbed him and started choking him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he said. 29His fellow-servant fell down and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back!’ 30But he refused; instead, he had him thrown into jail until he should pay the debt. 31When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very upset and went to the king and told him everything. 32So he called the servant in. ‘You worthless slave!’ he said. ‘I forgave you the whole amount you owed me, just because you asked me to. 33You should have had mercy on your fellow-servant, just as I had mercy on you.’ 34The king was very angry, and he sent the servant to jail to be punished until he should pay back the whole amount.”
35And Jesus concluded, “That is how my Father in heaven will treat every one of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.