Matthew 18–19

Who Is the Greatest?

18^tAt that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ²And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them ³and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you ^uturn and ^vbecome like children, you ^wwill never enter the kingdom of heaven. ^4xWhoever humbles himself like this child is the ^wgreatest in the kingdom of heaven.

^5y“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, ⁶but ^zwhoever causes one of these ^alittle ones who believe in me to sin,¹ it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Temptations to Sin

⁷“Woe to the world for ^btemptations to sin!^{2 c}For it is necessary that temptations come, ^dbut woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! ^8eAnd 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 crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into ^fthe eternal fire. ^9eAnd if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the ^fhell³ of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

¹⁰“See that you do not despise ^gone of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven ^htheir angels always ⁱsee the face of my Father who is in heaven.^{4 12j}What do you think? ^kIf a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? ¹³And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴So ^lit is not the will of my⁵ Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

If Your Brother Sins Against You

^15m“If your brother sins against you, ⁿgo and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have ^ogained your brother. ¹⁶But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established ^pby the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, ^qtell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, ^rlet him be to you as ^sa Gentile and ^sa tax collector. ¹⁸Truly, I say to you, ^twhatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed⁶ in heaven. ¹⁹Again I say to you, if two of you ^uagree on earth about anything they ask, ^vit will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰For where two or three are ^wgathered in my name, ^xthere am I among them.”

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

²¹Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often ^ywill my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? ^zAs many as seven times?” ²²Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.⁷

²³“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished ^ato settle accounts with his servants.^{8 24}When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ^bten thousand ^ctalents.^{9 25d}And since he could not pay, his master ordered him ^eto be sold, with his wife and ^fchildren and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶So the servant^{10 g}fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and ^dforgave him the debt. ²⁸But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred ^hdenarii,¹¹ and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ²⁹So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ³⁰He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. ³¹When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. ³²Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³ⁱAnd should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ ^34jAnd in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,^{12 k}until he should pay all his debt. ^35lSo also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother ^mfrom your heart.”

Teaching About Divorce

19Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from ⁿGalilee and ^oentered ^pthe region of Judea beyond the Jordan. ²And ^qlarge crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³And Pharisees came up to him and ^rtested him by asking, ^s“Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” ⁴He answered, ^t“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵and said, ^u‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and ^vthe two shall become one flesh’? ⁶So they are no longer two but one flesh. ^wWhat therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” ⁷They said to him, ^x“Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” ⁸He said to them, “Because of your ^yhardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. ^9zAnd I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”¹

¹⁰The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” ¹¹But he said to them, ^a“Not everyone can receive this saying, but only ^bthose to ^cwhom it is given. ¹²For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs ^dfor the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”

Let the Children Come to Me

^13eThen children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples ^frebuked the people, ¹⁴but Jesus said, ^g“Let the little children ^hcome to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” ¹⁵And he laid his hands on them and went away.

The Rich Young Man

¹⁶ⁱAnd behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to ^jhave ^keternal life?” ¹⁷And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. ^lIf you would enter life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, ^m“You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, ¹⁹Honor your father and mother, and, ⁿYou shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁰The young man said to him, ^o“All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” ²¹Jesus said to him, “If you would be ^pperfect, go, ^qsell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have ^rtreasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ^22sWhen the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

²³And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, ^tonly with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. ^24uAgain I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter ^vthe kingdom of God.” ²⁵When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” ²⁶But Jesus ^wlooked at them and said, ^x“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” ²⁷Then Peter said in reply, “See, ^ywe have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” ²⁸Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world,^{2 z}when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me ^awill also sit on twelve thrones, ^bjudging the twelve tribes of Israel. ^29cAnd everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold³ and will ^dinherit eternal life. ³⁰But ^emany who are ^ffirst will be last, and the last first.