Matthew 18–20

18TH CHAPTER

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.^a

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,^bgo, 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.” 

19TH CHAPTER

A Discussion about Divorce and Celibacy—Mark 10:1–12

¹When Jesus finished speaking, he left Galilee and traveled along the other side of the Jordan River to the territory of Judea. ²Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. 

³Some Pharisees came to test him. They asked, “Can a man divorce his wife for any reason?” 

⁴Jesus answered, “Haven’t you read that the Creator made them male and female in the beginning ⁵and that he said, ‘That’s why a man will leave his father and mother and will remain united with his wife, and the two will be one’? ⁶So they are no longer two but one. Therefore, don’t let anyone separate what God has joined together.” 

⁷The Pharisees asked him, “Why, then, did Moses order a man to give his wife a written notice to divorce her?” 

⁸Jesus answered them, “Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because you’re heartless. It was never this way in the beginning. ⁹I can guarantee that whoever divorces his wife for any reason other than her unfaithfulness is committing adultery if he marries another woman.” 

¹⁰The disciples said to him, “If that is the only reason a man can use to divorce his wife, it’s better not to get married.” 

¹¹He answered them, “Not everyone can do what you suggest. Only those who have that gift can. ¹²For example, some men are celibate because they were born that way. Others are celibate because they were castrated. Still others have decided to be celibate because of the kingdom of heaven. If anyone can do what you’ve suggested, then he should do it.” 

Jesus Blesses Children—Mark 10:13–16; Luke 18:15–17

¹³Then some people brought little children to Jesus to have him bless them and pray for them. But the disciples told the people not to do that. 

¹⁴Jesus said, “Don’t stop children from coming to me! Children like these are part of God’s kingdom.” ¹⁵After Jesus blessed them, he went away from there. 

Eternal Life in the Kingdom—Mark 10:17–31; Luke 18:18–30

¹⁶Then a man came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good deed should I do to gain eternal life?” 

¹⁷Jesus said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you want to enter into life, obey the commandments.” 

¹⁸“Which commandments?” the man asked. 

Jesus said, “Never murder. Never commit adultery. Never steal. Never give false testimony. ¹⁹Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” 

²⁰The young man replied, “I have obeyed all these commandments. What else do I need to do?” 

²¹Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, sell what you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then follow me!” 

²²When the young man heard this, he went away sad because he owned a lot of property. 

²³Jesus said to his disciples, “I can guarantee this truth: It will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴I can guarantee again that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.” 

²⁵He amazed his disciples more than ever when they heard this. “Then who can be saved?” they asked. 

²⁶Jesus looked at them and said, “It is impossible for people ⸤to save themselves⸥, but everything is possible for God.” 

²⁷Then Peter replied to him, “Look, we’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get out of it?” 

²⁸Jesus said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: When the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne in the world to come, you, my followers, will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹And everyone who gave up homes, brothers or sisters, father, mother, children, or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰However, many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. 

20TH CHAPTER

A Story about Vineyard Workers

¹“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. ²After agreeing to pay the workers the usual day’s wages, he sent them to work in his vineyard. ³About 9 a.m. he saw others standing in the marketplace without work. ⁴He said to them, ‘Work in my vineyard, and I’ll give you whatever is right.’ So they went. 

⁵“He went out again about noon and 3 p.m. and did the same thing. ⁶About 5 p.m. he went out and found some others standing around. He said to them, ‘Why are you standing here all day long without work?’ 

⁷“ ‘No one has hired us,’ they answered him. 

“He said to them, ‘Work in my vineyard.’ 

⁸“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard told the supervisor, ‘Call the workers, and give them their wages. Start with the last, and end with the first.’ 

⁹“Those who started working about 5 p.m. came, and each received a day’s wages. ¹⁰When those who had been hired first came, they expected to receive more. But each of them received a day’s wages. ¹¹Although they took it, they began to protest to the owner. ¹²They said, ‘These last workers have worked only one hour. Yet, you’ve treated us all the same, even though we worked hard all day under a blazing sun.’ 

¹³“The owner said to one of them, ‘Friend, I’m not treating you unfairly. Didn’t you agree with me on a day’s wages? ¹⁴Take your money and go! I want to give this last worker as much as I gave you. ¹⁵Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Or do you resent my generosity towards others?’ 

¹⁶“In this way the last will be first, and the first will be last.” 

For the Third Time Jesus Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life—Mark 10:32–34; Luke 18:31–34

¹⁷When Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he took the twelve apostles aside and said to…