¹⁵“If your brother sins against you, go to him. Tell him what he did wrong. Keep it between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won him back.

¹⁶“But what if he won’t listen to you? Then take one or two others with you. Scripture says, ‘Every matter must be proved by the words of two or three witnesses.’ ¹⁷But what if he also refuses to listen to the witnesses? Then tell it to the church. And what if he refuses to listen even to the church? Then don’t treat him as your brother. Treat him as you would treat an ungodly person or a tax collector.

¹⁸“What I’m about to tell you is true. What you lock on earth will be locked in heaven. What you unlock on earth will be unlocked in heaven.

¹⁹“Again, here is what I tell you. Suppose two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for. My Father in heaven will do it for you. ²⁰Where two or three people meet together in my name, I am there with them.”

The Servant Who Had No Mercy

²¹Peter came to Jesus. He asked, “Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”

²²Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but 77 times.

²³“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to collect all the money his servants owed him. ²⁴As the king began to do it, a man who owed him millions of dollars was brought to him. ²⁵The man was not able to pay. So his master gave an order. The man, his wife, his children, and all he owned had to be sold to pay back what he owed.

²⁶“The servant fell on his knees in front of him. ‘Give me time,’ he begged. ‘I’ll pay everything back.’

²⁷“His master felt sorry for him. He forgave him what he owed and let him go.

²⁸“But then that servant went out and found one of the other servants who owed him a few dollars. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he said.

²⁹“The other servant fell on his knees. ‘Give me time,’ he begged him. ‘I’ll pay you back.’

³⁰“But the first servant refused. Instead, he went and had the man thrown into prison. The man would be held there until he could pay back what he owed. ³¹The other servants saw what had happened. It troubled them greatly. They went and told their master everything that had happened.

³²“Then the master called the first servant in. ‘You evil servant,’ he said. ‘I forgave all that you owed me because you begged me to. ³³Shouldn’t you have had mercy on the other servant just as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴In anger his master turned him over to the jailers. He would be punished until he paid back everything he owed.

³⁵“This is how my Father in heaven will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

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