Matthew 18–20

Instruction About Humility

Mark 9:33–37; Luke 9:46–48

18At ^athat time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

²Then Jesus called a little ^bchild to Him, set him in the midst of them, ³and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, ^cunless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. ^4dTherefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ^5eWhoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.

Punishment of Offenders

Mark 9:42–48

^6f“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. ⁷Woe to the world because of ¹offenses! For ^goffenses must come, but ^hwoe to that man by whom the offense comes!

⁸ⁱ“If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. ⁹And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into ²hell fire.

¹⁰“Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven ^jtheir angels always ^ksee the face of My Father who is in heaven. ^11lFor ³the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

Parable of the Lost Sheep

Luke 15:4–7

^12m“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? ¹³And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. ¹⁴Even so it is not the ⁿwill of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

The Offended Brother

¹⁵“Moreover ^oif your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, ^pyou have gained your brother. ¹⁶But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ^q‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ ¹⁷And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a ^rheathen and a tax collector.

¹⁸“Assuredly, I say to you, ^swhatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

^19t“Again ⁴I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, ^uit will be done for them by My Father in heaven. ²⁰For where two or three are gathered ^vtogether in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

Instruction About Forgiveness

²¹Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? ^wUp to seven times?”

²²Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, ^xup to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. ²³Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded ^ythat he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. ²⁶The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ ²⁷Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

²⁸“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ ²⁹So his fellow servant fell down ⁵at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you ⁶all.’ ³⁰And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. ³¹So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. ³²Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you ^zall that debt because you begged me. ³³Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ ³⁴And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

^35a“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother ⁷his trespasses.”

Instruction About Divorce

Mark 10:1–16; Luke 18:15–17

19Now it came to pass, ^awhen Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. ^2bAnd great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.

³The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”

⁴And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who ¹made them at the beginning ^c‘made them male and female,’ ⁵and said, ^d‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and ^ethe two shall become one flesh’? ⁶So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

⁷They said to Him, ^f“Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”

⁸He said to them, “Moses, because of the ^ghardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your ^hwives, but from the beginning it was not so. ⁹ⁱAnd I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for ²sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”

¹⁰His disciples said to Him, ^j“If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”

¹¹But He said to them, ^k“All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: ¹²For there are ³eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and ^lthere are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”

^13mThen little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for ⁿof such is the kingdom of heaven.” ¹⁵And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.

Rich Young Ruler

Mark 10:17–27; Luke 18:18–27

^16oNow behold, one came and said to Him, ^p“Good ⁴Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

¹⁷So He said to him, ⁵“Why do you call Me good? ⁶No one is ^qgood but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, ^rkeep the commandments.”

¹⁸He said to Him, “Which ones?”

Jesus said, ^s“ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ^19t‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ^u‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

²⁰The young man said to Him, “All these things I have ^vkept ⁷from my youth. What do I still lack?”

²¹Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, ^wgo, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

²²But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

²³Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that ^xit is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁶But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but ^ywith God all things are possible.”

The Apostles’ Reward

Mark 10:28–30; Luke 18:28–30

²⁷Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, ^zwe have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”

²⁸So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, ^ayou who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ^29bAnd everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother ⁸or wife or children or ⁹lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. ^30cBut many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Parable of the Laborers

Mark 10:31

20“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ²Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. ⁵Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. ⁶And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing ¹idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ ⁷They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, ²and whatever is right you will receive.’

⁸“So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ ⁹And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. ¹⁰But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. ¹¹And when they had received it, they ³complained against the landowner, ¹²saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ ¹³But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no…