Matthew 18
18
Childlike Humility
1At that hour the disciples came to Yeshua, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2And He called a child to Himself, set him in the midst of them,
3and said, “Amen, I tell you, unless you turn and become like children, you shall never enter the kingdom of heaven.
4Whoever then shall humble himself like this child, this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5And whoever welcomes one such child in My name, welcomes Me.
6“But whoever causes one of these little ones who trust in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck and to be sunk in the depth of the sea!
7Woe to the world because of snares! For snares must come, but woe to that man through whom the snare comes!
8“And if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away from you. It’s better for you to enter into life crippled or lame than, having two hands or two feet, to be thrown into fiery Gehenna.
9If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. It’s better for you to enter into life with one eye than, having two eyes, to be thrown into fiery Gehenna.
Parable of the Lost Sheep
10“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father in heaven.
11[footnote: Some manuscripts add verse 11: For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost;]
12“What do you think? If a certain man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go looking for the one that is straying?
13And if he finds it, amen I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t stray.
14Even so, it’s not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.”
Restoring a Lost Brother
15“Now if your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault while you’re with him alone. If he listens to you, you have won your brother.
16But if he does not listen, take with you one or two more, so that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand.’
17But if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to Messiah’s community. And if he refuses to listen even to Messiah’s community, let him be to you as a pagan and a tax collector.
18“Amen, I tell you, whatever you forbid on earth will have been forbidden in heaven and what you permit on earth will have been permitted in heaven.
19Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father in heaven.
20For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.”
Lessons about Forgiveness
21Then Peter came to Him and said, “Master, how often shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22Yeshua said to him, “No, not up to seven times, I tell you, but seventy times seven!
23Therefore, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves.
24When he had begun to settle up, a man was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
25But since he didn’t have the money to repay, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26Then the slave fell on his knees and begged him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I’ll repay you everything.’
27And the master of that slave, filled with compassion, released him and forgave him the debt.
28“Now that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii. And he grabbed him and started choking him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe!’
29“So his fellow slave fell down and kept begging him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I’ll pay you back.’
30Yet he was unwilling. Instead, he went off and threw the man into prison until he paid back all he owed.
31“So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply distressed. They went to their master and reported in detail all that had happened.
32Then summoning the first slave, his master said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave all that debt because you pleaded with me.
33Wasn’t it necessary for you also to show mercy to your fellow slave, just as I showed mercy to you?’
34Enraged, the master handed him over to the torturers until he paid back all he owed.
35“So also My heavenly Father will do to you, unless each of you, from your hearts, forgives his brother.”
Currently Selected:
Matthew 18: TLV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
Matthew 18
18
Who Is the Greatest?
1At that time the followers came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2Jesus called a little child to him. He stood the child before the followers. 3Then he said, “I tell you the truth. You must change and become like little children. If you don’t do this, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4The greatest person in the kingdom of heaven is the one who makes himself humble like this child.
5“Whoever accepts a little child in my name accepts me. 6If one of these little children believes in me, and someone causes that child to sin, then it will be very bad for that person. It would be better for him to have a large stone tied around his neck and be drowned in the sea. 7How terrible for the people of the world because of the things that cause them to sin. Such things will happen. But how terrible for the one who causes them to happen. 8If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to have only part of your body but have life forever. That is much better than to have two hands and two feet but be thrown into the fire that burns forever. 9If your eye causes you to sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better for you to have only one eye but have life forever. That is much better than to have two eyes but be thrown into the fire of hell.
A Lost Sheep
10“Be careful. Don’t think these little children are worth nothing. I tell you that they have angels in heaven who are always with my Father in heaven. 11[The Son of Man came to save lost people.]# Some Greek copies do not contain the bracketed text.
12“If a man has 100 sheep, but 1 of the sheep gets lost, he will leave the other 99 sheep on the hill. He will go to look for the lost sheep. 13And if he finds it, he is happier about that 1 sheep than about the 99 that were never lost. I tell you the truth. 14In the same way, your Father in heaven does not want any of these little children to be lost.
When a Person Sins Against You
15“If your brother sins against you,# Some Greek copies do not have this phrase. go and tell him what he did wrong. Do this in private. If he listens to you, then you have helped him to be your brother again. 16But if he refuses to listen, then go to him again and take one or two other people with you. ‘Every case may be proved by two or three witnesses.’# Quotation from Deuteronomy 19:15. 17If he refuses to listen to them, then tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him as you would one who does not believe in God. Treat him as if he were a tax collector.
18“I tell you the truth. The things you don’t allow on earth will be the things God does not allow. The things you allow on earth will be the things that God allows.
19“Also, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something, then you can pray for it. And the thing you ask for will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20This is true because if two or three people come together in my name, I am there with them.”
An Unforgiving Servant
21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, when my brother sins against me, how many times must I forgive him? Should I forgive him as many as 7 times?”
22Jesus answered, “I tell you, you must forgive him more than 7 times. You must forgive him even if he does wrong to you 70 times 7.
23“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who decided to collect the money his servants owed him. 24So the king began to collect his money. One servant owed him several million dollars. 25But the servant did not have enough money to pay his master, the king. So the master ordered that everything the servant owned should be sold, even the servant’s wife and children. The money would be used to pay the king what the servant owed.
26“But the servant fell on his knees and begged, ‘Be patient with me. I will pay you everything I owe.’ 27The master felt sorry for his servant. So the master told the servant he did not have to pay. He let the servant go free.
28“Later, that same servant found another servant who owed him a few dollars. The servant grabbed the other servant around the neck and said, ‘Pay me the money you owe me!’
29“The other servant fell on his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me. I will pay you everything I owe.’
30“But the first servant refused to be patient. He threw the other servant into prison until he could pay everything he owed. 31All the other servants saw what happened. They were very sorry. So they went and told their master all that had happened.
32“Then the master called his servant in and said, ‘You evil servant! You begged me to forget what you owed. So I told you that you did not have to pay anything. 33I had mercy on you. You should have had the same mercy on that other servant.’ 34The master was very angry, and he put the servant in prison to be punished. The servant had to stay in prison until he could pay everything he owed.
35“This king did what my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.