Matthew 18

Rank in the Kingdom

11At that 2time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “3Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2And He called a child to Himself and set him among them, 3and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you 4change and 5become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4So whoever will humble himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5And whoever receives one such child in My name, receives Me; 6but 6whoever 7causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to 8sin, it is better for him that a 9heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depths of the sea.

Stumbling Blocks

7“Woe to the world because of its 10stumbling blocks! For 11it is inevitable that 12stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person through whom the 13stumbling block comes!

8“And 14if your hand or your foot is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; it is better for you to enter life maimed or without a foot, than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. 9And 15if your eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the 1617fiery hell.

10“See that you do not look down on one of these little ones; for I say to you that 18their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.19

Ninety-nine Plus One

12“What do you think? 20If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and go and search for the one that is lost? 13And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that have not gone astray. 14So it is not the will 21of your Father who is in heaven for one of these little ones to perish.

Discipline and Prayer

15“Now 22if your brother sins23, go and 24show him his fault 25in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that 26on the 27testimony of two or three witnesses every 28matter may be confirmed. 17And if he refuses to listen to them, 29tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, 30he is to be to you as 31a Gentile and 32a tax collector. 18Truly I say to you, 33whatever you 34bind on earth 35shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you 36loose on earth 37shall have been loosed in heaven.

19“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, 38it shall be done for them 39by My Father who is in heaven. 20For where two or three have gathered together in My name, 40I am there in their midst.”

Forgiveness

21Then Peter came up and said to Him, “Lord, 41how many times shall my brother sin against me and I still forgive him? Up to 42seven times?” 22Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to 4344seventy-seven times.

23“For this reason 45the kingdom of heaven 46is like a king who wanted to 47settle accounts with his slaves. 24And when he had begun to settle them, one who owed him 48ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25But since he 4950did not have the means to repay, his master commanded that he 51be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment be made. 26So the slave fell to the ground and 52prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27And the master of that slave felt compassion, and he released him and 53forgave him the 54debt. 28But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred 55denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe!’ 29So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30But he was unwilling, 56and went and threw him in prison until he would pay back what was owed. 31So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their master all that had happened. 32Then summoning him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 3357Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34And his master, moved with anger, handed him over to the 58torturers until he would repay all that was owed him. 3559My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your 60heart.”