Who Is the Greatest?^(A)

^33 (B)Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you ^[a]disputed among yourselves on the road?” ³⁴ But they kept silent, for on the road they had ^(C)disputed among themselves who would be the ^(D)greatest.

Who Is the Greatest?^(A)

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

³⁵ And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ^(A)“If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” ³⁶ Then ^(B)He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them,

³ and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, ^(A)unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. ^4 (B)Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

⁴⁸ and said to them, ^(A)“Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and ^(B)whoever receives Me ^(C)receives Him who sent Me. ^(D)For he who is least among you all will be great.”

Jesus Forbids Sectarianism^(A)

^38 (B)Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.”

³⁹ But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, ^(C)for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. ⁴⁰ For ^(D)he who is not against ^[a]us is on ^[b]our side. ^41 (E)For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.

Jesus Warns of Offenses^(F)

^42 (G)“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me ^[c]to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.

⁷ Woe to the world because of ^[a]offenses! For ^(A)offenses must come, but ^(B)woe to that man by whom the offense comes!

^8 (C)“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.

⁴⁵ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into ^[a]hell, ^[b]into the fire that shall never be quenched— ⁴⁶ where

⁴⁷ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into ^[c]hell fire— ⁴⁸ where

Tasteless Salt Is Worthless

⁴⁹ “For everyone will be ^(D)seasoned with fire, ^(E)and^[d] every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. ^50 (F)Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? ^(G)Have salt in yourselves, and ^(H)have peace with one another.”

The Parable of the Lost Sheep^(A)

¹⁰ “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven ^(B)their angels always ^(C)see the face of My Father who is in heaven. ^11 (D)For^[a] the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

^12 (E)“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? ¹³ And 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. ¹⁴ Even so it is not the ^(F)will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

Dealing with a Sinning Brother

¹⁵ “Moreover ^(G)if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, ^(H)you have gained your brother. ¹⁶ But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ^(I)‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ ¹⁷ And 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 ^(J)heathen and a tax collector.

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

^19 (L)“Again^[b] I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, ^(M)it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered ^(N)together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

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

²² Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, ^(P)up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. ²³ Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵ But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded ^(Q)that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. ²⁶ The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ ²⁷ Then 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!’ ²⁹ So his fellow servant fell down ^[c]at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you ^[d]all.’ ³⁰ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. ³¹ So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. ³² Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you ^(R)all that debt because you begged me. ³³ Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ ³⁴ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

^35 (S)“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother ^[e]his trespasses.”