Matthew 17:14-18

New King James Version

A Boy Is Healed^(A)

¹⁴^(B)And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, ¹⁵“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is ^[a]an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”

¹⁷Then Jesus answered and said, “O ^[b]faithless and ^(C)perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” ¹⁸And Jesus ^(D)rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

¹⁹Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”

²⁰So Jesus said to them, “Because of your ^[c]unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, ^(E)if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. ²¹^[d]However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

Jesus Again Predicts His Death and Resurrection^(F)

²²^(G)Now while they were ^[e]staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, ²³and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” And they were exceedingly ^(H)sorrowful.

Peter and His Master Pay Their Taxes

²⁴^(I)When they had come to ^[f]Capernaum, those who received the ^[g]temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?”

²⁵He said, “Yes.”

And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from ^(J)strangers?”

²⁶Peter said to Him, “From strangers.”

Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. ²⁷Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a ^[h]piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.”

Who Is the Greatest?^(K)

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

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

Jesus Warns of Offenses^(Q)

⁶^(R)“But 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 ^[i]offenses! For ^(S)offenses must come, but ^(T)woe to that man by whom the offense comes!

⁸^(U)“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 ^[j]hell fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep^(V)

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

¹²^(Z)“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 ^(AA)will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.