Who Is the Greatest?

18 ^(A)At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ² And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them ³ and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you ^(B)turn and ^(C)become like children, you ^(D)will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ^4 (E)Whoever humbles himself like this child is the ^(F)greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

^5 (G)“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, ⁶ but ^(H)whoever causes one of these ^(I)little ones who believe in me to sin,^[a] it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Temptations to Sin

⁷ “Woe to the world for ^(J)temptations to sin!^{[b] (K)}For it is necessary that temptations come, ^(L)but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! ^8 (M)And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into ^(N)the eternal fire. ^9 (O)And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the ^(P)hell^[c] of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

¹⁰ “See that you do not despise ^(Q)one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven ^(R)their angels always ^(S)see the face of my Father who is in heaven.^{[d] 12 (T)}What do you think? ^(U)If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? ¹³ And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴ So ^(V)it is not the will of my^[e] Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

If Your Brother Sins Against You

^15 (W)“If your brother sins against you, ^(X)go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have ^(Y)gained your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established ^(Z)by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, ^(AA)tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, ^(AB)let him be to you as ^(AC)a Gentile and ^(AD)a tax collector. ¹⁸ Truly, I say to you, ^(AE)whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed^[f] in heaven. ¹⁹ Again I say to you, if two of you ^(AF)agree on earth about anything they ask, ^(AG)it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are ^(AH)gathered in my name, ^(AI)there am I among them.”

Our Heavenly Dwelling

5 For we know that if ^(A)the tent that is ^(B)our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, ^(C)a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ² For in this tent ^(D)we groan, longing to ^(E)put on our heavenly dwelling, ³ if indeed by putting it on^[a] we may not be found naked. ⁴ For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal ^(F)may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, ^(G)who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

⁶ So we are always of good courage. We know that ^(H)while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, ⁷ for ^(I)we walk by faith, not ^(J)by sight. ⁸ Yes, we are of good courage, and we ^(K)would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹ So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to ^(L)please him. ¹⁰ For ^(M)we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, ^(N)so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

The Ministry of Reconciliation

¹¹ Therefore, knowing ^(O)the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But ^(P)what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. ^12 (Q)We are not commending ourselves to you again but ^(R)giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. ¹³ For if we ^(S)are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. ¹⁴ For the love of Christ ^(T)controls us, because we have concluded this: that ^(U)one has died for all, therefore all have died; ¹⁵ and he died for all, ^(V)that those who live might no longer live for themselves but ^(W)for him who for their sake died and was raised.

¹⁶ From now on, therefore, ^(X)we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is ^(Y)in Christ, he is ^(Z)a new creation.^{[b] (AA)}The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ¹⁸ All this is from God, ^(AB)who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us ^(AC)the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling^[c] the world to himself, ^(AD)not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us ^(AE)the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ Therefore, ^(AF)we are ambassadors for Christ, ^(AG)God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ^21 (AH)For our sake he made him to be sin ^(AI)who knew no sin, so that in him we might become ^(AJ)the righteousness of God.