Matthew 17:14-18

Christian Standard Bible

The Power of Jesus over a Demon

¹⁴ When they reached the crowd,^(A) a man approached and knelt down before him. ¹⁵ “Lord,” he said, “have mercy on my son, because he has seizures^[a] and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶ I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”^(B)

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.”^{(C) 18} Then Jesus rebuked the demon,^[b] and it^[c] came out of him,^(D) and from that moment^[d] the boy was healed.

¹⁹ Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁰ “Because of your little faith,” he^[e] told them. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of ^[f] a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.^(E) Nothing will be impossible for you.”^[g](F)

The Second Prediction of His Death

²² As^(G) they were gathering together^[h] in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men. ²³ They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised up.” And they were deeply distressed.

Paying the Temple Tax

²⁴ When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the temple tax approached Peter and said, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” ^(H)

²⁵ “Yes,” he said.

When he went into the house, Jesus spoke to him first,^[i] “What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly kings collect tariffs or taxes? From their sons or from strangers?”^[j](I)

²⁶ “From strangers,” he said.^[k]

“Then the sons are free,” Jesus told him. ²⁷ “But, so we won’t offend them, go to the sea, cast in a fishhook, and take the first fish that you catch. When you open its mouth you’ll find a coin.^[l] Take it and give it to them for me and you.”^(J)

Who Is the Greatest?

18 At that time^[m](K) the disciples^(L) came to Jesus and asked, “So who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ^{(M) 2} He called a small child and had him stand among them. ³ “Truly I tell you,” he said, “unless you turn and become like little children,^(N) you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.^{(O) 4} Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ And whoever welcomes^[n] one child like this in my name welcomes me.

⁶ “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away—it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea.^{(P) 7} Woe to the world because of offenses. For offenses will inevitably come, but woe to that person by whom the offense comes.^{(Q) 8} If your hand or your foot causes you to fall away, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire.^{(R) 9} And if your eye causes you to fall away, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hellfire.^[o](S)

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

¹⁰ “See to it that you don’t despise one of these little ones,^(T) because I tell you that in heaven their angels^(U) continually view the face of my Father in heaven.^{[p](V) 12} What do you think?^(W) If someone has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go and search for the stray?^{(X) 13} And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over that sheep^[q] more than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. ¹⁴ In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish.