Matthew 7-8

International Children’s Bible

Be Careful About Judging Others

7 “Don’t judge other people, and you will not be judged. ² You will be judged in the same way that you judge others. And the forgiveness you give to others will be given to you.

³ “Why do you notice the little piece of dust that is in your brother’s eye, but you don’t notice the big piece of wood that is in your own eye? ⁴ Why do you say to your brother, ‘Let me take that little piece of dust out of your eye’? Look at yourself first! You still have that big piece of wood in your own eye. ⁵ You are a hypocrite! First, take the wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly enough to take the dust out of your brother’s eye.

⁶ “Don’t give holy things to dogs. Don’t throw your pearls before pigs. Pigs will only trample on them. And the dogs will only turn to attack you.

Ask God for What You Need

⁷ “Continue to ask, and God will give to you. Continue to search, and you will find. Continue to knock, and the door will open for you. ⁸ Yes, everyone who continues asking will receive. He who continues searching will find. And he who continues knocking will have the door opened for him.

⁹ “What would you do if your son asks for bread? Which of you would give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if your son asks for a fish, would you give him a snake? ¹¹ Even though you are bad, you know how to give good gifts to your children. So surely your heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask him.

The Most Important Rule

¹² “Do for other people the same things you want them to do for you. This is the meaning of the law of Moses and the teaching of the prophets.

The Way to Heaven Is Hard

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. The road that leads to hell is a very easy road. And the gate to hell is very wide. Many people enter through that gate. ¹⁴ But the gate that opens the way to true life is very small. And the road to true life is very hard. Only a few people find that road.

People Know You by Your Actions

¹⁵ “Be careful of false prophets. They come to you and look gentle like sheep. But they are really dangerous like wolves. ¹⁶ You will know these people because of the things they do. Good things don’t come from bad people, just as grapes don’t come from thornbushes. And figs don’t come from thorny weeds. ¹⁷ In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit. And bad trees produce bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot produce bad fruit. And a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ You will know these false prophets by what they produce.

²¹ “Not everyone who says ‘You are my Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven. The only people who will enter the kingdom of heaven are those who do the things that my Father in heaven wants. ²² On the last day many people will say to me, ‘You are our Lord! We spoke for you. And through you we forced out demons and did many miracles.’ ²³ Then I will tell them clearly, ‘Get away from me, you who do evil. I never knew you.’

Two Kinds of People

²⁴ “Everyone who hears these things I say and obeys them is like a wise man. The wise man built his house on rock. ²⁵ It rained hard and the water rose. The winds blew and hit that house. But the house did not fall, because the house was built on rock. ²⁶ But the person who hears the things I teach and does not obey them is like a foolish man. The foolish man built his house on sand. ²⁷ It rained hard, the water rose, and the winds blew and hit that house. And the house fell with a big crash.”

²⁸ When Jesus finished saying these things, the people were amazed at his teaching. ²⁹ Jesus did not teach like their teachers of the law. He taught like a person who had authority.

Jesus Heals a Sick Man

8 When Jesus came down from the hill, great crowds followed him. ² Then a man sick with a harmful skin disease came to Jesus. The man bowed down before him and said, “Lord, you have the power to heal me if you want.”

³ Jesus touched the man and said, “I want to heal you. Be healed!” And immediately the man was healed from his skin disease. ⁴ Then Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell anyone about what happened. But go and show yourself to the priest.^[a] And offer the gift that Moses commanded^[b] for people who are made well. This will show people that you are healed.”

Jesus Heals a Soldier’s Servant

⁵ Jesus went to the city of Capernaum. When he entered the city, an army officer came to Jesus and begged for help. ⁶ The officer said, “Lord, my servant is at home in bed. He can’t move his body and is in much pain.”

⁷ Jesus said to the officer, “I will go and heal him.”

⁸ The officer answered, “Lord, I am not good enough for you to come into my house. All you need to do is command that my servant be healed, and he will be healed. ⁹ I myself am a man under the authority of other men. And I have soldiers under my command. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes. I tell another soldier, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and my servant obeys me.

¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. He said to those who were with him, “I tell you the truth. This man has more faith than any other person I have found, even in Israel. ¹¹ Many people will come from the east and from the west. They will sit and eat with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. ¹² And those people who should have the kingdom will be thrown outside into the darkness. In that place people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.”

¹³ Then Jesus said to the officer, “Go home. Your servant will be healed just as you believed he would.” And at that same time his servant was healed.

Jesus Heals Many People

¹⁴ Jesus went to Peter’s house. There Jesus saw that Peter’s mother-in-law was in bed with a high fever. ¹⁵ Jesus touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then she stood up and began to serve Jesus.

¹⁶ That evening people brought to Jesus many who had demons. Jesus spoke and the demons left them. Jesus healed all the sick. ¹⁷ He did these things to make come true what Isaiah the prophet said:

People Want to Follow Jesus

¹⁸ When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he told his followers to go to the other side of the lake. ¹⁹ Then a teacher of the law came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, I will follow you any place you go.”

²⁰ Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes to live in. The birds have nests to live in. But the Son of Man has no place where he can rest his head.”

²¹ Another man, one of Jesus’ followers, said to Jesus, “Lord, let me go and bury my father first.”

²² But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the people who are dead bury their own dead.”

Jesus Stops a Storm

²³ Jesus got into a boat, and his followers went with him. ²⁴ A very bad storm arose on the lake. The waves covered the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The followers went to Jesus and woke him. They said, “Lord, save us! We will drown!”

²⁶ Jesus answered, “Why are you afraid? You don’t have enough faith.” Then Jesus got up and gave a command to the wind and the sea. The wind stopped, and the sea became very calm.

²⁷ The men were amazed. They said, “What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”

Jesus Heals Two Men with Demons

²⁸ Jesus arrived at the other side of the lake in the country of the Gadarene^[c] people. There, two men came to Jesus. They had demons in them. These men lived in the burial caves. They were so dangerous that people could not use the road by those caves. ²⁹ The two men came to Jesus and shouted, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Did you come here to punish us before the right time?”

³⁰ Near that place there was a large herd of pigs feeding. ³¹ The demons begged Jesus, “If you make us leave these men, please send us into that herd of pigs.”

³² Jesus said to them, “Go!” So the demons left the men and went into the pigs. Then the whole herd of pigs ran down the hill into the lake and were drowned. ³³ The men who were caring for the pigs ran away and went into town. They told about all of this and what had happened to the men who had demons. ³⁴ Then the whole town went out to see Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their area.