Beginning

18 The disciples came to Jesus at that time. They said, `Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?'

² Jesus called a child to him. He had the child stand in front of them.

³ He said, `I tell you the truth. If your hearts do not change and become like hearts of children, you will never go into the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ So anyone who feels himself small like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

⁵ `If anyone takes in a child like this for my sake, he takes in me.'

⁶ `These little children believe in me. If anyone makes one of them do wrong, he will be punished. He will have worse trouble than if a big stone were tied to his neck and he were thrown into the deep sea.

⁷ `There will be trouble in the world because people make other people do wrong! People will do wrong. But the person who makes another person do wrong will have trouble.

⁸ If your hand or your foot makes you do wrong, cut it off and throw it away! It is better for you to enter into life without hands or feet than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into the fire that burns for ever.

⁹ If your eye makes you do wrong, pull it out and throw it away! It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the hell fire.'

¹⁰ `Do not think badly of these little children. I tell you this. They have angels in heaven. And all the time their angels can see the face of my father who is in heaven.

¹¹ `The Son of Man came to save anyone who is lost.

¹² What do you think about this? A man has a hundred sheep. One of them is lost. Will he not leave the ninety-nine sheep on the hills and go to look for the one that is lost? Yes, he will.

¹³ I tell you the truth. When he finds it, he is more happy to see that one than the ninety-nine that were not lost.

¹⁴ In the same way, my Father in heaven does not want one of these little children to be lost.'

¹⁵ `If your brother does something wrong to you, go to him. Talk alone to him and tell him what he has done. If he listens to you, you have kept your brother as a friend.

¹⁶ But if he does not listen to you, take one or two others with you to talk to him. Then two or three people will hear every word and can prove what was said.

¹⁷ If he does not listen to them, tell the church. If he does not listen to the church, treat him as one who does not believe in God and as bad as a tax collector.'

¹⁸ `I tell you the truth. What you tie on earth will be tied in heaven. What you set free on earth will be set free in heaven.

¹⁹ I tell you another thing. If two of you on earth agree together to ask for something, my Father in heaven will do it for them.

²⁰ Where two or three people meet together in my name, I am there with them.'

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked him, `Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother when he does wrong things to me? Should I forgive him seven times?'

²² Jesus answered him, `I say not seven times only, but seventy times seven.

²³ `In that way the kingdom of heaven is like this. A king was ready to finish his business with his servants.

²⁴ The first servant was brought in. He owed the king a very large sum of money.

²⁵ He could not pay it. So his master said, "Go sell him, his wife, his children, and everything he has, and pay me!"

²⁶ So the servant bowed down in front of him. He begged, "Sir, give me time. I will pay everything."

²⁷ His master was sorry for him and let him go. He did not make him pay the money.

²⁸ `That same servant went out and met another servant. This man owed him a much smaller sum of money. He caught him by the throat and said, Pay me what you owe me!"

²⁹ Then this servant bowed down in front of him. He begged, "Give me time. I will pay you."

³⁰ But he said, "No." He went and put the man in prison until he could pay what he owed him.

³¹ `The other servants saw what he did. They were very sad. They went and told their master everything that had been done.

³² Then his master called the first servant to him. He said, "You bad man! I let you go. I did not make you pay all you owed me, because you begged me to be kind to you.

³³ You should have been kind to the other servant, as I was kind to you."

³⁴ His master was very angry. He turned the servant over to the prison guards until he could pay all he owed him.

³⁵ `That is like what my Father in heaven will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.'

19 When Jesus had finished this talk, he left Galilee. He went away to the part of Judea that is on the other side of the Jordan River.

² Many people followed him. He healed them there.

³ The Pharisees came to Jesus to test him. They asked, `Is it right for a man to send his wife away from him for any reason?'

⁴ Jesus answered, `Have you not read this? From the time God first made people, he made them a man and a woman.

⁵ God said, "A man must leave his father and mother and must stay with his wife. The two of them will be like one person."

⁶ So they are not two people any more, but they are one person. Man must not separate what God has joined together.'

⁷ They said to Jesus, `Then why did Moses make this law? He said that a man may give his wife a paper to show that he does not want her any more. Then he may send her away.'

⁸ Jesus said to them, `Moses wrote that law because your hearts are so hard. That is why he let you send your wives away. But in the beginning it was not that way.

⁹ But I tell you this. No man may send his wife away unless she has committed adultery. If he does, and if he marries another woman, he commits adultery. And if a man marries a woman who has been sent away by her husband, he commits adultery.'

¹⁰ The disciples said to him, `If a man and woman are like that, then it is better not to marry.'

¹¹ Jesus said, `Not everyone can agree to that. But God has chosen some not to be married.

¹² Some men cannot marry because they were born that way. Some were made that way by men. Others said, "I will not marry, for the sake of the kingdom of heaven." `Anyone who can do this, should do it.'

¹³ Then people brought children to Jesus. They wanted him to put his hands on them and ask God to bless them. The disciples tried to stop the people.

¹⁴ But Jesus said, `Let the children come to me. Do not try to stop them. The kingdom of heaven belongs to people like them.'

¹⁵ So he put his hands on the children. Then he went away.

¹⁶ A man came to Jesus and said, `Teacher, what good thing must I do so that I will live for ever?'

¹⁷ Jesus said, `Why do you ask me about what is good? Only God is good. If you want to live for ever, you must keep God's laws.'

¹⁸ The man said, `Which laws?' Jesus said, `Do not kill. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not tell lies.

¹⁹ Respect your father and your mother. Love your neighbour as you love yourself.'

²⁰ The young man said, `I have kept all those laws. What more must I do?'

²¹ Jesus said, `If you want to be all right, go and sell everything you have. Give the money to poor people. For this you will be rich in heaven. Then come and go with me.'

²² When the young man heard that, he was sad, because he was very rich. So he went away.

²³ Then Jesus said to his disciples, `I tell you the truth. It is very hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

²⁴ And I tell you this also. It is easier for a big animal like a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.'

²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were very much surprised. They said, `Then who can be saved?'

²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, `Men cannot do it, but God can do anything.'

²⁷ Then Peter said, `See, we have left all things and have come with you. So what will we have?'

²⁸ Jesus said to them, `I tell you the truth. In the new world, the Son of Man will be great. He will sit on his throne of glory [big chair of a king] to rule. Then you who have come with me will also sit on twelve thrones. You will judge the twelve tribes of Israel.

²⁹ If anyone has left his house, his brothers, his sisters, his father, his mother, his children, or his farms for my sake, he will receive a hundred times as much as he has left. And he will live for ever.

³⁰ But many people who are first will be last, and those who are last will be first.'