Historical
Instructions to the Disciples: The Charter of the Community[a]
Chapter 18
Become Like Little Children.[b] 1 At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 Then Jesus beckoned a child to come to him, placed it in their midst, 3 and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself and becomes like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Woe to the World because of Scandals.[c] 5 “And whoever receives one such child in my name receives me. 6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of scandals. Such things are bound to occur, but woe to the one through whom they come.
8 [d]“If your hand or your foot is an occasion of sin for you, cut it off and throw it away. It is preferable for you to enter into life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is preferable for you to enter into life with one eye than to have two eyes and be cast into the fires of Gehenna.
10 “Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven gaze continually on the face of my heavenly Father. [ 11 For the Son of Man has come to save what was lost.][e]
12 The Parable of the Lost Sheep.[f]“Tell me your opinion. If a man owns a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the other ninety-nine on the hillside and go off in search of the one who went astray? 13 And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he is more filled with joy over it than over the ninety-nine who did not wander off. 14 In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that a single one of these little ones should be lost.
15 The Church: Community of Love, Prayer, and Pardon.[g]“If your brother wrongs you, go and take up the matter with him when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every detail may be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, report it to the Church. And if he refuses to listen to the Church, treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.
18 “Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 [Amen,] I say to you, further, if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in their midst.”
21 Then Peter came up to him and asked, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy times seven.[h]
23 The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.[i]“For this reason, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began the accounting, a man was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.[j] 25 Since he had no possible way to repay what he owed, his master ordered him to be sold, together with his wife, his children, and all his property, to satisfy the debt. 26 At this, the servant fell to his knees, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you in full.’ 27 Moved with compassion, the master of that servant let him go and canceled the debt.
28 “However, when that servant left, he encountered one of his fellow servants who owed him one hundred denarii,[k] and, choking him, he demanded, ‘Pay me back what you owe.’ 29 His fellow servant fell to his knees and pleaded with him, saying, ‘Be patient with me and I will repay you.’ 30 But he turned a deaf ear and had him thrown into prison until he had repaid the debt.
31 “When his fellow servants observed what had happened, they were greatly upset, and, going to their master, they reported everything that had taken place. 32 Then his master sent for the man and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you for your complete debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in his anger his master handed him over to be tortured until he repaid the entire debt. 35 In the same way, my heavenly Father will also deal with you unless each of you forgives his brother from the heart.”
The Coming of the Son of Man[l]
The Ministry in Judea and Jerusalem
Chapter 19
Marriage and Celibacy.[m] 1 When Jesus had finished this discourse, he left Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3 Some Pharisees came forward and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason whatsoever?” 4 He replied, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’ 5 and said: ‘That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two become one flesh’? 6 And so they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” 8 He replied, “It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but it was not like this from the beginning. 9 Now I say to you: if a man divorces his wife for any reason except if the marriage was unlawful and marries another, he commits adultery.”
10 His disciples said to him, “If that is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 He replied, “Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been made so from birth and eunuchs who were made so by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let those accept this who can do so.”[n]
13 Jesus Receives Little Children.[o] Then people brought children to him so that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them. For it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” 15 And after he had laid his hands on them he proceeded on his way.
16 The Rich Young Man.[p] Then a man came forward and asked him, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to achieve eternal life?” 17 He said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said, “Which ones?” And Jesus answered, “You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. 19 Honor your father and your mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.”
20 The young man said to him, “I have observed all these. Is there anything more I must do?” 21 Jesus replied, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this, he went away grieving, for he possessed great wealth.
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Amen, I say to you, it will be difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were astonished, and they asked, “Who then can be saved?” 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”
27 Reward for Following Jesus.[q] Then Peter said in reply, “We have given up everything to follow you. What then will there be for us?” 28 Jesus replied, “Amen, I say to you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.
Chapter 20
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard.[r] 1 “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius[s] a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 Going out about nine o’clock,[t] he saw some others standing idle in the marketplace. 4 He said to them, ‘You also go into my vineyard and I will give you what is just.’ 5 When he went out again around noon and at three in the afternoon,[u] he did the same. 6 Then, about five o’clock,[v] he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ 7 They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the workers and give them their pay, beginning with those who came last and ending with the first.’ 9 When those who had started to labor at five o’clock came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Therefore, those who had come first thought that they would receive more, but they were paid a denarius, the same as the others. 11 And when they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour, and yet you have rewarded them on the same level with us who have borne the greatest portion of the work and the heat of the day.’
13 “The owner replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am not treating you unfairly. Did you not agree with me to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and leave. I have chosen to pay the latecomers the same as I pay you. 15 Am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 Thus, the last will be first and the first will be last.”
17 Jesus Predicts His Passion a Third Time.[w] As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves and said to them, 18 “Behold, we are now going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death. 19 Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised to life.”
20 The Son of Man Has Come To Serve.[x] Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons and made a request of him after kneeling before him. 21 “What do you wish?” he asked her. She said to him, “Promise that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and the other at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup[y] I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.”
23 He then said to them, “You shall indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not in my power to grant. Those places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
24 When the other ten disciples heard this, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. 26 This must not be so with you. Instead, whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your servant. 28 In the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”[z]
29 Two Blind Men Receive Sight.[aa] As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Jesus. 30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they learned that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, take pity on us.” 31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be silent, but they only shouted even more loudly, “Lord, Son of David, take pity on us.”
32 Jesus stopped and called them, saying, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, grant that our eyes may be opened.” 34 Jesus, moved with compassion, touched their eyes. Immediately, they received their sight and followed him.
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