New Testament in a Year

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.”