God's New Bible

The Gospel According to St. Matthew

Unlocked Dynamic Bible :: World English Bible Catholic

- Chapter 18 -

(Mark 9:33–41; Luke 9:46–50)
1
At that precise time the disciples approached Jesus and asked him, “Who among us will be the most important when God makes you king from heaven?”
2
Jesus called a child to come, and he placed that child in their midst.
3
He said, “I tell you the truth: If you do not change and become as humble as little children, surely you will not come under the rule of God from heaven.
4
The people who become as humble as this child will be the most important people among those over whom God will rule from heaven.
5
Also, whenever people welcome a child like this one because they love me, God considers that they are welcoming me.”

Temptations and Trespasses

(Mark 9:42–48; Luke 17:1–4)
6
“If a person causes someone who believes in me to sin, even if it is someone who people think is as unimportant as this little child, God will severely punish that person. He will punish that person worse than if someone had thrown him into the sea’s deep waters with a heavy stone tied to his neck!
7
How terrible it will be for those who cause others to sin. There will always be temptations to sin, but how terrible it will be for anyone to cause another person to sin.
8
So if you are wanting to use one of your hands or feet to sin, stop using that hand or foot! Even if you have to cut it off so you will not sin! Suppose you had only one hand or one foot and still lived forever with God, how much better is that than if you had both hands and both feet and God threw you into the eternal fire in hell because of your sin.
9
Yes, and if what you see makes you want to sin, stop looking at those things! Even if you have to gouge out one of your eyes and throw it away to keep from sinning! Suppose you had only one eye and still lived forever with God, how much better is that than if you had both eyes and God threw you into the eternal fire in hell.”

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

(Luke 15:1–7)
10
“Be sure not to look down on even one of these children. I tell you truly that the angels who protect them can always go to my Father and report to him if you mistreat the children.
11
[For the Son of Man came to save that which was lost.]
12
What do you think you would do in the following situation? If you had one hundred sheep and one of them got lost, you would surely leave the ninety-nine sheep that were on the hillside and go and search for the lost one, would you not?
13
If you found it, I affirm to you that you would rejoice very much. You would be happy that ninety-nine sheep did not stray away, but you would rejoice even more because you had found the sheep that had strayed away.
14
In the same way that the shepherd does not want one of his sheep to stray away, so God, your Father in heaven, does not want even one of these children to go to hell.”

A Brother Who Sins

(Deuteronomy 19:15–21)
15
“If a fellow believer sins against you, go to him when you can be alone with him, and reprove him for sinning against you. If that person listens to you and feels sorry that he has sinned against you, you and he will be good brothers once more.
16
If, however, that person does not listen to you, go get one or two other fellow believers. Have them go with you so that, as the law says, ‘there must be two or three witnesses to confirm every accusation.’
17
If the one who has sinned against you does not listen to them, tell the matter to the entire congregation so that they can correct him. And if the person does not listen to the congregation, exclude him from among you, just as you would exclude pagans and tax collectors as hopeless sinners.
18
Keep this in mind: Whatever you decide on earth about punishing or not punishing a member of your congregation is what has also been decided by God in heaven.

Ask in My Name

(John 16:23–33)
19
Also note this: If at least two of you who live here on earth agree together about whatever you ask for, my Father who is in heaven, will give you what you ask for.
20
This is true, because wherever at least two or three of you assemble because you believe in me, I am with you.”

The Unforgiving Servant

(Romans 12:14–21)
21
Then Peter approached Jesus and said to him, “How many times must I forgive a fellow believer who keeps on sinning against me? If he keeps asking me to forgive him, must I forgive him as many as seven times?”
22
Jesus said to him, “I tell you that the number of times you must forgive someone is not just up to seven, but you must forgive him seventy-seven times.
23
God’s rule from heaven is like a king and his officials. He wanted his officials to pay what they owed him.
24
So those officials came to the king to settle their accounts with him. One of the officials brought to the king owed him a debt that was worth the value of more than three metric tons of gold.
25
But because he did not have enough money to pay what he owed, the king demanded that he, his wife, his children and all he possessed be sold to someone else and that the king be repaid with the money that was paid for them.
26
Then that official, knowing that he did not have the money to pay that huge debt, fell on his knees in front of the king and he begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you all of it, eventually.’
27
The king, knowing that the official could never pay all that huge debt, felt sorry for him. So he canceled his debt and released him.
28
Then this same official went to another one of the king’s officials who owed him a bit less than a year’s wages. He grabbed him by the throat, started choking him, and said to him, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’
29
That official fell on his knees and begged him saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you all of it, eventually.’
30
But the first official kept refusing to cancel that small debt that the man owed him. Instead, he put that official into prison and to stay there until he could pay back all the money that he owed him.
31
When the other officials of the king learned that this had happened, they were very distressed. So they went to the king and reported in detail what had happened.
32
Then the king summoned the official who had owed him a debt worth more than three metric tons of gold. He said to him, ’You wicked servant! I canceled that huge debt that you owed me because you begged me to do so!
33
You should have been merciful and canceled your fellow official’s debt, just like I was merciful to you and canceled your debt!’
34
The king was very angry. He handed this official over to some jailers who would torture him severely until he paid all of the debt that he owed.”
35
Then Jesus continued by saying, “That is what my Father in heaven will do to you if you do not feel merciful and sincerely forgive a fellow believer who sins against you.”
(Mark 9:33–41; Luke 9:46–50)
1
In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”
2
Jesus called a little child to himself, and set him in the middle of them
3
and said, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you turn and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
4
Whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
5
Whoever receives one such little child in my name receives me,

Temptations and Trespasses

(Mark 9:42–48; Luke 17:1–4)
6
but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if a huge millstone were hung around his neck and that he were sunk in the depths of the sea.
7
“Woe to the world because of occasions of stumbling! For it must be that the occasions come, but woe to that person through whom the occasion comes!
8
If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or crippled, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire.
9
If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna (a) of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

(Luke 15:1–7)
10
See that you don’t despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.
11
For the Son of Man came to save that which was lost. (b)
12
“What do you think? If a man has one hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine, go to the mountains, and seek that which has gone astray?
13
If he finds it, most certainly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.
14
Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

A Brother Who Sins

(Deuteronomy 19:15–21)
15
“If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained back your brother.
16
But if he doesn’t listen, take one or two more with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. (c)
17
If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembly. If he refuses to hear the assembly also, let him be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector.
18
Most certainly I tell you, whatever things you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever things you release on earth will have been released in heaven.

Ask in My Name

(John 16:23–33)
19
Again, assuredly I tell you, that if two of you will agree on earth concerning anything that they will ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven.
20
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.”

The Unforgiving Servant

(Romans 12:14–21)
21
Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?”
22
Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven.
23
Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
24
When he had begun to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. (d)
25
But because he couldn’t pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, with his wife, his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26
The servant therefore fell down and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all!’
27
The lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him and forgave him the debt.
28
“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him one hundred denarii, (e) and he grabbed him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’
29
“So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you!’
30
He would not, but went and cast him into prison until he should pay back that which was due.
31
So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were exceedingly sorry, and came and told their lord all that was done.
32
Then his lord called him in and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.
33
Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?’
34
His lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors until he should pay all that was due to him.
35
So my heavenly Father will also do to you, if you don’t each forgive your brother from your hearts for his misdeeds.”

Footnotes

(a)18:9 or, Hell
(b)18:11 NU omits verse 11.
(c)18:16 ℘ Deuteronomy 19:15
(d)18:24 Ten thousand talents (about 300 metric tons of silver) represents an extremely large sum of money, equivalent to about 60,000,000 denarii, where one denarius was typical of one day’s wages for agricultural labor.
(e)18:28 100 denarii was about one sixtieth of a talent, or about 500 grams (1.1 pounds) of silver.