18:1
At this time the disciples came to Jesus and said, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven?'
18:2
So he called a little child to him whom he set among them.
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Then he said,
'In truth I tell you, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven.
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And so, the one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven.
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'Anyone who welcomes one little child like this in my name welcomes me.
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But anyone who is the downfall of one of these little ones who have faith in me would be better drowned in the depths of the sea with a great millstone round his neck.
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Alas for the world that there should be such causes of falling! Causes of falling indeed there must be, but alas for anyone who provides them!
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'If your hand or your foot should be your downfall, cut it off and throw it away: it is better for you to enter into life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.
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And if your eye should be your downfall, tear 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 of fire.
18:10
'See that you never despise any of these little ones, for I tell you that theirin heaven are continually in the presence of my Father in heaven.
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18:12
'Tell me. Suppose a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays; will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go in search of the stray?
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In truth I tell you, if he finds it, it gives him more joy than do the ninety-nine that did not stray at all.
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Similarly, it is never the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.
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'If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother.
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If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you: whatever the misdemeanour, the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain the charge.
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But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a gentile or a tax collector.
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'In truth I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
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'In truth I tell you once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven.
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For where two or three meet in my name, I am there among them.'
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Then Peter went up to him and said, 'Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?'
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Jesus answered,
'Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.
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'And so the kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants.
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When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents;
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he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt.
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At this, the servant threw himself down at his master's feet, with the words, "Be patient with me and I will pay the whole sum."
18:27
And the servant's master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt.
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Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow-servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him, saying, "Pay what you owe me."
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His fellow-servant fell at his feet and appealed to him, saying, "Be patient with me and I will pay you."
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But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt.
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His fellow-servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him.
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Then the master sent for the man and said to him, "You wicked servant, I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me.
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Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow-servant just as I had pity on you?"
18:34
And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt.
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And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.'
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