Who Is the Greatest?
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1At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
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And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them
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and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you 2turn and 3become like children, you 4will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
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7"Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,
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but 8whoever causes one of these 9little ones who believe in me to sin,a it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
Temptations to Sin
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"Woe to the world for 10temptations to sin!b11For it is necessary that temptations come, 12but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!
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13And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into 14the eternal fire.
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15And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the 16hellc of fire.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
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"See that you do not despise 17one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven 18their angels always 19see the face of my Father who is in heaven.d
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20What do you think? 21If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?
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And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.
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So 22it is not the will of mye Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
If Your Brother Sins Against You
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23"If your brother sins against you, 24go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have 25gained your brother.
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But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established 26by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
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If he refuses to listen to them, 27tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, 28let him be to you as 29a Gentile and 30a tax collector.
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Truly, I say to you, 31whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosedf in heaven.
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Again I say to you, if two of you 32agree on earth about anything they ask, 33it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
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Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often 36will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? 37As many as seven times?"
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Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.g
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"Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished 38to settle accounts with his servants.h
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41And since he could not pay, his master ordered him 42to be sold, with his wife and 43children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
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So the servantj44fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.'
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And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and 45forgave him the debt.
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But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred 46denarii,k and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, 'Pay what you owe.'
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So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.'
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He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.
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When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.
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Then his master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.
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47And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?'
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)