The Greatest in the Empire Is the Least
Matthew 18At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who then is greatest in the Empire of Heaven?”
Jesus called a little child to himself, who he had stand among them. He said, “Truly I tell y’all, unless y’all turn around and become like little children, y’all will never enter into the Empire of Heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles themselves like this little child is the greatest in the Empire of Heaven. And whoever receives one such child in my name receives me. But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for them to have a huge millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
“Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! Such things must come, but woe to the human through whom the tumbling block comes! If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is more beautiful for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away. It is more beautiful for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be cast into the fire of hell.
Jesus Seeks the Wanderers
See that y’all don’t despise one of these little ones. For I tell y’all that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. +18:10 Some manuscripts include verse 11 “For the Son of Humanity came to save that which was lost.”
“What do y’all think? If a human owns one hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t they leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go seek the one that wandered away? If the owner finds it, truly I tell y’all, they will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. In the same way, it is not the will of y’all’s Father in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
Relationships, Restoration, and Prayer
“If your sibling sins against you, go, show them their fault between the two of you alone. If they listen to you, you have gained them back. But if they won’t listen, take one or two more with you, so that ‘by the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established.’+Deut 19:15 If they refuse to listen, tell it to the church, and if they refuse to listen to the church as well, let them be to you as another ethnic group or a tax collector. Truly I tell y’all, whatever y’all bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever y’all release on earth be released in heaven. Again, assuredly I tell y’all, that if two of y’all agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.”
The Parable of the Forgiving King
Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how many times should I forgive my sibling who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you, no seven times, but seventy times seven. Therefore the Empire of Heaven is like a human king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. When he had begun to settle, a debtor who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. But because he couldn’t pay, the master ordered that he, his wife, his children, and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. Then the servant fell to the ground and knelt before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you everything!’ The servant’s master felt gut-wrenching sympathy, so he forgave him the debt and released him.
“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him one hundred denarii. He grabbed him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’
“So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you!’ But he refused. Instead he went and threw him into prison until he could pay back the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what happened, they were deeply offended, and went and told their master everything that had happened. Then the master called him in and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ His master was enraged, so he delivered him to the torturers until he could pay all he owed. My heavenly Father will do the same to y’all, if y’all don’t forgive your* sibling from y’all’s hearts.”