Day 291: Matthew 18 - 20

Chapter 18

Who Is the Greatest?

1: At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 

2: He called a child, whom he put among them, 

3: and said, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 

4: Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

 5: Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

Temptations to Sin

6: "If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea.

7: Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes! 

8: "If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire.

 9: And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10: "Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven 11: their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven. 

12: What do you think? If a shepherd 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? 

13: And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 

14: So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.

A Brother Who Sins

15: "If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. 

16: But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 

17: If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 

18: Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 

19: Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 

20: For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them."

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

21: Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" 

22: Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. 

23: "For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 

24: When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; 

25: and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. 

26: So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' 

27: And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt.

28: But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, "Pay what you owe.' 

29: Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' 

30: But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. 

31: When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. 

32: Then his lord summoned him and said to him, "You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 

33: Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?' 

34: And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. 

35: So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart."

Chapter 19

Jesus' Teaching on Divorce

1: When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 

2: Large crowds followed him, and he cured them there.

3: Some Pharisees came to him, and to test him they asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?" 

4: He answered, "Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning "made them male and female,' 

5: and said, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?

 6: So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate." 

7: They said to him, "Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?"

 8: He said to them, "It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.

 9: And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another commits adultery." 

10: His disciples said to him, "If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry." 

11: But he said to them, "Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given. 

12: For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can."

Jesus Blesses Little Children

13: Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; 

14: but Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs." 

15: And he laid his hands on them and went on his way.

The Rich Young Ruler

16: Then someone came to him and said, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" 

17: And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." 

18: He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; 

19: Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

20: The young man said to him, "I have kept all these; what do I still lack?" 

21: Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." 

22: When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

23: Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. 

24: Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." 

25: When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, "Then who can be saved?" 

26: But Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible." 

27: Then Peter said in reply, "Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?" 

28: Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 

29: And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life. 

30: But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.

Chapter 20

Laborers in the Vineyard

1: "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 

2: After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. 

3: When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace;

 4: and he said to them, "You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. 

5: When he went out again about noon and about three o'clock, he did the same. 

6: And about five o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, "Why are you standing here idle all day?' 

7: They said to him, "Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, "You also go into the vineyard.' 

8: When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, "Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.' 

9: When those hired about five o'clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. 

10: Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. 

11: And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 

12: saying, "These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' 

13: But he replied to one of them, "Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 

14: Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 

15: Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?' 

16: So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

17: While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, 

18: "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; 

19: then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised."

The Request of James and John

20: Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him. 

21: And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom." 

22: But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They said to him, "We are able." 

23: He said to them, "You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." 

24: When the ten heard it, they were angry with the two brothers. 

25: But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 

26: It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, 

27: and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave;

28: just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."

Two Blind Men Receive Sight

29: As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 

30: There were two blind men sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" 

31: The crowd sternly ordered them to be quiet; but they shouted even more loudly, "Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!"

32: Jesus stood still and called them, saying, "What do you want me to do for you?" 

33: They said to him, "Lord, let our eyes be opened." 

34: Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they regained their sight and followed him.