Matthew:18

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* In that hour the disciples came to Jesus . They asked : »Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven ?« * He took a little child and put him in the middle of them . * He said : »Truly I tell you , if you do not have a change of heart and become like little children , you will not go into the kingdom of heaven . * »He who humbles himself to become like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven . * »Everyone who accepts this little child in my name accepts me . * »He who causes one of my faithful little ones to stumble is in trouble . It would be better for him to end up in the deep sea with a great stone tied to his neck . * »A curse is on the earth because of stumbling ! It is necessary for stumbling to come . Unhappy is that man through whom the stumbling comes . * »If your hand or your foot is a cause of stumbling cut it off . Get rid of it . It is better for you to go into life with the loss of a hand or a foot than , having two hands or two feet , to be destroyed by eternal fire . * »If your eye causes you stumbling , take it out and throw it away . It is better for you to go into life with one eye than , having two eyes , to be destroyed in ever-burning fires in the Valley of Hinnom . * »Do not treat these little ones badly . I tell you that angels represent them in the presence of my Father in heaven . nsb @Matthew:18:11 " /> * »What do you think ? A man has a hundred sheep , and one of them has gone wandering away . Will he leave the ninety-nine and go in search of the wandering one ? * »When he finds it , I tell you he will be filled with more joy than he would have if he had stayed with the ninety-nine . * »Even so , your Father in heaven does not want any of these little ones to be lost . * »If your brother does wrong to you , go to him in private . Clearly explain his error between you and him . If he listens to you , you have gained your brother back . * »If he does not listen to you , take one or two more people with you . Two or three witnesses may prove every case . * »If he will not listen to them , let it come to the attention of the congregation . If he will not listen to the congregation , let him be to you as a heathen and a tax collector . * »I tell you ; whatever things are fixed by you on earth will be declared improper and unlawful in heaven . Whatever you make free on earth will be declared lawful in heaven . * »Again , I say to you , that if two of you are in agreement on earth about anything for which they will make a request , it will be done for them by my Father in heaven . * »Where two or three are gathered together in my name , there I am in their midst .« * Peter came to him and said : »Lord , How many times may my brother do wrong against me , and I forgive him ? Seven times ?« * Jesus said to him : »Not seven times ; but seventy times seven . * »The kingdom of heaven is like a king who went over his accounts with his servants . * »First , one came to him who owed him ten thousand talents . * »He was not able to make payment . So his lord gave orders for him to be sold . His wife , sons , and daughters were all to be sold along with every possession . The money would be used for payment of what he owed . * »So the servant fell on his face out of respect . He said : ‘Lord , give me time to make payment and I will pay everything .’ * »Being moved with pity , the lord let him go , and made him free of the debt . * »Then that servant met another servant who was in debt to him for one hundred denarii . He took him by the throat , saying , ‘Pay your debt now .’ * »That servant fell down before him , saying , ‘Give me time and I will make payment to you .’ * »He would not give him time . He put him into prison till he paid the debt . * »When the other servants saw what happened , they were very sad . They told their lord what had been done . * »His lord sent for him , and said : ‘Evil servant ; I made you free of all that debt , because of your request to me . * »‘Should you show mercy to your fellow servant the same way I showed mercy to you ?’ * »His lord was angry and sent him to jail to be punished until he paid back all of his debt . * »My heavenly Father will treat you like that if you do not forgive your brother from your heart .«

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