Who Is the Greatest?

181 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said , " Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven ?" 2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before e them, 3 and said , "Truly I say to you, unless e you are converted and become like children , you will not enter the kingdom of heaven . 4 "Whoever then humbles himself as this child , he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven . 5 "And whoever e receives one such child in My name receives Me;

Temptations to Sin

6 but whoever e causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble , it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck , and to be drowned in the depth of the sea .

7 "Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks ! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come ; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes ! 8 " If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble , cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame , than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire . 9 " If your eye causes you to stumble , pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye , than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell .

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10 "See that you do not despise one of these little ones , for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually e see the face of My Father who is in heaven . 11 [" For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost .] 12 "What do you think ? If any man has a hundred sheep , and one of them has gone astray , does he not leave the ninety-nine e on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying ? 13 "If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine e which have not gone astray . 14 "So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish .

A Brother Who Sins

15 " If your brother sins , go and show him his fault in private ; if he listens to you, you have won your brother . 16 "But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED . 17 "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church ; and if he refuses to listen even to the church , let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector . 18 "Truly I say to you, whatever e you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven ; and whatever e you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven . 19 "Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything e that they may ask , it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven . 20 "For where two or three have gathered together in My name , I am there in their midst ."

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

21 Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord , how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times ?" 22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times , but up to seventy times seven . 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 had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 "But since he did not have the means to repay , his lord commanded him to be sold , along with his wife and children and all that he had , and repayment to be made . 26 "So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying , 'Have patience with me and I will repay you everything .' 27 "And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt . 28 "But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii ; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying , 'Pay back what you owe .' 29 "So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying , 'Have patience with me and I will repay you.' 30 "But he was unwilling e and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed . 31 "So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened , they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened . 32 "Then summoning him, his lord said to him, 'You wicked slave , I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 ' Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave , in the same way that I had mercy on you?' 34 "And his lord , moved with anger , handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35 " My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart ."

Jesus' Teaching on Divorce

191 When Jesus had finished these words , He departed from Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan ; 2 and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there .

3 Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking , " Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all ?" 4 And He answered and said , "Have you not read that He who created them from 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 e ONE FLESH '? 6 "So they are no longer two , but one flesh . What therefore God has joined together , let no man separate ." 7 They said to Him, " Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY ?" 8 He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives ; but from the beginning it has not been this way . 9 "And I say to you, whoever e divorces his wife , except for immorality , and marries another woman commits adultery ." 10 The disciples said to Him, "If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this , it is better not to marry ." 11 But He said to them, " Not all men can accept this statement , but only those to whom it has been given . 12 "For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb ; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men ; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven . He who is able to accept this, let him accept it."

Jesus Blesses Little Children

13 Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray ; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said , " Let the children alone , and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these ." 15 After laying His hands on them, He departed from there .

The Rich Young Ruler

16 And someone came to Him and said , "Teacher , what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life ?" 17 And He said to him, "Why are you asking Me about what is good ? There is only One who is good ; but if you wish to enter into life , keep the commandments ." 18 Then he said to Him, "Which ones ?" And Jesus said , " YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER ; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY ; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL ; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS ; 19  HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER ; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF ." 20 The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept ; what am I still lacking ?" 21 Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete , go and sell your possessions and give to the poor , and you will have treasure in heaven ; and come , follow Me." 22 But when the young man heard this statement , he went away grieving ; for he was one who owned much property .

23 And Jesus said to His disciples , "Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven . 24 "Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle , than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God ." 25 When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said , "Then who can be saved ?" 26 And looking at them Jesus said to them, " With people this is impossible , but with God all things are possible ." 27 Then Peter said to Him, "Behold , we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?" 28 And Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne , you also shall sit upon 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 farms for My name's sake , will receive many times as much , and will inherit eternal life . 30 " But many who are first will be last ; and the last , first .

Laborers in the Vineyard

201 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard . 2 "When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day , he sent them into his vineyard . 3 "And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place ; 4 and to those he said , 'You also go into the vineyard , and whatever e is right I will give you.' And so they went . 5 "Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour , and did the same thing . 6 "And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day long?' 7 "They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said to them, 'You go into the vineyard too .' 8 "When evening came , the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman , 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages , beginning with the last group to the first .' 9 "When those hired about the eleventh hour came , each one received a denarius . 10 "When those hired first came , they thought that they would receive more ; but each of them also received a denarius . 11 "When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner , 12 saying , 'These last men have worked only one hour , and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day .' 13 "But he answered and said to one of them, ' Friend , I am doing you no wrong ; did you not agree with me for a denarius ? 14 'Take what is yours and go , but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. 15 'Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own ? Or is your eye envious because I am generous ?' 16 "So the last shall be first , and the first last ."

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

17 As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem , He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves , and on the way He said to them, 18 "Behold , we are going up to Jerusalem ; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes , and they will condemn Him to death , 19 and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up."

The Request of James and John

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons , bowing down and making a request of Him. 21 And He said to her, "What do you wish ?" She said to Him, "Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left ." 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, " My cup you shall drink ; but to sit on My right and on My left , this is not Mine to give , but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father ." 24 And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers . 25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said , "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. 26 "It is not this way among you, but whoever e wishes to become great among you shall be your servant , 27 and whoever e wishes to be first among you shall be your slave ; 28 just as the Son of Man did not come 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 And two blind men sitting by the road , hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, "Lord , have mercy on us, Son of David !" 31 The crowd sternly told them to be quiet , but they cried out all the more , "Lord , Son of David , have mercy on us!" 32 And Jesus stopped and called them, and said , "What do you want Me to do for you?" 33 They said to Him, "Lord , we want our eyes to be opened ." 34 Moved with compassion , Jesus touched their eyes ; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.