Who Is the Greatest?

33 And ^zthey came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house ^ahe asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way ^bthey had argued with one another about who was the greatest.

Who Is the Greatest?

1 ^tAt that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, ^c“If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and ^dtaking him in his arms, he said to them,

3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you ^uturn and ^vbecome like children, you ^wwill never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 ^xWhoever humbles himself like this child is the ^wgreatest in the kingdom of heaven.

48 and said to them, ^d“Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and ^dwhoever receives me receives him who sent me. For ^ehe who is least among you all is the one who is great.”

Anyone Not Against Us Is for Us

38 ^fJohn said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone ^gcasting out demons in your name,¹ and ^hwe tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 ⁱFor the one who is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, ^jwhoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.

Temptations to Sin

42 ^k“Whoever causes one of ^lthese little ones who believe in me to sin,^{2 m}it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

Temptations to Sin

7 “Woe to the world for ^btemptations to sin!^{1 c}For it is necessary that temptations come, ^dbut woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! 8 ^eAnd 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 ^fthe eternal fire.

45 ^qAnd if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into ^ohell. 47 ^rAnd if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into ^shell, 48 ‘where ^ttheir worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ 49 For everyone will be salted with fire.¹ 50 ^vSalt is good, ^wbut if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? ^xHave salt in yourselves, and ^ybe at peace with one another.”

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10 “See that you do not despise ^gone of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven ^htheir angels always ⁱsee the face of my Father who is in heaven.¹ 12 ^jWhat do you think? ^kIf 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? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So ^lit is not the will of my² Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

If Your Brother Sins Against You

15 ^m“If your brother sins against you, ⁿgo and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have ^ogained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established ^pby the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, ^qtell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, ^rlet him be to you as ^sa Gentile and ^sa tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, ^twhatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed³ in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you ^uagree on earth about anything they ask, ^vit will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are ^wgathered in my name, ^xthere am I among them.”

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often ^ywill my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? ^zAs many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished ^ato settle accounts with his servants.⁴ 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ^bten thousand ^ctalents.⁵ 25 ^dAnd since he could not pay, his master ordered him ^eto be sold, with his wife and ^fchildren and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant^{6 g}fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and ^dforgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred ^hdenarii,⁷ and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 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. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 ⁱAnd should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 ^jAnd in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,^{8 k}until he should pay all his debt. 35 ^lSo also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother ^mfrom your heart.”

2 Now ^qthe Jews’ Feast of ^rBooths was at hand. 3 ^sSo his brothers¹ said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, ^tshow yourself to the world.” 5 ^uFor not even ^vhis brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, ^w“My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but ^xit hates me because I testify about it that ^yits works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not² going up to this feast, for ^zmy time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

10 But after ^ahis brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private.

52 And ^mhe sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of ⁿthe Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53 But ^othe people did not receive him, because ^phis face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell ^qfire to come down from heaven and consume them?”¹ 55 But he turned and rebuked them.² 56 And they went on to another village.

The Cost of Following Jesus

57 As they were going ^ralong the road, ^ssomeone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus³ said to him, “Leave ^tthe dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and ^uproclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, ^vbut let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, ^w“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”