Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ
13 zNow when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say aJohn the Baptist, others say bElijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the cprophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, d“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, ebut my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and fon this grock1 I will hbuild my church, and the igates of hell2 shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the jkeys of the kingdom of heaven, and kwhatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed3 in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
Who Is the Greatest?
1 yAt that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the zgreatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like achildren, you will never benter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever chumbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 d“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 ebut whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,1 fit would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
Temptations to Sin
7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin!2 For it is necessary that temptations come, but gwoe to the one by whom the temptation comes! 8 hAnd 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 the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell3 of fire.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
10 i“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven jtheir angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.4 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and kgo 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 lSo it is not the will of my5 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, go and tell him his fault, nbetween 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, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, qlet him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, rwhatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed6 in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, sif two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
