The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven
1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
7"Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! 8If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
10"See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.12"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.
A Brother Who Sins Against You
15"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' 17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.18"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"22Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.
29"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
30"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
The idea of becoming a child is a very hard concept for most people. Children always trust. Children always forgive. Children always unconditionally love. Children are not complicated. Children love to play. Children are always in need of further instruction. Children believe what they are told until they are conditioned to not believe the person telling them. Jesus is saying that you must take these traits on yourself or you will not understand God nor will you allow Him to change your life.
ReplyDeleteThe parable of the lost sheep speaks volumes to me. For me personally I struggle with how to feel or act around people that are gay. I have always treated them with respect. But I have a hard time believing that they should be allowed to serve in a role like minister or priest or preacher. A pastor friend of mine pointed out that gay people are no different than someone that has committed adultery or murder. I agree however, they should not be seen as though they condone active homosexuality nor should they actively participate in the activity themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe section about a brother sinning against you is interesting. How does someone sin against you? Does this extend to someone that is sinning in general? I know from personal experience that some people believe that they should act as Jesus instructs for any sin and not just sin against them personally. Is committing any sin whether it is against a specific person or not, sinning against not only God and Jesus but also sinning against mankind?
ReplyDeleteForgiveness is not easily found in the world today. Whether it is because people don't deserve it or because people don't want to give it. Jesus is clearly saying that you should forgive because you have been forgiven more than you will ever need to forgive someone. He is also saying that you will be forgiven to the measure that you forgive others. This is another example of how someone might believe that they have control over their entrance into Heaven. I believe this speaks of the idea of different levels in Heaven. Greater your reward will be by the level of your own personal forgiveness of others.
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