The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven
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At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked,
"Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
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He called a little child and had him stand among them.
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And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and
become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
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'Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is
the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
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"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.
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But 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 necks and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
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"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!
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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
maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet
and be thrown into enternal fire.
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And 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
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"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.
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(none)
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"What do you think? If a man own 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?
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And 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.
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In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing
that any of these little ones should be lost.
A Brother Who Sin Against You
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"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 brohter over.
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But if he will not listen, take one or two others along,
so theat 'every matter may be established
by the testimony of two or three witnesses.'
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If 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.
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"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.
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"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.
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For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
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Then Peter came to Jesus and asked,
"Lord, how many time shall I forgive my brother
when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"
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Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
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"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted
to settle accounts with his servants.
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As he began the settlement,
a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought ot him.
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Since he was notable to pay, the master ordered that
he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
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"The servant fell on his knees before him.
'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.'
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The servants's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
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"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants,
who owed him a hundred denari. He grabbed him and began to choke him.
'Pay back what you owe me!" he demanded.
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"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
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"But he refused. Instead,
he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.
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When the other servants saw what had happened,
they were greatly distressed and went and
told their master everything that had happened.
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"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said,
'I canceled all that debt of yours becasue you begged me to.
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Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?'
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In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be torturerd,
until he should pay back all he owed.
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"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you
unless you forgive your brother from your heart."