Life Recovery Bible - Flipbook - Page 39
to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would
be impossible.*”
Jesus Again Predicts His Death
22
After they gathered again in Galilee, Jesus
told them, “The Son of Man is going to be
betrayed into the hands of his enemies. 23 He
will be killed, but on the third day he will be
raised from the dead.” And the disciples were
filled with grief.
Payment of the Temple Tax
24
On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax* came to Peter and
asked him, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the
Temple tax?”
25
“Yes, he does,” Peter replied. Then he
went into the house.
But before he had a chance to speak, J esus
asked him, “What do you think, Peter?* Do
kings tax their own people or the people they
have conquered?*”
26
“They tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied.
“Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are
free! 27 However, we don’t want to offend
them, so go down to the lake and throw in
a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you
catch, and you will find a large silver coin.*
Take it and pay the tax for both of us.”
C H A P T E R 18
The Greatest in the Kingdom
About that time the disciples came to Jesus
and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom
of Heaven?”
2
Jesus called a little child to him and put
the child among them. 3 Then he said, “I tell
you the truth, unless you turn from your sins
and become like little children, you will never
get into the Kingdom of Heaven. 4 So anyone
who becomes as humble as this little child is
the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
5
“And anyone who welcomes a little child
like this on my behalf* is welcoming me.
6
But if you cause one of these little ones who
trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better
for you to have a large millstone tied around
your neck and be drowned in the depths of
the sea.
7
“What sorrow awaits the world, because it
12-STEP
DEVOTIONAL
STEP
8
Forgiven to Forgive
BIBLE READING: Matthew 18:23-35
We made a list of all persons we had
harmed and became willing to make
amends to them all.
Listing all the people we have harmed will
probably trigger a natural defensiveness.
With each name we write down, another
mental list may begin to form—a list of the
wrongs that have been done to us. How
can we deal with the resentment we hold
toward others so we can move toward
making amends?
Jesus told this story: “A king . . . decided
to bring his accounts up to date with
servants who had borrowed money from
him. In the process, one of his debtors
was brought in who owed him millions
of dollars” (Matthew 18:23-24). The
man begged for forgiveness because he
couldn’t pay. The king “was filled with pity
for him, and he released him and forgave
his debt. But when the man left the king,
he went to a fellow servant who owed
him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed
him by the throat and demanded instant
payment” (18:27-28). This was reported
to the king. “Then the king called in the
man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil
servant! I forgave you that tremendous
debt because you pleaded with me.
Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow
servant . . . ?’ Then the angry king sent
the man to prison to be tortured until
he had paid his entire debt. That’s what
my heavenly Father will do to you if you
refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters”
(18:32-35).
When we look at all that God has forgiven us, it makes sense to choose to forgive
others. This also frees us from the torture
of festering resentment. We can’t change
what others have done to us, but we can
write off their debts and become willing to make amends. Turn to page 1481,
2 Corinthians 2.
7:20 Some manuscripts add verse 21, But this kind of
1
demon won’t leave except by prayer and fasting. Compare
Mark 9:29. 17:24 Greek the two-drachma [tax]; also in
17:24b. See Exod 30:13-16; Neh 10:32-33. 17:25a Greek
Simon?
17:25b Greek their sons or others?
17:27 Greek
a stater [a Greek coin equivalent to four drachmas].
18:5 Greek in my name.
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