HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1250
MAT T H EW 1 9
heavenly Father’s will that even one of these
little ones should perish.
— promises —
from God
“For where two or three
gather together as my
followers, I am there
among them.”
M AT T H EW 18:2 0
Correcting Another Believer
15 “If another believer* sins against you,* go
privately and point out the offense. If the other
person listens and confesses it, you have won
that person back. 16 But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go
back again, so that everything you say may be
confirmed by two or three witnesses. 17 If the
person still refuses to listen, take your case to
the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the
church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan
or a corrupt tax collector.
18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid*
on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit* on earth will be permitted in
heaven.
19 “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here
on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. 20 For where two
or three gather together as my followers,* I am
there among them.”
Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor
21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord,
how often should I forgive someone* who sins
against me? Seven times?”
22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but
seventy times seven!*
23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be
compared to a king who decided to bring his
accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one
of his debtors was brought in who owed him
millions of dollars.* 25 He couldn’t pay, so his
master ordered that he be sold—along with his
wife, his children, and everything he owned—to
pay the debt.
26 “But the man fell down before his master
and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me,
and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled
with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.
28 “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.
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29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and
begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me,
and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor
wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put
in prison until the debt could be paid in full.
31 “When some of the other servants saw this,
they were very upset. They went to the king and
told him everything that had happened. 32 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.
33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the
angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured
until he had paid his entire debt.
35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to
you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and
sisters* from your heart.”
Discussion about Divorce and Marriage
When Jesus had finished saying these
things, he left Galilee and went down
to the region of Judea east of the Jordan River.
2 Large crowds followed him there, and he
healed their sick.
3 Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him
with this question: “Should a man be allowed to
divorce his wife for just any reason?”
4 “Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus
replied. “They record that from the beginning
‘God made them male and female.’*” 5 And he
said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and
the two are united into one.’* 6 Since they are no
longer two but one, let no one split apart what
God has joined together.”
7 “Then why did Moses say in the law that a
man could give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away?”* they asked.
8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted divorce only
as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was
not what God had originally intended. 9 And I
tell you this, whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery—unless his
wife has been unfaithful.*”
10 Jesus’ disciples then said to him, “If this is
the case, it is better not to marry!”
11 “Not everyone can accept this statement,”
Jesus said. “Only those whom God helps. 12 Some
are born as eunuchs, some have been made eunuchs by others, and some choose not to marry*
for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”
19
18:15a Greek If your brother. 18:15b Some manuscripts do
not include against you. 18:18a Or bind, or lock. 18:18b Or
loose, or open. 18:20 Greek gather together in my name.
18:21 Greek my brother. 18:22 Or seventy-seven times.
18:24 Greek 10,000 talents [375 tons or 340 metric tons of
silver]. 18:28 Greek 100 denarii. A denarius was equivalent
to a laborer’s full day’s wage. 18:35 Greek your brother.
19:4 Gen 1:27; 5:2. 19:5 Gen 2:24. 19:7 See Deut 24:1.
19:9 Some manuscripts add And anyone who marries a
divorced woman commits adultery. Compare Matt 5:32.
19:12 Greek and some make themselves eunuchs.