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that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him and had him stand among them. 3 And He said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me.
6 “But if anyone causes one of these 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 depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks that lead to sin! For it is necessary that such things come, but woe to the man by whom they come!
8 “If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 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 fires of Gehenna..
10 “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father in heaven. 11 For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
12 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go in search of the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault when the two of you are alone. Then if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that the evidence will be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you like an unbeliever 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, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am among them.”
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? As many as seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
23 “For this reason, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began settling the accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But as he was not able to pay, his master ordered that he be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had to repay the debt.
26 “At this, the servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you back’. 27 The master of that servant was moved with pity, and he forgave him the debt and released him.
28 “But that same servant went out and found one his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began choking him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe’!
29 “So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back’.
30 “But he refused. Instead he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then his master called him in, and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Shouldn’t you have also had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he paid back everything he owed.
35 “So My heavenly Father will do also to each of you, unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”