Matthew 17

The Transfiguration

1 Six days later Jesus *took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and *led them up on a high mountain by themselves.2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.4 Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah."5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!"6 When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified.7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, "Get up, and do not be afraid."8 And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead."10 And His disciples asked Him, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"11 And He answered and said, "Elijah is coming and will restore all things;12 but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands."13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.

The Demoniac

14 When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying,15 "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.16 I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him."17 And Jesus answered and said, "You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me."18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not drive it out?"20 And He *said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.21 [tBut this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."]

22 And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men;23 and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day." And they were deeply grieved.

The Tribute Money

24 When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the ttwo-drachma tax came to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax? "25 He *said, "Yes." And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?"26 When Peter said, "From strangers," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are exempt.27 However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find ta shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me."

Matthew 18

Rank in the Kingdom

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them,3 and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.4 Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.5 And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me;6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Stumbling Blocks

7 "Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

8 "If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire.9 If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.

10 "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.11 [tFor the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]

Ninety-nine Plus One

12 "What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?13 If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.14 So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

Discipline and Prayer

15 "If your brother sinst, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED.17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.18 Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

19 "Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.20 For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."

Forgiveness

21 Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"22 Jesus *said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

23 "For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.24 When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him tten thousand talents was brought to him.25 But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made.26 So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.'27 And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.28 But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred tdenarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, 'Pay back what you owe.'29 So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you.'30 But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed.31 So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened.32 Then summoning him, his lord *said to him, 'You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.33 Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?'34 And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.35 My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart."

Matthew 19

Concerning Divorce

1 When Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan;2 and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.

3  Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?"4 And He answered and said, "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE,5 and said, 'FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH'?6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."7 They *said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?"8 He *said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery."

10 The disciples *said to Him, "If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry."11 But He said to them, "Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given.12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it."

Jesus Blesses Little Children

13 Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them.14 But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."15 After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.

The Rich Young Ruler

16 And someone came to Him and said, "Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?"17 And He said to him, "Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."18  Then he *said to Him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS;19 HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."20 The young man *said to Him, "All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?"21 Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

23 And Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.24 Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."25 When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, "Then who can be saved?"26 And looking at them Jesus said to them, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

The Disciples' Reward

27 Then Peter said to Him, "Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?"28 And Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother tor children or farms for My name's sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.30 But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.