Mat 10, Mat 18 | ESV | STEP | And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits , to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction .

1 ^aAnd he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 ^bThe names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, ^cwho is called Peter, and ^dAndrew his brother; ^eJames the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and ^fMatthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ^{▼▼Some manuscripts Lebbaeus, or Lebbaeus called Thaddaeus} 4 Simon the Zealot, ^{▼▼Greek kananaios, meaning zealot} and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

5 ⁱThese twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of ^jthe Samaritans, 6 ^kbut go rather to ^lthe lost sheep of ^mthe house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ⁿ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 ^oHeal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, ^{▼▼Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13} cast out demons. ^qYou received without paying; give without pay. 9 ^rAcquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics ^{▼▼Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin} or sandals or a staff, for ^tthe laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, ^ugreet it. 13 And if the house is ^vworthy, let ^wyour peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let ^xyour peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, ^yshake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, ^zit will be more bearable on the day of judgment for ^aathe land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Persecution Will Come

16 ^ab“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be ^acwise as serpents and ^adinnocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for ^aethey will deliver you over to courts and flog you ^afin their synagogues, 18 ^agand you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, ^ahto bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 ^aiWhen ^ajthey deliver you over, ^akdo not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for ^alwhat you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 ^amFor it is not you who speak, but ^anthe Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 ^aoBrother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 ^apand you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. ^aqBut the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they ^arpersecute you in one town, ^asflee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel ^atbefore the Son of Man comes.

24 ^au“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant ^{▼▼Greek bondservant; also verse 25} above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. ^awIf they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign ^{▼▼Greek lacks will they malign} those of his household.

Have No Fear

26 “So have no fear of them, ^ayfor nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on ^azthe housetops. 28 And ^bado not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him ^bbwho can destroy both soul and body in hell. ^{▼▼Greek Gehenna} 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? ^{▼▼Greek assarion, Roman copper coin (Latin quadrans) worth about 1/16 of a denarius (which was a day’s wage for a laborer)} And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But ^beeven the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; ^bfyou are of more value than many sparrows. 32 ^bgSo everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but ^bhwhoever denies me before men, ^biI also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword

34 ^bj“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. ^bkI have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 ^blFor I have come ^bmto set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 ^bnAnd a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 ^boWhoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And ^bpwhoever does not take his cross and ^bqfollow me is not worthy of me. 39 ^brWhoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Rewards

40 ^bs“Whoever receives you receives me, and ^btwhoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 ^buThe one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And ^bvwhoever gives one of ^bwthese little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

Matthew 18

Who Is the Greatest?

1 ^bxAt that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you ^byturn and ^bzbecome like children, you ^cawill never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 ^cbWhoever humbles himself like this child is the ^ccgreatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5 ^cd“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but ^cewhoever causes one of these ^cflittle ones who believe in me to sin, ^{▼▼Greek causes . . . to stumble; also verses 8, 9} it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Temptations to Sin

7 “Woe to the world for ^chtemptations to sin! ^{▼▼Greek stumbling blocks} ^cjFor it is necessary that temptations come, ^ckbut woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! 8 ^clAnd 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 crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into ^cmthe eternal fire. 9 ^cnAnd if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the ^cohell ^{▼▼Greek Gehenna} of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10 “See that you do not despise ^cqone of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven ^crtheir angels always ^cssee the face of my Father who is in heaven. ^{▼▼Some manuscripts add verse 11: For the Son of Man came to save the lost} 12 ^cuWhat do you think? ^cvIf a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So ^cwit is not the will of my ^{▼▼Some manuscripts your} Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

If Your Brother Sins Against You

15 ^cy“If your brother sins against you, ^czgo and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have ^dagained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established ^dbby the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, ^dctell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, ^ddlet him be to you as ^dea Gentile and ^dfa tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, ^dgwhatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed ^{▼▼Or shall have been bound . . . shall have been loosed} in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you ^diagree on earth about anything they ask, ^djit will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are ^dkgathered in my name, ^dlthere am I among them.”

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often ^dmwill my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? ^dnAs many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished ^doto settle accounts with his servants. ^{▼▼Greek bondservants; also verses 28, 31} 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ^dqten thousand ^drtalents. ^{▼▼A talent was a monetary unit worth about twenty years’ wages for a laborer} 25 ^dtAnd since he could not pay, his master ordered him ^duto be sold, with his wife and ^dvchildren and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant ^{▼▼Greek bondservant; also verses 27, 28, 29, 32, 33} ^dxfell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and ^dyforgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred ^dzdenarii, ^{▼▼A denarius was a day’s wage for a laborer} and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 ^ebAnd should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 ^ecAnd in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, ^{▼▼Greek torturers} ^eeuntil he should pay all his debt. 35 ^efSo also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother ^egfrom your heart.”