Who Is the Greatest?
1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.
Jesus Warns of Offenses
6 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!
8 “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
10 “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is 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, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? 13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
Dealing with a Sinning Brother
15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.
18 “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “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 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
28 “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
I am convicted. We are so eager to claim Grace and yet are so unwilling to give it out.
ReplyDeleteThis entire chapter really points out the lost state of our World. This may be obvious to everyone else, but the enormity of the words the "Kingdom of Heaven" struck me. Jesus isn't simply referring to Heaven, or God's dwelling place, etc. He's referring to here and now. I think this somewhat fits with Shad's statement yesterday. While we will never be perfect on this earth, we use that as an excuse. However, the "Kingdom of Heaven" is already here; do we really believe that? Do we(I) really believe Christ's words, 19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven".
I was pondering your "Kingdom of Heaven" observation. In Luke 17:21 Jesus states that the Kingdom of God is inside you. Pastor Bill explained that kingdom can be interchanged with "kingship". Meaning the Lordship of Christ is in your heart. The commentary on this link explains better/further:
Deletehttp://bible.cc/luke/17-21.htm
I'm with you Josh. We need Grace. We are thankful for Grace. But when someone get's on my nerves... well not so much grace from me, at least in my heart. Lets pray we all can live so much in God's Grace and Love with gratitude and awe that it pours out from us to others every day.
ReplyDelete“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? 13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."
Love this! GRACE! :)
You know when I hear the "seek the one sheep... leave the 99" I have to think about it - how many times do I figure, well 99% is pretty good, just cut your losses and move on? Probably not the best attitude right? But then there are definitely those times when we DO search for that 1, and forget the 99 because every "1" is so important...
DeleteAs far as forgiveness, I think that this is something that everyone struggles with. There is forgiving someone, and then REALLY forgiving someone. I can think of several (self included) who are great at "forgiving" but also great at reminding you of "that one time when..." Not true forgiveness. Thank God that His grace doesn't come with constant reminders of past mistakes.
As far as v. 19/20: this is why I think our small group is so important, don't you think?
Yes the "1" is important. I have compassion for the "1" because I've been the one that's messed up so many times that I've felt like I've got nothing to offer God. Then God calls me back and realize it's what He offers me that's important.
DeleteForgiveness is HARD, especially when feelings get hurt. Like you said. Thank Him for not reminding us what we've done/do to Him.
Yes our small group IS important. Hope nothing I've said suggests otherwise. I love everyone their. I just get "passionate" about emphasizing God's Grace and Mercy towards us. The little things in life DO matter to God. Raising our kids to love Jesus, working hard, loving our neighbor. Instead of feeling guilty about vacations and houses and other blessings, let's thank Him for what He's given us. When we live here, in His Love and Grace, then whatever He asks of us is easy, because we trust Him. Sorry for going on about this, just think we could change our small group focus sometimes from beating ourselves up to thanking Him for Grace. Lets focus on Jesus, not our "worldview" ;)
Joel- I know that you like the small group, or you wouldn't be there, right? I mean you must like it at least a little ;-) I know it comes up with what we are or aren't doing in our lives to glorify God, and yes we talk about where we need to improve - but I also think that is an important function of this group. Yes, we ought to place emphasis on God's grace, but we also need to talk about, and support one another in how we can be an example in our communities. We are to be different, and that is hard - but awesome at the same time.
DeleteI don't leave the small group beat up - hoping you don't think that is the case. I do feel "undeveloped" in comparison to a lot of the group, but it is great to have so many great mentors.
WRT our worldview, especially in light of recent events, it has been fascinating to actually explore what a world view is, and how everyone can have such a dramatically different one - even people with the same "belief system." I'm also interested (and scared) to explore what has shaped my worldview, because I already anticipate some areas that are not shaped by a focus on Jesus, but are certainly focused on what makes me/us happy, comfortable (and I mean this in a superficial sense), and "fit in" with certain groups. It's also interesting to look at other worldviews, and how a lack of Jesus can shape a very selfish/angry world view.
Sorry about the novel.
What you did for that family at Christmas was amazing! They will NEVER forget that. Josh's wisdom and knowledge of the bible is inspiring and helpful. Josh you helping out was such a blessing to little Ruby. I couldn't have done it without you. I'm glad you don't feel beat up because you both are an example to everyone else.
DeleteAs far as "worldview" I guess small group is not about me and what I want.;p. I will remove my foot from my mouth now.
I think you're right Mary - about our small group. I also think this is, or at least ought to be the point of the family.
ReplyDeleteAnd Josh, I will get over my discomfort and we really should pray together again. Not just because I want you to pray the same prayer so that God will answer it ;-) But I know that it will help us to grow closer together, and closer to God. I have to stop resisting it, and I'm sorry that I've been so negative about praying together.
DeleteIf you guys see it anything differently please let me know. It's good to bounce this stuff off each other. I carry a lot of baggage with me still about "works" that I'm sensitive too because I've tried to be "perfect", even to the point of trying to "think" the right thoughts ALL THE TIME... I mean every single thought. Obviously this did not end well as I reverted back to an old lifestyle out of the frustration of not being able to do this. I gave up on the whole Christian thing because I thought I was always letting God down.
ReplyDeleteSo if I'm being too critical, please let me know....
Joel one thing that Father Rick (favorite priest ever) informed me when I was going through some really really hard times/bad decision making was that God has love for everyone, and God forgives anyone who repents. None of us are "special" enough to be outside of that grace. Or he said you can view it as being "special" but either way, we seem to resort to this idea that we must be the exception to the rule. God forgives everyone except for _____.
DeleteWhile I probably butchered that a bit - it hit home for me at the time and continues to do so. The idea that I wasn't an exception to God's grace was something that once I came to terms with I was much more able to really forgive and move on.
That's a great way of looking at it. "Special" enough to be outside His Grace. That sermon about security last weekend was very helpful to me because you guys both know I can get a little anxious about my relationship with God. Hence my need for GRACE GRACE GRACE... and my bottle of Effexor pills. :)
DeleteThats good to hear and helpful. Thanks Mary