The Living Bible (304 page)

Matthew
17

Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John to the top of a high and lonely hill,
²
 and as they watched, his appearance changed so that his face shone like the sun and his clothing became dazzling white.

    
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 Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared and were talking with him.
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 Peter blurted out, “Sir, it’s wonderful that we can be here! If you want me to, I’ll make three shelters,
*
one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

    
⁵
 But even as he said it, a bright cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, and I am wonderfully pleased with him. Obey him.”
*

    
⁶
 At this the disciples fell face downward to the ground, terribly frightened.
⁷
 Jesus came over and touched them.
“Get up,”
he said,
“don’t be afraid.”

    
⁸
 And when they looked, only Jesus was with them.

    
⁹
 As they were going down the mountain, Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone what they had seen until after he had risen from the dead.

    
¹⁰
 His disciples asked, “Why do the Jewish leaders insist Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?”
*

    
¹¹
 Jesus replied,
“They are right. Elijah must come and set everything in order.
¹²
 
And, in fact, he has already come, but he wasn’t recognized, and was badly mistreated by many. And I, the Messiah,
*
shall also suffer at their hands.”

    
¹³
 Then the disciples realized he was speaking of John the Baptist.

    
¹⁴
 When they arrived at the bottom of the hill, a huge crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said,
¹⁵
 “Sir, have mercy on my son, for he is mentally deranged and in great trouble, for he often falls into the fire or into the water;
¹⁶
 so I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t cure him.”

    
¹⁷
 Jesus replied,
“Oh, you stubborn, faithless people! How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to me.”
¹⁸
 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy and it left him, and from that moment the boy was well.

    
¹⁹
 Afterwards the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast that demon out?”

    
²⁰
 
“Because of your little faith,”
Jesus told them.
“For if you had faith even as small as a tiny mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move!’ and it would go far away. Nothing would be impossible.
²¹
 
But this kind of demon won’t leave unless you have prayed and gone without food.”
*

    
^22-23
 One day while they were still in Galilee, Jesus told them,
“I am going to be betrayed into the power of those who will kill me, and on the third day afterwards I will be brought back to life again.”
And the disciples’ hearts were filled with sorrow and dread.

    
²⁴
 On their arrival in Capernaum, the Temple tax collectors came to Peter and asked him, “Doesn’t your master pay taxes?”

    
²⁵
 “Of course he does,” Peter replied.

    
Then he went into the house to talk to Jesus about it, but before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him,
“What do you think, Peter? Do kings levy assessments against their own people or against conquered foreigners?”

    
^26-27
 “Against the foreigners,” Peter replied.

    
“Well, then,”
Jesus said,
“the citizens are free! However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the shore and throw in a line, and open the mouth of the first fish you catch. You will find a coin to cover the taxes for both of us; take it and pay them.”

Matthew
18

About that time the disciples came to Jesus to ask which of them would be greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven!

    
²
 Jesus called a small child over to him and set the little fellow down among them,
³
 and said,
“Unless you turn to God from your sins and become as little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.
⁴
 
Therefore anyone who humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
⁵
 
And any of you who welcomes a little child like this because you are mine is welcoming me and caring for me.
⁶
 
But if any of you causes one of these little ones who trusts in me to lose his faith,
*
it would be better for you to have a rock tied to your neck and be thrown into the sea.

    
⁷
 
“Woe upon the world for all its evils.
*
Temptation to do wrong is inevitable, but woe to the man who does the tempting.
⁸
 
So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. Better to enter heaven crippled than to be in hell with both of your hands and feet.
⁹
 
And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. Better to enter heaven with one eye than to be in hell with two.

    
¹⁰
 
“Beware that you don’t look down upon a single one of these little children. For I tell you that in heaven their angels have constant access
*
to my Father.
¹¹
 
And I, the Messiah,
*
came to save the lost.

    
¹²
 
“If a man has a hundred sheep, and one wanders away and is lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others and go out into the hills to search for the lost one?
¹³
 
And if he finds it, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine others safe at home!
¹⁴
 
Just so, it is not my Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.

    
¹⁵
 
“If a brother sins against you, go to him privately and confront him with his fault. If he listens and confesses it, you have won back a brother.
¹⁶
 
But if not, then take one or two others with you and go back to him again, proving everything you say by these witnesses.
¹⁷
 
If he still refuses to listen, then take your case to the church, and if the church’s verdict favors you, but he won’t accept it, then the church should excommunicate him.
*
¹⁸
 
And I tell you this—whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven, and whatever you free on earth will be freed in heaven.

    
¹⁹
 
“I also tell you this—if two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask for, my Father in heaven will do it for you.
²⁰
 
For where two or three gather together because they are mine, I will be right there among them.”

    
²¹
 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Sir, how often should I forgive a brother who sins against me? Seven times?”

    
²²
 
“No!”
Jesus replied,
“seventy times seven!

    
²³
 
“The Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date.
²⁴
 
In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him $10 million!
*
²⁵
 
He couldn’t pay, so the king ordered him sold for the debt, also his wife and children and everything he had.

    
²⁶
 
“But the man fell down before the king, his face in the dust, and said, ‘Oh, sir, be patient with me and I will pay it all.’

    
²⁷
 
“Then the king was filled with pity for him and released him and forgave his debt.

    
²⁸
 
“But when the man left the king, he went to a man who owed him $2,000
*
and grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.

    
²⁹
 
“The man fell down before him and begged him to give him a little time. ‘Be patient and I will pay it,’ he pled.

    
³⁰
 
“But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and jailed until the debt would be paid in full.

    
³¹
 
“Then the man’s friends went to the king and told him what had happened.
³²
 
And the king called before him the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil-hearted wretch! Here I forgave you all that tremendous debt, just because you asked me to—
³³
 
shouldn’t you have mercy on others, just as I had mercy on you?’

    
³⁴
 
“Then the angry king sent the man to the torture chamber until he had paid every last penny due.
³⁵
 
So shall my heavenly Father do to you if you refuse to truly forgive your brothers.”