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1 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, (a)Who is the greatest in the (b) kingdom of heaven? ( 1a )
2 And Jesus called a little (c) child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoso shall receive one such little child (10wl) in my name receiveth me. 6 But whoso shall (d) offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe unto the (e) world ( 2a ) because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! 8 Wherefore (f) if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to (g) enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into (h) everlasting fire. ( 3a ) 9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be (i) cast into hell( i) fire. ( 4a ) 10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their (1) angels ( 5a ) do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. |
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11 ( 6a ) For the (1) Son of man is come to (2) save that which was (3) lost.
12 How think ye? (4) if a man have an (n) hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? 13 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. |
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15 Moreover if thy (o) brother shall (p) trespass ( 7a ) against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: (3ph) if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee (q) one or two more, that in the mouth of (r) two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the (s) church*, let him be unto thee as an (t) heathen man and a publican. 18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall (u) bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall (v) agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. |
| 20 For (v) where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. |
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21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, (w) how oft shall my brother sin ( 8a ) against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until (x) seventy times seven. 23 Therefore is the (1) kingdom ( 9a ) of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would (y) take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had (z) not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I (aa) will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and (bb) forgave him the debt. 28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an (cc) hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he (ee) would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, (ff) I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the (gg) tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. |
Matthew Bible Study Outlines
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Matthew Bible Study Outlines
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FURTHER TEACHING ON THE SAME SUBJECT,
10. Take heed that ye despise – stumble.
11. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost – or "is lost." A golden saying, once and again repeated in different forms. Here the connection seems to be, "Since the whole object and errand of the Son of man into the world is to save the lost, take heed lest, by causing offenses, ye lose the saved." That this is the idea intended we may gather from Matthew 18:14. 12, 13. How think ye? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray. – This is another of those pregnant sayings which our Lord uttered more than once. See on the delightful parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15:4-7. Only the object there is to show what the good Shepherd will do, when even one of His sheep is lost, to find it; here the object is to show, when found, how reluctant He is to lose it. Accordingly, it is added, 14. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish – How, then, can He but visit for those "offenses" which endanger the souls of these little ones? 15. Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. – Probably our Lord had reference still to the late dispute, Who should be the greatest? After the rebuke – so gentle and captivating, yet so dignified and divine – under which they would doubtless be smarting, perhaps each would be saying, It was not I that began it, it was not I that threw out unworthy and irritating insinuations against my brethren. Be it so, says our Lord; but as such things will often arise, I will direct you how to proceed. First, Neither harbor a grudge against your offending brother, nor break forth upon him in presence of the unbelieving; but take him aside, show him his fault, and if he own and make reparation for it, you have done more service to him than even justice to yourself. Next, If this fail, take two or three to witness how just your complaint is, and how brotherly your spirit in dealing with him. Again, If this fail, bring him before the Church or congregation to which both belong. Lastly, If even this fail, regard him as no longer a brother Christian, but as one "without" – as the Jews did Gentiles and publicans. 18. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven – Here, what had been granted but a short time before to Peter only (see on Matthew 16:19) is plainly extended to all the Twelve; so that whatever it means, it means nothing peculiar to Peter, far less to his pretended successors at Rome. It has to do with admission to and rejection from the membership of the Church. But see on John 20:23. 19. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
20. For where two or three are gathered together in my name – or "unto my name."
In that these assemblies cannot exist with fewer than two, so by letting it down so low as that number, He gives the utmost conceivable encouragement to union in this exercise. But what kind of union? Not an agreement merely to pray in concert, but to pray for some definite thing. "As touching anything which they shall ask," says our Lord – anything they shall agree to ask in concert. At the same time, it is plain He had certain things at that moment in His eye, as most fitting and needful subjects for such concerted prayer. The Twelve had been "falling out by the way" about the miserable question of precedence in their Master's kingdom, and this, as it stirred their corruptions, had given rise – or at least was in danger of giving rise – to "offenses" perilous to their souls. The Lord Himself had been directing them how to deal with one another about such matters. "But now shows He unto them a more excellent way." Let them bring all such matters – yea, and everything whatsoever by which either their own loving relationship to each other, or the good of His kingdom at large, might be affected – to their Father in heaven; and if they be but agreed in petitioning Him about that thing, it shall be done for them of His Father which is in heaven. But further, it is not merely union in prayer for the same thing – for that might be with very jarring ideas of the thing to be desired – but it is to symphonious prayer, the prayer by kindred spirits, members of one family, servants of one Lord, constrained by the same love, fighting under one banner, cheered by assurances of the same victory; a living and loving union, whose voice in the divine ear is as the sound of many waters. Accordingly, what they ask "on earth" is done for them, says Jesus, "of My Father which is in heaven." Not for nothing does He say, "of MY FATHER" – not "YOUR FATHER"; as is evident from what follows: "For where two or three are gathered together unto My name" – the "My" is emphatic, "there am I in the midst of them." As His name would prove a spell to draw together many clusters of His dear disciples, so if there should be but two or three, that will attract Himself down into the midst of them; and related as He is to both the parties, the petitioners and the Petitioned – to the one on earth by the tie of His assumed flesh, and to the other in heaven by the tie of His eternal Spirit – their symphonious prayers on earth would thrill upward through Him to heaven, be carried by Him into the holiest of all, and so reach the Throne. Thus will He be the living Conductor of the prayer upward, and the answer downward.
21. Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? – In the recent dispute, Peter had probably been an object of special envy, and his forwardness in continually answering for all the rest would likely be cast up to him – and if so, probably by Judas – notwithstanding his Master's commendations. And as such insinuations were perhaps made once and again, he wished to know how often and how long he was to stand it.
22. Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times; but, Until seventy times seven – that is, so long as it shall be needed and sought: you are never to come to the point of refusing forgiveness sincerely asked. (See on Luke 17:3, 4).
23. Therefore – "with reference to this matter."
24. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents – If Attic talents are here meant, 10,000 of them would amount to above a million and a half sterling; if Jewish talents, to a much larger sum. 25. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made – (See 2 Kings 4:1; Nehemiah 5:8; Leviticus 25:39).
26. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him – or did humble obeisance to him.
27. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt – Payment being hopeless, the master is first moved with compassion; next, liberates his debtor from prison; and then cancels the debt freely.
28. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants – Mark the difference here. The first case is that of master and servant; in this case, both are on a footing of equality. (See Matthew 18:33, below.)
29. And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all – The same attitude, and the same words which drew compassion from his master, are here employed towards himself by his fellow servant. 30. And he would not; but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. – Jesus here vividly conveys the intolerable injustice and impudence which even the servants saw in this act on the part of one so recently laid under the heaviest obligation to their common master. 32, 33. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant. – Before bringing down his vengeance upon him, he calmly points out to him how shamefully unreasonable and heartless his conduct was; which would give the punishment inflicted on him a double sting.
34. And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors – more than jailers; denoting the severity of the treatment which he thought such a case demanded.
35. So likewise – in this spirit, or on this principle.
~Exposition by Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
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