•1 In that time, his disciples came to Jesus and said: Who is greater in the Kingdom of Heaven? Then he called a child to him and set him in the midst of them, and said: Truly I tell you, if you do not turn about and become as children are, you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He then who makes himself small as this child is, he shall be the greater in the Kingdom of Heaven. And if one accepts one child like this in my name, he accepts me. But if one leads astray one of these little ones who have faith in me, it is better for him to have a millstone hung about his neck and be drowned in the sea. Woe to the world from the troubles which shall be caused. For it is necessary for the troubles to come, but woe to him through whom the trouble comes. If your hand or foot makes you go amiss, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better to go into life one-handed or lame than with both hands and both feet to be thrown into everlasting fire. And if your eye makes you go amiss, take it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to go into life with one eye than with both eyes to be thrown into Gehenna. Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that their angels in heaven forever look upon the face of my father in heaven. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them strays, will he not let the ninety-nine go on the mountain, and go and look for the one that has strayed? And if it befalls him to find it, truly I tell you, he takes more joy over it than over the ninety- nine that did not stray. Thus there is no intention on the part of your father, who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should be lost.
If your brother does you wrong, go and charge him with it between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he does not listen to you, take along with you one or two more, so that everything said may be on the lips of two or three witnesses. And if he will not listen to them, tell it to the congregation. And if he will not listen even to the congregation, let him be to you as the Gentile and the tax collector. Truly I tell you, all that you close on earth shall be closed in heaven, and all that you open on earth shall be open in heaven. Again I tell you, if two of you agree on earth concerning everything they ask for, it shall be granted them by my father in heaven. For where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst.
Then Peter came to him and said: Lord, how many times shall my brother do me wrong, and I forgive him? As many as seven times? Jesus said to him: I tell you, not as many as seven times, but as many as seventy times seven. Thus the Kingdom of Heaven has been likened to a man who is a king, who wished to settle accounts with his slaves, and as he began to cast up accounts, there was brought to him one who was in his debt for ten thousand talents. When he could not pay it, the master said he must be sold, and his wife and children and all he had, and payment made. Then the slave threw himself down and worshipped him, saying: Delay your anger against me, and I will pay you back all. And the master took pity on his slave and let him go and forgave him his debt. That slave went out and found a fellow slave who owed him a hundred denarii, and seized him and choked him and said: Pay me back what you owe me. His fellow slave threw himself down before him and begged him, saying: Delay your anger against me and I will pay you back. But he would not, but went and threw him into prison until he should pay his debt. When his fellow slaves saw this they were much grieved and went and explained to their master all that had happened. Then the master called the man before him and said to him: Wicked slave, I forgave you all that other debt, since you begged me to. Should you not then have had pity on your fellow slave, as I myself pitied you? And the master in anger handed him over to the torturers until he could pay back all that he owed him. Thus also will my father in heaven do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother, from your heart.
• 1 Then it came about that when Jesus had done with these sayings, he removed from Galilee and went into the border districts of Judaea, across Jordan. And many multitudes followed him, and he treated them.
Then Pharisees came to him, making trial of him and saying: Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife, for any cause? He answered and said: Have you not read that from the beginning the creator made them male and female, and said: Because of this, a man will leave his father and mother and cling to his wife, and they will be two in one flesh. So that they are no longer two, but one flesh. Then what God has joined together, let man not separate. They said to him: Why then did Moses decree that one might give a note of divorce, and divorce her. He said to them: Moses, looking toward the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives; but it was not so from the beginning. And I tell you that he who divorces his wife, except for harlotry, and marries another, is committing adultery. His disciples said to him: If this is the case with man and wife, it is better not to marry. He said to them: Not all can accept this saying, but those to whom it is given. For there are sexless men who have been so from their mother's womb, and there are sexless men who have been made sexless by other men, and there are sexless men who have made themselves sexless for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let him who can accept, accept.
Then children were brought to him, so that he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But his disciples scolded them. But Jesus said: Let the children be and do not prevent them from coming to me. For of such is the Kingdom of Heaven. And he laid his hands on them, and went away from there.
Then, behold, there was one who came to him and said: Master, what shall I do that is good, so that I may have life forever? He said to him: Why do you ask me about good? One only is good. But if you wish to enter life, keep the commandments. He said to him: Which commandments? Jesus said: That you shall not murder, or commit adultery, or steal, or bear false witness; honor your father and your mother, and love your neighbor as you love yourself. The young man said to him: I have kept all these commandments. What more must I do? Jesus said to him: If you wish to be perfect, go sell what belongs to you and give it to the poor, and you shall have a treasury in heaven. And come and follow me. When the young man heard what he said, he went sadly away; for he was one who had many possessions. But Jesus said to his disciples: Truly I tell you that it will be hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I tell you that it is easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. When his disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, and said: Who then can be saved? Jesus looked at them and said: For men it is impossible, but for God all things are possible. Then Peter took him up and said: See, we have given up everything and followed you. What then will there be for us? Jesus said to them: Truly I tell you, in the next life, when the son of man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me shall be seated, you also, upon twelve thrones, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name, shall have them back many times over and inherit life everlasting. And many who are first shall be last, and many who are last shall be first.
•1 For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man, the master of a house, who went out in the early morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. He agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day and sent them off to his vineyard. Then going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them: Go on, you also, into my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is fair. And they went. And going out again about the sixth and the ninth hour he did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found more men standing there, and said to them: Why are you standing thus idle all day? They said to him: Because nobody hired us. He said to them: Go on, you also, into my vineyard. Then when it was twilight the master of the vineyard said to his overseer: Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last to come and going on to the first. And those who had come at the eleventh hour came and were paid a denarius each. And those who had been hired first ca
me and thought they would receive more; and they also were paid a denarius each. But when they were paid they murmured against the master of the house, saying: Those who came last did one hour's work, and you have made them the equals of us, who bore the heaviness of the day and the heat. But he answered one of them and said: Friend, I do you no wrong. Did you not agree with me on one denarius? Take your wages and go. But I desire to give this last man the same as I gave you. Can I not do as I wish with what is my own? Or does your eye hurt because I am kind?
Thus they who are last shall be first and they who are first shall be last.
Then as Jesus set out to go up to Jerusalem he took the twelve with him, alone, and on the way he said to them: Behold, we are going to Jerusalem, and the son of man will be given over into the hands of the high priests and the scribes and they will condemn him to death, and give him over to the Gentiles to mock and flog and crucify; and on the third day he will rise.
At that time there came to him the mother of the sons of Zebedee with her sons, and bowed before him and had something to ask of him. He said to her: What do you wish? She said: Tell me that these, my two sons, shall sit on your right and on your left in your Kingdom. Jesus answered and said: You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am to drink? They said: We can. He said to them: You shall drink my cup; but for you to sit on my right and on my left, that is not mine to give, but it is for those who have been appointed by my father. Hearing this, the other ten were indignant over the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said: You know that the leaders of the Gentiles are lords over them, and their great men exercise power over them. It is not thus with you; but he who wishes to be great among you shall be your servant, and he who wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; as the son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his own life for the redemption of many.
Now as they were going out from Jericho a great crowd followed him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was going by, cried aloud and said: Lord, have pity on us, son of David. But the people told them angrily to be quiet, but they cried the louder, saying: Lord, have pity on us, son of David. Jesus stopped and spoke to them and said: What do you wish me to do for you? They told him: Lord, let our eyes be opened. Jesus pitied them, and laid his hands on their eyes, and at once they saw, and followed him.
tl Then as they came near Jerusalem and arrived at Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead, saying to them: Go on into the village that lies before you, and presently you will find a donkey, tethered, and a foal with her. Untie them and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, say that their master needs them, and he will send them at once. This was done so as to fulfill the word spoken by the prophet, saying: Say to the daughter of Zion: Behold, your king comes to you, modest and riding on a donkey and with a foal, the son of a beast of burden. His disciples went and did as Jesus told them, and brought the donkey and the foal, and piled clothing on them, and he sat on this. And most of the crowd strewed clothing of their own in the road, and others cut branches from the trees and strewed them in the road. And the crowds who went before him and who came after him cried aloud, saying: Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. And when he entered Jerusalem, all the city was disturbed, and said: Who is this? And the multitude answered: This is the prophet Jesus of Nazareth in Galilee.
And Jesus went into the temple and drove out all who bought and sold in the temple, and overtimed the tables of the money changers and the stalls of the sellers of doves, and said to them: It is written: My house shall be called a house of prayer, and you are making it a den of robbers. And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. When the high priests and the scribes saw the wonders he performed, and that the boys cried out in the temple and said: Hosanna to the son of David, they were angry and said to him: Do you hear what they are saying? But Jesus said to them: Yes. Have you never read that from the mouths of children and babies you have composed praise?
Then he left them and went out of the city, into Bethany, and spent the night there. Early in the morning he came back to the city, and he was hungry. And seeing a single fig tree beside the road, he went to it, and found nothing on it except only leaves, and said to it: Let there be no more fruit from you, forevermore. And at once the fig tree dried up. His disciples seeing it were astonished and said: How did the fig tree suddenly dry up? Jesus answered them and said: Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not deliberate, you can not only do what was done to the fig tree but you can even say to this mountain: Rise up and throw yourself into the sea, and it will happen; and all that you ask for by prayer, if you have faith, you shall receive.
Now when he had gone into the temple and was teaching there, the high priests and the elders of the people came to him, saying: By what authority do you do this, and who gave you this authority? Jesus answered and said to them: I too will ask you to tell me one thing, and if you tell me, I will tell you by what authority I do this. Whence came the baptism of John? From heaven or from men? They discussed this among themselves, saying: If we tell him: From heaven, he will say to us: Then why did you not believe him? But if we tell him: From men, then we have the people to fear, for they all hold John to be a prophet. And they answered Jesus and said: We do not know. He answered them in turn: Neither will I tell you by what authority I do this. What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said: My son, go out today and work in the vineyard. He answered and said: So I will, master; and did not go. He went to the second and spoke likewise; and he answered and said: I do not wish to; but later he repented anddidgo. Which of the two did his father's will? They said: The second. Jesus said to them: Truly I tell you that the tax collectors and the harlots shall go before you into the Kingdom of God. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and the harlots believed him; and when you saw it you did not repent, so as to believe him.
Hear one more parable. There was a man who was lord of a manor, and he planted a vineyard, and ran a fence about it and dug a pit for the wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to farmers, and left the country. When the time of the harvest was near, he sent his slaves to the farmers to take the harvest. And the farmers took his slaves, and one they lashed, and one they killed, and one they stoned. Again he sent slaves, more than the first ones, and they dealt with them in the same way. After this he sent his son, saying: They will respect my son. But when the farmers saw the son, they said among themselves: This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance. And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now, when the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers? They said: He will destroy them evilly, as they are evil, and let the vineyard to other farmers, who will render him the harvests in their due time. Jesus said to them: Have you never read in the scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has come to be at the head of the corner. It was made by the Lord, and is wonderful in our sight. Therefore I tell you that the Kingdom of God shall be taken away from you and given to a nation that produces its harvest. [And he who falls on that stone shall be broken; and he upon whom it falls shall be crushed by it.] And when the high priests and the Pharisees heard his parables they knew that he spoke of them; and they were looking for a way to seize him, but they feared the populace, since these held him to be a prophet.
tl Then Jesus spoke forth again and talked to them in parables, saying: The Kingdom of Heaven is like a king who held a wedding for his son. And he sent out his slaves to summon the invited guests to the wedding, and they would not come. Again he sent forth more slaves, saying to them: Tell the invited guests: See, I have made the dinner ready, my oxen and calves are sacrificed, and all is ready; come to the wedding. But they paid no heed and went their ways, one to his ow
n lands, one to his house of business, but the others seized the slaves and outraged them and killed them. Then the king was angry and sent out his armies and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves: The wedding feast is ready, but the invited guests were not worthy. Go out then to the street corners and invite any you find there, to the wedding. And those slaves went out into the streets and brought in all they found, bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests at the tables. The king came in to see them at dinner, and saw one man who was not wearing a wedding garment; and he said to him: My friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment? The man was speechless. Then the king said to his servants: Tie his feet and his hands and cast him into the outer darkness. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. For many are invited but few are accepted.
Then the Pharisees went and held a consultation, in order to catch him up in what he said. They sent their disciples along with the Herodians, and they said: Master, we know that you are truthful, and you teach the way of God truthfully, and you care for no man, for you are no respecter of persons. Tell us then what you think. Is it lawful to pay the assessment to Caesar, or not? Jesus guessed at their treachery and said: Hypocrites, why do you tempt me? Show me the coin for the assessment. They showed him a denarius. He said: Whose is the image, and whose name is inscribed? They said: Caesar's. Then he said to them: Then give Caesar what is Caesar's and God what is God's. When they heard this, they were left wondering, and let him be, and went away.
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