Matthew 18

1 In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

2 Jesus called a little child to himself, and set him in the middle of them

3 and said, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you turn and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

4 Whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

5 Whoever receives one such little child in my name receives me,

6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if a huge millstone were hung around his neck and that he were sunk in the depths of the sea.

7 “Woe to the world because of occasions of stumbling! For it must be that the occasions come, but woe to that person through whom the occasion comes!

8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or crippled, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire.

9 If your eye causes you to stumble, 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 the Gehenna of fire.

10 See that you don’t despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

11 For the Son of Man came to save that which was lost.

12 “What do you think? If a man has one hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine, go to the mountains, and seek that which has gone astray?

13 If he finds it, most certainly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.

14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

15 “If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained back your brother.

16 But if he doesn’t listen, take one or two more with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembly. If he refuses to hear the assembly also, let him be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector.

18 Most certainly I tell you, whatever things you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever things you release on earth will have been released in heaven.

19 Again, assuredly I tell you, that if two of you will agree on earth concerning anything that they will ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven.

20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.”

21 Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?”

22 Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven.

23 Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

24 When he had begun to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.

25 But because he couldn’t pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, with his wife, his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

26 The servant therefore fell down and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all!’

27 The lord of that servant, being 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 one hundred denarii, and he grabbed 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 repay you!’

30 He would not, but went and cast him into prison until he should pay back that which was due.

31 So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were exceedingly sorry, and came and told their lord all that was done.

32 Then his lord called him in and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.

33 Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?’

34 His lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors until he should pay all that was due to him.

35 So my heavenly Father will also do to you, if you don’t each forgive your brother from your hearts for his misdeeds.”

Around Matthew 18

Book context

MatthewEditorial draft

Matthew opens by presenting Jesus as “the son of David, the son of Abraham” (1:1) and keeps connecting his life to the Hebrew Scriptures. Its teaching centres on the Kingdom of Heaven (4:17), gathers long blocks of Jesus’ teaching such as the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5 to 7), and closes with the commission to make disciples of all nations (28:19). The book does not name its author; early church tradition attributes it to the apostle Matthew. Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897) dates it around AD 60 to 65 and holds that it was the first Gospel written. Many later scholars think Mark came first, so the order of the Gospels is debated.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · debated · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

Matthew 18 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

The disciples ask who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, and Jesus does not answer with a name. He calls a little child and sets the child among them. Unless they turn and become like children, he says, they will not enter. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest.

Then his voice turns stern. Anyone who causes one of these little ones who believe in him to stumble would be better off with a millstone around the neck. He speaks sharply of cutting off a hand or a foot that causes stumbling. Then he tells of a shepherd who leaves ninety-nine sheep to find the one that wandered.

He gives steps for when a brother sins: speak alone, then bring one or two, then tell the assembly. Where two or three gather in his name, he is among them. Peter asks how often to forgive, and Jesus says seventy times seven. A servant forgiven a huge debt will not forgive a small one, and the king condemns him.

Background

This is the fourth teaching section in Matthew and focuses on life together among the disciples. The language about cutting off a hand or an eye is a figure of speech for dealing seriously with what leads to sin, not a call to injure the body. Gehenna is described in verse 9 as a place of fire. Christians differ on how the steps in verses 15 to 17 apply in churches today. A talent was a very large sum of money and a denarius roughly a day's wage, so the contrast in the parable is great.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 24 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes