A Prayer of Jesus I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will.
THE LOGOS OF GOD
PARALLEL SAYINGS FROM THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS
SECTION 7
Temple Tax to the Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 17:24-18:35)
1. On the Temple Tax
Matthew 17:24-2724 When they came to Caper'na-um, the collectors of the half-shekel tax went up to Peter and said, "Does not your teacher pay the tax?"
25 He said, "Yes." And when he came home, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their sons or from others?"
26 And when he said, "From others," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free.
27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel; take that and give it to them for me and for yourself."
2. On Greatness and Humility
Matthew 18:1-5 L
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1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
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2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them,
3 and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me."Mark 9:33-37 L
33 And they came to Caper'na-um; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?"
34 But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest.
35 And he sat down and called the twelve; and he said to them, "If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all."
36 And he took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them,
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37 "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me."Luke 9:46-48 L
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46 And an argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest.
47 But when Jesus perceived the thought of their hearts,
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48b for he who is least among you all is the one who is great.
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he took a child and put him by his side,
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48a and said to them,
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"Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me; "
3. On Temptations
Matthew 18:6-9 L
6 "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
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it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
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7 "Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the man by whom the temptation comes!
8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.
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9 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire."Mark 9:42-48 L
42 "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
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it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
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43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.
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45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.
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47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,
48 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched."Luke 17:1-2 L
1 And he said to his disciples, "Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come!
2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung round his neck and he were cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.
4. On Salt
Matthew 5:13 L
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13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men."Mark 9:49-50 L
49 "For every one will be salted with fire.
50 Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its saltness, how will you season it? L
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Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."Luke 14:34-35 L
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34 "Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored?
35 It is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill; men throw it away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
5. The Parable of the Lost Sheep
Matthew 18:10-14 L
10 "See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.
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12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?
13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.
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14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.Luke 15:3-7 L
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3 So he told them this parable:
4 "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it?
5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
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6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.'
7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."
6. On Reproving and Forgiving Your Brother
Matthew 18:15-22 L
15 "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
21 Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?"
22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven."Luke 17:3-4 L
3 Take heed to yourselves; if your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him;
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4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, and says, 'I repent,' you must forgive him."
7. The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
Matthew 18:23-3523 "Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.
24 When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents;
25 and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.'
27 And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.
28 But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat he said, 'Pay what you owe.'
29 So his fellow servant fell down and besought him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.'
30 He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt.
31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place.
32 Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me;
33 and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?'
34 And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt.
35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."Return to Logos Listing E-mail Return to Home Page