Jesus Tells Who Is the Greatest (Mk. 9:33-37; Lk. 9:46-48)

18 ¹At that time the followers came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" ²Jesus called a little child to come to him. Jesus stood the child before the followers. ³Then Jesus said, "I tell you the truth. You must change and become like little children [in your hearts]. If you don't do this, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴The greatest (most important) person in the kingdom of heaven is the person that makes himself humble like this child. ⁵"If a person accepts a little child like this in my name, then that person accepts me.

Jesus Warns About Causes of Sin (Mk. 9:42-48; Lk. 17:1-2)

⁶"If one of these little children believes in me, and another person causes that child to sin, then it will be very bad for that person. It would be better for that person to have a millstone* tied around his neck and be drowned in the deep sea. ⁷I feel sorry for the people in the world because of the things that make people sin. Those things must happen. But it will be very bad for the person that causes those things to happen. ⁸"If your hand or your foot makes you sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose part of your body but have life forever. That is much better than to have two hands and two feet but be thrown into the fire (hell) that burns forever. ⁹If your eye makes you sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better for you to have only one eye but have life forever. That is much better than to have two eyes but be thrown into the fire of hell.

Jesus Uses a Story About a Lost Sheep (Lk. 15:3-7)

¹⁰"Be careful. Don't think these little children are worth nothing. I tell you that these children have angels in heaven. And those angels are always with my Father in heaven. ¹¹* ¹²"If a man has 100 sheep, but one of the sheep becomes lost, then the man will leave the other 99 sheep on the hill. He will go to look for the lost sheep. Right? ¹³And if the man finds the lost sheep, the man is happier about that one sheep than about the 99 sheep that were never lost. I tell you the truth. ¹⁴In the same way, your Father in heaven does not want any of these little children to be lost.

millstone A large, round stone used for grinding grain. Verse 11 Some Greek copies add verse 11: "The Son of Man came to save lost people."