When a Person Hurts You (Lk. 17:3)

¹⁵"If your brother [or sister] does something wrong to you, go and tell that person what he did wrong. Do this alone with that person. If that person listens to you, then you have helped that person to be your brother again. ¹⁶But if that person refuses to listen, then go to him again and bring one or two people with you. Then there will be two or three other people that will be able to tell all that happened.* ¹⁷If that person refuses to listen to them, then tell the church (group of believers). If that person refuses to listen to the church, then treat him like he is a person that does not believe in God. Treat him like he is a tax collector.* ¹⁸"I tell you the truth. When you speak judgment here on earth, that judgment will be God's judgment. When you promise forgiveness here on earth, that forgiveness will be God's forgiveness.* ¹⁹"Also, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something, then you can pray for it. And the thing you ask for will be done for you by my Father in heaven. ²⁰This is true, because if two or three people are together believing in me, I am there with them."

Story About Forgiveness

²¹Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, when my brother continues to do something wrong to me, how many times must I forgive him? Should I forgive him as many as seven times?" ²²Jesus answered, "I tell you, you must forgive him more than seven times. You must continue to forgive him even if he does wrong to you seventy-seven times.*" ²³"So the kingdom of heaven is like a king that decided to collect the money that his servants owed him. ²⁴The king began to collect his money. One servant owed the king several thousand pounds of silver. ²⁵The servant was not able to pay the money to his master, the king. So the master ordered that everything the servant owned should be sold, even the servant's wife and children. The money would be used to pay the king what the servant owed. ²⁶"But the servant fell on his knees and begged, 'Be patient with me. I will pay you everything I owe.' ²⁷The master felt sorry for his servant. So the master told the servant he did not have to pay. The master let the servant go free. ²⁸"Later, that same servant found another servant that owed him a few dollars' worth of silver. The servant grabbed the other servant around the neck and said, 'Pay me the money you owe me!' ²⁹"The other servant fell on his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me. I will pay you everything I owe.' ³⁰"But the first servant refused to be patient. The servant told the judge that the other servant owed him money, and the other servant was thrown into prison. The servant had to stay in prison until he could pay everything he owed. ³¹All the other servants saw what happened. They were very sorry. So they went and told their master everything that happened. ³²"Then the master called his servant in and said, 'You evil servant. You owed me much money, but you begged me to forgive your debt. So I told you that you did not have to pay anything. ³³So you should have given the same mercy to that other man that is a servant with you. You should have given him the same mercy that I gave you.' ³⁴The master was very angry, so he put the servant in prison to be punished. And the servant had to stay in prison until he could pay everything he owed. ³⁵"This king did the same as my heavenly Father will do to you. You must truly forgive your brother [or sister], or my heavenly Father will not forgive you."

Then ... happened See Deut. 19:15. tax collector(s) Jews hired by the Romans to collect taxes. They often cheated, and the other Jews hated them. When you ... God's forgiveness Literally, "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 77 times Or, "seventy times seven." See Gen. 4:24.