Matthew 18:1 Cross References

Matthew 18:1

1: About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Which of us is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?"

After they arrived at Capernaum, Jesus and his disciples settled in the house where they would be staying. Jesus asked them, "What were you discussing out on the road?"
But they didn't answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.
He sat down and called the twelve disciples over to him. Then he said, "Anyone who wants to be the first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else."
Then he put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them,
"Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes my Father who sent me."

Then there was an argument among them as to which of them would be the greatest.
But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he brought a little child to his side.
Then he said to them, "Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes my Father who sent me. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest."

Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons. She knelt respectfully to ask a favor.
"What is your request?" he asked. She replied, "In your Kingdom, will you let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one at your right and the other at your left?"
But Jesus told them, "You don't know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of sorrow I am about to drink?Oh yes," they replied, "we are able!"
"You will indeed drink from it," he told them. "But I have no right to say who will sit on the thrones next to mine. My Father has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen."
When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant.

And they began to argue among themselves as to who would be the greatest in the coming Kingdom.
Jesus told them, "In this world the kings and great men order their people around, and yet they are called 'friends of the people.'
But among you, those who are the greatest should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant.
Normally the master sits at the table and is served by his servants. But not here! For I am your servant.

But when Jesus saw what was happening, he was very displeased with his disciples. He said to them, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
I assure you, anyone who doesn't have their kind of faith will never get into the Kingdom of God."

Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do us a favor."
"What is it?" he asked.
"In your glorious Kingdom, we want to sit in places of honor next to you," they said, "one at your right and the other at your left."
But Jesus answered, "You don't know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of sorrow I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?"
"Oh yes," they said, "we are able!" And Jesus said, "You will indeed drink from my cup and be baptized with my baptism,

Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

So if you break the smallest commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God's laws and teaches them will be great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
"But I warn you--unless you obey God better than the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees do, you can't enter the Kingdom of Heaven at all!

"Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as 'Lord,' but they still won't enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven.

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