Wednesday, October 2, 2024 | Matthew 18:1-5, 10

The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus,“Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.”Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.Behold, I have given you the power‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpionsand upon the full force of the enemyand nothing will harm you.Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,but rejoice because your names are written in heaven. ”At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,“I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,for although you have hidden these thingsfrom the wise and the learnedyou have revealed them to the childlike.Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.All things have been handed over to me by my Father.No one knows who the Son is except the Father,and who the Father is except the Sonand anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” Turning to the disciples in private he said,“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.For I say to you,many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,but did not see it,and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”

Jesus said to them,"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!For if the mighty deeds done in your midsthad been done in Tyre and Sidon,they would long ago have repented,sitting in sackcloth and ashes.But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidonat the judgment than for you.And as for you, Capernaum, 'Will you be exalted to heaven?You will go down to the netherworld.'Whoever listens to you listens to me.Whoever rejects you rejects me.And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."

Jesus appointed seventy-two other discipleswhom he sent ahead of him in pairsto every town and place he intended to visit.He said to them,“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;so ask the master of the harvestto send out laborers for his harvest.Go on your way;behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;and greet no one along the way.Into whatever house you enter, first say,‘Peace to this household.’If a peaceful person lives there,your peace will rest on him;but if not, it will return to you.Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,for the laborer deserves his payment.Do not move about from one house to another.Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,eat what is set before you,cure the sick in it and say to them,‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you,go out into the streets and say,‘The dust of your town that clings to our feet,even that we shake off against you.’Yet know this: the Kingdom of God is at hand.I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town.”

The disciples approached Jesus and said,"Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?"He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,"Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.Whoever humbles himself like this childis the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me."See that you do not despise one of these little ones,for I say to you that their angels in heavenalways look upon the face of my heavenly Father."

When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled,he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem,and he sent messengers ahead of him.On the way they entered a Samaritan villageto prepare for his reception there,but they would not welcome himbecause the destination of his journey was Jerusalem.When the disciples James and John saw this they asked,“Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heavento consume them?”Jesus turned and rebuked them,and they journeyed to another village.

An argument arose among the disciplesabout which of them was the greatest.Jesus realized the intention of their hearts and took a childand placed it by his side and said to them,"Whoever receives this child in my name receives me,and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.For the one who is least among all of youis the one who is the greatest."Then John said in reply,"Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your nameand we tried to prevent himbecause he does not follow in our company."Jesus said to him,"Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against you is for you."

At that time, John said to Jesus,"Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us."Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him.There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my namewho can at the same time speak ill of me.For whoever is not against us is for us.Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drinkbecause you belong to Christ,amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward."Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,it would be better for him if a great millstonewere put around his neckand he were thrown into the sea.If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.It is better for you to enter into life maimedthan with two hands to go into Gehenna,into the unquenchable fire.And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off.It is better for you to enter into life crippledthan with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eyethan with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'"

While they were all amazed at his every deed,Jesus said to his disciples,“Pay attention to what I am telling you.The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” But they did not understand this saying;its meaning was hidden from themso that they should not understand it,and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

Once when Jesus was praying in solitude,and the disciples were with him,he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah;still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’”Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.”He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatlyand be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening,and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying,“John has been raised from the dead”;others were saying, “Elijah has appeared”;still others, “One of the ancient prophets has arisen.”But Herod said, “John I beheaded.Who then is this about whom I hear such things?”And he kept trying to see him.