Matthew 18:14

14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

Matthew 18:14 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
English Standard Version (ESV)
14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
New Living Translation (NLT)
14 In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.
The Message Bible (MSG)
14 Your Father in heaven feels the same way. He doesn't want to lose even one of these simple believers.
American Standard Version (ASV)
14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
14 In the same way, your Father in heaven does not want one of these little ones to be lost.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
14 In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
14 It is the same with your Father in heaven. He does not want any of these little ones to be lost.

Matthew 18:14 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 18:14

Even so it is not the will of your father which is in
heaven
This is the accommodation, or application of the parable of the lost sheep to the present purpose, and is the top of the climax or gradation here made use of. First, Christ observes, in order to deter any from despising and offending any of his disciples, even the meanest, that they have angels to be their guardians, who are continually in the presence of God; and next, that he himself in human nature came to be the author of salvation to these persons; and then rises up to the sovereign will of his Father, and their's, the source and security of their everlasting happiness; which will is, not

that one of these little ones,
that believe in Christ,

should perish.
It is his will of command that no stumbling block should be laid in their way to cause them to stumble and fall, to the grieving of their souls, the wounding of their consciences, and the perishing, or loss of their peace and comfort; and it is his unalterable will of purpose, or his unchangeable decree, that not one of them, even the meanest, shall perish eternally: in pursuance of which will, he has chosen them in his Son, he has put them into his hands, and secured them in his covenant; and having redeemed them by Christ, and called them by grace, he keeps them by his power, through faith unto salvation. Nor shall anyone of them finally and totally fall away and perish, through the power of their own corruptions, the temptations of Satan, the reproaches and persecutions of men, the frowns or flatteries of the world, or through the errors and heresies of false teachers, or any other way. It is to be observed, that when our Lord, in ( Matthew 18:10 ) , is speaking of the happiness of the angels, and the honour done to the little ones by having such guardians; then the more to aggrandize this matter, he represents those as in the presence of his "Father which is in heaven"; but here, when he would express the wonderful love and grace of God, in the resolutions of his heart, and purposes of his will, to save them, then it is "your Father which is in heaven"; and this, the rather to engage them to the belief of it, since they stood in such a near relation to him, as children to a father: and therefore must be infinitely more concerned for their welfare, than a proprietor of sheep can be, for one that is lost. The Arabic and Ethiopic versions indeed read, "my father", but without any authority; for the phraseology, "the will before your Father", as in the original text, (See Gill on Matthew 11:26)

Matthew 18:14 In-Context

12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?
13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.
14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.
15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.
16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’
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