Chapter 18 of the Gospel of Matthew contains the fourth of the five Discourses of Matthew, also called the Discourse on the Church or the ecclesiastical discourse. It compares "the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven" to a child, and also includes the parables of the lost sheep and the unforgiving servant, the second of which also refers to the Kingdom of Heaven. The general theme of the discourse is the anticipation of a future community of followers, and the role of his apostles in leading it. Dale Allison states that this chapter offers "Instructions for the Church". Addressing his apostles in , Jesus states: "what things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven". The discourse emphasizes the importance of humility and self-sacrifice as the high virtues within the anticipated community. It teaches that in the Kingdom of God, it is childlike humility that matters, not social prominence and clout. Structure The chapter can be divided into the following subsections: The Little Children (18:1–5) Jesus warns of offences (18:6-7) If thy hand offend thee (18:8–9) Parable of the Lost Sheep (18:10–14) Binding and loosing (18:15–18) Prayer in common (18:19-20) Parable of the unforgiving servant (18:21–35) Text The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 35 verses. Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: Papyrus 25 (4th century; extant verses 32–34) Codex Vaticanus (325-350) Codex Sinaiticus (330-360) Codex Bezae (~400) Codex Washingtonianus (~400) Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (~450) Codex Purpureus Rossanensis (6th century) Codex Petropolitanus Purpureus (6th century; extant verses 6-25) Codex Sinopensis (6th century; extant verses 4-30) Papyrus 44 (6th/7th century; extant verses 15–17, 19) Receiving believers (18:1–11) Verse 3 "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." "Be converted" is more literally translated as "be turned ... so as to go in an opposite direction". The phrase "enter the kingdom of heaven" appears three other times in the Gospel, at Matthew 5:20, 7:21, and 23:13. Verse 7Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!Woe to the world (, Ouai tō kosmō). In , Jesus utters "an exclamation of pity at thought of the