"Oh no, sir," answered the officer. "I do not deserve to have you come into my house. Just give the order, and my servant will get well.

I am not worth all the kindness and faithfulness that you have shown me, your servant. I crossed the Jordan with nothing but a walking stick, and now I have come back with these two groups.

(SEE 40:3)

I have already said more than I should.

I know, LORD, that you are all-powerful; that you can do everything you want.

You told me to listen while you spoke and to try to answer your questions.

So I am ashamed of all I have said and repent in dust and ashes.

I have sinned against you---only against you--- and done what you consider evil. So you are right in judging me; you are justified in condemning me.

I have been evil from the day I was born; from the time I was conceived, I have been sinful.

I will forgive all the wrongs you have done, but you will remember them and be too ashamed to open your mouth." The Sovereign LORD has spoken.

Listen to us, O God; look at us and see the trouble we are in and the suffering of the city that bears your name. We are praying to you because you are merciful, not because we have done right.

So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the officer sent friends to tell him, "Sir, don't trouble yourself. I do not deserve to have you come into my house,

neither do I consider myself worthy to come to you in person. Just give the order, and my servant will get well.

I will get up and go to my father and say, "Father, I have sinned against God and against you.

I am no longer fit to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired workers." '

But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even raise his face to heaven, but beat on his breast and said, 'God, have pity on me, a sinner!'

The other one, however, rebuked him, saying, "Don't you fear God? You received the same sentence he did.

And he said to Jesus, "Remember me, Jesus, when you come as King!"

Certainly not! God must be true, even though all human beings are liars. As the scripture says, "You must be shown to be right when you speak; you must win your case when you are being tried."

Now we know that everything in the Law applies to those who live under the Law, in order to stop all human excuses and bring the whole world under God's judgment.

Last of all he appeared also to me---even though I am like someone whose birth was abnormal.

For I am the least of all the apostles---I do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted God's church.

even though in the past I spoke evil of him and persecuted and insulted him. But God was merciful to me because I did not yet have faith and so did not know what I was doing.

This is a true saying, to be completely accepted and believed: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I am the worst of them,

so that you may become the children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil.

hoping to eat the bits of food that fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs would come and lick his sores.

Or is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of the Gentiles also? Of course he is.

This includes everyone, because there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles; God is the same Lord of all and richly blesses all who call to him.

I am less than the least of all God's people; yet God gave me this privilege of taking to the Gentiles the Good News about the infinite riches of Christ,

Yes, may you come to know his love---although it can never be fully known---and so be completely filled with the very nature of God.