Matthew 20
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
"For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who was the master
of a household, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his
vineyard. When he had
agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent
them into his vineyard. He went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the
marketplace. To them he
said, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give
you.' So they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. About the eleventh
hour he went out, and found others standing idle. He said to them,
'Why do you stand here all day idle?'
"They said to him, 'Because
no one has hired us.'
"He said to them, 'You also go into the
vineyard, and you will receive whatever is right.' When evening had come, the lord
of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the laborers and pay them their
wages, beginning from the last to the first.'
"When those who were hired
at about the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius. When the first came, they
supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise each received a
denarius. When they
received it, they murmured against the master of the household, saying, 'These last have spent
one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of
the day and the scorching heat!'
"But he answered one of
them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Didn't you agree with me for a
denarius? Take that
which is yours, and go your way. It is my desire to give to this last just
as much as to you. Isn't
it lawful for me to do what I want to with what I own? Or is your eye
evil, because I am good?' So the last will be first, and
the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen."
Jesus Again Predicts His Death
As Jesus was going up
to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said
to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man
will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn
him to death, and will
hand him over to the Gentiles to mock, to scourge, and to crucify; and the
third day he will be raised up."
A Mother's Request
Then the mother of
the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, kneeling and asking a
certain thing of him. He
said to her, "What do you want?"
She said to him, "Command that these, my two sons, may sit, one on
your right hand, and one on your left hand, in your Kingdom."
But Jesus answered,
"You don't know what you are asking. Are you able to
drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism
that I am baptized with?"
They said to him, "We are able."
He said to them,
"You will indeed drink my cup, and be baptized with
the baptism that I am baptized with, but to sit on my right hand and on my
left hand is not mine to give; but it is for whom it has been prepared by
my Father."
When the ten heard
it, they were indignant with the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned
them, and said, "You know that the rulers of the
nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over
them. It shall not be so
among you, but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. Whoever desires to be first
among you shall be your bondservant, even as the Son of Man came not
to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for
many."
Two Blind Men Receive Sight
As they went out from
Jericho, a great multitude followed him. Behold, two blind men sitting by
the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out,
"Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David!" The multitude rebuked them,
telling them that they should be quiet, but they cried out even more,
"Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David!"
Jesus stood still,
and called them, and asked, "What do you want me to
do for you?"
They told him,
"Lord, that our eyes may be opened."
Jesus, being moved
with compassion, touched their eyes; and immediately their eyes received
their sight, and they followed him.
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