Matthew 20

The Parable of the Workersⓘ

Landowner hires workers through the day¹“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ²He agreed to pay them a denarius^a for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

³About the third hour^b he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ⁴‘You also go into my vineyard,’ he said, ‘and I will pay you whatever is right.’ ⁵So they went.

He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour^c and did the same thing.

⁶About the eleventh hour^d he went out and found still others standing around. ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ he asked.

⁷‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

So he told them, ‘You also go into my vineyard.’^e

Equal wages and the grumbling workers⁸When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last ones hired and moving on to the first.’

⁹The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰So when the original workers came, they assumed they would receive more. But each of them also received a denarius.

¹¹On receiving their pay, they began to grumble against the landowner. ¹²‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’

¹³But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Did you not agree with me on one denarius? ¹⁴Take your pay and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you. ¹⁵Do I not have the right to do as I please with what is mine? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

¹⁶So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”^f

The Third Prediction of the Passionⓘ

Third prediction of the passion¹⁷As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside and said, ¹⁸“Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn Him to death ¹⁹and will deliver Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. And on the third day He will be raised to life.”

A Motherʼs Requestⓘ

Request for places, and the call to serve²⁰Then the mother of Zebedeeʼs sons came to Jesus with her sons and knelt down to make a request of Him.

²¹“What do you want?” He inquired.

She answered, “Declare that in Your kingdom one of these two sons of mine may sit at Your right hand, and the other at Your left.”

²²“You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”^g

“We can,” the brothers answered.

²³“You will indeed drink My cup,”^h Jesus said. “But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant. These seats belong to those for whom My Father has prepared them.”

²⁴When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. ²⁵But Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them. ²⁶It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ²⁷and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave— ²⁸just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

The Blind Men by the Roadⓘ

Two blind men healed near Jericho²⁹As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. ³⁰And there were two blind men sitting beside the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³¹The crowd admonished them to be silent, but they cried out all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³²Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want Me to do for you?” He asked.

³³“Lord,” they answered, “let our eyes be opened.”

³⁴Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and at once they received their sight and followed Him.