Matthew 20
20
The Parable of the Vineyard Workers
1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. #
Mt 13:24; 21:28,33 2After agreeing with the workers on one denarius,#20:2 A denarius = one day’s wage, also in vv. 9,10,13 he sent them into his vineyard for the day. 3When he went out about nine in the morning,#20:3 Lit about the third hour he saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4He said to them, ‘You also go into my vineyard, and I’ll give you whatever is right.’ So off they went. 5About noon and about three,#20:5 Lit about the sixth hour and the ninth hour he went out again and did the same thing. 6Then about five#20:6 Lit about the eleventh hour, also in v. 9 he went and found others standing around#20:6 Other mss add doing nothing and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day doing nothing?’
7 “‘Because no one hired us,’ they said to him.
“‘You also go into my vineyard,’ he told them. # 20:7 Other mss add ‘and you’ll get whatever is right.’ 8When evening came, the owner of the vineyard told his foreman, ‘Call the workers and give them their pay,#Lv 19:13; Dt 24:15 starting with the last and ending with the first.’
9 “When those who were hired about five came, they each received one denarius. 10So when the first ones came, they assumed they would get more, but they also received a denarius each. 11When they received it, they began to complain to the landowner: 12‘These last men put in one hour, and you made them equal to us who bore the burden of the day’s work and the burning heat.’#Jnh 4:8; Lk 12:55; Jms 1:11
13 “He replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I’m doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me on a denarius? #
Mt 22:12; 26:50 14Take what’s yours and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you. 15Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what is mine? Are you jealous#20:15 Lit Is your eye evil; an idiom for jealousy or stinginess because I’m generous?’ #20:15 Lit good#Dt 15:9; Pr 23:6; Mt 6:23; Mk 7:22
16 “So the last will be first, and the first last.” # 20:16 Other mss add “For many are called, but few are chosen.” #
Mt 19:30; Mk 10:31; Lk 13:30
The Third Prediction of His Death
17While going up to Jerusalem,#Mk 10:32–34; Lk 18:31–33 Jesus took the twelve disciples aside privately and said to them on the way, 18“See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death.#Mt 16:21; 26:66; Jn 19:7 19They will hand him over to the Gentiles#Mt 27:2; Ac 2:23; 3:13; 4:27; 21:11 to be mocked, flogged,#20:19 Or scourged and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised.” #20:19 Other mss read will rise again
Suffering and Service
20Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons approached him with her sons.#Mk 10:35–45; Lk 22:24–27 She knelt down to ask him for something.#Mt 4:21; 8:2 21“What do you want?” he asked her.
“Promise,”#20:21 Lit Say she said to him, “that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left, in your kingdom.”#Mt 16:28; 19:28; 25:31,34; Lk 23:42
22Jesus answered, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” #20:22 Other mss add and (or) to be baptized with the baptism which I am baptized?”#Is 51:22; Jr 49:12; Mk 14:36
“We are able,” they said to him.
23He told them, “You will indeed drink my cup,#20:23 Other mss add and be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. but to sit at my right and left is not mine to give; instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”#Ac 12:2; Rv 1:9
24When the ten disciples heard this, they became indignant with the two brothers. 25Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. 26It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,#Mt 23:11; Mk 9:35 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,#Lk 22:27; Jn 13:13–15; 2Co 8:9; Php 2:7 and to give his life as a ransom for many.”#Mt 26:28; 1Tm 2:6; Ti 2:14; Heb 9:28
Two Blind Men Healed
29As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him.#Mk 10:46–52; Lk 18:35–43 30There were two blind men sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31The crowd demanded that they keep quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” #Mt 9:27; 21:9; 22:42
32Jesus stopped, called them, and said, “What do you want me to do for you?”
33“Lord,” they said to him, “open our eyes.” 34Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they could see, and they followed him.
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Matthew 20: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Matthew 20
20
The Workers in the Vineyard
1 “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. Once there was a man who went out early in the morning to hire some men to work in his vineyard. 2He agreed to pay them the regular wage, a silver coin a day, and sent them to work in his vineyard. 3He went out again to the market place at nine o'clock and saw some men standing there doing nothing, 4so he told them, ‘You also go and work in the vineyard, and I will pay you a fair wage.’ 5So they went. Then at twelve o'clock and again at three o'clock he did the same thing. 6It was nearly five o'clock when he went to the market place and saw some other men still standing there. ‘Why are you wasting the whole day here doing nothing?’ he asked them. 7‘No one hired us,’ they answered. ‘Well, then, you also go and work in the vineyard,’ he told them.
8 #
Lev 19.13; Deut 24.15 “When evening came, the owner told his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with those who were hired last and ending with those who were hired first.’ 9The men who had begun to work at five o'clock were paid a silver coin each. 10So when the men who were the first to be hired came to be paid, they thought they would get more; but they too were given a silver coin each. 11They took their money and started grumbling against the employer. 12‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘while we put up with a whole day's work in the hot sun — yet you paid them the same as you paid us!’
13 “ ‘Listen, friend,’ the owner answered one of them, ‘I have not cheated you. After all, you agreed to do a day's work for one silver coin. 14Now take your pay and go home. I want to give this man who was hired last as much as I have given you. 15Don't I have the right to do as I wish with my own money? Or are you jealous because I am generous?’ ”
16 #
Mt 19.30; Mk 10.31; Lk 13.30 And Jesus concluded, “So those who are last will be first, and those who are first will be last.”
Jesus Speaks a Third Time about his Death
(Mk 10.32–34; Lk 18.31–34)
17As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and spoke to them privately, as they walked along. 18“Listen,” he told them, “we are going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. They will condemn him to death 19and then hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him, whip him, and crucify him; but three days later he will be raised to life.”
A Mother's Request
(Mk 10.35–45)
20Then the wife of Zebedee came to Jesus with her two sons, bowed before him, and asked him a favour.
21 “What do you want?” Jesus asked her.
She answered, “Promise me that these two sons of mine will sit at your right and your left when you are King.”
22 “You don't know what you are asking for,” Jesus answered the sons. “Can you drink the cup of suffering that I am about to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.
23 “You will indeed drink from my cup,” Jesus told them, “but I do not have the right to choose who will sit at my right and my left. These places belong to those for whom my Father has prepared them.”
24When the other ten disciples heard about this, they became angry with the two brothers. 25#Lk 22.25–26So Jesus called them all together and said, “You know that the rulers of the heathen have power over them, and the leaders have complete authority. 26#Mt 23.11; Mk 9.35; Lk 22.26This, however, is not the way it shall be among you. If one of you wants to be great, he must be the servant of the rest; 27and if one of you wants to be first, he must be your slave — 28like the Son of Man, who did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life to redeem many people.”
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
(Mk 10.46–52; Lk 18.35–43)
29As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd was following. 30Two blind men who were sitting by the road heard that Jesus was passing by, so they began to shout, “Son of David! Take pity on us, sir!”
31The crowd scolded them and told them to be quiet. But they shouted even more loudly, “Son of David! Take pity on us, sir!”
32Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked them.
33“Sir,” they answered, “we want you to give us our sight!”
34Jesus had pity on them and touched their eyes; at once they were able to see, and they followed him.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.