Matthew 20
20
Jesus Uses a Story About Farm Workers
1“God’s kingdom is like a man who owned some land. One morning, the man went out very early to hire some people to work in his vineyard. 2He agreed to pay the workers one silver coin for working that day. Then he sent them into the vineyard to work.
3“About nine o’clock the man went to the marketplace and saw some other people standing there. They were doing nothing. 4So he said to them, ‘If you go and work in my field, I will pay you what your work is worth.’ 5So they went to work in the vineyard.
“The man went out again about twelve o’clock and again at three o’clock. Both times he hired some others to work in his vineyard. 6About five o’clock the man went to the marketplace again. He saw some other people standing there. He asked them, ‘Why did you stand here all day doing nothing?’
7“They said, ‘No one gave us a job.’
“The man said to them, ‘Then you can go and work in my vineyard.’
8“At the end of the day, the owner of the field said to the boss of all the workers, ‘Call the workers and pay them all. Start by paying the last people I hired. Then pay all of them, ending with the ones I hired first.’
9“The workers who were hired at five o’clock came to get their pay. Each worker got one silver coin. 10Then the workers who were hired first came to get their pay. They thought they would be paid more than the others. But each one of them also received one silver coin. 11When they got their silver coin, they complained to the man who owned the land. 12They said, ‘Those people were hired last and worked only one hour. But you paid them the same as us. And we worked hard all day in the hot sun.’
13“But the man who owned the field said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am being fair with you. You agreed to work for one silver coin. Right? 14So take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same pay I gave you. 15I can do what I want with my own money. Why would you be jealous because I am generous?’
16“So those who are last now will be first in the future. And those who are first now will be last in the future.”
Jesus Talks Again About His Death
(Mk. 10:32–34; Lk. 18:31–34)
17Jesus was going to Jerusalem. His twelve followers were with him. While they were walking, he gathered the followers together and spoke to them privately. He said to them, 18“We are going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the leading priests and the teachers of the law, and they will say he must die. 19They will hand him over to the foreigners, who will laugh at him and beat him with whips, and then they will kill him on a cross. But on the third day after his death, he will be raised to life again.”
A Mother Asks a Special Favor
(Mk. 10:35–45)
20Then Zebedee’s wife came to Jesus and brought her sons. She bowed before Jesus and asked him to do something for her.
21Jesus said, “What do you want?”
She said, “Promise that one of my sons will sit at your right side in your kingdom and the other at your left.”
22So Jesus said to the sons, “You don’t understand what you are asking. Can you drink from the cup#20:22 cup A symbol of suffering. Jesus used the idea of drinking from a cup to mean accepting the suffering he would face in the terrible events that were soon to come. Also in verse 23. that I must drink from?”
The sons answered, “Yes, we can!”
23Jesus said to them, “It is true that you will drink from the cup that I drink from. But it is not for me to say who will sit at my right or my left. My Father has decided who will do that. He has prepared those places for them.”
24The other ten followers heard this and were angry with the two brothers. 25So Jesus called the followers together. He said, “You know that the rulers of the non-Jewish people love to show their power over the people. And their important leaders love to use all their authority over the people. 26But it should not be that way with you. Whoever wants to be your leader must be your servant. 27Whoever wants to be first must serve the rest of you like a slave. 28Do as I did: The Son of Man did not come for people to serve him. He came to serve others and to give his life to save many people.”
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
(Mk. 10:46–52; Lk. 18:35–43)
29When Jesus and his followers were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30There were two blind men sitting by the road. They heard that Jesus was coming by. So they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, please help us!”
31The people there criticized the blind men and told them to be quiet. But they shouted more and more, “Lord, Son of David, please help us!”
32Jesus stopped and said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”
33They answered, “Lord, we want to be able to see.”
34Jesus felt sorry for the blind men. He touched their eyes, and immediately they were able to see. Then they became followers of Jesus.
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Matthew 20: ERV
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Matthew 20
20
Jesus told a story about work-men in a garden
1Jesus said to his followers, “This picture story is about the people that will be in God’s family. There was a man that owned a garden, and he wanted some work-men to get a job finished in one day. So he went out early in the morning, to the place in the town where men waited around looking for a job. 2He talked to the men there, and they agreed to work for him. He agreed to give them the right pay, the pay that men always get for a day’s work. Then he sent them to work in his garden.
3At 9 o’clock in the morning he went again to that place in the town, and he saw some other men standing around doing nothing. 4So he gave each of them a job too. He told them, ‘Come and work in my garden today, and I will pay you the right money at the end of the day.’ 5So they went to work in his garden.
Then, in the middle of the day, the boss went to that place in the town again. And he found some more men there, and he did the same for them. He gave them jobs. At 3 o’clock in the afternoon, he did the same thing. He found some more men and gave them jobs too.
6Then, at 5 o’clock in the afternoon, he went into town again, and he saw some more men standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’
7They said, ‘Because nobody gave us a job.’
The boss said to them, ‘All right, I’ll give each of you a job. Go and work in my garden.’
8At the end of the day, he told his manager, ‘Tell all the work-men to come here, and we will pay them their money. Tell the last work-men to come first.’#Leviticus 19:13; Deuteronomy 24:15 9So he paid the men that started their job at 5 o’clock, and he gave each of them a full day’s pay. Then he kept on paying the other men, and he gave each man a full day’s pay. 10Last of all, he paid the men that started their job early in the morning. They thought they were going to get more money, but they didn’t. Each of them got a full day’s pay, just like the other men. 11When they got their money, they complained to the boss. They said, 12‘Those men only worked for one hour, and you paid them just as much money as you paid us. That’s not fair. We worked all day in the hot sun.’
13The boss said to one of them, ‘My friend, I’m not cheating you. You agreed to work all day for one day’s pay, right? 14Well, take your money and go home. You see, I wanted to pay these last work-men the same as you. 15It’s all right for me to do what I want with my own money, right? If I’m good to somebody, don’t get upset with me.’ ”
16Then Jesus told them what that story means. He said, “One day, those people that are the last ones now, they will be the first ones. And those people that are the first ones now, they will be the last ones.”#Matthew 19:30; Mark 10:31; Luke 13:30
(We have not yet translated 20:17—21:27. You can read that story and those messages in Mark 10:32—11:33.)
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