Matthew 20
20
A Story about Vineyard Workers
1“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. 2After agreeing to pay the workers the usual day’s wages, he sent them to work in his vineyard. 3About 9 a.m. he saw others standing in the marketplace without work. 4He said to them, ‘Work in my vineyard, and I’ll give you whatever is right.’ So they went.
5“He went out again about noon and 3 p.m. and did the same thing. 6About 5 p.m. he went out and found some others standing around. He said to them, ‘Why are you standing here all day long without work?’
7“ ‘No one has hired us,’ they answered him.
“He said to them, ‘Work in my vineyard.’
8“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard told the supervisor, ‘Call the workers, and give them their wages. Start with the last, and end with the first.’
9“Those who started working about 5 p.m. came, and each received a day’s wages. 10When those who had been hired first came, they expected to receive more. But each of them received a day’s wages. 11Although they took it, they began to protest to the owner. 12They said, ‘These last workers have worked only one hour. Yet, you’ve treated us all the same, even though we worked hard all day under a blazing sun.’
13“The owner said to one of them, ‘Friend, I’m not treating you unfairly. Didn’t you agree with me on a day’s wages? 14Take your money and go! I want to give this last worker as much as I gave you. 15Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Or do you resent my generosity towards others?’
16“In this way the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
For the Third Time Jesus Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life
(Mark 10:32–34; Luke 18:31–34)
17When Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he took the twelve apostles aside and said to them privately, 18“We’re going to Jerusalem. There the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the experts in Moses’ Teachings. They will condemn him to death 19and hand him over to foreigners. They will make fun of him, whip him, and crucify him. But on the third day he will be brought back to life.”
A Mother Makes a Request
(Mark 10:35–45)
20Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her two sons. She bowed down in front of him to ask him for a favor.
21“What do you want?” he asked her.
She said to him, “Promise that one of my sons will sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
22Jesus replied, “You don’t realize what you’re asking. Can you drink the cup that I’m going to drink?”
“We can,” they told him.
23Jesus said to them, “You will drink my cup. But I don’t have the authority to grant you a seat at my right or left. My Father has already prepared these positions for certain people.”
24When the other ten apostles heard about this, they were irritated with the two brothers. 25Jesus called the apostles and said, “You know that the rulers of nations have absolute power over people and their officials have absolute authority over people. 26But that’s not the way it’s going to be among you. Whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant. 27Whoever wants to be most important among you will be your slave. 28It’s the same way with the Son of Man. He didn’t come so that others could serve him. He came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many people.”
Jesus Gives Two Blind Men Their Sight
(Mark 10:46–52; Luke 18:35–43)
29As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Jesus. 30Two blind men were sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
31The crowd told them to be quiet. But they shouted even 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.
33They told him, “Lord, we want you to give us our eyesight back.”
34Jesus felt sorry for them, so he touched their eyes. Their sight was restored at once, and they followed him.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Matthew 20
20
A Story About Workers
1-2“God’s kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work.
3-5a “Later, about nine o’clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went.
5b-6 “He did the same thing at noon, and again at three o’clock. At five o’clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, ‘Why are you standing around all day doing nothing?’
7“They said, ‘Because no one hired us.’
“He told them to go to work in his vineyard.
8“When the day’s work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, ‘Call the workers in and pay them their wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.’
9-12“Those hired at five o’clock came up and were each given a dollar. When those who were hired first saw that, they assumed they would get far more. But they got the same, each of them one dollar. Taking the dollar, they groused angrily to the manager, ‘These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun.’
13-15“He replied to the one speaking for the rest, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn’t we? So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?’
16“Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first.”
To Drink from the Cup
17-19Jesus, now well on the way up to Jerusalem, took the Twelve off to the side of the road and said, “Listen to me carefully. We are on our way up to Jerusalem. When we get there, the Son of Man will be betrayed to the religious leaders and scholars. They will sentence him to death. They will then hand him over to the Romans for mockery and torture and crucifixion. On the third day he will be raised up alive.”
20It was about that time that the mother of the Zebedee brothers came with her two sons and knelt before Jesus with a request.
21“What do you want?” Jesus asked.
She said, “Give your word that these two sons of mine will be awarded the highest places of honor in your kingdom, one at your right hand, one at your left hand.”
22Jesus responded, “You have no idea what you’re asking.” And he said to James and John, “Are you capable of drinking the cup that I’m about to drink?”
They said, “Sure, why not?”
23Jesus said, “Come to think of it, you are going to drink my cup. But as to awarding places of honor, that’s not my business. My Father is taking care of that.”
24-28When the ten others heard about this, they lost their tempers, thoroughly disgusted with the two brothers. So Jesus got them together to settle things down. He said, “You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.”
* * *
29-31As they were leaving Jericho, a huge crowd followed. Suddenly they came upon two blind men sitting alongside the road. When they heard it was Jesus passing, they cried out, “Master, have mercy on us! Mercy, Son of David!” The crowd tried to hush them up, but they got all the louder, crying, “Master, have mercy on us! Mercy, Son of David!”
32Jesus stopped and called over, “What do you want from me?”
33They said, “Master, we want our eyes opened. We want to see!”
34Deeply moved, Jesus touched their eyes. They had their sight back that very instant, and joined the procession.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.