Matthew 20
20
The Story of the Workers in the Vineyard
1“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who owned land. He went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2He agreed to give them the usual pay for a day’s work. Then he sent them into his vineyard.
3“About nine o’clock in the morning he went out again. He saw others standing in the market doing nothing. 4He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard. I’ll pay you what is right.’ 5So they went.
“He went out again about noon and at three o’clock and did the same thing. 6About five o’clock he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
7“ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
8“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard spoke to the person who was in charge of the workers. He said, ‘Call the workers and give them their pay. Begin with the last ones I hired. Then go on to the first ones.’
9“The workers who were hired about five o’clock came. Each received the usual day’s pay. 10So when those who were hired first came, they expected to receive more. But each of them also received the usual day’s pay. 11When they received it, they began to complain about the owner. 12‘These people who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said. ‘You have paid them the same as us. We have done most of the work and have been in the hot sun all day.’
13“The owner answered one of them. ‘Friend,’ he said, ‘I’m being fair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for the usual day’s pay? 14Take your money and go. I want to give the one I hired last the same pay I gave you. 15Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Do you feel cheated because I gave so freely to the others?’
16“So those who are last will be first. And those who are first will be last.”
Jesus Speaks a Third Time About His Coming Death
17Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took his 12 disciples to one side to talk to them. 18“We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said. “The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will sentence him to death. 19Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles. The people will make fun of him and whip him. They will nail him to a cross. On the third day, he will rise from the dead!”
A Mother Asks a Favor of Jesus
20The mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus. Her sons came with her. Getting on her knees, she asked a favor of him.
21“What do you want?” Jesus asked.
She said, “Promise me that one of my two sons may sit at your right hand in your kingdom. Promise that the other one may sit at your left hand.”
22“You don’t know what you’re asking for,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup of suffering I am going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.
23Jesus said to them, “You will certainly drink from my cup. But it is not for me to say who will sit at my right or left hand. These places belong to those my Father has prepared them for.”
24The other ten disciples heard about this. They became angry at the two brothers. 25Jesus called them together. He said, “You know about the rulers of the Gentiles. They hold power over their people. Their high officials order them around. 26Don’t be like that. Instead, anyone who wants to be important among you must be your servant. 27And anyone who wants to be first must be your slave. 28Be like the Son of Man. He did not come to be served. Instead, he came to serve others. He came to give his life as the price for setting many people free.”
Two Blind Men Receive Their Sight
29Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho. A large crowd followed him. 30Two blind men were sitting by the side of the road. They heard that Jesus was going by. So they shouted, “Lord! Son of David! Have mercy on us!”
31The crowd commanded them to stop. They told them to be quiet. But the two men shouted even louder, “Lord! Son of David! Have mercy on us!”
32Jesus stopped and called out to them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
33“Lord,” they answered, “we want to be able to see.”
34Jesus felt deep concern for them. He touched their eyes. Right away they could see. And they followed him.
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Matthew 20: NIrV
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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
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Matthew 20
20
A Story About Vineyard Workers
1“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who owned some land. One morning, he went out very early to hire some people to work in his vineyard. 2The man agreed to pay the workers one silver coin# A Roman denarius. One coin was the average pay for one day’s work. for working that day. Then he sent them into the vineyard to work. 3About nine o’clock the man went to the marketplace and saw some other people standing there, doing nothing. 4So he said to them, ‘If you go and work in my vineyard, 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 people to work in his vineyard. 6About five o’clock the man went to the marketplace again. He saw others standing there. He asked them, ‘Why did you stand here all day doing nothing?’ 7They answered, ‘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 vineyard said to the boss of all the workers, ‘Call the workers and pay them. Start by paying the last people I hired. Then pay all of them, ending with the workers I hired first.’
9“The workers who were hired at five o’clock came to get their pay. Each worker received 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 you paid us. And we worked hard all day in the hot sun.’ 13But the man who owned the vineyard said to one of those workers, ‘Friend, I am being fair to you. You agreed to work for one silver coin. 14So take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same pay that I gave you. 15I can do what I want with my own money. Are you jealous because I am good to those people?’
16“So those who are last now will someday be first. And those who are first now will someday be last.”
Jesus Talks About His Own Death
17Jesus was going to Jerusalem. His 12 followers were with him. While they were on the way, Jesus 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 turned over to the leading priests and the teachers of the law. They will say that he must die. 19They will give the Son of Man to the non-Jewish people. They 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 Jesus a Favor
20Then the wife of Zebedee came to Jesus. Her sons were with her. The mother bowed before Jesus and asked him to do something for her.
21Jesus asked, “What do you want?”
She said, “Promise that one of my sons will sit at your right side in your kingdom. And promise that the other son will sit at your left side.”
22But Jesus said, “You don’t understand what you are asking. Can you accept the kind of suffering that I must suffer?”# Literally, “drink the cup that I must drink.” Jesus used the idea of drinking from a cup to mean accepting the terrible things that would happen to him.
The sons answered, “Yes, we can!”
23Jesus said to them, “Truly you will suffer the same things that I will suffer. But I cannot choose who will sit at my right side or my left side. Those places belong to those for whom my Father has prepared them.”
24The other ten followers heard this and were angry with the two brothers.
25Jesus called all 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. 26But it should not be that way among you. If one of you wants to become great, then he must serve the rest of you like a servant. 27If one of you wants to become first, then he must serve the rest of you like a slave. 28So it is with the Son of Man. The Son of Man did not come for other people to serve him. He came to serve others. The Son of Man came to give his life to save many people.”
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
29When Jesus and his followers were leaving Jericho, a great many people followed Jesus. 30There were two blind men sitting by the road. The blind men heard that Jesus was going by, so they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, please help us!”
31All the people criticized the blind men. They told them to be quiet. But the blind men shouted more and more, “Lord, Son of David, please help us!”
32Jesus stopped and said to the blind men, “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 at once they were able to see. Then the men followed Jesus.
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.