Matthew 20
20
1 "The kingdom of heaven is like the father of a family who went out in early morning to lead workers into his vineyard.
2 Then, having made an agreement with the workers for one denarius per day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3 And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace.
4 And he said to them, 'You may go into my vineyard, too, and what I will give you will be just.'
5 So they went forth. But again, he went out about the sixth, and about the ninth hour, and he acted similarly.
6 Yet truly, about the eleventh hour, he went out and found others standing, and he said to them, 'Why have you stood here idle all day?'
7 They say to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You also may go into my vineyard.'
8 And when evening had arrived, the lord of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning from the last, even to the first.'
9 And so, when those who had arrived about the eleventh hour came forward, each received a single denarius.
10 Then when the first ones also came forward, they considered that they would receive more. But they, too, received one denarius.
11 And upon receiving it, they murmured against the father of the family,
12 saying, 'These last have worked for one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who worked bearing the weight and heat of the day.'
13 But responding to one of them, he said: 'Friend, I caused you no injury. Did you not agree with me to one denarius?
14 Take what is yours and go. But it is my will to give to this last, just as to you.
15 And is it not lawful for me to do what I will? Or is your eye wicked because I am good?'
16 So then, the last shall be first, and the first shall be last. For many are called, but few are chosen."
17 And Jesus, ascending to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside in private and said to them:
18 "Behold, we are ascending to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be handed over to the leaders of the priests and to the scribes. And they shall condemn him to death.
19 And they shall hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified. And on the third day, he shall rise again."
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached him, with her sons, adoring him, and petitioning something from him.
21 And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Declare that these, my two sons, may sit, one at your right hand, and the other at your left, in your kingdom."
22 But Jesus, responding, said: "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink from the chalice, from which I will drink?" They said to him, "We are able."
23 He said to them: "From my chalice, indeed, you shall drink. But to sit at my right or my left is not mine to give to you, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."
24 And the ten, upon hearing this, became indignant with the two brothers.
25 But Jesus called them to himself and said: "You know that the first ones among the Gentiles are their rulers, and that those who are greater exercise power among them.
26 It shall not be this way among you. But whoever will want to be greater among you, let him be your minister.
27 And whoever will want to be first among you, he shall be your servant,
28 even as the Son of man has not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a redemption for many."
29 And as they were departing from Jericho, a great crowd followed him.
30 And behold, two blind men, sitting by the way, heard that Jesus was passing by; and they cried out, saying, "Lord, Son of David, take pity on us."
31 But the crowd rebuked them to be quiet. But they cried out all the more, saying, "Lord, Son of David, take pity on us."
32 And Jesus stood still, and he called them and said, "What do you want, that I might do for you?"
33 They said to him, "Lord, that our eyes be opened."
34 Then Jesus, taking pity on them, touched their eyes. And immediately they saw, and they followed him.
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Matthew 20: CPDV
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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.