Matthew 20

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

1 “Jesus said, ‘God’s kingdom is like a boss who owned a vineyard and went out early in the morning to hire workers.’”

2 “‘He agreed to pay them a day’s wage and sent them to work.’”

3 “‘Around 9 AM, he went out again and saw some dudes chilling in the marketplace doing nothing.’”

4 “‘He said, “Listen, go work in my vineyard, and I will pay you what is fair.” So they went.’”

5 “‘He did the same thing at noon and at 3 PM.’”

6 “‘At 5 PM, he found more people standing around and asked, “Why are y’all just standing here all day doing nothing?”’”

7 “‘They said, “Nobody hired us.” The boss said, “Go work in my vineyard too.”’”

8 “‘When evening came, the boss told his foreman, “Call the workers and pay them, starting with the last ones hired.”’”

9 “‘The dudes who started at 5 PM got a full day’s wage.’”

10 “‘When the ones who started early saw that, they thought they would get more, but they got the same pay.’”

11 “‘They started complaining to the boss.’”

12 “‘They said, “Hold up, we worked all day in the heat, and these guys who only worked an hour got the same pay,”’”

13 “‘The boss said, “Listen, I am not cheating you. Did we not agree on a day’s wage,”’”

14 “‘“Take your money and go. I want to give the same pay to the last workers.”’”

15 “‘“Can I not do what I want with my money, Or are you mad because I am generous?”’”

16 “‘So the last will be first, and the first will be last.’”

Jesus Predicts His Death Again

17 “On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus pulled His disciples aside and said?”

18 “‘Listen, we are going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man is going to be handed over to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will sentence Him to death.’”

19 “‘They will hand Him over to the Romans, who will mock Him, whip Him, and crucify Him. But on the third day, He will rise again.’”

A Mother’s Request

20 “The mother of James and John came to Jesus with her sons. She knelt down and asked for a favor.”

21 “Jesus said, ‘What do you want?’ She said, ‘Promise me my sons can sit next to You in Your kingdom, one on Your right and one on Your left.’”

22 “Jesus said, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I am about to drink,’ They said, ‘We can.’”

23 “Jesus said, ‘You will drink from My cup, but sitting on My right or left is not up to Me. That is for the Father to decide.’”

24 “When the other ten disciples heard about this, they got mad at James and John.”

25 “Jesus called them together and said, ‘You all know how rulers act, they lord their power over people. That is not how it is going to be with you.’”

26 “‘If you want to be great, you must serve others.’”

27 “‘If you want to be first, you must be a servant.’”

28 “‘Even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give His life to save many.’”

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

29 “As Jesus and His crew were leaving Jericho, a big crowd followed Him.”

30 “Two blind men sitting by the road heard Jesus was passing by and shouted, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!’”

31 “The crowd told them to shut up, but they shouted even louder, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!’”

32 “Jesus stopped and called them, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’”

33 “They said, ‘Lord, we want to see.’”

34 “Jesus had compassion, touched their eyes, and immediately they could see. They followed Him.”