Matthew 20

20 ¹ "For the kingdom of our Father is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ² He agreed to pay the workers a full day's wage and sent them into his vineyard. ³ About nine o'clock in the morning he went out and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴ and he said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. ⁵ Going out again about noon and about three in the afternoon, he did the same. ⁶ And about five o'clock in the afternoon he went out and found others standing, and said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?'

⁷ They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard.'

⁸ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last and going to the first.' ⁹ And when those hired about five o'clock came, each of them received a full day's wage. ¹⁰ Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a full day's wage. ¹¹ And on receiving it they grumbled at the landowner, ¹² saying, 'These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.'

¹³ But he replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a full day's wage? ¹⁴ Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. ¹⁵ Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what is mine? Or are you jealous because I am generous?' ¹⁶ So the last will be first, and the first last."

Jesus Foretells the Cross

¹⁷ Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, ¹⁸ "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death ¹⁹ and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised."

True Greatness Means Serving

²⁰ Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. ²¹ And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom."

²² But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They said to him, "We are able."

²³ He said to them, "You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."

²⁴ And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. ²⁵ But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ²⁶ It shall not be so among you. But whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave, ²⁸ even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Two Blind Men Receive Sight

²⁹ And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. ³⁰ Now two blind men were sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" ^a a v30 'Son of David' was a well-known Jewish title for the promised king who would come from David's royal line. ³¹ The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!"

³² And stopping, Jesus called them and said, "What do you want me to do for you?"

³³ They said to him, "Lord, let our eyes be opened."

³⁴ And Jesus, moved with compassion, touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.