Matthew 20

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

⁷"They said, 'Because no one hired us.' He said, 'You also go into the vineyard.'

⁸"When evening came, the vineyard owner told his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, from the last to the first.' ⁹And when those hired about five o'clock came, each of them received a full day's wage. ¹⁰When the first came, they thought they would get more, but each got a full day's wage too. ¹¹And on receiving it they grumbled at the landowner, ¹²saying, 'These last worked only one hour, yet you made them equal to us, who bore the day's burden and the scorching heat.'

¹³"He answered one of them, 'Friend, I'm not wronging you. Didn't you agree with me for a full day's wage?' ¹⁴Take what's yours and go. I want to give this last worker the same as you. ¹⁵Can't I do what I want with what's mine? Or are you jealous because I'm generous? ¹⁶So the last will be first, and the first last."

Jesus Foretells the Cross

¹⁷As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve aside and said to them on the way,

¹⁸"See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be given over to the chief priests and scribes, who will condemn him to death, ¹⁹and hand him over to the Gentiles to mock and flog and crucify—and on the third day he will be raised."

True Greatness Means Serving

²⁰Then Zebedee's sons' mother came to him with her sons, kneeling to ask something of him.

²¹He asked her, "What do you want?" She said, "Say my two sons will sit one at your right, one at your left, in your kingdom."

²²But Jesus replied, "You don't know what you're asking. Can you drink the cup I am about to drink?" "We can," they said.

²³He said, "You will drink my cup, but seating at my right and left is not mine to give—it belongs to those my Father has prepared it for."

²⁴When the ten heard this, they were angry at the two brothers.

²⁵Jesus called them over and said, "You know the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their powerful men hold authority over them. ²⁶Not so among you. Rather, whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, ²⁷and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave, ²⁸just 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

²⁹And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. ³⁰Two blind men sitting by the road heard Jesus was passing and 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. ³¹The crowd scolded them to be quiet, but they shouted louder, "Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!"

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

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

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