Laborers in the Vineyard

20 “For ^(A)the kingdom of heaven is like ^[a]a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his ^(B)vineyard. ² When he had agreed with the laborers for a ^[b]denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And he went out about the ^[c]third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace; ⁴ and to those he said, ‘You go into the vineyard also, and whatever is right, I will give you.’ And so they went. ⁵ Again he went out about the ^[d]sixth and the ninth hour, and did ^[e]the same thing. ⁶ And about the ^[f]eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he *said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ ⁷ They *said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He *said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

⁸ “Now when ^(C)evening came, the ^[g]owner of the vineyard *said to his ^(D)foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, starting with the last group to the first.’ ⁹ When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a ^[h]denarius. ¹⁰ And so when those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; ^[i]but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, ¹² saying, ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day’s work and the ^(E)scorching heat.’ ¹³ But he answered and said to one of them, ‘^(F)Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what is yours and go; but I want to give to this last person the same as to you. ¹⁵ Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with what is my own? Or is your ^(G)eye ^[j]envious because I am ^[k]generous?’ ¹⁶ So ^(H)the last shall be first, and the first, last.”

Jesus’ Sufferings Foretold

^32 (A)Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they ^(B)were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, ³³ saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and ^(C)the Son of Man will be ^[a]handed over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will ^[b]hand Him over to the Gentiles. ³⁴ And they will mock Him and ^(D)spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him; and three days later He will rise from the dead.”

Death, Resurrection Foretold

^17 (A)As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the road He said to them, ¹⁸ “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man ^(B)will be ^[a]handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, ¹⁹ and they ^(C)will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and flog and crucify, and on ^(D)the third day He will be raised up.”

^31 (A)Now He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, ^(B)we are going up to Jerusalem, and ^(C)all the things that have been written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. ^32 (D)For He will be ^[a]handed over to the Gentiles, and will be ridiculed, and abused, and spit upon, ³³ and after they have flogged Him, they will kill Him; and on the third day He will rise.” ^34 [b](E)The disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.

^35 [a](A)James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, *came up to ^[b]Jesus, saying to Him, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” ³⁶ And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³⁷ They said to Him, “^[c]Grant that we ^(B)may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.” ³⁸ But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able ^(C)to drink the cup that I drink, or ^(D)to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” ³⁹ They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink ^(E)you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. ⁴⁰ But to sit on My right or on My left is not Mine to give; ^(F)but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

^41 (G)Hearing this, the other ten began to feel indignant with ^[d]James and John. ⁴² Calling them to Himself, Jesus *said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them; and their ^[e]people in high position exercise authority over them. ⁴³ But it is not this way among you; ^(H)rather, whoever wants to become ^[f]prominent among you shall be your servant; ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first among you shall be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man ^(I)did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His ^[g]life as a ransom for many.”

Request for Preferred Treatment

^20 (A)Then the mother of ^(B)the ^[a]sons of Zebedee came to ^[b]Jesus with her sons, ^(C)bowing down and making a request of Him. ²¹ And He said to her, “What do you desire?” She *said to Him, “Say that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine ^(D)shall sit, one at Your right, and one at Your left.” ²² But Jesus replied, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able ^(E)to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They *said to Him, “We are able.” ²³ He *said to them, “^(F)My cup you shall drink; but to sit at My right and at My left is not Mine to give, ^(G)but it is for those for whom it has been ^(H)prepared by My Father.”

²⁴ And after hearing this, the other ten disciples became indignant with the two brothers. ^25 (I)But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them, and ^[c]those in high position exercise authority over them. ²⁶ It ^[d]is not this way among you, ^(J)but whoever wants to become ^[e]prominent among you shall be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever desires to be first among you shall be your slave; ²⁸ just as ^(K)the Son of Man ^(L)did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His ^[f]life as a ransom for many.”

Sight for Those Who Are Blind

^29 (M)As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. ³⁰ And two people who were blind, sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, ^(N)have mercy on us, ^(O)Son of David!” ³¹ But the crowd sternly warned them to be quiet; yet they cried out all the more, “Lord, ^(P)Son of David, have mercy on us!” ³² And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³³ They *said to Him, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.” ³⁴ Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

^46 (A)Then they *came to Jericho. And later, ^(B)as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a beggar who was blind named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. ⁴⁷ And when he heard that it was Jesus the ^(C)Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, ^(D)Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸ Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “^(E)Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹ And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they *called the man who was blind, saying to him, “^(F)Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.” ⁵⁰ And throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹ And replying to him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the man who was blind said to Him, “^[a](G)Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” ⁵² And Jesus said to him, “Go; ^(H)your faith has ^[b]made you well.” And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.

Bartimaeus Receives Sight

^35 (A)Now as ^[a](B)Jesus was approaching Jericho, a man who was blind was sitting by the road, begging. ³⁶ But when he heard a crowd going by, he began inquiring what this was. ³⁷ They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. ³⁸ And he called out, saying, “Jesus, ^(C)Son of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹ Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, “^(D)Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁰ And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He asked him, ⁴¹ “What do you want Me to do for you?” And he said, “Lord, I want to regain my sight!” ⁴² And Jesus said to him, “Regain your sight; ^(E)your faith has ^[b]made you well.” ⁴³ And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, ^(F)glorifying God; and when ^(G)all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.

Zaccheus Converted

19 Jesus ^(H)entered Jericho and was passing through. ² And ^[c]there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. ³ Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable due to the crowd, because he was short in stature. ⁴ So he ran on ahead and climbed up a ^[d](I)sycamore tree in order to see Him, because He was about to pass through that way. ⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” ⁶ And he hurried and came down, and received Him ^[e]joyfully. ⁷ When the people saw this, they all began to complain, saying, “He has gone in ^[f]to be the guest of a man who is a sinner!” ⁸ But Zaccheus stopped and said to ^(J)the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I am giving to the poor, and if I have ^(K)extorted anything from anyone, I am giving back ^(L)four times as much.” ⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is ^(M)a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Parable of the Ten Minas

¹¹ Now while they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because ^(N)He was near Jerusalem and they thought that ^(O)the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. ¹² So He said, “^(P)A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then to return. ¹³ And he called ten of his own slaves and gave them ten ^[g]minas, and said to them, ‘Do business with this money ^[h]until I come back.’ ¹⁴ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ ¹⁵ When he returned after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be summoned to him so that he would learn how much they had made by the business they had done. ¹⁶ The first slave appeared, saying, ‘^[i]Master, your ^[j]mina has made ten minas more.’ ¹⁷ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave; since you have been ^(Q)faithful in a very little thing, you are to have authority over ten cities.’ ¹⁸ The second one came, saying, ‘Your ^[k]mina, ^[l]master, has made five minas.’ ¹⁹ And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ ²⁰ And then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept tucked away in a handkerchief; ²¹ for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.’ ²² He *said to him, ‘^[m]From your own lips I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am a demanding man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow? ²³ And so why did you not put my money in the bank, and when I came back, I would have collected it with interest?’ ²⁴ And then he said to the other slaves who were present, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ ²⁵ And they said to him, ‘Master, he already has ten minas.’ ²⁶ ‘^(R)I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. ²⁷ But as for ^(S)these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and ^(T)slaughter them in my presence.’”