Parable of the Vineyard Workers

20 “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

Parable of the Fishing Net

⁴⁷ “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind.

Parable of the Wheat and Weeds

²⁴ Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field.

⁵⁸ So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

Jesus, the True Vine

15 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.

Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids

25 “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids^[a] who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.

² “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son.

Parable of the Evil Farmers

³³ “Now listen to another story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. ³⁴ At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop. ³⁵ But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. ³⁶ So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same.

³⁷ “Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’

³⁸ “But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ ³⁹ So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him.

⁴⁰ “When the owner of the vineyard returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he will do to those farmers?”

⁴¹ The religious leaders replied, “He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest.”

⁴² Then Jesus asked them, “Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures?

⁴³ I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit.

Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

⁴⁴ “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.

⁴⁵ “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls.