Matthew 20

Christian Standard Bible

The Parable of the Vineyard Workers

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.^{(A) 2} After agreeing with the workers on one denarius,^[a] he sent them into his vineyard for the day. ³ When he went out about nine in the morning,^[b] he saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ⁴ He said to them, ‘You also go into my vineyard, and I’ll give you whatever is right.’ So off they went. ⁵ About noon and about three,^[c] he went out again and did the same thing. ⁶ Then about five^[d] he went and found others standing around^[e] and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day doing nothing?’

⁷ “‘Because no one hired us,’ they said to him.

“‘You also go into my vineyard,’ he told them.^{[f] 8} When evening came, the owner of the vineyard told his foreman, ‘Call the workers and give them their pay,^(B) starting with the last and ending with the first.’

⁹ “When those who were hired about five came, they each received one denarius. ¹⁰ So when the first ones came, they assumed they would get more, but they also received a denarius each. ¹¹ When they received it, they began to complain to the landowner: ¹² ‘These last men put in one hour, and you made them equal to us who bore the burden of the day’s work and the burning heat.’^(C)

¹³ “He replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I’m doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me on a denarius?^{(D) 14} Take what’s yours and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you. ¹⁵ Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what is mine? Are you jealous^[g] because I’m generous?’^[h](E)

¹⁶ “So the last will be first, and the first last.”^[i](F)

The Third Prediction of His Death

¹⁷ While going up to Jerusalem,^(G) Jesus took the twelve disciples aside privately and said to them on the way, ¹⁸ “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death.^{(H) 19} They will hand him over to the Gentiles^(I) to be mocked, flogged,^[j] and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised.”^[k]

Suffering and Service

²⁰ Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons approached him with her sons.^(J) She knelt down to ask him for something.^{(K) 21} “What do you want?” he asked her.

“Promise,”^[l] she said to him, “that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left, in your kingdom.”^(L)

²² Jesus answered, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”^[m](M)

“We are able,” they said to him.

²³ He told them, “You will indeed drink my cup,^[n] but to sit at my right and left is not mine to give; instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”^(N)

²⁴ When the ten disciples heard this, they became indignant with the two brothers. ²⁵ Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. ²⁶ It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,^{(O) 27} and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,^(P) and to give his life as a ransom for many.”^(Q)

Two Blind Men Healed

²⁹ As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him.^{(R) 30} There were two blind men sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” ³¹ The crowd demanded that they keep quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” ^(S)

³² Jesus stopped, called them, and said, “What do you want me to do for you?”

³³ “Lord,” they said to him, “open our eyes.” ³⁴ Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they could see, and they followed him.