Beginning
The Workers in the Vineyard
20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3 “Then he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. 5 Again he went out about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did likewise.
6 “About the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, 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, and whatever is right you will receive.’
8 “So when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’
9 “When they who were hired about the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more, but each of them likewise received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us, who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’
13 “But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what is yours and go your way. I will give to this last one even as I give to you. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’
16 “So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen.”
A Third Time Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection(A)
17 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, 18 “Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and scribes. And they will condemn Him to death 19 and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify Him, but on the third day He will rise.”
A Mother’s Request(B)
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons. And kneeling before Him, she asked for a certain thing.
21 He said to her, “What do you want?”
She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may 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 from the cup that I am to drink, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
They said to Him, “We are able.”
23 He said to them, “You will indeed drink from My cup and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with. But to sit at My right hand and at My left is not Mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”
24 When the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against 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 those who are great exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. Whoever would be great among you, let him serve you, 27 and whoever would be first among you, let him be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
The Healing of Two Blind Men(C)
29 As they departed from Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. 30 There, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”
31 The crowd rebuked them, that they should be silent. But they cried out even more, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”
32 Jesus stood still and called them, saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
33 They said to Him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.”
34 So Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.
The Triumphant Entry Into Jerusalem(D)
21 When they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, on the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go over into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them.’ And he will send them immediately.”
4 All this was done to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying:
5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,
‘Look, your King is coming to you,
humble, and sitting on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’[a]”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their garments on them, and He sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their garments on the road. Others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went before Him and that followed Him cried out:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’[b]
Hosanna in the highest!”
10 When He entered Jerusalem, the entire city was moved, saying, “Who is He?”
11 The crowds said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”
The Cleansing of the Temple(E)
12 Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who sold and bought in the temple and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’[c] but you have made it ‘a den of thieves.’[d] ”
14 The blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were extremely displeased 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”
Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,
‘Out of the mouth of children and infants
You have perfected praise’[e]?”
17 And He left them and went out of the city into Bethany, and He lodged there.
The Cursing of the Fig Tree(F)
18 Now in the morning as He returned to the city, He became hungry. 19 When He saw a fig tree by the road, He went to it but found nothing on it except leaves. He said to it, “Let no fruit ever grow on you again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.
20 When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away instantly?”
21 Jesus answered them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed, and be thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, if you believe, you will receive.”
The Question of Jesus’ Authority(G)
23 When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”
24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question. If you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Where did the baptism of John come from? From heaven or from men?”
They reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the people, for all hold John as a prophet.”
27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.”
Then He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “What do you think? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’
29 “He answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he repented and went.
30 “Then he came to the second, and said likewise. He answered, ‘I will go, sir,’ but did not go.
31 “Which of the two did the will of his father?”
They said, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, the tax collectors and prostitutes enter the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe him.
The Parable of the Vineyard and the Vinedressers(H)
33 “Listen to another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and built a wall around it. He dug a winepress in it and built a tower. Then he rented it to vinedressers and went into a distant country. 34 When the season of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers to receive his fruit.
35 “The vinedressers took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again, he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did likewise to them. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
38 “But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 So they caught him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”
41 They said, “He will severely destroy those wicked men and rent his vineyard to other vinedressers who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
‘The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’[f]?
43 “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing its fruits. 44 Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces. But on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”
45 When the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. 46 But as they tried to arrest Him, they feared the crowds, because they held Him as a prophet.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.