Matthew 20

VIN^{(i) 1} For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner, who went out early in the morning to hire labourers to work in his vineyard. ² He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. ³ About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace without anything to do. ⁴ He said to them, 'You go into the vineyard, too, and I will pay you whatever is right.' ⁵ So they went. He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. ⁶ About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ he asked. ⁷ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. So he told them, ‘You also go into my vineyard.’ ⁸ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last ones hired and moving on to the first.’ ⁹ The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰ So when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it they began grumbling against the landowner ¹² ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’ ¹³ But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Did you not agree with me on one denarius? ¹⁴ Take your pay and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you. ¹⁵ Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?' ¹⁶ So the last will be first, and the first will be last." ¹⁷ As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside and said, ¹⁸ "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the high priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death ¹⁹ and will deliver Him to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. And on the third day He will be raised to life.” ²⁰ Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to him with her sons and, kneeling down, asked something of him. ²¹ "What is your desire?" he asked. She said to him: "Let my two sons be seated, the one at your right hand, and the other at your left, in your kingdom." ²² "None of you know what you are asking," said Jesus. "Can you drink the cup which I am about to drink?" "We can," they replied. ²³ He said to them, "You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right or my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." ²⁴ When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. ²⁵ But Jesus called them to himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions exercise authority over them. ²⁶ not so with you. Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, 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, and to give his life as a ransom for many." ²⁹ As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. ³⁰ And there were two blind men sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” ³¹ The crowd checked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, "O Lord, Son of David, have pity on us!" ³² Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want Me to do for you?” He asked. ³³ "Lord," they said, "we want our eyes opened." ³⁴ And Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.