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The Parable of the Workers in the
Vineyard
1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who
went out early in the morning to hire workers for his
vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and
sent them into his vineyard.
3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw
others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told
them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay
you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went. “He went out again
about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same
thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found
still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you
been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
7 “ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He
said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said
to his supervisor, ‘Call the workers and pay them their
wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to
the first.’
9 “The workers who were hired about five in the
afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when
those came who were hired first, they expected to receive
more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When
they received it, they began to grumble 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 of the work and the heat of the day.’
13 “But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not
being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a
denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one
who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have
the right 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.”
Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time
17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he
took the Twelve aside and said to them,
18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man
will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers
of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand
him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and
crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”
A Mother’s Request
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus
with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
21 “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant
that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and
the other at your left in your kingdom.”
22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to
them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,”
they answered.
23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my
cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant.
These places belong to those for whom they have been
prepared by my Father.”
24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant
with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and
said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over
them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great
among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be
first 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.”
Two Blind Men Receive Sight
29 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a
large crowd followed him. 30 Two blind men were sitting by
the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by,
they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet,
but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have
mercy on us!”
32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me
to do for you?” he asked.
33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”
34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their
eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed
him. |
Cults 
Why Did God Permit Sin?
