Matthew Twenty
For the kingdom of heaven is like a man,
who is a householder, who went out
early in the morning to hire laborers for his
vineyard. He bargained with the laborers for a penny
a day, and sent them to his vineyard. And he went out at the third hour, and saw
others standing idle in the market place. And he said to them, You also go to the
vineyard, and I will give you what is right.
And they went. And he went out again at the sixth and at
the ninth hour, and did the same. And towards the eleventh hour he went
out and found others standing idle, and he
said to them, Why do you stand all day idle?
They said to him, Because no man has
hired us. He said to them, You also go to the
vineyard, and you will receive what is right. When evening came, the owner of the vineyard
said to his steward, Call the laborers
and pay them their wages; and begin from
the last ones to the first. When those of the eleventh hour came,
they each received a penny. But when the first ones came, they expected
to receive more; but they also got each
one a penny. And when they received it, they murmured
against the householder, Saying, These last ones have worked only
one hour, and you have made them equal
with us who have borne the weight of the
day and its heat. He answered and said to one of them,
My friend, I am not doing you an injustice;
did you not bargain with me for a penny? Take what is yours and go away; I wish
to give to this last one the same as to you. Have I no right to do what I wish with
mine own? Or are you jealous because I am
generous? Even so the last shall be first, and the
first last; for many are called, but few are
chosen.
¶ Now Jesus was ready to go up to Jerusalem;
and he took his twelve disciples apart
on the road, and he said to them, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,
and the Son of man will be delivered to the
high priests and the scribes, and they will
condemn him to death. And they will deliver him to the Gentiles
and they will mock him, and scourge him,
and crucify him; and on the third day he will
rise up.
¶ Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee
came up to him, together with her sons; and
she worshipped him, and requested something
of him. He said to her, What do you wish? She
said to him, Command that these two sons
of mine sit, one at your right and one at your
left, in your kingdom.
Jesus answered and said, You do not know
what you are asking. Can you drink the cup
that I am ready to drink, or be baptized with
the baptism with which I am to be baptized?
They said to him, We can. He said to them, Indeed my cup you shall
drink, and the baptism with which I am to
be baptized, you too shall be baptized with;
but to sit at my right hand and at my left,
that is not mine to give, but it is for those for
whom it is prepared by my Father. When the ten heard it, they were angry at
the two brothers. And Jesus called them and said, You know
that the princes of the people are also their
owners; and their officials rule over them. Let not this be so among you; but whoever
wishes to be great among you, let him
be a minister to you; And whoever wishes to be first among
you, let him be a servant to you; Just as the Son of man did not come to
be ministered to, but to minister, and to give
his life as a salvation for the sake of many.
¶ And when Jesus went out of Jericho a
large crowd followed him. And behold, two blind men were sitting
by the roadside, and when they heard that
Jesus was passing by, they cried aloud, saying,
Have mercy upon us, O Lord, son of
David. But the people rebuked them to keep
quiet; but they cried louder, saying, Our Lord,
have mercy upon us, son of David. And Jesus stopped and called them, and
he said, What do you wish me to do for you? They said to him, Our Lord, that our eyes
may be opened. And Jesus had mercy upon them, so he
touched their eyes; and immediately their
eyes were opened, and they followed him.
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