THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW ~ Chapter 20
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a farmer
who went out one morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. First, he made a
contract with the workmen as to the pay – twenty cents for the day – and then
he sent them into the vineyard to work. He went out again about nine o’clock in
the morning and saw some men in the town square, loafing, with nothing to do.
So he spoke to them: “’If you will go and work in my vineyard, I shall pay you
whatever is right.” And they went. Then, about noon, he went out again, and
also about three o’clock he did the same. Once more he went out – about 5 o’clock
– and again he found some hanging around doing nothing. He asked them, ‘Why do
you stand here all day?’ They answered him, ‘Because no one will give us work.’
And he said to them, ‘You, too, go into the vineyard and I shall pay you
whatever is right.’ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his
overseer, ‘Call in the workmen, starting with the last hired, and on to the
first.’ When those came up who had been hired around 5 o’clock, each received 20
cents. And, finally, when those who had been hired earliest came, they thought
they would get more, but each one received 20 cents and no more. But, on receiving
it, they grumbled against their employer. ‘The late-comers’, they complained, ‘worked
only 1 hour, yet you have made them equal to us who have borne the burdens of
the heat of the day’. He spoke to one of them, ‘My friend, I have not wronged
you. Didn’t you agree with me on twenty cents? Take your pay and go. I want to
give the late-comer the same as you got. Isn’t it lawful for me to do with my
money as I wish? Are you envious because I want to be generous?’ So, the last
shall be first, and the first shall be last. For many are called, but few are
chosen.”
When Yeshua set out for Jerusalem again, He
took His disciples aside on the way and had a talk with them. “See here,” said
He, “when we go up to Jerusalem this time, the Son of Man will be given into the
hands of the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death. And
they, in turn, will deliver Him to the heathen to be mocked and scourged and
crucified. But on the 3rd day, He will rise again.
The mother of the sons of Zebedee now came to
Him with her sons. She knelt before Him, and wanted to beg some favor of Him. “What
is it you want?” He asked her. She answered, “Promise me this, that in Your
kingdom one of my sons may sit at Your right hand and the other at Your left.’
But Yeshua said, in reply, “No, you do not understand what you ask. Are you
able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They answered him, ‘Yes, we
are.’ He said, “Well, then, you shall drink My cup. But to be seated at My
right hand and at My left hand is not for Me to give. Those seats will be given
to those for whom they have been prepared by My Father.” When the other ten disciples
heard this, they were angry at the two brothers. So Yeshua called the disciples
to Him and said, “You know how the heathen rulers are high-handed with their people,
and how their chiefs likewise rule as dictators. But it must not be that way
among you. Rather, if one of you desires to be great among you, let him be your
slave. With you it should be like the Son of man – He came not to be served,
but to serve, and to give His life for a ransom to set many free.”
A great crowd followed after Yeshua as He
left Jericho. Now, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside. When they
learned that Yeshua was passing by, they cried out, ‘Adonai, Son of David, take
pity on us!’ The crowd rebuked them and told them to keep quiet. But they cried
out still louder, ‘Have pity on us, Adonai, Son of David!” Yeshua stopped and
spoke to them. “What do you want me to do for you?” He asked. They answered, “Adonai,
oh, if You would only open our eyes!’ And they could at once see, and they followed
Him.
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