¹“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. ²After agreeing to pay the workers the usual day’s wages, he sent them to work in his vineyard. ³About 9 a.m. he saw others standing in the marketplace without work. ⁴He said to them, ‘Work in my vineyard, and I’ll give you whatever is right.’ So they went.

⁵“He went out again about noon and 3 p.m. and did the same thing. ⁶About 5 p.m. he went out and found some others standing around. He said to them, ‘Why are you standing here all day long without work?’

⁷“ ‘No one has hired us,’ they answered him.

“He said to them, ‘Work in my vineyard.’

⁸“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard told the supervisor, ‘Call the workers, and give them their wages. Start with the last, and end with the first.’

⁹“Those who started working about 5 p.m. came, and each received a day’s wages. ¹⁰When those who had been hired first came, they expected to receive more. But each of them received a day’s wages. ¹¹Although they took it, they began to protest to the owner. ¹²They said, ‘These last workers have worked only one hour. Yet, you’ve treated us all the same, even though we worked hard all day under a blazing sun.’

¹³“The owner said to one of them, ‘Friend, I’m not treating you unfairly. Didn’t you agree with me on a day’s wages? ¹⁴Take your money and go! I want to give this last worker as much as I gave you. ¹⁵Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Or do you resent my generosity towards others?’

¹⁶“In this way the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

For the Third Time Jesus Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life—Mark 10:32–34; Luke 18:31–34

¹⁷When Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he took the twelve apostles aside and said to them privately, ¹⁸“We’re going to Jerusalem. There the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the experts in Moses’ Teachings. They will condemn him to death ¹⁹and hand him over to foreigners. They will make fun of him, whip him, and crucify him. But on the third day he will be brought back to life.”

A Mother Makes a Request—Mark 10:35–45

²⁰Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her two sons. She bowed down in front of him to ask him for a favor.

²¹“What do you want?” he asked her.

She said to him, “Promise that one of my sons will sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”

²²Jesus replied, “You don’t realize what you’re asking. Can you drink the cup that I’m going to drink?”

“We can,” they told him.

²³Jesus said to them, “You will drink my cup. But I don’t have the authority to grant you a seat at my right or left. My Father has already prepared these positions for certain people.”

²⁴When the other ten apostles heard about this, they were irritated with the two brothers. ²⁵Jesus called the apostles and said, “You know that the rulers of nations have absolute power over people and their officials have absolute authority over people. ²⁶But that’s not the way it’s going to be among you. Whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant.

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