Matthew 20–22

Parable of the Laborers

Mark 10:31

20“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ²Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. ⁵Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. ⁶And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing ¹idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ ⁷They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, ²and whatever is right you will receive.’

⁸“So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ ⁹And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. ¹⁰But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. ¹¹And when they had received it, they ³complained against the landowner, ¹²saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ ¹³But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. ^15aIs it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or ^bis your eye evil because I am good?’ ^16cSo the last will be first, and the first last. ^dFor ⁴many are called, but few chosen.”

Instruction About Jesus’ Death

Mark 10:32–34; Luke 18:31–34

^17eNow Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, ^18f“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, ^19gand deliver Him to the Gentiles to ^hmock and to ⁱscourge and to ^jcrucify. And the third day He will ^krise again.”

Instruction About Ambition

Mark 10:35–45

^20lThen the mother of ^mZebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.

²¹And He said to her, “What do you wish?”

She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine ⁿmay sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”

²²But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink ^othe cup that I am about to drink, ⁵and be baptized with ^pthe baptism that I am baptized with?”

They said to Him, “We are able.”

²³So He said to them, ^q“You will indeed drink My cup, ⁶and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”

^24rAnd when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. ²⁵But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. ²⁶Yet ^sit shall not be so among you; but ^twhoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. ^27uAnd whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—^28vjust as the ^wSon of Man did not come to be served, ^xbut to serve, and ^yto give His life a ransom ^zfor many.”

The Blind Men Recognize the King

Mark 10:46–52; Luke 18:35–43

^29aNow as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. ³⁰And behold, ^btwo blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, ^cSon of David!”

³¹Then the multitude ^dwarned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”

³²So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

³³They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” ³⁴So Jesus had ^ecompassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

The Triumphal Entry

Mark 11:1–10; Luke 19:29–38; John 12:12–15

21Now ^awhen they drew near Jerusalem, and came to ¹Bethphage, at ^bthe Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ²saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. ³And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

⁴²All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

⁵“Tell ^cthe daughter of Zion,

‘Behold, your King is coming to you,

Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,

A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

^6dSo the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. ⁷They brought the donkey and the colt, ^elaid their clothes on them, ³and set Him on them. ⁸And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; ^fothers cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!

^g‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’

Hosanna in the highest!”

^10hAnd when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”

¹¹So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, ⁱthe prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

The Cleansing of the Temple

Mark 11:15–17; Luke 19:45, 46

^12jThen Jesus went into the temple ⁴of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the ^kmoney changers and the seats of those who sold doves. ¹³And He said to them, “It is written, ^l‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ^m‘den of thieves.’ ”

¹⁴Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. ¹⁵But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the ⁿSon of David!” they were ⁵indignant ¹⁶and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”

And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,

^o‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants

You have perfected praise’?”

¹⁷Then He left them and ^pwent out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.

Cursing of the Fig Tree

Mark 11:11–14, 20–24

^18qNow in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. ^19rAnd seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.

^20sAnd when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?”

²¹So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, ^tif you have faith and ^udo not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, ^vbut also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. ²²And ^wwhatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Question of Jesus’ Authority

Mark 11:27–33; Luke 20:1–8

^23xNow when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and ^ysaid, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”

²⁴But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: ²⁵The ^zbaptism of ^aJohn—where was it from? From heaven or from men?”

And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶But if we say, ‘From men,’ we ^bfear the multitude, ^cfor all count John as a prophet.” ²⁷So they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.”

And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Parable of the Two Sons

²⁸“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my ^dvineyard.’ ²⁹He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. ³⁰Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. ³¹Which of the two did the will of his father?”

They said to Him, “The first.”

Jesus said to them, ^e“Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. ³²For ^fJohn came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; ^gbut tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward ⁶relent and believe him.

Parable of the Landowner

Mark 12:1–12; Luke 20:9–19

³³“Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner ^hwho planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and ⁱwent into a far country. ³⁴Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. ^35jAnd the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. ³⁶Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. ³⁷Then last of all he sent his ^kson to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ^l‘This is the heir. ^mCome, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ ³⁹ⁿSo they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.

⁴⁰“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”

^41oThey said to Him, ^p“He will destroy those wicked men miserably, ^qand lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will ⁷render to him the fruits in their seasons.”

⁴²Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

^r‘The stone which the builders rejected

Has become the chief cornerstone.

This was the Lord’s doing,

And it is marvelous in our eyes’?

⁴³“Therefore I say to you, ^s…