The Little Children and Jesus(A)

13 Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them(B) and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.

14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs(C) to such as these.”(D) 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

The Rich and the Kingdom of God(E)

16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life(F)?”(G)

17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”(H)

18 “Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery,(I) you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’[a](J) and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’[b](K)

20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect,(L) go, sell your possessions and give to the poor,(M) and you will have treasure in heaven.(N) Then come, follow me.”

22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich(O) to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”(P)

27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you!(Q) What then will there be for us?”

28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne,(R) you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.(S) 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife[c] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.(T) 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.(U)

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like(V) a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.(W) He agreed to pay them a denarius[d] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

“About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 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?’

“‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

“When evening came,(X) the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

“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(Y) against the landowner. 12 ‘These 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(Z) of the day.’

13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend.(AA) 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?’(AB)

16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”(AC)

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 19:19 Exodus 20:12-16; Deut. 5:16-20
  2. Matthew 19:19 Lev. 19:18
  3. Matthew 19:29 Some manuscripts do not have or wife.
  4. Matthew 20:2 A denarius was the usual daily wage of a day laborer.

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