Life Recovery Bible - Flipbook - Page 42
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25
The disciples were astounded. “Then who
in the world can be saved?” they asked.
26
Jesus looked at them intently and said,
“Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But
with God everything is possible.”
27
Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up
everything to follow you. What will we get?”
28
Jesus replied, “I assure you that when the
world is made new* and the Son of Man* sits
upon his glorious throne, you who have been
my followers will also sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Is
ra
el. 29 And
everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children
or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit
eternal life. 30 But many who are the greatest
now will be least important then, and those
who seem least important now will be the
greatest then.*
CHAPTER 20
Parable of the Vineyard Workers
“For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the land
owner who went out early one morning to
hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to
pay the normal daily wage* and sent them
out to work.
3
“At nine o’clock in the morning he was
passing through the marketplace and saw
some people standing around doing nothing.
4
So he hired them, telling them he would pay
them whatever was right at the end of the
day. 5 So they went to work in the vineyard.
At noon and again at three o’clock he did the
same thing.
6
“At five o’clock that afternoon he was in
town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t
you been working today?’
7
“They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’
“The landowner told them, ‘Then go out
and join the others in my vineyard.’
8
“That evening he told the foreman to call
the workers in and pay them, beginning with
the last workers first. 9 When those hired at
five o’clock were paid, each received a full
day’s wage. 10 When those hired first came
to get their pay, they assumed they would
receive more. But they, too, were paid a
day’s wage. 11 When they received their pay,
they protested to the owner, 12 ‘Those people
worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid
them just as much as you paid us who worked
all day in the scorching heat.’
13
“He answered one of them, ‘Friend,
I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to
work all day for the usual wage? 14 Take your
money and go. I wanted to pay this last
worker the same as you. 15 Is it against the law
for me to do what I want with my money?
Should you be jealous because I am kind to
others?’
16
“So those who are last now will be first
then, and those who are first will be last.”
Jesus Again Predicts His Death
17
As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took
the twelve disciples aside privately and told
them what was going to happen to him.
18
“Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusa
lem, where the Son of Man* will be betrayed
to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die.
19
Then they will hand him over to the Ro
mans* to be mocked, flogged with a whip,
and crucified. But on the third day he will be
raised from the dead.”
Jesus Teaches about Serving Others
20
Then the mother of James and John, the
sons of Zebedee, came to J esus with her sons.
9:28a Or in the regeneration.
1
19:28b “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself. 19:30 Greek But many who are
first will be last; and the last, first.
20:2 Greek a denarius, the payment for a full day’s labor; similarly in 20:9, 10, 13.
20:18 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself. 20:19 Greek the Gentiles.
19:25-26 These verses are true not only for salvation but also for recovery. Left on our own, we
would fall deeper into the pit of our addictions, never gaining control over them. But with God’s
help, the inconceivable is possible. He can turn our lives around, bringing hope and health where
once despair and pain had reigned. Giving God control of our lives is the only way to regain freedom and independence from our addictions.
20:1-16 The story about the workers and their pay helps us to better understand God’s grace.
No matter when we begin to follow Jesus, we receive the same amount of grace from God. That
may seem unfair to some; but God in his mercy accepts all people who turn to him for salvation and recovery, no matter how early or late in life. It is never too late to begin the process of
recovery!
20:20-28 The other disciples were indignant at the request for special recognition made by
James’s and John’s mother because they, too, wanted positions of honor in God’s Kingdom. This
