8.10-God wants people to be productive. Not a hand out. A hand up. Not to patronize and make weak, but encourage to make strong.

8.10-
Matthew 20

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like ^[a]a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² When he had agreed with the laborers for a ^[b]denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And he went out about the ^[c]third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; ⁴ and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went. ⁵ Again he went out about the ^[d]sixth and the ninth hour, and did ^[e]the same thing. ⁶ And about the ^[f]eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he *said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ ⁷ They *said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He *said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

⁸ “When evening came, the ^[g]owner of the vineyard *said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’ ⁹ When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a ^[h]denarius. ¹⁰ When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; ^[i]but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, ¹² saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’ ¹³ But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. ¹⁵ Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye ^[j]envious because I am ^[k]generous?’ ¹⁶ So the last shall be first, and the first last.”

Death, Resurrection Foretold

¹⁷ As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, ¹⁸ “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be ^[l]delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, ¹⁹ and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”

Preferment Asked

²⁰ Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to ^[m]Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him. ²¹ And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She *said to Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.” ²² But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They *said to Him, “We are able.” ²³ He *said to them, “My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”
²⁴ And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers. ²⁵ But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. ²⁶ It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His ^[n]life a ransom for many.”

Sight for the Blind

²⁹ As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. ³⁰ And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” ³¹ The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” ³² And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³³ They *said to Him, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.” ³⁴ Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.

Psalm 68.

68 ^[a]Let God arise, ^[b]let His enemies be scattered,
And ^[c]let those who hate Him flee before Him.
² As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
As wax melts before the fire,
So let the wicked perish before God.
³ But let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God;
Yes, let them rejoice with gladness.
⁴ Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
^[d]Lift up a song for Him who rides through the deserts,
Whose name is ^[e]the Lord, and exult before Him.

⁵ A father of the fatherless and a judge ^[f]for the widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.
⁶ God ^[g]makes a home for the lonely;
He leads out the prisoners into prosperity,
Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

⁷ O God, when You went forth before Your people,
When You marched through the wilderness, ^[h]Selah.
⁸ The earth quaked;
The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;
^[i]Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
⁹ You shed abroad a plentiful rain, O God;
You confirmed Your inheritance when it was ^[j]parched.
¹⁰ Your creatures settled in it;
You provided in Your goodness for the poor, O God.

¹¹ The Lord gives the ^[k]command;
The women who proclaim the good tidings are a great host:
¹² “Kings of armies flee, they flee,
And she who remains at home will divide the spoil!”
^13 [l]When you lie down among the ^[m]sheepfolds,
You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And its pinions with glistening gold.
¹⁴ When the Almighty scattered the kings ^[n]there,
It was snowing in Zalmon.

¹⁵ A ^[o]mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
¹⁶ Why do you look with envy, O mountains with many peaks,
At the mountain which God has desired for His abode?
Surely the Lord will dwell there forever.
¹⁷ The chariots of God are ^[p]myriads, thousands upon thousands;
^[q]The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness.
¹⁸ You have ascended on high, You have led captive Your captives;
You have received gifts among men,
Even among the rebellious also, that ^[r]the Lord God may dwell there.

¹⁹ Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden,
The God who is our salvation. Selah.
²⁰ God is to us a God of deliverances;
And to ^[s]God the Lord belong escapes ^[t]from death.
²¹ Surely God will shatter the head of His enemies,
The hairy crown of him who goes on in his guilty deeds.
²² The Lord ^[u]said, “I will bring them back from Bashan.
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea;
²³ That ^[v]your foot may shatter them in blood,
The tongue of your dogs may have its portion from your enemies.”

²⁴ They have seen Your ^[w]procession, O God,
The ^[x]procession of my God, my King, ^[y]into the sanctuary.
²⁵ The singers went on, the musicians after them,
^[z]In the midst of the maidens beating tambourines.
²⁶ Bless God in the congregations,
Even the Lord, you who are of the fountain of Israel.
²⁷ There is Benjamin, the ^[aa]youngest, ^[ab]ruling them,
The princes of Judah in their throng,
The princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

^28 [ac]Your God has commanded your strength;
Show Yourself strong, O God, who have acted ^[ad]on our behalf.
^29 [ae]Because of Your temple at Jerusalem
Kings will bring gifts to You.
³⁰ Rebuke the beasts ^[af]in the reeds,
The herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples,
Trampling under foot the pieces of silver;
He has scattered the peoples who delight in war.
³¹ Envoys will come out of Egypt;
^[ag]Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.

³² Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth,
Sing praises to the Lord, Selah.
³³ To Him who rides upon the ^[ah]highest heavens, which are from ancient times;
Behold, He ^[ai]speaks forth with His voice, a mighty voice.
³⁴ Ascribe strength to God;
His majesty is over Israel
And His strength is in the ^[aj]skies.
^35 [ak]O God, You are awesome from Your ^[al]sanctuary.
The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people.
Blessed be God!