The chapter begins with the parable of the vineyard workers. Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers to tend to his vineyard. He agreed to pay them the normal daily wages and sent them out to work. At 9am in the morning he went to the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing, so he hired them and told them he would pay whatever was right at the end of the day. At noon he did the same thing, and at three he did the same thing. At 5pm he went to town again and saw some others standing and not doing anything. He asked why they went working and they replied that no-one had hired them. So he told them to go and work with the others.
That evening the landowner goes to pay the workers, starting with the last workers first. The group who started work at 5pm received the same days wages as the ones who started early in the morning. When the ones who had worked a full day in the heat heard that they received the same amount as the ones who barely worked that day, they were upset. They thought it was unfair and protested this. The landowner replied that he paid them what they had a greed too which was fair, and if he wants to pay the other men the same amount with his money he has the right to do so. The ones who had worked all day were jealous, they compared what they got to others. Had there been no other works that day, the ones who worked a full day and received a full days wages would have been happy with the set upon agreed price. They were only upset when they saw what the others got. We are not to compare ourselves to others, we are not to be jealous on what others get. Those who are last now will be first in the kingdom of Heaven, and those who are first will be last. There is nothing we can do work our way into the Kingdom of Heaven, we don’t get in by our works. We will never be deserving of it. In the parable it wasn’t about how hard they worked, they were all offered the same offer, and they all accepted the invitation.
Jesus then predicts His death again to His disciples. When He preached this they weren’t able to understand and fathom what He was saying. They didn’t seem to comprehend Him saying He will be raised again on the third day. They couldn’t get past the fact that He said He was going to be killed. They didn’t have the Holy Spirit yet to help them fully fathom it all. They were still trying to get it on their own fleshly merit.
The mother of James and John then comes to Jesus and asks Him if He can make sure that they sit beside Him in the Kingdom. Jesus replied letting her know that she has no idea what she is asking or talking about. She was thinking worldly and fleshly with this request, wanting her boys to be in high authority above others as if they were managers or supervisors. Jesus tells her that it is up to God to say who those places are for. The other disciples heard this and were indignant with the request that was made. Jesus explains to them that among them it will not be viewed like that, they will not be in high power positions. They will be servants and slaves because Jesus came to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many.
Jesus and His disciples then left the town of Jericho and a large crowd followed behind. Two blind men were sitting beside the road and when they heard Jesus was coming they began shouting for Him. The crowd yelled at the blind men to be quiet. Instead of that shutting them up, they only began to yell louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
When Jesus heard them He stopped and asked what they wanted Him to do to for them. They replied that they wanted to see, feeling bad for them Jesus touched their eyes and they could see! Jesus saw them, had compassion for them and healed them. When we see people who are in need of healing or need, we too should feel compassion for them. When we feel compassion towards someone while we pray for them it is meaningful and internally we are having a heart cry moment for them. Our spirit is communication with the Holy Spirit how much we love them and how much they need help. We need to have compassion for others. After the two blind men were healed they followed Jesus.