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¹ "The Boss's ranch in heaven is like a ranch owner who went to the feed store early in the morning to hire some day workers to help with brandin' that day. ² He agreed to pay them one hundred dollars for their work that day.

³ "About nine in the morning he went out and saw some other cowboys hanging around the livery stables and not doin' anything. ⁴ He told 'em, 'Y'all head out to my ranch and help with the brandin' and I'll pay you what is right for your time.' ⁵ They saddled up and went. He rode out again at noon and then about three o'clock to look for more cowboys.

⁶ "At about five he rode by the saloon and found some cowboys just sittin' there playin' cards and drinkin' whiskey. The rancher asked them, 'Why have y'all just been sittin' around here not doin' anything all day long?'

⁷ "'Because no one gave us a job today,' they answered.

"He said to them, 'Y'all ride out to the ranch and help them with the brandin'.'

⁸ "When the sun went down that night, the ranch owner called his cattle foreman over to him and said, 'Call these cowboys over and I will pay them. Start with the last ones to ride up and end with the cowboys who have worked all day long in the sun and dirt.'

⁹ "The cowboys who had been playin' cards at the saloon and drinkin' whiskey all day walked over and the rancher paid them one hundred dollars. ¹⁰ When the cowboys who had been there since the sun came up walked over to get their wages, they assumed they would get much more, but they too were given one hundred dollars. ¹¹ When they saw that they had received the same amount for workin' all day as the last cowboys got for workin' an hour, they began to grumble and cuss about the rancher. ¹² 'These cowboys came up and only worked for an hour and barely broke one bead of sweat. You've paid them the same amount as us who've worked all day long in the heat, the sun, and the dirt!'

¹³ "But the rancher said to one of them, 'Cowboy, I ain't cheatin' you out of anything. You agreed to work for me today for one hundred dollars and that's what I paid you. ¹⁴ Take your wages and ride on out of here. I want to give every single cowboy who worked for me today one hundred dollars, regardless of how long they worked. ¹⁵ It is my money, isn't it? I can spend my money however I want. Or do I need to ask you how to spend it? Are you bein' jealous just because I am generous?'

¹⁶ "The last to ride with me will be the first to enter the gate and the first will enter last."

Jesus Talks about Dying

¹⁷ As Jesus was ridin' up toward Jerusalem, he took the twelve cowboys who rode with him to the side and said, ¹⁸ "We are fixin' to get to Jerusalem and the Boss's Son will be double-crossed by one of his own crew and handed over to the hypocritical preachers and legalistic teachers. They are going to sentence him to be strung up ¹⁹ and let those who aren't cowboys beat him and make fun of him and then kill him. On the third day though, he will be brought back from the dead and live!"

Serving Others

²⁰ Then James and John's momma came up to Jesus and kneeled down before him because she thought this might get her what she was fixin' to ask for.

²¹ "What is it you're aimin' to get from me?" Jesus asked.

She said, "When you get control over the Boss's ranch in heaven, I'm askin' that my two boys ride with you and receive special treatment. I want one on the left and one on the right side of you."

²² Jesus answered, "You don't know what you are asking for them. James and John, can you go through the pain and suffering I am going to endure when they beat me and string me up?"

"We can," they told him.

²³ Jesus said, "You will go through some of the same suffering I will, but to ride at my left and right for eternity is not for me to decide. These positions of authority on the Boss's ranch are given by the Boss himself, not granted as favors."

²⁴ When the other ten cowboys heard what James and John were tryin' to get, they got ticked off. ²⁵ Jesus called all of them over to him and said, "You know the governors over the city folk (Gentiles) hold it over their people's heads that they have authority and power. ²⁶ This ain't the way it works with y'all. If any of you want to become a top hand, you must serve and help the other cowboys, not tell them what to do. ²⁷ A top hand is a slave to all the others. ²⁸ The Boss's only Son did not come to tell other cowboys what to do, but to serve them and help them. He came to trade places with y'all and become the Outlaw's hostage to be killed so that y'all and every other person may be set free and live."

The Healing of the Blind

²⁹ When Jesus and his crew were riding away from Jericho, a bunch of people followed them.

³⁰ Two blind men were sittin' by the road, and when they heard it was the Boss's Son who was ridin' by they yelled, "Son of the Boss! Have mercy on us!"

³¹ All the people who followed Jesus yelled at the two blind men and told them to shut up and be quiet, but the men shouted even louder, "Lord, have mercy on us!"

³² Jesus pulled his horse to a stop and said, "What can I do for you?"

³³ "We want to be able to see!" the two men said.

³⁴ Jesus felt sorry for them and climbed down off his horse and touched their eyes.

Immediately they got their sight and they got up and followed him.