Pro 1:24, Isa 65:2-5, Jer 25:4, 35:15, Mat 20:1-15, 21:33-43, 22:3-7 | ESV | STEP | Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded ,

2 ^dI spread out my hands all the day
to a rebellious people,
who walk in a way that is not good,
following their own devices;
3 a people who provoke me
to my face continually,
^esacrificing in gardens
and making offerings on bricks;
4 who sit in tombs,
and spend the night in secret places;
^fwho eat pig’s flesh,
and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels;
5 who say, “Keep to yourself,
do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”
^gThese are a smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that burns all the day.

Jeremiah 25:4

4 ^hYou have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the Lord ⁱpersistently sent to you all his servants the prophets,

Jeremiah 35:15

15 I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them ^jpersistently, saying, ^k‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and ^ldo not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ ^mBut you did not incline your ear or listen to me.

Matthew 20:1-15

Laborers in the Vineyard

1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius ^{▼▼A denarius was a day’s wage for a laborer} a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And ^oabout the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 And ^pwhen evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his ^qforeman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and ^rthe scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ^s‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take ^twhat belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 ^uAm I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or ^vdo you begrudge my generosity?’ ^{▼▼Or is your eye bad because I am good?}

Matthew 21:33-43

The Parable of the Tenants

33 ^x“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted ^ya vineyard ^zand put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and ^aaleased it to tenants, and ^abwent into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants ^{▼▼Greek bondservants; also verses 35, 36} to the tenants ^adto get his fruit. 35 ^aeAnd the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and ^afstoned another. 36 ^agAgain he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ^ah‘This is the heir. Come, ^ailet us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and ^ajthrew him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 ^akWhen therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, ^al“He will put those wretches to a miserable death and ^amlet out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

42 Jesus said to them, ^an“Have you never read in the Scriptures:

^ao“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone; ^{▼▼Greek the head of the corner}
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God ^aqwill be taken away from you and given to a people ^arproducing its fruits.

Matthew 22:3-7

3 and ^assent his servants ^{▼▼Greek bondservants; also verses 4, 6, 8, 10} to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 ^auAgain he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my ^avdinner, ^awmy oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But ^axthey paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, ^aytreated them shamefully, and ^azkilled them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and ^badestroyed those murderers and burned their city.