13th Sunday of Matthew

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, ²in hope of eternal life, which God, who can’t lie, promised before time began; ³but in his own time revealed his word in the message with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior, ⁴to Titus, my true child according to a common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.

⁵I left you in Crete for this reason, that you would set in order the things that were lacking and appoint elders in every city, as I directed you—

¹⁵Say these things and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one despise you.

¹Remind them to be in subjection to rulers and to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, ²to speak evil of no one, not to be contentious, to be gentle, showing all humility toward all men.

¹²When I send Artemas to you, or Tychicus, be diligent to come to me to Nicopolis, for I have determined to winter there. ¹³Send Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey speedily, that nothing may be lacking for them. ¹⁴Let our people also learn to maintain good works to meet necessary needs, that they may not be unfruitful.

¹⁵All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.

“Hear another parable. There was a man who was a master of a household who planted a vineyard, set a hedge about it, dug a wine press in it, built a tower, leased it out to farmers, and went into another country. ³⁴When the season for the fruit came near, he sent his servants to the farmers to receive his fruit. ³⁵The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶Again, he sent other servants more than the first; and they treated them the same way. ³⁷But afterward he sent to them his son, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸But the farmers, when they saw the son, said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and seize his inheritance.’ ³⁹So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard, then killed him. ⁴⁰When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?”

⁴¹They told him, “He will miserably destroy those miserable men, and will lease out the vineyard to other farmers who will give him the fruit in its season.”

⁴²Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone which the builders rejected was made the head of the corner. This was from the Lord. It is marvelous in our eyes’?