Matthew 20 · WEB
Workers in the Vineyard and the Servant Path to Greatness
Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.
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"For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who was the master of a household, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
2When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3He went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace.
4He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' So they went their way.
5Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.
6About the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle. He said to them, 'Why do you stand here all day idle?'
7"They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' "He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and you will receive whatever is right.'
8"When evening had come, the lord of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning from the last to the first.'
9"When those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius.
10When the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise each received a denarius.
11When they received it, they murmured against the master of the household,
12saying, 'These last have spent one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat!'
13"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Didn't you agree with me for a denarius?
14Take that which is yours, and go your way. It is my desire to give to this last just as much as to you.
15Isn't it lawful for me to do what I want to with what I own? Or is your eye evil, because I am good?'
16So the last will be first, and the first last; for many are called, but few are chosen."
17As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them,
18"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death,
19and will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock, to scourge, and to crucify; and the third day he will be raised up."
20Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, kneeling and asking a certain thing of him.
21He said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Command that these, my two sons, may sit, one on your right hand, and one on your left hand, in your Kingdom."
22But Jesus answered, "You don't know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" They said to him, "We are able."
23He said to them, "You will indeed drink my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with, but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it is for whom it has been prepared by my Father."
24When the ten heard it, they were indignant with the two brothers.
25But Jesus summoned them, and said, "You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
26It shall not be so among you, but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.
27Whoever desires to be first among you shall be your bondservant,
28even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
29As they went out from Jericho, a great multitude followed him.
30Behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, "Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David!"
31The multitude rebuked them, telling them that they should be quiet, but they cried out even more, "Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David!"
32Jesus stood still, and called them, and asked, "What do you want me to do for you?"
33They told him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened."
34Jesus, being moved with compassion, touched their eyes; and immediately their eyes received their sight, and they followed him.
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Summary
Jesus tells the parable of the workers in the vineyard, illustrating that God's grace defies human notions of fairness — the last will be first and the first last. He predicts his death and resurrection a third time, then corrects the ambitious request of James and John's mother by redefining greatness as servanthood, modeled in his own self-giving as a ransom. The chapter closes as Jesus heals two blind men outside Jericho who recognize him as the Son of David.
Themes
- God's sovereign grace
- Reversal of first and last
- Servant leadership
- Jesus' substitutionary death
- Persistent faith that sees Jesus rightly
Key verses
- Matt 20:15 — “Isn't it lawful for me to do what I want to with what I own? Or is your eye evil, because I am good?”
- Matt 20:16 — “So the last will be first, and the first last; for many are called, but few are chosen.”
- Matt 20:26-27 — “Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. Whoever desires to be first among you shall be your bondservant.”
- Matt 20:28 — “Even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Context & background
A denarius was a standard day's wage for a laborer, enough to feed a family for a day, so the landowner's generosity to the late hires was genuine compassion, not exploitation of the early workers. The "third hour" was about 9 a.m., the "sixth" noon, the "ninth" 3 p.m., and the "eleventh" 5 p.m. Jericho, where Jesus heals the blind men, sits just north of the Dead Sea in the modern West Bank, near the Jordan River, about 17 miles northeast of Jerusalem along a steep ascending road. "Son of David" was a messianic title rooted in the promise of an eternal Davidic king. Roman cross-shaped execution ("crucify" in v. 19) was reserved by Gentile authorities, foreshadowing the involvement of both Jewish leaders and Romans.
Cross-references
- 1 Timothy 2:5-6 — "Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all"
- Isaiah 53:10-12 — The suffering servant who gives his life as a ransom for many
- Mark 10:32-52 / Luke 18:31-43 — Parallel accounts of these events
- Philippians 2:5-8 — Jesus humbled himself, taking the form of a servant
- Romans 9:14-16 — God's freedom to show mercy on whom he wills, echoing the vineyard parable