Matthew 20:1
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
(a) For. Jesus and the disciples met a man who seemed successful by the world’s standards (Matt. 19:16). The rich young ruler was religious and wealthy, yet Jesus said that people like him would find it hard to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 19:23–24). The disciples were astonished. “Who then can be saved?” they asked (Matt. 19:25). If the good and the great cannot enter, what hope is there for the rest of us?
Jesus responds by telling them the Parable of the Vineyard Workers. It’s about a landowner who pays his workers the same wage, no matter how many hours they’ve worked. His generosity seems unfair to those who have worked all day. What does the parable mean? Some say it’s about how God favors certain people more than others, and if it seems unfair, we just have to accept it. But that’s not the point. In the body of Christ, everyone is gifted in various ways by the same Spirit (1 Cor. 12:4–7). It makes no sense to envy another’s gifts when each of us is essential to the body (1 Cor. 12:21). The parable’s message is that God does not judge us by our performance or accomplishments. In his kingdom, those who strive to be first will find themselves at the back of the line, while those who are last will be first (Matt. 19:30).
(b) The kingdom of heaven. The parables of Jesus reveal that the kingdom of heaven is unlike the kingdoms of this world. If business owners paid their staff the way the landowner pays his workers, they would soon be out of business. But God has an inexhaustible supply of grace (Eph. 2:7). He gives and gives and never runs out.
The kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God refers to the reign of God revealed through his Son. In this present age, it is expressed through the body of Christ, the church. See entry for Matt. 3:2.
(c) Landowner. The landowner who hires laborers for his vineyard represents God and his dealings with humanity. This landowner is caring and very generous. For this reason, the parable is sometimes called the Compassionate Landowner.
(d) Early in the morning. The landowner visits the marketplace at sunrise (6 a.m.) to recruit laborers to work in his vineyard. During the day, he will return to the marketplace four more times to recruit more laborers.
(e) Laborers. Unlike slaves who lived on their masters’ estates, day laborers had no permanent employment and no job security. Early each morning, they would congregate in the marketplace, hoping to secure work for the coming day.
(f) Vineyard. In Scripture, a vineyard is a traditional symbol for Israel (Ps. 80:8, Is. 5:1–7, Hos. 10:1, Mark 12:1–12). For Jews raised under the old covenant system of work and reward, it wasn’t hard to imagine God as an employer and themselves as his laborers. However, it would be a mistake for us to imagine God this way. God is not our employer who rewards us according to our labor. He is our heavenly Father who blesses us out of the abundance of his grace.
Matthew 20:2
“When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard.
(a) Agreed. A deal is made—a day’s work for a day’s wage. The laborers are happy to leave the ranks of the unemployed and begin working.
(b) A denarius was a Roman silver coin worth a day’s wage for an unskilled laborer. It was enough money to put bread on the family table for a few days. It was a living wage, but nothing more.
Matthew 20:3–4
“And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went.
(a) Third hour. The landowner returns to the marketplace at about 9 a.m.
(b) Standing idle. The laborers are standing idle because no one has employed them. They are waiting for work. They missed the first intake, but they remain eager and ready to go.
(c) Whatever is right. Instead of coming to an agreement as he did with the first group of laborers, the landowner asks the second group to trust him to do the right thing. This will become a critical distinction at the end of the day. The first group got a contract; the second group got a promise.
(d) Right. In the New Testament, the Greek adjective dikaios is often translated as “righteous” (e.g., John 17:25). No doubt these 9 o’clock laborers—the ones who have been asked to trust the landowner—expect that “what is right” or righteous will be less than a full day’s wage. Their pay will be proportional to the number of hours worked. It’s only fair. But at the end of the day, the landowner will reveal that he has a very different idea of what is righteous.
(e) I will give you. Here is our first clue that the landowner is more than an employer; he is a giver. He plans to give according to his workers’ needs and not according to their efforts.
Matthew 20:5–7
“Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’
(a) The sixth and the ninth hour. At noon and 3 p.m.
Why does the landowner keep returning to the marketplace? There can only be one reason—he cares for the laborers. On his first visit, he saw them standing idle. He returns because he wants to know if they’ve since been hired. If he were simply short of workers, one extra trip would suffice. But he goes back again and again because he cannot stop thinking about these men and their hungry families. When he finds them still waiting in the hot sun, he is moved with compassion.
(b) Did the same thing. Again, he offers work without agreeing to terms. He simply asks the laborers to trust him to pay whatever is right.
(c) The eleventh hour is the last hour of the working day, about 5 p.m.
(d) All day long. Late in the afternoon, a few laborers still stand idle. Although the day is nearly over, they have not gone home. They cannot bear to return to their families empty-handed and without food.
(e) You go into the vineyard too. The owner does not give the unemployed laborers money, for that would rob them of their dignity. Instead, he gives them what they seek—a job. But it’s not much of a job. How much can they earn in an hour?
Matthew 20:8–9
“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’ When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius.
(a) When evening came. It was the law of the land to pay laborers at the end of each day (Lev. 19:13, Deut. 24:15). Since the daily wage could be the difference between feeding their families and going hungry, God took a dim view of bosses who failed to do this. “Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you” (Jas. 5:4).
(b) The owner. The original language reads, “the lord of the vineyard.” To be the lord of the vineyard means he has complete authority over everything that happens there. The owner can do whatever he wants, which means he can surprise his laborers with unexpected generosity.
(c) Foreman. The original noun epitropos is sometimes translated as “steward” (e.g., Luke 8:3). The foreman or steward distributes the landowner’s largesse. If the landowner represents God the grace-giving Father, the steward represents God the grace-dispensing Son. All the Father’s blessings come to us through his Son (John 1:14, Eph. 1:3).
(d) Beginning with the last group. The laborers shuffle forward to collect their pay. Those who worked all day line up first, while the Johnny-come-latelies hang back. The eleventh-hour workers feel embarrassed because they haven’t even broken a sweat. Then, to everyone’s surprise, the landowner orders a reversal: “Pay the late workers first.” The puzzled, weary day workers step aside to make room for the latecomers. They do not realize they are about to witness a startling display of grace.
(e) A denarius. Those who worked only part of the day, or even just an hour, are astonished to receive a full day’s pay. It’s far more than they expected or deserved. With laughter and gratitude, they break out in joyful praise, thanking the owner for his generosity.
The lord of the vineyard gives the laborers what they need, not what they earned. This is grace. God blesses us not according to our works but according to his love. The little denarius is not an especially lavish gift. It is nothing like the bags of gold or cities doled out in the parables of the Talents and the Minas. Yet it means the difference between food and hunger, life and death. That small silver coin ensures their families will eat tonight. Jesus taught us to pray, “Father, give us this day our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11), and that is what the lord of the vineyard provides.
Matthew 20:10–12
“When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’
(a) Those hired first were the contracted workers recruited at the start of the day. They agreed to work the whole day for a denarius, and that’s what they received. But when they see the latecomers getting the same pay, they assume they’ll get a bonus for working longer. They don’t.
(b) A denarius was a day’s wage for an unskilled laborer; see entry for Matt. 20:2.
(c) They grumbled. They weren’t upset about being underpaid; they complained because the latecomers were paid too much. “Why did you reward those who did not work as hard?” These grumblers didn’t care that the unemployed got jobs or that poor families would eat. They grumbled because the landowner treated everyone—the idlers and the workers—the same. “You have made them equal to us.”
(d) Grumbled. The same verb gongyzō is used to describe how the Pharisees and scribes reacted when Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners (Luke 5:30). Jesus was supposed to be a teacher, even a prophet. He was a Somebody, yet he broke bread with nobodies, and that unsettled the religious leaders. In their world, good, hard-working people kept their distance from sinners and slackers. But Jesus treated everyone the same. He received all who came to him, both good and bad.
(e) You have made them equal to us. “You have discriminated against us. You have not treated us according to our work. We will complain to the Labor Board.” Instead of applauding the landowner’s generosity, the day workers accuse him of being unjust.
Grace is the great leveller, for it accepts all of us as we are without regard for our accomplishments or shortcomings (Rom. 15:7). The world rewards winners and punishes losers, but in the kingdom of God, our works count for nothing. Every blessing comes to us by grace alone.
(f) Borne the burden. Those who try to prove themselves through good works and law-keeping bear a crushing burden (Acts 15:10). How much better it is to carry the easy and light yoke of grace (Matt. 11:30).
(g) The scorching heat. “Those latecomers did not toil like we did.” The day workers’ complaint is understandable. They bought into a system that rewards hard work and sacrifice, only to discover that their efforts counted for nothing.
Yet the grumblers are missing a trick. If they were paying attention, they might see something that would change their whole outlook. Why did the lord of the vineyard make them wait and watch while the latecomers were paid first? Was it not to show them that he is more than an employer, that he is, in fact, a kind and generous man who cares for all who serve in his vineyard?
What the grumblers don’t realize is that they are slaves to a system that demands they work day in and day out. Tomorrow, they will need to work another full shift and then again every day after that. If they stop working, they’ll starve. But if they were paying attention, they would see that the landowner is offering them an alternative. “Trust me to give you whatever is right.” He’s preaching good news to the captives, but they don’t see it.
Matthew 20:13–14
“But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.
(a) Friend. The Greek word for “friend” (hetairos) appears three times in Matthew. Each time, it has an ironic or measured meaning (Matt. 22:12, 26:50). The landowner has been nothing but friendly to the day workers. He gave them a job and paid them on time, yet they respond to his kindness with complaints.
(b) Did you not agree? The day workers appeal to the law of fair play, so the landowner responds with the law. He reminds them that they signed up for this arrangement.
The Parable of the Vineyard Workers contrasts two kinds of righteousness. One is the self-righteousness of those who live by the rules and insist, “Equal pay for equal work.” It is the cry of the unforgiving servant—“Pay what you owe!”—and the protest of the older brother—“All these years I have slaved for you!”
The other kind is the righteousness of God, which is revealed in the landowner’s promises. This righteousness is not based on law or merit but rests on the faithfulness of the Promise-Keeper. The world teaches the first kind: Earn it. The gospel proclaims the second: Receive it. The world says, “Perform or die,” while the gospel declares, “Trust God and live.”
(c) Denarius; see entry for Matt. 20:1.
(d) Take… and go. “If you don’t like the way I run my vineyard, you’re free to leave.” A party is breaking out among the latecomers, and the grumblers are ruining the mood. Like the prodigal’s older brother, they have to make a choice: They can cling to their pride and stay out in the cold, or they can join the celebration and rejoice in the good news that has come to their neighbors.
(e) I wish to give. The landowner is a giver who puts people before profit. He reminds us of God, who gives bread to the hungry and eternal life to the dead (John 6:51, Rom. 6:23).
Matthew 20:15
“‘Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’
(a) Lawful. “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my money?”
(b) Eye envious. A literal translation reads, “Is your eye evil because I am good?” To have an evil eye is to resent the landowner’s goodness.
The contracted workers are blind to the blessings in front of them. They have been hired by the most generous employer in town, yet they treat him with contempt. Instead of rejoicing in his kindness, they grumble about fairness. They envy those who freely receive what they believe must be earned.
So it is with everyone who trusts in their own works. The self-righteous cannot stomach the grace of God. The Jesus who receives tax collectors and prostitutes offends them. They cannot accept that God gives “sinners” the fellowship and favor they feel belong only to the deserving.
(c) I am generous. “I am good.” The Greek adjective for “generous” (agathos) is usually translated as “good.” It is the same word Jesus used minutes earlier when describing God as “the only One who is good” (Matt. 19:17).
The good and generous landowner reminds us of the prodigal’s father, who threw a party for his undeserving son. He also recalls the host who welcomed the poor and crippled to his feast (Luke 14:21, 15:23). These parabolic portraits reveal a God who cares for us and promises to supply all our needs (Matt. 6:25–33, Php. 4:19).
Just like that, the story ends, and we are left asking questions. What happened next? Did the grumblers walk out of the vineyard, or did they come to their senses? As he often does, Jesus leaves the ending open, as if to ask, “What will you do? Will you stay out in the cold, railing against the scandal of grace? Or will you come in and join the heavenly party?”
Matthew 20:16
“So the last shall be first, and the first last.”
The last shall be first. Just as the last workers were paid first in the vineyard, there is a reversal in the kingdom of God. Those who strive to be first, best, and greatest may find themselves at the back of the line, while the last and the least are welcomed as honored guests. God is not opposed to hard work and success. But what the world values—ambition, performance, pedigree—means nothing to him (Luke 16:15). Instead, he chooses those the world calls weak and foolish to shame the strong and confound the wise (1 Cor. 1:27).
Is Jesus saying anything more than this? Some say that in God’s vineyard, the descendants of Abraham were called first, while the Gentiles were called last. Under the old covenant, the Jews made a deal with God at Mt. Sinai (Ex. 19:5, 8). They agreed to work in exchange for blessings. For centuries, they brought sacrifices and kept the law. Yet when Jesus the Steward arrived to distribute the blessings of heaven, it was the “unworthy” Gentiles who received the lion’s share, while the religious Jews grumbled in protest.
These parallels are hard to miss, yet Jesus never mentions Jews and Gentiles here. More likely, he’s thinking of rich rulers who kept the commandments yet failed to enter the kingdom of God (Matt. 19:16–24). He’s thinking of his ragtag band of followers, to whom he has just promised thrones (Matt. 19:28). And he’s thinking of tax collectors, prostitutes, and outcasts who were streaming into the kingdom ahead of the proud and powerful (Matt. 21:31).
This parable of the Vineyard Workers is good news for all of us, because the truth is that none of us can enter the kingdom on the basis of our performance or pedigree. We are all in the same boat as the tax collectors, no matter how good or great we may think we are.
Matthew 20:17
As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them,
The twelve were Jesus closest followers. They were variously known as the twelve disciples and the twelve apostles (Matt. 10:1–2). Their names are recorded in Matthew 10:2–4.
Matthew 20:18
“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,
(a) The Son of Man; see entry for Matt. 8:20.
(b) The chief priests; see entry for Matt. 2:4.
(c) Scribes; see entry for Matt. 5:20.
Matthew 20:19
and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”
The third day; see entry for Matt. 17:23.
Matthew 20:20
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him.
The mother of the sons of Zebedee was possibly Salome, and a witness to the crucifixion and empty tomb, and also Jesus’ aunt (see entry for Matt. 27:56).
Matthew 20:26
“It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,
Whoever wishes to become great. In Christ, we are the kings who serve.
Some people read this and conclude we must be servile, but the context is the kingdom. We are priestly kings and kingly priests (see entry for Luke 22:26).
Matthew 20:28
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
A ransom for many. Was Jesus’ life offered as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45) or a ransom for all (see 1 Tim. 2:6)? Both. Jesus paid for all but not all receive his grace. Many do; some don’t.
On the cross, the Lamb of God bore the sins of all (John 1:29, 1 John 2:2), and he bore the sins of many (Heb. 9:28). His righteousness is freely offered to all (Rom. 3:22), but only many are made righteous (Rom. 5:19). Forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to all (Luke 24:47), but his blood only brings forgiveness to many (Matt. 26:28). The grace of God brings salvation to all (Tit. 2:11), but only abounds to the many (Rom. 5:15).
Matthew 20:30
And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”
(a) awa is what grace looks like when you are needy. See entry para kay Mercy.
(b) The son of David was another name for the Messiah. See entry for Matt. 1:1.
Matthew 20:31
The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
awa; see previous verse.
Matthew 20:34
Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.
Compassion. The original word for compassion (splagchnizomai) appears a dozen times in the New Testament and in every case it is associated with the divine compassion revealed in Jesus Christ. See entry for Compassion.
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Hi Paul .I can’t stop thinking about your explanation of matt20:28.jesus paid for all,but not all received it.many did,but not all.thats an extraordinarily insightful explanation.its burned into my brain.thanks for your inspiration.as I’ve found out,most “most so called Christians” hate the grace of Christ.going about to establish their own righteousness.how big ,,(or small) is that pretrib remanant?I can’t wait to meet folks like you in the air.see you at the East Gate brother.