The big picture
Workers receive unexpected generosity in a parable Jesus tells his disciples. He is leading them towards Jerusalem, the chief city. The first hired resent equal payment to those who came last. He then tells the twelve again that he will suffer, die, and rise. A request for places of honour shows that they still think in terms of rank. Jesus calls them instead to serve, as he gives his life for others. Beside the road, he stops for blind men whom the crowd tries to silence.
In this chapter
- The Owner’s Generosity Angers the First Workers Matthew 20:1-16
A vineyard owner hires workers at dawn for an agreed daily wage.
- The Road Leads Towards Suffering and Resurrection Matthew 20:17-19
On the road to Jerusalem, Jesus takes the twelve aside and tells them what will happen there.
- Greatness Takes the Form of Service Matthew 20:20-28
The mother of two brothers asks Jesus for places beside him in his kingdom.
- Jesus Stops for Men the Crowd Silences Matthew 20:29-34
Leaving Jericho, a town on the route, Jesus is followed by a large crowd.
Central truth
Jesus overturns claims to superior reward and status, teaching that God’s generosity and his own costly service define greatness among his followers.
Scripture beside the summary
Matthew · King James Version · 34Matthew 20:1-16
The Owner’s Generosity Angers the First Workers
A vineyard owner hires workers at dawn for an agreed daily wage. He adds more through the day, including some near its end who say no one hired them. At payment, the last receive the full daily amount. Those who worked longest expect more, then resent receiving the same. The owner says he has kept their agreement and is free to give generously to others. Their complaint turns his goodness into a grievance. Jesus ends with first and last reversed and a distinction between calling and choice. The picture concerns the kingdom's generosity, not a full policy for every employment contract.
In everyday life
A scholarship donor gives late-admitted students the same living grant as those selected months earlier. An early recipient protests, though his promised support has not been reduced. The donor asks why another student's relief has become his loss. Jesus describes God's kingdom through the owner's freedom to give, not the fairness of every scholarship policy.
Notice
Matthew 20:15 The owner asks whether his goodness is the reason for resentment. The early workers received their agreed amount; the dispute is over generosity shown to someone else.
Matthew 20:1-16
King James Version1For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
2And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
4And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
5Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
6And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
7They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
8So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
9And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
10But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
11And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
12Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
13But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
14Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
15Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
16So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
Matthew 20:17-19
The Road Leads Towards Suffering and Resurrection
On the road to Jerusalem, Jesus takes the twelve aside and tells them what will happen there. The Son of man, his title for himself, will be betrayed to chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and hand him to non-Jewish rulers. He will be mocked, flogged, and crucified, killed by being fixed to a cross. On the third day he will rise. The prediction grows specific about both humiliation and killing. Jesus does not lead the disciples towards a triumph whose suffering is an unforeseen interruption; he names it before they arrive.
In everyday life
A conflict-zone liaison gives a threatened witness's supporters a plain account of the risks rather than letting them expect a public celebration. She names humiliation and bodily harm without making them a spectacle. Honest preparation replaces comforting vagueness. Jesus predicts his death and resurrection as the path ahead, not risks a liaison can estimate but cannot know with certainty.
Notice
Matthew 20:19 Mocking, flogging, and crucifixion are named before the promise of rising. Resurrection is not used to make the suffering vague or to deny its bodily cost.
Matthew 20:17-19
King James Version17And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them,
18Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,
19And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.
Matthew 20:20-28
Greatness Takes the Form of Service
The mother of two brothers asks Jesus for places beside him in his kingdom. The sons say they can share his cup and baptism, images of his suffering. He says they will share the cost, but the honoured seats belong to those prepared by the Father. The other ten resent the request. Jesus gathers all of them and contrasts rulers who dominate with the service required among his followers. Whoever seeks greatness must become a servant. The Son of man himself came to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. Their measure of rank must follow his giving, not the pattern of worldly power.
In everyday life
A rescue-team leader answers a recruit's request for the most visible position by handing him the supplies needed by exhausted colleagues. Leadership means meeting their needs, not arranging a place above them. The leader takes an equally demanding share. Jesus gives his life as a ransom for many, not only an example of good team leadership.
Notice
Matthew 20:28 Jesus joins serving with giving his life as a ransom. His example involves release for others through his own cost, not merely courteous behaviour while retaining every advantage.
Matthew 20:20-28
King James Version20Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.
21And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.
22But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.
23And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.
24And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.
25But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
26But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
27And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
28Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Matthew 20:29-34
Jesus Stops for Men the Crowd Silences
Leaving Jericho, a town on the route, Jesus is followed by a large crowd. Two blind men at the roadside hear he is passing and call for mercy, naming him Son of David, the promised royal heir. People tell them to be quiet, but they cry more loudly. Jesus stops and asks what they want him to do. They ask for sight. Moved with compassion, he touches their eyes, and they see at once and follow him. The people treated as interruptions become followers through the attention the crowd tried to deny them.
In everyday life
A conference interpreter stops beside two visitors whose calls for access are being drowned out by the moving crowd. She asks what help they need rather than letting the crowd answer for them. The event can pause long enough to hear. Jesus restores sight immediately through compassion and touch, not access supplied by an interpreter.
Notice
Matthew 20:32 The men answer for themselves when Jesus asks what they want. The crowd tried to silence them. He does not let that refusal decide their place in his time.
Matthew 20:29-34
King James Version29And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him.
30And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David.
31And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David.
32And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you?
33They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.
34So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Matthew 20:1 begins with “For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.”
Where the chapter turns
Matthew 20:15 forms a natural hinge: “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?”
The final note
Matthew 20:34 leaves the reader with “So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words Jesus, hour, last, received, vineyard, baptized help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- penny
- The agreed daily wage in the vineyard account, not a modern low-value coin.
- steward
- A manager entrusted with handling another person’s property or payments.
- ransom
- A price given to release others from bondage or captivity.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
The Eleventh HourMatthew 20:1-16Listen to related music →He Is RisenMatthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-11; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-18Listen to related music →A House of PrayerMatthew 21:12-23:39; Mark 11:12-12:44; Luke 19:45-21:4Listen to related music →Matthew, Part TwoMatthew 14:1-28:20Listen to related music →