Matthew · chapter 20 of 28
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Matthew 20 contains the parable of the workers in the vineyard, in which the owner pays the same to those who worked from morning and to the last, showing God's generosity. Jesus announces for the third time his death, teaches that the greatest is the one who serves and that the Son of Man came to give his life as a ransom for many, and at Jericho he heals two blind men.
In chapter 19 Jesus said that many who are first will be last and the last first. Matthew 20 explains that saying with a parable and applies it to leadership in the kingdom. Jesus goes up toward Jerusalem, and as he goes he defines his mission as service and ransom.
Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who goes out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard and agrees with them on a denarius a day. He goes out several more times through the day and hires more workers. In the evening he orders the payment to begin with the last, and those who came at the eleventh hour receive a denarius. The first expect to receive more, but receive the same, and grumble. The owner answers that he did no wrong, since they agreed on a denarius, and asks whether his eye is evil because he is generous. So the last will be first, and the first last.
As he goes up to Jerusalem, Jesus takes the twelve aside and announces for the third time that the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, who will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised.
The mother of James and John kneels before Jesus and asks that her two sons sit one at his right hand and one at his left in his kingdom. Jesus asks the sons whether they are able to drink the cup he will drink; they say they are, and he says they will drink it, but that to sit at his right and left is not his to grant. Jesus calls them and says that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, but it will not be so among them: whoever wants to be great must be their servant, and whoever wants to be first must be their slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
As they leave Jericho, two blind men sitting by the roadside cry out for mercy, Son of David, and the crowd rebukes them, but they cry out all the more. Jesus stops, calls them and asks what they want him to do. They ask that their eyes be opened; Jesus, moved with compassion, touches their eyes, and at once they see and follow him.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The owner of the vineyard asks whether he may not do what he chooses with what belongs to him, or whether his eye is evil because he is generous. The parable teaches that the kingdom is a gift of God's generosity, not a wage proportional to what is done.
Jesus tells his disciples that among them it will not be as among the rulers of the nations: whoever wants to be great must be a servant. Leadership in the kingdom is measured by service, not by power.
The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. It is one of the clearest statements of the meaning of Jesus' death: a payment that frees others.
Jesus stops at the cries of the blind men, asks what they want and, moved with compassion, restores their sight. He attends to those the crowd wanted to silence, and they follow him.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: A denarius a day. — Matthew 20:2
Answer: Because the last received the same as they did, though they had borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat. — Matthew 20:10-12
Answer: That he would be delivered, condemned to death, mocked, flogged and crucified, and raised on the third day. — Matthew 20:18-19
Answer: That her two sons sit one at Jesus' right hand and one at his left in his kingdom. — Matthew 20:20-21
Answer: A servant of the others. — Matthew 20:26
Answer: They asked that their eyes be opened, and Jesus felt compassion. — Matthew 20:33-34
The parable of the workers wants to free us from comparison. In a small group you can ask when we have been upset because God was generous to someone who seemed to deserve it less, and remember that we also live by his grace.
The teaching on service contradicts what the world rewards. Ask where you are seeking recognition and what concrete, unapplauded service you can do this week in your church, family or work, following the one who came to serve.
Matthew 20 shows the generous grace of the kingdom and the path of service and ransom of Jesus, down to restoring sight to two blind men. In chapter 21 Jesus enters Jerusalem riding a donkey and cleanses the temple.
The owner defrauds no one, since he pays what was agreed, and he is generous to the others. The parable is not about human work and wages but about God giving the kingdom by grace, and whoever compares himself with others loses the joy of receiving it.
It is an image of the suffering and death awaiting him, as seen in Gethsemane, where he prays that the cup pass from him. James and John said they could drink it without understanding what it involved. Jesus confirms that they will share his suffering, but the place in the kingdom is decided by the Father.
A ransom was the price paid to free a captive or a slave. Jesus explains that his death is that payment for many. The New Testament develops that Christ died in the place of sinners to free them from sin and death.