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In this lesson:
The parable of the vineyard workers (20:1-16). For the third time, Jesus tells His disciples He will be betrayed, scourged, crucified, and resurrected (20:17-19). Study Tip: Whenever you encounter a difficult passage, scroll back and forth between "The King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation" below. |
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The Gospel According to St. Matthew
The King James Bible
The King James Bible
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Matthew 20:1-19
Equality in the kingdom 1 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. 2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? 7 They 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. 8 So 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. 9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. 11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, 12 Saying, 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. 13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? 14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? 16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. 17 And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, 18 Behold, 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, 19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again. |
Margin notes:
"Hire labourers." (20:1) - Unemployed workers would gather in public places hoping to be seen and hired for the day. The workday started at 6:00 A.M. and ended at 6:00 P.M. "He went out about the third hour." (20:3) - "He went out (again) about 9:00 A.M." "About the sixth and ninth hour." (20:5) - "About 12 noon and 3:00 P.M." "About the eleventh hour." (20:6) - "About 5:00 P.M." "When even was come." (20:8) - "When evening had come." "Give them their hire." (20:8) - "Give them their wages." "The goodman of the house." (20:11) - "The owner of the House." "Wought but one hour." (20:12) - "Worked but one hour." "Take that thine is." (20:14) - "Take what is yours." "Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?" (20:15) - "Don't I have the right to do what I want with what is mine?" Likewise, doesn't God have the right to His creation (Romans 9:20-21)? "Is thine eye evil, because I am good?" (20:15) - "Are you envious because I'm generous?" "The last shall be first, and the first last." (20:16) - Jesus is reinforcing His point from verse 19:30. We will hear it again in Mark 10:31 and Luke 13:30. "For many be called, but few chosen." (20:16) - Jesus will reinforce this in verse 22:14. "Took the twelve disciples apart." (20:17) - "Took the twelve disciples aside." "We go up to Jerusalem." (20:18) - In Jerusalem, Jesus will be greeted by the crowd with great fanfare (21:8-11; Mark 11:8-10; Luke 19:36-38; John 12:12-19). Still, He will be crucified in five days. "The Son of man shall be betrayed." (20:18) - This is the third time (16:21; 17:22-23) Jesus tells His disciples that He will be put to death and resurrected (20:19). Because they were expecting the Messiah to be a great military/political leader, the disciples had trouble understanding Jesus' real mission and the reason for His death and resurrection. "Mocked, and to scourge, and to crucify him." (20:19) - All Jesus' prophesies came true. He was mocked in Matthew 26:67-68, scourged in Matthew 27:26, and crucified in Matthew 27:35. |
New Living Translation
Matthew 20:1-19
Parable of the Vineyard Workers
1 "For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard.
2 He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work.
3 "At nine o'clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing.
4 So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day.
5 So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o'clock he did the same thing.
6 "At five o'clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, 'Why haven't you been working today?'
7 "They replied, 'Because no one hired us.'
"The landowner told them, 'Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.'
8 "That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first.
9 When those hired at five o'clock were paid, each received a full day's wage.
10 When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day's wage.
11 When they received their pay, they protested to the owner,
12 'Those people worked only one hour, and yet you've paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.'
13 "He answered one of them, 'Friend, I haven't been unfair! Didn't you agree to work all day for the usual wage?
14 Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you.
15 Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?'
16 "So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last."
Jesus Again Predicts His Death
17 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside privately and told them what was going to happen to him.
18 "Listen," he said, "we're going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die.
19 Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead."
The "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word-for-word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."
Parable of the Vineyard Workers
1 "For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard.
2 He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work.
3 "At nine o'clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing.
4 So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day.
5 So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o'clock he did the same thing.
6 "At five o'clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, 'Why haven't you been working today?'
7 "They replied, 'Because no one hired us.'
"The landowner told them, 'Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.'
8 "That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first.
9 When those hired at five o'clock were paid, each received a full day's wage.
10 When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day's wage.
11 When they received their pay, they protested to the owner,
12 'Those people worked only one hour, and yet you've paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.'
13 "He answered one of them, 'Friend, I haven't been unfair! Didn't you agree to work all day for the usual wage?
14 Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you.
15 Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?'
16 "So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last."
Jesus Again Predicts His Death
17 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside privately and told them what was going to happen to him.
18 "Listen," he said, "we're going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die.
19 Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead."
The "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word-for-word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."
Key verses from this passage
"Behold, 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, And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again." (20:18-19)
Today's Question:
1. What does the parable of the vineyard workers mean?
The critical step in Bible study is applying what you learn to your life.
1. What does the parable of the vineyard workers mean?
The critical step in Bible study is applying what you learn to your life.
Answers: (Do you agree?)
1. In the parable of the vineyard workers, the householder (landowner) symbolizes God, the workers represent believers, and the vineyard signifies the Christian church where people seek salvation. The workday illustrates a person's lifetime, and the householder (God) spends the day seeking people to come to his vineyard. Some arrive early in the day (their life), while others come in the middle of the day. Still, some don't arrive until the "eleventh hour" (the end of their life) when time is short. Regardless of when they come to the vineyard, every believer will receive the same reward at the end of their life. We are all equal before God, there is no seniority in His eyes.
Only through God's grace can we attain heaven, and He generously offers His grace to everyone. It doesn't matter if we spent a lifetime serving God or found Him in our final minutes on earth; all who come to believe will find paradise waiting for them.
Application thought for the day:
We're all sinners, unable to earn our salvation.
But the good news is, it doesn't matter what we've done or when we came to believe. Everyone with faith in Christ is forgiven and receives the same gracious gift of salvation.
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Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen, published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series," published by NavPress books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies;" "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur, published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham, published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Atlas of the Bible" edited by Joseph L. Gardner, published by Readers Digest, Pleasantville, New York; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Everyday Bible," published by World Wide Publications, Minneapolis, Minnesota; "The New Testament" Recovery Version, published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, California; "The Living New Testament," published by Tyndale house, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Living Translation," published by Tyndale House, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Testament" translated from the Latin Vulgate, published by Guild Press, New York, New York; the "Life Application Study Bible," published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; the "Quest Study Bible," published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The New Scofield Reference Bible," published by Oxford University Press, New York, New York; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course, the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
© 2025 evolke
© 2025 evolke