Matthew 20:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’

NIV: He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.'

NASB: and to those he said, ‘You go into the vineyard also, and whatever is right, I will give you.’ And so they went.

CSB: He said to them, 'You also go into my vineyard, and I'll give you whatever is right.' So off they went.

NLT: So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day.

KJV: And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.

NKJV: and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went.

Peter has asked Jesus what reward they will get for leaving everything behind to follow Him (Matthew 19:27–30). To illustrate the answer, Jesus is telling a parable about the kingdom of heaven. He compares the kingdom to the master of house hiring day laborers to work in a vineyard. He hires the first group early in the morning, likely around 6 a.m. They agree to work the day for one denarius each. Then he goes out again at the third hour, around 9 a.m., and hires another group. He now tells them to go work in the vineyard for whatever he decides is right at the end of the day.

It's possible that the second group does not expect to be paid a full denarius since they won't be working a full day in the vineyard. They apparently need the work and are willing to trust the master of the house to pay them something reasonable when the time comes, whatever that is.

Matthew 20:1–16 is a parable illustrating what Jesus meant in saying that some of the last will be first and the first last in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:30). When a master hires five groups of workers at different times throughout the day, he pays the last group the same amount that he pays the group hired early in the morning. Though that group grumbles, they received what they had agreed to earn and had not been cheated. The master insists he has the right to show generosity to whomever he wishes. Jesus concludes by saying, again, that the last will be first, and the first last. Themes found in this parable are echoed in the later portion of the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:25–32).

Jesus illustrates His earlier comments about how some of the "first will be last, and the last first" (Matthew 19:30) with a parable about hired workers. He then clearly tells His disciples about His impending death and resurrection. The mother of James and John asks Jesus to make her sons number two and three in His kingdom. Jesus tells the disciples that true greatness won't come by flaunting authority as the Gentile leaders do. Instead, they will become great by serving each other, even as a slave does, as Jesus Himself has done. He then heals two blind men immediately before entering Jerusalem.

Matthew 20 begins with a parable that illustrates Jesus' statement at the end of Matthew 19: In His kingdom, some of the first will be last and the last first. Still on their way to Jerusalem, Jesus tells the disciples for the third time that He will be killed and then raised on the third day. When asked, Jesus explains that it is not up to Him to grant the seats on His right and left hand in the kingdom and that His disciples will not become great in the way of Gentiles. Instead, they will find greatness by serving each other. A healing of two blind men leads into the triumphal entry, the first event in the last earthly week of Jesus' ministry.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.

Accessed 4/29/2024 3:11:05 PM