Matthew 20:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

NIV: 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered. 'He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'

NASB: They *said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He *said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

CSB: " 'Because no one hired us,' they said to him." 'You also go into my vineyard,' he told them.

NLT: They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’ 'The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’

KJV: 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.

NKJV: They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’

Jesus' story of the master of a household hiring workers for his vineyard (Matthew 20:1) takes a surprising turn. Who hires temporary workers when there is only an hour remaining in the workday? Apparently, the work that needs doing in the vineyard, likely the harvest, is so urgent that the master requires all the help he can possibly get. For his own reasons, and under his own counsel, the master chooses to bring on these last-minute helpers.

The master has hired workers four times, at 6 a.m., 9 a.m., noon, and 3 p.m. The day is almost over, but he returns to the marketplace once more. He asks some available workers why they have spent the entire day just hanging around the marketplace. Now they answer simply that nobody hired them. They were ready and willing but not needed. The master needs them, though, and immediately sends them to join all the others working in his vineyard. No mention is made of what he will pay them. Perhaps they think that getting paid anything for a little work would be worth it at this point.

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 5/3/2024 7:20:06 PM