Before reading this commentary, I encourage you to first read the text of Matthew chapter twenty.

Verses 1-2

“For”; anytime a verse begins with the word for, therefore, because, etc…, you know it’s a continuation of what was being spoken previously. In this case, verse 1 of chapter 20 is a continuation of the subject matter from the end of chapter 19.

At the end of Matthew 19 Jesus had been talking to the rich young ruler who asked what he must do to get into heaven. Jesus explained to him that it was impossible for him to get into heaven, but only through God is salvation possible. After which Peter came to him and said, “we have left everything to follow You. What then will there be for us?” To which Jesus gives an end times prophecy regarding the disciples. Then he adds the following statement,

“But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” (Matthew 19:30)

Do not view chapter 19 and chapter 20 as being separate. Their division was arbitrary. The last verse in chapter 19 could have just as easily been verse 1 in chapter 20.

In chapter 20 Jesus shares a parable, but when you read it, remember the conversation from the end of 19 was about salvation.

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

The landowner = God

The day = a person’s entire life, thus the morning represents a person’s youth and the evening represents a person’s old age.

The vineyard = the world

The work = sharing the gospel and bringing people into the saving knowledge of faith in Jesus Christ.

Payment = salvation (but don’t get confused. While it may appear at this point that salvation is God’s obligation to those who worked, we’re going to see at the conclusion of this parable that it is entirely the opposite).

Verses 3-7

About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ‘You also go into my vineyard,’ he said, ‘and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ he asked. ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. So he told them, ‘You also go into my vineyard.’

What’s happening here? Instead of viewing this parable as time passing on a clock, imagine that the first workers from the morning were young. God finds someone who is 15 or 20 years old and puts upon their heart a calling to put their faith in him and to follow God’s will for their life. They go out into the world and spread the gospel. Maybe they become full time missionaries, or perhaps they become a pastor and work their whole lives in the ministry.

The landowner then went back to the marketplace at the 3rd hour of the day. Let’s say hypothetically that these people are 30 or 40 years old. These people, like the first, put their faith in Jesus Christ and go out into the world to begin spreading the gospel.

At the 6th hour, let’s hypothetically say that these individuals are in their 60’s. Once again, they come to faith in Christ and go out into the world to share the gospel.

But then God goes out at the 11th hour. This represents somebody who might be 80 or 90 years old and literally on their death bed. They have spent their whole entire lives, not doing anything for the lord. Nothing. Perhaps they’ve even spent their life being vocally antagonistic toward God. But on their death bed, they come to faith in Christ.

Verse 8

When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last ones hired and moving on to the first.’

The key to verse eight is that he instructed his foreman to have them line up with those hired last, at the front of the line and those hired first at the back of the line. Had this not been done, if those hired first received their pay and left, they would never have seen the fact that those hired after them received the same as they. (In other words, if those hired first had been paid first, they would have left assuming that they had earned what they had been given.)

The landowner, however, deliberately set up the situation so that those hired first would see that those hired last received exactly the same as they. Thus, the landowner sought deliberately to force their awareness to the fact that what they were receiving was his generosity rather than something they earned through their hard work. God’s rewards are based on His grace, not human effort.

Verses 9-10

The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when the original workers came, they assumed they would receive more. But each of them also received a denarius.

Here is where we begin to see that salvation is not about work. All the workers received the same thing (salvation), regardless of how much or how little work they had done.

When I was young, I remember my father telling someone that when he died, he wanted it to be quick, such as by an instant heart attack, because he didn’t want to suffer. But even in my youth, I knew that was a bad idea. When a person who is not yet saved, dies suddenly of a heart attack, they go to hell for eternity. However, if it takes a person days or weeks to die, even though they suffer, they have plenty of time to consider their eternal destination and perhaps for the first time in their life, ask the lord Jesus to save them.

When my father was 76 years old he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He went to numerous doctors and none could do anything. They told him, this is the end of your life. My dad knew he was going to die. He spent the last week of his life lying in a hospital bed. We visited him every day, but we went home each night to go to bed. Every night, he remained at the hospital, lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, by himself. My dad had spent his whole life claiming to be a Christian, but having never put his faith in Christ. He never read the Bible, he didn’t go to church and he never prayed, (an outward demonstration of his inner apathy). He devoted his retirement years to the hobby of bonsai, having at one point over 200 bonsai trees. He attended monthly bonsai club meetings and traveled throughout the state to attend bonsai conventions, bonsai auctions and other big bonsai events. Some of his bonsai trees were even displayed at Disney World’s Epcot Center. Two of his trees are still on display to this day at the Brevard Zoo.

During his life he cared nothing for the things of God, for although he knew God, he neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him (Romans 1:21a). It had been the prayer from my youth that his desire to someday die of an instant heart attack would not come to pass, but that he would instead have plenty of time to contemplate his eternity. And God answered my prayer. He laid in that hospital bed for a week before he died. During that time, my wife and I, once again, shared the gospel with him. It’s my continued hope and prayer that in that 11th hour, he asked the Lord for salvation.

But I also knew a man who was about the same age as my father. This man had come to faith when he was just 7 years old. He had spent his whole life in ministry. He was a pastor and built a large church. He led ministries and supported missionaries around the world. He preached in numerous places across the globe, including some that were dangerous. This man, after spending his entire life in service to the Lord, died about 4 years after my father died.

Let’s assume for a moment that my father did ask Jesus to save him prior to his passing. That being the case, the 11th hour workers in this parable represent my father, but the early morning workers represent the pastor I just described. Both, however, received the exact same thing; salvation. One didn’t earn more than the other due to his hard work. Salvation is a gift.

Don’t ever think that by going to church and reading your Bible, you are earning God’s favor. Salvation is a gift given to those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. Remember the thief on the cross. Did he do anything to earn salvation?

Verses 11-16

On receiving their pay, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’

But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Did you not agree with me on one denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you. Do I not have the right to do as I please with what is mine? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Again, let me emphasize that the point of the story is not payment for services rendered. Instead, the parable is showing that God gave to each the same thing, not because they earned it but because He was generous.

Verses 17-19

Think for a moment about what Jesus is accurately predicting:

1. He will be delivered to the chief priest
2. They will condemn him to death
3. They will deliver Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged and crucified
4. On the third day, He will be raised to life.

That was four things he predicted with 100% accuracy. There are so many people today who think and claim that Jesus was just an ordinary man. But the reality is that Jesus is obviously not an average person. We’ve seen him heal the sick, give sight to the blind and raise the dead. We’ve seen him transfigured on the mountain. Where Jesus goes the voice of God follows (Matthew 3:17 & Matthew 17:5 & John 12:28). And here we see that Jesus is omniscient, (a quality of God).

For you and I, we can make plans and set appointments. I can put on my calendar that I will arrive at church at 9:00am, but can I accurately predict who’s going to be in the church foyer when I walk through the door? Can I accurately predict exactly what they’re going to say to me when they see me? Absolutely not. Mockers and scoffers will claim that Jesus never said he was God, (which in and of itself is false, because he did claim that), but Jesus’s actions demonstrate that he is God. When was the last time you saw an ordinary man transfigured on a mountain top to where his face glowed and his clothes turned into light? So just accept that Jesus is God, and let’s move on.

Verses 20-28

Here comes John and James’s mommy to straighten out the teacher and make sure her little boys are put into the right classroom. Men; it’s time to grow up. I know of men who are 30 years old but their mother still actively orchestrates their life. I applaud you if you have a good relationship with your mother. If your mother is wise, it’s good to take advice from her, but your no longer 12 years old. You’re no longer her responsibility. You are your own responsibility.

Besides all of that, where has this woman been this whole time? Here we are in Matthew chapter 20 and this is the first time she makes an appearance. Has she even been a follower of Jesus? Does she even know or understand who Jesus is? It appears that she is likely assuming Jesus is going to become king of Israel and she’s asking him to put her sons into important cabinet positions within the government. What she is actually doing, however, is making public fools of her sons and causing division among the disciples.

Jesus responds, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” Jesus is referring to his crucifixion. He is referring to being beaten, tortured and murdered. And they, still not understanding him, respond by saying “Yes”.

Then Jesus says something very ominous which goes over their heads, the same as everything else so far has gone over their heads. Jesus says, “You will indeed drink My cup”. Jesus is telling John and James that by following him, they’re going to be beaten, tortured and murdered.

If their mother had understood what Jesus was saying, she would probably have told her sons to leave Jesus and come back home immediately.

Recall from earlier that Jesus accurately predicted his own death, now he is accurately predicting the deaths of these two men. This again demonstrates that Jesus is not an ordinary man. He is omniscient.

Then Jesus goes on to say, ““But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant. These seats belong to those for whom My Father has prepared them.”

When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers (James and John’s mother caused division in the church). I have heard stories of people who, like James and John’s mother, seek to make demands of their pastor and elders. Some people view their church membership as being like that of a perks membership program at a hotel, and their tithes as being like payment for services. Let me give you this advice, God likes humbleness. God hates pride. I encourage you, that when you go to church, you sit down, shut up, and listen. If the pastor says they’re looking for volunteers to help with this or that project, if you volunteer, just do what you’re told. Don’t approach a volunteer project thinking you’re going to be the boss when clearly someone else has been put in charge of organizing the project. Be humble! Listen more than you talk. Put your own ambitions aside.

Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them. It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

Verses 29-34

This event is told here in Matthew 20, Mark 10 and Luke 18. Mark and Luke’s telling of the event mentions only one blind man while Matthew mentions two. This however is not a contradiction because 1 is a subset of 2. For example, I walk out of a store and see a quarter and a penny lying on the ground. I bend over, pick them both up and put them in my pocket. I then turn to my wife and say, “I just found a quarter”. Was my statement true? Did I find a quarter? Yes I did. I also found a penny but didn’t feel it was worth mentioning. That is exactly what is happening here. Mark even gives us the name of one of the blind men, (Bartimaeus). Therefore, it must be that Bartimaeus was someone worth mentioning, perhaps Bartimaeus was well known in the community, while the other fella was not.

Jesus heals them and they follow him.