#matthew 20

Laborers in the Vineyard

1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto an householder which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. 2 And he agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, and sent them in to his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw other standing idle in the market place, 4 and said unto them: go ye also into my 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 he went out about the eleventh hour and found other standing idle, and said unto them: Why stand ye here all the day idle? 7 They said unto him: because no man hath hired us. He said to them: go ye also into my vineyard, and whatsoever shall be right, that shall ye receive. 8 When even was come, the lord of the vineyard, said unto his steward: call the laborers, and give them their hire, beginning at the last, till thou come to the first. 9 And they which were hired about the eleventh hour, came and received every man a penny. 10 Then came the first, supposing that they should receive more, and they like wise received every man a penny. 11 And when they had received it, they grudged against the good man of the house, saying: 12 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 He answered to one of them, saying: friend I do thee no wrong: didst thou not agree with me for a penny? 14 Take that which is thy duty, and go thy way. I will give unto this last, as much as to thee. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do as me listeth, with mine own? Is thine eye evil because I am good? 16 So the last shall be first, and the first shall be last. For many are called, and few be chosen.

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

17 And Iesus ascended to Ierusalem, and took the xij. disciples apart in the way, and said to them: 18 Lo we go up to Ierusalem, 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 be mocked, to be scourged, and to be crucified: and the third day he shall rise again.

A Mother's Request

20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. 21 He said unto her: what wilt thou have? She said unto him: Grant that these my two sons may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand in thy kingdom. 22 Iesus answered, and said: Ye wot not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of? And to be baptised with the baptism, that I shall be baptised with? They answered to him: That we are. 23 He said unto them: Ye shall drink of my cup, and shall be baptised with the baptism that I shall be baptised with all. But to sit on my right hand, and on my left hand, is not mine to give you: but to them for whom it is prepared of my father.

24 And when the ten heard this, they disdained at the two brethren. 25 But Iesus called them unto him, and said: Ye know, that the lords of the gentiles have domination over them. And they that are great, exercise power over them. 26 It shall not be so among you: But whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister, 27 and whosoever will be chief, let him be your servant. 28 Even as the son of man came, not to be ministered unto, but to minister: and to give his life for the redemption of many.

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

29 And as they departed from Hiericho, much people followed him. 30 And behold, ij. blind men sitting by the wayside, when they heard, that Iesus passed by, cried saying: Master the son of David have mercy on us. 31 And the people rebufed them, because they should hold their peace: But they cried the more, saying: have mercy on us master which art the son of David. 32 Then Iesus stood still, and called them, and said: what will ye that I should do to you? 33 They said unto him: Master, that our eyes may be opened. 34 Iesus pitied them, and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight: And they followed him. — Matthew 20 | Tyndale New Testament (TYN) Holy Bible, Tyndale New Testament (written in olde English), copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved. Cross References: Leviticus 19:13; Deuteronomy 15:9; Deuteronomy 24:15; Job 30:8; Isaiah 51:17; Isaiah 51:22; Jeremiah 18:6; Jonah 4:8; Matthew 4:21; Matthew 8:20; Matthew 9:27; Matthew 9:37; Matthew 10:4; Matthew 13:4; Matthew 13:24; Matthew 21:1; Matthew 22:12; Matthew 23:11; Matthew 26:50; Mark 9:35; Mark 10:31; Mark 12:15; Mark 14:15; Mark 15:33; Luke 13:30; Luke 20:24; Luke 23:44; John 6:41; Acts 16:19; Acts 17:17; James 1:11

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius.

Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’

But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’

So the last will be first, and the first last.”

Something that stuck out to me, in Matthew 20 verse 28, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve”.

That’s nothing new to me, I’m not surprised by that bit of information. Specifically this week, it’s been shitty, ya know basic boy drama that’s how it goes, cried to my mom about it what else is new. But the past couple days, my mother has been, serving me, for context. And I expect her to because I’ve been having a lot of feelings. That’s not right. That’s not a good thing to do. I love my mother of course and I’m so blessed for how caring she is and how helpful she’s been. I hate admitting that I’ve been taking advantage of that. I’m lucky to have her. I’m not here to be served but to serve. I’ve made the point to get off my ass and help extra when I can. I think I’m doing my best but I could probably do better.

The Workers in the Vineyard

1 “The kingdom from heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing to pay the workers one denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing in the marketplace without work. 4 He told them, ‘You go into the vineyard, too, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So off they went. He went out again about noon and about three o’clocke and did the same thing. 6 About five o’clock he went out and found some others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why are you standing here all day long without work?’ 7 They told him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He told them, ‘You go into the vineyard as well.’

8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard told his manager, ‘Call the workers and give them their wages, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ 9 Those who were hired at five o’clock came, and each received a denarius.

10 “When the first came, they thought they would receive more, but each received a denarius as well. 11 When they received it, they began to complain to the landowner, 12 ‘These last fellows worked only one hour, but you paid them the same as us, and we’ve been working all day, enduring the scorching heat!’

13 “But he told one of them, ‘Friend, I’m not treating you unfairly. You did agree with me for a denarius, didn’t you? 14 Take what is yours and go. I want to give this last man as much as I gave you. 15 I am allowed to do what I want with my own money, am I not? Or are you envious because I’m generous?’

16 “In the same way, the last will be first, and the first will be last, because many are called, but few are chosen.”

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection a Third Time (Mark 10:32-34; Luke 18:31-34)

17 When Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and told them as they were walking along, 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the high priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death. 19 Then they will hand him over to unbelievers to be mocked, whipped, and crucified, but on the third day he will be raised.”

The Request of James and John (Mark 10:35-45)

20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons. She bowed down in front of him to ask him for a favor. 21 He asked her, “What do you want?”

She told him, “Promise that in your kingdom these two sons of mine will sit on your right and on your left.”

22 Jesus replied, “You don’t realize what you’re asking. Can you drink from the cup that I’m going to drink from?”

They told him, “We can.”

23 He told them, “You will indeed drink from my cup. But it’s not up to me to grant you a seat at my right hand or at my left. These positions have already been prepared for others by my Father.”

24 When the ten heard this, they became furious with the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called the discipless and said, “You know that the rulers of the unbelievers lord it over them and their superiors act like tyrants over them. 26 That’s not the way it should be among you. Instead, whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. 28 That’s the way it is with the Son of Man. He did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many people.”

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men (Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43)

29 As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Jesus. 30 When two blind men who were sitting by the roadside heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!” 31 When the crowd told them harshly to be silent, they shouted even louder, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!”

32 Jesus stopped and called them, saying, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Photo by Abdiel Hernandez on Pexels.com Teaching Summary: Matthew 19–20 🌄 Overall Themes The upside‑down values of the kingdom — the last become first, the humble are exalted. Jesus’ radical call to discipleship — wholehearted loyalty, sacrificial obedience, eternal reward. God’s design for marriage — permanence, covenant, and the hardness of human hearts. Childlike dependence — the posture…

Monday, 10/27/25

SCRIPTURE:

"Take what belongs to you and go.  "I want to give to this one who was hired last the same as I give to you. "Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what belongs to Me?  "Or are you resentful because I’m generous?" ~ Matthew 20:14-15

OBSERVATIONS:

Where am I in this "queue" of those waiting to be paid?

I KNOW I'm not at the front of the line...

And since all are getting paid the same thing out of His generosity... 

...who AM I to grouse and complain?

Especially when I should be grateful and thankful and welcoming to others who will be given with the same generosity...

...and especially since I know I've "stepped out of the line" and come back to it - at the very end (again)...

APPLICATION:

Take what belongs to me... - His grace and mercy and forgiveness...

...and go - 

gratefully... 

worshipfully...

obediently...

PRAYER:

Giving Heavenly Father - May I always be grateful for what You have given me - the blessings I cannot begin to count - many that I take for granted - Please forgive my selfishness that can't or won't be thankful for the blessings You share with others - may I see all the reasons to praise You today, in both my life and the lives of those around me... In Jesus's Name, and for Your glory, worship, and honor...

Yours - in and through and because of Him...𝖌

Devotional for January 28, 2025 Reading: Genesis 20 | Matthew 20 | Psalm 20 Genesis 20 Chapter 20 highlights Abraham’s failure to trust God and instead resorts to deception to avoid harm. As you read through the Genesis narrative, you will observe this becoming a family trait (deception). Despite Abraham’s efforts to lean on his understanding of things, God preserves him and remembers his…