Commentary on the Four Gospel Books
The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
G112 Parable of the Workers In the Vineyard
Matthew 20:1-16

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All New Testament verses quoted in this article are from the English Majority Text Version, and Old Testament verses are from the King James Version, unless otherwise noted.

Matthew 20:1-16

1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a certain landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

2 And having agreed with the workers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

3 And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace.

4 And said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever may be right I will give you.’ So they went.

5 Again going out about the sixth and the ninth hour, he did likewise.

6 And about the eleventh hour, going out he found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’

7 “They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you shall receive.’

8 “So when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’

9 “And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.

10 But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they also received each a denarius.

11 And when they had received it, they began grumbling against the landowner,

12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’

13 “But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am not wronging you. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?

14 Take what is yours and go. But I want to give to this last man the same as to you.

15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’

16 “Thus the last shall be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen.”

In this lesson, we will learn together another parable of the Lord Jesus about the Heavenly Kingdom. This parable is recorded only by Matthew.

Following the Lord’s teaching to the disciples recorded in Matthew 19:30 and Mark 10:31 about ″many who are first will be last, and the last first″ in the Heavenly Kingdom, the Lord Jesus told a parable about the workers in the vineyard to help the disciples understand this statement clearly.

The Lord Jesus compared the workers in the vineyard who are paid wages with those who serve God and are rewarded in the Heavenly Kingdom.

Matthew 20:1-2

1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a certain landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

2 And having agreed with the workers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

The landowner going out early in the morning to the market to hire workers for his vineyard symbolizes how from the very beginning of creation, the God has sought out in the world those who will be granted the Heavenly Kingdom by Him. These people are called the ″godly seed″ in Malachi 2:15.

The hiring and paying of wages symbolize the Heavenly Kingdom being granted only to those who serve God. Serving God means obeying Him and living according to His Word.

In the time of the Lord Jesus, the owner and the workers usually agreed beforehand on the wages for one day’s labor. One denarius was a Roman silver coin at that time, equivalent in value to a day’s work. That wage symbolizes the reward from the God corresponding to the life of service to God by God’s people.

The vineyard symbolizes the spiritual workplace of the God in the world. It is the life of God’s people while still in their present fleshly bodies.

Those hired early in the morning, when the sun just rises at the first hour of the day (about 6:00 AM), may symbolize the saints before the Old Testament era, from Adam to Jacob.

The wage agreement between the landowner and the workers may symbolize the promise of the God to the saints before the Old Testament regarding His reward for them if they lived holy lives and obeyed His commandments.

We need to understand that before the Ten Commandments of the God were written by Him on two stone tablets, given to the people of Israel, and the covenant established with them on Mount Sinai (also called the Old Testament), He had already given His commandments and laws to humanity. The following two Scripture verses help us understand that those who lived before the Old Testament era still knew of the commandments and laws of the God:

“Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” (Genesis 26:5).

“Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” (Job 23:12).

Abraham and Job both lived before the Old Testament era, before the commandments and laws of the God were recorded by Moses into books.

Matthew 20:3-4

3 And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace.

4 And said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever may be right I will give you.’ So they went.

The phrase ″standing idle″ may symbolize not serving false gods, not chasing after the world, but waiting to come into the truth.

Those who had no work and were standing in the marketplace around the third hour of the day (8:00 AM) may symbolize the saints in the Old Testament period, from the time of Moses to the time of the Prophet Malachi. That period lasted about 1,000 years, from when the people of Israel were freed from Egypt until the time they returned to rebuild the Temple and the city of Jerusalem after being exiled to Babylon for 70 years.

″Whatever may be right I will give you″ refers to the blessings given to the saints of that time, according to the will of the God, and also pleasing to those who received the reward.

Matthew 20:5-7

5 Again going out about the sixth and the ninth hour, he did likewise.

6 And about the eleventh hour, going out he found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’

7 “They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you shall receive.’

Those who began working at the sixth hour (11:00 AM) may symbolize the saints during the period when the God was silent for about 400 years with the people of Israel. That period started after the death of the Prophet Malachi and lasted until the Lord Jesus Christ established the Church.

Those who began working at the ninth hour (2:00 PM) may symbolize the saints in the Church era. That period began when Christ established the Church and continues until He takes the Church out of the world. This era lasts about 2,000 years.

Those who began working at the eleventh hour (4:00 PM) may symbolize the saints in the End Times. This is the period lasting seven years before the Christ descends to earth to destroy the Antichrist and those who oppose the God and then establish the Millennium Kingdom.

The answer, ″Because no one has hired us,″ can be understood to mean that the End Times saints are those who do not submit to the Antichrist, having not yet had the opportunity to hear the Gospel to know the Lord, believe in the Lord, and serve the Lord. They neither submit to the Antichrist nor serve any false gods, because they do not accept the wages offered by the Antichrist and the false gods.

Matthew 20:8-9

8 “So when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’

9 “And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.

″When evening came″ refers to the time when the God rewards the work of each saint.

The ″foreman″ is the Lord Jesus, who acts on behalf of the God to reward God’s people.

″Who were hired about the eleventh hour″ were likely very zealous, working diligently during the last hours of labor. They may symbolize those who believe in the Gospel and serve the Lord during the End Times. Although their time following the Lord is very short, they have endured great hardship and suffering for the Lord’s name, even losing their lives because of their faith in Him.

The wage of one denarius for those who worked only two hours is equal to the wage of those who worked the full twelve hours.

Matthew 20:10-12

10 But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they also received each a denarius.

11 And when they had received it, they began grumbling against the landowner,

12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’

Those who were hired early in the morning saw that those hired at the eleventh hour received one denarius as their wages, so they expected to receive more. However, they also received only one denarius. Therefore, they grumbled and complained against the vineyard owner. Perhaps they thought he was unfair to them by paying them the same wages as those who only worked two hours.

Their reaction is understandable because they judged fairness or justice by worldly standards. According to the world, if a person does the same work but works more hours, they naturally should be paid more than someone who works fewer hours.

Matthew 20:13-15

13 “But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am not wronging you. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?

14 Take what is yours and go. But I want to give to this last man the same as to you.

15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’

The vineyard owner’s response shows that he did not act unfairly toward those who worked from early morning, because he paid them the agreed wages. How much he pays others is his right as the owner of his property.

The worldly often feel dissatisfied when they see the good deeds of others from which they do not benefit. They also often believe that those who are wealthier have a duty to share their wealth and possessions with them. In other words, the way the world measures fairness or justice often differs from the fairness or justice according to the standards of the God.

Matthew 20:16

16 “Thus the last shall be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen.”

In the previous lesson, we learned that:

1. The last will be first are those who believe in the Lord late in their lives or in the final days of the Church era. They do not have many opportunities to serve the Lord or achieve many accomplishments, but they become the first by receiving many rewards on the day the Christ comes. Although their works are few, they come from a heart that loves God and loves others. They do their work for the glory of God and do not seek glory for themselves.

2. The first will be last are many who followed the Lord before others, served the Lord before others, and had many opportunities to achieve many accomplishments in ministries and spiritual work. However, they will become those who receive little or no reward on the day the Christ comes. This is because their works do not come from a heart that loves God and loves others. Their works are done merely for the sake of doing them or to seek the praise of people.

The phrase “For many are called, but few are chosen” can be understood as follows:

1. Many are called to the salvation of the God to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but few are chosen to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Those who respond to the call, repent of their sins, and believe the Gospel are saved from the punishment of sin and the power of sin. However, if they do not keep the commandments of the God and continue to live in violation of His commandments, they will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The condition to enter the Kingdom of Heaven is to keep the commandments of the God, as we learned in the previous lesson (Matthew 19:17).

2. Many are called into the Kingdom of Heaven, but only a few are granted the right to reign with the Christ. These are some among those belonging to the Church age (Revelation 3:21). This meaning fits better with the parable we are studying.

The content of the parable about the workers in the vineyard can be understood as we have presented above. It illustrates that God’s saints throughout the ages of human history will receive rewards in the Kingdom of Heaven justly. However, many will be rewarded according to the will and generosity of God, depending on the zeal of their hearts in serving the Lord, not based on the quantity of their achievements. A person who preaches the Gospel superficially and leads 100 people to believe in the Lord will not receive as much reward as someone who wholeheartedly preaches the Gospel but leads only one person to believe in the Lord.

But the parable can also illustrate the rewards given to the saints within the same time period, even within the same generation. In reality, there are those who have believed in the Lord for many years and have had many opportunities to serve Him but have not been wholehearted, so they do not receive many rewards in the Kingdom of Heaven. There are others who believe in the Lord for a short time before they pass away or before the Lord comes and takes the Church out of the world, so they do not have much time or opportunity to serve Him. However, they have been zealous and have exerted themselves in serving Him, so they receive great rewards.

May each of us remember that serving the Lord means doing any work in our lives:

“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all things for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

And also remember that:

“And whatever you may do, work it from your soul, as to the Lord and not to men.” (Colossians 3:23).

We conclude this lesson here.

May the Holy Spirit guide us into all the truths of God’s Word (John 16:13). May the Word of God sanctify us (John 17:17). May the Faithful *God of Peace Himself sanctify our spirit, soul, and body entirely, without blame (1 Thessalonians 5:23), at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Beloved Savior. Amen!

Timothy Christian Huynh
Priscilla Christian Huynh
06/28/2025

Note:

About Using “*God”, “the God” and “holy spirit”

Wherever the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts of the Bible use a definite article with a noun to denote GOD, we translate it into English as *God or “the God” to refer to God the Father. We understand that “God,” without a definite article, was used as a collective noun for all and any of the three Persons of the Godhead. And “God,” with a definite article, was used to refer to God the Father.

In the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, the term “holy spirit” (πνευματι αγιω) without the definite article “the” (το) is used to denote the power of God, which is given by God the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit” (το πνευματι το αγιω) is God, and “holy spirit” (πνευματι αγιω) is the power that comes from God.