Matthew 20

קרא את הפרק הזה בכוונה

Matthew 20 holds together four scenes on the road to Jerusalem, all about who comes first. The parable of the workers in the vineyard has a landowner hiring men from dawn until an hour before dark and paying every one of them a full day's wage, so that the first hired grumble and are told, "Are you envious because I am generous?" Jesus then predicts his death for the third time, in detail. Immediately the mother of James and John asks for the two best seats in his kingdom, and Jesus explains that greatness is service, since the Son of Man came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Leaving Jericho, he heals two blind men the crowd tried to silence.

פתח פירוש פרק

Matthew 20 is set on the road up to Jerusalem, and everything in it is about the order in which people come. It opens with a story that still makes listeners uncomfortable. A landowner hires men at six in the morning for a denarius, hires more at nine, at noon, at three, and at five, and at sunset pays them all the same coin, starting with the ones who worked one hour. The dawn workers complain, and they are not wrong about the arithmetic. The owner's answer is that he has cheated no one and is free to be generous, and then the question that turns the parable into a mirror: are you envious because I am good? Then Jesus takes the Twelve aside and tells them, more plainly than ever, what is going to happen in Jerusalem: betrayal, a death sentence, Gentiles, mockery, whips, a cross, and on the third day, rising. The next verse is the mother of James and John kneeling to ask for the thrones on his right and left. He asks whether they can drink his cup, they say they can, and the other ten are furious, not because the request was wrong but because they wanted the seats. So Jesus sits them all down and explains that the kingdom does not work like Rome. Greatness means serving; being first means being a slave; and the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. The chapter ends outside Jericho with two blind beggars shouting for the Son of David over a crowd that wants them quiet. He stops, asks what they want, touches their eyes, and they follow him up the hill.

קטעי מפתח

Matthew 20:1-16 Matthew 20:17-19 Matthew 20:20-28 Matthew 20:29-34 Mark 10:35-45 Isaiah 53:10-12

Historical and literary context

Day laborers gathered in the marketplace at dawn hoping to be hired; a denarius was the standard daily wage, and Jewish law required that a laborer be paid the same evening. The "eleventh hour" is about five in the afternoon. The road from Jericho to Jerusalem climbs three thousand feet in fifteen miles, and Passover pilgrims traveled it in crowds, which explains the throng around the blind men. The mother of Zebedee's sons, probably Salome, was among the women at the cross; in Mark's version the brothers ask for themselves. "Ransom" was the price paid to free a slave or a prisoner of war. Rulers of the Gentiles "lording it over" people would have evoked Herod and Rome.

How the chapter unfolds

Verses 1 to 16 are the parable of the vineyard workers, framed by "the last will be first" at the end of chapter 19 and again at verse 16. Verses 17 to 19 are the third passion prediction, the most detailed of the three. Verses 20 to 28 are the request of the sons of Zebedee, the question about the cup, the indignation of the ten, and the teaching on greatness as service, ending with the ransom saying. Verses 29 to 34 are the healing of the two blind men outside Jericho, who cry "Son of David," are told to be quiet, cry louder, and follow him.

Why this chapter matters

The parable of the vineyard is the Gospel's sharpest statement that God's grace is not wages, and "are you envious because I am generous?" has confronted every reader who has felt that fairness should mean getting more than someone else. "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many" is one of the few places where Jesus explains the purpose of his death, and it is the foundation of the Christian idea of atonement as ransom. "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant" defined Christian leadership. The blind men who will not be silenced are a picture of persistent prayer.

Interpretive tension to watch

The landowner's equal pay strikes modern readers as unjust to the early workers, and the parable knows it, since the early workers say exactly that; the point is that God's generosity is not measured against what others receive, but the discomfort is intended. Whether the parable is about Jews and Gentiles, early and late converts, or simply grace, readers differ. The ransom saying raises the question of to whom the ransom is paid, which the text does not answer and theologians have debated for centuries. Matthew has two blind men where Mark has one, Bartimaeus, and places the healing on the way out of Jericho where Luke places it on the way in, small differences that show the evangelists shaping the story.

שאלות לפרק הזה

The workers hired at dawn got exactly what they were promised and were still angry. What does the parable expose about the way we measure fairness?
Right after Jesus describes his crucifixion, two disciples ask for thrones. Why is that request placed exactly there?
The crowd told the blind men to be quiet, and they shouted louder. What does that say about the kind of asking Jesus honors?

Study with context

Use this as a chapter guide, then press deeper into the text itself. The goal is to slow down observation, notice structure, and ask better questions before jumping to conclusions.

הוספה להערות

1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man [that is] an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. 2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the 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 about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? 7 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. 8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them [their] hire, beginning from the last unto the first. 9 And when they came that [were hired] about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. 11 And when they had received [it], they murmured against the goodman of the house, 12 Saying, 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 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? 14 Take [that] thine [is], and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? 16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. 17 ¶ And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, 18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; 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 mock, and to scourge, and to crucify [him]: and the third day he shall rise again. 20 ¶ Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping [him], and desiring a certain thing of him. 21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. 22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. 23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but [it shall be given to them] for whom it is prepared of my Father. 24 And when the ten heard [it], they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. 25 But Jesus called them [unto him], and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. 26 But 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 among you, 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 a ransom for many. 29 And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him. 30 ¶ And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, [thou] Son of David. 31 And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, [thou] Son of David. 32 And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? 33 They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. 34 So Jesus had compassion [on them], and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.

הפוך קריאה ללימוד ממשי

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הרשמה התחברות

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קרא את הפרק הבא Matthew 21 in King James Version.

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