Limitless Word

Matthew 20

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📖 Matthew introduction

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1“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ✦ 2Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ✦ 3And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ✦ 4and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. ✦ 5Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. ✦ 6And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ ✦ 7They 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.’ ✦ 8“So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ ✦ 9And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. ✦ 10But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. 11And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, ✦ 12saying, ‘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.’ ✦ 13But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ✦ 14Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. ✦ 15Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ ✦ 16So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.” ✦ 17Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, ✦ 18“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, ✦ 19and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.” ✦ 20Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. ✦ 21And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.” ✦ 22But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.” ✦ 23So He said to them, “You will indeed drink 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 is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.” ✦ 24And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. ✦ 25But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. ✦ 26Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. ✦ 27And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— ✦ 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” ✦ 29Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. ✦ 30And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” ✦ 31Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” ✦ 32So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ✦ 33They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” ✦ 34So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Where this chapter connects

Mark 10 ·13Matt 26 ·9Luke 22 ·8Luke 18 ·8Matt 13 ·7Matt 20 ·7Matt 21 ·6Matt 22 ·6

Christ at the center

Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'

How Matthew 20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereDocumentaryFollowing the MessiahAppian Media · Free · evangelical

    A free, beautifully shot 10-part series walking the lands of Jesus' life — Bethlehem, Galilee, Jerusalem, and more.

  • ★ Start hereVideoBibleProject — video overviews & word studiesBibleProject · 5–10 min · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overviews of every book of the Bible, plus themes and Hebrew/Greek word studies — the best visual on-ramp to any book. (Biblical-theology, broadly evangelical, not distinctly Reformed.)

  • ★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical

    A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

  • DocumentaryHolyLandSiteHolyLandSite · Free · evangelical

    Free on-location videos tying biblical events to the actual sites in Israel — the Temple Mount, Galilee, Capernaum, and more.

  • ApologeticsCold-Case Christianity (J. Warner Wallace)J. Warner Wallace · Free · evangelical

    A cold-case homicide detective examines the Gospels' reliability — forensic faith for skeptics and seekers.

Pastoral

  • SermonGrace to You — John MacArthurJohn MacArthur · Free · reformed

    Decades of careful verse-by-verse expository sermons, especially through the New Testament. (MacArthur, d. 2025; archive remains free.)

  • DocumentaryThat the World May KnowRay Vander Laan · Paid · evangelical

    Ray Vander Laan's on-location series immersing you in the Bible's historical and cultural world. (Mostly paid via Focus on the Family; some free clips.)

  • SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical

    Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

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