Bible Strands
Matthew 20:1
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses his disciples and the surrounding crowd while traveling toward Jerusalem, introducing a parable to explain spiritual realities. He speaks this teaching immediately after concluding the previous discourse on reward and service.
The words — Ὁμοία (Homoia) = like [G3664] and βασιλεία (basileia) = kingdom [G932] anchor the statement as a direct comparison rather than a historical report.
The thread — The parable format recurs in Matthew 13:24 and Matthew 13:47, where Jesus again uses “the kingdom of heaven is like” to frame agricultural and maritime imagery. John 15:1 shifts the metaphor to a vineyard keeper, maintaining the agricultural framework for divine authority.
Why it lands — The text states that a landowner initiates labor recruitment at daybreak without yet explaining the wage structure or the workers’ later complaints. A reader must note the deliberate asymmetry of the opening action before weighing any proposed meaning about grace or equity.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Matthew 13:24 Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.
- Matthew 13:47 Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea and caught all kinds of fish.
- John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard.
- 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
- Hebrews 13:21 equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
- Song of Solomon 8:11 Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-hamon. He leased it to the tenants. For its fruit, each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver.
- Matthew 22:2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.
- Matthew 25:1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
- Isaiah 5:1 I will sing for my beloved a song of his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
- Matthew 9:37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.