New Testament · Gospel

Matthew 20:10

The Last Will Be First

So when the original workers came, they assumed they would receive more. But each of them also received a denarius. Matthew 20:10 · Berean Standard Bible
What It Means

Matthew 20:10, in plain English

When the all-day workers come up, they expect more. But they each get the same denarius.

Why it's here

They saw the generous pay and assumed they'd get even more. The disappointment hits hard.

Who's speaking

The narrator describes the moment expectations crash into reality.

Where it sits in the story

They did the math and figured they'd come out ahead. Instead, they got exactly what they were promised — and it felt like a loss.

A Closer Look

The scholarly reading

The first workers, seeing the generous payment, assume (enomisan) they will receive more — but each also receives exactly one denarius, the agreed-upon wage.

Language and setting

Their assumption reveals the transactional thinking the parable critiques: if grace is given to others, I deserve even more.

Voice

The narrator describes the first workers' expectation and its disappointment.

Significance

The early workers' expectation of more pay is the crux of the parable — they confuse justice with comparative merit.

In context

Matthew 20:8–12

8When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last ones hired and moving on to the first.’

9The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius.

10So when the original workers came, they assumed they would receive more. But each of them also received a denarius.

11On receiving their pay, they began to grumble against the landowner.

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

Read all of Matthew 20 — Workers hired at day's end receive the same wage as those who sweated since dawn. God's generosity offends our scorekeeping instincts.

Understand every verse, not just this one

This page covers one. BibleKey does all 31,102 — tap any verse for its meaning, any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, and keep reading without leaving the chapter.

Get BibleKey

Understand every verse.

Not just the famous ones. BibleKey is free on iPhone and iPad.

Download on the App Store

Free on iPhone & iPad