I love that family strength among them. 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. Christ only meant to say that every one who has been called before others ought to run with so much the greater alacrity, and, next, to exhort all men to be modest, not to give themselves the preference above others, but willingly to share with them a common prize. These words of Jesus gave rise to an old and complicated theological question: to whom did Jesus pay the ransom? 3. Others think it refers to how the gospel first dawned with John the Baptist, then the preaching of Jesus, then the preaching at Pentecost, then to the Jews, and finally to the Gentiles. Nevertheless, the Lord did not withhold the infinite boon, though He knew too well their thoughts; He spoke the word of forgiveness, though He read their evil heart that counted it blasphemy. So, then, we learn that the mother of James and John was named Salome, and that she was the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus. Verse 29 gives us strict time. There were many that followed Christ now in the regeneration, when the gospel kingdom was first set up, and these Jewish converts seemed to have got the start of others; but Christ, to obviate and silence their boasting, here tells them. The picture is that the landowner had an inexhaustible supply of work for those who wanted to work. What could be said of her intelligence then? Rudolf Bultmann writes: "In the Cross of Christ Jewish standards of judgment and human notions of the splendour of the Messiah are shattered." Barclay, William "The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2" (The New Daily Study Bible, Matthew 11-28) (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1975), Bruce, Alexander Balmain "The Synoptic Gospels: The Expositor's Greek Testament" Volume 1, Section 1 (Matthew-Luke) (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1897), Carson, D.A. Now the parable: A landowner went out early in the morning (6 am) to hire laborers for his vineyard. Blue Letter Bible offers several daily devotional readings in order to help you refocus on Christ and the Gospel of His peace and righteousness. And he said unto her, What is it that you want? The Lord, no doubt, knew the heart of His servant, and could feel for him in the effect that circumstances took upon him. That blessed One was here whom he knew to be God, who was to him the impersonation of divine power and goodness His presence was uncalled for, His word more than enough. "What do you want me to do for you?" All turns on that which was suitable to such a God, the giver of His own Son. last will be on the same footing as the first, and the first as the last, those who esteem themselves last shall be first, and those who esteem themselves first shall be last, . We read in the book of Acts that Herod stretched forth his hands against the church and had James beheaded. I have endowed them with apostolic gifts or with superior talents, and suited them for wider usefulness. (i) It is in one sense a warning to the disciples. she cried; but what had she to do with the Son of David? Matthew 20:16 in all English translations. The book features 50 challenges to do with your partner at affordable price points (FREE to about $50). For him the cup was martyrdom. [1.] Matthew 20 | ESV Bible | YouVersion In the reception of the little children this is plain; it is not so generally seen in what follows. He welcomed his bed-fellow. So we have a farther scene. He evinces, that at the very time when Peter forgot the vision and the Father's voice, virtually reducing Him to mere man, He was God manifest in the flesh. Ties him to his bargain (Matthew 20:14; Matthew 20:14); Take that thine is, and go thy way. But nothing turned aside the purpose of God, or the activity of His grace. When it came time to pay the workers, the men hired last were paid first and paid for a full day of work! The Father and the Son have their appropriate part, even as we know from elsewhere the Spirit sent down from heaven in due time was to have His. So now we have, in the healing of Peter's mother-in-law, another fact containing a principle of great value, that His grace towards the Gentile does not in the least degree blunt His heart to the claims of relationship after the flesh. How many times during communion has God touched me physically, and ministered to me physically, as I received that work of Christ for my own physical need?So Jesus predicts His crucifixion finally, and then rising again. You've never known them. So the last will be first, and the first last. And he went out about the third hour ( Matthew 20:3 ). It is not for such depending creatures as we are to quarrel with our Sovereign. It was very different with the hired day-labourers. Surely not by inaccuracy; surely not by indifference to order, but contrariwise by divine wisdom that arranged the facts with a view to a purpose worthy of itself: God's arrangement of all things more particularly in this part of Matthew to give us an adequate manifestation of the Messiah; and, as we have seen, first, what He was to the appeal of the Jew; next, what He was and would be to Gentile faith, in still richer form and fulness. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him. But it would be unusual for a wealthy "landowner" to locate his own . He was never too busy to minister to individual needs. I will obey to the end.. Prophets And still is he betrayed! [2.] I'll be turned over to the chief priests. Deuteronomy 15:9; 1 Samuel 18:9). (Carson), ii. Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year. The grounds of such a judgment will naturally come before us ere long: I can merely refer to it now as my conviction. Those hired later correspond to other people who became Jesus disciples later in His ministry. The line from the . The true disciple does not begin his work in the masters vineyard by first calculating his own value. Whatever the time may have been, whatever the incidents added by others, the account is given here for the purpose of showing, that as Israel's case was desperate, even unto death, so He, the Messiah, was the giver of life, when all, humanly speaking, was over. In truth, this was Emmanuel, God with us. He said to them, 'Go you also into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' This he said in the hearing of the disciple who would act the traitor: did no compunction visit his base heart? (Spurgeon), ii. And I pray to God that we will never lose this concept of the ministry, that we are the servants of all.It is so important that we maintain, because Jesus said. C. G. Montefiore calls this parable "one of the greatest and most glorious of all." What does Matthew chapter 20 mean? | BibleRef.com PREVIOUS Matthew 20:15 NEXT Matthew 20:17. Succa, fol. i. Pentateuch Therefore what this saying means is quite simply--it cost the life and the death of Jesus Christ to bring men back to God. So the last shall be first, and the first shall be last: for many are called, but few are chosen ( Matthew 20:5-16 ). But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you . The common call is promiscuous, to come and work in the vineyard; but the effectual call is particular, and it is then effectual when we come at the call. Here we see the worldly ambition of the disciples in action. In Matthew it is their mother. PRODUCT REVIEW: The Adventure Challenge Couple's Edition (See Mt 19:30; 22:14). If we accept it as the true reading, it adds something to the warning of the previous clause. So He meekly retires, healing, yet forbidding it to be blazed abroad. in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry. Let not those that come in at the eleventh hour, be put behind the rest, but, lest they should be discouraged, call them first. As their conduct showed, all they were concerned with was to get as much as possible out of their work. Now this is their final trip to Jerusalem. The first is the defence of the disciples, grounded on analogies taken from that which had the sanction of God of old, as well as on His own glory now. Jesus was passing by. For many are called, but few chosen.. The meek and trustful spirit is to be desired; so also is the worker; but neither class of people, nor yet another class combining the virtues of both, can in any degree merit salvation. No doubt the tempest was great; but what harm could it do to Jesus? Accordingly, notice that, in the manner in which the Holy Ghost introduces it, there is no statement of time whatever. Lastly, Here is the application of the parable (Matthew 20:16; Matthew 20:16), in that observation which occasioned it (Matthew 19:30; Matthew 19:30); So the first shall be last, and the last first. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. To mock and to scourge: Jesus predicted these specific aspects of His coming agony which on a human level He could not arrange. "Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?" 97. It is best understood as a parable about grace and reward. In the Christian Church seniority does not necessarily mean honour. Accordingly, here we have a witness of it, and a witness so much the sweeter, because the present total rejection that was filling the heart of the leaders surely testified to the Lord's heart of that which was at hand. [4.] Used by permission. But if He here does not go beyond a hint of that which the Gentiles were about to receive on the ruinous unbelief and judgment of the Jew, He does not keep back their own awful course and doom in the figure that follows. [There is what I call a clear, unmistakable note of time.] When time ends, and with it the world of work and opportunity, then the state of retribution commences; then call the labourers, and give them their hire. I say not how fax he had realized this profound truth; I say not that he could have defined his thoughts; but he knew and declared His command of all as truly God. It shows us his trust in men. It is of immense significance to see that, even in a world in which the dark was coming down, the disciples would not abandon the conviction that the victory belonged to Jesus. [5.] Note, The unchangeableness of God's purposes in dispensing his gifts should silence our murmurings. No doubt it is a tie of nature for this life only. A ransom is something paid or given to liberate a man from a situation from which it is impossible to free himself. (Barclay), iii. In verse 13 our Lord "goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. is a series of one-year devotional guides through each gospel, using one short scripture passage each day and following the Gospel in sequential order. It was true that He was made of woman, and made under the law; but He was Jehovah Himself, that lowly Nazarene. When a person's ministry gets so great, and they become so prominent that they lose touch with people, and they can no longer minister to people's individual needs, their ministry has become greater than their Lord. b. After Paul had preached on Mars Hill, there were those who said, "We will hear you again about this" ( Acts 17:32). And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. The Gospels There was the consciousness of good unattained, a void for which he appeals to Jesus that it might be filled up. Matthew 20:16 Commentaries: "So the last shall be first, and the first What special mercy and tenderness, not only in the end, but also in the way the Lord deals with Israel! 7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. The Lord then had been shown such as He was towards Israel, had Israel in their leprosy come to Him, as did the leper, even with a faith exceedingly short of that which was due to His real glory and His love. God's generosity will not succumb to human jealousy. That was all over for the moment through Israel's blind sin; He was going to suffer, not yet reign, at Jerusalem. John is swifter of foot, and comes first to the sepulchre: but Peter has more courage, and goes first into it. They did not see why the two brothers should steal a march on them, even if they were the cousins of Jesus. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money. When they had divided among them the command of the four legions to be formed, the consuls summoned to the capitol, or Campus Martius, all the citizens who, by their age, were obliged to bear arms. vi. (Matthew 20:11-15) The complaint of the early workers. This made it to be plainly and only a difficulty for God to solve. The fact is, beloved brethren, there is but one Jesus; and whoever it may be, whether John the Baptist, or the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, after all it is divinely-given faith which alone sustains: else man has to learn painfully somewhat of himself; and what is he to be accounted of? 20:1-16 The direct object of this parable seems to be, to show that though the Jews were first called into the vineyard, at length the gospel should be preached to the Gentiles, and they should be admitted to equal privileges and advantages with the Jews. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.. I am certain that everyone that was afflicted had heard of the fame of Jesus. Matthew 11:1-30, exceedingly critical for Israel, and of surpassing beauty, as it is, must not be passed over without some few words. "So the last will be first, and the first last. Though a testimony to them, still it was in the result a recognition of what Moses commanded. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. If the Gentiles were to be allowed into the fellowship of the Church at all, they must come in as inferiors. Considerable time, it is true, elapsed between the two facts; but this only makes it the more sure and plain, that they are grouped together with a divine purpose. If God shall bless your brother, and make him ten times more useful than you are, then you see that he is blessing you not only blessing him, but you. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary. The "calling" of which the New Testament almost invariably speaks is what divines call effectual calling, carrying with it a supernatural operation on the will to secure its consent. Is it not most sweet to see, that He who proves His divine glory at once associates us with Himself? Poetical Books A daily devotional about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The men who were hired at the eleventh hour who worked only about one hour were obviously elated about being paid first, and being paid for a full day. Please see Blue Letter Bible's Privacy Policy for cookie usage details. If, amid the multitude of Christians, I choose to signalize such men as Paul, and Martyn, and Brainerd, and Spencer, and Summerfield - to appoint some of them to short labor but to wide usefulness, and raise them to signal rewards, I injure not the great multitude of others who live long lives less useful and less rewarded. The crowd commanded them to stop their shouting; they were making a nuisance of themselves. The glory of Christ's person strengthens us, not only to understand His cross, but to take up ours. And the third day He will rise again.. It may well be that we who have been Christian for so long have much to learn from those younger Churches who are late-comers to the fellowship of the faith. Wisdom Literature Chapter 8, which opens the portion that comes before us tonight, is a striking illustration as well as proof of the method which God has been pleased to employ in giving us the apostle Matthew's account of our Lord Jesus. The world will respect, and admire, and sometimes fear, the man of power; but it will love the man of love. THE MASTER SEEKS HIS WORKERS ( Matthew 20:1-16 ), 20:1-16 "For the situation in the Kingdom of Heaven is like what happened when a householder went out first thing in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18We are going up to Jerusalem,(C) and the Son of Man(D) will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. Wretched we, that we should need such proof of it; wretched, that we should be so slow of heart to answer to it, or even to feel its immensity! But, from first to last, what a trial of spirit, and what triumph! The world counts them great. Second, the parable of the laborers in the vineyard is about the first and the last. We are dependent, therefore, for determining this case, on the fact that Mark does habitually adhere to the chain of events. Jesus said that among the Gentiles there is this desire to exercise lordship and dominion over people. a. c. Lord, Son of David: However, in their desperation they glorified Jesus. In Matthew 17:1-27 another scene appears, promised in part to some standing there in Matthew 16:28, and connected, though as yet hiddenly, with the cross. Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Many people are in the ministry for what they can receive (either materially or emotionally) from their people instead of for what they can give. Apply to the Son of David; lose not a moment; he is passing by, and thou art passing into eternity, and probably wilt never have a more favourable opportunity than the present. It was after our Lord had called the twelve, and ordained them not after He had sent them forth, but after He had appointed them apostles that the Lord comes down to a plateau upon the mountain, instead of remaining upon the more elevated parts where He had been before. Mary Magdalene is named in all the lists; Mary the mother of James and Joses must be the same person as Mary the wife of Clopas; therefore the third woman is described in three different ways. "This [fellow]," etc. In heaven, every vessel will be full, brimful, though every vessel is not alike large and capacious. He would not even claim the right to choose how His servants were rewarded, but yield that to His Father. Hugh Martin reminds us that a great teacher used to say that the saddest words in all Shakespeare's plays are the words: "Othello's occupation's gone." Note: MLA no longer requires the URL as part of their citation standard. The point is that God rewards on the principle of grace, and we should therefore expect surprises. It should also encourage us in reference to the hardships and difficulties of our work, that it is but for a day; the approaching shadow, which the servant earnestly desireth, will bring with it both rest, and the reward of our work,Job 7:2. They said, "Lord, if we could just see." They have treated the Bible either with levity, or as too awful a book to be apprehended really; not with the reverence of faith, which waits on Him, and fails not in due time to understand His word. Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first: These are day laborers, so they are paid at the end of each day. Origen said it was the devil; Gregory of Nyssa objected that this put the devil on the same level as God, and allowed the devil to dictate terms to God. and a sinking ship are serious difficulties to a man. What care we for those who curse and blaspheme? Even at such a time that was not the end of his words, for he finished with the confident assertion of the Resurrection. He makes some more useful than others, without regard to the time which they serve, and he will reward them accordingly. They did not know that Jesus could have made the same promise of suffering to come to any of them (if they really wanted it!). Humble service is the great prerequisite, as shown by Jesus own ministry. His assessment is quite simply--how many people has he helped? Now we see Jesus leaving Jericho, a great multitude of people thronging around Him, and these two blind men hearing the multitude passing by, and observing all of the bustle and activities saying, "what's going on, what's happening?" They must still continue to endure the scourge of crime they could never expiate. Usually they hated and despised them, and hoped for nothing but their destruction. If it be so, it is surely a ground of thankfulness to God; for it turns a stumbling-block into an evidence of the perfection of Scripture. GO GO GO! Jesus thought about how He would fulfill the will of His Father in the future. A man is not a Christian if his first concern is pay. Now Paul the apostle as he is talking to the Corinthian Church about their abuse of the Love feast, where they were remembering the broken body of Jesus and His blood that was shed for our sins, Paul said, "that which I received from the Lord, I delivered also unto you. First, Some are effectually called, and begin to work in the vineyard when they are very young; are sent in early in the morning, whose tender years are seasoned with grace, and the remembrance of their Creator. The New Testament A complete new set of values has been brought into life. But that cannot be the meaning of it here; the "called" being emphatically distinguished from the "chosen." woe unto thee, Bethsaida! Anyone who took this parable as a practical basis for employment would soon be out of business." The system of law is easy to figure out: you get what you deserve. Faithful labourers shall receive their reward when they die; it is deferred till then, that they may wait with patience for it, but no longer; for God will observe his own rule, The hire of the labourers shall not abide with thee all night, until the morning. Work for God will not admit of trifling. To where they exercised such dominion and authority and lordship over people, that they inserted themselves between the people and God. Why are they postponed here? As we have seen, the pay was 4 pence a day; and, if they were unemployed for one day, the children would go hungry at home, for no man ever saved much out of 4 pence a day. He was then present, a man despised, yet with title to forgive sins, proved by immediate power to heal. "Thank the Lord, my rock, who trained my hands to fight and my fingers to do battle, my merciful one, my fortress, my stronghold, and my savior, my". Didst not thou agree to take God's word for it? And so they were actually thinking evil, because of His good. i. The scourging was an extremely painful experience. And now as they depart from Jericho. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation. His wounds are those which he receives in the house of his friend. (Spurgeon). Historical Books He promised to pay all the later workers fairly. But the single eye of Jesus at once detects the snare of Satan into which natural thought led, or at least exposed, Peter to fall. Ransom was most commonly used as the purchase price for freeing slaves. (Carson) Lytron (ransom) and the preposition anti (for, literally instead of) point clearly to the idea of his taking our place. (France), ii. Thus, in the scene of the leper, we have Jesus presented as "Jehovah that healeth Israel," as man here below, and in Jewish relationships, still maintaining the law. Higher proportionate rewards shall be given to them than to others. You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: Both James and John had to be baptized in suffering as Jesus was, but their cups and baptisms were different. Jesus gives the parable of the laborers in the vineyardHe foretells His crucifixion and resurrectionHe came to give His life as a ransom for many. This parable does not teach that God will reward all His disciples equally.