They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' 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, . He had brought out the kingdom before in view of that which betrayed to Him the unpardonable blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. Even at such a time that was not the end of his words, for he finished with the confident assertion of the Resurrection. Outwardly it was a condition of comparative cleanness. Take that which is yours, and go your way: and I will give unto this last even as unto thee. Then the pitiable condition of the disciples at the foot of the hill, where Satan reigned in fallen ruined man, is tested by the fact, that notwithstanding all the glory of Jesus, Son of God and Son of man, the disciples rendered it evident that they knew not how to bring His grace into action for others; yet was it precisely their place and proper function here below. Zion may say of the Lord who laboured in vain, whom the nation abhorred, "The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me." What Jesus Did! 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. Who but God could heal? I am going to be betrayed. 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. Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. Finally, we have all wound up, after the going forth of a testimony which was truly universal in its scope, by the judicial severance at the close, when it is not only the good put into vessels, but the bad dealt with by the due instruments of the power of God. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Matthew 19:1-30 brings in another lesson of great weight. Here we see the worldly ambition of the disciples in action. The same indifference to the mere sequence of events is found occasionally in other parts of the gospel; but I have purposely dwelt upon this chapter 8, because here we have it throughout, and at the same time with evidence exceedingly simple and convincing. "Then," said the Lord, "are the children free. (iii) These are the original lessons of this parable, but it has very much more to say to us. At the great day, though the dead in Christ shall rise first, yet they which are alive and remain, on whom the ends of the world (the eleventh hour of its day) comes, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds; no preference shall be given to seniority, but every man shall stand in his own lot at the end of the days. The doctor who will come out at any time of the day or night to serve and save his patients; the parson who is always on the road amongst his people; the employer who takes an active interest in the lives and troubles of his employees; the person to whom we can go and never be made to feel a nuisance--these are the people whom all men love, and in whom instinctively they see Jesus Christ. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with what is my own? Next, the storm follows. I merely indicate by the way how the thorough increasing rejection of the Lord Jesus in His lower glory has but the effect of bringing out the revelation of His higher. The two blind men called upon Him as the Son of David; a sample this of what will be in the end, when the heart of Israel turns to the Lord, and the veil is done away. Note, There is a great proneness in us to think that we have too little, and other too much, of the tokens of God's favour; and that we do too much, and others too little, in the work of God. And he said unto them, You shall indeed drink of my cup ( Matthew 20:23 ). 13. And when the devil was come out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel." A few I have chosen for higher stations in the church. Here is the account with the labourers. Minor Prophets a. Secondly, the prophecy of Psalms declared, "not a bone of Him shall be broken"( Psalms 34:20 ). To me it is evident, from a careful comparison of them all, as I think it is capable of clear and adequate proof to an unprejudiced Christian mind, that neither Matthew nor Luke confines himself to such an order of events. The grace of God does not give us more blessing than we deserve it gives blessing to us completely apart from the principle of deserving. Now these last have worked but one hour, and that too in the cool of the day; and yet thou hast made them equal with us. Historical Books Would he go back on his point of no return? Whether you love to hike, bike, paddle or simply chase waterfalls, we have an Adventure Challenge for you! This attitude threatened to be carried forward into the Christian Church. 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? But at the end, when His disciples are in the extremity of trouble, in the midst of the sea, the Lord walks on the sea toward them, and bids them not fear; for they were troubled and afraid. There is no greater mistake than to suppose, because there is the richest development of God's grace in new things, that He abandons or weakens natural relationships and authority in their place. 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. What are they hired to do? He makes some more useful than others, without regard to the time which they serve, and he will reward them accordingly. Heartlight Provides Positive Resources for Daily Christian Living. Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David! He said, "Call those fellows to me." Observe. So the last shall be first, and the first last. Descending then upon the plateau, He delivered what is commonly called the Sermon on the Mount. And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 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. But he answered one of them and said, Friend, I am doing you no wrong. They that come from the east and west, and so come in late, that are picked up out of the highways and the hedges, shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, at the same feast, Matthew 7:11; Matthew 7:11. 16So the last will be first, and the first will be last.(A), 17Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. Pauline Epistles 111. The woman of Canaan, out of the borders of Tyre and Sidon, appeals to Him; a Gentile of most ominous name and belongings a Gentile whose case was desperate; for she appeals on behalf of her daughter, grievously vexed with a devil. To drink the cup simply means to follow Christ wherever he may lead, and to be like him in any situation life may bring. He also gives Peter the keys of the kingdom, as we see afterwards. 1 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 97. New International Version (NIV). Jesus laces this point throughout the parable. In a sense, everybody is called to recognize God through the natural world, but the word "chosen" shows that God must personally rescue us from our self-centered blindness. a. It is simply designed to teach that in the church, among the multitudes who will be saved, Christ makes a difference. It was cruel, cutting, cursed scorn. (Spurgeon), v. And to crucify: Crucifixion was not the only way criminals were executed under the Romans, yet Jesus knew that this was how He would be put to death. i. Unfortunately, they have missed the blessing of knowing God, and serving God all their lives. This, of course, is not the moment to unfold it. It is a very significant story, for it paints a picture of the spirit and of the attitude of mind and heart to which the most precious gifts of God are open. Our Lord then answers, with perfect dignity, as well as grace; He puts before the disciples of John the real state of the case; He furnishes them with plain, positive facts, that could leave nothing to be desired by John's mind when he weighed all as a testimony from God. When they get to Jerusalem, those culminating events of the life of Jesus are going to take place. It is all of grace and not of debt; nor does that exclude obedience. On the evening of the day when He delivered the seven parables given in Matthew 13:1-58. Pentateuch They worked in the heat of the day while others shaded themselves. Whence they are hired? Yet it shall not be so among you: Their desire for position and status showed they did not yet know the nature of Jesus in respect to leadership and power. We need not dwell upon it. (1.) I'll be turned over to the chief priests. Their expectation was so focused on Jesus establishing an immediate political kingdom, and these words from Jesus were so contrary to that anticipation, these words just went over their heads. He, on the contrary, insists not only that He was bound for the cross, but that its truth must be made good in any who will come after Him. Minor Prophets Men were in the grip of a power of evil which they could not break; their sins dragged them down; their sins separated them from God; their sins wrecked life for themselves and for the world and for God himself. Imagine a slave being given leadership! (Carson). On the other hand, by far the greater weight of tradition goes to show that John lived to a great old age in Ephesus and died a natural death when he must have been close on a hundred years old. Having left Nazareth, as we saw, He takes up His abode in Capernaum, which was henceforth "His own city." It is not the amount of service given, but the love in which it is given which matters. No word whatever implies that the cleansing of the leper happened at that time. So we have a farther scene. The slum dwellers of Tokyo laughed at him, but they came to respect him. Then Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and he said unto them, [now He is on the way, there is probably great multitudes, but He takes the twelve apart] He said, Behold, we are going 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, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him and the third day he shall rise again ( Matthew 20:17-19 ). And the multitude around them said, "Shut up, hold your peace." It was going on, then, to the bitter end, and surely not without such suffering and sorrow as holy, unselfish, obedient love alone can know. The fact of two without the personal details would not powerfully tell upon mere Gentiles perhaps, though to a Jew it might be for some ends necessary. And Jesus tells him, "Look no one has left anything, but what in this life he get a hundredfold, and in the life to come, eternal life"( Matthew 19:29 ). Why are they postponed here? Bishop PEARCE thinks it is an interpolation from Matthew 22:14. They shall enter heaven, as was promised. So the last will be first, and the first last: Peter and the disciples knew they had given up a great deal to follow Jesus. We have here. Had she not such confusion of thought that, if the Lord had heeded her words, it must have been destruction to her? God had given his soul a deeper, fuller sight of Christ; for the Gentile's words prove that he had apprehended God in the man who was healing at that moment all sickness and disease in Galilee. 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. But this may be, and commonly is, applied to the several ages of life, in which souls are converted to Christ. Now this seems to be the principal scope of this parable, to show that the Jews should be first called into the vineyard, and many of them should come at the call; but, at length, the gospel should be preached to the Gentiles, and they should receive it, and be admitted to equal privileges and advantages with the Jews; should be fellow-citizens with the saints, which the Jews, even those of them that believed, would be very much disgusted at, but without reason. There is simply the great, tremendous truth that without Jesus Christ and his life of service and his death of love, we could never have found our way back to the love of God. get to know the Bible better! i. Paul was as one born out of due time, yet came not behind the chiefest of the apostles, and outdid those that were in Christ before him. In the kingdom so much the less sparing is the retribution of those who despise or abuse grace. Jesus emphasized that both the calling and the choosing of God is based on His grace especially His choosing. For him the cup was the constant discipline and struggle of the Christian life throughout the years. The question fairly arises, Why it is that the Holy Ghost has been pleased so remarkably to leave time out of the question in this chapter, as well as in the next? Successful service to God is the gift of His grace. And someone said, "Jesus is going by." Here, too, these Pharisees question and reproach His grace, when they see the Lord sitting at ease in the presence of publicans and sinners, who came and sat down with Him in Matthew's house. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Select a Beginning Point The highest creature must go away into nothing, if he must go away with that only which is his own: but if we understand it of that which is ours by gift, the free gift of God, it teaches us to be content with such things as we have. A man is not a Christian if his first concern is pay. It is probable that James and John were closely related to Jesus. By proceeding, you consent to our cookie usage. And as they stood there with those clouds over their eyes, Jesus said, "What do you want?" Going back just a little bit further, Peter had said to Jesus, "Lord, we have left all to follow thee"( Matthew 19:27 ). But Jesus called them unto him, and he said, You know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. So the last shall be first, and the first last,. As he had asserted in Matthew 19:30 and which is clearly illustrated by this parable, as it may be applied to Jews or Gentiles, or to nominal and real Christians: for many be called; externally, under the ministration of the Gospel, as the Jews in general were, by Christ and his apostles; but, few chosen; in Christ from all eternity, both to grace and glory; and in consequence, and as an evidence of it, but few among the Jews; as also in the Gentile world, comparatively speaking: and even but a few of those that are outwardly called, are inwardly and effectually called by the powerful grace of God, out of darkness into marvellous light, into the grace and liberty of the Gospel, into communion with Christ, and to the obtaining his kingdom and glory, according to the eternal purpose of God. [Note: Wiersbe, 1:73.]. He does not now compare the Jews to the Gentiles, (as in another passages) nor the reprobate, who swerve from the faith, to the elect who persevere; and therefore the sentence which is introduced by some interpreters, many are called, but few are chosen, does not apply to that point. So, on the other hand, the centurion sets forth with no less aptness the characteristic faith that suits the Gentile, in a simplicity which looks for nothing but the word of His mouth, is perfectly content with it, knows that, whatever the disease may be, He has only to speak the word, and it is done according to His divine will. The payment shall not be wholly deferred till the morning of the resurrection; but then, in the evening of the world, will be the general account, when every one shall receive according to the things done in the body. Usually they hated and despised them, and hoped for nothing but their destruction. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard . Thus, whatever the peculiarity of the new blessings, the old thing could be taken up, though upon new grounds, and, of course, on the confession that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. What Does It Really Mean That Your Body Is a Temple? Verse Matthew 20:16. It tells us of their ambition. The work of religion is vineyard-work, pruning, dressing, digging, watering, fencing, weeding. Nicodemus may be born again when he is old, and the old man may be put off, which is corrupt. Matthew did not wish to show James and John guilty of worldly ambition, and so he puts the request into the mouth of their mother rather than of themselves. 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. That scourging was for you. Work for God will not admit of trifling. How little they had learnt the divine lesson of grace, not ordinances! I can't wait until you send Jesus with power and show things as they should be and reward people based on their character, their hearts, their gratitude for your grace, and their service.
Matthew 20:16 - Bible Verse Meaning and Commentary - Bible Study Tools Yet He confidently announced to His disciples that this would happen. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Select an Ending Point They could probably tell the direction in the flow, the crowd, which direction He was, but they began to cry out to Jesus. The parable teaches one truth, and but one; and where Jesus has explained it, we have no right to add to it, and say that it teaches anything else. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. To convince the murmurer that he did no wrong, he refers him to the bargain: "Didst not thou agree with me for a penny? I have endeavoured, though, of course, cursorily, and I feel most imperfectly, to give thus far Matthew's sketch of the Saviour as the Holy Ghost enabled him to execute it. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? God hires labourers, not because he needs them or their services (for, if we be righteous, what do we unto him? At several stages through the day he hired additional workers, then at the end of the day paid them their wages (Matthew 20:3-8). For this challenge, you'll need dinner at home and two nerf guns. After Paul had preached on Mars Hill, there were those who said, "We will hear you again about this" ( Acts 17:32). Matthew 20:16-20 New International Version 16 "So the last will be first, and the first will be last." Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time 17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. But here pardon dispensed on earth arouses the pride of the religious leaders to the quick, and implacably. "Suffer me first," he says, "to go and bury my father." a. Many a man, who, as the world counts it, is a poor man, will be great in the Kingdom, because he never thought in terms of reward but worked for the thrill of working and for the joy of serving. That was a test of his faith. What shall be their wages? He realizes he offers nothing special to the Master, and the skills he has are but gifts from the Master. a. In this laying aside of authority, he gives a silent rebuke to our self-seeking. (Spurgeon). It probably was no more than a grave though passing difficulty, which he desired to have cleared up with all fulness for their sakes, as well as his own.
Matthew 20:16 ESV - So the last will be first, and the - Bible Gateway It was with this declaration that the parable began and ended. And then Paul warned the Corinthians about the manner in which they did partake of the Lord's supper. Jesus came to give his life a ransom for many. But the master well knew that 4p a day was no great wage; he well knew that, if a workman went home with less, there would be a worried wife and hungry children; and therefore he went beyond justice and gave them more than was their due. 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. Examine the Scripture, and you will see for yourselves. 13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Of course, there is often the order of time, but through the central part, and not infrequently elsewhere, his setting forth in order turns on another principle, quite independent of mere succession of events. Your partnership makes all we do possible. The householder had every right to have cut them off with a trifle instead of a whole day's pay. Henceforth, too, He forbids the disciples to proclaim Him as the Messiah. Note, First, The soul of man stands ready to be hired into some service or other; it was (as all the creatures were) created to work, and is either a servant to iniquity, or a servant to righteousness,Romans 6:19. Nevertheless, His ear was open to the call on behalf of Israel perishing, dying, dead. 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. It is worth stopping to see what the crude hands of theology have done with that lovely saying. Gregory the Great took the picture to even more grotesque, almost revolting, lengths. But this, though perhaps legitimate enough as an application of the parable, is clearly secondary and subordinate, and must not be allowed to obscure its primary intention. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. It is not for such depending creatures as we are to quarrel with our Sovereign. There is no note of the time when he came, but simply the fact that he did come. But yet people who have been faithful to that service, to which God has employed them, whether it be intercessory closet prayer that nobody knows anything about, and I think when we get to heaven we are going to be surprised when we see those who are sitting on the front row. Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem: This was not a surprise to the disciples. There is hope for old sinners; for if, in sincerity, they turn to God, they shall doubtless be accepted; true repentance is never too late. Such people resent what seems to them the intrusion of new blood or the rise of a new generation with different plans and different ways. That they might possibly be outstripped by their successors in profession, and, though they were before others in profession, might be found inferior to them in knowledge, grace, and holiness. For many are called, but few chosen.. And he said, "If a person eats or drinks in an unworthy manner, he is eating and drinking damnation to his own soul"( 1 Corinthians 11:26 ). It was a scorned Messiah who, when rejected of His own people, Israel, turned to the Gentiles by the will of God: it was One who could look upon publicans and sinners anywhere. They said, "Lord, if we could just see." It is a saying of R. Simeon ben Jochai F4. May we not go even further with this thought of comfort? That they might mock me, scourge me, and crucify me, but I will rise again on the third day.Now again whenever Jesus talked to His disciples about His death, this thought was so repulsive to them, their minds just turned off, and they never heard, "I am going to rise again on the third day." Subsequently to that, the scribe offered to follow Jesus whithersoever He went. And, look you, two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted out, "Lord, have pity on us, you Son of David!" And he went out about the third hour: The third hour was about 9:00 a.m.; the sixth hour was about 12 noon; the eleventh hour was about 5:00 in the evening. d T. Hieros. 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.