9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. The Old Testament But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. He takes accordingly the title of the "Son of man" for the first time in this gospel. 2. Pauline Epistles If we turn toMark 1:1-45; Mark 1:1-45, the proof of what I have said will appear as to the leper. "Reversal!" Matthew 20:16 (What Jesus Did!) - Heartlight iv. 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. Observe. Succa, fol. Then shalt thou call, saith the good and faithful servant, and I will answer. Note, First, The church is God's vineyard; it is of his planting, watering, and fencing; and the fruits of it must be to his honour and praise. iii. Prophets Pentateuch "And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed Him, crying and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us." Inattention to this has perplexed many. "So the last will be first, and the first last. 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. 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. In Matthew 13:1-58 we have the well-known sketch of these new ways of God. And he said unto them, You shall indeed drink of my cup ( Matthew 20:23 ). Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. b. This utter, growing rejection of Jesus was coming out now rejection, at first allowed and whispered in the heart, soon to be pronounced in words like drawn swords. He has His rejection before His eyes, as well as the presumptuous unbelief of this sordid, and self-confident, would-be follower. Jesus summed up his whole life in one poignant sentence: "The Son of Man came to give his life a ransom for many." Email / username or password was incorrect! Historical Books Jerusalem's proud, traditional hypocrisy is exposed, and grace fully blesses the tried Gentile. Sign up now for the latest news and deals from Bible Gateway! i. [2.] We have here not only our Lord's ministry in the first parable, but in the second parable that which He does by His servants. About five o'clock in the evening he went out and found others standing there, and said to them, 'Why are you standing here the whole day idle?' It is incontestably true, that God can do no wrong. i. O Lord God, your grace to me is marvelous. "I am certain that there is much about the scourging about Jesus that we do not fully understand. 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. So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. It is the end of the account of Jesus itinerant ministry, and its setting as they went out of Jericho points forward to the next town on the road, Jerusalem. (France). So our goal as disciples is to value things now as God does. 4 He told them, 'You also go and work in my . "That ye may know it (then saith He to the sick of the palsy), Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thy house." As it has been put, this parable states implicitly two great truths which are the very charter of the working man--the right of every man to work and the right of every man to a living wage for his work. It is a picture of what was about to take place when the Lord Jesus, quitting Israel and the earth, ascends on high, and all assumes another form not the reign upon earth, but intercession in heaven. 3. Matthew 20:16New International Version. His reply came in stages. This gives an opportunity to teach what truly defiles not things that go into the man, but those things which, proceeding out of the mouth, come forth from the heart. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you . The landowner did exactly as promised, but their supposition of more pay than promised was disappointed. They did not see why they should be allowed to stake their claims to preeminence. "If you really want to be great in the kingdom of God, learn to be the servant of all. It adds to the reason for this interpretation, that Christ was conversing about the rewards that should be given to his followers, and not about the numbers that should be called, or about the doctrine of election. 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. a. An evil eye was a phrase in use, among the ancient Jews, to denote an envious, covetous man or disposition; a man who repined at his neighbours prosperity, loved his own money, and would do nothing in the way of charity for Gods sake. (Clarke). That was a test of his faith. Wisdom Literature A few I have chosen for higher stations in the church. The aggravation of it; "It is because I am good." He calls him friend, for in reasoning with others we should use soft words and hard arguments; if our inferiors are peevish and provoking, yet we should not thereby be put into a passion, but speak calmly to them. However imperfect it may be, if faith is there, Jesus accepts it. "Lord, save us; we perish," cried they, as they awoke Him; and He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea. They're on the way to Jerusalem; they've come down the Jordan Valley. He tells him that those he envied should fare as well as he did; "I will give unto this last, even as unto thee; I am resolved I will." He healed, and bore its burden on His heart before God, as truly as He took it away from men. To the end the events are put together, just as in Matthew 8:1-34, without regard to the point of time when they occurred. Many a man in this world, who has earned great rewards, will have a very low place in the Kingdom because rewards were his sole thought. 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. The spirit, as well as the form, was alien. Rudolf Bultmann writes: "In the Cross of Christ Jewish standards of judgment and human notions of the splendour of the Messiah are shattered." [2.] 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. Thus He points out the utter moral incongruity of fasting at that moment, and intimates that it was not merely the fact that He was going to be rejected, but that to conciliate His teaching and His will with the old thing was hopeless. is written by Phil Ware and is available in book form. These blind men received their sight from Jesus, and then they gave to him their grateful loyalty. People simply do not and cannot MERIT salvation. Jesus stood and called them. Reject Him as the Messiah; in that rejection the moral glory of the Son of man would be laid as the foundation of His exaltation and manifestation another day; He was Lord of the Sabbath-day. "Of whom do the kings of the earth take custom? Luke, too, tells how Jesus took the disciples to himself alone that he might try to compel them to understand what lay ahead ( Luke 18:31-34). Counting from 6 a.m. therefore, the third hour is 9 a.m., the sixth hour is twelve midday, and the eleventh hour is 5 p.m. iii. Secondly, We are all called upon to be labourers in this vineyard. 22 But Jesus answered by saying to . 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. It may indeed have had a comparatively limited application when it was spoken for the first time; but it contains truth which goes to the very heart of the Christian religion. 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. i. Matthew 20:16 New International Version 16 "So the last will be first, and the first will be last." Read full chapter Matthew 20:16 in all English translations Matthew 19 Matthew 21 New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. Please see Blue Letter Bible's Privacy Policy for cookie usage details. Parents, and the disciples, like the Pharisees, were shown that grace, just because it is the expression of what God is to a ruined world, takes notice of what man in his own imaginary dignity might count altogether petty. He was not taken by surprise; He knew it from the beginning Man's implacable hatred is brought about most manifestly in the ways and spirit of His rejectors. [1.] Prophets If the harvest was not ingathered before the rains broke, then it was ruined; and so to get the harvest in was a frantic race against time. Now the parable: A landowner went out early in the morning (6 am) to hire laborers for his vineyard. The pattern is the Son of man saving the lost. No word whatever implies that the cleansing of the leper happened at that time. Yet is He the Son of man who hath power on earth to forgive sins; and He uses His authority. 1. Nonetheless God had the right to give just as great reward to those whose service was not as long. The Lord was in Capernaum, where Peter lived; and on a certain Sabbath-day, after the call of Peter, wrought in the synagogue mighty deeds, which are here recorded, and by Luke also. A verification email has been sent to the address you provided. He stood in the driving rain to preach, coughing all the time. It does not say, that " then there came a leper," or " immediately there came a leper." Accordingly, notice that, in the manner in which the Holy Ghost introduces it, there is no statement of time whatever. c. They likewise received a denarius: Yet the men hired first early in the day, and who had worked all day got paid exactly what the landowner had promised them (a denarius a day, Matthew 20:2). That the same night that in which Jesus was betrayed, He took bread, and when He had broken it, He said, take eat this is my body which is broken for you. But still, it was His carrying on the great process of shewing out more and more the total rejection of His rejectors. It is not enough that Israel be awakened from the sleep of death, and see aright. This sets forth not at all the way in which the Christian stands related to Christ; for even though we had known Him after the flesh, henceforth know we Him no more. There must be the mouth to praise the Lord, and speak of the glorious honour of His majesty, as well as eyes to wait on Him. Jesus came to give his life a ransom for many. "Behold my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased." When they heard that Jesus was passing by: They knew this might be their last time to meet Jesus. a. 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.