To lose all for heavenly treasure, to come and follow the despised Nazarene here below what was it to compare with that which had brought Jesus to earth? Then follows another incident, which equally proves that the Spirit of God is not here reciting the facts in their natural succession; for it is assuredly not at this moment historically that the Lord goes into the house of Peter, sees there his wife's mother laid sick of a fever, touches her hand, and raises her up, so that she ministers unto them at once. 20:17-19 As he was going up to Jerusalem, Jesus took the twelve disciples apart, and said to them, while they were on the road, "Look you, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the Scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and they will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify; and on the third day he will be raised.". b. First, it sheds a light on the disciples. After Paul had preached on Mars Hill, there were those who said, "We will hear you again about this" ( Acts 17:32). [5.] And so they didn't really remember that He said He was going to rise the third day, until after the resurrection. If there were, so to speak, a justification of circumcision by faith, undoubtedly there was also the justification of uncircumcision through their faith. Isaiah prophesied the fact that He would be scourged, but in prophesying the fact, Isaiah tells us the reason. Let none suppose that, in giving my own convictions, I have the presumptuous thought of putting these forward as if they were the sole motives in God's mind. Therefore He could not have any broken bones. And yet the true faithful saints of God, who have been obedient to the bidding of the Lord to go into the vineyard, and no matter what place, what time, it is their faithfulness to the call of God in going for which God makes the reward.In fact, I do believe that many times those who have been called to a more prominent ministry will actually receive a much lesser reward because we get so much reward now. Succa, fol. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he . Blue Letter Bible study tools make reading, searching and studying the Bible easy and rewarding. They couldn't see Him. Well, then, to whom was the ransom paid?" Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the. And He prophesied so accurately the things.First of all, He is going to be betrayed. This came out most blessedly through the disciples. And as they departed from Jericho ( Matthew 20:29 ). All through their history the Jews had dreamed of the Messiah; but the Messiah of whom they had dreamed was always a conquering king, a mighty leader, one who would smash the enemies of Israel and reign in power over the kingdoms of the earth. He often fell down exhausted, and the rough men of the slums carried him gently back to his hut. I will obey to the end.. 9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 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. On the other side of the picture, behold the Lord leading on a soul to draw on divine grace in the most glorious manner. Next day he was back for Kagawa's coat and trousers, and got them too. He would not even claim the right to choose how His servants were rewarded, but yield that to His Father. The first of these lessons is, "Many first shall be last, and last first." In immediate juxtaposition to this stands the Gentile centurion, who seeks healing for his servant. Gregory of Nyssa saw the glaring fault in that theory. 4 He told them, 'You also go and work in my . Particular epochs in Luke are noted with great care; but, speaking now of the general course of the Lord's life, a little attention will discover, from the immensely greater preponderance paid to the consideration of time in the second gospel, that there we have events from first to last given to us in their consecutive order. The hours in the parable were the normal Jewish hours. She replied, "In your Kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.". (v) These two blind men were grateful. The ones who labored only an hour did not deserve their pay either. 3. a. At the close of this chapter 9, in His deep compassion He bids the disciples pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth labourers into His harvest. What instrument so suitable? 13. . To labour in his vineyard. No request is too great to bring to Jesus. We have the natural tie here brought into prominence; and this was a claim that Christ slighted not. His wounds are those which he receives in the house of his friend. (Spurgeon). Help us purchase electrical generators for churches. It is worth stopping to see what the crude hands of theology have done with that lovely saying. They must still continue to endure the scourge of crime they could never expiate. Whatever is right I will give you whatever is right you will receive: The landowner promised the earliest workers a days wage (a denarius a day). They did not see why they should be allowed to stake their claims to preeminence. ii. He was quite clear that there was a bitter cup to be drunk and did not hesitate to say so. The promise of Matthew 19:28 forms the background to this request; the thrones are already assured, leaving only the question of precedence. (France). What the account was; and in that observe. Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. Follow Christ's journey to the Cross. John the Baptist was sanctified from the womb, and therefore great (Luke 1:15); Timothy from a child (2 Timothy 3:15); Obadiah feared the Lord from his youth. Major Prophets He's being despised and rejected. But I see no sufficient reason to refuse the impression that John found it hard to reconcile his continued imprisonment with a present Messiah; nor do I discern a sound judgment of the case, or a profound knowledge of the heart, in those who thus raise doubts as to John's sincerity, any more than they appear to me to exalt the character of this honoured man of God, by supposing him to play a part which really belonged to others. The Saviour, while He puts forth His hand, touching him as man, and yet as none but Jehovah might dare to do, dispels the hopeless disease at once. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? 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. See here. ), NIV, Story of Jesus: Experience the Life of Jesus as One Seamless Story, NIV, The Woman's Study Bible, Full-Color, Red Letter: Receiving God's Truth for Balance, Hope, and Transformation, NIV, Beautiful Word Bible Journal, Revelation, Paperback, Comfort Print, NIV, Verse Mapping Bible, Comfort Print: Find Connections in Scripture Using a Unique 5-Step Process, NIV, Beautiful Word Bible Journal, Galatians, Paperback, Comfort Print, NIV, The Story, Hardcover, Comfort Print: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People. 33), it is added, "And with many such parables spake He the word unto them . But the Lord could not send her away without a blessing, and without a blessing reaching to His own glory. WORK AND WAGES IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD ( Matthew 20:1-16 continued). i. It is as if Jesus said to them, "You have received the great privilege of coming into the Christian Church and fellowship very early, right at the beginning. 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. They looked for the raging Lion of Judah; they received the gentle Lamb of God. There are people who think that, because they have been members of a Church for a long time, the Church practically belongs to them and they can dictate its policy. Lastly, we have the Lord rebuking the ambition not only of the sons of Zebedee, but in truth also of the ten; for why was there such warmth of indignation against the two brethren? [1.] No doubt the first verse says, that "when He was come down from the mount, great multitudes followed Him;" but then the second verse gives no intimation that the subject which follows is to be taken as chronologically subsequent. "They that are first shall be last, and they that are last shall be first"( Matthew 19:30 ). This parable may sound to us as if it described a purely imaginary situation, but that is far from being the case. Such was and is man. "Can a woman forget her sucking child? 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). Thus the point that meets us in the conclusion of the chapter is, that while every character, every measure of giving up for His name's sake, will meet with the most worthy recompence and result, man can as little judge of this as he can accomplish salvation. In Matthew 14:1-36 facts are narrated which manifest the great change of dispensation that the Lord, in setting forth the parables we have just noticed, had been preparing them for. There will be differences at the close. Major Prophets ii. They worked in the heat of the day while others shaded themselves. Now, it was an established principle, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word should be established. The bodily presence of the Messiah was not needed. God is the great Householder, whose we are, and whom we serve; as a householder, he has work that he will have to be done, and servants that he will have to be doing; he has a great family in heaven and earth, which is named from Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:15), which he is Owner and Ruler of. It is a just prefiguration of what will be in the close of the age the mass of the unbelieving Jews, now impure, but then also given up to the devil, and so to evident perdition. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him. 14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. ii. Judas one of the twelve, who is listening to Him, will be the one who betrays Him. "Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof" He had only to say in a word, and his servant should be healed. 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 comes to do not his own will, but the will of him that sent him, and so he correctly says of rank in his kingdom, It is not mine to give. New International Version (NIV). The Old Testament Some make it a caution to the disciples, who had boasted of their timely and zealous embracing of Christ; they had left all, to follow him; but let them look to it, that they keep up their zeal; let them press forward and persevere; else their good beginnings will avail them little; they that seemed to be first, would be last. The work of religion is vineyard-work, pruning, dressing, digging, watering, fencing, weeding. 2. "This man blasphemeth." [1.] So, when more is added, He says, "All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Thus it is easy to see, that the reason for here putting together the leper and the centurion lies in the Lord's dealing with the Jew, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, in His deep grace working in the Gentile's heart, and forming his faith, as well as answering it, according to His own heart. ", Kagawa himself wrote: "God dwells among the lowliest of men. He makes some more useful than others, without regard to the time which they serve, and he will reward them accordingly. If it was His rejection, these scornful men were themselves rejected in the very act. When we are converted, we become members of Christs living body; and as we grow in grace, and get the true spirit that permeates that body, we shall say, when any member of it is honored, This is honor for usIf any brother shall be greatly honored of God, I feel honored in his honor. 3 "About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. (e) T. Bab. He gives sight to the blind. In this he had laboured, as he said, from his youth up: "What lack I yet?" Thus it is shown that, though we have rich grace to the Gentile, there is the remembrance of natural relationship still. We need not dwell upon it. More and more excellent shall be the children of the desolate than those of the married wife,Isaiah 54:1. Who knows but that the church, in its old age, may be more fat and flourishing than ever, to show that the Lord is upright? To where they exercised such dominion and authority and lordship over people, that they inserted themselves between the people and God. This tested their thoughts of the glory of Jesus. In verse 13 our Lord "goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. Modern disciples of Jesus should view heavenly rewards the same way. We can be assured that God will never, ever be unfair to us, though He may for His own purpose and pleasure bestow greater blessing on someone else who seems less deserving. In the reception of the little children this is plain; it is not so generally seen in what follows. 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. Start FREE. So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him ( Matthew 20:29-34 ). Now what did Jesus mean when He broke the bread and said, "This is my body, broken for you"? The market-place is a place of concourse, and there Wisdom cries (Proverbs 1:20; Proverbs 1:21); it is a place of sport, there the children are playing (Matthew 11:16; Matthew 11:16); and the gospel calls us from vanity to seriousness; it is a place of business, of noise and hurry; and from that we are called to retire. Copyright 2019 by Zondervan. Historical Books So translated into our present day, an average day's wage for a laborer maybe twenty-five dollars or so. (Ken Chumbley, The Gospel of Matthew, commentary, p.#351). Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. The apostles were sent forth at the first and third hour of the gospel day; they had a first and a second mission, while Christ was on earth, and their business was to call in the Jews; after Christ's ascension, about the sixth and ninth hour, they went out again on the same errand, preaching the gospel to the Jews only, to them in Judea first, and afterward to them of the dispersion; but, at length, as it were about the eleventh hour, they called the Gentiles to the same work and privilege with the Jews, and told them that in Christ Jesus there should be no difference made between Jew and Greek. Then the mother of Zebedees sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. on the spot or they will never be taken. They looked at one another, and they tried to fathom where there was no depth, but where the truth lay on the surface. (Spurgeon), vi. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. The pattern is the Son of man saving the lost. All that are chosen from eternity, are effectually called, in the fulness of time (Romans 8:30), so that in making our effectual calling sure we make sure our election (2 Peter 1:10); but it is not so as to the outward call; many are called, and yet refuse (Proverbs 1:24), nay, as they are called to God, so they go from him (Hosea 11:2; Hosea 11:7), by which it appears that they were not chosen, for the election will obtain,Romans 11:7. Take what is yours and go your way. Yet Jesus was confident that He would be delivered to the Gentiles. (iv) These two blind men were not afraid to bring a great request. In the evening multitudes are brought, taking advantage of the power that had so shown itself, publicly in the synagogue, and privately in the house of Peter; and the Lord accomplished the words ofIsaiah 53:4; Isaiah 53:4: "Himself," it is said, "took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses," an oracle we might do well to consider in the limit of its application here. The Challenge Of Following Jesus (8:18-22) The Call Of Matthew (9:9-13) Moved By Compassion (9:35-38) . Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Second, this passage sheds a light upon the Christian life. Now a penny was a denarius and it was just a day's wage, the average day's wage. Rome might at any time have recruited her armies by volunteers from such a mass of well-educated, hardy soldiers but she thought proper, to use the words of the Abbe Mably, that the honour of being chosen to serve in the wars should be the reward of the accomplishments shown by the citizens in the Campus Martius, that the soldier should have a reputation to save; and that the regard paid him, in choosing him to serve, should be the pledge of his fidelity and zeal to discharge his duty. 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. The Christian is a man put upon his honour by Jesus. He didn't come that people might cater to Him and minister to Him, He came to minister to the people's needs. Sometimes a man dies full of years and full of honour, with his day's work ended and his task completed. Yet man, in face of all, is so deceived of the enemy, that he prefers to be left with the demons rather than enjoy the presence of the Deliverer. The point is that God rewards on the principle of grace, and we should therefore expect surprises. Jesus will use this story to answer a question from Matthew 19:27: See, we have left all and followed You. He takes accordingly the title of the "Son of man" for the first time in this gospel. At the beginning of Matthew 10:1-42 He Himself sends forth themselves as labourers. At least we can draw the following applications from it. b. 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). Remember, God doesn't look at us the way this world does. In Matthew 16:1-28 we advance a great step, spite (yea, because) of unbelief, deep and manifest, now on every side. It was the custom in Palestine for a Rabbi to teach as he walked along the road; and no doubt those around Jesus could not hear what Jesus was saying for this clamorous uproar. Take that which is yours, and go your way: and I will give unto this last even as unto thee. Jerusalem's proud, traditional hypocrisy is exposed, and grace fully blesses the tried Gentile. The moment to act goes past; the impulse to decide fades. It means that no matter when a man enters the Kingdom, late or soon, in the first flush of youth, in the strength of the midday, or when the shadows are lengthening, he is equally dear to God. I have endowed them with apostolic gifts or with superior talents, and suited them for wider usefulness. Note, It is good for us often to consider what it was that we agreed with God for. The first came to an agreement with the master; they had a contract; they said, "We work, if you give us so much pay." And He came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them." It was not more truly Christ's kingdom as man than He was God's own Son, His beloved Son, in whom He was well pleased, who was now to be heard, rather than Moses or Elias, who disappear, leaving Jesus alone with the chosen witnesses. In the case of the laborers, those who worked all day did not deserve their pay after having thrown it on the ground. Jesus came to give his life a ransom for many. Pauline Epistles Who hires them? He had no reason to envy his fellow servant, or to grudge at him; or to be angry that he came into the vineyard no sooner; for he was not sooner called; he had no reason to be angry that the master had given him wages for the whole day, when he had idled away the greatest part of it; for Is thine eye evil, because I am good? [2.] (d) T. Hieros. Succa, fol. In Matthew 13:1-58 we have the well-known sketch of these new ways of God. It puts the Devil on a level with God; it means that the Devil could dictate his terms to God, before he would let men go. It is incontestably true, that God can do no wrong. Who could touch the leper save Emmanuel? We have, first, the sower sowing the word. "No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment; for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse." 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. for many be called; externally, under the ministration of the Gospel, as the Jews in general were, by Christ and his apostles; but. conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy They were beggars; but it was not money they asked for, it was nothing less than sight. Peter boasts of leaving "all" to follow Jesus as if this somehow earns him some special reward (19:27). For many be called, but few chosen.The warning is repeated after the parable of the Wedding Feast (Matthew 22:14), and as it stands there in closer relation with the context, that will be the fitting place for dwelling on it. Through this parable Jesus assured Peter and the disciples that they will be rewarded but the principle of many who are first will be last and the last first (Matthew 19:30) meant that God may not reward as man expects even as the parable illustrated. Had there been a single thing good in Israel, their choicest guides would have stood that test. So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. "Behold my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased." (Matthew 20:29-31) Two blind men gain the attention of Jesus. d. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve: Real ministry is done for the benefit of those ministered to, not for the benefit of the minister. This parable is not a perfect illustration of Gods grace, because the principle of working and deserving is involved. "And forthwith when they were come out of the synagogue they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John; but Simon's wife's mother was sick of a fever, and anon they tell Him of her. All of this takes the simple picture Jesus gave too far. "Come, come from this market-place.". Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Not but that there is a counsel in every will of God, and what seems to us to be done arbitrarily, will appear at length to have been done wisely, and for holy ends. Who but God could command not only the waves, but the fish of the sea? It is simply designed to teach that in the church, among the multitudes who will be saved, Christ makes a difference. Here is the story of two men who found their way to a miracle. The Gospels What special mercy and tenderness, not only in the end, but also in the way the Lord deals with Israel! We have each of us our own vineyard to keep, our own soul; and it is God's and to be kept and dressed for him. Compare Luke 17:7; Luke 17:8; Luke 12:37. It is not only the fact that God slighted matters of prescriptive ordinance because of the ruined state of Israel, who rejected His true anointed King, but there was this principle also, that certainly God was not going to bind Himself not to do good where abject need was. Next, the storm follows. 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. It is evident that the bodily presence of the Messiah is the very essence of the former scene, as it ought to be in dealing with the leper, who is a kind of type of what Israel should have been in seeking cleansing at His hands. For this challenge, you'll need dinner at home and two nerf guns. The crowd rebuked them, so that they might be silent. 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. The question was not who or what came in the way; whoever appealed to Him, there He was for them. He promised to pay all the later workers fairly. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you. So they went. He answered one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. The Lord, however, in the same chapter, shows that it was not a question alone of what was to be done, or to be suffered, or is to be by-and-by, but what He was, and is, and never can but be. Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. Hence, the Lord Jesus is here disclosing throughout, that the doom of Israel was pronounced and impending. The sovereign God takes pity on a needy world, and generously gives his salvation to all who accept his offer. She knelt respectfully to ask a favor. 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. 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. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. "That ye may know," He says, "that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins," etc. Notice the flow of the narrative as the . On the evening of the day when He delivered the seven parables given in Matthew 13:1-58. "Our Daily Homily: Matthew-Revelation" Volume 5 (Westwood, New Jersey: Revell, 1966), Poole, Matthew "A Commentary on the Holy Bible" Volume 3 (Matthew-Revelation) (London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1969), Spurgeon, Charles Haddon "Commentary on Matthew: The Gospel of the Kingdom" (London: Passmore and Alabaster, Paternoster Buildings, 1893), Spurgeon, Charles Haddon "The New Park Street Pulpit" Volumes 1-6 and "The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit" Volumes 7-63 (Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications, 1990).