Blessed Paul guarded against this, when, though the chief of the apostles, he owned himself to be nothing, to be less than the least of all saints. 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. A few I have chosen for higher stations in the church. Free Challenge: Mr & Mrs Smith. This is one of the most revealing passages in the New Testament. The Lord admired the faith superior to Israel's, and took that occasion to intimate the casting out of the sons or natural heirs of the kingdom, and the entrance of many from east and west to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of the heavens. "Of whom do the kings of the earth take custom? 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. Accordingly, here we have, first, the Lord judging the wrong thoughts of "Scribes and Pharisees which were of Jerusalem." and who are my brethren?" 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he . The true disciple is motivated by love not lust. Would any man make of the Messiah a mere man and a mere subject of the law given by Moses? The householder had every right to have cut them off with a trifle instead of a whole day's pay. 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. 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. The old people and work then closed in principle, and a new work of God in the kingdom of heaven was disclosed. Is thine eye evil, because I am good? They shall enter heaven, as was promised. 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. In the eighth chapter of Matthew as it tells of them bringing all of their sick and those who were diseased to Jesus, and He healed them, every one, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet saying, "He in His own body bore our sufferings." c. But to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give: Jesus here showed remarkable submission to His Father. A similar principle applies to the little children, who are next introduced; and the same thing is true substantially of natural or moral character here below. 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. The parable of the workers in the vineyard 20:1-16. He tells them that they should not have gone over (or finished) the cities of Israel till the Son of man be come. Succa, fol. 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. but it was far too much for the young man. Possibly the first felt their vanity wounded by being paid after the others. All turns on that which was suitable to such a God, the giver of His own Son. iv. 1. There is an element of human tenderness in this parable. The bodily presence of the Messiah was not needed. The motives of the natural heart are laid bare. He healed, and bore its burden on His heart before God, as truly as He took it away from men. "And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed Him, crying and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us." The grape harvest ripened towards the end of September, and then close on its heels the rains came. Ties him to his bargain (Matthew 20:14; Matthew 20:14); Take that thine is, and go thy way. In this we have another striking illustration of the same principle, because this miracle, in point of fact, was wrought long before the healing of the centurion's servant, or even of the leper. This parable does not teach that God will reward all His disciples equally. Thus He sets forth both the past, the present, and the awful future of Israel, before the day of His own coming from heaven, when there will be not only the return of idolatry, solemn to say, but the full power of Satan associated with it, as we see in Daniel 11:36-39; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17; Revelation 13:11-15. He is not going to lower Himself to a human measure. [6.] They measured Jesus by their own impotence. ", To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient, Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament, The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. To eat with unwashed hands defileth not a man. Therefore it was not a mere simple fact that He banished sickness or infirmity, but He carried them in His spirit before God. BEST VALUE in digital Bible study. The Gentiles, who are newly called in, have as much of the privileges of the kingdom of the Messiah as the Jews have, who have so long been labouring in the vineyard of the Old-Testament church, under the yoke of the ceremonial law, in expectation of that kingdom. They don't understand all of the provision that the Lord has made for them. There was value for Him to look at His coming trial, and to think and say, I will complete what My Father has given Me to do. Beyond the curtain of suffering lay the revelation of glory; beyond the Cross was the Crown; beyond the defeat was triumph; and beyond death was life. And if those who in the last moment come into the kingdom of God, God rewards them, and they receive the reward for their place in the kingdom. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard . A ransom is something paid or given to liberate a man from a situation from which it is impossible to free himself. (Barclay), iii. It was really after the transfiguration recorded in chapter 17 of our gospel. But it was for a land of darkness and sin and death that Jesus came from heaven the Messiah, not according to their thoughts, but the Lord and Saviour, the God-man. 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." Let me passingly notice a very few particulars. What shall be their wages? Have we, spite of superior privileges, such unwavering faith, that we can afford to treat the matter as incredible in John, and therefore only capable of solution in his staggering disciples? A ransom is something paid or given to liberate a man from a situation from which it is impossible for him to free himself. Is it not most sweet to see, that He who proves His divine glory at once associates us with Himself? Again he went out about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, [noon and three in the afternoon], he did likewise. 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. Note, The unchangeableness of God's purposes in dispensing his gifts should silence our murmurings. Had all the sinners that ever lived in the world been consigned to hell, they could not have discharged the claims of justice. The point is that God rewards on the principle of grace, and we should therefore expect surprises. For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner: Like many of Jesus parables, this story is about an employer and those who work for him. Poetical Books Little faith leaves us as fearful for ourselves as dim witnesses of His glory whom the most unruly elements obey. Please see Blue Letter Bible's Privacy Policy for cookie usage details. God's delight is to pick out the hindmost for the first place, to the disparagement of the foremost in their own strength. It was clearly a question of connection with the apostle of the circumcision ( i.e., Peter's wife's mother). 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. And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried out all the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David. i. b. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? All rights reserved worldwide. To heal was the work for which He was come. 45. iii. From God they will both receive the same welcome, for both Jesus Christ is waiting, and for neither, in the divine sense, has life ended too soon or too late. You don't know what the challenge/date is until you scratch off a square similar to a scratch-off lottery ticket. And wilt thou seek for a happiness in the creature, or think from thence to make up the deficiencies of thy happiness in God? Judgment will have early cut them off. He promises, First, A penny,Matthew 20:2; Matthew 20:2. a great multitude followed Him. 2. a. Salem Media Group. 2. Now the parable: A landowner went out early in the morning (6 am) to hire laborers for his vineyard. First, The general pay (Matthew 20:9; Matthew 20:10); They received every man a penny. To the proud inhabitant of Jerusalem, both one and the other were but a choice and change within a land of darkness. A fish was the last being for man to make his banker of; with God all things are possible, who knew how to blend admirably in the same act divine glory, unanswerably vindicated, with the lowliest grace in man. James was the first martyr among the apostles, and John was the only apostle to not die through martyrdom though not from a lack of trying. Other parables also teach that He will not (e.g., Matthew 25:14-30). Inattention to this has perplexed many. 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. See Deuteronomy 24:15. See Matthew 19:27-29. i. 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. 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. (E) They will condemn him to death 19and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged(F) and crucified. It ought to have been John's place to have proclaimed the glory of Jesus; but all things in this world are the reverse of what they ought to be, and of what will be when Jesus takes the throne, coming in power and glory. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. When the legions were thus completed, the citizens who had been called, but not chosen, returned to their respective employments, and served their country in other capacities. This he said in the hearing of the disciple who would act the traitor: did no compunction visit his base heart? (Spurgeon), ii. Those that have had gospel offers made them at the third, or sixth hour, and have resisted and refused them, will not have that to say for themselves at the eleventh hour, that these had; No man has hired us; nor can they be sure that any man will hire them at the ninth or eleventh hour; and therefore not to discourage any, but to awaken all, be it remembered, that now is the accepted time; if we will hear his voice, it must be to-day. Note: MLA no longer requires the URL as part of their citation standard. So, I believe now, there is no attempt ever made on the Name of the Son of God, there is not a single shaft levelled at Him, but the Spirit turns to the holy, and true, and sweet task of asserting anew and more loudly His glory, which enlarges the expression of His grace to man. Seemingly, the disciples did not really listen when Jesus said these things. For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner, Whatever is right I will give you whatever is right you will receive, Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first, They supposed that they would receive more, equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day. But the parable may be applied more generally, and shows us, 1. 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. 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. Out of the market-place, where, till they are hired into God's service, they stand idle (Matthew 20:3; Matthew 20:3), all the day idle (Matthew 20:6; Matthew 20:6). This should quicken us to expedition and diligence in our work, that we have but a little time to work in, and the night is hastening on, when no man can work; and if our great work be undone when our day is done, we are undone for ever. In what sense did Jesus, our Lord, take their infirmities, and bear their sicknesses? There will be differences at the close. The failure of this greatest of women-born only gives Him the just occasion to show the total change at hand, when it should not be a question of man, but of God, yea, of the kingdom of heaven, the least in which new state should be greater than John. They must still continue to endure the scourge of crime they could never expiate. After this, in the chapter we have the positive hindrance asserted of what man counts good. He knew what they needed and what they wanted, but God still wants us to tell Him our needs as a constant expression of our trust and reliance on Him. Very early men began to say, "Jesus gave his life a ransom for many. This furnishes occasion to the Pharisees to vent their unbelief: to them nothing is so offensive as grace, either in doctrine or in practice. Men little weigh what their words will sound and prove in the day of judgment.