Jesus recognized that they didnt really understand, but they would. Verse Matthew 20:16. So the last shall be first, and the first shall be last: for many are called, but few are chosen ( Matthew 20:5-16 ). Poetical Books b. vii. why not sorrow and shame that they should have so little understood their Master's mind? Yet He confidently announced to His disciples that this would happen. "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. (3.) Though there be degrees of glory in heaven, yet it will be to all a complete happiness. [1.] Now the parable: A landowner went out early in the morning (6 am) to hire laborers for his vineyard. How many millions does the long-suffering of God lead to repentance! i. Is there unrighteousness with God? Matthew gives no such details, but call and mission are together here. ", Kagawa himself wrote: "God dwells among the lowliest of men. 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. It is true that in this particular instance Mark no more surrounds the leper with notes of time and place than do Matthew and Luke. And He said to her, What do you wish? She said to Him, Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.. Jesus was no doubt very weakened by it. 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.". He makes some more useful than others, without regard to the time which they serve, and he will reward them accordingly. Gentile as he was, he was for that very, reason the less narrowed in his thoughts of the Saviour by the prevalent notions of Israel, yea, or even by Old Testament hopes, precious as they are. (Matthew 20:3-7) Through the day, the landowner continues to hire workers. Jesus laces this point throughout the parable. In Mark 2:1-28 it says, "And again he entered into Capernaum." Envy is unlikeness to God, who is good, and doeth good, and delighteth in doing good; nay, it is an opposition and contradiction to God; it is a dislike of his proceedings, and a displeasure at what he does, and is pleased with. Peter wanted to know what they would get in return. The motive was Christ Himself: therefore He says, "Ye which have followed me." He s. Matthew 20:16 - John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible "There arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch, that the ship was covered with the waves; but he was asleep." Please see Blue Letter Bible's Privacy Policy for cookie usage details. yea, they may forget, yet will not I forget thee. What an anticipation of the walk by faith, not by sight, in which the Gentiles, when called, ought to have glorified God, when the rejection of the Messiah by His own ancient people gave occasion to the Gentile call as a distinct thing! 4. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. a. Not even their wonderful "attitude" entitled them to a day's pay. to forget His ancient people. After the creation of consuls, they every year named twenty-four military tribunes, part of whom must have served five years at least, and the rest eleven. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Younger and of, Jesus' mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and. It is clear that the unclean spirit, returning, brings idolatry back again. All this is what happens when men take the poetry of love and try to turn it into man-made theories. This, then, I apprehend to be the reason why we End two demoniacs mentioned; whereas, in Mark or Luke for other purposes, the Spirit of God only draws attention to one of the two. What care we for those who curse and blaspheme? 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. Idols, abominations, no longer infected that dwelling as of old. a. Jesus was passing by. They've come to Jericho. It does not say, that " then there came a leper," or " immediately there came a leper." In what sense did Jesus, our Lord, take their infirmities, and bear their sicknesses? 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.". Let them recognize the power that banished the leprosy, and the grace withal that touched the leper. His word should silence all our murmurings, that, whatever God does to us, or withholds from us, he does us no wrong. But it is expressly the pattern after which He was to deal, and will deal, with Israel. In gentleness, in sympathy, and in love, with never an impatient word, he seeks to lead them to the truth. After this our Lord sees great multitudes following Him, and gives commandment to go to the other side. 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. The Gospels It was with this declaration that the parable began and ended. In view of the context, the 12 disciples correspond to the workers hired at the beginning of the day, the beginning of Jesus public ministry. These words of Jesus gave rise to an old and complicated theological question: to whom did Jesus pay the ransom? The blessings of the kingdom are the same for all who enter, whether Jews who had worshipped God for centuries, or Gentiles who had just been saved from heathenism; whether scribes who had studied Gods law for many years, or tax collectors who had just repented; whether those who had served God for a lifetime, or those converted in old age. Historical Books Except where noted, scripture quotations are taken from the Easy-to-Read Version 2001 by Bible League International. The Pharisees were enraged at a power they could not deny, which rebuked themselves so much the more on account of its persistent grace; but Jesus passes by all blasphemy as yet, and goes on His way nothing hinders His course of love. But what a mercy that those who appear now to be rejected may be called in another muster, enrolled, serve in the field, or work in the vineyard? "Day laborers" would be readily available in the market place. 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. 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. Matthew, Expository Sermons - From The Executable Outlines Series by Mark A. Copeland - Hundreds of free sermon outlines and Bible study materials available for online browsing and downloading. (Compare Mark 3:13-19, andMark 6:7-11; Mark 6:7-11; Luke 6:1-49; Luke 9:1-62) The mission of the apostles did not take place till afterwards. 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. What Jesus calls upon his followers to do he himself did. But, from first to last, what a trial of spirit, and what triumph! And then they would take a leather whip, with little bits of lead and glass, embedded in it. And yet the Lord says, we get the penny, and so that's good enough for me.Now the Lord does here point out, "look if I want to be good, if I want to extend grace, you shouldn't really complain about the grace that I extend. In what follows we have that which is necessary, to complete the picture of the other side. 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. I am certain that everyone that was afflicted had heard of the fame of Jesus. 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. Notice the flow of the narrative as the . But if this be so, there is here absolute certainty that our Lord, on the very Sabbath in which He cast out the unclean spirit from the man in the synagogue of Capernaum, immediately after quitting the synagogue, entered the house of Peter, and that there and then He healed Peter's wife's mother of the fever. 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. If he will do it, it is not for us to gainsay; for he is in one mind, and who can turn him? Work for God will not admit of trifling. He believed that they could and would drink the cup, and that in the end they would still be found at his side. Hence, lower down in the chapter, after the demon was cast out of the blind and dumb man before the amazed people, the Pharisees, irritated by their question, Is not this the Son of David? The first came to an agreement with the master; they had a contract; they said, "We work, if you give us so much pay." Did you not come to an agreement with me to work for 4 pence ? Their state had long been that of a man whom the unclean spirit had left, after a former dwelling in him. 2. He was to be mocked by the Romans; there we see the suffering of humiliation and of deliberate insult. THE FALSE AND THE TRUE AMBITION ( Matthew 20:20-28 ), 20:20-28 At that time the mother of Zebedee's sons came to him with her sons, kneeling before him, and asking something from him. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? The delivered demoniacs are, to my mind, clearly the foreshadow of the Lord's grace in the latter days, separating a remnant to Himself, and banishing the power of Satan from this small but sufficient witness of His salvation. Then, in Mark 3:1-35, there are notes of time more or less strong. God does not permit Scripture to be thus used without losing its force, its beauty, and the grand object for which it was written. The next chapter (Matthew 18:1-35) takes up the double thought of the kingdom and the Church, showing the requisite for entrance into the kingdom, and displaying or calling forth divine grace in the most lovely manner, and that in practice. Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Conversely in some cases those whom God called early in their lives may not receive as much reward as those called later in life. Those hired later correspond to other people who became Jesus disciples later in His ministry. The men who were standing in the market-place were not street-corner idlers, lazing away their time. i. 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). Because it is free grace, that is given to those that have it, boasting is for ever excluded; and because it is free grace, that is withheld from those that have it not, murmuring is for ever excluded. Here is the Christian revolution; here is the complete reversal of all the world's standards. Matthew, Mark and John all give lists of the women who were at the Cross when Jesus was crucified. For a day. And if thou hast what thou didst agree for, thou hast no reason to cry out of wrong; thou shalt have what we agreed for." HEARTLIGHT is a registered service mark of Heartlight, Inc. | Privacy Policy. Your promises are thrilling. It is a question, then, of internal evidence, what that particular order is which God has employed in each different gospel. They shall enter heaven, as was promised. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands." 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. They said to His disciples, "Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?" 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. And yet He takes time still to minister to the needs of others. and a sinking ship are serious difficulties to a man. (v) These two blind men were grateful. 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. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Not so. 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. Very apt we all are to undervalue the deserts of others, and to overvalue our own. They had the desperation appropriate for those who know that today is the day of salvation. Sorrow would come full soon when He, the Bridegroom of His people, should be taken away; and then should they fast. . He often fell down exhausted, and the rough men of the slums carried him gently back to his hut. And to these men who were blind, they saw this as their one opportunity for a whole new life. d T. Hieros. Therefore let him who would meet God visit the prison cell before going to the temple. The crown set before us is a crown of righteousness, which the righteous Judge shall give. The Incarnation, he said, was a divine stratagem to catch the great leviathan. Matthew 19:1-30 brings in another lesson of great weight. "In God's economy," as someone has said, "there is no such thing as a most favoured nation clause." If He offers to go to his house, it was to bring out the faith that He had created in the heart of the centurion. Because Matthew's object is the display of the change of dispensation through, or consequent on, the rejection of Jesus by the Jews. (Matthew 20:1-2) A landowners workers early in the morning. Jesus blessedly answered their thoughts, had there only been a conscience to hear the word of power and grace, which brings out His glory the more. Spurgeon applied this to us spiritually: Why is any one of us remaining idle towards God? To hire laborers for his vineyard: The landowner went to the marketplace, which was the gathering place for day laborers. Follow Christ's journey to the Cross. See Matthew 19:27-29. for many be called, but few chosenThis is another of our Lord's terse and pregnant sayings, more than once uttered in different connections. As the apostles were the first-fruits of the whole church, they appeared to possess some superiority; and Christ did not deny that they would sit as judges to govern the twelve tribes of Israel. He went out again about twelve o'clock midday, and about three o'clock in the afternoon, and did the same. All rights reserved. You must not claim a special honour and a special place because you were Christians before they were. But it would be unusual for a wealthy "landowner" to locate his own . But still, it was His carrying on the great process of shewing out more and more the total rejection of His rejectors. It often happens that we are easily discouraged from seeking the presence of God. And thus as Isaiah predicts the scourging, the stripes, he declares, "by His stripes ye are healed"( Isaiah 53:5 ). It was precisely because He was Himself untouchable by sickness and infirmity, that He was free so to take up each consequence of sin thus. In this work we must not be slothful, not loiterers, but labourers, working, and working out our own salvation. Jesus emphasized that both the calling and the choosing of God is based on His grace especially His choosing. [2.] vi. He speaks of Israel then, and of Israel before He comes in glory, but He entirely omits any notice of the circumstances which were to come in by the way. 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. 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. And, 2. He was to be betrayed into the hands of the chief priests and Scribes; there we see the suffering of the heart broken by the disloyalty of friends. He sits on the dust heap among the prison convicts. 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. It was very different with the hired day-labourers. He went out again about nine o'clock in the morning, and saw others standing idle in the market-place. 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. We have the natural tie here brought into prominence; and this was a claim that Christ slighted not. 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. Descending then upon the plateau, He delivered what is commonly called the Sermon on the Mount. This he said in the hearing of the disciple who would act the traitor: did no compunction visit his base heart? (Spurgeon), ii. 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. get answers to your Bible questions from 50+ resources ($2,400+ value! (SeeMatthew 9:32-33; Matthew 9:32-33.) 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. Jesus summed up his whole life in one poignant sentence: "The Son of Man came to give his life a ransom for many." And thus He, whose glory was so forgotten by His disciples Jesus, Himself thinks of that very disciple, and says, "For me and thee.". Henceforth, too, He forbids the disciples to proclaim Him as the Messiah. Matthew chapter 20 New International Version 1 For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. Observe that it is at this point the chapter begins with vindicating the sanctity of marriage. 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. 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. (v) Here also is the generosity of God. It is easy to sympathize with these who had worked all day. 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.