c. Lord, Son of David: However, in their desperation they glorified Jesus. c. Early in the morning: This is literally at dawn, usually reckoned to be about 6:00 in the morning. A wider interpretation is, of course, possible, and has been often applied, in which the first-called labourers answer to the Jews, and those who came afterwards to converts in the successive stages of the conversion of the Gentiles. 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. John is swifter of foot, and comes first to the sepulchre: but Peter has more courage, and goes first into it. "What do you want me to do for you?" Sufferers for Christ in the latter days, shall have the same reward with the martyrs and confessors of the primitive times, though they are more celebrated; and faithful ministers now, the same with the first fathers. 10 million Ukrainians without power because of Russia. The Lord hints at what the man's real desires were not Christ, not heaven, not eternity, but present things. Note, There are but few chosen Christians, in comparison with the many that are only called Christians; it therefore highly concerns us to build our hope for heaven upon the rock of an eternal choice, and not upon the sand of an external call; and we should fear lest we be found but seeming Christians, and so should really come short; nay, lest we be found blemished Christians, and so should seem to come short,Hebrews 4:1. Your partnership makes all we do possible. The mother of Zebedees sons came to Him: This mother of James and John (Matthew 4:21) came with a request that would make a mother proud and the sons very happy. It was a grave step this, and in view of His rejection now. Now what is Jesus seeking to teach by this parable of sending forth the laborers into the vineyard? 1. It was to James and John that Jesus spoke. So it was here. But nothing would stop the two blind men; for them it was a matter of sight or blindness, and nothing was going to keep them back. James was the first of the apostolic band to die a martyr ( Acts 12:2). You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: Both James and John had to be baptized in suffering as Jesus was, but their cups and baptisms were different. (1.) i. So thoroughly is it in view of Israel that our Lord does not say one word here about the Church, or the intervening condition of Christendom. . It shows us his trust in men. Lastly, Here is the application of the parable (Matthew 20:16; Matthew 20:16), in that observation which occasioned it (Matthew 19:30; Matthew 19:30); So the first shall be last, and the last first. 111. Matthew 20:16 NIV - "So the last will be first, and the - Bible Gateway Used by permission. But still, it was His carrying on the great process of shewing out more and more the total rejection of His rejectors. 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. He was to be scourged; few tortures in the world compared with the Roman scourge, and there we see the suffering of physical pain. What can be simpler than that John put the question through his disciples, because he (not they only) had a question in the mind? 2. 11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, 12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. Matthew gives no such details, but call and mission are together here. Work for God will not admit of trifling. And every Jewish mother wants the best for her son. So the last shall be first, and the first last The GENTILES, who have been long without the true God, shall now enjoy all the privileges of the new covenant; and the Jews, who have enjoyed these from the beginning, shall now be dispossessed of them; for, because they here rejected the Lord, he also hath rejected them. And wilt thou seek for a happiness in the creature, or think from thence to make up the deficiencies of thy happiness in God? 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. To represent to us the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 20:1; Matthew 20:1), that is, the way and method of the gospel dispensation. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and you've made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden of the heat of the day. To him who compares this with Luke 6:1-49, there need not remain a question as to the identity of the scene. And now as they depart from Jericho. 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. (v) These two blind men were grateful. 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. What Does It Mean That There Is No One Holy Like God? He is also the writer of many of the letters that you find in your New Testament.". 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. It is a direct violation of both the two great commandments at once; both that of love to God, in whose will we should acquiesce, and love to our neighbour, in whose welfare we should rejoice. 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. It was the Father's revelation of the Son; flesh and blood had not revealed it to Peter, but, "my Father, which is in heaven." Workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16). The landowner asked if they were jealous because the landowner was generous to other people. There is hope of old sinners, that they may be brought to true repentance; nothing is too hard for Almighty grace to do, it can change the Ethiopian's skin, and the leopard's spots; can set those to work, who have contracted a habit of idleness. Most clearly it is not so much a question of sin in the aspect of uncleanness (typifying deeper things, but still connected with the ceremonial requirements of Israel, as we find from what our Lord said in the chapter to the cleansed leper). b. The New Testament Who but God could heal? This doth not prove that the reward of our obedience to God is of works, or of debt (no, it is of grace, free grace,Romans 4:4), or that there is any proportion between our services and heaven's glories; no, when we have done all, we are unprofitable servants; but it is to signify that there is a reward set before us, and a sufficient one. 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. A new tribe presented other four soldiers, and the second legion chose first. 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. 4 He told them, 'You also go and work in my . They confess their faith, and He touches their eyes. Matthew 20:16 - "So the last will be first, and the - Bible Gateway 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). They may not be as long in the vineyard as others; their race may be sooner run; but I have chosen to honor them in this manner, and I have a right to do it. Nor is this all. Thus the great tree and the leavened mass are in fact the two sides of Christendom. And after the supper He took the cup, likewise and said, this cup is a new covenant in my blood, which is shed for the remission of sins, and as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death, until He comes"( 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 ). 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. It shows us his honesty. 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. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 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. By His stripes ye are healed, spiritually, yes, but I do not think that it can be limited to spiritual only, the whole context, and especially Matthew eight would extend it also to physical healing. Here is demonstrated the new glory and the new greatness of suffering love and sacrificial service. And then he repeats this again. He here is predicting the fact that He is going to be scourged. The Old Testament They had certainly done nothing to merit a day's wages. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Select an Ending Point If this be a sound judgment, the comparison of the first chapter of Mark affords decisive evidence that the Holy Ghost in Matthew has taken the leper out of the mere time and circumstances of actual occurrence, and has reserved his case for a wholly different service. He would not even claim the right to choose how His servants were rewarded, but yield that to His Father. All our service is already due to God; it belongs to Him. Then, in Mark 3:1-35, there are notes of time more or less strong. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. Notice is taken of the several hours of the day, at which the labourers were hired. The Lord now lets them know their mad folly, and warns them that this blasphemy was about to culminate in a still deeper, deadlier form when the Holy Ghost should be spoken against as He had been. 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. vi. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, (Hebrew/Greek Search by English Definition), * 'Number Delimiters' only apply to 'Paragraph Order', Search verses, phrases, and topics (e.g. When time ends, and with it the world of work and opportunity, then the state of retribution commences; then call the labourers, and give them their hire. He went to live in a six foot by six-foot hut in a Tokyo slum. Power and love were come for any one to draw on. & Sanhedrim, fol. She was a regular member of the disciple group who accompanied Jesus (Matthew 27:56), so her involvement in her sons ambitious ideas is hardly surprising. (France). "Suffer me first," he says, "to go and bury my father." The kingdom of heaven assumes a form unknown to prophecy, and, in its successive mysteries, fills up the interval between the rejected Christ's going to heaven, and His returning again in glory. Matthew 20:16 ESV - So the last will be first, | Biblia But whereas the most unlikely people entered the kingdom, those for whom it had been prepared were excluded (Matthew 20:16). There is no incident which so demonstrates their invincible faith in Jesus. The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, The true disciple does not begin his work in the masters vineyard by first calculating his own value. 14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. He had been preparing them for the new things, and the impossibility of making them coalesce with the old. 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. What Jesus calls upon his followers to do he himself did. But the Lord could not send her away without a blessing, and without a blessing reaching to His own glory. 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. . With them, to be unemployed for a day was disaster. (SeeMatthew 9:32-33; Matthew 9:32-33.) (i) These two blind men were waiting, and when their chance came they seized it with both hands. The market-place was the equivalent of the labour exchange. 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. And we who have served the Lord all of our lives and we enter into eternal life. The servants are clearly divided into two classes. So the last shall be first, and the first last. The Incarnation, he said, was a divine stratagem to catch the great leviathan. A great tempest. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. A Roman coin was once found with the picture of an ox on it; the ox was facing two things--an altar and a plough; and the inscription read: "Ready for either." The world may assess a man's greatness by the number of people whom he controls and who are at his beck and call; or by his intellectual standing and his academic eminence; or by the number of committees of which he is a member; or by the size of his bank balance and the material possessions which he has amassed; but in the assessment of Jesus Christ these things are irrelevant. The point in the beginning of the next chapter (Matthew 20:1-34) is not reward, but the right and title of God Himself to act according to His goodness. If they had let him pass, their chance would have gone by for ever; but when the chance came they seized it. Would he go back on his point of no return? As to any one else, even the most liberal gift that ever was given of God to fallen man on earth, to the golden head of the Gentiles, exempted the deep and its untamed inhabitants. Though there be degrees of glory in heaven, yet it will be to all a complete happiness. The system of grace is foreign to us: God deals with us according to who He is, not according to who we are. 1. Why are they postponed here? The point is that God rewards on the principle of grace, and we should therefore expect surprises. Whereas, on the contrary, there are other kinds of order that call for more profound thought and enlarged views, if we may speak now after the manner of men; and, indeed, I deny not that these the Holy Ghost employed in His own wisdom, though it is hardly needful to say He could, if He pleased, demonstrate His superiority to any means or qualifications whatsoever. In the case of the laborers, those who worked all day did not deserve their pay after having thrown it on the ground. "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). So little old Jewish mama coming to Jesus with her two sons. It is a summons from the King to His people Israel. In this manner, each tribe successively chose four soldiers, till the legions were complete. Verse Matthew 20:16. The crown set before us is a crown of righteousness, which the righteous Judge shall give. i. "They that are first shall be last, and they that are last shall be first"( Matthew 19:30 ). (Matthew 20:20-21) The mother of James and John asks for a place of special status for her sons. He is not going to lower Himself to a human measure. 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.. Adventure Challenge - Couple's Edition - Matthew 20:16 - Australia - part 1 142 views Jun 20, 2021 0 Dislike Share Tanya All Fun and Games 3 subscribers Grafton ten pin bowling alley. No matter what the great purpose might be, He was there for faith. Jesus was probably hinting at more in this parable. They were beggars; but it was not money they asked for, it was nothing less than sight. They should think of them in terms of grace, any reward being an act of Gods grace. Barclay, William "The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2" (The New Daily Study Bible, Matthew 11-28) (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1975), Bruce, Alexander Balmain "The Synoptic Gospels: The Expositor's Greek Testament" Volume 1, Section 1 (Matthew-Luke) (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1897), Carson, D.A. 45. (2.) We are dependent, therefore, for determining this case, on the fact that Mark does habitually adhere to the chain of events. 2. It was just because of this that the orthodox religious people of his time could not understand 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). In the chapter that follows we have a companion picture, carrying on, no doubt, the lord's presentation to Israel, but from a different point of view; for inMatthew 9:1-38; Matthew 9:1-38 it is not merely the people tried, but more especially the religious leaders, till all closes in blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. Start FREE. 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. "Reversal!" Matthew 20:16 (What Jesus Did!) - Heartlight They've come to Jericho. If God be better in any respect to others than to us, yet we have no reason to complain while he is so much better to us than we deserve, in giving us our penny, though we are unprofitable servants. But what, it may be asked, has this to do with the subject of our parable? Instead of repining that we have no more, let us take what we have, and be thankful. . The money was paid by the overseer, but he was standing by enjoying the scene. (Bruce). The men who were hired at the eleventh hour who worked only about one hour were obviously elated about being paid first, and being paid for a full day. There is no one cup for the Christian to drink. In Mark 2:1-28 it says, "And again he entered into Capernaum." 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? 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. [5.] Through the day, the landowner went to the place where the laborers gathered, found some standing idle in the marketplace, and hired them to do the work in his vineyard. It does not seem exactly as a pictorial view of what the Lord was doing, or going to do, but rather the repeated pledge, that they were not to suppose that the evil He had judged in the elders of Jerusalem, or the grace freely going out to the Gentiles, in any way led Him. [1.] (iv) These two blind men were not afraid to bring a great request. No matter when a man comes to Christ, he is equally dear to him. Jesus uses a kind of gradation. So the last shall be first, and the first last The GENTILES, who have been long without the true God, shall now enjoy all the privileges of the new covenant; and the Jews, who have enjoyed these from the beginning, shall now be dispossessed of them; for, because they here rejected the Lord, he also hath rejected them. Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. They were still thinking in terms of personal reward and personal distinction; and they were thinking of personal success without personal sacrifice. They wanted Jesus with a royal command to ensure for them a princely life. 16So the last will be first, and the first will be last.(A). They in turn will give me to the Gentiles, the Romans. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took Him even as He was in the ship. 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. So the last shall be first, and the first last. "According to your faith be it done unto you.". (Matthew 20:29-31) Two blind men gain the attention of Jesus. Pentateuch None can suppose that these were deemed useless, or that, because not now chosen to serve their country in the field, they were proscribed from the rights and privileges of citizens, much less destroyed, because others were found better qualified to serve their country at the post of honour and danger. And you guessed it already its a quote from the bible "so the last shall be first & the first last"which of course made me think of a competition type challe. why not sorrow and shame that they should have so little understood their Master's mind? Even when they were bluntly told that there lay ahead a bitter cup, it never struck them to turn back; they were determined to drink it. A man may go idle to hell; but he that will go to heaven, must be busy. 97. So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him ( Matthew 20:29-34 ). 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 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. 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.