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It can only mean here the "invited." Or, are you grudging because I am generous?' 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. 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. There is an element of human tenderness in this parable. Verse Matthew 20:16. They forgot His glory in their own anxiety and selfishness. International Standard Version "In the same way, the last will be first, and the first will be last, because many are called, but few are chosen." "Jesus deliberately and cleverly led the listeners along by degrees until they understood that if Gods generosity was to be represented by a man, such a man would be different from any man ever encountered." 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. Pauline Epistles I feel sure that no Christian harbours a doubt about it. Of course, there is often the order of time, but through the central part, and not infrequently elsewhere, his setting forth in order turns on another principle, quite independent of mere succession of events. Out in the world there was the Roman governor with his retinue and the eastern potentate with his slaves. Here, too, these Pharisees question and reproach His grace, when they see the Lord sitting at ease in the presence of publicans and sinners, who came and sat down with Him in Matthew's house. mother of the sons of Zebedee ( Matthew 27:56). Which means that each lash that was laid upon Him, was laid with greater ferocity, as they were seeking to elicit from Him some confession of wrong, but He had done no wrong. 14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. All turns on that which was suitable to such a God, the giver of His own Son. "Christ demands that the driving force in your life must be love. This is unfortunate, since his works contain priceless gems of information that are found nowhere except in the ancient writings of the Jews. Then a beggar asked for his shirt and got it. Evidently it is the change of dispensation that is in question and at hand, the cutting off of the fleshly seed for their unbelief, and the bringing in of numerous believers in the name of the Lord from among the Gentiles. The Gospels "If you wish to be great," he says, "be a servant; if you wish to be first of all be a slave." And Jesus stood still, and he called them, and said, What do you want me to do for you? 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? To mock and to scourge: Jesus predicted these specific aspects of His coming agony which on a human level He could not arrange. And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. The market-place was the equivalent of the labour exchange. It is clear that the unclean spirit, returning, brings idolatry back again. Jesus deliberately and open-eyed sets out for Jerusalem and the Cross. He makes some more useful than others, without regard to the time which they serve, and he will reward them accordingly. Something of affinity there is between this parable and that of the prodigal son, where he that returned from his wandering, was as dear to his father as he was, that never went astray; first and last alike. iii. General Epistles This finds its fitting place, not in Luke, but in Matthew, particularly as the details here (not in Mark, who only gives the general fact) cast great light upon God's dispensational ways. Therefore what shall we have? Jesus laces this point throughout the parable. When a person's ministry gets so great, and they become so prominent that they lose touch with people, and they can no longer minister to people's individual needs, their ministry has become greater than their Lord. There is room also for the most thorough self-abnegation. The offence taken (Matthew 20:11; Matthew 20:12); They murmured at the good man of the house; not that there is, or can be, any discontent or murmuring in heaven, for that is both guilt and grief, and in heaven there is neither; but there may be, and often are, discontent and murmuring concerning heaven and heavenly things, while they are in prospect and promise in this world. Now we see Jesus leaving Jericho, a great multitude of people thronging around Him, and these two blind men hearing the multitude passing by, and observing all of the bustle and activities saying, "what's going on, what's happening?" (Matthew 20:16) The parable applied: the principle of Gods reward. 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. 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. 20 Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons. On the other hand, by far the greater weight of tradition goes to show that John lived to a great old age in Ephesus and died a natural death when he must have been close on a hundred years old. Did you not come to an agreement with me to work for 4 pence ? Hence, here it is a question not merely of cleansing, but of forgiveness, and forgiveness, too, as that which precedes power, manifested before men. A verification email has been sent to the address you provided. At the beginning of the day, a landowner hired people to work in his vineyard for an agreed wage (Matthew 20:1-2). 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. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. Though God is a debtor to none, yet he is graciously pleased to make himself a debtor by his own promise, for the benefit of which, through Christ, believers agree with him, and he will stand to his part of the agreement. And the third day He will rise again: Jesus was remarkably specific in this announcement of His fate, and foretold many things over which He had no apparent control. i. 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. The point of this closing aphorism is not to suggest that God's ways are simply or only about an inversion of the status quo. It is not here a question of life (as in the seed at first), but a system of christian doctrine; not life germinating and bearing fruit, but mere dogma natural mind which is exposed to it. "If you really want to be great in the kingdom of God, learn to be the servant of all. Thus the end is as the beginning, and even far, far worse. For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Taken together, the entire picture is one of great suffering. And I believe that we can believe and trust Jesus Christ for physical healing, as well as spiritual healing. The Christian is a man put upon his honour by Jesus. I will obey to the end.. They complained against the landowner: After being paid, the men hired first took up their complaint with the landowner. And they said unto him, We're able ( Matthew 20:22 ). It is enough to meet a difficulty which many feel by the simple plea that the reason assigned is in my judgment a valid explanation, and in itself a sufficient solution of the apparent discrepancy. Power and love were come for any one to draw on. With God, as nothing is impossible, so no one, small or great, is despised: all is seen and put in its just place; and grace, which rebukes creature pride, can afford to deal divinely with the smallest as with the greatest. Examine the Scripture, and you will see for yourselves. Poetical Books c. Early in the morning: This is literally at dawn, usually reckoned to be about 6:00 in the morning. And as they departed from Jericho ( Matthew 20:29 ). The rich young ruler was not converted: far from being so, he could not stand the test applied by Christ out of His own love, and, as we are told, "went away sorrowful." Far from lowering the position of His servant, He declares there was none greater among mortal men. We are going to Jerusalem. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. It is probable that James and John were closely related to Jesus. "Oh, you bet you, we're able." 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. 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. Please see Blue Letter Bible's Privacy Policy for cookie usage details. Reviewing, then, these closing incidents of the chapter (ver. 4. 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. I say not how fax he had realized this profound truth; I say not that he could have defined his thoughts; but he knew and declared His command of all as truly God. Heartlight is supported by loving Christians from around the world. 3. 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. In the next incident the force of the plea turns on God's goodness towards the wretchedness of man. "Neither do men put new wine into old bottles, else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish; but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved." What instrument so suitable? They were greatly displeased: The other ten disciples mistakenly thought that a unique honor had just been bestowed on James and John. They glorified God. The crowd rebuked them, so that they might be silent. The dispensational aim here leads to a more manifest disregard of the bare circumstance of time than in any other specimen of these gospels. Higher proportionate rewards shall be given to them than to others. The indignation of the ten doubtless sprang less from humility than jealousy plus fear that they might lose out. (Carson). For what term are they hired? The youth were instructed, almost from their cradle, in military exercises. It is simply designed to teach that in the church, among the multitudes who will be saved, Christ makes a difference. In the case of the laborers, those who worked all day did not deserve their pay after having thrown it on the ground. Johannine Writings i. James had to be ready to be the first to die among the disciples; John had to be ready to live the longest Christian life and testimony among them. The giving of a whole day's wages to those that had not done the tenth part of a day's work, is designed to show that God distributes his rewards by grace and sovereignty, and not of debt. (1.) Nothing was more a mystery in the gospel dispensation than the rejection of the Jews and the calling in of the Gentiles; so the apostle speaks of it (Ephesians 3:3-6); that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs: nor was any thing more provoking to the Jews than the intimation of it. The evil eye was an idiom used to refer to jealousy (cf. 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. And as they stood there with those clouds over their eyes, Jesus said, "What do you want?" In spite of their lack of merit, the good householder required them to pick it up, thus giving it to them in spite of their forfeiture. Who but God could heal? Sometimes we go without when God would want to give us something simply because we will not answer this question, and we do not have because we do not ask (James 4:2). Matthew 11:1-30, exceedingly critical for Israel, and of surpassing beauty, as it is, must not be passed over without some few words. 1. If he will do it, it is not for us to gainsay; for he is in one mind, and who can turn him? It ought to be so with every forgiven soul. Nothing shall be withheld that was promised. iv. He was tricked by the seeming helplessness of Jesus; he took Jesus to be a mere man; he tried to retain hold of Jesus, and in trying to do so, he lost his power and was broken for ever. It is the death-blow to human tradition and ordinance in divine things, and in reality depends on the truth of the absolute ruin of man a truth which, as we see, the disciples were very slow to recognize. To all justice shall be done. To all to whom the rewards of heaven are promised they shall be given. I Will Build My Church (16:13-20) The . These were sent into the vineyard, it is true, at the eleventh hour; but nobody had hired them, or offered to hire them, before. And what makes this still more striking, is the certainty that the kingdom, bright as it is, is by no means the thing nearest to Jesus. Those whom Christ fed miraculously, though of different sizes, men, women, and children, did all eat, and were filled. He promised to pay all the later workers fairly. That many who begin last, and promise little in religion, sometimes, by the blessing of God, arrive at greater attainments in knowledge, grace, and usefulness, than others whose entrance was more early, and who promised fairer. At the beginning of Matthew 10:1-42 He Himself sends forth themselves as labourers. But the parable may be applied more generally, and shows us, 1. You don't know what the challenge/date is until you scratch off a square similar to a scratch-off lottery ticket. See here. There may be desires, there may be the working of the Spirit of God, but there can be no power to walk before men and to glorify God thus till there is forgiveness possessed and enjoyed in the heart. Sign up now for the latest news and deals from Bible Gateway! The householder had every right to have cut them off with a trifle instead of a whole day's pay. The landowner did exactly as promised, but their supposition of more pay than promised was disappointed. 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. (Matthew 20:20-21) The mother of James and John asks for a place of special status for her sons.