Therefore what this saying means is quite simply--it cost the life and the death of Jesus Christ to bring men back to God. Judgment will have early cut them off. It was a grave step this, and in view of His rejection now. woe unto thee, Bethsaida! A great tempest. It is more particularly sin, viewed as guilt, and consequently as that which absolutely breaks and destroys all power in the soul towards both God and man. 1 Corinthians 6:2; Revelation 2:26). . And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard . The offence removed. Thirdly, The gospel call is given to those that stand idle in the market-place. i. without holiness no man shall see the Lord. James was the first of the apostolic band to die a martyr ( Acts 12:2). That is on the debit side of the account of the disciples; but there is much on the credit side. They put upon Him a scarlet robe, and they begin to say unto Him, "Hail king of the Jews," and they mocked Him. With them, to be unemployed for a day was disaster. He was then present, a man despised, yet with title to forgive sins, proved by immediate power to heal. he said. Now what did Jesus mean when He broke the bread and said, "This is my body, broken for you"? In the case of the laborers, those who worked all day did not deserve their pay after having thrown it on the ground. The Lord pleads the cause of the disciples. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Select an Ending Point Such is His grace, such His wisdom. 16 "So the last will be first, and the first will be last.". Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. Yet He confidently said it would happen. for many be called; externally, under the ministration of the Gospel, as the Jews in general were, by Christ and his apostles; but. As we have seen, the pay was 4 pence a day; and, if they were unemployed for one day, the children would go hungry at home, for no man ever saved much out of 4 pence a day. They measured Jesus by their own impotence. To him who compares this with Luke 6:1-49, there need not remain a question as to the identity of the scene. In gentleness, in sympathy, and in love, with never an impatient word, he seeks to lead them to the truth. 'These last,' they said, 'have only worked for one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have home the burden and the hot wind of the day.' General Epistles Poetical Books a. 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. These workers hired at the very beginning of the working day agreed to work for a denarius a day, the common daily wage for a workingman. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink: Their answer (We are able) seems to come a little too quick. i. 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 he said unto them, You shall indeed drink of my cup ( Matthew 20:23 ). But Jesus called them to Himself and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. We are put to our choice; for hired we must be (Joshua 24:15); Choose ye this day whom ye will serve. This parable of the labourers in the vineyard is intended. . 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. But the Lord could not send her away without a blessing, and without a blessing reaching to His own glory. Did you not come to an agreement with me to work for 4 pence ? b. This is a wonderful, simple question God has not stopped asking. The strange thing is that instinctively the world itself has accepted these standards. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Matthew 20:16 Context 13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? They don't understand all of the provision that the Lord has made for them. ., p. The hours in the parable were the normal Jewish hours. Grace forms the hearts of those that understand it, according to the great manifestation of what God is, and what man is, too, given us in the person of Christ. . The Old Testament Changes, to us inexplicable, occur: many first last, and last first. But there's a big twist. My last word to Gods children is this: what does it matter, after all, whether we are first or whether we are last? Some consider that John the Baptist enquired solely for the sake of his disciples. Probably thisto teach us that men who have wrought in Christ's service all their days may, by the spirit which they manifest at the last, make it too evident that, as between God and their own souls, they never were chosen workmen at all. 4. e T. Bab. Well, he did not come to get your service; he came to give you his services; not that you might first do him honor, but that he might show you mercy. (Spurgeon). This parable taught him that God would give him a just reward for his sacrificial labor for Jesus. Thus, and after the tenderest sort, there is that which evidences the Messiah on earth present to heal His people who appeal to Him; and the Jew, above all counting upon His bodily presence demanding it, I may say, according to the warrant of prophecy, finds in Jesus not merely the man, but the God of Israel. They did not see why they should be allowed to stake their claims to preeminence. The sovereign God takes pity on a needy world, and generously gives his salvation to all who accept his offer. If those who trusted in themselves that they were wise and righteous would not have Him, He would call even a publican on the spot to be among the most honoured of His followers, and would not disdain to be their joy when they desired His honour in the exercise of His grace. Jesus of course was talking about His crucifixion and His death. He often fell down exhausted, and the rough men of the slums carried him gently back to his hut. They glorified God. "As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a dumb man possessed with a devil. 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. The youth were instructed, almost from their cradle, in military exercises. This, I believe, is a great lesson, and too often forgotten. Accordingly, here we have a witness of it, and a witness so much the sweeter, because the present total rejection that was filling the heart of the leaders surely testified to the Lord's heart of that which was at hand. If it be so, it is surely a ground of thankfulness to God; for it turns a stumbling-block into an evidence of the perfection of Scripture. When He reaches the house, minstrels were there, and people, making a noise: the expression, if of woe, certainly of impotent despair. Thus many that are last shall be first. The tribunes of the second and third likewise made their choice one after another; and he that remained entered into the fourth legion. Let us set them down. 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. He said, "Call those fellows to me." Rather than seeking God as to whether or not you should buy a new car, you had to seek your elder or your shepherd. The landowner reminded them that he had been completely fair to them. For what term are they hired? The Church, which is His body and bride, has a far more intimate place, even though true of the same persons. We read in the book of Acts that Herod stretched forth his hands against the church and had James beheaded. 45. "Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David!" Observe. Now He brings out not the kingdom merely, but His Church; and this not merely in view of hopeless unbelief in the mass, but of the confession of His own intrinsic glory as the Son of God by the chosen witness. Our website uses cookies to store user preferences. Matthew 20:16 English Standard Version 16 So the last will be first, and the first last." Read full chapter Matthew 20:16 in all English translations Matthew 19 Matthew 21 English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Wisdom Literature Yet Jesus was confident that He would be delivered to the Gentiles. God does not permit Scripture to be thus used without losing its force, its beauty, and the grand object for which it was written. So the last shall be first, and the first last. 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. 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. Those last hired receive the most pay and are paid first. When God settles all the accounts, then things are going to be valued by his standards and not the world's standards. Historical Books "Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! In heaven, every vessel will be full, brimful, though every vessel is not alike large and capacious. 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. 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 ones who labored only an hour did not deserve their pay either. Their expectation was so focused on Jesus establishing an immediate political kingdom, and these words from Jesus were so contrary to that anticipation, these words just went over their heads. God's delight is to pick out the hindmost for the first place, to the disparagement of the foremost in their own strength. a. The question was not who or what came in the way; whoever appealed to Him, there He was for them. (Ken Chumbley, The Gospel of Matthew, commentary, p.#351). They boast, as the prodigal's elder brother did, of their good services; We have borne the burthen and heat of the day; that was the most they could make of it. get answers to your Bible questions from 50+ resources ($2,400+ value! We are in his hand, as clay in the hands of a potter; and it is not for us to prescribe to him, or strive with him. The crowd commanded them to stop their shouting; they were making a nuisance of themselves. It was after our Lord had called the twelve, and ordained them not after He had sent them forth, but after He had appointed them apostles that the Lord comes down to a plateau upon the mountain, instead of remaining upon the more elevated parts where He had been before. 33), it is added, "And with many such parables spake He the word unto them . Three things the master of the house urges, in answer to this ill-natured surmise. Matthew 20:16-20 NIV - "So the last will be first, and the - Bible Gateway There are two great lessons here. Except where noted, scripture quotations are taken from the Easy-to-Read Version 2001 by Bible League International. The people might have failed, but, surely, there were some differences surely those that were honoured and valued were not so depraved! Here he asserts his own justice; Friend, I do thee no wrong. That was all over for the moment through Israel's blind sin; He was going to suffer, not yet reign, at Jerusalem. 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. Here is the story of two men who found their way to a miracle. 2. It is all of grace and not of debt; nor does that exclude obedience. It was necessary to complete the picture. she cried; but what had she to do with the Son of David? (iii) These are the original lessons of this parable, but it has very much more to say to us. Out in the world there was the Roman governor with his retinue and the eastern potentate with his slaves. First of all, because the sacrifice that was offered to God could not have any blemish, any broken bones. Being in the right state of mind to do the Lords work is a gift of grace. Thus, the fourth chapter of Mark coincides, marked with such data as can leave no doubt. 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.

St Louis Music Park Best Seats, Oversized Wool Coat Black, Nj Bald Eagle Nest Locations 2021, Articles M