seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Matthew 20:1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius[a] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.
“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
21 “What is it you want?” he asked.
She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.
23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
29 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”
34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
a. Matthew 20:2 A denarius was the usual daily wage of a day laborer
The reason I use the easy English site so much.... is it's easy to understand most of the time. Today was no exception.... when I need a commentary to read a commentary.... well I figure I need something easier.
This story is only in Matthew’s gospel. It describes a situation that could have happened in Jesus’ time. Jesus’ purpose here was not to teach about how people should receive wages. He was teaching about where God rules. So this story was about the way that God deals with people.
When the owner harvested his fruit, called ‘grapes’, he needed many workers. Men who had no work would wait in the market place. They waited for someone to employ them. This owner hired the first workers early in the morning. He decided what he would pay them. Then he hired more workers later. He promised to pay the second group what was ‘right’. Finally, he hired the men who had been waiting for work all day. He just told them to go and work for him.
Workers had to receive their wages each evening (Deuteronomy 24:14-15). The owner spoke to his manager and told him to pay everyone the same wage. He must begin with the men who started work last. And finally, he paid the men who started work first.
Those first workers thought that the owner had not been fair to them. So they complained. The owner replied to the man who was probably complaining the loudest. He said that he had kept the promise that he made to them. He had a right to use his money as he chose. They were jealous because he was generous. The men who came last needed the money as much as the other men.
This verse shows that this story is partly an answer to Peter’s question in verse 27 of chapter 19. Jesus repeats the words that he used there in Matthew 19:30: ‘Many people who are last now will be first. And the people who are first now will be last.’ Peter’s question about what they should get was not a good question. God invites people to live where he rules. He invites people because he is generous. They can work for God there. God is always generous when he deals with people. Nobody deserves God’s gifts. Nobody can earn a reward where God rules. God welcomes everyone, whether they come early or late to where he rules.
Jesus knew that he would suffer and die. This was the third occasion on which he warned his disciples about this. Matthew emphasises that they were going up into the hills towards Jerusalem. This was their capital city, and the Jewish place to worship. There the Jewish leaders would demand that Jesus should die.
Jesus gives more details about what will happen there. He knew that he would suffer severe mental and physical pain. But he also knew that ‘he would become alive again on the third day’.
Mark’s gospel says that James and John made the request (Mark 10:35-45). Their mother had the same ambition as her sons, but they were responsible. Jesus spoke directly to them when he replied. They believed that Jesus would become king. And Jesus had chosen them, together with Peter, to be witnesses when he changed his appearance (Matthew 17:1-2). They also saw Jesus make Jairus’ daughter become alive again. But Jesus said that he would suffer. And they failed to understand why the king should suffer.
Jesus asked if they could share what he was going to suffer. They said that they could. But they probably did not understand what that really meant. James died early in the history of the church because he believed Jesus. King Herod Agrippa ordered his men to kill James (Acts 12:1-2). John lived until he was very old. But he probably had a difficult life in prison, so he may have suffered a lot too.
The other disciples did not like it that James and John were asking for special places. But they had the same ambition. Luke says that even at the Last Supper they were arguing among themselves. They argued about who was the greatest and most important among them (Luke 22:24). Jesus told them that in foreign nations important people tell their servants what to do. They expect their servants to obey their orders. But where God rules, it is different. People who want to be great must serve other people. They must even be prepared to act as a slave.
Jesus then spoke about why he came into the world. He is our example, because he came to serve. He would give his life to make people free from their sin. Then they could enter where God rules. It was Jesus who would give his life for many people (Isaiah 53:11). Jesus made a way back to God for people. But to do this he had to live in this world. Then he had to die in a terrible way.
Mark describes how Jesus healed blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:42-52). Matthew says that there were two blind men. He did not know or he did not record their names. The blind men called Jesus ‘David’s Son’, which was a name for the *Messiah. The crowd tried to stop the blind men from shouting. They were a nuisance because they were interrupting people’s journey to Jerusalem. And they were using the name ‘David’s Son’, which might have been dangerous. It was just before the time for the special Jewish ceremony called ‘Passover’. At that time the Jews remembered that God had rescued their people from Egypt long ago. It was not wise to shout the name of the Messiah. It might seem that people were demanding their freedom from their Roman rulers. But the blind men believed that Jesus could help them. So they continued to shout for his attention.
Jesus would have noticed that they were blind. But he wanted them to say what they needed. God knows what we need. But he wants us to pray to him. He wants us to show that we trust him. Matthew, Mark and Luke all record this event, but only Matthew writes that Jesus touched their eyes.
This is the last miracle that the gospels record. After this, Jesus went on his final journey to Jerusalem. This incident is a contrast to the story about James and John. They had been like blind men because they did not realise the truth about Jesus. To be a disciple meant that they would suffer. They were ‘blind’ in a different way from the physical way that the two men suffered. There is a link with the next story about Jesus as he entered into Jerusalem. The crowd there called Jesus ‘David’s Son’, exactly as the blind men had done.
James and John.... the sons of Zebedee.... were invited up on the Mountain when Jesus had his meeting with Elijah and Moses. No doubt they were amazed.... I mean it was Elijah... the guy who left earth on a chariot of fire and then there was Moses.... Moses.... Moses. No doubt the two sons of Zebedee told their mom all about what they had experienced. Just the fact they were chosen to go on that trip would have been enough to make a mother's heart jump. I think their mother, however, thought her boys might just be missing their one spot at fame and fortune.... this Jesus guy was going to the throne... I mean He was glowing with Elijah and Moses..... He had to be the next big thing and she wanted her sons to have that.... so she would see to that little detail herself!
This is where I figured out Jesus knew everything about the plan and the future..... just like His Father.... Jesus knew how it was going to go for John and James...... James would die.... just like Jesus.... and John.... he would live a long miserable life.... always looking over his shoulder..... worrying if he would meet his brother's fate for being a follower of the Messiah..... but they are both well known for being disciples.... so Mom got fame and fortune for her son.
Fair wages is something that has alluded working humans since forever. I always figured I deserved more than I settled for. When I was forced to retire I was making 20 times more than I made when I started working back in the 1960's. This chapter isn't so much about how much the wages were.... it was more about who deserves more or less. It actually opens up the discussion about those last minute confessions. I've heard it said that it's not fair that people who finally give their life to Christ on their death bed.... shouldn't get a Heavenly invitation. There were a lot of men on the marketplace that didn't get any wages at all.... they had to go hungry. So the guy who has been a follower... a good follower.... all his life.... gets the same invitation as the guy who finally came to Christ in the last minute.... I wonder.... does the follower take resentment with him to Heaven? Does the guy who waited so long take his stubborn character with him to Heaven?
I'm going to jump to the two blind men..... this is the last miracle Jesus is going to perform.... He's on His way to Jerusalem and the Cross. These guys called Him "Son of David". Jesus let them see..... He touched them.... according to Matthew... the tax collector.... Jesus reached out and touched those two so they could see. Jesus was dealing with ignorant humans. Everyone wanted to be the best on earth.... Everyone wanted to be the richest on earth.... Everyone wanted to be fortunate and enjoy fame....... on earth.... on earth.... earth was all they knew... Heaven... that was not something they could comprehend. They were ignorant because they couldn't see that Jesus was there to bring them eternal life.... in a place where fame and fortune have no meaning.... see in Heaven we won't be tempted by fame and fortune.
And now.... Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem to share Passover. He's been a teacher and a healer.... and now He's going to Jerusalem where He will allow Himself to be plopped on a Cross and laid in a borrowed grave.... so He could walk out opening the window to eternal life..... what's His fair wage?
