matthew 20:16 adventure challenge matthew 20:16 adventure challenge

To teach this it was spoken. Many that, in the order of time, are brought last into the kingdom, shall be first in the rewards. 21 "What is your request?" he asked. It can only mean here the "invited." 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 was a grave step this, and in view of His rejection now. 2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. Accordingly, here we have, first, the Lord judging the wrong thoughts of "Scribes and Pharisees which were of Jerusalem." So long as it is all we have to give, all service ranks the same with God. i. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach." But whereas the most unlikely people entered the kingdom, those for whom it had been prepared were excluded (Matthew 20:16). He who gave the law maintained its authority, and used it as an occasion for testifying His own power and presence. 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? We shall find something of these mysteries later on in this gospel; but here it is simply a Jewish testimony of Jehovah-Messiah in His unwearied love, through His twelve heralds, and in spite of rising unbelief, maintaining to the end what His grace had in view for Israel. Thus explained, this parable has no reference to the call of the Gentiles, nor to the call of aged sinners, nor to the call of sinners out of the church at all. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with what is my own? The very next scene, the case of Jairus, the ruler, shows it. Jesus emphasized that both the calling and the choosing of God is based on His grace especially His choosing. In this work we must not be slothful, not loiterers, but labourers, working, and working out our own salvation. Many a man, who, as the world counts it, is a poor man, will be great in the Kingdom, because he never thought in terms of reward but worked for the thrill of working and for the joy of serving. iv. This world looks at the outward appearance, but God knows our hearts. 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. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. The ability to serve God is the gift of His grace. GO GO GO! Greatness does not consist in commanding others to do things for you; it consists in doing things for others; and the greater the service, the greater the honour. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They said to Him, We are able. So He said to them, You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.. 1. . Your partnership makes all we do possible. In Matthew 12:1-50 we find not so much Jesus present and despised of men, as these men of Israel, the rejectors, in the presence of Jesus. The parable itself displays a reversal of expectations "the last will be first and the first will be last"; this is not only the summary of the parable (20:16), but a critical aspect of New Testament theology. The people might have failed, but, surely, there were some differences surely those that were honoured and valued were not so depraved! For this challenge, you'll need dinner at home and two nerf guns. 111. See here. But it is expressly the pattern after which He was to deal, and will deal, with Israel. We have here. c. Early in the morning: This is literally at dawn, usually reckoned to be about 6:00 in the morning. What can be simpler than that John put the question through his disciples, because he (not they only) had a question in the mind? After this (what makes it still more unquestionable) comes the case of the demoniac. The earnestness of these men was marvelous; they were desperate to be healed, and ignored the crowd that tried to quiet them (they cried out all the more). & Sanhedrim, fol. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? 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. "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice." "Then," said the Lord, "are the children free. And we who have served the Lord all of our lives and we enter into eternal life. And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the. This signifies the jealousy which the Jews were provoked to by the admission of the Gentiles into the kingdom of heaven. Modern disciples of Jesus should view heavenly rewards the same way. What Jesus Did! "The ransom could not have been paid to God; it was therefore paid to the Evil One, who was holding us fast until the ransom should be given to him, even the life of Jesus." The line from the . But our Lord with dignity demands of Peter, "What thinkest thou, Simon?" And He prophesied so accurately the things.First of all, He is going to be betrayed. It is quite wrong to think that for the Christian the cup must always mean the short, sharp, bitter, agonizing struggle of martyrdom; the cup may well be the long routine of the Christian life, with all its daily sacrifice, its daily struggle, and its heart-breaks and its disappointments and its tears. If we turn toMark 1:1-45; Mark 1:1-45, the proof of what I have said will appear as to the leper. In the case of the laborers, those who worked all day did not deserve their pay after having thrown it on the ground. And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?" 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. Neither giveth he an account of any of his matters; nor is it fit he should. Or is your eye evil because I am good? When he had come to an agreement with them that they would work for 4 pence a day, he sent them into his vineyard. Very early men began to say, "Jesus gave his life a ransom for many. 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. Wisdom Literature 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. After Paul had preached on Mars Hill, there were those who said, "We will hear you again about this" ( Acts 17:32). 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. Why are they postponed here? 20Then the mother of Zebedees sons(K) came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down,(L) asked a favor of him. But I do believe that in this parable, He is teaching that a person at the end of the road can turn, in the eleventh hour and come to God, and receive a share of the kingdom, equal share, as far as eternal life is concerned.Another thing that it teaches, I believe, is that we all will be rewarded for our faithfulness in our service to God. They said to him, "We can." Secondly, the prophecy of Psalms declared, "not a bone of Him shall be broken"( Psalms 34:20 ). That act forfeited their further right to it. He realizes he offers nothing special to the Master, and the skills he has are but gifts from the Master. The world knows quite well that a good man is a man who serves his fellow-men. It adds to the reason for this interpretation, that Christ was conversing about the rewards that should be given to his followers, and not about the numbers that should be called, or about the doctrine of election. "Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?" Poetical Books They had their mistaken ambitions; they had their blindness; they had their wrong ideas; but he never dreamed of writing them off as bad debts. Didst not thou agree to take God's word for it? They have not seized the aim of each gospel. Now this seems to be the principal scope of this parable, to show that the Jews should be first called into the vineyard, and many of them should come at the call; but, at length, the gospel should be preached to the Gentiles, and they should receive it, and be admitted to equal privileges and advantages with the Jews; should be fellow-citizens with the saints, which the Jews, even those of them that believed, would be very much disgusted at, but without reason. It should also encourage us in reference to the hardships and difficulties of our work, that it is but for a day; the approaching shadow, which the servant earnestly desireth, will bring with it both rest, and the reward of our work,Job 7:2. It is often more agonizing to contemplate the painful future than it is to actually live it. It is a very significant story, for it paints a picture of the spirit and of the attitude of mind and heart to which the most precious gifts of God are open. This is a wonderful, simple question God has not stopped asking. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation." GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Select an Ending Point 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). 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. They were beggars; but it was not money they asked for, it was nothing less than sight. The Lord, no doubt, knew the heart of His servant, and could feel for him in the effect that circumstances took upon him. Pentateuch When evening came, the master of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the workers, and give them their pay, beginning from the last and going on until you come to the first.' The grand lesson is that men do not deserve or merit salvation. The ones who labored only an hour did not deserve their pay either. Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Thus the old link with the flesh, with Israel, is now disowned; and the new relationships of faith, founded on doing the will of His Father (it is not a question of the law in any sort), are alone acknowledged. What we have, is not our own, and therefore it is not lawful for us to do what we will with it; but what God has, is his own; and this will justify him, First, In all the disposals of his providence; when God takes from us that which was dear to us, and which we could ill spare, we must silence our discontents with this; May he not do what he will with his own? He goes to raise the dead, and the woman with the issue of blood touches Him by the way. ], "Any union leader worth their salt would protest at such employment practices. Conversely in some cases those whom God called early in their lives may not receive as much reward as those called later in life. 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. In Matthew we have no distinction of their call from their mission. Our Lord then answers, with perfect dignity, as well as grace; He puts before the disciples of John the real state of the case; He furnishes them with plain, positive facts, that could leave nothing to be desired by John's mind when he weighed all as a testimony from God. Christ only meant to say that every one who has been called before others ought to run with so much the greater alacrity, and, next, to exhort all men to be modest, not to give themselves the preference above others, but willingly to share with them a common prize. 16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. I'm a photographer by trade and want you guys to enjoy the world with me on my journey.soooooo ..come on inside and take a backseat to my life and adventures to come , don't be afraid to say hey and come on an adventure with me :) check out my adventures and my photos, if you wish to see more of my work visit the links below to check them out ! From God they will both receive the same welcome, for both Jesus Christ is waiting, and for neither, in the divine sense, has life ended too soon or too late. 3. Or is your eye evil because I am good? If the gospel dies in England, write on its tomb, Betrayed. If our churches lose their holy influence among men, write on them, Betrayed. What care we for infidels? But every Scripture that treats of that time proves what dread, what anxiety, what dark clouds will be ever and anon. He came to occupy not a throne, but a cross. Nor was it only a difference in the forms the truth took; but the vital principle which Christ was diffusing could not be so maintained. And he said unto her, What is it that you want? Now the parable: A landowner went out early in the morning (6 am) to hire laborers for his vineyard. The Greek word is constantly so used as an expression of contempt, "This [fellow] doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils." The payment shall not be wholly deferred till the morning of the resurrection; but then, in the evening of the world, will be the general account, when every one shall receive according to the things done in the body. If they had let him pass, their chance would have gone by for ever; but when the chance came they seized it. This is applied to the Jews (Matthew 22:14; Matthew 22:14); it was so then, it is too true still; many are called with a common call, that are not chosen with a saving choice. 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. Deliver Him to the Gentiles: Jesus knew that the religious leaders of the Jews did not have authority to carry out capital punishment themselves; yet sometimes they executed men despite this prohibition (Acts 7:54-60). Copyright 2019 by Zondervan. Disciples in Jesus day would not necessarily receive more reward than disciples whom God calls to serve Him just before the day of laboring ends, before His second coming. 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. 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. 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. Jesus was moved with compassion to the depths of his being, and touched their eyes; and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him. Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. There were many who died right there as the result of the scourging itself. Bishop PEARCE thinks it is an interpolation from Matthew 22:14. We begin with the comparatively limited significance it originally had. (Matthew 19:30.) And Jesus tells him, "Look no one has left anything, but what in this life he get a hundredfold, and in the life to come, eternal life"( Matthew 19:29 ). The householder had every right to have cut them off with a trifle instead of a whole day's pay. It adds to the reason for this interpretation, that Christ was conversing about the rewards that should be given to his followers, and not about the numbers that should be called, or about the doctrine of election. It is important to see that the landowner did not treat anyone unfairly, though he was more generous to some than to others. It tells us of their ambition. If we accept it as the true reading, it adds something to the warning of the previous clause. Though there be degrees of glory in heaven, yet it will be to all a complete happiness. Peter boasts of leaving "all" to follow Jesus as if this somehow earns him some special reward (19:27). On this the Lord takes another step, when one said to Him, "Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee." Succa, fol. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Select an Ending Point And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard . The first is, as it has been said, "All service ranks the same with God." And then Paul warned the Corinthians about the manner in which they did partake of the Lord's supper. The second is, "So the last shall be first, and the first last; for many are called, but few are chosen." The Gospels Just the idea of Him being crucified was so shocking, that their minds in trying to absorb that, lost everything else He said after that. But none the less do we find His affections engaged for the help of the helpless. (Matthew 20:32-34) Jesus heals the two blind men. 9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. God could not be limited by a question of place; His word was enough. "Dear Beloved, The apostle Paul is known as a great missionary. And everybody will always try to discourage you, but persist, for there is a whole new life. And when the devil was come out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel." Luke-Acts John is swifter of foot, and comes first to the sepulchre: but Peter has more courage, and goes first into it. The disciples had been summoned to work in the vineyard. He evinces, that at the very time when Peter forgot the vision and the Father's voice, virtually reducing Him to mere man, He was God manifest in the flesh. Here is the agreement made with the labourers (Matthew 20:1-7; Matthew 20:1-7); and here it will be asked, as usual. Friend, I am doing you no wrong. 45. Is there unrighteousness with God? Follow Christ's journey to the Cross. They supposed that they would receive more: The men who worked for the landowner all day saw the men who worked for only an hour come away from the pay table, and they supposed, If the landowner is paying these guys a full days pay for one hours work, then we will get far more., i. 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. In the distribution of future joys, as it was in the gathering of the manna, he that shall gather much, will have nothing over, and he that shall gather little, will have no lack, Exodus 16:18. Where love is, there is God.' The hours in the parable were the normal Jewish hours. Thus He points out the utter moral incongruity of fasting at that moment, and intimates that it was not merely the fact that He was going to be rejected, but that to conciliate His teaching and His will with the old thing was hopeless. It is not the amount of service given, but the love in which it is given which matters. Having left Nazareth, as we saw, He takes up His abode in Capernaum, which was henceforth "His own city." "Verily, I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven." Poetical Books Some consider that John the Baptist enquired solely for the sake of his disciples. The youth were instructed, almost from their cradle, in military exercises. Note, It is good for us often to consider what it was that we agreed with God for. for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? The scribe had no heart for the hidden glory. a. What instrument so suitable? Next, we behold Him meeting the centurion after another manner altogether. Far different this was from the errand on which He was intent; but He was there for faith. The English translators have thus given the sense well; for the expression really conveys this slight, though the word "fellow" is printed in italics. He could not bear to see them idle. Jesus' conclusion to the parable mirrors the formula introduced at Matthew 19:30, which leads into the parable: "So the last will be first, and the first will be last" (20:16; see also 19:30). Note, Evening time is the reckoning time; the particular account must be given up in the evening of our life; for after death cometh the judgment. Next, we find Him confessed by the centurion, no longer as the Messiah, when actually with them, confessed according to a faith which saw the deeper glory of His person as supreme, competent to heal, no matter where, or whom, or what, by a word; and this the Lord Himself hails as the foreshadowing of a rich incoming of many multitudes to the praise of His name, when the Jews should be cast out. Using the term "elect," Titus 1:1 reinforces the idea that God separates some few from the many who are called: "Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's . Jesus said, "They will scourge me. General Epistles They should think of them in terms of grace, any reward being an act of Gods grace. All turns on that which was suitable to such a God, the giver of His own Son. I have endowed them with apostolic gifts or with superior talents, and suited them for wider usefulness. Gregory of Nyssa saw the glaring fault in that theory. It is a question, then, of internal evidence, what that particular order is which God has employed in each different gospel. He here is predicting the fact that He is going to be scourged. The two blind men called upon Him as the Son of David; a sample this of what will be in the end, when the heart of Israel turns to the Lord, and the veil is done away. 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." 2. Had all the sinners that ever lived in the world been consigned to hell, they could not have discharged the claims of justice. 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. If he were willing to follow the Lord, it was for what he could get. c. Betrayed they will condemn Him to death deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. In this he had laboured, as he said, from his youth up: "What lack I yet?" Blue Letter Bible study tools make reading, searching and studying the Bible easy and rewarding. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Let us set them down. No sooner had Peter pronounced to Jesus the truth of His person, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," than Jesus holds the secret no longer. In our gospel we have not seen the apostles called and ordained. i. It was really after the transfiguration recorded in chapter 17 of our gospel. Would you prayerfully consider a gift of support today? We are going to Jerusalem. Some think this parable speaks of the way that people come to God at different stages of their life. They gave Him full honor with this title. So little old Jewish mama coming to Jesus with her two sons. For He loved Peter felt for him, and his wife's mother was precious in His sight. And yet in spite of that the disciples are thinking of a Kingdom. Warning them against that casual, careless attitudes in which many of them were receiving it. Matthew 20:16 in all English translations, NIV, Story of Jesus: Experience the Life of Jesus as One Seamless Story, NIV, The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People, NIV, Beautiful Word Bible Journal, Revelation, Paperback, Comfort Print, NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, Red Letter Edition: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture, NIV, The Woman's Study Bible, Full-Color, Red Letter: Receiving God's Truth for Balance, Hope, and Transformation, NIV, The Story, Hardcover, Comfort Print: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People. She said to him, "Speak the word that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right hand, and one on your left, in your Kingdom." But Jesus called them unto him, and he said, You know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. Then shalt thou call, saith the good and faithful servant, and I will answer. And He was Jesus, Emmanuel. Both Mark and Luke add their own touches to the story, to show that on this occasion there was in the atmosphere of the apostolic band a certain tenseness and a certain foreboding of tragedy to come. 4. And they joined the crowd following Him on up to Jerusalem.Remember at this point the heart of Jesus is very heavy, because He knows that He soon is going to be betrayed, mocked, scourged, crucified. Laborers in the Vineyard. Neither would Jewish disciples necessarily receive more than Gentile disciples whom God calls later in His program of preparation for the kingdom (cf. And they said unto him, We're able ( Matthew 20:22 ). But this is enough to silence all murmurs and objectors, that God is sovereign Lord of all, and may do what he will with his own. Historical Books Can we dare to say, No man hath hired us?. We have, first, the sower sowing the word. Origen said it was the devil; Gregory of Nyssa objected that this put the devil on the same level as God, and allowed the devil to dictate terms to God. A hook is cast into the sea, and the fish that takes it produces the required money for Peter as for his gracious Master and Lord. This sets forth not at all the way in which the Christian stands related to Christ; for even though we had known Him after the flesh, henceforth know we Him no more. i. 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. "This man blasphemeth." Here again is found a fresh case of the same remarkable principle of selection of events to form a complete picture, which I have maintained to be the true key of all. But if you were silent and refused to confess your crimes, then each time he would lay the whip on heavier, and heavier, until you'd be forced to cry out your crime against the Roman government. Their reward was as much of grace as was that of the bitter "firsters"! The Saviour, while He puts forth His hand, touching him as man, and yet as none but Jehovah might dare to do, dispels the hopeless disease at once.