matthew 20:16 adventure challenge

( Matthew 20:16) The parable applied: the principle of God's reward. In other words, it is certain that in the gospel of Luke, in whose preface we have expressly the words "set in order," the Holy Ghost does in no way tie Himself to what, after all, is the most elementary form of arrangement; for it needs little observation to see, that the simple sequence of facts as they occurred is that which demands a faithful enumeration, and nothing more. The Roman penny was, in our money, of the value of a sevenpence half-penny, a day's wages for a day's work, and the wages sufficient for a day's maintenance. For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner, Whatever is right I will give you whatever is right you will receive, Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first, They supposed that they would receive more, equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day. Now they no doubt had heard of the fame of Jesus. 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. So the last shall be first, and the first last,. As he had asserted in Matthew 19:30 and which is clearly illustrated by this parable, as it may be applied to Jews or Gentiles, or to nominal and real Christians: for many be called; externally, under the ministration of the Gospel, as the Jews in general were, by Christ and his apostles; but, 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. He "went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people." No doubt the tempest was great; but what harm could it do to Jesus? Or is your eye evil because I am good? It is simply designed to teach that in the church, among the multitudes who will be saved, Christ makes a difference. 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. Major Prophets So, on the other hand, the centurion sets forth with no less aptness the characteristic faith that suits the Gentile, in a simplicity which looks for nothing but the word of His mouth, is perfectly content with it, knows that, whatever the disease may be, He has only to speak the word, and it is done according to His divine will. 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. Not merely were there many pieces of value, but one pearl of great price. So when the evening was come, and the lord of the vineyard said unto his steward, Call the laborers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. Mary Magdalene is named in all the lists; Mary the mother of James and Joses must be the same person as Mary the wife of Clopas; therefore the third woman is described in three different ways. [There is what I call a clear, unmistakable note of time.] In some cases the last called will be among the first in rank of blessing. 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). . 45. It is tragic that we have a professional ministry that so often seeks people to cater to it, rather than to realize that they are the servants of all. "Lord, save us; we perish," cried they, as they awoke Him; and He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea. First, Carnal worldlings agree with God for their penny in this world; they choose their portion in this life (Psalms 17:14); in these things they are willing to have their reward (Matthew 6:2; Matthew 6:5), their consolation (Luke 6:24), their good things (Luke 16:25); and with these they shall be put off, shall be cut off from spiritual and eternal blessings; and herein God does them no wrong; they have what they chose, the penny they agreed for; so shall their doom be, themselves have decided it; it is conclusive against them. It seemed the last place on earth to which a man in his condition should have gone. This is the more to be noticed, inasmuch as the gospel of Matthew has been in general adopted as the standard of time, save by those who have rather inclined to Luke as supplying the desideratum. It does not say, that " then there came a leper," or " immediately there came a leper." This is the third time that Jesus warned his disciples that he was on the way to the Cross ( Matthew 16:21; Matthew 17:22-23). Matthew 20 | ESV Bible | YouVersion b. As he had asserted in ( Matthew 19:30 ) and which is clearly illustrated by this parable, as it may be applied to Jews or Gentiles, or to nominal and real Christians: for many be called; externally, under the ministration of the Gospel, as . Is thine eye evil, because I am good? Take notice of the care with which the Spirit of God here omits all reference to this: "And a certain scribe came." Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year. And who knows, but what they may have put her up to it, because when Jesus asked the question, they're ready to respond. (iii) These two blind men had an imperfect faith but they were determined to act on the faith they had. Only tradition will not do this work, nor will human thoughts or feelings. 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. 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. God does not permit Scripture to be thus used without losing its force, its beauty, and the grand object for which it was written. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. 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. Jesus uses a kind of gradation. Adventure Challenge - Couple's Edition - Matthew 20:16 - YouTube A Gentile (indeed, any mind not under any kind of legal prejudice or difficulty) would be far more moved by a detailed account of what was more, conspicuous. ", Kagawa himself wrote: "God dwells among the lowliest of men. 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. They have treated the Bible either with levity, or as too awful a book to be apprehended really; not with the reverence of faith, which waits on Him, and fails not in due time to understand His word. What care we for those who curse and blaspheme? In calling the labourers, they must begin from the last, and so to the first. 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. It is as if Jesus was going to gather in upon himself every possible kind of physical and emotional and mental suffering that the world could inflict. But Israel had no sense of their leprosy; and they valued not, but despised, their Messiah, albeit divine I might almost say because divine. The Gentiles came in at the eleventh hour, but it was because the gospel had not been before preached to them. 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.. Set a timer for 20 minutes (no peeking) and start eating. Thus the fresh revelations of grace in no way detract from that which God had of old established in nature; but, contrariwise, only impart a new and greater force in asserting the real value and wisdom of God's way even in these least things. If you do, you have a different concept of God than I do. The ones who labored only an hour did not deserve their pay either. And, look you, two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted out, "Lord, have pity on us, you Son of David!" If the harvest was not ingathered before the rains broke, then it was ruined; and so to get the harvest in was a frantic race against time. 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. It was just because of this that the orthodox religious people of his time could not understand him. "Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! 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. Christianity knows nothing of the conception of a herrenvolk, a master race. 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. Blue Letter Bible study tools make reading, searching and studying the Bible easy and rewarding. 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. And, 2. Copyright 2023, Bible Study Tools. How thoroughly did our Lord take a lowly place for our sakes! 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. We know this by comparing it with the gospel of Luke. Isaiah prophesied the fact that He would be scourged, but in prophesying the fact, Isaiah tells us the reason. What was that cup? 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. Matthew 20. The details, found elsewhere, of her being at the point of death then, before reaching the house, the news that she was dead, are not here. Peter answers, "Of strangers." 2. No word whatever implies that the cleansing of the leper happened at that time. The parable may also be applied more generally, and . Observe that it is at this point the chapter begins with vindicating the sanctity of marriage. 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? 1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. It was His meat to do the will of God. "Suffer me first," he says, "to go and bury my father." "There arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch, that the ship was covered with the waves; but he was asleep." When that great saint Toyohiko Kagawa first came into contact with Christianity, he felt its fascination, until one day the cry burst from him: "O God, make me like Christ." A fish was the last being for man to make his banker of; with God all things are possible, who knew how to blend admirably in the same act divine glory, unanswerably vindicated, with the lowliest grace in man. He, on the contrary, insists not only that He was bound for the cross, but that its truth must be made good in any who will come after Him. The woman at last meets the heart and mind of Jesus in the sense of all her utter nothingness before God; and then grace, which had wrought all up to this, though pent-up, can flow like a river; and the Lord can admire her faith, albeit from Himself, God's free gift. but what a heart was His! The Old Testament Once you scratch off the challenge, you have to do it. The "calling" of which the New Testament almost invariably speaks is what divines call effectual calling, carrying with it a supernatural operation on the will to secure its consent. There were many who died right there as the result of the scourging itself. Get Your Bible Minute in Your Inbox Every Morning. And when the devil was come out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel." 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. Minor Prophets It was the custom in Palestine for a Rabbi to teach as he walked along the road; and no doubt those around Jesus could not hear what Jesus was saying for this clamorous uproar. faithful unto death shall receive the crown of life. Those who recognize the grace they have received by being included in God's Kingdom . 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. And so with the other conversation: "Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father;" it was after the glory of Christ had been witnessed on the holy mount, when man's selfishness of heart showed itself in contrast to the grace of God. 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.. And I pray to God that we will never lose this concept of the ministry, that we are the servants of all.It is so important that we maintain, because Jesus said. Yet is He the Son of man who hath power on earth to forgive sins; and He uses His authority. So He meekly retires, healing, yet forbidding it to be blazed abroad. 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. This is a wonderful, simple question God has not stopped asking. (e) T. Bab. 16So the last will be first, and the first will be last.(A), 17Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. There never can be strength in the soul till forgiveness is known. Jesus instructs His little band that discipleship is never designed as a quid pro quo formula of compensation. Matthew gives no such details, but call and mission are together here. Major Prophets Such is the perversity of man, that he who is not called thinks he can follow Jesus whithersoever He goes. What an anticipation of the walk by faith, not by sight, in which the Gentiles, when called, ought to have glorified God, when the rejection of the Messiah by His own ancient people gave occasion to the Gentile call as a distinct thing! To the proud inhabitant of Jerusalem, both one and the other were but a choice and change within a land of darkness. Peter wanted to know what they would get in return. Wisdom Literature To hire laborers for his vineyard: The landowner went to the marketplace, which was the gathering place for day laborers. "I have seen the children of the world to come (elsewhere (e) it is, of the chamber), , "and they are few".''. Now if you go back to the last verse of the previous chapter, you'll find this same statement. why not sorrow and shame that they should have so little understood their Master's mind? Yet He confidently announced to His disciples that this would happen. Drinking of that cup. The sovereign God takes pity on a needy world, and generously gives his salvation to all who accept his offer. Poetical Books After this, in the chapter we have the positive hindrance asserted of what man counts good. It sheds light in three directions. This place seems to refer to the ancient Roman custom of recruiting their armies. It might be well enough for a Pharisee; it might be worthy of a legal formalist, but it would never do for God; and the Lord Jesus was come here not to accommodate Himself to their thoughts, but, above all, to do God's will of holy love in an evil, wretched world. God proves what He is by the revelation of Jesus. When the world and the devil begin to rebuke, in this case, it is a proof that the salvation of God is nigh; therefore, let such cry out a great deal the more. (Clarke). Reviewing, then, these closing incidents of the chapter (ver. Can we dare to say, No man hath hired us?. Let us set them down. Prophets This tested their thoughts of the glory of Jesus. 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. So Gregory of Nyssa has a strange idea. 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. He tells him that those he envied should fare as well as he did; "I will give unto this last, even as unto thee; I am resolved I will." It is of immense significance to see that, even in a world in which the dark was coming down, the disciples would not abandon the conviction that the victory belonged to Jesus. how is it that ye have no faith? of their own children, or of strangers?" iv. conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy None the less does the Lord uphold it, purged of what accretions had come in to obscure its original and proper character. The New King James Version (NKJV) organises this chapter as follows: . And he went out about the third hour ( Matthew 20:3 ). Grant that these two sons of mine may sit: Asking on behalf of her sons (note to whom Jesus replies in Matthew 20:22-23), she wanted prominent positions for them in the messianic administration of Jesus. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Select a Beginning Point And someone said, "Jesus is going by." General Epistles 8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. In the case of the laborers, those who worked all day did not deserve their pay after having thrown it on the ground. It was made after a series of announcements by Jesus that ahead of him lay an inescapable Cross; it was made at a moment when the air was heavy with the atmosphere of tragedy and the sense of foreboding. (Matthew 20:29-31) Two blind men gain the attention of Jesus. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Use semicolons to separate groups: 'Gen;Jdg;Psa-Mal' or 'Rom 3-12;Mat 1:15;Mat 5:12-22', There are options set in 'Advanced Options', The Whole Bible 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? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. To underscore this, Jesus will give a parable (20:1-16) that amplifies the principle: 'many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first'," (20:16; 16:25). In Matthew 15:1-39 we have another picture, and twofold. 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? Far from lowering the position of His servant, He declares there was none greater among mortal men. The fact is, beloved brethren, there is but one Jesus; and whoever it may be, whether John the Baptist, or the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, after all it is divinely-given faith which alone sustains: else man has to learn painfully somewhat of himself; and what is he to be accounted of? In the next scene, then, we have the disciples as a whole tried by a sudden danger to which their sleeping Master paid no heed. How many millions does the long-suffering of God lead to repentance! Conversely in some cases those whom God called early in their lives may not receive as much reward as those called later in life. Or is your eye evil because I am good? The scribe had no heart for the hidden glory. The violent man, Herod, guilty of innocent blood, then reigned in the land, in contrast with whom goes Jesus into the wilderness, showing who and what He was the Shepherd of Israel, ready and able to care for the people. 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. To all justice shall be done. To all to whom the rewards of heaven are promised they shall be given. If there were, so to speak, a justification of circumcision by faith, undoubtedly there was also the justification of uncircumcision through their faith. a. ". He comes to do not his own will, but the will of him that sent him, and so he correctly says of rank in his kingdom, It is not mine to give. Next day he was back for Kagawa's coat and trousers, and got them too. 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. (Barclay), ii. It is an evil eye, which is displeased at the good of others, and desires their hurt. THE LORDSHIP OF THE CROSS ( Matthew 20:20-28 continued). 748.]. 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. Oh, what a heart is ours! The line from the . But none the less do we find His affections engaged for the help of the helpless. I have endowed them with apostolic gifts or with superior talents, and suited them for wider usefulness. The book features 50 challenges to do with your partner at affordable price points (FREE to about $50). (ii) These two blind men were undiscourageable. 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. Matthew 20:16 Interlinear: So the last shall be first, and the first Other parables also teach that He will not (e.g., Matthew 25:14-30). But when the Lord was here, no matter what the unbelief of others, it was only an opportunity for the grace of Jesus to shine out. But I see no sufficient reason to refuse the impression that John found it hard to reconcile his continued imprisonment with a present Messiah; nor do I discern a sound judgment of the case, or a profound knowledge of the heart, in those who thus raise doubts as to John's sincerity, any more than they appear to me to exalt the character of this honoured man of God, by supposing him to play a part which really belonged to others. Jesus purpose in telling this story was to illustrate what he had just said concerning Gods unexpected gift to those who at present appear to be disadvantaged (see Matthew 19:30).