Matthew 20:1 ¶ 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. 2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. 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? 7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. 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. 9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. 11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, 12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. 13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? 14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? 16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
Continuing with the thought from the last chapters Jesus goes on
to teach by way of a parable that God offers everlasting life to all and
whether it is received early in life or on one’s death bed the reward is the
same, life everlasting. It is God’s free gift that is His to tender as He sees
fit.
Some are called in youth and some at various stages of life but
all are called, and few will receive Christ and everlasting life. Those who
will are chosen. God’s foreknowledge knows everyone that will accept Christ as
their Saviour and God chooses those who will. On one side of heaven’s
metaphorical door it could say, “whosoever will” and on the other side, “Chosen
from the foundation of the world.”
Matthew 20:17 ¶ And Jesus
going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto
them, 18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem;
and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the
scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, 19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to
mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall
rise again.
Jesus foretells His betrayal, His trial, His execution, and His
resurrection. Here is a prophecy on the other side of the Cross. See how He did
this in Matthew 16:21. Christ reinforces to His disciples what is to be, the
foundation of Christianity without which there is no salvation for mankind.
Matthew 20:20 ¶ Then came
to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him,
and desiring a certain thing of him. 21
And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that
these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the
left, in thy kingdom. 22 But Jesus
answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup
that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized
with? They say unto him, We are able. 23
And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of 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 shall be given to them for whom it
is prepared of my Father. 24 And when
the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two
brethren. 25 But Jesus called them unto
him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion
over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. 26 But it shall not be so among you: but
whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; 27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let
him be your servant: 28 Even as the Son
of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a
ransom for many.
This passage is, of course, one with great sermon possibilities
and has been used many, many times to underscore the humility with which we
must come to God. It is an honor and a privilege to serve Him in any capacity.
We do not get to pick our divine assignment. There is no place for blind
ambition in God’s church. We are given roles by God based on our ability and
willingness or we try to seize roles that then make us a tyrant or a fraud.
I think of a young man who says that he wants to be a Pastor of a
large church. But what if God wanted him to clean the bathrooms or mow the lawn
or teach Sunday School? What would happen to him if he tried to force his way
to the position he dreamed of without God’s anointing?
The passage is pretty self-explanatory. The sons of Zebedee, James
and John, had a mother who thought she was looking out for them but she put
them in a bad place with the other disciples. Jesus gives a prophecy of their
martyrdom in this passage, though. His final comment in the passage leads us to
think about the word ransom.
Exodus 30:11 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
12 When thou takest the sum of the
children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom
for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague
among them, when thou numberest them.
An important thing to note here is that the ransom for a man’s
soul was paid to the Lord.
…then
shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD…
The Anglican clerics, Westcott and Hort, who were mainly
responsible for the Revised Version of
the Bible put forward the error that Satan was such a powerful entity, almost
an opponent to God, that Jesus paid a ransom to him at the Cross. This is
absurd as you can see as ransoms are paid to God.
Job
33:24 Then he is gracious unto him, and
saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.
Psalm
49:7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a
ransom for him:
1Timothy
2:5 For there is one God, and
one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a
ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
Christians have granted too much power and authority to Satan who
is subordinate to God. He can do nothing without God’s permission and the book
of Job says he must operate under the limits set by God. In the Persian
religion there was a good god and a bad god; Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu. This
eventually resulted in the heresy put forward by the Iranian teacher, Mani,
called Manichaeism of a very clear black and white universe where bad things
that happen and good things that happen are clearly separated into the realms
of distinct entities.
However, the Bible teaches God’s absolute sovereignty throughout.
There is nothing that He did not either cause to happen or permit to happen for
reasons He shows in Job we may never know on this earth. Our duty is to trust
Him. Satan is wholly subordinate to God’s will and can do nothing that God does
not permit. This is very difficult for Christians who have grown up in pagan
Christianity where non-Christian ideas like Greek philosophy, are mingled in
with Bible truth.
No ransom is now or was ever paid to Satan. That is heresy and
blaspheming God’s sovereignty. Satan does not have a position where he can
demand a ransom, nor is he ever said to request one.
Matthew 20:29 ¶ And as they
departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him. 30 And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way
side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on
us, O Lord, thou Son of David. 31
And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace:
but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of
David. 32 And Jesus stood still, and
called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? 33 They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be
opened. 34 So Jesus had compassion on
them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight,
and they followed him.
By calling Jesus the Son of David these blind men recognize Him as
the Messiah. They wanted their sight and they believed that He was able to give
them their sight. Christ honored their faith and healed them immediately and
they followed Him. There are many important things to learn from this passage.
To believe that God can heal you is fundamental to Him healing you. To
acknowledge who He is, another thing that is most basic, puts you in line to
receive His blessing.
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