Matthew

Chapter 20
1~~"For the kingdom of heaven is like a 'lord of the vineyard'/capitalist who went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard."

2~~"And when he had BARGAINED with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard."

{Note: A denarius was equivalent to a fair day's wage for a full day's labor. This first group was the 'Unionized Labor group'. No contract in advance, no work . . . NO GRACE GROUP.}

3~~"And he went out about the third hour {9 AM}, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace."

{Note: Non-union laborers or scabs who had no work, no one would hire them.}

4~~"And to those he said, 'You too go into the vineyard, and WHATSOEVER IS RIGHT I will give you.' And they went their way."

{Note: This non-union crowd is relying on the GRACE of the capitalist/employer to pay them a fair amount. No bargaining with the GRACE crowd.}

5~~"Again he went out about the sixth {Noon} and ninth {3 PM} hour, and did likewise."

6~~"And about the eleventh hour {5 PM} he went out, and found others standing idle, and said unto them, 'Why have you been standing idle all the day?' "

7~~"They say unto him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said unto them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right, that shall you receive.' "

{Note: Even right up to dark the capitalist was putting the grace crowd to work with only the promise that he would treat them right.}

8~~"And when evening did come {6 PM}, the lord of the vineyard said unto his steward, 'Call the laborers and pay them their
wages . . . beginning from the LAST unto the FIRST.' "

9~~"And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour {5 PM Group - worked 1 hour} . . . each one received a denarius."

10~~"But when the FIRST came {bargained for 12 hours labor for 1 denarius}, they assumed {in blind arrogance} that they should have received MORE . . . and they likewise received every man a denarius."

11-12~~"And when they had received it, they began to complain against the good man of the house {the capitalist}, 12~~saying, 'These LAST have worked but only one hour, and you have made them equal unto us . . . who have borne the burden and heat of the day.' "

{Note: Blind arrogance again only looks at themselves . . . and they feel they were wronged!}

13~~"But he answered and said unto them, 'My Friends {sarcasm}, I am doing you no wrong! Did you not bargain with me for a denarius?' "

{Note: This is Jesus' point. The disciples were 'bargaining' with the Lord. I did this for you . . . so what is in it for me?}

14~~"Take what is yours and GET OUT OF HERE . . . but I desire to give to this LAST . . . as also to you!"

15~~" 'Is it not lawful for me to do what I desire to do with my own {capital}? Yes it is! Or is your eye evil because I am good?' "

{Note: Blind arrogance does not understand Grace, it judges Grace. And, it leads to thinking evil (evil eye is an idiom for thinking evil).}

16~~"So the LAST shall be FIRST, and the FIRST LAST."

{Note: Moral - those who rely on the Grace of God shall be first in rewards.}

{Salome - the Arrogant Mother of James and John verses 17-23}
17-18~~ And as Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem {from Jerico} He took the twelve disciples aside and, and said to them, 18~~ "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death."

19~~ "And they will deliver Him to the Gentiles {Romans} to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify Him {all are Roman customs} . . . and the third day He will receive resurrection."

20~~Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Him with her sons, bowing down to Him, and obsequiously made a request of Him.

{Note: Salome is the sister of Mary and Jesus' Aunt. She is the mother of John and James who are the Sons of Thunder and are Zebedee's sons. Salome is at least paying attention and believes what Jesus is saying so in her Blind Arrogance, now she wants a promise of reward.}

21~~And He said to her, "What do you wish?" She said to Him, "Make a command decision that in your kingdom, these two sons of mine may sit on your right hand and on your left hand."

22~~But Jesus answered her and said, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink of the cup of which I am about to drink?" They say unto Him, "We are able." {ARROGANCE!!!!}

{Note: The cup from which Jesus will drink is the cross. NO ONE but Him is qualified to drink of this cup! But in their arrogance, James and John say they are able!}

23~~And He said unto them {James and John}, "OF MY CUP . . . YOU SHALL DRINK! but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not Mine to give . . . but it has been prepared in the past with the result that it stands prepared forever by My Father {God the Father is the author of the Plan}."

{Note: James was the first of the Apostles to be martyred. John was the last. But each drank of the cup from which Jesus drank.}

{The Arrogant Apostles React verses 24-28}
24~~And when the ten heard it, they became indignant against the two brothers.

{Note: So now we know the other 10 Apostles were also filled with arrogance and had no grace attitude. No one saw this with a sense of humor. Or, they could have just minded their own business, but they reacted indicating no RMA yet!}

25~~But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the Rulers of the Gentiles {the Romans} LORDED over them {the Jews}, and their great men {men in command of the province} exercise authority over them."

{Note: Jesus is pointing out a historical trend that they all would have recognized. He is telling them to NOT follow the example of the Romans.}

26~~"It should NOT be so among you! Whosoever will be GREAT among you . . . let him be your minister/servant {diakonos}!"

{Note: To be great you must realize YOU are nothing! It is God and His Grace that is important. Utilize doctrine in your soul and show humility under God's Grace.}

{Note: Diakonos from which we get 'deacon' means to serve or to minister.}

27~~"And whosoever wills to be FIRST among you . . . let him be your slave {doulos}!"

{Note: Doulos means slave. It really infers the lowest level of the class structure of the day.}

28~~"Just as the Son of Man did NOT come to be served, but TO SERVE . . . and to give His life . . . a ransom for the many."

{The Example of GRACE - the 2 Blind Men verses 29 to end}
29~~And as they were going out from Jericho, a great mob followed Him.

30~~And, behold, two blind men were sitting by the road {real picture of human helplessness}, when they heard that Jesus passed by, they SHOUTED, saying, "LORD! {recognized His deity} GRACE US OUT {have mercy on us} . . . thou Son of David {also recognized his Human title}."

{Note: These two with their human weaknesses were GREAT. They had doctrine in their soul and recognized the true nature of Jesus Christ.}

31~~And the mob {with blind arrogance} severely rebuked these same ones . . . for the purpose that they should SHUT UP. But they began to shout all the more {grace men do not back down}, saying, "Grace us out . . . O Lord . . . Son of David."

32~~And Jesus, having stopped, summoned them, and said, "What do you wish that I shall do for you?"

33~~They said to this Same One, "Lord {emphasis on deity}, {we wish} that our eyes may be opened."

{Note: The grace men ask for something that they could never do for themselves . . . to have 'just a little sight' like to tell light from dark. But in their grace attitude, God will do even MORE for them than they could ask!}

34~~So Jesus, moved with compassion, touched {their eyes} and at once they recovered their sight again and again and again {idiom meaning perfect vision} and they followed him.

{Note: The Apostles followed Jesus . . . in Blind Arrogance (at this point of their lives). The Blind men followed Jesus mentally in Grace and while they were blind. Now as the LAST, their reward in time came FIRST (before that of the Apostles) and they received all they could ask - restored sight - and more . . . perfect vision.}

************************************************

This page is sponsored by Kenneth Sidley, CPA, an Orange County California CPA (949) 706-3133. Please call Ken for high quality, low cost CPA services in Orange County California. This includes audit, review, compilation, tax returns, Quickbooks, and business consulting services.

This page is sponsored by Moxxor For Pain Free Living. Moxxor is a highly concentrated Omega 3 product that has reduced inflammation in this writer. Please go to this website to read more about Moxxor.