1570 | MattheW 19:23
23
Then Jesus said to his dis ci ples,“ Tru ly I tell you, it is hard for some one who is rich to en ter the king dom of heav en. 24 Again I tell you, it is eas i er for a cam el to go through the eye of a nee dle than for some one who is rich to en ter the king dom of God.”
25
When the dis ci ples heard this, they were great ly as ton ished and asked,“ Who then can be saved?” 26
Jesus looked at them and said,“ With man this is im pos si ble, but with God all things are pos si ble.”
27
Pe ter an swered him,“ We have left ev ery thing to fol low you! What then will there be for us?”
28
Jesus said to them,“ Tru ly I tell you, at the re new al of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glo ri ous throne, you who have fol lowed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judg ing the twelve tribes of Is ra el. 29 And ev ery one who has left hous es or broth ers or sis ters or fa ther or mother or wife a or chil dren or fields for my sake will re ceive a hun dred times as much and will in her it eter nal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
“ For the king dom of heav en is like a landown er who went out ear ly in the morn ing
20 to hire work ers for his vine yard. 2 He agreed to pay them a de nar i us b for the day and sent them into his vine yard.
3
“ About nine in the morn ing he went out and saw oth ers stand ing in the mar ket place do ing noth ing. 4 He told them,‘ You also go and work in my vine yard, and I will pay you what ev er is right.’ 5 So they went.
“ He went out again about noon and about three in the af ter noon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the af ter noon he went out and found still oth ers stand ing around. He asked them,‘ Why have you been stand ing here all day long do ing noth ing?’
7
“‘ Be cause no one has hired us,’ they an swered.“ He said to them,‘ You also go and work in my vine yard.’
8
“ When eve ning came, the own er of the vineyard said to his fore man,‘ Call the work ers and pay them their wag es, be gin ning with the last ones hired and go ing on to the first.’
9
“ The work ers who were hired about five in the af ter noon came and each re ceived a de nar i us. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expect ed to re ceive more. But each one of them also re ceived a de nar i us. 11 When they re ceived it, they began to grum ble against the land own er. 12‘ These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said,‘ and you have made them equal to us who have borne the bur den of the work and the heat of the day.’
13
“ But he an swered one of them,‘ I am not be ing un fair to you, friend. Didn’ t you agree to work for a de nar i us? 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
a
29 Some manuscripts do not have or wife. was the usual daily wage of a day laborer. b
2 A denarius
19:24 through the eye of a needle Jesus employs this ridiculous impossibility to capture his hearers’ attention and emphasize the great sacrifice necessitated by the kingdom of heaven( Mt 19:21). See note on Mk 10:25. 19:25 they were greatly astonished Jesus’ remarks in Mt 19:23 – 24 reverse the conventional wisdom of his day. It was commonly believed that if someone was blessed with riches, they had God’ s approval and were thereby assured of entrance into his kingdom of heaven. 19:28 at the renewal of all things The larger trajectory of Jesus’ comment is the forthcoming new heaven and earth( Rev 21). The language of the Greek text, though, implies a process— one that began with Jesus coming to earth and continues through the gospel spreading around the world( compare Ro 8:19 – 22; Mk 1:15). The culmination of this process is the new creation. sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes Jesus states that the Twelve will share in the leadership responsibilities of his kingdom— which they begin doing shortly after Jesus’ ascension, when they become ambassadors for the gospel( see Ac 2). 19:30 many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first Jesus describes an end-times reversal of roles in the kingdom of heaven. This statement corresponds with the reversal of expectations in Mt 19:23 – 24( see note on v. 25).
20:1 – 16 Bracketed by role-reversal statements in 19:30 and 20:16, the parable of the vineyard workers portrays God’ s gracious generosity. See the table“ Parables of Jesus” on p. 1584.
20:1 workers Indicates day-laborers, not slaves. As a result of heavy taxation, high debt and scarce resources, peasants in Jesus’ day were forced to hire themselves out on a daily basis. 20:2 denarius A day’ s wage. See the infographic“ A Silver Denarius” on p. 1578. 20:3 nine in the morning The Greek text identifies the time as the“ third hour.” The day was counted from 6 a. m.( first hour) to 6 p. m.( twelfth hour). 20:4 I will pay you whatever is right These day laborers probably assumed that they would be paid less because of their late start. 20:6 five in the afternoon The fact that the owner recruited workers this late in the day might indicate the urgency of the harvest( compare 9:37 – 38). It also shows the desperation of these workers who have been waiting all day for someone to hire them. 20:8 pay them their wages According to the law, hired workers had to be paid at the end of the day( see Lev 19:13; Dt 24:15). beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first This wording associates the workers in the parable with Jesus’ statements in Mt 19:30 and 20:16. 20:9 each received a denarius These workers are paid a full day’ s wage— which would have shocked Jesus’ audience. See the infographic“ Coins of the Gospels” on p. 1613. 20:12 you have made them equal to us Jesus’ audience probably agreed that the owner was being unfair: Those who worked more should be paid more.