He went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace. He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. About the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle. He said to them, ‘Why do you stand here all day idle?’
“They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ “He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and you will receive whatever is right.’
When evening had come, the lord of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning from the last to the first.’
“When those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius. When the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise each received a denarius. When they received it, they murmured against the master of the household, saying, ‘These last have spent one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat!’
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v6 The last hour: for the day was twelve hours…
The last hour: for the day was twelve hours long, and the first hour began at the Sun rising.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv3–12 3 And he went out about the third hour,…
3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
Ver. 3. Others standing idle] For any good they did, or could do, till sent into the vineyard, and set awork by God. Till then we are mere excrements of human society. Nos numerus sumus, &c.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v8 Here observe, 1. That the time of God’s full…
Here observe, 1. That the time of God’s full rewarding of his labourers, is the evening of their days; that is, when their work is done. When the evening was come, the lord of the vineyard called his labourers, and gave them their hire; not but that they have part of their reward in hand, but it is chiefly laid up in hope.
Observe, 2. That though God makes no difference in his servants wages for the time of their work, yet he will make a difference for the degrees of their service. Undoubtedly, they that have done most work, shall receive most wages. He that soweth bountifully, shall reap bountifully: God will reward every man according to his works; that is, not only according to the nature and quality, but the measure and degree, of his work. All shall have equity, but all shall not have equal bounty.
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Observe, 3. That all inequality in the distribution of rewards, doth not make God an unjust accepter of persons; he may dispense both grace and glory, in what measure and degree he pleases, without the least shadow of unrighteousness. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?
Observe, 4. That when we have done much service for God, by labouring longer than others in his vineyard, it is our duty to have a low esteem both of our services and of ourselves, for the first shall be last, and the last first: that is, they that are first and highest in their own esteem, shall be the last and least in God’s account.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv3–12 And he went out about the third hour,.... About…
And he went out about the third hour,.... About nine o'clock in the morning,
and saw others standing idle in the market place: the place where labourers used to be hired: and may design the world, because a place full of people, and of great wickedness, for the whole world lies in it; a place of trade and traffic in worldly things, and likewise of worldly and carnal pleasure, and also of idleness. Now God's elect before calling, are in this place: they are natives of it, have their conversation according to it: here Christ came in person, and here he sends his ministers, his Gospel, to find them out, and by his Spirit and grace he calls them from hence; so that afterwards they are no more of it, though they are in it: but before conversion they belong to it, and their posture then is standing idle; being sluggish, and slothful in business, unwilling to work, and afraid of a little danger and trouble, sauntering away their time in carnal pleasures, and so clothed with rags, and in a starving, famishing condition: but Christ's eye is upon them; he observes, and takes notice of them in this disagreeable position and situation, and speaks of them in the following manner.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv6, 8, 9, 10, 12 About the eleventh hour - That is, very late;…
About the eleventh hour - That is, very late; long after the rest were called.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11 Verse 3. The third hour] Nine o'clock in the…
Verse 3. The third hour] Nine o'clock in the morning.
Market-place] Where labourers usually stood till they were hired. I have often seen labourers standing in the market places of large towns in these countries, waiting to be employed.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 8, 9, 10 Mat 20:5. Again he went out about the sixth…
Mat 20:5. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour — At noon, and three in the afternoon; and did likewise — Sent others to work on the same general promise of giving them as much as they could reasonably expect. Thus many of the Jews were brought into the Christian Church, the Lord’s vineyard, by the preaching of the apostles, after the descent of the Holy Ghost, first in Judea, and afterward in different parts of the world; and many in a state of manhood, and some in declining years, have in former ages obeyed the gospel call, and not a few, at the same periods of human life, obey it in the present age in this country, and in other parts of the earth, where the gospel is preached with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 About the third hour - The Jews divided their…
About the third hour - The Jews divided their days into twelve equal parts, or hours, beginning at sunrise and ending at sunset. This was, therefore about nine o’clock in the morning.
Standing idle in the market-place - A place where provisions are sold in towns. Of course, many resort to such places, and it would be the readiest place to meet persons and find employers. They were not, therefore, disposed to be idle, but were waiting in the proper place to find employers.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 7, 11 About the third hour. As the Jews divided their…
About the third hour. As the Jews divided their nights into four watches, each watch comprehending three hours, so they divided their days into four greater hours, from sunrise to sunset, and each of these great hours contained three lesser hours; so that the whole day from sunrise to sunset, consisted of 12 hours, as also did the night. The first of the great hours, comprehending the three first lesser hours, contained half of the space betwixt the rising of the sun and mid-day; and the end of this time was called the third hour. The next great hour was from that time till mid-day, called the sixth hour. The following great hour contained half of the time betwixt noon and the setting of the sun, the end of which was called the ninth hour. The fourth great hour comprehended the last three lesser hours remaining till sunset, so that at the end of the eleventh hour, mentioned here, ver. 6, began the last lesser hour of the twelve hours of the day; of which our Saviour said, (John xi. 9,) are there not twelve hours in the day? --- As to the moral sense of the parable, by the day is commonly expounded all the time from the creation to the end of the world, and so the third hour is reckoned from Adam to Noe; the sixth from Noe to Abraham; the ninth from Abraham to Moses; and from the ninth to the eleventh, was from Moses till Christ’s coming; and the time from Christ to the end of the world, is the 12th hour. Other interpreters, by the day understand human life; and by the different hours, infancy, youth, the age of manhood, old age, and the last hour man’s decrepit age. God is master and disposer of all, who by his grace calls some sooner, some later. The market-place, in which men are so often found idle, as to the great concern of their eternal salvation, is the world. The design of this parable was to shew that the Gentiles, though called later than the Jews, should be made partakers of the promises made to the Jews; this is also the meaning of verse 16, where it is said: the last shall be first, and the first last. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 And he went out about the third hour--about nine…
And he went out about the third hour--about nine o'clock, or after a fourth of the working day had expired: the day of twelve hours was reckoned from six to six.
and saw others standing idle in the market place--unemployed.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12 3. Third hour — Nine in the morning. Marketplace…
3. Third hour — Nine in the morning. Marketplace — The forum, where marketings, lawsuits, public meetings, orations, and all general business were transacted. It was the place for idlers, newsmongers, and persons needing employment.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv4, 6, 12 4. whatsoever is right I will give you] The…
4. whatsoever is right I will give you] The justice of the award is disputed Mat_20:12, on the ground that those who were first called had borne the burden and heat of the day. Man does not here acquiesce in the Judge’s decision, as in the parable of the debtors, ch. 18. What is just does not at first seem just, but, as in science many things that seemed untrue are proved to be true, what seems unjust will be proved just when we know all. Further, time is not the only element in service. An act of swift intelligence or of bravery wrought in the space of a single minute has saved an army or a people, and merited higher reward than a lifetime of ordinary service.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 (3) About the third hour.—Reckoning the day after the…
(3) About the third hour.—Reckoning the day after the Jewish mode, as beginning at 6 A.M., this would bring us to 8 A.M. The “market-place” of a town was the natural place in which the seekers for casual labour were to be found waiting for employment. In the meaning which underlies the parable we may see a reference to those who, like St. Matthew (Mat_9:9) and the disciples called in Mat_8:19-22, were summoned after the sons of Jonas and of Zebedee.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv3–12 The third hour. It seems that at this time…
The third hour. It seems that at this time the Jews divided the day, reckoned between sunrise and sunset, into twelve equal parts, the length of these divisions varying according to the season. The day in Palestine at longest consisted of fourteen European hours twelve minutes, and at shortest of nine hours forty-eight minutes, so that the difference between the longest and shortest division of the so called Jewish "hour" was twenty-two minutes. It is usual to consider the Hebrew day as lasting from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., the sixth hour corresponding to our noon, the first hour being 7 o"clock and the third 9 a.m. This estimate, though not absolutely correct, is near enough to the fact to serve all expository purposes. The four periods mentioned in the parable are quarters of the working day, in which a proportional part of the day"s wages might be earned. Standing idle in the marketplace. The Greek agora, the Roman forum, and the Eastern marketplace, was the usual place where idlers and expectant labourers gathered together. Such a scene may often nowadays be witnessed in Oriental cities, and indeed at our own docks, and in many of our small country towns. It must be supposed that the labourers now hired either were not present when the householder first went forth, or that they had then rejected his offer, but now thought better of it. And so, in the case of the others later on.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v6 Why stand ye here all the day idle?
Mat_20:6
Why stand ye here all the day idle?
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Spiritual idleness
I. The evil censured. Spiritual idleness. Often accompanied with great secular activity, and a flaming profession. Consists in neglect-of lifes mission; the souls salvation and sanctification (Php_2:12-13); works for the spiritual benefit of others seeking in order to save them that are lost (1Co_10:24). This neglect is highly criminal.
1. As injurious to ones self. Deteriorates the moral nature.
2. As injurious to others.
3. As disobedience to the Divine summons, Go work, etc. Christ came to do the Fathers will, and summons us to follow Him.
II. The continuance and aggravation of the evil. All the day idle, etc. Youth, manhood, age. The reproach increases with the passing months and years.
1. When so much work for yourself and others ought to have been done.
2. When others have been so long labouring.
3. When there has been so much time and opportunity-eleventh hour-market place.
4. When the working day is drawing to a dose.
III. The excuses offered for the evil. Why stand ye? asks the Master, and what are the usual replies?-
1. We have not been invited by the minister, etc. Dont wait for such invitations-offer)-our services-I must work, etc.
2. We lack the necessary qualifications, etc.
3. We lack opportunity, etc.
4. We give money, etc. This will not be accepted by the Master as a substitute for personal service. You cannot do this work by proxy. Work for Christ is personal, and cannot be delegated to others, etc.
IV. The motives go abandon the evil.
1. The urgency of the work.
2. The activity of Satan and his emissaries.
3. The honour and pleasure of active service. Work in which the Son of Man was employed when on earth. No less happy than honourable.
4. The assurance of Divine help. May be difficulties you fear to meet, but God will strengthen and direct, etc.
5. The brevity of lifes golden opportunity. Difficulty increases with delay. You will get accustomed to idleness and it will become chronic. Whether early or late in the day, begin Now.
6. The promise of reward. Present; future-in and for. Whatsoever is right that shall ye receive. They that turn, etc. (Alfred Tucker.)
Standing idle
The text contains-
I. An implication-That there is work to be done.
1. Knowledge to acquire-of God, self, etc.
2. Blessing, to secure. Pardon, etc.
3. Duties to discharge. Notwithstanding, many are idle.
II. An expostulation. Why stand ye who are active, rational, responsible, rewardable creatures? Why stand ye here idle? Here on a theatre of action. In this the day of your probation. In this state of uncertainty. Why stand ye? Standing not working.
III. An inquiry? Why? Some are idle because they have no work. Some do not like the master. Some do not love the work. Some imagine themselves unable to work. Some do not like the wages. Some no man hath hired. Does not the Bible, memory, and conscience supply instances in which He would have hired you, but you were unwilling to have your old Master and desert His work, etc. (W. Atherton.)
Idleness deteriorates the moral nature
Here lies what was once a bar of iron, but the joint action of air and water has reduced it to a bar of rust. It has now no strength, and consequently no value. To how many varied and useful purposes it might have been put some years ago and in its work have found its strength, beauty, and preservation; but it is too late now; it will soon be blended with the earth upon which it passively lies, a striking emblem of the man who through sloth and love of ease refuses to face the hammer and anvil of active life and honest work; who flies from the purifying tire of lifes adversities, and who will fight no battle for truth and the higher interests of his soul. (Anon.)
Lazy Christians
A lazy Christian shall always want four things, viz., comfort, content, confidence, and assurance. God hath made separation between joy and idleness, between assurance and laziness, and therefore it is impossible for thee to bring these together. (T. Brooks.)
A busy man is troubled but with one devil, but the idle man with a thousand. (Anon.)
Idleness a sin
Idleness is a sin, for it involves disobedience to Christs command, Go into My vineyard and work. It is a sin, for it shows an utter want of sympathy with the Master, who went about doing good, and who expected His followers to do good to all as they have opportunity. It is a sin, for it indicates a selfish love of ease; and a Divine woe is pronounced on all who are at ease in Zion. It is a sin, for it reveals a callous heart, insensible to the woes of a lost world. Every idler in the church is a sinner, for to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin. Alas! how many sinners are found in Zion, and what must be their doom when the Master cometh to judge the unfaithful servants who have hid their talent in place of using it! (W. Durant.)
Busy about nothing
The bee and the butterfly are both busy creatures; there is an activity that ends in nothing; there are lives that store no honey,
Working and rusting
Two ploughshares were once made by the same blacksmith, in the same smithy, from the same kind of iron, and they were bought by the same farmer. He took them home; one he took into instant employment, but he left the other unemployed for twelve months in a barn, till the poor thing got covered with rust: at last the farmer had occasion for another ploughshare, so he drew it forth from its laziness and obscurity, and sent it into the field, where it met its old fellowploughshare. Why, said the lazy one, what has kept you so bright? I declare I am quite ashamed to be seen. Ah! said the bright ploughshare, it is labour and exercise that has kept me bright. Your rest and idleness has been injurious to you; but when you have been driven a few times through the earth, you will lose your rust and become beautiful and bright too. (Blind Amos.)
Busy idleness
There is such a thing as laborious idleness. Busy? So was the shepherd on the Alps, mentioned by Dugald Stewart, who spent fifteen years of life learning to balance a pole on his chin: and the philosopher sagely remarks how much good, had they been directed to a noble object, this diligence and perseverance would have accomplished. Busy: So have I seen the millers wheel, which went round and round: but idly, grinding no corn. Busy? So, in a way, was the Russian who, facing the winters cold, nor regarding the cost of massive slabs brought at great labour from frozen lake and river, built him an icy palace, within whose glittering, translucent wails, wrapped in furs and shining in jewels, rank and beauty held their revelry., and the bowl and the laugh and the song went round. But width soft breath, and other music, and opening buds, spring returned; and then before the eves that had gazed with wonder on the crystal walls of that fairy palace as they gleamed by night with a thousand lights, or flashed with the radiance of gems in the bright sunshine, it dissolved, nor left a rack behind; its pleasures, vanity; its expense, vexation of spirit. Busy? be, in a way, are the children who, when the tide is at the ebb, with merry laughter and rosy cheeks and nimble hands build a castle of the moist sea sand-the thoughtless urchins, types of lovers of pleasure and of the world so intent on their work as not to see how the treacherous, silent tide has crept around them, not merely to sap and undermine, and with one rude blow of her billow demolish the work of their hands, but to cut off their retreat to the distant shore, and drown their frantic screams and cries for help in the roar of its remorseless waves. From a death-bed, where all he toiled and sinned and sorrowed for is slipping from his grasp, fading from his view, such will his life seem to the busiest worldling; he spends his strength for naught, and his labour for that which profiteth not. With an eye that pities because it foresees our miserable doom, God calls us from such busy trifling, from a life of laborious idleness, to a service which is as pleasant as it is profitable, as graceful as it is dutiful, saying, Work out your salvation-Work while it is called to-day, seeing that the night cometh when no man can work. (Dr. Guthrie.)
Standings idle
Have you never thought with extreme sadness of the many men and women upon our earth whose lives are useless? Have you never reflected upon the millions of people who waste in nothingness their thoughts, affections, energies, all their powers, which frivolity dissipates as the sand of the desert absorbs the water which is sent upon it from the sky? These beings pass onward, without even asking themselves toward what end they journey, or for what reason they were placed here below. (Eugene Bersier.)
Activity out of Christ vain
All activity out of Christ, all labour that is not labour in His Church, is in His sight a standing idle. (Archbishop Trench.)
Proverbs on idleness
Evil thoughts intrude in an unemployed mind as naturally as worms are generated in a stagnant pool. No pains, no gains. No sweat, no sweet. No mill, no meal. An idle brain is the devils workshop. He that would eat the kernel, must crack the nut.
Idleness unprofitable
It would be thought a hard government that should tax its people one-tenth part of their time, to be employed in its service; but idleness taxes many of us much more. Sloth, by bringing on disease, absolutely shortens life. Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labour wears: while the used key is always bright. How much more time than is necessary do we spend in sleep, forgetting that the sleeping fox catches no poultry, and there will be sleeping enough in the grave! (Franklin.)
Work for all in Gods vineyard
A good minister, now in heaven, once preached to iris congregation a powerful sermon founded upon the words, Why stand ye here all the day idle? The sermon did good to many, among whom was a lady who went to the minister the next day, and said, Doctor, I want a spade. We should be happy to put spades into the hands of all our idle friends. There are Sunday-school spades. Mission-room spades, Tract-distribution spades, Sick-visitation spades, etc.. etc. Who will apply for them?
Idleness
Idleness was one of the sins of Sodom, and it is often the forerunner of temporal and eternal ruin. No evil is more common, though none is more dangerous.
I. To whom the charge of idleness is applicable.
1. It will in a certain sense apply to all unconverted men, who with respect to the highest interests of life, may be said to be always idle.
a. They are content to do nothing at all for God; nothing that He approves, nothing that He will accept,
b. They do nothing for their own souls, any more than for the glory of God.
c. They do nothing for their generation, according to the will of God.
d. They do nothing to any good purpose, or that will turn to account another day.
2. It will apply in too many instances, even to Christians themselves, of whom there are but few who can be applauded for their diligence and fidelity.
II. Point out the inexcusableness of such conduct.
1. The talents committed to our trust require to be occupied and must be finally accounted for.
2. The want of a capacity to labour in the Lords vineyard cannot be pleaded with success.
3. We are placed in a situation where our services are expected and required.
4. We have lost too much time already. (B. Beddome.)
Labourers not loiterers
Jacob saw the angels, some ascending, others descending, but none standing still. God hath made Behemoth to play in the water, not so men; they must be doing, that will keep in with God. (John Trapp.)
The inexcusable idleness
I. Why? The vineyard is so spacious.
II. The reward is so liberal.
III. The Master is so kind.
IV. The hour of working is so short. (J. T. Van Osberzee, D. D.)
Satans work and wages
While the Lord of heaven is employing various means and instruments to engage labourers into His vineyard, Satan is going through the earth, with the pleasures of sin in one hand, and the allurements of the world in the other, to engage poor deluded souls into his thorny wilderness. Would you startle if we could now summon forward the Prince of Hell, and say, Well, Devil, and what wilt thou give? Listen. Hear that hoarse murmur from the pit: I will find them work that they love. It shall please their senses, gratify their appetites, indulge their passions, and delight their grossly carnal hearts. Every one shall find the pleasure for which he lusts, his own besetting sin; the swine shall have husks and mire. And what more? I will exempt them from the persecutions of religion, the contempt of the world, the reproach of the cross of Christ, from the irksome discharge of duty, and the gloomy services of piety. Go on. What more? I will keep them in the fashion; lind them abundance of associates: for wide is my gate, broad is my way, and many there are that enter therein. But what will be their food? The chaff of worldly pleasure and deceitfulness of sin, producing disappointment and dissatisfaction. What their drink? … The gall of hitter reflections, tormenting passions, reproaches of reason, and dread anticipations. Where do they rest? Nowhere. Like a troubled sea, they cannot rest. They lie down in sorrow. But what wages, Devil, wilt thou give? … Darkness, outer-darkness, blackness of darkness. A bad master, hard disgraceful work, and tremendous wages! Why stand ye here all the day idle? Set to work. Have you sinned? now repent. Are you in the world? come out and be separate. Have you time? use it. Powers? employ them. A Bible? read it. A throne of grace? fall down before it. Is there a God? serve Him. A Saviour? believe in him. (W. Atherton.)
Divine sovereignty
Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? We shall divide Gods gifts into five classes:-
I. Gifts temporal. What a difference in men personally; one is born like Saul, head and shoulders taller than the rest; another like Zaccheus. So in mental gifts; what a difference exists! The differences of mens conditions in this world. God is ruler and shall He not do as He will with His own. Bless God that thou hast more than others, and thank Him also that He has given thee less than others; for thou hast a higher burden.
II. Gifts saving.
1. The fallen angels not redeemed.
2. Note, again, God chose the Israelitish race and left the Gentiles for years in darkness.
3. Why is it that God has sent His word to us, while a multitude of people are still without it.
4. Why do some listen to the truth and others not. Salvation is of the Lord alone.
III. Gifts honourable.
1. One man hath the gift of knowledge, another hath little.
2. Office.
3. Utterance.
IV. Gifts of usefulness.
V. Gift comfortable. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 3, 4. About the third hour. Nine o'clock. The…
3, 4. About the third hour. Nine o'clock. The hours were counted from six o'clock.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On v9 Mat 20:9; Mar 2:13-14; & Luk 5:27-28. Mark: “And…
CONVERSION OF MATTHEW
Mat 20:9; Mar 2:13-14; & Luk 5:27-28. Mark: “And He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He continued to teach them. And passing along He saw Levi, the son of Alpheus, sitting at the toll; and He says to Him, Follow Me. And rising, he followed Him.” Luke: “And leaving all things, rising, he followed Him.” Matthew: “Jesus, going on from thence, saw a man sitting at the toll called Matthew, and says to him, Follow Me, and rising up, he followed Him.” This took place in the city of Capernaum, the home of Jesus, Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew, who is also called Levi. Here we have the very brief account of the conversion and call to the apostleship of Matthew, one of the writers of our Lord’s Gospel. He and John were apostles among the original Twelve, Mark serving as Peter’s amanuensis and Luke that of Paul. Matthew’s conversion, here so briefly given, is quite remarkable. He is not only in the bloom of youth, bat the incumbent of a lucrative office. He is no poor man, but he is rich, living in affluence, with the broadest possibilities of worldly aggrandizement spread out before him. He suddenly and unhesitatingly leaves all for a life of toil, poverty, and persecution, and a cruel death to wind up. Suddenly converted, we never afterward hear of his wavering. In the distribution of the world among the apostles, pursuant to the Commission, receiving Ethiopia as his field of labor, he faithfully went, and preached heroically till he sealed his faith with his blood, and flew up to join his Master in celestial glory.
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We have now followed our Lord through the first year of His ministry, all of which He spent in Galilee, His home and favorite field, except about two months at the beginning. The Feast of the Passover, instituted and perpetuated to commemorate the Divine mercy shown to Israel the last night of their sojourn in Egypt, when the destroying angel came down and slew the firstborn in every house in all the land, but in mercy passing over the houses of Israel besprinkled with the blood of the slain lamb, symbolic of the “Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.” Our Savior gave special attention and peculiar honor to this institution, beginning His ministry at a Passover, and winding it up at another three years subsequently, two Passovers intervening in the interim. Now, the first year of His ministry having passed away, the fame of His mighty works having filled Palestine and mightily stirred the Gentile world, till all eyes are turned toward Him, most momentous inquiries are everywhere ringing from the popular lip, “Is not this the Shiloh of prophecy, the Christ of God, the Savior of the world, and the Redeemer of Israel? If He is not truly the Messiah who is to come, He is certainly the greatest prophet whom God has ever given to Israel.”
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v9 (See Scofield "1Co 3:14"). Also, 1Co 9:24; 2Ti 4:7;…
received
(See Scofield "1Co 3:14"). Also, 1Co 9:24; 2Ti 4:7; 2Ti 4:8.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v8 The settlement at evening:
The settlement at evening:
v. 8. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the laborers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
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v. 9. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
v. 10. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
v. 11. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
v. 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.
Six o’clock came, and the master gave the foreman, or steward, one of whose duties was the paying of the laborers, the command to call the workmen and pay them their wages. The order of payment is significant: He should begin with those that came and worked but one hour; commencing with the last one he should continue down the line to the first ones. Each one should receive the full amount of his hire, the amount which the householder had indicated to the steward. A very important point: According to common usage, the length of the employment decided the amount of the wages; the day-laborer that worked only a few hours received less than he that worked all day. But when those of about the eleventh hour came, they received each one his denarius , just as though he had worked a full day. Evidently there was here a case of a free gift or present, whether the other workmen wanted to consider the master as extravagant and foolish or not. But they, seeing this liberality, drew a wrong conclusion. When the first ones came, they that had been hired by regular contract in the morning, they eagerly expected a greater amount than the others had gotten. To their great chagrin, only the money named in the contract of the morning was forthcoming: Also they received each one his denarius. Now they accepted the money, but they immediately began and continued to voice their dissatisfaction. They murmured against the manager or ruler of the estate. Their complaint is excellently put, they express their contempt for the laborers of the eleventh hour. These last, they say, put in only one hour, they have spent that much time without really accomplishing anything worth speaking of, and equal thou hast made them to us, to us that have been obliged to bear the burden of the day’s work, and the scorching heat of noonday into the bargain. What was one hour of late afternoon in comparison with that? And yet their pay is the same?
The application of this part of the parable to the work of the kingdom of Christ is not difficult. It teaches us both to avoid envy and to yield honors to those whom the Lord honors. "Whosoever has the gifts of Jesus and knows that we are all equal in Christ, he tends to his work gladly, though he here on earth, for this short time, be in a humbler position and station than some other one. For there it shall be arranged so that in the external life there is a dissimilarity, that one has much, the other little; that one is master, the other servant. That does not bother a Christian, but he says: In God’s name, here on earth it shall not be otherwise; though I have a more difficult station than the master or the mistress of the house; though I be not so powerful as a prince, king, or emperor; yet will I not murmur about it, but gladly and willingly remain in my station, until God deals differently with me and also makes me a master or mistress. In the meantime, I comfort myself with this fact that I know neither emperor nor king has another Christ nor more of Christ than I. " And so far as the giving of equal rewards of grace to all believers, to all members of the kingdom, is concerned, there shall be no pointing to a greater amount of good works before God, as though they were able to merit anything in His sight. "All work-saints must necessarily have such pride that know nothing of the grace of God and believe to be their own what they are able to do and what they perform, and that the Lord shall not judge according to His goodness, but according to the weight and ponderousness of their works. But whosoever has realized what grace means, he is not surprised, if God gives the same reward for the small and for the great works."
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3, 5, 8, 11 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Jesus continues telling a parable. (See: Parables)
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He went out again
"The landowner went out again"
the third hour
The third hour is around nine in the morning. (See: Ordinal Numbers)
standing idle in the marketplace
"standing in the marketplace not doing anything" or "standing in the marketplace with no work to do"
marketplace
a large, open-air area where people buy and sell food and other items
translationWords
hour
vineyard
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v8 20:8 Payment followed the day’s work (Deut 24:14-15).
20:8 Payment followed the day’s work (Deut 24:14-15).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.