"The Parable of the Laborers"
THE PARABLE OF THE VINEYARD - 20:1-16
- The setting: The rich young ruler had refused to give up his possessions and follow Christ, and the Lord warned His disciples about the dangers of riches. Peter boasted that he and his friends had left all to follow Him, and he boldly asked, "What shall we have therefore?"
His question revealed a wrong motive: He was serving Christ for what he could get and not out of loyalty and love. Christ warned them that some who were "first" in the eyes of men would be "last" when it came to the final reckoning; and some whom the disciples might think "last" would be "first."
- The meaning: The main spiritual truth Christ is bringing out is that God has a right to deal with His servants as He will according to their motives for service. This parable is NOT about SALVATION, but SERVICE. The "penny" does not stand for salvation or eternal life, because salvation is NOT by works.
(Eph. 2:8-9) and
(Titus 3:5-6). Christ is NOT TALKING about REWARDS FOR SERVICE. God will reward men differently according to their service
(1 Cor. 3:8, and
John 4:36). If the "penny" stands for rewards, then God is not fair; for every worker got the same reward. If you look at
20:10 with Peter's remarks in
19:27, you will get the lesson. When the first came, THEY SUPPOSED that they should have received more....Isn't this what Peter was doing? "We have left all," he said; "What shall we get?" He was thinking to himself, "Surely we will get more!" Christ teaches him that God has a right to do what He pleases with His servants, and that to have a wrong motive ("evil eye" in verse
15) is sinful.
- The living: Christ has summoned us to labor for Him. It is too bad that there are
Christians standing around idle all the day, when there is so much work to be done. This parable reminds us that we should serve Christ out of love and loyalty, and not just for rewards. It is not sinful to earn rewards, and God in His grace will give rewards to faithful servants
(1 Cor.
3:12-15). But the rewarder should fill our hearts, not the reward.
We must watch our motives for Christian service. The right work done with the wrong motive dishonors God and robs us of the blessing. It is hard to realize that
Christians we may admire today will be "last" at the final reckoning at the Judgment Seat of Christ because their motives were wrong. We cannot judge motives
(Matt. 7:1-3), but we can judge our own hearts. Let's do all for the glory of God because we love Him.
THE PRAYER FOR GLORY -- 20:17-28
- The announcement (20:17-19): This is Christ's third announcement of the cross to His disciples. He was preparing them for the crises He would face in Jerusalem. The first time He spoke of the cross, Peter rebuked him; and on this occasion, the mother of James and John came with a selfish prayer. How slow we are to grasp the message of the cross!!
- The request (20:20-21): Her faith in Christ must be admired, also her trust in His promise of the kingdom in
Matt. 19:28. But her motive was not right, since she was asking not for God's glory but for her own.
- The reply (20:22-23): Jesus speaks to the disciples (James, and John) and not to the mother, suggesting that perhaps they had encouraged her to ask on their behalf. Of course, they were ignorant of what He meant by the "cup" and the "baptism." The cup and baptism pointed to His suffering and death on Calvary SEE
Matt. 26:39-42 and
Luke 12:50). Jesus promised that they will taste of His cup and baptism, and they did: James was the first disciple to be martyred
(Acts 12:2) and John tasted terrible persecution and exiled on the Isle of Patmos (
Rev. 1) . We must be careful how we pray and how we answer the Lord; for He will hold us to what we say. READ
Eccl. 5:1-6.
- The result (20:24-28): "How great a matter a little fire kindleth!"
(James 3:5). Selfishness on the part of one believer can cause trouble in the lives of others. Jesus used this as an opportunity to teach the disciples a lesson on humility. The
truly great man is one who serves others. Christ Himself is the example of this. While
Christian leaders are to "take the oversight" (Acts 20:28 and
1 Peter 5:2), they are not to govern in self-will and pride, but humbly as "under-shepherds."
THE MIRACLE OF HEALING -- (20:29-34)
Mark 11:46-52 indicates only one blind man, but Matthew states there were two. It is likely that Bartimaeus ( mentioned by Mark) was the better-known of the two and the one who took the lead in coming to Jesus. This miracle is a beautiful picture of salvation. They were blind, and every lost sinner is blind. They were poor
beggars, and the lost sinner is poverty-stricken apart from Christ. They cried out to Jesus, who alone can open men's eyes. He showed them mercy; the crowd tried to stop them from coming to Jesus, and the world today tries to keep sinners from coming to Christ. The touch of Christ healed them, and they proved that their lives had changed by following Christ.
THE REJECTION OF THE KING.
- Three Signs - 21:1-22
1. The presentation of the king, 21:1-11 (Israel's spiritual blindness)
2. The purifying of the temple, 21:12-16 (Israel's inward corruption)
3. The cursing of the fig tree, 21:17-22 (Israel's outward fruitlessness)
- Three Parables -- 21:23,
22:14
1. The two sons, 21:23-32 (they rejected the Father)
2. The Vineyard, 21:33-46 (they rejected the Son)
3. The Wedding, 22:1-14 (they rejected the Spirit)
- Three Questions -- 22:15-46
1. Tribute to Caesar, 22:15-22 (political question from Herodians)
2. The resurrection, 22:23-33 (doctrinal question from Sadducees)
3. Great Commandment, 22:34-46 (legal question from Pharisees)
- Three Discourses -- 23:1,
26:46
1. Condemnation of the Pharisees 23.
2. Explanation of the future kingdom 24
- 25
3. Preperation of the disciples for the cross 26:1-46
- Three Trials -- 26:47,
27:66
1. Before Caiaphas and the council 26:47-75
2. Before the council in the morning 27:1-10
3. Before Pilate, leading to Christ's death 27:11-66
Of course, the important thing is that Jesus died for our sins and rose again; but in the interest of truth, we ought to study the Word and learn all that we can.
