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 .