Van Lennep describes the Eastern customs to which our Lord alludes in this parable. "During the whole season when vineyards may be dug, the common workmen go very early in the morning to the
sook, or marketplace of the village or city, where comestibles are sold. While 'waiting to be hired,' they take their morning cup of coffee, and eat a morsel of bread. The owners of vineyards come to the place and engage the number of labourers they need. These immediately go to the vineyard, and work there until a little while before the sun sets, which, according to Oriental time, is twelve o'clock, so that the 'eleventh hour' means one hour before sunset. We have often seen men standing in the marketplace through the entire day without finding employment, and have repeatedly engaged them ourselves at noon for half a day's job, and later for one or two hours' work in our garden. In such a case the price has to be particularly bargained for, but it is more often left to the generosity of the employer to give what
bakshish he feels disposed." There is now a very grave danger, of which we need to be on our guard. Men are talking as if our Lord made himself an authority on social questions. The truth is, that he distinctly refused to bear any relation to social, political, and legal disputes. He revealed unknown or hidden truths to men; he resettled the great principles of morals; he quickened men with a new and Divine life; but he refused to guide in detail the applications of the principles he taught. In this parable, which seems to deal with the questions of capital and labour, the thing our Lord teaches is that every man is a free man, but if, voluntarily, he enters into engagements, he must loyally keep his engagements.
I. THE MAN WHO HAS WORK TO OFFER MUST KEEP HIS ENGAGEMENTS. Religion does not need to come in and say that he who wants work done must offer fair terms for the doing of it. Common humanity and honesty demand that. No man has any right to "go beyond," "take advantage of," or "defraud" his neighbour in anything.
II. THE MAN WHO HAS SKILL TO DO THE WORK MUST KEEP HIS ENGAGEMENTS. If he agrees for a penny a day, nothing can happen to make that unfair. He may make a new bargain tomorrow, but he must carry through his bargain today. Strikes are very often sinful repudiations of agreements. - R.T.
And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by.
The time of this transaction was critical. He never was to come that way again. It was necessary for these blind men to be by the way while Jesus was passing. Had they been elsewhere they could not have received their sight. They caught the first sound of the approaching Saviour. Some men are too buried in their merchandize to know that He is passing. It is not enough to sit idly by the way side. These men made no demands but for mercy.
1. Their earnestness. They felt their need.
2. The difference between the unfeeling multitude and the compassionate Saviour. Put thine ear to the gospel and listen. "He calleth thee."
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I. MEN ARE BLINDED BY REASON OF SIN. They do not see the truths of religion.
II. IT IS PROPER IN THIS STATE OF BLINDNESS TO CALL UPON JESUS TO OPEN OUR EYES. If we ever see, it will be by the grace of God. God is the fountain of light, and those in darkness should seek Him.
III. PRESENT OPPORTUNITIES SHOULD BE IMPROVED. This was the first time that Jesus had been in Jericho, and it was the last time He would be there. He was passing through it on His way to Jerusalem. So He passes among us by His ordinances. While He is near we should seek Him.
IV. WHEN PEOPLE REBUKE US, AND LAUGH AT US, IT SHOULD NOT DETER US FROM CALLING ON THE SAVIOUR.
V. THE PERSEVERING OF CRY OF THOSE WHO SEEK THE SAVIOUR ARIGHT WILL NOT BE IN VAIN.
VI. SINNERS MUST "RISE" AND COME TO JESUS. Cast away everything that hinders their confine.
VII. FAITH IS THE ONLY CHANNEL THROUGH WHICH WE SHALL RECEIVE MERCY.
VIII. THEY WHO ARE RESTORED TO SIGHT SHOULD FOLLOW JESUS. Wherever He leads — always — none else. He cannot lead astray. He can enlighten our goings through all our pilgrimage.
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Mr. MacGregor, in his recent "Voyage," gives a most interesting account of Mr. Mott's mission to the blind and lame at Beirut. He says, "Only in February last that poor blind fellow who sits on the form there was utterly ignorant. See how his delicate fingers run over the raised types of his Bible, and he reads aloud and blesses God in his heart for the precious news, and for those who gave him the avenue for truth to his heart. 'Jesus Christ will be the first person I shall ever see,' he says, 'for my eyes will be opened in heaven.' Thus even this man becomes a missionary .... At the annual examination of this school, one of the scholars said, I am a little blind boy. Once I could see; but then I fell asleep — a long, long sleep. I thought I should never wake. And I slept till a kind gentleman called Mr. Mott came and opened my eyes — not these eyes,' pointing to his sightless eyeballs, 'but
these,' lifting up his tiny fingers — '
these eyes; and oh! they see such sweet words of Jesus, and how He loved the blind.'"
Happy it was for these two blind beggars that, though blind, they were not deaf. They had heard of Christ by the hearing of the ear, but that satisfied them not, unless their eyes also might see Him. They waylay, therefore, the Lord of Light, who gives them upon their suit both sight and light, irradiates both organ and object, cures them of both outward and inward ophthalmies at once .... Few such knowing blind beggars nowadays. They are commonly more blind in mind than body, loose and lawless vagrants; such as are neither of any church or commonwealth; but as the baser sort of people in Swethland, who do always break the Sabbath, saying, that it is only for gentlemen to sanctify it; or rather, as the poor Brazilians, who are said to be without any government, law, or religion.
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men: — Here we have —
I. Such persons making the best of their opportunities — Christ was passing by.
II. One class of such failing to sympathise with another — the multitude rebuked.
III. Founding their appeal on the right ground — mercy.
IV. Presenting a right condition of will" what will ye," as if all things were placed at the disposal of the right will.
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Be still in the King's highway, in the use of the means, for though the natural use of the means and God's saving grace have no connection, yet there is far less a connection betwixt that grace and the neglect of means. The poor beggar, that needs an alms from the king, goes to the king's highway, where he passes; and surely he is nearer to his purpose than if he should go to the top of a mountain where the king never comes; so, be you still in the use of means, in the Lord's way.
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Those that wait upon the Lord in the use of the means and ordinances, they hereby spread their sails, and are ready for the Spirit's motions. which bloweth where it listeth. There is more hope of these than of such who lie aground, neglecting the means of grace, which are both as sail and tackling. The two blind men could not open their own eyes; that was beyond their power, but they could get into the way where Jesus passed, and they could cry to Him for sight, who only could recover it. Those that are diligent in the use of means and ordinances, may sit in the way where Jesus passes by, who uses not to reject those that cry unto Him.
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People
David,
Jesus,
Zabdi,
ZebedeePlaces
Jericho,
Jerusalem,
JudeaTopics
Departed, Pay, Righteous, Vine-garden, Vineyard, Whatever, WhatsoeverOutline
1. Jesus, by the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, shows that God is debtor unto no man;17. foretells his passion;20. by answering the mother of Zebedee's children, teaches his disciples to be humble;29. and gives two blind men their sight.Dictionary of Bible Themes
Matthew 20:4 5522 servants, work conditions
Matthew 20:1-15
5337 hiring
Matthew 20:1-16
2042 Christ, justice of
5260 coinage
5438 parables
5603 wages
Matthew 20:3-6
4948 hour
Library
February 2. "And Whosoever Will be Great among You, Let Him be Your Minister. And Whosoever Will be Chief among You, Let Him be Your Servant" (Matt. xx. 26, 27).
"And whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister. And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant" (Matt. xx. 26, 27). Slave is the literal meaning of the word, doulos. The first word used for service is diakanos, which means a minister to others in any usual way or work: but the word doulos means a bond slave, and the Lord here plainly teaches us that the highest service is that of a bond slave. He Himself made Himself the servant of all, and he who would come …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth Nearest to Christ
'To sit on My right hand, and on My left, is not Mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of My Father.'--MATT. xx. 23. You will observe that an unusually long supplement is inserted by our translators in this verse. That supplement is quite unnecessary, and, as is sometimes the case, is even worse than unnecessary. It positively obscures the true meaning of the words before us. As they stand in our Bibles, the impression that they leave upon one's mind is that Christ in …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
The Servant-Lord and his Servants
'Even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.'--MATT. xx. 28. It seems at first sight strangely unsympathetic and irrelevant that the ambitious request of James and John and their foolish mother, that they should sit at Christ's right hand and His left in His kingdom, should have been occasioned by, and have followed immediately upon, our Lord's solemn and pathetic announcement of His sufferings. But the connection is not difficult to trace. The disciples believed that, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
What the Historic Christ Taught About his Death
'The Son of Man came... to give His life a ransom for many.'--Matt. xx. 28. We hear a great deal at present about going back to 'the Christ of the Gospels.' In so far as that phrase and the movement of thought which it describes are a protest against the substitution of doctrines for the Person whom the doctrines represent, I, for one, rejoice in it. But I believe that the antithesis suggested by the phrase, and by some of its advocates avowed, between the Christ of the Gospels and the Christ of …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
Blind Bartimeus
Mark 10:52 -- "And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way." When the apostle Peter was recommending Jesus of Nazareth, in one of his sermons to the Jews, he gave him a short, but withal a glorious and exalted character, "That we went about doing good." He went about, he sought occasions of doing good; it was his meat and drink to do the works of him that sent him, whilst the day of his public administration …
George Whitefield—Selected Sermons of George Whitefield
Delivered on the Lord's Day, on that which is Written in the Gospel, Matt. xx. 1, "The Kingdom of Heaven is Like unto a Man That
1. Ye have heard out of the Holy Gospel a parable well suited to the present season, concerning the labourers in the vineyard. For now is the time of the material [2841] vintage. Now there is also a spiritual vintage, wherein God rejoiceth in the fruit of His vineyard. For we cultivate God, and God cultivateth us. [2842] But we do not so cultivate God as to make Him any better thereby. For our cultivation is the labour of the heart, not of the hands. [2843] He cultivateth us as the husbandman doth …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament
On the Words of the Gospel, Matt. xx. 30, About the Two Blind Men Sitting by the Way Side, and Crying Out, "Lord, have Mercy On
1. Ye know, Holy Brethren, full well as we do, that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is the Physician of our eternal health; and that to this end He took the weakness of our nature, that our weakness might not last for ever. For He assumed a mortal body, wherein to kill death. And, "though He was crucified through weakness," as the Apostle saith, "yet He liveth by the power of God." [2870] They are the words too of the same Apostle; "He dieth no more, and death shall have no more dominion over Him." …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament
Divine Sovereignty
We must assume, before we commence our discourse, one thing certain, namely, that all blessings are gifts and that we have no claim to them by our own merit. This I think every considerate mind will grant. And this being admitted, we shall endeavour to show that he has a right, seeing they are his own to do what he wills with them--to withhold them wholly is he pleaseth--to distribute them all if he chooseth--to give to some and not to others--to give to none or to give to all, just as seemeth good …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856
The Private Thoughts and Words of Jesus
"And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again."--Matthew 20:17-19. YOU HAVE THIS SAME STORY in Matthew and Mark and Luke, a little differently told; as would naturally be the case …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891
Particular Redemption
I begin this morning with the doctrine of Redemption. "He gave his life a ransom for many." The doctrine of Redemption is one of the most important doctrines of the system of faith. A mistake on this point will inevitably lead to a mistake through the entire system of our belief. Now, you are aware that there are different theories of Redemption. All Christians hold that Christ died to redeem, but all Christians do not teach the same redemption. We differ as to the nature of atonement, and as to …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858
Sermon for Septuagesima Sunday
(From the Gospel for the day) In this Sermon following we are taught how we must perpetually press forward towards our highest good, without pause or rest; and how we must labour in the spiritual vineyard that it may bring forth good fruit. Matt. xx. 1.--"The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard." THIS householder went out early at the first hour, and again at the third and at the sixth hours, and hired …
Susannah Winkworth—The History and Life of the Reverend Doctor John Tauler
Augustine 354-430 -- the Recovery of Sight by the Blind
I. Ye know, holy brethren, full well as we do, that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the physician of our eternal health; and that to this end we task the weakness of our natures, that our weakness might not last forever. For He assumed a mortal body, wherein to kill death. And, "though He was crucified through weakness," as the apostle saith, yet He "liveth by the power of God." They are the words, too, of the same apostle: "He dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over Him." These things, …
Various—The World's Great Sermons, Volume I
The Historical Books of the New Testament, Meaning Thereby the Four Gospels and the Acts...
The historical books of the New Testament, meaning thereby the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, are quoted, or alluded to, by a series of Christian writers, beginning with those who were contemporary with the apostles, or who immediately followed them, and proceeding in close and regular succession from their time to the present. The medium of proof stated in this proposition is, of all others, the most unquestionable, the least liable to any practices of fraud, and is not diminished by …
William Paley—Evidences of Christianity
The Johannine Writings
BY the Johannine writings are meant the Apocalypse and the fourth gospel, as well as the three catholic epistles to which the name of John is traditionally attached. It is not possible to enter here into a review of the critical questions connected with them, and especially into the question of their authorship. The most recent criticism, while it seems to bring the traditional authorship into greater uncertainty, approaches more nearly than was once common to the position of tradition in another …
James Denney—The Death of Christ
Ci. Foretelling his Passion. Rebuking Ambition.
(Peræa, or Judæa, Near the Jordan.) ^A Matt. XX. 17-28; ^B Mark X. 32-45; ^C Luke XVIII. 31-34. ^b 32 And they were on the way, going up to Jerusalem [Dean Mansel sees in these words an evidence that Jesus had just crossed the Jordan and was beginning the actual ascent up to Jerusalem. If so, he was in Judæa. But such a construction strains the language. Jesus had been going up to Jerusalem ever since he started in Galilee, and he may now have still be in Peræa. The parable …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel
Cii. Bartimæus and his Companion Healed.
(at Jericho.) ^A Matt. XX. 29-34; ^B Mark X. 46-52; ^C Luke XVIII. 35-43. ^c 35 And it came to pass, as he drew nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: 36 and hearing a multitude going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. [Jesus came from the Jordan, and was entering Jericho by its eastern gate. As the crowd following Jesus passed by, Bartimæus asked its meaning and learned of the presence of Jesus. Jesus on this …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel
The vineyard Labourers.
"For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the market-place, and said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. …
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord
Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome.
IT pleased God, to whom all his works are known from eternity, to prepare Gregory by a twofold process, for the great and difficult work of the guidance of the Western Church, then agitated by so many storms. Destined to be plunged into the midst of an immense multitude of avocations of the most varied character, he was trained to bear such a burden by administering, until his fortieth year, an important civil office. Then, yielding to a long-felt yearning of his heart, he retired into a monastery, …
Augustus Neander—Light in the Dark Places
The Blessing of Being with Good People. How Certain Illusions were Removed.
1. I began gradually to like the good and holy conversation of this nun. How well she used to speak of God! for she was a person of great discretion and sanctity. I listened to her with delight. I think there never was a time when I was not glad to listen to her. She began by telling me how she came to be a nun through the mere reading of the words of the Gospel "Many are called, and few are chosen." [1] She would speak of the reward which our Lord gives to those who forsake all things for His …
Teresa of Avila—The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus
Why Men do not Attain Quickly to the Perfect Love of God. Of Four Degrees of Prayer. Of the First Degree. The Doctrine Profitable for Beginners,
1. I speak now of those who begin to be the servants of love; that seems to me to be nothing else but to resolve to follow Him in the way of prayer, who has loved us so much. It is a dignity so great, that I have a strange joy in thinking of it; for servile fear vanishes at once, if we are, as we ought to be, in the first degree. O Lord of my soul, and my good, how is it that, when a soul is determined to love Thee--doing all it can, by forsaking all things, in order that it may the better occupy …
Teresa of Avila—The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus
The First Last, and the Last First
"But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first."--Matthew 19:30. "So the last shall be first, and the first last."--Matthew 20:16. WE MUST BE SAVED if we would serve the Lord. We cannot serve God in an unsaved condition. "They that are in the flesh cannot please God." It is vain for them to attempt service while they are still at enmity against God. The Lord wants not enemies to wait upon him, nor slaves to grace his throne. We must be saved first; and salvation is all of grace. …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891
Christ's Resurrection and Our Newness of Life
The idea that the grace of God should lead us to licentiousness is utterly loathsome to every Christian man. We cannot endure it. The notion that the doctrines of grace give license to sin, comes from the devil, and we scout it with a detestation more deep than words can express. "How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" On our first entrance upon a Christian profession, we are met by the ordinance of baptism, which teaches the necessity of purification. Baptism is, in its very …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891
The Compassion of Jesus
THIS is said of Christ Jesus several times in the New Testament. The original word is a very remarkable one. It is not found in classic Greek. It is not found in the Septuagint. The fact is, it was a word coined by the evangelists themselves. They did not find one in the whole Greek language that suited their purpose, and therefore they had to make one. It is expressive of the deepest emotion; a striving of the bowels--a yearning of the innermost nature with pity. As the dictionaries tell us-- Ex …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 60: 1914
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