Reflections on Matthew 20

Matthew 20 (Contemporary English Version)


1. As Jesus was telling what the kingdom of heaven would be like, he said: Early one morning a man went out to hire some workers for his vineyard.
   
2. After he had agreed to pay them the usual amount for a day's work, he sent them off to his vineyard.
   
3. About nine that morning, the man saw some other people standing in the market with nothing to do.
   
4. He said he would pay them what was fair, if they would work in his vineyard.
   
5. So they went. At noon and again about three in the afternoon he returned to the market. And each time he made the same agreement with others who were loafing around with nothing to do.
   
6. Finally, about five in the afternoon the man went back and found some others standing there. He asked them, "Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?"
   
7. "Because no one has hired us," they answered. Then he told them to go work in his vineyard.
   
8. That evening the owner of the vineyard told the man in charge of the workers to call them in and give them their money. He also told the man to begin with the ones who were hired last.
   
9. When the workers arrived, the ones who had been hired at five in the afternoon were given a full day's pay.
   
10. The workers who had been hired first thought they would be given more than the others. But when they were given the same,
    
11. they began complaining to the owner of the vineyard.
    
12. They said, "The ones who were hired last worked for only one hour. But you paid them the same that you did us. And we worked in the hot sun all day long!"
    
13. The owner answered one of them, "Friend, I didn't cheat you. I paid you exactly what we agreed on.
    
14. Take your money now and go! What business is it of yours if I want to pay them the same that I paid you?
    
15. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Why should you be jealous, if I want to be generous?"
    
16. Jesus then said, "So it is. Everyone who is now first will be last, and everyone who is last will be first."
    
17. As Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he took his twelve disciples aside and told them in private:
    
18. We are now on our way to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses. They will sentence him to death,
    
19. and then they will hand him over to foreigners who will make fun of him. They will beat him and nail him to a cross. But on the third day he will rise from death.
    
20. The mother of James and John came to Jesus with her two sons. She knelt down and started begging him to do something for her.
    
21. Jesus asked her what she wanted, and she said, "When you come into your kingdom, please let one of my sons sit at your right side and the other at your left."
    
22. Jesus answered, "Not one of you knows what you are asking. Are you able to drink from the cup that I must soon drink from?" James and John said, "Yes, we are!"
    
23. Jesus replied, "You certainly will drink from my cup! But it isn't for me to say who will sit at my right side and at my left. That is for my Father to say."
    
24. When the ten other disciples heard this, they were angry with the two brothers.
    
25. But Jesus called the disciples together and said: You know that foreign rulers like to order their people around. And their great leaders have full power over everyone they rule.
    
26. But don't act like them. If you want to be great, you must be the servant of all the others.
    
27. And if you want to be first, you must be the slave of the rest.
    
28. The Son of Man did not come to be a slave master, but a slave who will give his life to rescue many people.
    
29. Jesus was followed by a large crowd as he and his disciples were leaving Jericho.
    
30. Two blind men were sitting beside the road. And when they heard that Jesus was coming their way, they shouted, "Lord and Son of David, have pity on us!"
    
31. The crowd told them to be quiet, but they shouted even louder, "Lord and Son of David, have pity on us!"
    
32. When Jesus heard them, he stopped and asked, "What do you want me to do for you?"
    
33. They answered, "Lord, we want to see!"
    
34. Jesus felt sorry for them and touched their eyes. Right away they could see, and they became his followers.
    

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The opening verses of chapter 20 are a continuation of Jesus' discussion with His disciples at the conclusion of the previous chapter concerning the order of things in the Messianic Age. In 19:30 He told them, "But many who are first will be last, and the last first." Starting, then, in 20:1 Jesus illustrates this principle. In this illustration a landowner hired workers to tend his vineyard. Although different workers were hired at different times throughout the day, at the end of the day they were all paid the same amount - a fair day's wage. This angered the workers who worked the full day as it would probably anger most of us. Our sense of order and values is turned upside down by this practice. But the landowner, who represents God in this illustration, cannot be faulted for his actions. He paid a fair wage to those who worked the full day, a wage to which they had agreed. Is it wrong for him to use his money in the way he wishes? Is it wrong for him to be generous to whom he wants to be generous?

Much of the rest of chapter 20 addresses this inverted sense of value and recognition. Between the request by the mother of James and John for her sons to have positions of honor in the Messianic Age and the indignation of the other disciples over this request, Jesus teaches more about the order of this new age. For instance, He taught that to share a position of honor with the Master, a servant must also share in His suffering. He also taught that in this new age those who want "to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave." Jesus, Himself, was the prime example of this teaching. He came, not to be served, but to serve and to give His life. This goes against everything we are taught in our society. It just doesn't fly in a society that is committed to personal rights and privileges. We think it's great to do something good for someone who is underprivileged, but putting their rights before our own? That is too much to expect of anyone. So goes the thinking.

We can't even imagine a society in which everyone is a servant to others instead of expecting to be served. But that is the way things operate in the kingdom of the Messiah. If there were any vying for position in His kingdom it would be for last place or for lowliest servant. But vying for position of any kind would be out of order in this kingdom. This new order is so contrary to our present sense of values that we don't know how to get our minds around it. We simply have to allow the leader - the Messiah - to teach us, and to give ourselves to His teaching.