Matthew 20

Matthew 20:1-7 “1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 “Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 “And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4 and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went. 5 “Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. 6 “And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ 7 “They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’”

Early morning = 6am, 3rd hour = 9am, 6th hour = 12pm, 9th hour = 3pm, 11th hour = 5pm, evening = 6pm.

Denarius = a day’s wage

Matthew 20:8-16 “8 “Now when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’ 9 “And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. 10 “And when those hired first came, they supposed that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. 11 “Now when they received it, they were grumbling at the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13 “But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 ‘Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. 15 ‘Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’ 16 “So the last shall be first, and the first last.””

Equality in the Kingdom

God’s grace His to give or not give

All who follow God do so only by His grace

Luke 17:10 “10 “In this way, you also, when you do all the things which are commanded of you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’””

“Envious” = evil eye, begrudging heart; coveting; malicious; hostile

This is the sin committed anytime we feel that God does not do as WE feel He should.

Matthew 5:11 “11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.”

Matthew 5:39 “39 “But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”

Isaiah 55:8 “8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares Yahweh.”

Matthew 20:17-19 “17 And as Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, 18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, 19 and will deliver Him over to the Gentiles to mock and flog and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.””

Cost of entering the Kingdom

1 Peter 3:18 “18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, so that He might bring you to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;”

Matthew 20:20-24 “20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Him with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him. 21 And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.” 22 But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to Him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.” 24 And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers.”

“My cup you shall drink...”

Acts 12:1-2 “1 Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to harm them. 2 And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword.”

Revelation 1:9 “9 I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the witness of Jesus.”

Philippians 3:10 “10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,”

Matthew 20:25-28 “25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. 26 “It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, 27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.””

Consideration of the Kingdom

“Ransom” - price, to give payment in exchange for release of a captive

Our ransom was the life of God’s Son

John 15:13 “13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” ‘

Principle: 2 Corinthians 4:5 “5 For we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus.”

True spiritual greatness is selfless sacrificial service

Application: last shall be first

Matthew 19:27-30 “27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” 28 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive one hundred times as much, and will inherit eternal life. 30 “But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.”

Stop caring only about yourself, start caring about God and for others.

Philippians 2:3-4 “3 doing nothing from selfish ambition or vain glory, but with humility of mind regarding one another as more important than yourselves, 4 not merely looking out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

Philippians 2:5-7 “5 Have this way of thinking in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although existing in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a slave, by being made in the likeness of men.”

Matthew 20:29-34 “29 And as they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. 30 And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 But the crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, saying, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” 32 And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 33 They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes be opened.” 34 And moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.”

Persistence into the Kingdom

Persistence is what moves God

Jeremiah 29:13 “13 ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Luke 11:8-9 “8 “I tell you, even though he will not arise and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. 9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”