The Strand Study Bible

MATTHEW MATTHEW 20:2 The penny (the Roman denarius) was then the common standard of value in Palestine and represented a common days’ wage for a laborer or soldier. The standard of payment was qualitative, not quantitative. In the interpretation of the parable, the “ penny ” represents “eternal life.” Meaning, each person receives eternal life, regardless of the duration of his service. No true laborer could receive less, and the longest service of labor could claim no more. The idea is this, the gift of eternal life via Christ’s great love and sacrifice, which none of us deserve anyway, should be enough reward for anybody going to Heaven. When that isn’t enough, our motive for why we serve Christ becomes wrong ( Rev 2:4 ). 20:3 Most believers are in “neutral” when it comes to working for God (they’re “idling”). They have no real purpose in life, except to exist and to fill the “pie-hole” in the middle of their face. Believers who are “idling” when it comes to serving God would do well to start looking for the One who’s looking for them! 20:6 The working day was all but over ( And about the eleventh hour ) when Jesus called for more laborers. Clearly, the implied suggestion is that there are never enough Christians, appreciative of their salvation, willing to do God’s work (reach lost souls - Mt 9:37-38). 20:11 In essence, eternal life in Heaven, i.e, salvation (represented by the “ penny ” – vs 2 ) wasn’t enough reward for those who had been hired (saved), so “ they murmured against the GOODMAN of the house ” (they wanted special prerogative and precedence over others). Again, motive for why we do what we do means everything to God and will determine what kind of reward we will receive in eternity ( I Cor 3:13 b ). 20:15 Jesus said, “Are you envious because I am generous?” ( Is thine eye evil, because I am good? ). How can the goodness (generosity) of God provoke us to complaint, unless, of course, we are focusing more on “our” goodness to Him than “His” goodness to us? 20:16 a While it is true that service for Jesus will be faithfully rewarded (vs 2) and that equal faithfulness to one’s opportunity will be equally rewarded (vs 8-9), it is also true that only God can adequately assess faithfulness ( So the last shall be first, and the first last ). Only God can adequately assess opportunities and the motive for why we did what we did for Him (vs 10-15). Therefore, our future rewards will be based not on the amount of work we did for God, nor on the duration of our service, but on the motive for why we did what we did for God. Parable #32 is aimed at believers who aren’t satisfied with just eternal life . Notice the statement in verse 11- “… they murmured against the GOODMAN of the house .” The character flaw – assuming we deserve more because we served more . We do not. While James was taken home to Heaven first (Acts 12:1-2), John, his brother, was taken home last (Rev 1:9). It is God who chooses whom He uses, not vice-versa. Until we are content with just being saved, we will always possess the wrong motive for why we serve God. We must learn to be satisfied with God’s goodness, not ours. 20:16 b Jesus ends his parable to the saved with a statement concerning the lost, referring to the general call of the Gospel ( for many be called ) and the difficulty many will experience in believing ( but few chosen ). The Gospel calls many people to salvation ( Eph 1:4 a ), sadly however, few choose it (Mt 7:13-14). This statement has nothing to do with those who are already saved who then lose their salvation. 20:22a Jesus was about to drink the cup of sorrow and experience what no man on earth has ever experienced – voluntary separation fromGod in order to pay for the eternality of Hell ( Mt 27:46 and I Cor 15:28 ). Knowing His suffering would eventually lead to great joy (Heb 12:2 and Isa 53:10-11), He asked His disciples to join Him. Henri Nouwen in Can You Drink the Cup ? notes: The cup of sorrow, inconceivable as it seems, is also the cup of joy. Only when we discover this in our own life can we consider drinking it. 1 20:22b James and John were able –one suffered martyrdom (Acts 12:2), and the other exile (Rev 1:9). 1535

1 Nouwen, Henri. “ Take This Cup” from Can You Drink the Cup?, Notre Dame, IND, Ave Maria Press., 1996. Print.