Matthew 20 - Introduction
CHAPTER 20. PARABLE OF THE HOURS; TWO SONS OF ZEBEDEE; BLIND MAN AT JERICHO.... [ Continue Reading ]
CHAPTER 20. PARABLE OF THE HOURS; TWO SONS OF ZEBEDEE; BLIND MAN AT JERICHO.... [ Continue Reading ]
ὁμοία γὰρ etc.: γὰρ points back to previous sentence about first-lasts and last-firsts. ἀνθ. οἰκοδ.: _vide_ Matthew 13:52. ἅμα πρωῒ : at early dawn (similar use of ἅμα in classics), at the beginning of the day, which was reckoned from six to six. μισθώσασθαι : hiring has a prominent place in this pa... [ Continue Reading ]
_Parable of the hours_, peculiar to Mt., and, whatever its real connection as spoken by Jesus, to be interpreted in relation to its setting as here given, which is not impossible. The parable is brought in as illustrating the aphorism in Matthew 19:30.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐκ δηναρίου : on the basis of a penny; the agreement sprang out of the offer, and acceptance, of a denarius as a day's wage (so Meyer, Weiss, etc.). τὴν ἡμέραν = _per diem_, only a single day is contemplated in the parable.... [ Continue Reading ]
τρίτην ὥ.: the article τὴν before τρίτην in T. R., omitted in W. H [111], is not necessary before an ordinal. ἑστῶτας ἐ. τ. ἀγ.: the marketplace there as here, the place where masters and men met. ἀργούς (_a_ and ἔργον), not = idle in habit, but unemployed and looking for work. [111] Westcott and H... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ ὑμεῖς : he had got a fair number of workers in the morning, but he is pleased to have more for an urgent piece of work. The expression has reference to the Master's mood rather than to the men's knowledge of what had taken place at the first hour. ὃ ἐὰν δίκαιον : no bargain this time, only a pro... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐποίησεν ὡσαύτως : repetition of the action at sixth and ninth hours; more men still on similar footing.... [ Continue Reading ]
περὶ δὲ τὴν ἑνδεκ.: the δὲ marks this final procedure as noteworthy. We begin to wonder at all this hiring, when we see it going on _even at the last hour_. Is the master a humorist hiring out of benevolence rather than from regard to the exigencies of the work? Some have thought so (Olshausen, Goeb... [ Continue Reading ]
ὑπάγετε καὶ ὑμεῖς : these words said this time with marked emphasis = _you too go_, though it be so late. This employer would probably be talked of among the workers as a man who had a hobby a character; they might even laugh at his peculiar ways. The clause about payment in T. R. is obviously out o... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀρξάμενος : a pregnant word, including not only the commencement of the process of paying but its progress. There is an ellipsis, καὶ ἐλθὼν being understood before ἔως (Kypke). Grotius thinks this does not really mean beginning with the last comers, but without regard to order of coming in, so that... [ Continue Reading ]
_The evening settlement_.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀνὰ δηνάριον, a denarius _each_; ἀνὰ is distributive = “accipiebant singuli denar.”. For this use of ἀνὰ _vide_ Herrmann's _Viger_, p. 576.... [ Continue Reading ]
οἷ πρῶτοι : the intermediates passed over, as non-essential to the didactic purpose, we arrive at the first, the men hired on a regular bargain in the morning. ἐνόμισαν : they had noticed the paying of the last first, and had curiously watched to see or hear what they got, and they come with great e... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐγόγγυζον : imperfect; the grumbling went on from man to man as they were being paid; to the overseer, but at (κατὰ) the master, and so that he could overhear.... [ Continue Reading ]
heir grievous complaint. οὗτοι, _these_, with a workman's contempt for a sham-worker. ἐποίησαν. Some (Wetstein, Meyer, Goebel, etc.) render, _spent_ = they put in their one hour: without doing any work to speak of. The verb is used in this sense (_e.g._, Acts 15:33), and one is strongly tempted to a... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐνὶ, to _one_ of them. It would have been undignified to make a speech in self-defence to the whole gang. That would have been to take the matter too seriously. The master selects a man, and quietly speaks his mind to him. ἑταῖρε, friend, comrade; familiar and kindly. _Cf._ Luke 15:31.... [ Continue Reading ]
_The master's reply_.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἆρον τὸ σὸν, take thine, thy stipulated denarius. It looks as if this particular worker had refused the penny, or was saucily handing it back. θέλω, I choose, it is my pleasure; emphatically spoken. _Summa hujus verbi potestas_, Beng. τούτῳ τ. ἐσχ.: one of the eleventh-hour men singled out and point... [ Continue Reading ]
οὐκ ἔξεστι : right asserted to act as he chooses in the matter. ἐν τοῖς ἐμοῖς, in matters within my own discretion a truism; the question is: what belongs to that category? Fritzsche and De Wette render: in my own affairs; Meyer: in the matter of my own property. ἢ (W.H [112]) introduces an alternat... [ Continue Reading ]
Christ here points the moral of the parable = Matthew 19:30, the terms ἔσχατοι πρῶτοι changing places, the better to suit the story. The meaning is not: the last as the first, and the first as the last, all treated alike. True, all get the same sum; at least the last and first do, nothing being said... [ Continue Reading ]
_Third prediction of the passion_ (Mark 10:32-34; Luke 18:31-34). The first in Matthew 16:21; the second in Matthew 17:22. In the first it was stated generally that Jesus was about πολλὰ παθεῖν. Here the πολλὰ are detailed. In the second mention was made of betrayal (παραδίδοται, Matthew 17:22) into... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀναβαίνων : going up from Peraea to the ridge on which the Holy City stood. The reading μέλλων ἀναβ. may indicate that they are already on the west side of the Jordan, and about to commence the ascent (Weiss-Meyer). εἰς Ἰεροσόλυμα : face being now turned directly towards Jerusalem, thought naturally... [ Continue Reading ]
ἰδού, ἀναβαίνομεν! a memorable fateful _anabasis_! It excites lively expectation in the whole company, but how different the thoughts of the Master from those of His followers! κατακρινοῦσι, they shall sentence Him to death; a new feature.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐμπαῖξαι, μαστιγῶσαι, σταυρῶσαι, mock, scourge, crucify; all new features, the details of the πολλὰ παθεῖν. Note the parts assigned to the various actors: the Jews condemn, the Gentiles scourge and crucify.... [ Continue Reading ]
τότε (in Mk. the vaguer καὶ), _then_; let us hope not quite immediately after, but it need not have been long after. How soon children forget doleful news and return to their play; a beneficent provision of nature in their case, that grief should be but a summer shower. Or did James and John with th... [ Continue Reading ]
_The two sons of Zebedee_ (Mark 10:35-45).... [ Continue Reading ]
εἰπὲ ἵνα : _vide_ on Matthew 4:3. καθίσωσιν, etc. = let them have the first places in the kingdom, sitting on Thy right and left hand respectively. After ἐκ δεξιῶν, ἐξ εὐωνύμων, μερῶν is understood = on the right and left parts. _Vide_ Bos, _Ellipses Graecae_, p. 184, who cites an instance of the la... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus meets this bold petition as He met the scribe's offer of discipleship (Matthew 8:19), aiming at disenchantment by pointing out what it involved: throne and suffering going together. τὸ ποτήριον, the cup, emblem of both good and evil fortune in Hebrew speech (Psalms 11:6; Psalms 23:5); here of... [ Continue Reading ]
τὸ μὲν π. μ. πίεσθε, as for my cup, ye shall drink of it: predictive of the future fact, and also conferring a privilege = I have no objection to grant you companionship in my sufferings; that favour may be granted without risk of abuse. τὸ δὲ καθίσαι, etc., but as for sitting on right and left, han... [ Continue Reading ]
οἱ δέκα : the Twelve were all on one moral level, not one superior to ambitious passion, or jealousy of it in another. Therefore the conduct of the _two_ greatly provoked the ten. ἠγανάκτησαν Passow derives from ἄγαν and ἄγω, and gives as original sense to be in a state of violent excitement like ne... [ Continue Reading ]
_Commotion in the disciple-circle_.... [ Continue Reading ]
προσκαλεσάμενος : Jesus had to call them to Him, therefore they had had the decency not to quarrel in His presence. _Magistro non praesente_, Beng. κατακυριεύουσιν : in the Sept [113] used in the sense of rule, Genesis 1:28; Psalms 72:8; here the connection requires the idea of “lording it over,” th... [ Continue Reading ]
οὐχ οὔτως ἐστὶν ἐ. ὑ. It is not so among you. The ἔσται of T. R. is probably conformed to the two following ἔσται, but it is true to the meaning. Jesus speaks of a state of matters He desires, but which does not yet exist. The present spirit of the Twelve is essentially secular and pagan. μέγας, διά... [ Continue Reading ]
πρῶτος may be a synonym for μέγας = μέγιστος (De W.) and δοῦλος for διάκονος; or in both cases increased emphasis may be intended, πρῶτος pointing to a higher place of dignity, δοῦλος to a lower depth of servitude. Burton (M. and T. in N.T., § 68) finds in the two ἔσται in Matthew 20:26-27 probable... [ Continue Reading ]
ὤσπερ, καὶ γὰρ in Mk.; both phrases introducing reference to the _summum exemplum_ (Bengel) in an emphatic way. περ lends force to ὡς = even as, observe. ὁ ὑ. τ. ἀνθρώπου : an important instance of the use of the title. On the principle of defining by discriminating use it means: the man who makes n... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀπὸ Ἰεριχὼ, from Jericho, an important town every way; “the key the ‘ _Chiavenna_ ' of Palestine to any invader from this quarter” (Stanley, _Sinai and Palestine_, p. 305; the whole account there given should be read), situated in an oasis in the Judaean desert, caused by streams from the mountains... [ Continue Reading ]
_Blind men_ (man) _at Jericho_ (Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43). The harmonistic problems as to the locality of this incident (leaving Jericho, Mt. and Mk.; entering, Lk.) and the number of persons healed (one Mk. and Lk., two Mt.) may be left on one side, as also the modern critical attempts to accou... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀκούσαντες, etc. Luke explains that the blind man learnt that Jesus was passing in answer to inquiry suggested by the noise of a crowd. He knew who Jesus was: the fame of Jesus the Nazarene (Mk. and Lk.), the great Healer, had reached his ear. υἱὸς Δ.: popular Messianic title (Matthew 9:27; Matthew... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐπετίμησεν : same word as in Matthew 19:13, and denoting similar action to that of the disciples in reference to the children, due to similar motives. Officious reverence has played a large part in the history of the Church and of theology. μεῖζον ἔκραζον, they cried out the more; of course, repress... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐφώνησεν might mean “addressed them” (Fritzsche), but “called them” seems to suit the situation better; _cf._ the parallels. τί θέλετε, etc., what do you wish me to do for you? Not a superfluous question; they were _beggars_ as well as blind; they might want _alms_ (_vide_ Mark 10:46). Mt. says noth... [ Continue Reading ]
ἴνα ἀνοιγῶσιν οἱ ὀφ. They desire the greater benefit, opening of their eyes, which shows that the eyes of their mind were open as to Christ's power and will. ἀνοιγῶσιν, 2nd aorist subjunctive, for which the T. R. has the more common 1st aorist.... [ Continue Reading ]
σπλαγχνισθεὶς. Note the frequent reference to Christ's pity in this gospel (Matthew 9:36; Matthew 14:14; Matthew 15:32, and here). τῶν ὀμμάτων, a synonym for ὀφθαλμῶν, as if with some regard to style which the scribes might have been expected to appreciate, but have not (ὀφθ., thrice, T.R.). ὄμμα is... [ Continue Reading ]