FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE UNTO A MAN,.... That is, the Gospel
dispensation, or times of the Messiah, may fitly be represented by a
man
THAT IS AN HOUSEHOLDER, or master of a family, as Christ is;
See Gill "Mt 10:25" He is master of the whole family of God, in
heaven, and in earth, of all t... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHEN HE HAD AGREED WITH THE LABOURERS FOR A PENNY A DAY,.... These
labourers were of that sort that were called שכיר יום, "hired
for a day"; concerning whom is the following rule q:
"he that is hired for a day, may demand it all the night; and he that
is hired for a night may demand it all the... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE WENT OUT ABOUT THE THIRD HOUR,.... About nine o'clock in the
morning,
AND SAW OTHERS STANDING IDLE IN THE MARKET PLACE: the place where
labourers used to be hired: and may design the world, because a place
full of people, and of great wickedness, for the whole world lies in
it; a place of tr... [ Continue Reading ]
AND SAID UNTO THEM, GO YE ALSO INTO THE VINEYARD,.... Expressive of a
call of divine grace out of the world, into the church; and which
arises from mere grace, and good will, without any merit in, or motive
from man, as the case here shows: for the householder went out to
these men, not they to him;... [ Continue Reading ]
AGAIN HE WENT OUT ABOUT THE SIXTH AND NINTH HOUR,.... About twelve
o'clock, or at noon, and three o'clock in the afternoon. These three
last mentioned seasons of the day, were the hours of prayer; see Acts
2:15 and did likewise: seeing others in the same place, and posture,
he called them, and sent... [ Continue Reading ]
AND ABOUT THE ELEVENTH HOUR HE WENT OUT,.... About five o'clock in the
afternoon. The Persic version reads it, "the twelfth hour", which was
six o'clock in the afternoon, the last hour of the day. The Jews
divided their day into twelve hours,
John 11:9 and these twelve hours into four parts; Ne 9:3... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY SAY UNTO HIM, BECAUSE NO MAN HATH HIRED US,.... This may be fitly
applied to the Gentiles, who hundreds of years were neglected by God;
he overlooked the times of their ignorance, took no notice of them in
their state of stupidity, blindness, and irreligion; but suffered them
to walk in their o... [ Continue Reading ]
SO WHEN EVEN WAS COME,.... At six o'clock, or when the sun was set,
which was the time of paying labourers their wages: thus in the
parable of the Jews, before referred to, which bears some resemblance
to this, it is said,
"bre tel, s that "at evening time" the labourers came to take their
wages.''... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHEN THEY CAME THAT WERE HIRED ABOUT THE ELEVENTH HOUR,.... Who
were the last that were hired; and signify either such, as are called
in their last days, in old age; or Gentile sinners; or the last of
God's elect, that will be called by grace, in the end of the world:
THEY RECEIVED EVERY MAN A... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT WHEN THE FIRST CAME,.... Who were early hired into the vineyard;
and design either the first saints that were in the world; or the Jews
that first believed in Christ, either really or nominally; or such,
who were called by grace in their early days:
THEY SUPPOSED, or "hoped", as the Syriac vers... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHEN THEY HAD RECEIVED IT,.... The external privileges of the
Gospel dispensation, an inheritance among them that are sanctified,
and a right unto it, on the foot of free grace,
THEY MURMURED AGAINST THE GOOD MAN OF THE HOUSE; who had been so kind
and liberal, to those who came last into the vi... [ Continue Reading ]
SAYING, THESE LAST HAVE WROUGHT BUT ONE HOUR,.... Thinking it hard,
that they should have the same reward for the service of one hour,
others had for the service of many. This is grudged by the Jews x;
"Bath Kol", a voice from heaven, went out and said, "Ketiah bar
Shallum", is prepared for the lif... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT HE ANSWERED ONE OF THEM,.... Who was the forwardest and loudest in
his complaints, and represented the rest;
AND SAID, FRIEND, I DO THEE NO WRONG; by giving all alike, the same
privileges and blessings to the last, as to the first, since nothing
was withheld from him. And indeed the Lord does n... [ Continue Reading ]
TAKE THAT THINE IS,.... By agreement, and go thy way; out of my sight,
give me no more trouble on this head; which looks like a dismissal
from his service, and after privileges; and was true of many among the
Jews, who were only nominal professors, and from whom the Gospel and
ordinances of it were... [ Continue Reading ]
IS IT NOT LAWFUL FOR ME TO DO WHAT I WILL WITH MINE OWN?.... External
gifts and outward privileges, such as enjoying the word and
ordinances, are God's own; and he may, as he does, bestow them on whom
he will, and when and where he pleases; as he gave them to the Jews,
and continued them many hundre... [ Continue Reading ]
SO THE LAST SHALL BE FIRST, AND THE FIRST LAST,.... As he had asserted
in Matthew 19:30 and which is clearly illustrated by this parable, as
it may be applied to Jews or Gentiles, or to nominal and real
Christians:
FOR MANY BE CALLED; externally, under the ministration of the Gospel,
as the Jews in... [ Continue Reading ]
AND JESUS GOING UP TO JERUSALEM,.... Which was situated f in the
highest part of the land of Israel: the land of Israel, is said to be
higher than any other land whatever; and the temple at Jerusalem,
higher than any part of the land of Israel; wherefore Christ's going
to Jerusalem, is expressed by... [ Continue Reading ]
BEHOLD, WE GO UP TO JERUSALEM,.... This is the last time of our going
thither; observe, and take notice of what I am about to say; some
extraordinary things will come to pass, and, as Luke relates that he
said,
ALL THINGS THAT ARE WRITTEN BY THE PROPHETS CONCERNING THE SON OF MAN,
SHALL BE ACCOMPLI... [ Continue Reading ]
AND SHALL DELIVER HIM TO THE GENTILES,.... To Pilate, an Heathen
governor, and to the Roman officers and soldiers under him; see John
18:35.
TO MOCK him, as they did, by putting on him a scarlet robe, platting a
crown of thorns, and placing it on his head, and a reed in his hand;
and then bowed the... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN CAME TO HIM THE MOTHER OF ZEBEDEE'S CHILDREN,.... Whose name was
Salome, as may be concluded from Matthew 27:56 compared with Mark
15:40. She is not called the wife of Zebedee, who might be now dead,
but the mother of his children, his two sons, as the Arabic version
renders it: James and John,... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE SAID UNTO HER, WHAT WILT THOU?.... Mark says, "he said unto
them"; her two sons, James and John, "what would you that I should do
for you?" Both is true; what is this singular favour? what business of
moment and importance is it, you would have me do for you, you are so
eager and pressing for... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT JESUS ANSWERED, AND SAID,.... To her two sons,
YE KNOW NOT WHAT YE ASK. They were ignorant of the nature of Christ's
kingdom, which is spiritual, and not of this world: or they would
never have asked such a question, or sued for that which will never be
enjoyed by any and supposing that Christ'... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE SAITH UNTO THEM, YE SHALL DRINK INDEED OF MY CUP,.... Not of
the selfsame, but of what was like unto it; meaning, that they should
endure much persecution for his name's sake, as all that will live
godly in Christ Jesus must expect in one shape or another. Thus James,
who was one of these per... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHEN THEY TEN HEARD IT,.... The other ten apostles, who either
were within hearing the request made, and Christ's answer, or had by
some means information of it:
THEY WERE MOVED WITH INDIGNATION AGAINST THE TWO BRETHREN; the two
sons of Zebedee, James and John: they were not so much displeased... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT JESUS CALLED THEM UNTO HIM,.... All his twelve disciples,
perceiving that the same ambitious views prevailed in them all: to
discourage which, and to prevent their quarrelling one with another,
he called them to him, and made use of the following reasonings:
AND SAID, YE KNOW THAT THE PRINCES O... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT IT SHALL NOT BE SO AMONG YOU,.... This is not to be extended to
Christian nations, as if there were to be no order of magistracy
subsisting in them; but that all must be on a level, and no
distinction of princes and subjects, of governors and governed; nor to
Christian churches, as if there was... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHOSOEVER WILL BE CHIEF AMONG YOU,.... Or first, or have the
pre-eminence, the first place in the kingdom of the Messiah,
LET HIM BE YOUR SERVANT; or, as in Mark, SHALL BE SERVANT OF ALL: not
only a minister, but a servant; not a servant of some only, but of
all. This was verified in the Apostl... [ Continue Reading ]
EVEN AS THE SON OF MAN,.... Meaning himself, the seed of the woman,
the son of Abraham, and of David, according to the flesh; and whom he
proposes as an example of humility, and as an argument to draw them
off from their ambitious views of worldly grandeur, and from all
thoughts of the Messiah's set... [ Continue Reading ]
AND AS THEY DEPARTED FROM JERICHO,.... Which, was distant about ten
parsas, or miles, from Jerusalem i, through which Christ just passed,
and had met with Zacchaeus, and called him, and delivered the parable
concerning a nobleman's going into a far country. The Syriac and
Persic versions render the... [ Continue Reading ]
AND BEHOLD, TWO BLIND MEN,.... Mark and Luke make mention but of one;
which is no contradiction to Matthew; for they neither of them say
that there was but one. A greater difficulty occurs in Luke's account;
for whereas Matthew and Mark both agree, that it was when Jesus came
out of Jericho, that th... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE MULTITUDE REBUKED THEM,.... Who were either the friends or
enemies of Christ: if his friends, they might rebuke them, that they
might not be so troublesome to him, and judging it unworthy of him to
have anything to do with such mean persons, and supposing that their
business was only to ask... [ Continue Reading ]
AND JESUS STOOD STILL,.... Made a full stop, when he was near, or
right against where these blind men sat; which shows the strength of
faith, the force of prayer, and the great regard Christ has to both:
AND CALLED THEM: himself, being near unto them, and within the reach
of his voice; or he comman... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY SAY UNTO HIM, LORD, THAT OUR EYES MAY BE OPENED. That is, that
their sight might be restored to them; for being deprived of that, it
was all one as if their eyes were so closed, that they could not open
them; and so the recovery of it is expressed by an opening of them.
The opening of the eyes... [ Continue Reading ]
SO JESUS HAD COMPASSION ON THEM,.... His bowels moved towards them as
a man; he pitied their miserable and distressed condition, and
discovered the tenderness of his heart towards them by some outward
sign, by his looks, or by some gesture or another: and touched their
eyes; with his bare hand, with... [ Continue Reading ]