Daily Bible Reading (Friday, January 26th)

13

Matthew 20 (ESV)

 

Laborers in the Vineyard

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius[a] a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went.Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last 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 replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’[b] 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”

A Mother's Request

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?”They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,[c] 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,[d] 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

29 And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord,[e] have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

Footnotes:

  1. Matthew 20:2 denarius was a day's wage for a laborer
  2. Matthew 20:15 Or is your eye bad because I am good?
  3. Matthew 20:26 Greek diakonos
  4. Matthew 20:27 Or bondservant, or servant (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface)
  5. Matthew 20:30 Some manuscripts omit Lord

13 Comments

I'm so thankful that our loving Savior is willing to stop and listen whenever we call out to him. How can I do less for those who reach out to me for help? Lord, please make me more sensitive and responsive to the needs of others.

Christ being blameless and holy came to Earth to serve, not to be served. This is very convicting when I think about how often I am unwilling to serve others, or do so with bitterness in my heart. Praying that I will follow Christ’s example and humble myself with this.

Too often we are like James and John, wanting the best spots with the Lord. But the best spots belong to those who make themselves slaves and seek to serve others. I guess we all find out what kind of servant we are when we get treated like one. I want to be more and more like my Lord and make it all about serving and not about being served.

Thankful we have a leader who has set a perfect example for us to follow. “26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant... 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”. Christlikeness is found in dying to ourselves and living a life of service to Him and others.

Jesus’ compassion to the two blind men is displayed in v.34 when he healed them “in pity”. Thankful that the perfect Son of God condescends to us wretched sinners when we too recognize that we are blind and need His healing! He will not turn us away if we recognize our blindness and cry out to Him in desperation as these two blind men did. “Foul I to the fountain fly, wash me Savior or I die!”

Vs. 20 - 27 are a great reminder that we are to be serving one another in love instead of demanding to be served and building our personal ego. Lord, give me a humble, loving spirit that sees the needs of those around me and willingly serves... Make me a servant.

Just thinking on being a servant, dying to self daily and in new circumstances putting others before myself. My Lord has come not to be served or adored, but to serve and be scourged for it. So, I need to follow today and serve Him and others in defiance of my own flesh, and in defiance of the world's response.

Theme summary: The Kingdom of Heaven flips the order of this world on its head, as the last will be first and the first will be last: God will graciously deal with all who come to work for him as if they came early, and those who would be great in the kingdom must be servants like Christ who promised to give his life as a ransom for many.

A couple other points: as Jesus and the disciples neared Jerusalem, Jesus kept repeating that he would be persecuted, die, and rise again, and yet James and John and their Mom are asking to be on Jesus right and left in his kingdom. I can't help but think they thought Jesus was speaking in hyperbole about something else, like eating his flesh and drinking his blood...he's not *really* going to die and rise again. We too need to be careful to take more of Jesus words at face value, i.e. promises of reward and punishment for obedience and disobedience, with the idea that Jesus is only looking at our hearts, as if the fruit doesn't reveal the kind of tree it came from. It is easy to diminish uncomfortable teachings.

Amen Jason!

Holy Spirit, please continue your work of putting to death my fleshly desires and growing Godly desires in my heart. Help me to strive to lead as a servant to others and to work as one satisfied with the work that the Father has given me to do. Help me to be an accurate image bearer for you and an approved worker for your kingdom each day as I go out in to the world to represent you.

In the parable of the laborers, the landowner says He will give each worker whatever is right. We serve a perfectly righteous God who has to do what is right because He defines righteousness. How awesome is that?! And I love the Landowners response in verse 13: “Friend, I am doing you no wrong.“ He calls us friend and it is impossible for him to do us any wrong. Then you have James and John’s mom bowing before Jesus, and I noticed He doesn’t tell her to get up like the angels do or like the apostles do in other passages of Scripture. It is good to bow before King. Finally, in verse 28, Jesus says He came to give his life a ransom for many...not all. This is a hard teaching, but it makes me love Him all the more!

There is one verse in here that is pretty popular but particularly impactful for me. Verse 28, “Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for man.” This is a true test of genuine humility. I pray earnestly that I would desire to serve those round me and not get so caught up in myself. Father forgive me for not doing this well. Help me today to humble myself for the sake of your kingdom!

True evangelism I’d say. Yet, people begrudge (envy or resent). And mother’s are falsely prideful. I thank the Lord for making me see, for I was blind.

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