| Matthew 20 | |
|---|---|
.JPG) The Latin text of Matthew 20:27–30 inCodex Claromontanus V, from 4th or 5th century | |
| Book | Gospel of Matthew |
| Category | Gospel |
| Christian Bible part | New Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 1 |
Matthew 20 is the twentieth chapter in theGospel of Matthew in theNew Testament of the ChristianBible.Jesus continues his final journey throughPerea andJericho, heading towardsJerusalem, which he enters in thefollowing chapter.
The original text was written inKoine Greek.This chapter is divided into 34 verses.
Some earlymanuscripts containing the text of this chapter include:
TheNew King James Version (NKJV) organises this chapter as follows:
Theparable of theworkers in the vineyard illustrates theaphorism inMatthew 19:30:Many who are first will be last, and the last first.[1] Anglican theologianE. H. Plumptre argues that thedivision of the chapters at this point is "singularly unfortunate, as separating the parable both from the events which gave occasion to it and from the teaching which it illustrates. It is not too much to say that we can scarcely understand it at all unless we connect it with the history of theyoung ruler who had greatpossessions, and the claims which thedisciples had made for themselves when they contrasted their readiness with his reluctance".[2]LutheranPietistJohann Bengel argues, likewise, that a link is to be made withPeter's enquiry inMatthew 19:27: "See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?"[3]
The appointment of Jesus'twelve disciples to "sit on twelve thrones, judging thetwelve tribes of Israel" in "theregeneration" (Matthew 19:20–28) may also be contrasted with the request of the mother ofZebedee's children, possiblySalome, that the seats of Jesus' right and left in thekingdom of heaven to be allocated toJames andJohn (Matthew 20:20–21).
This parable is only related by Matthew.[4] It asserts that "thekingdom of heaven is like alandowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard".[5]
Now when he [the landowner] had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.[6]
Bengel notes that thelandowner deals with the first group of labourers bylegal contract, promising to pay an agreed sum, and with the others "more by mereliberality".[3]
Many details of the parable, including when the workers receive their pay at the end of the day, the complaints from those who worked a full day, and the response from the king/landowner are paralleled in a similar parable found in tractate Berakhot in theJerusalem Talmud.[7]
So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.[8]
Dale Allison suggests a reading of this verse according to which Jesus himself is seen as "the last (in his sufferings and death) who will be the first (when God exalts him)".[9]
The second part of this verse,For many are called, but few [are] chosen, is not included inCodex Vaticanus,Codex Regius,Codex Dublinensis orCodex Sinaiticus.[4] The words are included in theTextus Receptus,[10] and byScrivener,[11] and they appear in theKing James Version, but they are omitted from theAmerican Standard Version and theNew International Version.
Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road, and said to them,[12]
This verse continues the journey commenced inMatthew 19:1.[4]There are three typical readings of this verse:
Et ascendens Jesus Jerosolymam, assumpsit duodecim discipulos secreto, et ait illis:[14]
And Jesus going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples apart, and said to them:[15]
18 "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death,19 and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again."
This third announcement or prediction of the manner of Jesus' death follows on from Matthew 16:21 and 17:23.[16] The three classes of Jesus' antagonists have now been revealed: the Jewish leaders (16:21), one of the twelve, who will betray him (17:23), and (here) the Roman authorities.[17]
Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.[18]
The mother ofZebedee's sons,James andJohn, is known to have beenSalome, "as we learn by comparingMatthew 27:56 withMark 15:40".[19] Her request is described as "ambitious".[20] Matthew's text here is "more graphic" and detailed than Mark's parallel (Mark 10:35).[19]
But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" They said to Him, "We are able."[21]
While this dialogue is initiated by Salome, Jesus directs his answer to James and John themselves.[19]
Matthew's narrative portrays thehealing of two blind men taking place as Jesus, his disciples and a great multitude leave Jericho, although their passage back over theRiver Jordan and their arrival in Jericho are not described. TheEthiopic version, uniquely, reads here "as they went out from Jerusalem".[22]
