Matthew 20 - If Jesus Asked You, "What Do You Want?" What Would You Say?

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What is Happening in Matthew 20?

Jesus teaches about what the kingdom of heaven is like through another parable. His parables give us secrets into how to live a life in the kingdom of heaven. It sounds like an oxymoron. How can we live a life in heaven when we are on earth? This is the point. Jesus came to show the world what God's kingdom looks like and how we can be part of it. 

Martin Luther said in his Small Catechism regarding the petition on the Lord's Prayer, "Thy Kingdom Come". He taught, "God's kingdom will surely come, the only question is will it come through us!"

Jesus predicts his death a third time. It is obvious Jesus knew what fate awaited him. Jesus teaches James and John and their mom about his final destination. It is not what they think. Finally, Jesus performs another miraculous sign by healing two blind men who call on him earnestly. 

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

This is a very interesting parable and a lot of its meaning depends on how you interpret what Jesus is ultimately talking about. A parable uses earthly analogies and usually has one main point of application. This point represents a secret about how God's kingdom works. Parables show how the spiritual world works and how Jesus' life and ministry illustrated just that. 

The earthly analogy here is that of a vineyard and its workers. In Jesus' culture his hearers would be very familiar with this analogy, as many of them were farmers. The parable could be summarized like this. A landowner went out to hire men to work in his vineyard. He went out first thing in the morning and hired some men. He agreed to pay them a "denarius", which was the normal day's wage for a day laborer. It might be similar to what someone might be paid today for 8 hours of work at minimum wage. 

Hours later, he was in the marketplace at 9 am and were men hanging around looking for work. He offered them a job and this time said, "I will pay you whatever I think is right!" He did the same thing at noon and 3pm and employing more men with same terms. Finally, he went out at 5pm and found there will still men looking for a work. They had waited all day for work but didn't give up. 

The landowner was surprised they had been waiting all day and asked them why. Their reply, "No one has hired us!" So he hired them too apparently under the same terms as the previous workers. 

At the end of day he told his foreman to go pay all the guys starting with those who came latest and ending with those he hired first. It seems a little odd that he paid those who put in the least amount of work first. But this is key to understanding the meaning of this parable. Each group of men were paid a denarius regardless of when they started. Since the landowner said to those hired after the first group, "I will pay you whatever I think is right!", obviously he concluded everyone desired a denarius regardless of when they started. 

The parable reaches a climax when those hired first figure out the others hired after them were paid. They were paid the same as they were, a denarius. It would be one thing if the guys hired right after them got the same as they did, but the ones who were hired at 5pm. Really!  They didn't even have to work in the heat of the day. My guess is any of us would be equally as confused and probably angry at the same time. After all it seems unfair. It is kind of offensive to our understanding of work ethics.

The landowner answers the men who felt they were treated unfairly by saying to them, "You agreed to work for a denarius, how am I being unfair? If I choose to pay the other guys the same thing what is that to you. That's my call!" 

He adds a little insult to injury by asking them why they are questioning his generosity, even being envious of it. Then, comes the punchline, 

"So the last will be first, and the first will be last!" That doesn't sound very fair, especially for those of us who like to compete. Why would I work hard if being first meant nothing. But here's the point, 

Jesus is teaching about something entirely different. He is not meaning for this parable to be taken literally. Just like on the Sermon on the Mount when he said to, "Cut your hand off if it causes you to sin!"

So what is Jesus trying to teach them about the kingdom of God?

First, we need to remember that Jesus is teaching the Jewish audience. At the same time the teachers of the Law and Pharisees were watching and listening to them closely looking to trap him. We know that the Pharisees and teachers felt very privileged with the authority they had been given. They saw the Jews as the chosen ones, who they had the authority over. The non-Jews, also known as Gentiles, had no place in God's kingdom and were unclean in their sight. 

I believe Jesus is illustrating that the Jews were the first ones called. They were early morning workers. But as we will see later with Peter and Paul, the gospel was meant to go first to the Jewsm and then to the Gentiles. The workers who agreed were like those who agreed to believe in Jesus as the Messiah. The reward is the same eternal life for all people regardless of when they came to believe. 

We might give another analogy. There is the person has been a Christian since they were very young. When they die and go heaven they might meet someone who made a confession and came to Christ on their death bed after living a life of sin and debauchery. They wonder, "That's not fair I followed Jesus all my life and that guy just got in at the end, don't I deserve the greater reward." 

And God would say they same to us, "Are you envious because I am generous?"

This is the essence of God’s grace, when He rewards and blesses man according to His will and pleasure, not necessarily according to what men deserve. The system of law is easy to figure out: you get what you deserve. The system of grace is foreign to us: God deals with us according to who He is, not according to who we are. (Guzik)

It is important to see that the landowner did not treat anyone unfairly, though he was more generous to some than to others. We can be assured that God will never, ever be unfair to us, though He may – for His own purpose and pleasure – bestow greater blessing on someone else who seems less deserving. (Guzik)

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time

The only real difference about what Jesus says to the disciples this third time is that he is closer to Jerusalem. The passage says, "He was going up to Jerusalem." It is symbolic of his journey up to the cross. 

He clearly says that he will handed over and delivered by, "the chief priests and the teachers of the Law".  He will be delivered to the Gentiles, who will also have their role in killing the Son of God. Jesus gives more insights as to how he will be treated. He will be, "mocked, flogged, and crucified." It will not be pleasant. But the Good News is that after three days he will be raised to life!

"Even if Jesus had not specifically told them, their movement south from Galilee at about the time of the Passover feast made it easy to figure out that Jesus and the disciples would be in Jerusalem for Passover." (Guzik) 

"Jesus was remarkably specific in this announcement of His fate, and foretold many things over which He had no apparent control." (Guzik)

This another key aspect of the historical truth of the resurrection that these these literally happened just as he had predicted. The same is true of his prediction of his own resurrrection!

Jesus was remarkably specific in this announcement of His fate, and foretold many things over which He had no apparent control.

A Mother’s Request

It is ironic that right after Jesus announced the suffering which awaited him in Jerusalem that two of his disciples and their mom came to ask Jesus this question. It says she kneeled and "asked a favor of him". Anybody who has had a "doting mother" is not surprised at this request. All of our moms wanted the best for us and thought we deserved it. I know my mom dad, God rest her soul! 

Jesus plays it cool and asks her what she wants. She comes right out with it, "I want my sons to be at your left and right hand in your kingdom."

Remember Jesus' followers and even his own disciples assumed Jesus' purpose was to bring in an earthly kingdom for the Jewish people. So in that sense it is a logical question. If these guys were his followers would they not get first "dibs" when he came in power. 

It is sort of like those who support a political candidate expect to be rewarded when the politician is elected. After all there should be some payback right? 

So what the problem with the mother's request?

Jesus says it simply. She did not know what she was asking. She had no idea what Jesus was about to go through to become the King of kings and the Lord of lords. She had no idea what her sons would eventually have to suffer for following Jesus. 

Jesus says, "Are you able to drink the cup I am about to drink?" The cup was the cup of suffering which would be poured out on him in the form of his innocent suffering and death. The cup represented God's wrath being poured out on Jesus for the sins of the world. Naively the disciples say that are prepared to drink this cup. 

Jesus then defers the matter to His Father, who will have the final call on who gets what in heaven. This is the earthly Jesus, but we know after Jesus rose from the dead, He sat at the right hand of the Father judging the living and the dead. 

The others heard about the stunt James and John pulled and they were naturally pretty ticked off by it. So Jesus realizes it is a teachable moment for all of them. He says these classic verses, which are worth memorizing. 

"Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,  and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 

This is Jesus' definition of true greatness! Greatness starts and ends with being a servant to Jesus and all those who he places in our path. Jesus was the great example of this. As Philippians 2:5 and following says, "Jesus did not consider equality as something to hold on to but emptied himself and became a servant unto death on a cross!"

If we want to be great, we need to follow Jesus to the cross. We become great by emptying ourselves of pride, greed, lust and all the others things that want to be our Lord! 

"Real ministry is done for the benefit of those ministered to, not for the benefit of the minister. Many people are in the ministry for what they can receive (either materially or emotionally) from their people instead of for what they can give." (Guzik)

“He received nothing from others; his was a life of giving, and the giving of a life…No service is greater than to redeem sinners by his own death, no ministry is lowlier than to die in the stead of sinners.” (Spurgeon)

Two Blind Men Receive Sight

In this final story in Matthew 20, two blind men heard Jesus going by. Obviously they could not see him but others must have been talking about him. They were most likely Jewish because they cry out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us." It shows they recognized Jesus is the Messiah because they called him, "the Son of David", which was Jesus' Messianic lineage. 

The crowd thought the two blind men were a nuisance and rebuked them, but the men said the same thing even louder this time. "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us."

But Jesus saw it much differently. Instead of rebuking them he asked them what he could do for them. Again the call him "Lord" and said, "We want our sight!" It probably took them only an instant to tell Jesus what they were looking for. They had probably suffered from not being able to see since birth. Unlike the crowds Jesus had compassion on them, touched their eyes, and immediately they were healed! 

Importantly it says with their newly restored sight they followed him right away. They didn't need much convincing!

Jesus asked this question with full knowledge that these men were blind. He knew what they needed and what they wanted, but God still wants us to tell Him our needs as a constant expression of our trust and reliance on Him. (Guzik)

What would you say to Jesus if he asked you, "What do you want me to do for you?" 

If you believe Jesus is the Lord, the Son of David, why wait???