Mat 20:5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
Mat 20:6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and said to them, Why are you standing here all the day idle?
Mat 20:7 They told him, Because noone has hired us. He told them, Go also into the vineyard; and your shall receive whatever is right.

The "sixth hour" would be the middle of the twelve "hours" of daylight. At the ninth hour, the workday is three fourths gone. At the eleventh hour, the workday is almost over, with only one "hour" remaining in the twelve hour workday.

Notice that everytime the vineyard owner goes out, there are more people in the market, even though he hires all he sees at every visit. Where were these people earlier?

In modern times, we organize our lives around our jobs for employers, but in agricultural societies, jobs are more task oriented. Many of these people may have spent most of the day tending their own land or flocks. Others may have been selling in the market until they ran out of produce. Others may have found work for others that didn't last the full day. After their work was done, people gathered in marketplace, not only to find more work but to visit with other people and socialized.

There is a strong sense here that having nothing to do is wrong. When challenged, the workers make it clear that they are not idle because they are not willing to work. They are idle because they have nothing productive to do.

See the vocabulary in the previous verses for more explanation.

Mat 20:3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
Mat 20:4 And told them; Go also into the vineyard, and I will give you what is right . And they went their way.

The third hour means three "hours" after sunrise in the system of antiquity, but these "hôra" were not all of equal length. Instead, they were the hours of daylight divided into twelve equal parts, longer in the summer and shorter in winter. The assumption here is that this is three such periods after the first workers went out to work.

Note that the owner of the vineyard is not hiring just because he needs more workers. The cause mentioned is that the people were standing idle, doing nothing. There is a strong sense here that everyone should have work to do, that they should be producing something of value with the time.

The agreement here is only to work for "what is right." The word used means what is normal or expected. Since a denarius was a days

"Idle" is from argos, which means "not working," "not doing," and "idle." It was something of a critical term with the sense of "lazy."

"Marketplace" is from agora, which means "an assembly," "place of assembly," and "marketplace." "Public speaking" meant speaking in the marketplace.

"Right" is from dikaios, which means "observant of custom," "civilized," "righteous," "well-balanced," "lawful," "fitting," and "normal." It is usually translated as "righteous" or "just" in the New Testament, but the standard is doing what is expected and fair.

Mat 20:2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

This line is interesting because I was just writing over at my strategy blog about the power of freedom. In a free society, people have the ability to choose what is best for them. We choose where we work, what we do, and how much we will work for. It is interesting that this idea is reinforced so strongly by Christ's view of the "the universal rule."

The main point here is that people are free to agree about what is fair. Here, the price, a penny a day sound cheap, but it is based on an outdated translation. The real currency mentioned was the denarius, which was a coin of silver, which had the purchasing power of about $20 today (though comparisons are obviously not very meaningful). It was the standard wage for a day's labor by a general laborer, which for most of human history was an agricultural worker. To offer and agree to work for this wage would be considered the expected practice for hundreds of years around the birth of Christ in the Roman Empire.

So this agreement was not only fair, but it was what was expected.




"Agreed" is from sumphôneô, which means "to sound together." It means "to make an agreement or bargain" and it is a is a metaphor for harmonizing.

Mat 20:1 For the kingdom of heaven is like a man [that is] an householder, who went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

As usual, Christ does not portray the kingdom of heaven as the afterlife, but as the natural order of things. Here, God is the householder. He runs a business. He is an employer. Wealth may offer a problem for people, but Christ never says anything negative about running a business and employing people to do productive work.

If we are to take Christ's words at face value, which is the whole point of this blog, we would have to think that by acquiring property, starting a business, and creating productive work for people, we are in a way emulating what God is doing in the universe.

"Householder" is from oikodespotês , which is literally the "master of the house." Its root is "from oikia, which means "building," "house," "family," and "household."

"Hire" is from misthoô, which means to "offer to rent for hire," "to make a contract for hire,"

"Labourers" is from ergatês, which means "workman," "one who practices an art," a "doer," and a "producer."

"Vineyard" is from ampelôn, which means simply "vineyard."

Mat 19:30 But many [that are] first shall be last; and the last [shall be] first.

Alternative version: But many of the best shall become the worst and the worst, the best.

Christ describes the larger reality of our lives as a growth process. This process starts with the spirit. We then pass through physical, mental, and emotional stages (though not in any particular order). The process returns us at last to the spirit. In this process, only the spiritual has permanence. Everything else is transitional and temporary. In other words, the life we are living is meant as a journey, but it does accomplish something. It makes us richer (or poorer) in spirit.

In this process, Christ teaches in this verse that our positions often (but not always) reverse themselves. The physically strongest do not usually become the richest. In other words, the high school football star doesn't often become the most successful business person in his class. The high-school beauty queen doesn't often have the most successful marriage. The richest people do not often become the most loving or loved. Extraordinary success in business doesn't often lead to becoming the best husband and father. Great success in one realm (physical, mental, emotional) often leads to a problems in another area. I have describe this as getting "stuck" in one realm instead of making the transition through them all.

This is the general topic of this entire chapter, which starts discussing the problems of marriage, that is, the emotional realm, and ends discussing wealth, which is in Christ's system, the mental realm. Christ doesn't mention the physical realm here because the lesson about the strongest or most beautiful person becoming weak and homely in his or her old age is obvious, but it is a logical extension of this lesson.

The point is that only our spiritual progess matters in the end. Our experience of the physical, mental, and emotional is meant to refine our spirit. This is the "treasure" we want to accumulate because this is the only property that lasts. Our physical, mental, and emotional connections are all lost over time.

The Greek vocabulary used here is interesting because all the key words are adjectives that have different meanings depending on their context. The terms translated as "first" and "last" are superlative forms of adjectives. The meanings of these words are all connected.

"Many " is from polus. In number, this means "many." In size, degree, and intensity, it means "much" and "mighty." Of value or worth, it means "of great worth" and "of great consequence." Of space, it means "large" and "wide." Of time, it means "long."

"First" is from prôtos. In place, this means "the foremost." Of time, it means "the initial." In order, it means "the first." In math, it means the prime numbers. Of rank or degree, it means "the highest" or "the best."

"Last" is from eschatos. In space, this means "furthest." In degree, it means "uttermost" and "highest." In persons, it means "lowest" and "meanest." Of time, it means "last" and "ending."

Mat 19:29 And every one that has forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

There is a contrast in the original Greek here that is lost in English. What is translated as "eternal life" can also mean "perpetual property" as well as "life for an age." So, in giving up everything, you get everything.

In is also interesting that the word translated as "receive" is more often used in Greek to mean, "take."

Alternative version: And every one who passes by houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for the sake of my reputation, shall take a hundred times as much, and shall become heir to [my] perpetual property.

"Forsaken" is from aphiêmi, which means "to let fall," "to send away," "to let loose," "to get rid of," "to leave alone," "to pass by," "to permit," and "to send forth from oneself." This is the same word that is translated as "leave" and "forgive" in the New Testament.

"House" is oikia, which means "house," "building," and "household." It was also the term that was used to describe a family or clan and the people associated with that family or clan, such as their servants and slaves.

"Name" is from onoma, which means "name." It means both the reputation of "fame," but it also means "a name and nothing else," as opposed to a real person.

"Sake" is from heneka, which means "on account of," "as far as regards," "in consequence of," and "because."

"Shall recieve" is from lambanô, which means "to take," "to seize," "to catch," "to apprehend with the senses," "to receive," "to accept," and "to conceive."

"Inherit" is from klêronomeô, which means "inherit," "acquire," and "to be an heir."

"Everlasting" is from aiônios, which means "lasting for an age," "perpetual," and "eternal."

"Life" is from zoê, which means "living," "substance," "property," "existence," and, incidentally, "the scum on milk." It has the sense of how we say "make a living" to mean property. Homer used it more to mean the opposite of death.

Mat 19:28 Truly I tell you, That you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Alternative version: Truly I tell you, That you who have followed me, in the rebirth when the Son of man shall be placed in his seat of judgement, you also shall sit upon twelve seats of judgemnt, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

There are a number of issues. First, what is the "regeneration?" Is it the last judgment, the new Christian age, reincarnation, or personal rebirth? Next, there are many indications here that "the throne of glory" is really a judge's bench. The Greek terms for "throne," "glory," and "judgment" all have the idea of judging in common, though you cannot see that from the English. The translation "throne of glory" is particularly misleading because the term for throne (thronos) just means "seat" and the term for "glory" means glory in the sense of a good reputation. Finally, is Christ speaking only about the twelve tribes of Israel or all the nations of people?

If Christ was speaking to us all and not just to his disciples, he is saying that all who follow him will be made judges upon our rebirth. Much of what Christ says applied both to our lives here and now as well as to our future. In other words, when we are reborn in Christ, we become judges, capable of separating what is valuable from what is worthless.

It could be that "judging the twelve tribes of Israel" is a way of saying that, if we master Christ's teaching, we can interpret the stories in the Bible in a new way. After all, even in Christ's time, the twelve tribes were largely lost in history, more a matter of the old law that physical reality.

"Followed" is from akoloutheô, which means "to follow one," "to go after one," "to follow a thread" of discourse," and "to be consistent with."

"Regeneration" is from palingenesia ( paliggenesia), which means "rebirth," "regeneration," "beginning of a new life," "restoration," and "reincarnation."

"Sit" is from kathizô, which means "to make site down," "to place,""to convene," "take one's seat," and "to reside."

"Throne" is from thronos, which means "seat," "chair," "seat of state," "chair of a teacher," and "judge's bench."

"Glory" is from doxa, which means "expectation," "notion," "opinion," "vision," "repute," "good repute," "honor," and "glory."

"Judging" is from krinô, which means "separate," "distringuish," "pick out," "choose," 'decide," "decide in favor of," "determine," and "form a judgment."

"Tribes" is from phulê, which means "a race," "a tribe," "people with ties of descent," "representatives of a tribe," and "the military contigent of a tribe."