for my name's sake, shall receive a hundred fold, and shall

inherit everlasting life.

30 But many that are first shall be last, and the last shall be first.

should also receive a distinguished recompense, both here and hereafter. Mark (10: 30) and Luke (18: 30) make mention of " this present time," and of" the world to come." Mark, in the verse just referred to, says, "with persecutions." That is, he must expect persecutions in this world, as well as a measure of bliss; though, as my disciple, he will have my favor and be happy, yet he must make calculations for not being exempt, while on earth, from trials on account of the cause of Christ.

30. But many, &c. Having spoken so freely of the honors and happiness which would be bestowed at the consummation of his dispensation, the Saviour subjoined a proverbial saying, the design of which appears to be, in this connection, to check any undue self-estimation that might possibly arise in their hearts. He cautioned them, that some, who are now held in high esteem, will not have a proportionate dignity hereafter; while others, who receive but little honor, if any, here, will be blessed with distinguished honor hereafter. The disciples ought not to fix their hearts upon honors; for, as to these, the distinctions which exist on earth will not continue in heaven. The distin

guished here may occupy a low place there; the disesteemed here may occupy the highest place there. And

all who arrive at heaven will have

reason to regard themselves as greatly

honored.

As parallel passages, examine Mark 10: 17-31. Luke 18: 18-30.

Let us REFLECT on

1. The danger connected with being rich. vs. 23, 24. Compare 1 Tim.

6:17.

2. The proper use of riches. v. 21. Compare 1 Tim. 6: 18, 19.

CHAPTER XX.

FOR the kingdom of heav

en is like unto a man that is a householder, which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard.

3. The unspeakable value of heaven, as contrasted with even the highest dignity on earth.

4. The reasonableness of self-denial, for the sake of Christ. Heaven will make amends for all losses and sorrows.

CHAPTER XX.

1. For, &c. The parable which now follows, is immediately connected ought to be read in immediate conwith the preceding conversation, and nection with it. Many persons fail to perceive the design of the parable, in consequence of its being separated from the conversation of which it is a part. The Saviour had just cautioned esteem and undue expectations in the disciples against an undue selfregard to honors in the heavenly kingdom, by letting them know that it would not be a matter of course that those who on earth might be rean earlier entrance upon his service, garded as first, either on account of which they might have here acquired, or any more honorable distinction would have a corresponding honorable distinction in heaven. He wished now to show them, that the honors and bliss of heaven would be bestowed in a manner that would signally display the goodness and bountiful disposition of God. He proceeded to illustrate this matter by a parable, a familiar similitude. The point of the distribute the rewards of heaven acparable seems to be, that God will cording to his own good pleasure, so as to illustrate his own mercy and liberality; and not in accordance with expectations that might result from a human view of men's comparative merit. Thus the Saviour would check the spirit of pride, and of envy and jealousy, and of the seeking of honors; and would cultivate

4 And said unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right, I will give you. And they went their

way.

5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.

6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?

7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us.

among his disciples the spirit of humble submission to God, of gratitude for being permitted to occupy any place in the divine kingdom, and of mutual joy at one another's advancement and bliss. The kingdom of heaven is like, &c. As if our Lord had said, The state of things in the Messiah's reign may be likened to the conduct of a certain householder.

2. A penny a day. The coin here mentioned bore the value, according to some accounts, of about nine cents of our money; according to others, of fourteen. This was the usual pay for a day's labor.

3. Third hour; corresponding to nine o'clock in the morning, according to our reckoning. The day was at that time divided into twelve hours (see John 11: 9); and the night into the same number. We shall have a sufficiently correct notion of the manner of reckoning, if we consider the day uniformly as beginning at our six

9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.

10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.

11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the good man of the house,

12 Saying, These last have

o'clock, so that the time from six to seven o'clock would correspond to the first hour of the day. Marketplace. The word thus translated signifies the place where articles were exposed for sale, where trials were attended and assemblies collected. It was, therefore, a place of public and common resort, suitable for finding laborers.

4. The laborers here spoken of were merely promised that they should receive a suitable compensation.

5. Sixth and ninth hour; twelve o'clock, and three in the afternoon. 6. Eleventh hour; one hour before the close of the day.

8. His steward. The man who had charge of his business.

11. Good man of the house. The original word is the same as is translated in the first verse householder. It is an old expression, equivalent to our word proprietor, or master of the family.

hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.

13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?

14 Take that thine is, and

15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil because I am good?

16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

might comport with the signal benevolence of their Master to confer very special favors on others, which would raise them to an equality in

15. Is thine eye evil? Because I am kind and benevolent, and wish to treat a person abundantly better than his deserts and his expectations, wilt thou indulge in envy, and look on me with suspicion? An evil eye means an envious eye, or simply envy. 16. So the last, &c. This verse repeats the proverbial saying, which it was the design of the parable to illustrate. The laborers who came last, were, by the signal kindness of the proprietor, put on an equality with the others in regard to compensation. Those who entered the vineyard first, received a fair and ample compensation, and ought not to have complained of the signal kindness of their employer towards the others. They ought, on the contrary, to have admired his benevolence. So, in respect to the rewards and honors which the disciples had reason to expect, they ought not to regard themselves as occupying such a station, that none could receive favors equal to those which they might receive, nor ought they to cherish a temper un friendly to the elevation of others to honor and bliss. They ought not to fix their hearts on compensation and dignity, nor to indulge an overweening self-esteem, nor to cherish expectations that might not accord with the benevolent intentions of their Lord. They must remember, that while no injustice nor unkind

ness

would be done to them, it

last might be treated as the first, and the first as the last. Thus, too, all the Messiah's servants would receive distinguished honor and bliss, and might all, even the lowest of them, be regarded as raised to royal dignity. Let there, then, be no undue self-valuation, and no disposition to think less worthily of others who are engaged, or who may yet be engaged, in the Lord's service; and let there be no disposition to reflect unkindly on the Lord, if he should look with just as much favor upon other laborers as upon his first disciples. For many be called, but few chosen. Another proverbial saying, applicable to the subject of discourse, and illustrated by the parable. While many are called into my service, few, indeed, of them can be chosen to distinguished honor in my kingdom. In distributing the honors and bliss of the divine kingdom, God will be actuated more by a merciful and benevolent spirit, utterly exceeding the deserts and the expectations of his servants, than by a strict regard to their comparative deserts. He will delight in multiplying his favors to the great company, rather than in elevating some to superior distinction. It ought, indeed, to be sufficient for any person, that he will be allowed to have any share in the exalted, the royal honors and bliss of heaven, without indulging the thought of being elevated to distinction among his fellow-servants. The lowest place in heaven is unspeakably

18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,

19 And shall deliver him to

too honorable and happy for any man to claim, or to deserve. And if it should please God to bestow equal bliss on some who have not labored so long as others, let this arrangement illustrate, and lead all to admire, the benevolence of God, which, without depressing a single individual, elevates many.

PRACTICAL HINTS. 1. Admire the condescension of God in admitting men to the bliss and dignity of heaven. 2. Beware of thinking very highly of services which you have performed in the cause of Christ.

3. Rejoice in God's kindness to others. That kindness does you no injury, while it does them immense good.

It may here be observed, that the parable in Luke 17: 7-10, is very applicable to the occasion spoken of in this place by Matthew.

17. Going up to Jerusalem. Jesus was now going up to Jerusalem for the last time; and he wished to prepare the minds of the disciples for the events which were soon to occur. Hence he took them apart, by themselves, aside from other companies that might be also going to Jerusalem.

18. They shall condemn him to death. It was in the power of the Sanhedrim, the highest tribunal among the Jews, to pass sentence of death; but the executing of the sentence belonged, according to the limitation of power introduced by the Romans, to the Roman governor.

20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children, with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.

21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my

19. Deliver him to the Gentiles; to the Romans, who then had dominion over the Jews. Compare, as parallel passages, Mark 10: 32-34. Luke 18: 31-34. Luke informs us (18: 34) that the disciples did not understand what their Lord had told them To us it may seem almost inconceivable, that they should not have fully comprehended his meaning. But we must consider, that from their childhood their minds had been filled with error respecting the Messiah, and they had been indulging anticipations entirely contrary to what their Master had been repeatedly telling them. They probably thought, that their Master could not intend to be understood just as he seemed to speak, and therefore they did not permit themselves to see the real truth as he endeavored to enforce it on them.

20. The mother of Zebedee's children; James and John; see Matt. 4: 21; also Mark 10: 35. Their mother's name was Salome; for she, who, in Matt. 27: 56, is called the mother of Zebedee's children, is, in Mark 15: 40, called Salome. || Worshipping; bowing down to the earth in token of reverence.

21. Grant, &c. Probably the language of our Lord in 19: 28 was not rightly apprehended by the disciples; and they still indulged the thought of great earthly distinction in the administration of the Messiah. The two disciples, James and John, together with their mother, indulged ambitious views in regard to the honors of the Messiah's reign. They perhaps thought, that there was a

22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be

prospect of their being elevated above their brethren, in consequence of their having been distinguished on some former occasions. See Mark 5: 37. Matt. 17: 1. Their mother made request in their behalf. The request that one of her sons might sit on his right hand, and the other on his left, when he should enter on his kingly power, was a request that they might be his two most distinguished officers; that they might occupy stations of power and honor next to his own. Mark (10:35) represents the two disciples as asking for themselves; but, as in common life a man is said to do himself what he employs others to do for him, so, doubtless, on this occasion, the sons preferred their request through the agency of their mother.

22. Ye know not what ye ask; ye ask in a very ignorant manner, not considering the nature of my government, nor the sorrows which I must endure in order to establish it. To drink of the cup, &c. A cup is frequently used in the Scriptures as an image of the sufferings which God is pleased to appoint either for his foes or for his friends. Thus the Saviour says (John 18:11), in regard to the sufferings which were coming upon him, "The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" Compare, also, Ps. 60: 3. 75: 8. Is. 51: 17, 22. Lam. 4: 21. The idea, then, of the Saviour was, Can ye endure the sufferings which are appointed for me? or such sufferings as I am to endure, before I enter fully on my glory? And be baptized, &c. The words here rendered baptize and baptism would be more intelligible if their primary meaning were expressed. Allusion is not here made to the New Testament ordinance, but to the ex

I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.

23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with:

treme suffering which our Lord was to undergo. The idea of being immersed in suffering, or overwhelmed with suffering, is here expressed by the word baptize. The meaning would be more clearly expressed by translating thus - Can ye be overwhelmed [can ye bear to be overwhelmed] with the overwhelming with which I am to be overwhelmed? In other words, Can ye endure sufferings like those with which I shall be overwheimed? The enduring of sore calamities is expressed, in other parts of the Bible, by such terms as these-passing through deep waters, and being covered by waves. See Ps. 69: 2. 42: 7. Is. 43: 2.

We are able. So allured were they by the hope of distinguished honor, that they declared themselves able and willing to undergo any sufferings that might be necessary.

23. Ye shall drink, &c. Ye will indeed be called to very severe sufferings; sufferings such as I myself shall endure. This language must be understood comparatively. The disciples were not to endure the very same sufferings as their Master would; but they were to endure similar and great sufferings. || To sit on my right hand and on my left; to possess the highest places in my government. || Is not mine, &c. To assign these high honors is no part of my business; that matter is already arranged by my Father, and they shall obtain such distinction for whom he has destined it. It does not pertain to me to distribute such honors, except in accordance with the appointment of my Father; and it does not become me to say any thing in reference to this matter. Thus the Saviour waived the subject. It will be perceived, that in our translation, the words it shall be given are print