IN THIS chapter the Lord further illustrates the grace of God by telling the story of the householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a penny a day. Later on at the third, sixth and ninth hours he hired others. Finally at the eleventh hour he hired still more laborers and sent them into his vineyard. When the evening came he told his steward to call the laborers, beginning with the last, and when they came every man received a penny. Then those whom he had hired first murmured against him for they thought they should have received more, having borne the burden and heat of the day. But he told them that he was only giving them what they had agreed upon, and if he chose to give the same to those who were last, he had the right to do what he wished with his own. Those who were hired later had confidence in their master’s goodness and knew he would deal with them according to his just appreciation of what was due to them. So in the ways of the kingdom of heaven, our rewards will not be according to the length of time of service, but according to the Lord’s abundant grace. Some have been called later in life than others, yet who but He can justly decide what their rewards should be. God is sovereign and will act according to the grace of His own heart.
This was the Lord’s last journey to Jerusalem, and knowing that His time with His disciples was to be short, He talks with them privately. The Son of man should be rejected, delivered over to the Gentiles and crucified. On the third day He should rise again.
It must have been a matter of sorrow to His heart when, after speaking to His disciples in this way, the mother of James and John comes with them with the selfish request: “Grant that my two sons may sit, the one on Thy right hand, and the other on the left, in Thy kingdom.” The Lord meets this request with gracious wisdom and tells them they knew not what they were asking and points out what lay ahead of them as His followers along the path which leads to glory. The cross must come first before the crown. “Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of...?” “They say unto Him, We are able,” though it is evident that they knew not what they said. The Lord tells them that they shall indeed share in His path of suffering, which is the highest honor a believer can have on earth, but as to their reward, He leaves that with His Father.
When the other disciples heard of this request they were filled with indignation against James and John. But their strong feelings against their brethren voiced the sentiments of worldly ambitions. Their hearts were no better. The gracious Lord meets this, however, by showing them that the principles of the kingdom were not according to the course of this world. He who would be greatest in the kingdom must go down lowest of all. This place the Lord Himself took. “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His lift a ransom for many.”
ML-11/18/1962