The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 2 — Section 273

EXPOSITION. request. Vineyard. The Church fa else• CHAPTER XX. where so called by our Lord (eh. ui 28, 38, Vera. 1-16.-Parable of the labourer, in eta.), and iri the Old Testament (see Pe. th£ eine,ard. (Pecnlie.r to St. Matthew.) WL 8 ; Isa. v. 1 ; Jer. xii 10). Ver. 2.-When he had agreed with the Ver. 1.-P'or. The following parable iB labourers. With those first hired he makes intended to illnetrate the apophthegm at a special agreement for the pay of_th~ day's the end of the last chapter, which is re- work; with the others he act.a dift"erently. peated almost in the same words at the P'or a penny a day ( '" ll71vu.plo11 'ml/I ~µlp,..,). close, " Many that are :first," etc., and The denariUB (always translated "a penny'·' " The last shall be first," etc. It taught in our version) we.a a silver coin about equal the apostles a lesson in answer to Peter's in value to the French franc, but of course question (eh. xii. 27), "WhAt shall we in its buying capacities worth in those daya have therefore?" and the primary lesson a great deal more. We leam from Tacitus was that the reward of the kingdom is not (' Annal.,' i 17) that it was the UBue.l pay of debt, but of grace. There are many of a Rome.a soldier. It was equivalent to difficulties in the parable, which may be the Greek drachma, which Tobit (v. 14) better noticed after we have expounded its offered to Azarias as daily wages. Our literal bearing and details. The kingdom rendering of "a penny" conveys e. ver,: of heaven is like. That is, what happens erroneous impression to unlearned hearers, iri the kingdom of heaven is parallel to the both iri this passuge and iri other places C11Be of a hcUBeholder, etc. The kingdom where it occurs. of heaven is the Church of Christ, whether Ver. 3.-The third hour. It seems that militant on earth (when the labourers are at this time the Jews divided the do.y;. hin,d) or triumphant in heaven (when the reckoned between sunrise and sunset, into reward is bestowed). We may refer to eh. twelve equal parts, the length of these xiii 24, 45, where an analogous comparison di visions varying o.ccording to the season, is found. Early iri the morning (&µu. 1rpr,,t); The day in Palestine at longest consisted •·•· at the end of the last night watch (see of fourteen European hours twelve minutes, on ver. 3), wiahing to secure le.bonrers, who and at shortest of nine hours forty-eight. •t vintage-time were probably in great minutes, Ill) that the dHference between the ou, n:, 1-34.] TIIE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. 277