Matthew 20:12

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 20:12

The burden and heat of the day - The burden means the heavy labor, the severe toil. We have continued at that toil in the heat of the day. The others had worked only a little while, and that in the cool of the evening, and when it was fax more pleasant and much less fatiguing. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Matthew 20:10-12

Matthew 20:10-12. When the first came, they supposed that they should have received more The first, here seems to mean the Jews, who always supposed that they should, in every thing, be preferred before the Gentiles, and were provoked to jealousy by the admission of the Gentiles into the gospel church, and to the free enjoyment of the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant, which they considered as being confined to their nation. As the elder brother, in the parable of the prodigal, repined at... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Matthew 20:1-16

111. Workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16)Jesus’ purpose in telling this story was to illustrate what he had just said concerning God’s unexpected gift to those who at present appear to be disadvantaged (see Matthew 19:30). He was not setting out rules for wages and employment, but giving an illustration of God’s grace. The sovereign God takes pity on a needy world, and generously gives his salvation to all who accept his offer.At the beginning of the day, a landowner hired people to work... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Matthew 20:12

These = That these. Greek. hoti, putting their words between quotation marks. See note on Luke 23:43 . have wrought but one hour = made one hour. A Hebraism. Compare Ruth 2:19 , "Where wroughtest thou to-day? "(Hebrew. 'anah 'asitha). So, in the sense of making or spending time (Acts 15:33 ; Acts 18:23 . 2 Corinthians 11:25 ); used for continuing, as suggested in Authorized Version margin. But it is the same word rendered "made" in the next clause. made them = done to them. heat =... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Matthew 20:12

12. Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat—the burning heat. of the day—who have wrought not only longer but during a more trying period of the day. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Matthew 20:1-16

The parable of the workers in the vineyard 20:1-16This parable explains why the last will become first. It begins with a well-known scene but then introduces surprising elements to make a powerful point."Jesus deliberately and cleverly led the listeners along by degrees until they understood that if God’s generosity was to be represented by a man, such a man would be different from any man ever encountered." [Note: Norman A. Huffman, "Atypical Features in the Parables of Jesus," Journal of... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Matthew 20:3-34

A. Jesus’ instruction of His disciples around Judea 19:3-20:34The primary emphasis in this section of Matthew’s Gospel is Jesus’ instruction of His disciples to prepare them for the future. Specifically, He emphasized the importance of the first becoming last and the last first: humble servanthood (cf. Matthew 19:30; Matthew 20:16). read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Matthew 20:8-12

The evening was the time of reckoning for the workers (cf. Leviticus 19:13). The order in which the landowner’s foreman paid the workers created a problem. In view of what he paid those hired late in the day, those who began working earlier expected to receive more than they had hoped for. They grumbled against him because he had been generous to the latecomers and only just with them. They cited their hard working conditions as justification for their grievance. read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 20:1-34

The Labourers in the Vineyard. The Journey to Jerusalem1-16, Parable of the labourers in the vineyard (peculiar to St. Matthew). This difficult parable is closely linked with what goes before, and can only be understood in connexion with it. It rebukes the spirit of Peter’s enquiry (Matthew 19:27), ’We have left all and followed thee; what then shall we have?’ The Twelve through Peter had demanded a superlatively great reward, because they had been called first and had laboured longest. Such a... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Matthew 20:12

(12) But one hour.—Literally, in what was probably the technical language of labourers, made but one hour:The burden and heat of the day.—The word rendered “heat” is elsewhere used—as in James 1:11, and the LXX. of Jonah 4:8—for the “burning wind” that often follows on the sunrise, and makes the labour of the first half of the day harder than that of the latter. read more

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