first group

June 4, 2019

The third slave (Lk 20:12-20:12)

“The vineyard owner

Sent still a third slave.

They also wounded him.

They threw out

This third slave.”

 

καὶ προσέθετο τρίτον πέμψαι· οἱ δὲ καὶ τοῦτον τραυματίσαντες ἐξέβαλον.

 

Luke indicated that Jesus said that the vineyard owner still proceeded to send a third slave (καὶ προσέθετο τρίτον πέμψαι).  These wicked tenants also wounded him (οἱ δὲ καὶ τοῦτον τραυματίσαντες) and threw him out (ἐξέβαλον).  This parable about the terrible behavior of the wicked tenants can also be found in Mark, chapter 12:5, with a little more elaboration.  However, there was no 3rd group in Matthew.  Mark indicated that Jesus said that this landowner sent another slave (καὶ ἄλλον ἀπέστειλεν), but that they killed him (κἀκεῖνον ἀπέκτειναν).  He also sent more slaves (καὶ πολλοὺς ἄλλους).  They either beat them up (οὓς μὲν δέροντες) or killed them (οὓς δὲ ἀποκτέννοντες).  The wicked tenants did the same thing to all of them, just as they had done to the first group of slaves.  This plan of the landowner was not working out.  Have you ever been a landowner with tenants?

June 4, 2019

The second slave (Lk 20:11-20:11)

“Next the vineyard owner sent

Another slave.

They also beat him.

They insulted him.

They sent him away

Empty-handed.”

 

καὶ προσέθετο ἕτερον πέμψαι δοῦλον· οἱ δὲ κἀκεῖνον δείραντες καὶ ἀτιμάσαντες ἐξαπέστειλαν κενόν.

 

Luke indicated that Jesus said that this landowner proceeded to send another slave (καὶ προσέθετο ἕτερον πέμψαι δοῦλον).  These wicked tenants also beat (οἱ δὲ κἀκεῖνον δείραντες) and insulted him (καὶ ἀτιμάσαντες).  They also sent him away empty-handed (ἐξαπέστειλαν κενόν).  This beating of the second slave can be found in Mark, chapter 12:4, and Matthew, chapter 21:36, but there were multiple slaves in Matthew.  Mark said that this landowner sent another slave again to them (καὶ πάλιν ἀπέστειλεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἄλλον δοῦλον) in another attempt to get his share of the crop.  This time, they beat or struck this second slave over the head (κἀκεῖνον ἐκεφαλίωσαν) and insulted or shamed him (καὶ ἠτίμασαν).  These wicked tenants did the same thing to him that they had done to the first slave.  There definitely was a pattern developing here.  Matthew had multiple individual slaves in both accounts, instead of one slave.  This landowner sent more slaves (πάλιν ἀπέστειλεν ἄλλους δούλους) this second time around.  This time, there was more than the 3 like the first time (πλείονας τῶν πρώτων), without any indication of how many.  However, the wicked tenants did the same thing to them (καὶ ἐποίησαν αὐτοῖς ὡσαύτως) that they had done to the first group of slaves, which included killing and stoning them, once again without being specific.  How would you treat bad tenants?

June 2, 2018

The first hired are upset (Mt 20:10-20:12)

“Now when the first group came,

They thought that

They would receive more.

But each of them

Also received a denarius.

When they received it,

They grumbled

Against the landowner.

They said.

‘These last laborers worked

Only one hour.

You have made them

Equal to us.

We have borne

The burden of the day

And the scorching heat.’”

 

καὶ ἐλθόντες οἱ πρῶτοι ἐνόμισαν ὅτι πλεῖον λήμψονται· καὶ ἔλαβον τὸ ἀνὰ δηνάριον καὶ αὐτοί.

λαβόντες δὲ ἐγόγγυζον κατὰ τοῦ οἰκοδεσπότου

λέγοντες Οὗτοι οἱ ἔσχατοι μίαν ὥραν ἐποίησαν, καὶ ἴσους αὐτοὺς ἡμῖν ἐποίησας τοῖς βαστάσασι τὸ βάρος τῆς ἡμέρας καὶ τὸν καύσωνα.

 

This parable is unique to Matthew, as Jesus continued his parable story.  When the first group of hired laborers came (καὶ ἐλθόντες οἱ πρῶτοι) to get their pay as the last ones, they thought that they would receive more than the one denarius that all the later hired laborers had received (ἐνόμισαν ὅτι πλεῖον λήμψονται).  However, each of them received one denarius (καὶ ἔλαβον τὸ ἀνὰ δηνάριον καὶ αὐτοί), what they had agreed to in the early morning.  When they got this pay (λαβόντες δὲ), they grumbled against the landowner (ἐγόγγυζον κατὰ τοῦ οἰκοδεσπότου).  They complained that the last hired laborers had worked only 1 hour (λέγοντες Οὗτοι οἱ ἔσχατοι μίαν ὥραν ἐποίησαν).  This land owner had made them equal to those who had worked 12 hours (καὶ ἴσους αὐτοὺς ἡμῖν).  They had been picking grapes all day long in the scorching heat (ἐποίησας τοῖς βαστάσασι τὸ βάρος τῆς ἡμέρας καὶ τὸν καύσωνα).  This seemed grossly unfair.  If the last hired got one denarius (15 cents) for 1 hour of work, why were they not paid 12 denarii ($1.80) for 12 hours of work.  They seemed to have a good argument.  However, so did those who started at 9 AM, noon, and 3 PM.  They all got one denarius but did not grumble.  Remember it is a story or parable.

June 1, 2018

Last group hired (Mt 20:6-20:7)

“About five o’clock,

The eleventh hour,

The landowner went out.

He found others standing around.

He said to them.

‘Why are you standing here

Idle all day?’

They said to him.

‘Because no one

Has hired us.’

He said to them.

‘You also go

Into the vineyard.’

 

περὶ δὲ τὴν ἑνδεκάτην ἐξελθὼν εὗρεν ἄλλους ἑστῶτας, καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς Τί ὧδε ἑστήκατε ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν ἀργοί;

λέγουσιν αὐτῷ Ὅτι οὐδεὶς ἡμᾶς ἐμισθώσατο. λέγει αὐτοῖς Ὑπάγετε καὶ ὑμεῖς εἰς τὸν ἀμπελῶνα.

 

This parable is unique to Matthew.  This landowner of the vineyard went (ἐξελθὼν) to the market square at about 5:00 PM, the eleventh hour (περὶ δὲ τὴν ἑνδεκάτην).  He found some people still standing around (εὗρεν ἄλλους ἑστῶτας) in the square.  The landowner asked them (καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς) why were they standing around idle all day (Τί ὧδε ἑστήκατε ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν ἀργοί).  They said to him (λέγουσιν αὐτῷ) that no one had hired them (Ὅτι οὐδεὶς ἡμᾶς ἐμισθώσατο).  Thus. he told them (λέγει αὐτοῖς) to go to work in his vineyard (Ὑπάγετε καὶ ὑμεῖς εἰς τὸν ἀμπελῶνα).  The Greek Orthodox text added the phrase about the earlier group.  He simply said that they would receive what was right, just, or fair (καὶ ὃ ἐὰν ᾖ δίκαιον λήψεσθε).  Remember, the first group had been working 11 hours before this last group began to work.