Chapter 20

Chapter 20. — On the Laborers in the Vineyard. On the Sons of Zebedee. On the Blind Men

¹ For the kingdom of heaven is like a man who was a householder, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. And having agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said: Go you also into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you; and they went. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle; and he says to them: Why have you stood here all the day idle? They say to him: Because no one has hired us. He says to them: Go you also into the vineyard, and whatever is right you shall receive. Christ is the kingdom of heaven, who is likened to a man, according to that form of ours which he took; and a householder, as being master of the house—that is, of the Church. Christ himself, then, went out from the bosom of the Father, and hires laborers into the vineyard, that is, the Scriptures or the commandments. Or [rather] he hires each one to work the vineyard, that is, his own soul. And he hires the one in the morning—that is, in his youthful age; another at the third hour—the adolescent age; others at the sixth and ninth—when one is twenty-five years old, or thirty, and in general of manly age; and about the eleventh, the old men; for many old men too have believed. Or, otherwise, by “day” is meant the present age, for in it we work as in the day. The Lord, then, called at the first hour those about Enoch and Noah; at the third, those about Abraham; at the sixth, those about Moses; at the ninth, the prophets; at the eleventh—that is, at the present time—those of the Gentiles, who were idle as to works of well-doing; for no one had hired them.

² And when evening had come, the lord of the vineyard says to his steward: Call the laborers, and pay them their wages, beginning from the last to the first. And when those who came about the eleventh hour came, they received each a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they murmured against the householder, saying: These last have worked but one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the day and the heat. But he answered and said to one of them: Friend, I do you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go. But I will give to this last one even as to you. Or is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own? Is your eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last; for many are called, but few chosen. The “evening” is the consummation; at the consummation, then, all receive each a denarius, which is the grace of the Holy Spirit, refashioning man into [his estate] according to the image, and making him a partaker of the divine nature. But those before the coming of Christ labored more, inasmuch as death was not yet then abolished, nor was the devil crushed, but sin was still alive; whereas we, justified by the grace of Christ through baptism, receive power to conquer our adversary, who has already been cast down and put to death by Christ. But also, according to the former interpretation, those who believed in their youth have more labors than those who came in old age; for the young man bears the burden of wrath and the heat of desire, warring against the passions, while the old man comes to be in calm. Yet nonetheless all are deemed worthy of one and the same gift of the Holy Spirit. The parable teaches us, then, that even in old age it is possible to repent and to attain the kingdom; for this is the eleventh hour. But will not the saints envy those who receive equal [reward]? Far from it; rather, this is shown thereby, that so many and so great are the good things given to the righteous, that they are able even to stir up envy.

³ And Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said to them: Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify; and on the third day he shall rise again. Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, doing obeisance and asking something of him. And he said to her: What do you wish? She says to him: Say that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right hand and one on your left, in your kingdom. The sons of Zebedee supposed that if the Lord went up to Jerusalem he would reign with a perceptible kingdom; for they heard him saying continually, “We go up to Jerusalem.” They suffered, then, something human, and they persuade their mother to come forward, themselves being reluctant to approach openly; for they too came secretly, as Mark says; for he says that James and John went before him, [meaning] that they came forward stealthily and privately.

⁴ But Jesus answered and said: You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? or to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say to him: We are able. Leaving aside the mother, he converses with the sons, that he might show that he was not ignorant that they had put their mother forward, and he says to them: “You do not know what you ask”—how it is great, and astounding even to the powers of the angels; then, drawing them away from such thoughts, he urges them rather toward dangers. And he asks, not in ignorance, but that he might compel [them] to disclose the sore through their answer, and that they might be eager to fulfill the promise. For this is what he means: “Since no one can become a partaker of my kingdom unless he also becomes a partaker of my sufferings, tell me whether you are able to suffer the like.” For by the “cup” he means martyrdom and his own death, at once showing that it is easy, like the drinking of a cup, and that we too must henceforth hasten to it as to an easy thing; and at the same time signifying that he himself also gladly accepts death. And just as one who drinks a cup straightway grows drowsy, being weighed down, so also he who drinks the cup of martyrdom is borne down into the sleep of death. And he also names death a “baptism.” And they promised, not knowing what they said, but only longing for the honor.

⁵ And he says to them: My cup indeed you shall drink, and with the baptism that I am baptized with you shall be baptized; but to sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father. “You shall indeed bear witness—this I know, and it surely came to pass. For Herod killed James, and Trajan condemned John as he bore witness to the Word of truth. But to sit is not mine to give, but [it is] for those for whom it has been prepared”—that is, “if anyone is found who, besides bearing witness, also has all the rest of virtue, that man shall receive the gift.” For it has been prepared for the one who has labored, just as crowns are prepared for those who contend. As, then, when a foot-race is set forth, and the king presides over the contest, if someone should come who has not contended at all and should say, “Give me the crown, O president of the games”—to one who has not contended that man would say, “It is not mine to give the crown as a favor, but [it is] for the one for whom it has been prepared—that is, for the one who has run and conquered.” So indeed here too Christ says: “It is not in my power to give you, as a favor, the seat at my right hand; for it belongs to others, to those who have labored, since for them it has been prepared.” You will ask, then: Are some indeed going to sit there? But you will learn that no one will sit there. For this belongs to the divine essence alone. For to which of the angels did he say, Sit at my right hand? But the Lord said this with a view to their supposition; for not understanding that to sit upon twelve thrones is to be glorified for virtue, they were seeking such a seat.

⁶ And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him, and said: You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you shall be your servant, and whoever would be first among you shall be your slave; even as the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. When the ten saw the two rebuked by Christ, then they too became indignant, and it became plain that they had been provoked at the honor [shown] to these two. For they were still imperfect; for the [two] set themselves above the ten, while the [ten] envied the two. Since, then, the ten were troubled at what they heard, he calls them to him, by the very calling soothing them before [speaking] the words. For the sons of Zebedee, having drawn apart from the rest, were conversing with him; so he speaks to all in common. For knowing that the love of being first is tyrannical, and needs a more severe blow, he reaches them more deeply, casting them down into the lot of the heathen and unbelievers, if they should wish to love glory. And thus he shames them, saying: “Other men, because they rule, are made illustrious; and the loving of pre-eminence is a passion of the heathen; but my disciples are honored through humility; so that he who wishes to be greater ought to serve his inferiors, which belongs to the utmost humility. And in myself I show this, who, being ruler and king of those in heaven, humbled myself to serve you unto salvation; and I serve you so far as even to give my life a ransom for many”—that is, for all; for “all” are “many.”

⁷ And as they went out from Jericho, a great crowd followed him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the wayside, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying: Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David. And the crowd rebuked them, that they should be silent. But they cried out the more, saying: Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David. And Jesus stood still and called them, and said: What do you wish that I should do for you? They say to him: Lord, that our eyes may be opened. And Jesus, moved with compassion, touched their eyes, and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him. The blind men, knowing the Lord from report, seized the opportunity, having heard that he was passing by the way, and believing that Jesus, who according to the flesh was of the seed of David, was able to heal them; and being exceedingly fervent in faith, they did not keep silent even when rebuked, but cried out the more. Wherefore he does not even ask them whether they have faith, but what they wish, lest anyone suppose that he gives one thing to those who want another. He shows, then, that they did not [seek to be] healed in order to receive money, but in order to be cured. And he touches them in healing, that we might learn that every member of his holy flesh was life-giving and a member of God. And if Luke and Mark speak of one blind man, this is no discrepancy; for they made mention of the more notable one. Besides, Luke says that before coming to Jericho he healed a blind man, while Mark [says it was] after going out from Jericho. Matthew, then, being fond of brevity, included the two in one. And understand the blind men [to be] those of the Gentiles, who were healed in passing; for Christ did not come primarily for the Gentiles, but for those of Israel. And just as the blind men learned of Jesus from hearing, so also the Gentiles [learned] from the hearing of faith; and those who silenced the blind men, that they should not cry the name of Jesus, are the persecuting tyrants, who tried to silence the Church, but she confessed the name of Christ all the more; wherefore she also was healed, and sees the light of truth more clearly, and follows Christ, imitating him in [her] life.