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Matthew 20:1. For the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Matthew 20:2. and, having agreed with the workers for a denarius per day, he sent them into his vineyard; Matthew 20:3. going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idly in the marketplace, Matthew 20:4. and he said to them, “Go you also into my vineyard, and whatever is proper I will give you.” They went. Matthew 20:5. Going out again around the sixth and ninth hours, he did the same. Matthew 20:6. Finally, going out about the eleventh hour, he found others standing idly, and said to them: Why have you been standing here all day idly? Matthew 20:7. They tell him: no one hired us. He says to them: You also go into my vineyard, and you will receive what follows. The Kingdom of Heaven is Christ. He becomes like a man because he took our image. He is the ruler of the house, since he rules over the house, that is, the church. This Christ came from the bosom of the Father and hires workers in the vineyard, that is, to study the Scriptures and fulfill the commandments contained there. It can be understood this way: He hires every person to cultivate the vineyard, that is, to perfect his own soul for good. He hires one in the morning, that is, in childhood, another around the third hour, that is, in adolescence, another around the sixth and ninth hours, in the twenty-fifth or thirtieth year, generally at the age of manhood, and around the eleventh hour - the elders, for many believed when they were already old. Or in other words: by day we mean the present age, for during it we work as during the day. In the first hour of the day, the Lord called Enoch, Noah and their contemporaries, in the third - Abraham, in the sixth - Moses and those who lived with him, in the ninth - the prophets, and in the eleventh, at the end of the centuries - the pagans who did not have a single good deed: “no one hired them,” that is, not a single prophet was sent to the pagans. Matthew 20:8. When evening came, the lord of the vineyard said to his steward, Call the workers and give them their wages, beginning from the last to the first. Matthew 20:9. And those who came about the eleventh hour received a denarius. Matthew 20:10. Those who came first thought that they would receive more, but they also received a denarius; Matthew 20:11. and having received it, they began to murmur against the owner of the house Matthew 20:12. and they said: these last worked one hour, and you made them equal to us, who endured the burden of the day and the heat. Matthew 20:13. He answered and said to one of them: friend! I don't offend you; Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Matthew 20:14. take yours and go; I want to give this last one the same as you; Matthew 20:15. Don’t I have the power to do whatever I want? Or is your eye envious because I am kind? Matthew 20:16. So the last will be first and the first last; For many are called, but few are chosen. The evening is the end of the century; upon death, everyone receives a denarius; A denarius is the grace of the Holy Spirit, which transforms a person in the image of God, making him a partaker of the Divine nature. Those who lived before the coming of Christ suffered more labor, since then death had not yet been destroyed, the devil had not been crushed, and sin was alive. We, having been justified by the grace of Christ in baptism, receive the power to defeat our enemy, who had already been deposed and put to death by Christ. According to the first interpretation, those who believed in their youth bear more labor than those who came to Christ in old age. The young man endures the “burden” of anger and the heat of lust, but the old man is calm from this. However, everyone is granted the same gift of the Holy Spirit. The parable teaches us that it is possible even in old age to receive the Kingdom of Heaven through repentance, for old age is signified by the eleventh hour. But, according to the parable, will not the saints be jealous of those who receive equal rewards with them? No way. What is shown here is only that the benefits prepared for the righteous are so abundant and high that they could arouse envy. Matthew 20:17. And Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, called the twelve disciples alone and said to them: Matthew 20:18. Behold, we are ascending to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death; Matthew 20:19. and they will deliver Him over to the pagans to be mocked and beaten and crucified; and on the third day he will rise again. Matthew 20:20. Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee and her sons approached Him, bowing and asking Him for something. Matthew 20:21. He said to her: what do you want? She says to Him: command that these two sons of mine sit with You, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left in Your Kingdom. The sons of Zebedee thought that if the Lord went to Jerusalem, He would become an earthly king, since they often heard His words: We are ascending to Jerusalem. Therefore, they allowed human thoughts and forced the mother to approach, themselves obviously ashamed to approach Him, although they also approached unnoticed, as Mark reports; he says: “James and John come up to Him,” which means they also approached unnoticed and secretly. Matthew 20:22. Jesus answered and said: You do not know what you ask ********. Can you drink the cup that I will drink, or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? They say to Him: We can. Having left the mother, the Lord enters into a conversation with the sons to show that He knows that they forced the mother to speak like that. He tells them: “You don’t know what you are asking,” you don’t know that this is great and amazing even for the angelic powers. Then, turning them away from such thoughts, he directs their mind to sorrows. He asks not because he didn’t know, but in order to force them with an answer to reveal their inner spiritual illness, that is, ambition, and so that they try to fulfill the promise. He says something like this: since no one can become a participant in My Kingdom unless he also participates in My sufferings, then tell Me, can you endure such suffering? He calls His suffering and death “the cup”, showing, on the one hand, that these sufferings are as easy as it is easy to drink a cup, and therefore we should willingly go to suffering, and on the other hand, by the name “cup”, showing that He Himself voluntarily goes to death. Further, just as he who drinks the cup, being burdened, immediately falls asleep, so he who drinks the cup of suffering plunges into the sleep of death. He calls His death baptism, because His death has a cleansing meaning for all of us. They made a promise without understanding what they were talking about, and readily promising everything just to get what they wanted. Matthew 20:23. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink my cup, and ye shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized; but to let them sit on My right side and on My left does not depend on Me, but on whom My Father has prepared. I know you will suffer. This was indeed the case. James was killed by Herod, and John was condemned by Trajan for his testimony about the Word of truth. The words “to be allowed to sit on My right side and on my left does not depend on Me, but on whom it is prepared” mean: if it turns out that the one who has suffered torment also has all the other virtues, such a person will receive the gift. Let us imagine that a competition is proposed on a lists; The king himself distributes rewards to the winners. If someone who did not participate in the competition approached the king and said to him: “distributor of rewards, give me a crown without a feat on my part,” then the king would answer him: I do not have the right to give a crown for free - it was assigned to the one who competed and won. So here Christ says: I cannot freely give you a right place next to Him; it is prepared for those who have labored and belongs to them. You ask: what, some will sit down? Find out that no one will sit there. This is characteristic of the Divine nature alone. “To which of the angels did God say, sit at my right hand?” This is what the Lord said, applying it to their concept. They, not understanding that the previously spoken words of the Lord about sitting on twelve thrones were a figurative expression regarding the glory awaiting them, asked for such sitting in the literal sense. Matthew 20:24. Hearing this, the other ten disciples were indignant at the two brothers. Matthew 20:25. Jesus called them and said: you know that the princes of the nations rule over them, and the great rulers rule over them; Matthew 20:26. but let it not be so among you: but whoever wants to be greater among you must be your servant; Matthew 20:27. and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; Matthew 20:28. for the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His soul as a ransom for many. When the ten disciples saw that two had received reproach from Christ, they too began to be indignant and thereby discovered that they too were striving for the same honor. The disciples were so imperfect that two sought to rise above ten, and those ten were jealous of the two. Since the ten, having heard the words of the Lord, became confused, the Lord calls them to Himself and, with just one call, calms them down even before the conversation. Before that, the sons of Zebedee, talking with Him, separated from others, but now He enters into conversation with everyone in general. Knowing that the passion for primacy is strong and therefore needs to be dealt a decisive blow, He says the most unpleasant thing for the disciples, classifying them among the pagans and infidels, since they are seeking glory. Convicting them, He says this: other people are proud of their power, but loving power is a pagan passion; for My disciples all honor is in humility; therefore, whoever wants to be great must serve the weakest: this is the greatest humility; I show an example of this in Myself: being the Lord and King of Heaven, I humbled Myself in order to serve your salvation, and so much so that I give My soul for the deliverance of many - for all are many. Matthew 20:29. And when they left Jericho, a multitude of people followed Him. Matthew 20:30. And so, two blind men who were sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, began to shout: have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David! Matthew 20:31. The people forced them to remain silent; but they began to shout even louder: have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David! Matthew 20:32. Jesus stopped, called them and said: what do you want from Me? Matthew 20:33. They say to Him: Lord! so that our eyes may be opened. Matthew 20:34. Jesus, being moved with compassion, touched their eyes; and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him. The blind learned about the Lord by rumor and, having learned that He was passing by, they took advantage of the convenient time. They believed that Jesus, who was descended from the seed of David according to the flesh, could heal them. Having such ardent faith, they did not remain silent, and when they were forced to silence, they shouted even louder. Therefore, the Lord does not ask them whether they have faith in Him, but only asks what they want, so that no one would think that the blind wanted one thing, but He gave them something else. The question also reveals that they shouted not to receive silver, but to be healed. He heals them by touch, so that we may know that every member of His Holy flesh is a life-giving and divine member. Further, although Luke and Mark talk about one blind man, there is no disagreement with Matthew on this: they mentioned a more famous one. It is also explained differently: Luke says that the Lord healed the blind man before entering Jericho, and Mark says that after leaving Jericho, while Matthew, preferring brevity, talks about both at the same time. By blind we mean those who believed in Christ from among the pagans: they were healed by Christ, so to speak, along the way. Christ came primarily not for the sake of the pagans, but for the sake of the descendants of Israel. Just as the blind learned about Christ by hearing, so the pagans believed and knew Christ by hearing. Those who forced the blind to be silent and not to pronounce the name of Jesus were persecutors of Christians. They tried to block the mouth of the church, but it confessed the name of Christ even more clearly. That is why she was healed: she clearly saw the light of truth and began to follow Christ, imitating Him in her life. “don’t bother, cheso psita” – address in the dual number. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith”