The study of Enormous Lessons from Small Parables has been teaching us how to build the context for a passage of Scripture. Our final step in the process of determining a sound, biblical interpretation of the parable is to understand, “How does this speak today?” Based upon the historical setting, the lessons will be consistent with the teaching of the Bible. The exegesis of a passage allows the meaning to be in accordance with God’s message to humanity. Let’s take one final look at the passage in Matthew 20:1-16.
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.
“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius.10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
There are several tools that can assist us in determining how does this speak today. The meaning and application of a passage of Scripture is a vital part of interpretation. The first place to start is to examine the Scripture in different versions of the Bible. There are different nuances that can be brought out through translation that can strengthen understanding. Remember, a translation of the Bible is produced by scholars, theologians and linguists to examine the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek manuscripts and translate the words into the reader’s language. A paraphrase takes the reader’s language and attempts to make it more readable. Koinonia Bible Studies has concise information on versions, translations and paraphrases.
Here are several English versions of our passage of Scripture from Matthew 20:1-16 NIV
| NASB Version –
Matthew 20:1-16 NASB |
ESV Version –
Matthew 20:1-16 ESV |
NLT Version –
Matthew 20:1-16 NLT |
God’s Word Translation – | Holman Christian Standard Version – Matthew 20:1-16 HCSB |
| Message Version –
Matthew 20:1-16 MESSAGE |
NCV Version –
Matthew 20:1-16 NCV |
KJV Version –
Matthew 20:1-16 KJV |
NKJV Version –
Matthew 20:1-16 NKJV |
RSV Version – |
| NRSV Version –
Matthew 20:1-16 NRSV |
Good News Version – | NET Bible Matthew 20:1-16 |
Greek NT – | Reina Valera Revisada (1960) |
Another tool to help determine the application of a passage is the use of a commentary. The biblestudytools.com website has several commentaries that are free for usage.
Once you have used several resources, determine the answer to this question for this portion of the lesson.
- How does this speak today? What teachings in this passage of Scripture apply to today’s culture or church?
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