More Than I Deserve – Step Two

We are looking at Enormous Lessons from Small Parables. Our next step in determining the meaning of our parable is to reconstruct the immediate context. Let’s think for a moment about our process. The branch of knowledge that deals with interpretation of texts, especially religious texts, is called hermeneutics. Within this scope of study, there are two approaches in determining meaning. The words describing the approaches are taken from the Greek language. The critical interpretation of a text to discover its intended meaning relies on a method called exegesis. The word means to extract the meaning from a text.

The other approach to interpretation is called eisegesis, which means “to lead into.” The interpreter attempts to determine meaning based upon personal needs and applications.

Exegesis attempts to examine the grammar, syntax, and historical setting of a text. By doing so, the student reconstructs an immediate context for the passage. Only when this foundation is established can proper application for today be made.

Let’s look again at our 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.”

Here are three questions that will help establish the correct immediate context for this parable. You may need to look at the verses immediately before our passage (Matthew 19:16-30 NIV) as well as the verses which follow (Matthew 20:17-19 NIV and Matthew 20:20-28 NIV).

• What events happened before Jesus told this parable? Do the events stir the necessity for teaching and discussion? Can you tell if any time has passed between the previous events and the parable?
• What events happen immediately after the parable? Does Jesus explain the parable? Do the events have any relation to what Jesus taught in the parable?
• Are there any words or phrases that you do not understand? Consult with a Bible dictionary or Bible encyclopedia to help your study. There are 25 different Bible dictionaries available for free usage at studylight.org. The Holman Bible Dictionary is a well-rounded study tool. Vine’s Expository Bible Dictionary of NT Words gives insight into the Greek meaning of words for the English-speaking Bible student.