Daily Writing

Saturday, 30 May 2026

And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, Matthew 20:11

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“Having taken, also, they grumbled against the housemaster.” (CG)

In the previous verse, those who worked from the first came to receive their wages, naturally assuming they would receive more than those who only worked a short time. However, they only received a denarius. It next says, “Having taken, also.”

They didn’t refuse the wage, even if it is not what they were expecting. They would have remembered the original offer and their acceptance of it. As such, there was nothing they could do about that matter. But there is something they could do. It says, “they grumbled.”

It is a new word, gogguzó, to grumble or murmur. It is “an onomatopoetic term imitating the sound of cooing doves” (HELPS Word Studies). Just as doves drone on and on in whatever they are doing, this word reflects a simmering discontent that is expressed just loud enough for others to hear, but not as a direct challenge to the one they are discontent with.

Despite that, it is normally known who the discontent is directed towards. In this case, it was “against the housemaster.”

One can imagine what they were saying, “This is poppycock! We were out there all day practically slaving for this guy, and he has paid those guys over there the same as he paid us. What kind of an operation is he running here?”

Life application: In the New Testament, outside of the gospels, the word gogguzó is only seen two times, both are in 1 Corinthians 10 –

“Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. ⁷ And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.’ ⁸ Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; ⁹ nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; ¹⁰ nor complain [gogguzó], as some of them also complained [gogguzó], and were destroyed by the destroyer. ¹¹ Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” 1 Corinthians 10:6-11

The Greek translation of the Old Testament uses this word in Numbers 14 to describe this attitude of the people. The Lord had been faithful to deliver the people from Egypt, a delivery that they had cried out to the Lord for.

Once in the wilderness, He repeatedly showed His faithfulness as He tended to them in their times of need. And yet, they would turn around and grumble against the Lord like a flock of doves, discontent with their situation.

Egypt is given as a type of life under sin. Man is under the authority of the devil. Along with good, his existence is fraught with disease, pain, loss, and eventually death. We cry out to God, “Is this all there is, can’t You give me a better hope than this ultimately pointless existence?” In hearing that, God sends Jesus into our lives.

Maybe we were in a church. Maybe someone handed us a tract. In some manner, we heard of Jesus, and we received what He did, being brought out from under the authority of the devil and given the assurance of eternal life, apart from this fallen world. And yet, like Israel in the wilderness, we need to continue this life until we reach the Promised Land.

Soon, we forget what God did. And so He sends us a tender mercy to help us along our walk. Again, we forget. Someone we love dies, and we strike a bitter heart against God. We lose our job, and we grumble that we have it so bad, saying that God must not care about us at all. We forget that we are on the road to the Promised Land and He has assured us we will arrive.

What happened to that original joy? What is it that says, “It’s not fair! I deserve better!” We have been given the highest assurance of all that you will make it to heaven. And yet, we grumble. Imagine how disappointing we must be to God when we put forth such a despicable attitude.

May we remember the day of our salvation always, never allowing the trials of this life to interfere with our walk at this time. Whatever you are facing, God is right there with you. Hard times will come, loss can be expected, but God is there with you. His promises will never fail, and the outcome is assured. Remember this. God is right there with you.

O God, it is very easy to lose our focus on what lies ahead. We forget where we were and what You did to change our eternal destiny. Instead, we get caught up in the trials that surround us and forget that You are there. Forgive us of our faithlessness. Help us to always remember that You are there with us on the path to glory. Amen.

Friday, 29 May 2026

But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. Matthew 20:10

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“Having come, also, the first, they deemed that more, they will take, and they took, also themselves, each – denarius.” (CG)

The previous verse noted that those who were hired at the eleventh hour received a denarius. It next says, “Having come, also, the first, they deemed that more, they will take.”

Under normal circumstances, one would assume that pay is based on time and/or the amount of labor that is produced. As such, and forgetting the original agreement, they assumed this would be their case.

Those who were out working for just an hour got nice wages for such a little amount of work. As such, how great would their pay be! But it next says, “and they took, also themselves, each – denarius.”

This was what was originally agreed on, but it doesn’t match what one might expect when placed beside the labor of those who came later.

Life application: Grace is getting what you do not deserve. The workers who came later were given what they did not deserve when compared to the labor of the others.

This, however, cannot be equated to salvation. There is no merit at all in a person’s salvation. If labor were to be figured into salvation, it would diminish the significance of the cross. All people must come to God in the same way, with empty hands, receiving by faith what Christ Jesus has done.

It is a great problem in the church when merit is introduced into one’s Christian theology concerning salvation. And yet, it is one of the primary canons of the Roman Catholic teachings concerning justification. It is a principle teaching found in any law-observant church. It is implied in any church that requires tithing to be considered in right standing with the congregation.

These things put emphasis on some personal merit or another to indicate whether a person has satisfied God in regard to salvation. It is even the doctrine of many standard protestant churches that claim good deeds “stem necessarily” from salvation.

Such a thought makes it appear that salvation was by grace through faith and that deeds follow. However, if deeds must follow to prove salvation, then salvation in some respect is dependent on those deeds, even if they come after the fact. Why do deeds have to come after salvation? What deeds prove a person has been saved? Who determines such a standard?

These things are not found in the Bible unless they are forced into the text. Be careful to think this issue through. One sad result of such teachings is an inevitable judgmental feeling that will arise toward the lost.

If one has somehow merited salvation, then those who are not saved must also come to God through the same path as they did. When they fail to comply with such a demand, they are considered unworthy of being saved.

For those who have met the requirement, salvation then becomes a club where only those who have followed whatever misguided path is deemed necessary are included. For example, the Church of Christ says you must be baptized in order to be saved. And more, it must be in their church. Because of this, they are their own little club that excludes everyone else. Only they get Jesus. Everyone else is out.

Watch out for such teachings. Jesus alone saves. Come to Him through belief in the gospel, and you will be saved by Him. That’s it! Thank God for His wonderful plan of reconciliation.

Lord God, thank You for Your goodness which has been poured out upon us through the giving of Jesus. All praise, glory, and honor belong to You alone. Jesus did it all! Hallelujah for Jesus. Amen.

Thursday, 28 May 2026

And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. Matthew 20:9

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“Having come, also, those about the eleventh hour, they took each – denarius.” (CG)

In the previous verse, the housemaster called his commissioner to call the laborers to give them their wages, from the last to the first. It now says, “Having come, also, those about the eleventh hour.”

These are those noted in verses 6 & 7. They had been standing idle all day long. The housemaster hired them with about an hour left in the workday, sending them into his vineyard. Despite their labors not adding up to very much in comparison to those who were hired first, it says, “they took each – denarius.”

The meaning is clear. It wasn’t one denarius for all who were hired at the eleventh hour. Rather, it was one denarius for each of those who were hired at the eleventh hour. The number of those hired late in the day isn’t known, be it two or twenty. But each received the same pay.

This was the amount agreed upon for those in verses 1 & 2 who were hired to do a full day’s labor, starting in the early morning. Despite that, the housemaster felt this was what was a righteous sum to pay, according to his promise to the men.

Life application: Despite the assumptions of the past few verses concerning whether the day laborers were there at the first hour or not, or whether they turned down an unfavorable job earlier in the day or not, those comments were mere speculations about what could have happened, not what did happen.

There is nothing said about such things. All that is known is that the men were at the market when the housemaster came. Each time he came, he found more men, hiring them as they were identified by him.

As such, the pay that each one received from the eleventh hour was based on his decision to hire those who had ostensibly been there throughout the day, waiting for a job. As this is so, he could have potentially received a full day of labor from them if he had run into them earlier in the morning. As such, his pay to these men is based on what could have been as much as it is on what occurred.

Think about that from your perspective. You may have come to Christ as a young child, during high school, while in the military, after retiring from a company, or as an older person in a retirement home.

Regardless of when you came to Christ, you received the same salvation that everyone else has received. There is no getting “more” saved than anyone else. Each person who believes is sealed with the Holy Spirit at that time (Ephesians 1:13, 14).

Some denominations teach that a person who believes is saved, but they aren’t truly filled with the Spirit until they have a manifestation of the Spirit through signs, such as speaking in tongues. This is not biblical. In fact, it is anti-biblical. Paul sets the parameters for being sealed with the Spirit as just noted.

One cannot get “more” of the Spirit. It is a one-time and for-all-time event. From there, we are to work out our salvation. This is not to keep being saved, but to be obedient in our salvation. The life we live in Christ will not make us more saved. Rather, it will be considered at our time of judgment, as detailed in 1 Corinthians 3 and 2 Corinthians 5.

Rewards and losses are a completely separate consideration. The Bible teaches eternal salvation. What we do with our salvation is up to us. It is evaluated based on our adherence to Scripture. However, we cannot adhere to Scripture without knowing what the Bible says. So be sure to read it and then apply it to your walk in Christ.

Lord God, how grateful we are to You for the salvation You have graciously granted to us. Help us to now be diligent in pursuing a properly directed life to You through adherence to Your word.  May it be so to Your glory. Amen.

Wednesday, 27 May 2026

“So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ Matthew 20:8

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“Evening, also, having become, he says, the ‘lord, the vineyard’ to ‘commissioner, his’, ‘You call the toilers, and you pay them the reward, having commenced from the last unto the first.’” (CG)

In the previous verse, the house master sent laborers into his vineyard even in the eleventh hour of the day. Next, it says, “Evening, also, having become.”

As noted previously, this means the day’s length where work can be conducted, which is approximately twelve hours. The shortest day is in the winter and is a bit more than ten hours. The longest is in the summer. It is a tad over fourteen hours.

As the evening was coming, it also signifies the start of a new day because biblical days start at evening. This is based on the Genesis 1 account, where it says, “And it was, evening, and it was, morning – Day, X.” Thus, to go past evening would mean work continuing into a new day. Therefore, in the evening, “he says, the ‘lord, the vineyard’ to ‘commissioner, his’.”

Here is a new word, epitropos, a commissioner. It is derived from epi, upon, and tropos, a turn and thus a mode or style of doing something, as in “The way [tropos] a hen gathers her chicks.” It signifies one who has been given a commission, meaning full power, to act on behalf of another. This person is entrusted with the authority of the house in a manner similar to Joseph, who was first over Potipher’s house and eventually over Pharaoh’s house –

“Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. ⁴⁰ You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.’ ⁴¹ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.’” Genesis 41:39-41

The housemaster is ensuring that the law is being complied with. In Deuteronomy, it says –

“You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in your land within your gates. ¹⁵ Each day you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it; lest he cry out against you to the Lord, and it be sin to you.” Deuteronomy 24:14, 15

As it is the evening, the wages for the day must be paid. The fact that these are day laborers shows that they are exactly who the law was intended to protect. Therefore, the housemaster says, “You call the toilers, and you pay them the reward.”

This is what is expected, both by the laborers and by the law itself. The day is over, the laborers have complied with their part of the bargain, and it is time for his words “if it should be righteous” to be enacted.

Only the first were guaranteed a denarius for their labors. All others were at his decision concerning what is righteous. Thus, to ensure all see that he pays a righteous amount, he says to his commissioner, “having commenced from the last unto the first.”

Those who came last are to be paid first. It seems contradictory to the way one would normally think, but it is a demonstration to all concerning grace. Grace is getting what one does not deserve. The housemaster wants all of the laborers to see that he will treat the last with care and respect, despite their being late into the field.

Life application: Remember that what we are reading is a description of the kingdom of the heavens. What the world sees in one light, God sees in another. As such, things seem turned upside down until we understand what is being conveyed.

As seen in the parables of the hidden treasure and that of the pearl of great price in Matthew 13, the general consensus over the millennia has been that it was speaking of us selling all we have in order to “buy” the field or “buy” the pearl. That would make the parable about us earning heaven.

Rather, the man in both parables is Christ, who saw the people of the world as His treasure and pearl of great price. He sold everything, stepping down from heaven to redeem us to Himself. When we look at what God is doing from our perspective, we will always have a flawed sense of what He is doing.

Our failed marriages are then mentally considered to be like God’s kingdom. Our fallen fathers who bumble through life, often making bad decisions, make us think that God must be like them. Instead of looking at things this way, we must look to God as the perfect ideal, and to what He does as what is perfectly right.

In doing this, we will always more fully appreciate Him and what He is doing. Have joy in your heart when you think of God. He has a perfect plan that will be perfectly fulfilled in us someday. Don’t let the imperfection of “right now” cause you to live a life lacking joy. It will be behind us soon, and things will be more glorious than we can even imagine.

Lord God, we are so thankful to You for what lies ahead. In this world, there are all kinds of troubles, but someday they will be behind us. Thank You for this wonderful hope we possess because of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Tuesday, 26 May 2026

They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’ Matthew 20:7

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“They say to him, ‘Because no one, us, he hired.’ He says to them, ‘You go, also you, into the vineyard, and the ‘if it should be righteous’, you will take.’” (CG)

In the previous verse, Jesus said the housemaster went out at the eleventh hour and found laborers still standing around idly. He then asked them why they were standing idle all day. Next, we read, “They say to him, ‘Because no one, us, he hired.’”

As noted previously, there could be other reasons, such as having turned down a particular job, having not been where others saw them, etc. Regardless of that, however, by the end of the day, they had not been hired for a job.

At least they were persistent not to give up and go home before the final hour of the day. Instead, they remained hopeful of some small tasks to fill the final hour. And lo and behold, “He says to them, ‘You go, also you, into the vineyard.’”

This was a pretty sweet deal. They may not make a lot, but the heat of the day is behind, the workers would be finishing up their labors, and whatever they were tasked to do would include that final clean-up rather than the more rugged labors of the day. Whatever they made would be appreciated and just. This was confirmed with the housemaster’s last words to them, “and the ‘if it should be righteous’, you will take.”

Life application: These laborers were told they would be given what is just and righteous. The agreement was made, and so whatever they received was to be considered in that light. This is no different than our own situation when working.

A set amount of work is detailed, a set amount of hours a week is specified, and a particular amount of money, along with any benefits, is agreed to. In return for being hired with the expectation of the job conforming to those parameters, employees are then expected to perform according to what they said they would do.

It is unconscionable for the employer to withhold the wages of someone who worked according to a preset agreement. It is also unconscionable that a person would not show up for work and expect to be paid anyway.

But the world is full of cheaters from both ends. They refuse to do what they committed to. Other people will see this and look down on those who don’t meet their obligations. But how many of us fail to meet our obligations in other ways? We treat divorce as if it were just a sad occurrence. Societally, it is no longer looked at as a failure to meet one’s obligation to another.

People may steal from a store, as if they have a right to whatever it is they put their hands on. They fail to meet the obligation of paying for what someone else had to produce. Stores cost money to build or rent. Electricity, water, insurance, and many other bills have to be paid. The cost of merchandise must be considered. And yet, people steal from others as if they have a right to what is taken.

This has been blown to epic proportions in liberal cities where even the government fails to protect the rights of store owners. Instead, they treat theft as a right for the poor to participate in.

All of these type of things leads to the greatest failure to meet obligations of them all. As people continue to tolerate such activities, they also move further and further from God. They fail to honor Him for what He has done. They become ungrateful, abusive, harmful toward others, etc. Unholiness abounds, and any thought of honoring God is cast out the window.

In fact, those who attempt to honor Him are ignored, mocked, treated as societal offenders, etc. This pattern has repeated itself throughout history, including in the pages of the Bible. We need to be firm in meeting our obligations, resolute in standing up for morality, and firm in never accepting the unholiness of others – be it individuals, organizations, or governments.

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is the right thing, but doing right is the right thing to do. Honor God through standing fast and doing what is right at all times.

Lord God, help us to be people of integrity, even as the world moves towards ever-increasing wickedness. May we never allow unholiness to creep into our surroundings and cause us to adapt to it. Help us in this, O God. Amen.