The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard only occurs in Matthew, but it is one of several stories in chapters 20-23 to address the matter of self-centeredness.
    The owner of the vineyard is a businessman.  He needs workers for his vineyard.  He hires them at a set wage.  Some come to work early.  Some come to work late.  But at the end of the day, they all get paid the same amount.

    Chapter eighteen contains the fourth of five teaching sections in Matthew, and it is specifically focused on how we treat one another.
    It opens with Jesus calling a child to him and telling his disciples they must become like a child to enter the kingdom of heaven.  Then, Jesus talks about how we treat “little ones.”

    Stay with me.
    Herod the Great (the one who killed all the little babies in Bethlehem) was married at least ten times.  He had a son, Aristobulus, by one of his wives, and a son Philip by another wife and a third son, Antipas by still another wife.  Remember the names: Aristobulus, Philip, and Antipas.  They will be important.
    Aristobulus and his wife had five children, one of whom was a girl, Herodias.

    In his presentation, Matthew alternates between narrative (story) and teaching.  There are five teaching sections in his book and we’ve just completed the first one, the Sermon on the Mount.  All of the teaching sections end with words like this: “When Jesus had finished saying these things.”  Chapters 8-9 are the second story section.

    Matthew 11 begins the third narrative section, but as you will quickly see, even in narrative, Jesus is teaching.  In chapters eleven and twelve, the Lord turns to the subject of “the judgment” – mentioned more in these two chapters than in any other section in Matthew.

    The Sermon on the Mount is the largest “behavior” section in Matthew and as such provides the foundation for everything that is to follow.  It can be divided into parts, easily seen in the reading:
1)    Introduction – the fundamentals of a holy heart.  5:1-20
2)    Misinterpretations corrected – Jesus addresses improper behavior coming from a misinterpretation of the Law of God.  5:21 - 48.

    The story of the Magi brings up lots of questions.
    Was this a new star?  How did they know to interpret it as the coming of a Jewish king?  Why would Babylonian astrologers even care about a Jewish king?  Why would they make a journey to worship him?

    The book of Hebrews is forward looking.
    To a people who are suffering for their faith, he has little to offer them of present encouragement.  He does not know when their trials will be over – unless, of course, you want to talk about death.  But for the unfaithful, trials do not end with death, for they will one day stand before God to be judged.
    And yet, there is hope.

    I am convinced that the real point of the book of Hebrews is found in the last two chapters.  Everything written up to that point is solely to get to that point.  The Christians addressed are abandoning Jesus.  It doesn’t mean they aren’t religious.  They are very religious.  The problem is that their religion does not show in their daily living, their ethic.

    Hebrews reminds me so much of the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts – not in content, but in form.  The writer of all these books has a habit of introducing a subject, then leaving it and returning to it as he expands and integrates that subject with the larger theme of his book.
    Melchizedek is mentioned only twice in the Old Testament.  But the writer of Hebrews makes much ado of him in this book.