"... 'The workman is worthy of his hire' is a saying attributed to Jesus in Luke (10:7) and (in a slightly different form) in Matthew (10:10); It is quoted, without attribution, in 1 Timothy 5:18 and Didache 13:2, and, as we shall see, it appears to be alluded to elsewhere in the New Testament. It is one of those sayings - and there are many in the gospels - which depend for their interest upon the use to which they are put. By themselves, they have the generality - one might say the banality - of simple folk wisdom. They are propositions which are memorable only because they give succinct expression to the accumulated wisdom of ages. They do not tell us anything which we did not (on reflection) know already. They spring to life only when authoritatively applied to some novel situation. Jesus was fond of such aphorisms, some of which we can identify as proverbs already in circulation, some of which he may have coined himself. Once imbued with his authority and given a new range of application, they quickly took on new life. We still use them today, and apply them indiscriminately to any situation they seem to fit ..."