Message

---

The Parable Of The Workers In The Vineyard

Matthews 20:1-16

Key Verse:20:15 “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?”

  Today’s passage is the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. There are 16 parables of the Kingdom of Heaven in Matthew’s Gospel, and this is one of the nine unique parables written in Matthew’s Gospel only. In this parable Jesus teaches us characteristics of God’s kingdom and God’s generosity with our salvation.

First, the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner of a vineyard. (1-7)  This parable is the continuation of Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of heaven after a rich young man had left sad. The rich young man thought that he could earn the kingdom of heaven by his goodness and effort. He thought that he could be perfect if he kept all God’s commandments. But he did not know that he couldn’t be perfect and he couldn’t earn the kingdom of God by his goodness and ability. When Jesus challenged him to sell all his possessions and give them to the poor and follow him, the rich young man went away sad. This was because he loved money more than God. This man’s story shows us a dilemma of those who want to enjoy both the things of the world and the kingdom of God. Those who want to enter the kingdom of God must make a choice between God and Money, between eternal life and eternal condemnation.

  When Jesus’ disciples heard his teaching and watched the rich man’s departure, they were frustrated, saying, “Who then can be saved?” The disciples thought that no one could be saved if it is more difficult for rich men to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Jesus said, “With man is this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (19:26) Jesus taught that salvation belongs to the Lord. We can be saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not by our own goodness or ability. Today’s passage is the continuation of Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of heaven.

Look at verse 1. “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.”  In this verse the landowner is God, the workers are us, and his vineyard is the kingdom of God. Jesus did not teach us the location of the kingdom of heaven, but the character of God in this parable. When we learn about the character of God, we know what the kingdom of God looks like. Our God is diligent and hard working. Here, early in the morning is 6 a.m., the first hour according to the Jewish system. This is the same hour as we St. Louis UBF members start our prayer meeting and morning devotion. This is also the hour of sunrise this fall.  In verse 2 when he found some workers, he agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. A denarius was the usual daily wage of a day laborer. In verses 3-6 the landowner God went out at 9 a.m., at noon, and at three in the afternoon to hire workers. He made agreements with the workers to pay them one denarius for the day. God did not stop there. He went out again at 5 p.m., around the hour of sunset, and found some standing around the market place.  He asked them, “Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?” (6) “Because no one had hired us,’ they answered. The landowner said, “You also go and work in my vineyard.” (7) Of course the landowner promised to give them a denarius for their wage. Wait a minute! The agreement is totally inefficient and unproductive from a business point of view. He did not hire them for the evening or night shift, but again for the day shift, as he had done in the morning. Those who were hired at 5 p.m. might work for only an hour.  Here we learn that the landowner’s purpose in hiring workers is not making money, but providing jobs for them. When the landowner saw them hanging around the market place all day long doing nothing, he had compassion on them. They each had a wife and hungry children who were waiting for them to bring food home. The workers fed their family members by working every day. If they didn’t work, there would be no food.

  There was a young man who worked as a manager in a big company. He got the highest salary among all his co-workers. He enjoyed all the benefits of the company. But one day he lost his job. He got fired when he made a big mistake in doing his work. Now he is wandering here and there, looking to find someone who will hire him. In this parable the vineyard refers to the kingdom of God. God is looking for workers who can work for his kingdom. In the beginning God planted the Garden of Eden and put the man there to work in it. (Ge 2:15) This was a great blessing for a man to work in God’s garden, which is a paradise. But the man lost the paradise. He was banished from the garden and became a restless wanderer.

  Before Adam’s fall, work was a blessing. But after Adam’s fall work was a curse. Men had to work for food through painful toil all the days of their lives. (Ge 3:17) Some people don’t like to work. They just want to live lazy and easy. But unemployment is not blessing but suffering. Man was created to work. After God created man, He gave him ‘work’, which is mission. (Ge 1:28) Man is happy when he does work. When a man works, he appreciates the meaning of his existence.  

  Our God is compassionate. When the landowner saw people hanging around the marketplace all day long doing nothing, he had compassion on them. They could become great workers. They could support their families by working hard and bringing home food for them. They would be happy to see their wife and children, welcoming them with food. They felt miserable because no one would hire them. We don’t know why they were not hired in the morning. They might have been sick and come out to work late. They might have been weak and looked less attractive as workers. They had many family problems which they needed to handle until late afternoon. But they came out to the marketplace to find a job for food. Finally they got hired by this generous landowner. The landowner found them and hired them. Our God is like this compassionate landowner. When he saw men suffering under the power of sin, he sent his One and Only Son Jesus Christ to save us from our sins and from death. He restored our lost paradise and put us into his kingdom to work. He saved us and called us as kingdom workers. Working for God’s kingdom is a great blessing. This is a great privilege for those who do not deserve it. A man was fired because of his sin and was kicked out of the Garden of Eden. But God restored his position and put him to work for his kingdom.  People work for money. They work for food. But Jesus said in John 6:27, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

Second, our God is generous (8-16) Look at verse 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.” This verse reminds me of the last day, when our lives accounts are settled. Life on this earth does not last forever. When we finish our life on this earth, we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and God will repay each person according to what they have done. (Ro 2:6)

  Look at verses 9. “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius.” This would have been an amazing favor from the landowner to the workers who were hired at five in the afternoon. From business’ point of view they should only have been paid one twelfth of a denarius because they worked only for one hour. But the landowner had mercy on them and paid them the full amount of a day’s wage. The workers now could buy necessary groceries and food for their hungry families.

Look at verses 10-12. “So when those who were hired first, they expected to receive more.  But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. “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.’” These workers’ complaining sounds reasonable. Treating those who worked only one hour equal to those who worked for 12 hours does not seem right and fair. According to their calculation, they should have been paid more than the workers who worked only for one hour. In fact, they worked hard all day long in the vineyard under the scorching heat of the day. But what was the landowner’s answer?

Look at verses 13-15. “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?  As he said, the landowner was not unfair. He did what he had to do. He paid a denarius to all those who had worked in his vineyard, just as they had agreed to. The workers who started working at 6 a.m. received the right payment. They should have given thanks to the owner and gone home. Whether the owner paid the full payment to those who worked for only one hour, it was not their business. This was the owner’s right. The landowner had a right to use his own money for his good purpose. He demonstrated generosity to those who came to work late. He practiced his compassion on those who were wandering around doing nothing.  The workers who came early ought not be grumpy or envious because the landowner was generous.

What does this parable teach us? First of all, salvation is given by our generous God. We are like those who only worked for one hour and received one denarius. Here, a denarius is salvation. Because of our sin we were weak and wounded. We were not attractive or capable of working in God’s garden. We were all flunking life because of our sins. By our own ability or goodness we could neither be saved nor work in God’s kingdom. But only by God’s grace and his generosity are we saved and called to work. This is an amazing grace.  Every semester students hope to have generous teachers in their classes. If they get strict teachers, they have a hard time keeping their good grades.  According to the Apostle Paul in the book of Romans, we have two teachers in our lives. The first one is Mr. Law. There is no mercy in Mr. Law. If we make any mistakes, he judges us and gives us an ‘F’. Under Mr. Law no one can pass his class. But after Mr. Law is fired, Mrs. Grace comes as our new teacher. She is different from Mr. Law. She understands her students’ weaknesses and bears their weak points. She is mindful and compassionate. She encourages her students to study, not for their grades only, but for the glory of God. Under Mrs. Grace all students pass her class with good grades.

The kingdom of heaven is like the vineyard which is filled with workers who are saved only by God’s grace and by his generosity. No one can come to his kingdom by his or her ability. It is impossible for anyone to achieve their own salvation. With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. For God so loved the world that he gave his One and Only Son Jesus Christ that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (Jn 3:16) In other words, whoever believes in Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior can enter the kingdom of God and live there forever. From a business point of view, God sacrificing his Only Son for sinners is a total mistake. But God chose this way for sinners to come to his kingdom. God showed his mercy and grace for sinners to come to him through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul said in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  While we were powerless and helpless because of our sin, God opened the way for us to come to his kingdom. This is the gospel. This is the good news to all people for all nations. Amen!

God wants all of us to practice God’s generosity. Jesus said, “Freely you have received; freely give.” (Mt 10:8)  As we were forgiven by God’s grace, we must forgive others. When someone asks to borrow one dollar from you, give him two dollars. Do not shortchange others in your life. (Lev 23:22) Our God is a generous God. In the Old Testament God commanded the Israelites not to collect leftover grain in their harvest fields. He asked them to leave it there in the fields for the sake of the poor and widows and foreigners. (Lev 19:9, 23:22, Deut 24:19, Ru 2:2)  Our God is so mindful. He is compassionate. Who else is generous and mindful in the Bible? Let us practice God’s generosity for our brothers and sisters. Amen!

Look at verse16. “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” In this parable the last refers to those who came to work late and the first are those who came in the early morning.  The workers who came late must have worked hard for one hour with great joy and thanks. They worked harder than any of the workers who had come earlier in the day. But the workers who came early in the morning forgot the landowner’s grace and their agreement. They lost their joyful hearts and thankful minds at the hour of settlement. They became different people from whom they were. Biblically speaking who are the last? They are the gentiles who late joined the work of God. They are also all kinds of sinners; sick people who were not attractive as kingdom workers. They were saved and hired by God’s grace. The first are the legalistic Jews and self-righteous Christians.

In conclusion let us give thanks to God always for what he has done for us. We were not worthy. We didn’t deserve to become God’s people because of our sin. But God found us and had mercy on us and saved us and called us. Working for God’s kingdom is a blessing. Let us work hard for the glory of God as kingdom workers. The harvest is plentiful, but workers are few. May God send many workers into the harvest field!  Amen.

 

---

Attachment

• The Parable Of The Workers In The Vineyard-message-final (1).doc

---