God is No Man's Debtor

Read Matthew 20:1-16

As we turn the page into Matthew 20 this morning, we come to another one of the great Parables of Jesus Christ, and this one, again, has to do with the Kingdom.

We saw several of these when we studied Matthew 13. You probably remember, the parable of the Sower, the parable of the Wheat and Tares, the parables of miraculous growth, the parables of the Hidden treasures, etc.

Parables, again, are analogies or illustrative stories intended to shed light on one main point. We spoke before, how you cannot make up a doctrinal system around parables, and you cannot search deeper and deeper until you’ve found the hidden meaning in every single detail of the story.

All the important details shine light on one facet of a diamond, and in this case, the diamond is the Kingdom of God again.

All throughout Jesus’ teaching he is holding up, as it were, the bright and shining diamond of the Kingdom, and with each teaching and miracle and parable like this, he is pointing to another facet of that gemstone and explaining.

We had a lot of help last week when we saw several terms used in the same way in the same context

Salvation

Eternal life

Kingdom of God

Kingdom of Heaven

Based on last week, we saw that all these things were, at least in some ways, able to be used synonymously. We saw that, unlike we would naturally assume, they all are experienced both now and in eternity. We saw that entrance into them or gaining them is impossible with man.

That was the big point of the story about the rich young ruler. The most qualified person on earth is no closer to entrance to the kingdom, gaining salvation and eternal life, than the littlest child who can’t even offer the strength of his own arm. With man, this is impossible. But with God...

Well, Jesus ended last week’s teaching with one sentence. That sentence, ties these two chapters together. Though we have a chapter heading and number in between, we can read them right through, because as Matthew writes, he wants us to see them together.

The story Jesus is about to tell us is a story that is meant to show us what he meant by that statement - that the first will be last and the last will be first.

Just before Jesus made that statement, though, Peter had asked a question. He asked, “Lord, we have left everything in this life in order to follow you. What will be ours because of that?”

In other words, Peter saw he and his friends, and he rightly understood that they had really done what Jesus was saying would be true of those who enter the Kingdom - they would be willing to give it all up. They would hold their lives and possessions with an open hand, and when God asked for whatever was in their hand, it would fly from them freely as it came to them from God’s hand also.

But Peter’s question, at least on the surface, has a bit of tinge of “God must owe us something for what we have done.” But God is no man’s debtor. God doesn’t “owe” anyone.

Jesus started to illustrate how that isn’t the way God’s economy works by saying, “you will be exalted to the place of a judge and ruler.” and “he who has given up will receive 100 times what they have lost.”

But in order to keep the disciples, again, from thinking that it’s all about wages - it’s all about time and earnings accounting, Jesus made that statement - many who are last will be first. And that is what we are to understand more deeply by today’s story.

You see, in our mindset, maybe like Peter, we are conditioned into thinking in terms of wages. We are used to thinking in terms of cause and effect, of direct correlation. Peter was a fisherman, a hard working laborer who knew the price for each fish he caught. He had given up fishing to fish for men. What would be the wages? God is not man’s debtor.

God’s Kingdom does not work in wages, like we think, but in Grace. Wages can be measured against time and effort, but Grace can only be measured in terms of God’s character to give it out.

The statement “the last will be first” is very much a statement of grace without using the exact word. For what is grace but to show kindness, to show favor and give lavishly? That is exactly what God does for each person in His Kingdom, and though he calls for and requires us to be willing to give up much, his grace is not weighed on the scale against what we were able to give and do.

A Story to Illustrate a Saying

Matthew 20:1–2 ESV

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

Much like the parable of the sower and the parable of the wheat and tares, the Kingdom is pictured in a setting of agriculture.

Now, grapes, beside the basic staple of wheat, were probably one of the chief agricultural products of the fertile region that Israel was in.

Psalm 104:14–15 ESV

You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart.

Do you remember when Moses sent out the 12 spies into Canaan? One of the most amazing parts of the story was when the spies came to the region of Hebron, into a place they called the valley of Eschol, which was about 12-13 miles south of Jerusalem, they cut off a cluster of grapes that was so large that two men had to carry it!

Later on in Numbers 14, the report would be that the land was “flowing with milk and honey.” Now, the land wasn’t actually flowing with milk and honey, but the picture was that it was a blessed land, a fertile land, and a joyful and sweet land. And for a group of people who had been wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, eating manna and the occasional quail with water, a 100 pound cluster of grapes was a sign of blessing for sure.

Grapes are used all throughout scripture to illustrate God’s work. In Isaiah 5, the prophet illustrates God’s displeasure with his people by comparing them to wild grapes in God’s vineyard.

In Isaiah 32, to prophesy a time of curse and captivity, Isaiah said “the vintage has ended, and the harvest will not come.” That refers to grapes, and no harvest is an illustration of no blessing.

In Psalm 80, to illustrate God placing his people in their land, the psalmist says this

Psalm 80:8 ESV

You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.

Again, God speaks of his people as grapes in Hosea 9:10

Hosea 9:10 ESV

Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers. But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved.

We’ve even see Jesus use the imagery of grapes to talk about true and false teachers

Matthew 7:15–16 ESV

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

So, put simply, the image of grapes and vineyards was not only strong in the Disciples’ minds because of where they lived, but God has described himself as the owner of a vineyard and people in his vineyard all throughout the Bible.

So, then, we can safely say that Jesus is talking about God here, and he is getting workers for his vineyard - God is the master of the vineyard, as he is the King of the Kingdom. And his kingship is over the vineyard, and especially those who are in it.

We might even say, like the parable of the sower, that the vineyard is the world, as the field was the world. But that’s less important for the story.

God is looking for workers. The disciples were clearly those, but based on the context, really everyone who enters the kingdom is a worker.

And some workers have been there all along - he went out early in the morning. Probably 6 or 7 in the morning, and agreed with some for a day’s labor. One denarius was simply one day’s labor rate. At the very least, we see then that the master of the Vineyard is just. He makes an agreement, he makes no extortion. He will provide for these workers a day’s wages for a day’s labor.

Matthew 20:3–8 ESV

And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’

So, some have been there all along, but other workers come along later. And there is much work to be done, and plenty of room to do the work, so gladly they are hired also. Some at the 3rd hour, which we would think of as 9:00 AM - so they got to sleep in a bit!

Some at the 6th hour, not until noon! Again at the 9th hour, which is 3:00. And finally again at the 11th hour, 5:00, he found some who had not been working all day. They were standing idle, and he asked them, “Why aren’t you working?” “Nobody has hired us!”

He hired them too.

Now, we could have fun making a point about all the people hired at all the different times. The people at the 9:00, well maybe they just slept in and missed the first round.

the people at noon? Maybe they had a dentist appointment that morning and couldn’t get there any sooner.

The 3:00 crowd, well, that might have been a happy accident! Maybe they didn’t want to get hired and just happened to cross paths with this really convincing master of a vineyard.

But the 11th hour people, the 5:00 people. I mean, if they had been standing there all day waiting to be hired, and nobody hired them, that means one of two things. Either there wasn’t enough work to go around, which, in the story we know is not true because when it’s time to work the grapes, there is work for everyone.

Or, another possibility, is that nobody wanted to hire them. Maybe they had a reputation of laziness. Maybe people thought they were dishonest. Maybe they weren’t as strong or useful as some of the other workers. Maybe they looked funny. Who knows. But they were left all day waiting, until finally this gracious vinedresser comes and says, “i’ll hire you too.”

Now we could illustrate this with our own story as well. Who here has played dodgeball?

Who here has ever been picked last for dodgeball?!

Yes, that’s me. Most of you have only known me for a couple years or so, and didn’t know me as a boy. But let’s just say that as a boy, i wasn’t exactly as nimble as a cat! I may as well have been the dodgeball when i was a little kid, I think.

Now, I could throw the ball, but when it came to dodging it, It wasn’t exactly a matrix moment! I think I had a bright red target painted on me.

So I know what it’s like to be picked last for dodgeball! Maybe that’s not as critical as not being hired for your day’s labor, but at least you got a laugh out of it.

So what we have so far, is God as a master vinedresser, and he has much work to do, and he is willing to hire just about anyone. The 6:00 AM people might have thought they were the pick of the litter, but in God’s economy, all kinds of people get a fair shake at the Kingdom.

Well, the story gets more interesting as it goes on.

Matthew 20:8–10 ESV

And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius.

Right here in the middle of the story, verse 8, we see that phrase again, don’t we? At least in a form.

“Beginning with the last...” The last will be first.

And not only do the last get paid first, but what is unique about their pay rate?

There isn’t a pay rate - there is just pay!

Now, notice that only with the first group is there any mention of pay upon hiring - they agreed to fair wage, but what about the rest? Well, with the 9:00 people, he just says “whatever is right I will give you.” And that is what he told every other group.

Now, what is interesting about the 11th hour people, the 5:00 people, is there is no mention of pay at all - he just says, “you go into the vineyard.”

We’ve talked before about the idea of gleaning in Jewish law, and how that little leftovers and fringes of crop were left for the poor and destitute to come gather each day for their own sustenance.

Honestly, the 11th hour people probably just thought he was giving them permission to glean the leftovers. Maybe the grapes that the birds had pecked at, or those which weren’t as full or maybe they had already become raisins on the vine.

But what happens when the foreman gives out the paycheck, starting with the castaway 11th hour people?

They get a full denarius! A full day’s wages! Not just leftover raisins, but a whole day’s pay! Perhaps, something they hadn’t seen in years, something they certainly never imagined! They had hardly had time to do anything in this vineyard, but a whole day’s pay!

Now, as he does down the line, of course, you know how the wheel’s turn. As these 11th hour people are rejoicing and exclaiming about their denarius, the others over hear that and think, “well if they barely even made it before the conveyor belt turned off and got a denarius, what will we get?”

But as the foreman goes down the line, the 3:00 people get a denarius, and the 12 noon people get a denarius, and the 9:00 people get a denarius, until he gets to the original bunch.

By this time, they were grumbling. How can you pay us all the same! Those guys over there have only been there one hour! They haven’t been through any of what we have! They haven’t earned it!

Matthew 20:13–15 ESV

But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’

Wow, what an answer. “Friend, I have been more than just with you. I did you no wrong! Have I withheld anything from you that I have promised?

And further, Can’t I choose what to do with my own money? Or does my generosity taste like sour grapes to you?

A Saying to Illuminate the Story

Matthew 20:16 ESV

So the last will be first, and the first last.”

Now, as Jesus repeats that statement again, it has been set up by the last question in the parable. Do you begrudge my generosity?

Now, immediately the applications of this Parable might be running through your mind, or maybe you’re scratching your head a bit, and that’s ok. But let’s think of a couple scriptures.

Jonah 4:9–11 ESV

But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

Jonah had a lesson to learn much like this parable - a lesson about God’s mercy and Grace. Mercy and Grace that God wanted to give even to wicked Nineveh that repented, but Jonah had a problem with that. You see, Jonah was thinking in terms of wages - and the Ninevites wages should have only been wrath, but they got Grace in stead. Jonah thought in wages, but God deals in grace.

How about another one?

You know the story about the prodigal son, right? Well, we call it that, but the parable is really about the merciful and gracious father who loved both of his sons, and showed grace to the one who ran away. What was the response when the wayward son came home?

Luke 15:23–32 ESV

And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”

We see Jonah in that older brother, don’t we? “I have stayed here these many years and never disobeyed you!” “This other son of yours deserves nothing but shame! Where is my fatted calf? Where is my party?”

And if we see the Older brother and Jonah alike, then we are also meant to see the 6:00 AM people in our parable in a similar way. They were thinking only in terms of wages, but God doesn’t deal in wages, but in grace.

Now how can we possible apply this? I think there are a few ways that are all helpful, and they start big and get smaller. Let’s start big.

In the big picture, this is a parable that was meant to prepare Jewish disciples, like Peter, for what they would see in the coming days and years as “other people” came into the kingdom. Now, these “other people” might be other Jewish disciples who are late to the game, or they might be the total outsiders, the Gentiles.

You see, that was the story of Jonah. Jonah had no category for mercy to wicked Gentiles in his mind, but God did.

You remember those 11th hour people? Do you know who that is? That’s you and me!

We are the 11th hour people, in the big picture of God’s redemption.

You see, the original agreement was wit Moses and the people of His day. That’s who God made the promises to! That’s who God gave the law, and the blessings, and the covenants. Now, those things may involve work, but they were still very much grace!

You see, God didn’t have to give grace to Noah when he destroyed the earth. He did, and he told him to build an ark, but it was grace that he told him at all.

God didn’t have to give grace to Abraham by calling him our of Ur, but he did! It may have required Abraham to leave his land and sojourn, but it was Grace that God blessed him and made him the father of the faithful.

God didn’t have to give Grace to Moses and the Hebrew slaves in Egypt, but he did, and he brought them out, and he gave them the promises and the law and the covenant and the blessings.

They were the first hour people, the 6:00 people. And Noah knew it was grace, and Abraham knew it was grace, and Moses knew it was grace. But, you see, there is human tendency to quickly forget what is grace, and begin to think of it as wages.

So the first hour poeple, in this case the Jewish people, had begun to think by the 11th hour, when Jesus came, that it was not so much grace but wages. That God somehow contractually “owed” them, and furthermore, that these other misfits who are coming in at the final hour, they deserve nothing!

That was not every Israelite’s mindset, but it certainly was for some! Peter struggled with that, which is why in Acts we see much to do about Peter learning and finally accepting that the Gentiles were brought in.

Jonah exhibited that mentality. A prejudice, a pride, a sense of ownership or entitlement, but God doesn’t work in wages, and God is the only one with true ownership, and he works in Grace.

What does this say for us, though? It shows how wonderful and how undeserving we are of what we get! You see, we are the 11th hour people, but we get the whole blessing! We weren’t around for the original agreement, but we get the whole paycheck! We didn’t even have any part in the Old covenant, but we are brought in to the new Covenant and given all the blessings of life and peace and salvation and eternal joy, by Grace! by Grace!

God doesn’t work in wages, and we should be glad.

Romans 6:23 ESV

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Do you see, dear one, how you were the misfit who nobody wanted to hire, you were standing at the 11th hour hoping to just glean some dried up raisins from the harvest of God’s vineyard, but in stead, he brought you in and made you one of his very own? You weren’t even hoping for wages! But you got the whole blessing!

Now, that is the big picture, and maybe the main picture that the disciples were to see, but we can bring it smaller too.

Because we may not be considering God’s gifts in terms of thousands of years of history, like the Jewish people might have, but we may be guilty of considering them in terms of our lifetime.

You see, some of you have been Christians for 50, 60, maybe even 70 years or more. And you know how human flesh works. Your flesh and the Devil would love nothing more for you to think that God really owes you one for all your years of faithfulness.

And more than that, your flesh and the devil would love for you to look at some young struggling Christian and say, “they aren’t in the same category as I am.”

But that is wages, not grace!

You see, A person who has been a believer for one year has the same claim on the Kingdom as someone who has been a believer for 80 years.

A Christian who is brand new and still struggling with the basics, or struggling with some trivial little sin and temptation, has the same claim on eternal life in God’s vineyard as the faithful Christian who doesn’t smoke, drink, or chew, or Go with girls who do.

The little child who, with simple faith and childlike trust, follows Jesus in their own little way, with their own little steps, has the same claim on the kingdom as the Theologian with two Ph.D’s and a long list of accomplishments.

The layman has the same claim on the kingdom as the pastor does. The Tattooed young adult as the same claim as the sweet elderly grandma. All those other considerations are wages, but God doesn’t work in wages, but in grace.

And this is true, not just now, but in eternity.

Think of the thief on the cross. If we could claim that anyone at all had no chance to earn their keep as a follower of Jesus, it was that guy! He died moments after he met the Lord, but he had the same promise that we all do when we breath our last - today, you will be with me.

Aren’t you glad, dear one, that God works not in wages, but in grace?

A Prophecy to Indicate the Bigger Picture

And as we consider grace, we must look at Jesus’ reminder in the next few verses.

Matthew 20:17–19 ESV

And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”

You see, this was grace in the binoculars. Grace in the looking glass. Fulness of grace that would be displayed very shortly. It was all grace, the teaching, the miracles, the parables, the feedings, it was all grace. But soon to come, the disciples would see this grace poured out as Jesus would take the punishment they had earned, and pay for it. Jesus would take wrath that humanity incurred and drink that cup. Jesus would take the shame and scorn that the lowliest beggar could never know. Jesus would take the wages of our sin, and cover them.

Why?

Because God doesn’t work in wages, but in grace. God is no man’s debtor. He pays his children, not what they have earned, but what he freely and lovingly desires to give by His grace.