Last Will Be First

Background

If we have not had the pleasure of meeting my name is John Colunga and I have the privilige of serving as lead pastor here at New Day Pasadena

I also have the privilige of bringing this weeks sermon

So if you have your Bibles, please turn to Matthew 20:1-16

If you forgot your Bible please use the one in front of you and if you dont have a Bible at all, please take home the one in front of you as a free gift to you

Matthew Series

Magnifies Jesus as King of Kings

In Matthew 5 discourses - in depth teachings of Jesus

Outside of the discourses are more narratives by Matthew

first discourse (Sermon on the Mount) chapters 5-7

second discourse (Commissioning of the Disciples) Chapter 10

third discourse (Parables of Christ and his reign) Chapter 13

Fourth discourse (Living as in the Kingdom of God) chapter 18

Last week we looked at Matthew 19,

We looked at Jesus loving marriage,

Jesus loving the children and teaching that children can be saved,

and then Jesus taught that with God, all things are possible

With God, and only because of God, because of Jesus who is God, man can be saved

Jesus loves his church

Setting Up

What we slightly touched but did not go in depth on is Peters question and Jesus’ answer at the end

27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Jesus tells us that his church, his people will inherit eternal life

Our salvation is safe and secure because of Jesus and we are blessed in the kingdom of God

But then Jesus ends this section with 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

On earth, in earthly terms this does not make sense

We live in a time where your either a winner or a loser

If you are not first your last

Second is the first loser

If your last, you should just quit

If you are last, you are not good

If you are last, you do have the same talent as others

If you are last, you get less

If you are last, you are undeserving of the trophies, awards, finances, and prestigue as those who are in first

People work their whole lives trying to get ahead, maybe not to get first, but certainly to not be last!

But we are not to take this and apply it as an earthly principle

Rather, it is a Kingdom principle that is further explained in our text today.

If you are able to stand, I ask that you please do so for the reading of God’s word. I’ll read it as you follow along,

“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. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 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?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 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.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”

This is the Word of the Lord - You may now be seated

Explanation

Home Depot analogy

Master - God

He is in charge

He brings into his vineyard whomever he chooses

Vineyard - In Old Testament refers to Isreal (God’s people)

Vineyard is the place for God’s people (church)

Deuteronomy 7:7–9 “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,”

Genesis 12:1–3 “Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””

Hebrews 9:15 “Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.”

First Laborers

picked first out of all - grace

They were not picked because they looked the healthiest

They were not picked because they looked strong

the laborers agreed and felt thrilled

they were ready to work

they understood with all knowlwdge what they were getting into

Secondary Laborers

These secondary laborers are sweting

Not swetting from work, but sweating because they have no work and it is getting later in the day and they have to eat and they have a family to provide for

But the Master comes out again - and he picks them to go into his vineyard

Notice this time he doesnt promise a denarius

What he does promise is to give what is right

Payment Last to be First

The laborers who worked the fewest hours still got a denarius

The Master of the house was showing mercy and generosity towards them

Grumbling

The first workers are looking on, thinking surely they will get more than a denarius

But when they received their one denarius, they grumbled

‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’

Translation - It’s not fair

Translation - You are being unjust

Masters Response

Gentle Correction - Friend

I am just - we entered into a contract, you willingly agreed with me, and I paid just as we agreed

Giving - Master chose to be just and chose to give mercy BUT he was never unjust

Master - Am I not the owner of the vineyard? The owner of the money? I am who I am and I can give as I please

Question - Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.”

Response

Sum of

This parable is really the sum of a lot of what we have been teaching this year

Jesus is the King of Kings

There is a Kingdom for his people

Not everyone on earth will be there

There are those eyes who will never see, ears who will never hear, and will never understand

This does not make God unjust

I hope by now you have slowly but surely seen and come to the conlusion that you are not in control

That God has a plan, a purpose, and a way for us to live - and whether we like it our not

God’s plan and purpose is holy, righteous, and perfect - we live by his standards not our own

This does not make God unjust

Physcial - Even as we look at each other - we see uniqueness - we see different backgrounds - we see different circumstances

And it is easy to say, God - look at what I have done, where is my blessing?

Why is my life not like that other persons?

God, I have been a Christian for however amount of years

God, you are being unfair because I have served you all this time and I am still struggling

Heavenly - Ok, well God, maybe I may not have what the other person in the church has

But one day when I get to heaven - my mansion will be bigger

Maybe I’ll live get to live on Disciple Ave.

This stems from transactional faith

But sharing the gospel does not equal 2 gold coins

And if you close them and they profess faith you get 4 extra gold coins

And then when you house someone you get 1 coin

And everyone gets according to what they have done!

And Jesus in the parable today says, thats not how this works, thats not how any of this works

I will have mercy on some and justice for others

And this does not make God unfair

This does not make God unjust

Grace

Master of the House

Rather what God says is that I am the Master of the House

And because it is my Vineyard, because I it is my money, because I own everything,

I will distribute grace and call you out of the marketplace and bring you into my vineyard

In the marketplace you had anxiousness and worry about getting hired

In the marketplace if you stayed there and was never hired you would surely die

But the Master goes back time and time again to call and bring others out of the market place into his vineyard

It is by God’s grace that any of the Isrealites would be chosen as God’s people

It is by God’s grace that any of us would be chosen as God’s people

This parable is not a parable of fairness but a parable of grace

And the grace of God is not bound to any merit

The grace of God is not bound to a specific ethnic group

But the grace of God is freely given by himself as the master

Masters Vineyard

And in his vineyard - because things do not operate on merit

He distributes justice and mercy

We will never recieve less than what we deserve

But we have first realize and be grateful that if we truly got what we deserve we would not be in the Masters vineyard

Rather, because of our sin and failures, we deserve the wrath and judgement of the master

But out of the masters love for us, out of his grace for us, he makes us righteous through Jesus

That Jesus would be the one to live the perfect life that we could not and willingly die for us!

We are called friend because of Jesus’ work - without Jesus we are an enemy

Jesus is God’s gift of grace to us - and we didnt even deserve that but now we are going to grumble at the blessings given?

Application

Grace as a believer

Grace as a church