THE LABORERS IN THE VINEYARD: Grace Isn’t Fair

Sermon Text: Matthew 20:1-16

>>Let’s stand for the reading of God’s Word

Matthew 20:1–16 CSB

1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the workers on one denarius, he sent them into his vineyard for the day. 3 When he went out about nine in the morning, he saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He said to them, ‘You also go into my vineyard, and I’ll give you whatever is right.’ So off they went. 5 About noon and about three, he went out again and did the same thing. 6 Then about five he went and found others standing around and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day doing nothing?’ 7 “ ‘Because no one hired us,’ they said to him. “ ‘You also go into my vineyard,’ he told them. 8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard told his foreman, ‘Call the workers and give them their pay, starting with the last and ending with the first.’ 9 “When those who were hired about five came, they each received one denarius. 10 So when the first ones came, they assumed they would get more, but they also received a denarius each. 11 When they received it, they began to complain to the landowner: 12 ‘These last men put in one hour, and you made them equal to us who bore the burden of the day’s work and the burning heat.’ 13 “He replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I’m doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me on a denarius? 14 Take what’s yours and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what is mine? Are you jealous because I’m generous?’ 16 “So the last will be first, and the first last.”

LET’S PRAY.

PRAYER / BE SEATED

PARABLES

Just the other day…(@ Teen Challenge with Flip Benham, he shared…)

“If you want someone to know the truth, you tell them!”

Dear brothers and sisters, we are living in a day that is starved for the truth, aren’t we?

2 Timothy 4:3–4 CSB

3 For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. 4 They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.

We need men of God who will preach the Word of God so the people of God can do the Work of God! God give us some men who have been set free by the truth…transformed and set on fire from Heaven by the truth!

“If you want people to know the truth, tell them. If you want people to LOVE the truth, tell them a story!” (Andrew Peterson)

Jesus - the WORD IN FLESH - wanted to reveal to those that were following Him, not just a knowledge of the truth, but a love of the truth and the TRUTH GIVER.

Parables teach us on many levels.

Jesus drew such large crowds when he taught. Matthew’s & Mark’s gospels show us that Jesus used parables almost every time he taught in these settings.

Pastor Chip used that wonderful definition of a parable - a story with earthly imagery that has heavenly meaning.

We understand so much about these parables now…BUT REMEMBER…

at the time of Jesus - when he shared these stories loaded with all kinds of meaning and texture - when he shared them, the scripture records that many people (INCLUDING HIS OWN DISCIPLES) were confused and surprised.

Many of the parables are about the KINGDOM of GOD - which is bigger than the moment of time and space that He is occupying at that time.

And WHILE WE’VE COME A LONG WAY in understanding both the meaning and applications of these parables…

MANY OF US ARE STILL STRUGGLING TO THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT THE WORLD AROUND US.

WE STRUGGLE TO “THINK KINGDOM” as my church-planting friend, Pastor Antoine, likes to say.

Jesus loved the Scriptures - in a very real sense, He was the WORD robed in flesh.

Jesus wanted his disciples and to know the truth!

Jesus wants US to know the truth!

…so He (the Way, the Truth, and the LIFE) tells us the truth!

Jesus wants His disciples to LOVE the truth!

Jesus wants US to LOVE the truth…SO, he tells us a story.

NOTES about the STORY.

This parable is only recorded in Matthew's Gospel.

It tells the story of a vineyard owner hiring and paying for work in his vineyard. 

One key to understanding the parable is found in the first verse, when Jesus says, “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner…” 

- In Jewish parables, authority figures like a wealthy landowner typically represent God.

This parable is a way for Jesus to illustrate something about the kingdom of God.

From the beginning to the end of the parable, the master’s actions are saturated in grace.

Let’s recap:

A landowner goes out into the village to hire workers.

He goes early in the morning to get those who are there to start the day well.

He gets a stash of workers - but this is NOT THE TOTAL AMOUNT HE’LL NEED. He promised them a denarius = day’s wage for work in that century.

He goes back 4 more times. Getting workers all the way into the 5 o’clock hour. These workers could literally only work for an hour.

He makes an agreement with each group of workers - a day’s wage for working for him.

They are not yet aware of what the Landowner has promised to the others…they’re just blown away that they get to work!

In verse 8, the evening comes, the landowner calls the foreman to gather the workers and give them their pay.

He starts with the last. The most recent hires, and ends with the first.

Everyone got what was promised.

The ones who came first, were not happy - they felt it was unfair.

But the labor dispute concludes quickly with the landowner reminding them that He put them all to work and rewarded them all just as he had promised.

INTERESTING TWISTS

There are a couple of interesting things that are “out of the norm” with this parable. One noted historian points out:

The owner hiring the workers directly is out of character.

usually the owner would concern himself with this level of detail.

the owner would instruct the steward to get the work done…and the steward would handle it. Most owners weren’t interested in this level of direct interaction.

The owner hiring 5 times throughout the day

does the owner not know how many employees he needs?

JESUS does this with these parables, though. He inserts the smallest detail into what otherwise seems a normal cultural account and it gives layers and texture and richness to it!

Jesus’s statement in verse 1 tells us that the kingdom of heaven is like a vineyard with an owner who is intimately involved in the day-to-day operations of what happens and that He is continually seeking out more people to fill the kingdom!

Let’s take note of a few things that can speak to us, still today as we labor in the Lord’s vineyard together.

1. NOTICE THE UNEXPECTED FAVOR for the later workers (6-9)

Uncommon, Surprising

As the parable unfolds, you’re probably blown away at the incredible fortune of the later workers who get a full day’s wage - when they didn’t labor a full day.

But you might be interested to discover something about these day workers.

Day Workers: As a result of heavy taxation, high debt, and scarce resources, peasants in Jesus’ day were forced to hire themselves out on a daily basis.

Only the truly fortunate had more permanent means of employment.

These were all already down-and-out, struggling.

That any of them could find work was incredible…but THEY DIDN’T FIND THE WORK…THE WORK FOUND THEM, WHEN THE LANDOWNER CAME TO THEM.

WHAT GRACE!

That these outsiders from the vineyard were able to get in at all…was astounding!

And then, back to those 5 o’clock workers, to be so desperate for work that you would stand all day, having been passed over all day, but knew that even an hourly pay was better than none…

to be in this group of people,

to be selected by the landowner

to be allowed to labor

to be paid a full day’s wage

WHAT GRACE!

No wonder they call it amazing.

>>My dear friends, beloved. SOME OF US NEED TO REVISIT IN OUR MINDS - THAT MOMENT WHEN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST SAVED US!

Andre Crouch wrote a song years ago,

Take Me Back, Take Me Back Dear Lord

To the place where I first received you

Take Me Back, Take Me back dear Lord

Where I …first believed.

If for some reason you and I are tempted to forget that

Ephesians 2:8–10 CSB

8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—9 not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.

John 6:44 CSB

44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.

I hope that you and I are still blown away that THE KING OF GLORY has CALLED US INTO HIS KINGDOM!

What GRACE!

But it wouldn’t be churchy without conflict, would it?

ON the heels of such favor, there is offense.

2. NOTICE THE UNREASONABLE OFFENSE of the longest workers (10-13)

Matthew 20:10–13 CSB

10 So when the first ones came, they assumed they would get more, but they also received a denarius each. 11 When they received it, they began to complain to the landowner: 12 ‘These last men put in one hour, and you made them equal to us who bore the burden of the day’s work and the burning heat.’ 13 “He replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I’m doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me on a denarius?

“IT’S NOT FAIR!” “THIS ISN’T RIGHT!” “THIS JUST DOESN’T FEEL RIGHT!”

THEY WERE THINKING WRONGLY: “they assumed they would get more.”

Why did they assume that?

They had a clear communication and promise from the Landowner.

When they put their eyes on OTHERS, it affected their thinking

THEY WERE MEASURING WRONGLY: FAIRNESS

Often, we bring our view of fairness and try to force that on God. That’s a problem.

THIS concept of fairness is based on the idea that I am owed something in comparison with others.

I want my fair share. That’s what fairness is based on.

By the way, this view of FAIRNESS is a big stimulant for Legalism.

Legalism is always demanding its rights. It wants to bargain with God.

Adrian Rogers says, “if you bargain with God, you will cheat yourself.”

If we carry this a little bit further:

Is it fair that a criminal on death row who trusts in Christ the moment before his execution should receive the same eternal inheritance in heaven as someone who never experienced a day in which he or she did not know and love and seek to follow the Lord?

Do we really want what’s fair?

REMEMBER: According to Scripture, everyone deserves damnation; no one deserves salvation. With this in mind, we should be thankful that God is “not fair”—that is, he does not give us what we deserve. We undeserving sinners are given more than we deserve

THEY RESPOND WRONGLY: COMPLAINING / GRUMBLING

The word complaining is also rendered “grumbled”.

Remember Israel’s grumblings in the wilderness? Jesus uses the word to make an important thematic connection (and correction!):

DO NOT BE like the exodus generation, which was saved from slavery, from the rule of Pharaoh, and from the Red Sea, only to die without inheriting the promise.

Those people died because they never got past their grumbling.

They were never grateful for grace.

If we look at all of the references to grumbling in the Bible, we will realize that, to God, grumbling is as deadly a sin as adultery or murder.

The grumblers’ camp is not a good camp in which to be, as is made clear by various admonitions in the New Testament (see Phil. 2:14; James 5:9; 1 Pet. 4:9).

Philippians 2:14 CSB

14 Do everything without grumbling and arguing,

James 5:9 CSB

9 Brothers and sisters, do not complain about one another, so that you will not be judged. Look, the judge stands at the door!

1 Peter 4:9 CSB

9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining.

The essential point of the parable is that God is like that; his generosity transcends human ideas of fairness. No-one receives less than they deserve, but some receive far more.

R. T. France

There is a group here that is offended, because the newcomers have it so good.

By the Lord’s kindness, we are engaged in a church plant in Charlotte, NC. But I did pastor an established church for nearly 5 years before planting and served for 10+ years as an Associate Pastor at a 25 year-old church.

I imagine at a work like East Valdese, there is a temptation by some of the folks who have labored so long and hard through the years, who made it possible for many of us to enjoy what we’re enjoying now…I imagine there is a temptation to grumble and complain at times.

Don’t do it. You are aligning yourself against the LORD when you join the camp of the complainers.

I imagine that the newcomers can also be tempted to complain about one thing or another when they don’t fully appreciate the history of what’s been here before…

Don’t do it.

Adrian Rogers would note,

It is better to start and to serve lovingly all day, but it is never too late to start.

If there are some of you here and you feel like, you know, “I’ve wasted my life. I’m getting up in years. I’m sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety. It’s the eleventh hour for me,”

I’ve got wonderful, wonderful news for you: our Lord is calling you into His vineyard.

Listen, friend, it’s always too soon to quit, never too late to start. Does that speak to somebody’s heart here tonight? You’ve been sitting idle all of your spiritual life, and the Lord of the vineyard is calling you tonight

All of us need to focus on the LORD and the WORK THAT HE HAS CALLED US TO DO!

Whether you got in early, or last week was your first!

3. NOTICE THE UNMATCHED GRACE of the master (1-16)

Remember, this story is about the Kingdom of Heaven - not equitable employment labor union agreements.

Jesus is saying, this is the way God runs His Kingdom.

But God doesn’t deal with fairness. God deals on the basis of justice and mercy.

He said, “Look, it’s mine. I can do with it what I will.” You see, God is good. God is merciful. But you can only receive mercy after you agree with justice. Justice is God giving us what we deserve. Mercy is God not giving us what we deserve. Friend, grace, that we heard about, is God giving us what we do not deserve. And I’m so grateful for God’s grace. God showed grace to these people who came at the eleventh hour into the vineyard.

This grace is costly for the owner because he is spending a great deal of money for an unequal amount of effort put forth by the workers. Yet as he responds to their objections, “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?” (Matthew 20:15).

Later Jesus would tell Pilate, my Kingdom is NOT OF THIS WORLD!

I doubt very seriously that we are offended by the miracles of Jesus.

But there are times, if we’re honest, that we might be offended by the grace of God. One writer says that, “This parable might be The strongest statement on the grace of God found anywhere in the New Testament in parable form.”

Jesus is illustrating a point: the kingdom of heaven will operate in a manner consistent with this parable…the operating principle in God’s kingdom is grace.

The rich don’t have an upper hand - Chapter 19 brought us the rich young ruler: he thought he would slide right in.

The last workers here probably point to the disciples - go left their “nets”, forsook all to follow Jesus.

Grace cannot depend on merit or else it is not an unmerited blessing nor is it free.

No one will ever receive less than what’s right, but some will receive far more…that’s just how grace works.

Many businesses use “key performance indicators” (KPIs) to track an employee’s job performance.

These KPIs are also used to determine whether someone should receive a raise, promotion, or be put on a performance plan to help them do a better job.

Though it’s an understandable business practice, KPIs are contrary to grace.

For the follower of Jesus, if we’re not careful we can start viewing the worth of people—inside and outside the church—based on what they offer or their abilities or status. KPI isn’t Kingdom.

We need to view people through the lens the owner of the vineyard uses: grace.

That’s how God sees you this morning, beloved through the lens of this Scandalous, Unfair, Unmerited Grace!

—Christians to repent for looking at others more than Jesus.

—Lost - whether it’s early or late in your life, the Master has come to call for you…and great is His reward!