Generosity In The Kingdom

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 (one days wage), 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.”

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Additional Content

Initial thoughts:

Story Summary:

An owner of a vineyard went out throughout the day looking for workers. At various hours, he called those who were idle—many seen as lazy, useless, or overlooked—and invited them to work without question. Regardless of the hour they began, he agreed to give each worker one full day’s pay.

When evening came, those who had worked all day became jealous and questioned the owner’s generosity. Though they had agreed to the same wage, they felt wronged when others received equal pay for less time and labor. The owner made it clear that his generosity was not determined by their opinion, effort, or comparison with others, but by his own free will and authority.

Story Principal:

Generosity in the Kingdom is determined by the King.

The King determines the reward.

The King calls all kinds of people at different starting points. [He Calls The Workers]

Spiritual Transformation Begins With the King [He Calls The Workers]

Spiritual Labour begins with the King’s Call, we are all idle until he calls, we can not labour in the vineyard/harvest unless he calls. [He Owns The Vineyard/Lord of the Harvest]

When he calls, we must go!

Reward in the Kingdom is not received because of time spent or workload, but by willingness and obedience — I know the reward, I am called and willing to go, and so I do.

Kingdom ethics are contrary to the world’s. The generosity of the King confronts what we believe we deserve and goes against our sinful nature.

The Owner test’s the hearts of his workers by paying the last first.

The Owner is fully just in his reward, he does not offer more or less to anyone, even though he would be right to do so because it is his reward to give.

Jealousy will always kill the joy of the reward.

Jealousy in this story is a translation from something like “is your eye evil/envious/begrudging” Is your eye making you bitter?

It stems from believing we are better, more deserving, or more worthy. This belief is unfounded, and based off an assumption of our understanding of the owners generosity.

Grace is the basis for the owners generosity, not merit, status, worth, work ethic.

When this happens, our work, our life, and even our reward become the idol.

Jealousy skews equality is a judgement based off a unique scale, I suffered and endured more so i deserve more. It is antithetical of the gospel and grace.

Despite their jealous hearts, the owner speaks kindly to the workers “Friend, companion, coworker in the very same endeavor as us all.” This word is used in reference to the jealous, the betrayer (Judas), and those who refuse God’s grace. His kindness does not change in light of a stubborn/sinful heart.

Jealousy makes us believe that the work we are doing is different than that of the other laborers, our work is better and deserves a greater reward.

Jealousy makes us believe we deserve and have a right to what is not ours.

Story Topics:

Kingdom Generosity/Grace

God’s Grace is liberally applied- True Generosity is not measured carefully but it poured out on all who come and believe. God’s grace is poured out in such a way because he has an abundance of grace and goodness. it cannot be measured. God’s grace is poured out equally on all believers, willingness to come and receive is the way in which believers receive this grace.

God sees those in need and calls them to receive his grace, he calls them to follow him into the fields and live/work under his generous care. Obedience naturally follows when an individual places their faith in God, trusting that what he promises will be given. When we know God is generous we live our life working for him.

He knows our needs, he knows our families needs, he knows our neighbors needs. When we receive God’s grace we become an extension of his grace to others. Just as the workers had families who needed/greatly benefited from the wages paid, so to do others benefit from the grace we have been given.

Just as the men went out into the marketplace seeking to provide for their families, Men i expect you are doing the same! God si calling you into his fields, he is calling you to recieve his grace and provide for your families! so recieve his grace, let him pour out his goodness on your life and then let him transofrm your life! let him work sucha powerful work in your life that the grace you have been given spills over into the life of your spouse, into the lvies of your children, into the lvies of your grnadchildren, your co workers, your neighbors, evne your enemies! Men God is calling you to wokr for him, are you going to remain idle in the marketplace or trust him today! Men stand Up, no not just metaphorically, like right now in this mooment stnad to your feet! God is calling you to make a change, God is calling you to set the example for your family! God is calling you to experice his grace, to be forgiven of all of your sins, to follow Jesus, to change others lives by leading them to Jesus! I’m afraid the men in this generation are to busy being idle in the marketplace, that they are ignoring the good call of God on their life! So my question to you as you are standing right now, are you going to stand for Jesue? Are you going ot accept the call of God to recieve his grace, to live your life with purpose and go to your homes and to your families and to your neighbors and friends and bring them to the marketplace so they can hear the call of God on their lives?

Men, Women, Youth, Children in the same way, God is calling you to put your full trust in him today! there is no limit on his goodness, there is no stipulation of work that needs done in order to come! If you are idle, if your life has no direction, if you feel as you are getting nowhere then accept God’s genrous call to come into his vinyard and work for him! He is good and the purpose he calls you to is good!

His purpose for your life is to be a light! to go into the world, into your jobs, into your frined groups, into the pig barns, and onto the sports fields, to go to the literal farm feilds and tell everyone about his goodness! to not only live in his goodness and show others what it looks like for someone to live their life with a blessed purpose, but even more so to share with them about the owner who is gracious and generous.

I wonder if the workers that day who came at the last hour went home and told their families of the owners genrousity…or did they just keep it to themselves. I wonder if the next dy they went back into the marketplace to look for the owner, and when they saw him coming they gathered all their firends and family who could work…i wonder if they said to them “this owner is so generous! He is so good! you have to see it for yourself! get ready and come with me, I jsut know he is going to call you to work just like he did me!

Christian, if God has been generous to you, do you still live complacent lives? are you no longer going daily to the marketplace waitign to be sent by the owner of your life? are you daily wasting the very good gift that he has given to you? are you squandering his gift, are you refusing to be a light, maybe not actively but do your actions show that you are no longer laboring in the very fields God has called you into?

Kingdom Reward

The Reward is God’s goodness and grace, which covers all the needs of a believer. He lacks nothing, He wants for nothing.

Forgiveness, peace, joy, reconciliation, happiness, assurance. All these things and more are given to the believer.

Man’s Jealousy

The jealous workers lived with a false understanding of generosity. They believed their Merit warranted them a greater reward. they lived by the worlds standards, you work hard and you get more…but the kingdom does not operate in this way.

God promises the same reward for all people! Our work and merit is a response to his goodness and generosity. When we know He is fair, just, and generous we will work accordingly. The reward has already been set, and it ha already been told to us, it does not matter when we begin the work but that we begin the work in the first place. Receiving the reward depends soley on our willing enss to come to the fields and work for the owner, trusting that he will honor his word and give us what he has promised.

When we live jealously like these workers, believeing we are due more than others we beign to gat ekeep salvation, putting limits that the onwer of the vineyard never set. we begin to say unless you work as hard as i do, or think like me, or act like me, or dres like me, etc you cannot revieve the reward. but the call to salvation is not something that we control, he calls whoever he wants. Jealousy keeps people outside of the church doors for fear that they might recieve what we think we desreve more than they. But grace is for God to show, and according to his wrod, his call is for all people, it is a call for all to come to salvation, for all people to floow him, for all people to reicve his grace, to liet the gospel transform their lives and equip them for the work he has for all bleiivers.

Jealousy will strip the reward of all joy, and it will leave you miserable and just as idle and useless as you were before you accepted God’s call to follow him into his vineyard.

Jealousy mkes your work, your reward, your life the idol. When that becomes your focus youno longer find joy in the work God has called you to and you no longer find joy in others coming to faith. Church becomes more about you recieving a word, a feeling, an emotion, rather than you coming before God grateful, full of joy, for the reward he has given to you. Church becomes less about a family celebrating Jesus, the gospel, and the work it is doing in the lives of others. Jealously leaves you in the field, hating the work and dfespising the reward over time. people like thes tend to weaponize the gospel because they no longer find it good. they despise the zeal and exitement of new believers especially, and they begin to stifle the sprit they recieved. they are legalists and cumudgens and are useless in the kingdom.

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