Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard

Matthew 20:1–16 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. 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.’ 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. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 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.’ 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?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.”

The parable begins with Jesus introducing us to a landowner.

He says the kingdom of heaven is like this

you’ve got this master of a house who goes out to hire laborers for his vineyard.

Now you’re typical 12 hour workday began at 6am and ended at 6pm.

So in this parable, the master of the house goes out and he hires workers.

these are day laborers. so they don’t have a job, they are in the marketplace and looking for work so they can provide food for themselves and their families.

The master offers them a denarius which is very generous a full day’s wages.

They agree and go to work

Well the master of the house goes back, at the third hour so 9am and hires more workers and this time he doesn’t specify an amount he just says, whatever is right I will give you.

This same thing happens at the 6th hour and 9th hour.

And then at the 11th hour he goes back again this time with only an our left in the work day and he still finds more people standing there still hoping for work.

they too go into the vineyard and work

then the day ends, they all go to collect their wages, but the master commands them to be paid in reverse order.

so those at the front had worked only one hour and those at the back had worked 12.

They’re all lined up and he gives the guys who worked only one hour a denarius, a full days wages.

you can imagine, that this began to spread through the line

oh my goodness, they got a days wages for an hour, we are going to get 12x that.

they get to the front and are expecting more, but they each receive their agreed upon denarius.

Then they begin to grumble and complain we’ve borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.

The master correct them: Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius. Take what belongs to you and go. And he goes on to explain himself: “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?”

In this story, Jesus gives us a picture of God’s sovereign and saving grace.

the master in the parable represents God, whereas the workers represent Peter and other who serve God looking for compensation. The denarius represents entrance into the kingdom/ eternal life itself.

To get the point of this parable, we have to look at the bookends.

Notice in chapter 19:30 Jesus says Many who are first will be last, and the last first.” and he concludes this parable saying, “So the last will be first, and the first last.

This parable is flowing out of the conversation just had with Peter and the disciples.

In chapter 19, Jesus exposed the fact that the rich young ruler loved his possessions more than he loved God or his neighbor.

Peter jumps in saying, “See we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?

Jesus doesn’t rebuke Peter. He actually reassures Peter that everyone who leaves houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for the sake of Christ will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

But then he teaches this parable to correct their idea that service puts God in our debt.

If i serve God, God now owes me something

What Jesus is confronting our works based righteousness and our selfish desire for equity and honor with the stunning nature of God’s grace.

What we learn from this parable is that

Salvation is not earned

See we too often think of heaven as a reward for service. Something deserved or earned for a faithful life.

Jesus is explaining that that is not the case. No one deserves God’s favor.

God’s mercy is not a reward for good works. Heaven is not a prize for service.

Grace is undeserved.

Michael and I were talking yesterday about those old school fundraisers

Sell 5 items → cheap plastic keychain

Sell 20 items → water bottle

Sell 50 items → hoodie

Sell 100 items → video game system

that’s how many Christians think about heaven.

What’s my reward for 50 years of unblemished Sunday school attendance.

or I will sacrifice more or share the gospel more for the purpose of a reward.

Here’s the problem. heaven isn’t God’s reward for our service.

it’s God’s gift to sinners who could never sell enough to earn it.

If we demand a reward to obey God than we don’t love God, we love the reward.

if our focus and motivation to serve is to receive a reward, If our eye is fixed on the reward and not Jesus, then we will be last in the kingdom.

God doesn’t give us a keychain, he gives us himself.

Jesus is the reward.

Now a tension that arises and I feel myself, is why then should we serve God with our life?

We shouldn’t serve Jesus for the sake of rewards that we think God owes us.

We should serve God because he has been generous to us!

Serving God is the evidence of real faith.

And what’s more obedience actually increases our joy.

Obedience doesn’t give you salvation, and so God’s love for you doesn’t change as you obey, but your experience of joy does.

Your capacity to enjoy God deepens as you work not for earthly reward or honors but for the love of your Master who graciously redeemed you.

Is it unfair that me who serves so much gets the same reward of eternal life as the thief on the cross who wasted every moment of his life until his final hour.

And slowly we forget the grace of God. God calls sinners, not the self sufficient.

You see, when the master grabs these laborers from the market he is choosing them to enter into his kingdom.

You and I are the laborers. We only enter the kingdom of God by his gracious choice.

Those laborers did nothing to earn entrance, it was a gracious gift from God. It was received, not achieved.

You and I only have the ability to serve God because he has been gracious to us.

He’s given us the gifts we have to serve him.

He’s the one who out of his own initiative brings us into his vineyard to work for him.

He’s given us more than we deserve.

You were a rebel.

Your sins against God were great.

What you deserved is not eternal life; the wages for your and my sin is death.

But God out of his abundant mercy saves through Christ.

He gives us a greater reward by saving us and making us his.

He deserves all the glory for salvation not you.

When you receive your crown in the throne room, who will be worshipped?

It won’t be you....the cheers and praises will not be wow, that guy did such great things he deserves that crown.

No, The glory belongs to him

We will all be rejoicing in the God who saves us sinners and brings rebels back to him.

so now, if the Lord has saved you, he has called you to be laborers, not loiterers in the Lord’s vineyard.

but don’t let reward be your motivation.

Let God’s love to you be your motivation. He is generous, do not begrudge his generosity. Rejoice in what God has done in saving you and serve him with all that you have for his glory alone.