The First and the Last
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Introduction
Introduction
In this part of Matthew, Jesus is also on His final arrival into Jerusalem. Unlike Luke, who spends nearly 10 chapters on this journey, Matthew only spends 2 chapters here. However, Matthew still has many of the same themes which Luke had in his 10 chapters. The second half of deals with topics of who is entering the kingdom and that it is not those who society typically thinks would enter. In fact, before our pericope here in , we just saw the interaction between Jesus and the rich young ruler.
Jesus pointed out how difficult it would be for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. The disciples (Peter) then responded by pointing out that they had left everything and followed Him, so what will they get for that? Jesus then tells them that they specifically, the 12, will sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel in the renewal of all things, the Millennial Kingdom. And He says that everyone who left things for the sake of His name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eternal life. Then He ends with this verse, which leads into the parable we are studying here:
But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
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.
Matthew 20:1-2
Jesus begins this parable with “For” which means that He is connecting it logically to the previous statement. The previous statement was that, in the Millennial Kingdom, many who are first will be last, and the last first. If then, He is speaking of the Millennial Kingdom, why does He say the kingdom of heaven here? Am I incorrect in the assumption that He is speaking of the Millennial Kingdom in the verses before this? There are just so many clues here that point to it being the Millennial Kingdom. He speaks of sitting on the throne and the apostles sitting one 12 thrones judging Israel. The other key word here is παλιγγενεσίᾳ. This speaks of regenerating or recreating something. One may think that this is speaking of the new heaven and the new earth, but when I think of regeneration, I still think of the same object being renewed. I don’t think of it being completely destroyed and something completely new taking its place.
If this is the case, then, how does the kingdom of heaven relate to the concept of the Millennial Kingdom? Well, we are accustomed to calling it the Millennial Kingdom, but the truth is that the kingdom itself is that of heaven. The only difference is that it is still here on earth and not solely in heaven. Even in the new heavens and the new earth it will be this way, so there is no conflict or contradiction here. It is still the same kingdom; the location is the only thing that differs. It is even so now. The reign of Christ is constantly increasing and increasing until it reaches perfection and completion. It is like a mustard seed which is planted in the ground and is very small but grows very large. However, it is done in stages. I don’t believe that it will increase and increase until it’s completion in this current world. The Word shows us that there are very critical moments which cause His reign to increase in strides (First Advent, Rapture, Tribulation, Millennial Kingdom, Final War, New Heavens and New Earth).
With it pretty clear that we are speaking concerning the millennial kingdom in the previous section, we can move on. Remember, however, that this parable may not necessarily be describing the Millennial Kingdom. Rather, it is Jesus expanding on a principle of the Kingdominion with specific reference to the last being first and the first being last in the kingdom.
So, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. I would liken it almost to going early in the morning to Home Depot to hire workers for a job you have to do on your house. Sure, most of these jobs that we hire them for our for our own home improvement and not necessarily for our provision and income, but it is a similar situation. This landowner is probably relatively wealthy, as he owns a vineyard and he can hire workers for this vineyard. It would bring in a decent amount of income on a good year as it was a highly desired product. They probably weren’t filthy rich, but they would at least be lower upper class. Well, the kingdom of heaven is like this landowner. Is the kingdom of heaven compared to the landowner only, or to the whole story? Well, the majority of the story is actually centered around the owner of the vineyard and his actions, so it very well may be that the kingdom of heaven is compared to him.
He goes out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. This was probably around 6 am, when the sun first came out. He then negotiates a deal with them to work in his vineyard for a day for one denarius. A denarius was a silver coin worth (commonly) a day’s worth of wages. It was a solid wage for the day. It is very much like the picture of going to Home Depot to hire some laborers. They are ready to go, if someone will hire them.
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.
There is plenty of work to be done, so the landowner goes out again at 9 in the morning, about the hours later, and see others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. Again, it is like the workers at Home Depot. If you see them still standing around out there around 9 am, then you know that they are probably still good workers, but not the best of the best, as those are the first taken. Or, if they are not the best of the best, they don’t have the best hustle, but they are still pretty good, as they are still taken in the morning.
How many of you have been picked first in a game on the playground?
How many of you have been picked last for a game in the playground?
Well, they are in the marketplace, the busiest, most bustling of places in town, but they are standing around doing nothing. They aren’t trying to sell anything, or buy anything. They’re obviously looking for work to do then. So the landowner tells them to go into his vineyard, and he’ll give them a fare wage for it. So they go off into his vineyard. The first group had the privilege of knowing exactly how much they were going to make, but this group is just told that they will receive a fare wage. There is no negotiation here. They probably assume it will be 3/4 of a denarius or something like that. They consider it fare, so they go off into the vineyard to work. They will probably be picking grapes or tilling the land, or taking rocks out, or maintaining the watchtower, or keeping watch on the watchtower. There is a myriad of work to do in a vineyard.
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.
He went out 3 hours later at noon, and then another 3 hours later at 3 pm and did the exact same thing. He went to the people standing around and told them he’d give them a fair wage if they went to work on his vineyard. The noon guys probably are thinking they will make 1/2 a denarius, and the 3 pm guys are thinking they will make 1/4 of a denarius. Why? Because this is how the economy works in this world. You get what you pay for. Or you get what you work for. All of the earnings we get are based proportionally on what you have done. But God’s economy is different.
The landowner finally goes out one more time at 5 pm, when there is only 1 hour of work left in the day. This means that a person would probably get 1/12 of a denarius for this work. The landowner asks these men now why they are standing around and doing nothing. He has to be surprised at this, for there seemed to be plenty of work to go around. This means that these laborers were either the worst of the worst, had no hustle, or were just plain lazy. Either way, they do not compare to those laborers who were hired first. So, the landowner asks them why they have been standing around all day doing nothing. They should have been trying to hustle some kind of work, just like the Mexicans who at least go and sell oranges on the side of the freeway. They respond to the landowner that the reason is that no one hired them. They probably were the worst of the worst workers. However, the landowner tells them to also go into his vineyard. Hey, even 1/12 of a denarius is better than nothing. At least they could probably buy a loaf of bread with that money. He doesn’t even tell this group that he will give them a fare wage. He just tells them to go work in his vineyard.
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.
When evening came, probably a little after 6 pm, the owner of the vineyard told his foreman (manager) to call the workers and to give them their pay, starting with the last and ending with the first. In this kind of a work situation, just like today, day laborers were paid at the end of the day, after they had done their work. When, the last ones to be hired, the worst of the worst that were hired for only one hour of work came, they each received a denarius. They received a full day’s wage for doing only one hour of work! Trip out! That would have been amazing and perplexing to them. They would have been tremendously blessed by it.
Additionally, the ones standing by waiting for their wage are probably thinking that they are going to receive double, triple, or quadruple that amount, because they worked a lot more than those folks. In the world’s economy, this makes sense. But God’s economy is different. So, the first ones who were hired are now assuming that they are going to get more, but they also received a denarius each. They were probably asking themselves how this is at all fare. How could they receive the same wage as someone who only worked 1 hour? This is an outrage! They might as well have stood around all day and only worked for 1 hour, instead of 12.
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.’
Sure enough, they begin to complain to the landowner when they receive their one denarius. They are outraged that he made the last men who put in one hour equal to the ones who bore the burden of the whole day and the burning heat. They got the worst of the worst conditions and did very hard work. The last ones probably only had to come in and pick up a few things for the end of the day. How could they get the exact same wage as themselves? They are outraged that they are considered equal to the last one’s who only worked for one hour.
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?’
What is the landowner’s response to all of these complaints? He calls one of them “friend”. It’s probably on the level of saying, “My dear fellow.” It’s not someone who is a close friend, but yet, you are still trying to speak to them a little more personally and amicably. Then he tells him that he is doing him no wrong. There really is no grievance to be brought to the table here, because he agreed with him to give him a denarius for the work he did. He never specified a wage for the other workers, but told them that he would give them what is right. He then tells the man to take what is his (his denarius) and to go, because he wants to give this last man the same that he gave him. In essence, he tells him to stop complaining and to take his wage, and go. There’s nothing more to talk about, because there is no grievance here. Not in his economy.
He wanted to give the last man the same as he gave him. Doesn’t he have the right to do what he wants with what is his? Is he jealous because he is good, kind, gracious, and generous? If this man is getting angry, he has no basis on the fact of his contract. Rather, he is getting angry because the landowner is very generous. He doesn’t feel that it is right. But, the fact is that it is right. Generosity and grace are of the highest of virtues.
Conclusion -
Conclusion -
16 “So the last will be first, and the first last.”
The fact is that God is very gracious. None of us deserve to go to heaven on our own merits, so how could we think that it is our merits that will earn us more in the kingdom of heaven. Rather, it is by God’s grace that He will give us what He wants to give us. There are many people who were first in this world who will be last in that one, and there are many who were last in this one who will be first in that one. There will be many who worked very hard for the kingdom and there will be many who only got to do very little work, and God might give them just the same exact wage, as in this parable.
But the point is that the giving of the wage is completely up to the discretion of God, for it is His riches and He is the giver. So, we must remember that God’s economy is different and put our hand to the plow regardless, and do His work, and do it well.