Parable of the Vineyard

Good Morning welcome to our online service…

We are in our sermon series entitled, “The Greatest Stories Ever Told.’

In this series we are looking at the parables that Jesus taught— Jesus message was primary about the arrival of the Kingdom of God and how we are to respond to the Kingdom

Have you noticed that emergencies in our lives never happen at a convenient time?

When we lived in Charlotte NC, we as a family would go to this drive-in theater.. it was a great fun..

And our kids loved going not only for the movie but all the fun they had with the other kids.. before the movie started there was always a bunch of kids... gathered at the front of the screen... playing football. There was a-lot of energy expended before the movie — which we as parents loved..

One weekend when we went hadn't been there 10 minutes... When Emma was tackled and fell at just the wrong angle… twisted her leg.... and she was excruciating pain…we decided that it warranted a trip to the ER…and so our plans changed for the night...

and it was a…good thing....because, Emma had a Spiral break from ankle all the way to here hip…and she was in a cast for quite along time..

You can never plan for an emergency!! But when they come they require our full attention.. and urgency…

Today we are going to be looking at the Parable of the Vineyard…

This parable is all about the timing and the urgency of God’s kingdom…and how we are to respond with the right attitude..

Matthew 20:1–15 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?’

.… The parables of the vineyard has a number of layers .. We have the kingdom of God… being described as this relationship between the Master the vineyard and the workers…The master seeks out laborers to work in His Harvest field…

Typically the work day began at 6 am and ended at 6pm…During this one day the master calls choses different workers at various times of the day.. begining at at 6 am and then 9am, ]12 , 3 pm and then Late comers that came in at 5pm.. They all work at different times and then

At the end of the day the Foreman of the vineyard is called to pay the laborers for the days work…

One of the characteristics of the parables is that there is always something unexpected…a twist in the plot . ..

In this parable each of the laborers receives a denarius — wage equal to one full days work… From the workers that started at 6.00 am to those who arrived at 5pm and only clocked for an hour got the same wage…

Those who were hired last would have been astonished to receive twelve times what they might expected but to those who got the same wage it seemed unfair…

The question is..

Why did the Owner on one hand exercise generosity to some and only give what was required to others? The reason.… is Jesus is pushing on our sense of justice of fairness.... Since we are young we taught that to be fair… if you given something share it with your friends… we want equality and justice for all… .. But here is the thing life sometimes doesn’t seem fair…

The reason Jesus tells this parable was in response to a question that Peter asked earlier in the chapter… …Peter had… asked about the fairness of rewards....

What rewards are there for those who have given everything to be a disciple of Jesus?… So , that’s question on the table…

JESUS answers his question indirectly…through the parable…

It is a warning… that God is just ---but his reward system --- might not match up with our understanding of fairness.

T/S What Jesus is concerned with something bigger than Rewards and that is our Attitudes… and motivation…

The parable begins with…the...

1. Masters attitude towards His Vineyard.

In Middle East, harvest time was around September… similar to our harvest season..

and normally grape growers wanted the grapes to mature in the sun as long as possible to get the best flavors from the grapes

and so farmers would wait as long as possible…to the last minute… in order to get the best possible harvest..

. And so when Harvest came there was this short time frame this window where the harvest needed to come in.. — It was time sensitive… and Just like our rice harvest… When it starts… there is no stoping

The Master leaves early in the morning at dawn and he goes to the market place where it would have been common to find day laborers…looking for work...

He finds them ---and together they agree on wages… The master would pay a Denarius equivalent of a full days wage…

Afterwards Jesus sends them into the Harvest.....

The Whole parable takes place in One day… but it actually represents the whole of time.... If your were to take the whole of time and condense it into one day… When it comes to mirco —picture of God’s kingdom..

The master attitude is that the time is short.... and that the harvest is a priority..

In John 4 it is the well know story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman.. Where Jesus broke all the social norms by reaching across the isle to the Samaritans who were hated by the Jews…

Jesus offer her living water where she will never thirst again… abundant life now that continues into his coming Kingdom.

What is amazing is not only does she come to the saving knowledge of Jesus. But, she invites her whole town to come see and hear the message of Christ...…When the disciples saw crowds around Jesus… they said to him — lets take a break … maybe have some food… lets get our energy back.… But Jesus said his disciples I have food that you do not know about…

There must have been that second where the disciple were like — He has been snacking this whole time..

Jesus explains that His food was to do the will of the one who sent Him...

He spoke to the disciples with a sense of urgency....sense of being on a mission.... sent to do the fathers will...

— Jesus.. said to them

John 4:35 ESV

35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.

The master is on a search for laborers -- He is there first thing in the morning… and He continues to call and send workers all through the day.... He is going to thrust them out into the Harvest..

Those who were first called and sent are Israel… they were the chosen people — through Abraham’s seed the whole would would receive the blessing of the Messiah… but it didn’t stop there God — God called and sent the Judges of Israel, he called and sent the Kings of Israel, God Called the prophets…Then God in this last hour has called the church…to bring his blessing into the world... Peter tells us that God has chosen the church

1 Peter 2:9 ESV

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

What does it mean to be called by God? That seems like you have to be a pastor, evangelist, missionary… you need some office or job description… to be called

The word called means to be set aside for a specific work… Every believer has been chosen.. belongs to the Lord… we are not our own… we are his possession… as those who belong to him our lives are a proclaimation… because we have be called out of darkness.. into light.

Andy Crouch wrote this article for Christianity today where he talks about callings of Christian — where we are called to be tug boats not Cruise ships…

When Pam and I were in San Diego at the begining of the year --- we saw these tug boats guiding these massive ships into harbor… Cruise ships are massive structures… when a cruise ship pulls into harbor it is like a miniature city pulls up… Tug boats on the other hand tugboats aren’t especially impressive mechanically or visibly… but they are indispensable… Tug boats are servants they don’t navigate for them selves — they navigate to bring other ships into harbor..

T/S What Jesus is concerned IS not only About Rewards but Attitudes… and motivation…The parable begins with…the...

1. Masters attitude towards His Vineyard

2. Our attitude towards His Work

In the parable the master is looking for workers for His Harvest……Right now we are watching the rice grow around us.. It is beautiful… There is plenty of rice out there… Enough food to feed millions of people.. What happens if it got to harvest time… And the farmers were like --- we think will skip this season? We just check out… this year.... there are other farmers in other parts of the country that can do the work.. Now would that have an impact?? Would that have a ripple effect? It would not only impact our local ecconomy but the world...

The Word Laborer in our text has a wide range of meaning.. it means.

-- to serve, to minster, to strive, to struggle, to struggle together - to toil contending for the faith. to strain to fight. to tug - to strive and make an effort to reach a goal... to fill a position.

Here is the thing about service.. God has multiple callings and opportunities…There are many gifts and calling — Each of us is unique…

The issue is not are you gifted but what is your willingness… to serve…

D. L. Moody aptly observed, “We may easily be too big for God to use, but never too small.”

In the parable...

He has those at 6 am

9 am there were some people still in the market place still not involved.

The master has not finished hiring.. He goes out at 12:00 pm there are others standing Idle doing nothing... loitering in the market place.

He hires them and sends them into his vineyard... He assures them that he will treat them right.

at the end of the day He did the same thing 3pm and 5pm...

What is interesting is at the 5 pm mark --- late in the day… People are still outside the market place waiting for employment… Jesus challenges them.. Why are you still standing around? they answer --- because no one has hired us!!

This is the problem when it comes to calling… We are waiting for someone to call us… Where Jesus ---It’s five pm… there is limited time… I’ll take care of your wages… Get involved in the harvest!!

Don’t wait for voice from heaven… because the harvest is already waiting..

Service comes from attitude of Compassion.

At the high point of Jesus ministry when he was going through the cities and villages preaching and healing diseases..

Jesus saw great need within humanity… He was moved with compassion because of suffering that he witnessed — He saw this cross section of People who were harassed, some helpless, some troubled… some rejected… Different conditions - different circumstances… But Jesus saw the same solution is that they needed a shepherd.. there were like sheep without a shepherd....

Jesus turned to his disciples..

Matthew 9:37–38 ESV

37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Jesus not only saw great need but also gave solution… to the problems..

When I was growing up there we somewhere around 6 billion people on the earth- Today there are close to 8 Billion people on the earth…The worlds population has grown exponetionally… There are 2.5 Billion proclaiming Christians on the earth…

We are living in a time when sharing the Gospel needs to be a priority… in a world that is indifferent to one another — here is an opportunity to reflect God in his oneness..

Evangelism simply means moving outside of your comfort zone.. it maybe sharing the gospel… it may be showing someone some care.. it maybe crossing the room to have a conversation with a stranger or friend… Evangelism is simply being willing to cooperate with God...

When we say yes to God calling we joining Christ himself who is on mission… He is the missionary God Mission Dio — The sending of God…

God has always made the first movement in mission… Evangelism begins with prayer… it is asking for guidance… it is asking Lord who are you sending me too..

The word send laborers means to — thrust out… to be moved from a place of comfort to discomfort..

Theologian Jürgen Moltmann reminds us that the church does not have a mission; rather, the mission has us. And it is the mission of Christ that creates the church.

God has sent himself, and he now sends us. This is the missio dei, the “sending of God.”

So to engage the mission of God is to engage his church; they are inextricably intertwined

T/S What Jesus is concerned IS not only About Rewards but Attitudes… and motivation…The parable begins with…the...

1. Masters attitude towards His Vineyard

2. Our attitude towards His Work

3. God's attitude towards His Reward

… When I was in seminary we would have to do these group projects.. One of my courses was on team building… And so professor saw this as an opportunity for us to work in groups and present our research… One thing I learned about group projects… That it is not always Fair... is that there were those who did the work and others who willing just to come for the ride.. It seems unfair that we would all get the same grade regardless of the amount of effort expended.

It seemed unfair.... But — It wasn’t because we we learning about Team work..

This parable of the Harvest..was in response to a question that Peter question about fairness and rewards... How are we going to be graded??

Matthew 19:27 ESV

27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?”

Peter was one of the first disciples to follow Jesus…He was the first to sacrifice his fishing buisness.. leave his nets and to follow Jesus… We have left everything and followed you. What will we have? What reward will we have at the end of the day...

In the jewish culture this would have been a fair question..

The Lord established laws to cover this principle and judged those who violated it. Wages were to be paid promptly....every single day...

Leviticus 19:13 ESV

13 “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning.

Wages were also... often a source of discontent and dispute between employer and employee. ”

Jacob and Laban had disagreements about wages and twice Jacob complained, “You have changed my wages ten times” (Gn 31:7, 41).

So, it is not an odd question to ask about wages…

Jesus deals with Peters question… By showing us His justice system...

In the evening the manager gathers all of the laborers to give out wages.. Those who come last get paid first… and

You can only imagine as those who had arrived at 6am heard of the generosity of the master —paying those who came at 5 pm … 16X the going rate… How much more would they get for a hard days work..

But instead everyone receives the same wages for the day..

That doesn’t seem right… and they

protested against the master. - they have an argument.. they worked in the scorching heat of the day -they bore the main burden of the work... Why weren’t the rewarded..

The Master reminds them of the agreement they had made..earlier that morning … they had all agreed to one denarius - a just wage take you pay and go...

They got Justice…

b. God's Grace

Picture a circle. Everything in the circle represents justice.

Everything outside this circle represents nonjustice. We tend to think of all acts of nonjustice, everything outside the circle, as unrighteous or evil. But this is not true. Some nonjustice is evil, but there is another kind of nonjustice that is not evil:

GRACE...

The kingdom is about a generosity on a scale and of a kind the world has never seen and can't understand

.The world's generosity is always about earning. It's always tied to a merit system. I put in extra effort on the project, I expect to reap more of the profits.

Grace reveals the goodness of God. Wages reveal human effort. Grace seeks unity and inclusion. Wages make distinctions and separate. Grace just happens. Wages are based on merit. The only precondition of grace is that we show up and open ourselves to receive what God is giving.

God is generous and and fair... Grace is unmerited favor... mercy -- is not getting what you deserve.. there will always be those who question God's fairness.. The master explains that that he has done just by all the laborers... He has extended grace to those in the last hours of the harvest..

Conclusion

God is in control of the His Harvest.. He is the Lord of the harvest.. within the harvest are callings -- He has called us by his grace to be part of His Kingdom work. implies that there are rewards and we will see God's justice.

What would happen if we all had an attitude change.. We started to take our calling and mission seriously in the world… What is need is really a sense of Urgency..

Crisis have a way of motivating us… It is a know fact that we are motivated to do things, even risky things, when there is a crisis.

For example…

Oil workers who work on those offshore oil platforms are strongly urged to not to jump off the oil rigs into the water… for any reason… It is just too dangerous. Even if they could avoid the sharks, they likely could not avoid the inevitable hypothermia that accompanies the freezing water. However there is one exception.

“Never jump into the water,”“unless the platform is on fire.”

With the volatile nature of an oil-rig, workers have a better chance of survival if they jump into the shark-infested, freezing water than if they remain on a burning platform…

Crisis will sometimes motivate us to take risks...

Most of us have an aversion to risk…So if we are going to make changes in our lives..

The discomfort of not changing must be greater than the discomfort of going through the change process.

When it comes to change Facts are not enough. There must be a sense of urgency

We are living in risky days…Not only do we see in that people are further from God today than ever before… We living at a time where Christians are disconnected from God and the Body of Christ .

- We need to ask ourselves as the capital C - church is there a sense of urgency about our message... Jesus parables on the Kingdom of God to help us understand that urgency of our Calling and our involvement in his Harvest.