A Lesson About Justice and Grace

Laborers in the Vineyard

Read Matthew 20:1-15

Does anyone know how long the typical Jewish work day was?

12 hours 6:00 am to 6:00 pm usually. So the men hired at the beginning were probably hired before 6:00 am.

How much did they agree to get paid?

1 denarius a day. These were good wages for a day laborer, who were notoriously underpaid. A household servant or full-time employee made 1 denarius a day, as did a Roman Soldier. The denarius was a silver coin worth and is derived from the Latin word for ten as it was equivalent to the worth of 10 donkeys.

How many more times did the landowner go back to the hire laborers?

4 more times. At the 3rd hour, the 6th hour, the 9th hour and the 11th hour.

Notice verse 3 it says the men were standing idle. In verse 6 the land owner asks the last group, “Why do you stand idle all day?” What do yo think is meant here by idle?

We often think these men lazy or indolent. In fact we don’t know that. They were idle because no one hired them. Maybe they were old, inform, weak, or otherwise not less suited for the hard work done in the field.

What is interesting about the landowners language with the last four groups of men hired?

“Whatever is right I will pay you.”

At the end of the day, how were the laborers paid?

Before the evening. In reverse order. See Leviticus 19:13 and Deuteronomy 24:14-15

It is interesting to see that the guys only working 1 hour got a denarius, the men working three got a denarius etc. I can only imagine that the men working the full 12 hours were expecting to get paid more.

What happened when the men hired first got paid?

They became jealous and thought they had been cheated, it wasn’t fair.

Why do we tend to be so concerned about fairness that we become jealous when God is generous to someone else?

What would happen if God treated all humans as we truly deserve to be treated?

What is the main point Jesus is making here in Matthew 20:1-15? Is Jesus making a point about how we should run businesses and relationships today, or is He just referring to the way God runs the business of Salvation?

Look at verse 16

The point is the idea of a dead heat. In a race for example the only way for the last to be first and the first last is if everyone finishes at the same time. And that is exactly the point. All of the men hired got exactly the same pay. All of them, from the first to the last, got the full benefit of the landowner’s generosity, in equal share.

What Spiritual lesson is woven into this story?

This is a picture of God’s sovereign grace. All sinners are unworthy, and God’s riches are inexhaustible, all believers receive and infinite and eternal share of his mercy and kindness, though none of us deserve it. And this is exactly the point of the parable. The day of work is there lifetime, evening here is eternity, the foreman or steward could represent Christ (notice who is actually handing out the money and making the determination as to the amount, it is the foreman or steward), the landowner represents God the Father, and the denarius is eternal life. Also take note that the wage they recieved they did not “earn” A denarius for a days labor was an exhortation amount of money. This payment represents a gracious gift, a lavish endowment that exceeds the best reward any day worker could ever merit. The point here is that a genuine believer receives the full benefits of God’s immeasurable grace, just like everyone else in God’s kingdom. None of us are more worthy than anyone else. It reminds me of Romans 9:15 where Paul is quoting Exodus 33:19 where Paul states “For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will compassion on whom I have compassion.” None are worthy mercy, and have not earned a wage. Whomever Christ chooses to grace with is mercy is equally as vile and undeserving. That is the beauty of the gospel, a Holy God intercedes on behalf of an unworthy people and atones for our sins despite our hatred of him. That is true love.