God’s Amazing (and confusing) Grace

Series: The Gospel Truth

Text: Mt 20:1-28

Introduction: (What?)

The grace of God is not fair! How do you react to that statement? In the passage we will consider today we will see God (the landowner) dispensing grace in a manner that most of us would consider to be unfair. What we must remember is that no one deserves God’s grace. God is sovereign and thus does not have to answer to anyone regarding how He dispenses His gift of grace. God chose Jacob over Esau; He chose Isaac over Ishmael, and gave no explanation as to why. In the same way God chooses to extend grace to those whom He chooses.

There are some definitions of grace that have floated around Christianity through the years. One is in the form of an acrostic; “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense”. Another is “Getting what you don’t deserve”. It is interesting that the church, made up of people who have experienced the extreme grace of God in the forgiveness of their sins and the gift of eternal life is often the most grace-less place on the planet. Jesus dealt with the problem in His day. The last verse of chapter 19 sets up the parable of chapter 20.

Examination: (Why?)

1. The Vineyard Workers (vv 1-16)

Mt 20:1-16 “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. 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. When they received it, they began to complain to the landowner: ‘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.’ He replied to one of the, ‘Friend, I’m doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me on a denarius? Take what’s yours and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what is mine? are you jealous because I’m generous? So the last will be first, and the first last.’”

In that day landowners who needed workers to bring in their harvest often went to where people hired themselves out as day-laborers to get workers for the task. The general pay for a day’s work was a denarius. Those hired first agreed to work for that amount. Evidently it was imperative that he get the harvest in before nightfall, so he went back four more times to the day-labor pool and hired more workers, promising to pay them “whatever is right”. At the end of the day they lined up to get their pay. The paymaster started with those hired last. When the ones who were hired earlier saw what these last hire-ees got, they assumed that they would get more because they had worked longer. Sounds fair doesn’t it? However, when they complained, the landowner set them straight. Essentially he said, “It’s my money. I can use it any way I please. And besides, you agreed to work for a denarius.”

In the parable, the landowner represents God the Father. The field is the world, and the workers are those who are willing to be sent into the harvest. (remember Matt 9:38 “38 Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.””)

Understand that the landowner was not obligated to hire any of the laborers. He chose to do it. By the same token, the workers were not obligated to accept his invitation to work. Those who accepted received what the landowner wanted to give them. The application is that God (the landowner) calls those He chooses to salvation. Not everyone accepts the call. Those who do accept all receive the same salvation whether they accepted early or late.

Eternal life is the reward for surrendering to Christ. It is given no matter when in life a person finally surrenders. The thief on the cross got the same eternal life that Abraham, Moses, David and Paul did. In his book “What’s So Amazing About Grace” Phillip Yancey made some interesting observations. “Grace comes from the outside as a gift and not an achievement. Guilt exposes a longing for grace.” And, “The world starves for grace.”

It seems that we are far more adept at passing judgment than we are at dispensing grace.

2. Is it fair for Jesus to die? (vv 17-19)

Mt 20:17-19 “17 While going up to Jerusalem, Jesus took the twelve disciples aside privately and said to them on the way, 18 ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death. 19 They will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged, and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised.’”

On the heels of this parable, Jesus, for the third time, mentioned to the disciples that He was going to be betrayed, condemned to death, mocked, flogged and crucified…but the good news was that He would be raised from the dead on the third day. It is hard to determine if they grasped the cruelty that their Rabbi was about to face. In light of the parable on grace, we must ask the question, “Was it fair for Jesus to die when He was innocent?” The obvious answer is “no”, but I’m not sure that we get it any more than the disciples did. The chorus that I’ve used recently sums it up. “He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay, I needed someone to take my sins away. And now I sing a brand new song, Amazing Grace all day long. Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay.”

Was it “fair” for Jesus to die for something He did not do? Absolutely not! But it was the plan of God for the salvation of all who would surrender to Christ. In our case fairness would dictate that we could not be saved. We sinned, we broke the commands of God therefore we should pay the penalty. Enter GRACE (Jesus). Grace delivers us from fairness and grants us Eternal Life with the Christ who paid our penalty. He didn’t just die for us, but He also said, “Come on to my house and live with me forever.”

3. Be careful what you ask for (vv 20-28)

Mt 20:20-28 “20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons approached him with her sons. She knelt down to ask him for something. 21 “What do you want?” he asked her. “Promise,” she said to him, “that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” “We are able,” they said to him. 23 He told them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right and left is not mine to give; instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” 24 When the ten disciples heard this, they became indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. 26 It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

Almost as if Jesus’s parable had not been spoken the mother of James and John came up to Jesus with a request. She wanted her sons to have special positions in the kingdom of God. Jesus, knowing that the request was actually from these two disciples, addressed them and not their mother. When He asked if they were able to drink the cup that He was about to drink (martyrdom) they naively answered, almost smugly, “We are able.” Jesus told them something that should have sent chills up their spine. “You will indeed drink my cup.” James was martyred for his faith in Christ and John was exiled and lived the latter years of his life in isolation.

Upon hearing this interchange, the other 10 disciples were indignant. I think I would have been also. But Jesus, ever grabbing the “teachable moment”, emphasized again that the greatest glory goes to those who suffer the most for Christ. (McA Study Bible) Jesus gave Himself to satisfy (ransom) the wrath of God against sin. So also those who aspire to be great in God’s kingdom must serve others and give themselves up for the sake of others.

Application: (How should I apply this to my life?)

Have you responded to the grace of God by surrendering your life to Christ? You can’t negotiate your way into heaven, you only get there by accepting the invitation of Christ ON HIS TERMS which means Forsaking All I Trust Him.

Have you sought honor in the church by seeking a highly visible position rather than following the example of Jesus and giving yourself in service to others? Then today you need to humbly bow before Him and say, I’ll do what You want me to do.”