Matthew 20:1-16

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Introduction

Laborers in the Vineyard

20 “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. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 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?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 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.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 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.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”

If you were here two weeks ago we spent our time in the last half of Matthew chapter 19 looking at Jesus’ encounter with a rich young ruler. This week we continue into the first half of chapter 20, which in many respects is a continuation, or a response, to what happened at the end of chapter 19. If you recall, the last two verses of chapter 19 read like this,

everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

In these two verses Jesus is responding to Peter’s smug and presumptuous question earlier there in verse 27 when he said,

“See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?”

Jesus had just explained to them that the rich young ruler’s possessions had hindered him from entering the kingdom of heaven, that he was unwilling leave everything behind to follow Jesus, so Peter arrogantly chimes in to remind Jesus just how much they had sacrificed for his sake, and then asks him what they will get for it. It’s one of Peter’s many cringe-worthy moments. However, we probably shouldn’t be too hard on Peter since most of the disciples were probably thinking the same thing. Don’t forget, back in chapter 18 all of the disciples were arguing amongst themselves who would be greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
So chapter 19 ends with this refrain there in verse 30,

30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

In other words, you’ve got it all wrong Peter. Many of whom you think will be first will, in fact, will be last, for the kingdom of heaven is not the like the kingdoms of this world. The kingdom of heaven is different, it’s value systems are different than the world’s. While some of you may sit on thrones in authority over the others in God’s kingdom, it will be nothing like those who rule over others here on earth. You will not be not be of any greater value or worth than your brother, and you will be no more “worthy” of the kingdom of heaven than your brother. You will all likewise share in the same gift of eternal life together.
This is why Jesus constantly uses the low estate of children to expose their pride, and their backwards worldly thinking. He intends to reveal to them that they’ve imported worldly value systems to their understanding of God’s kingdom and how it works. They don’t yet understand that the kingdom of heaven is a complete reversal of the world’s value systems. What they observe in the kingdoms of this world is not how God’s kingdom works. For instance, I’ve sometimes heard the kingdom of God described as an upside down kingdom, in other words, a kingdom that’s upside down compared to the world, indicating that it functions in a fundamentally different way.

Laborers in the vineyard

So in chapter 20 Jesus launches into a parable concerning the kingdom of heaven. And if you’ve spent much time in the synoptic Gospels you’ll know that Jesus spends a lot of time using parables to describe his kingdom, and so it is here when he says there in verse 1, “For the kingdom of heaven is like…,” followed then by a parable.
So let’s look at this parable again, verse by verse. I want to spend some time outlining the historical context of which this parable is drawn from, and then spend the rest of our time explaining it’s meaning and application. So read with me again starting in verse 1,

“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. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

Now, at first, this historical context might seem a little strange, but, in fact, it isn’t very strange or foreign at all. In this parable Jesus paints for us a picture of laborers standing out in the middle of a marketplace waiting to be hired by an employer. Now, if your experience is anything like mine most of the jobs you’ve had have been long-term in nature. In other words, you’re hired by an employer for a prolonged period of time, at a certain wage, with certain responsibilities and requirements, and as long as you perform those duties you keep your job indefinitely, assuming the business doesn’t go under or lay you off unexpectedly.
However, as most of us are aware, some jobs are seasonal, they come and go based on certain times of the year. We see this played out on our island with the various fishing seasons. In fact, the jobs usually associated with the fishing industry not only come and go, but those who are a part of the Longshoreman’s Union, for instance, are very much like the laborers in this parable. While they don’t congregate in a local marketplace, they are at the mercy of the local employers. If, when, and how much work they have is dictated by whether or not they get a phone call from a dispatcher. And depending upon how long they’ve been with the Union and what skills they have, they will have a better or worse chance at being first in line for available work. Many of those who work for the Union, at the start, especially between fishing seasons may not even get enough work to make a living, so they find other supplemental jobs.
Brian mentioned the other night around the dinner table, recounting his time in Ethiopia, when he was surrounded by a crowd of men at a local marketplace, who were all waiting for an employer to seek their help. In fact, they were so eager for a job, that they viewed Brian and the shovel in his hand as a threat to their chances. And so it is here in this parable, where laborers waiting for employment in the marketplace.
Now, the three primary crops in ancient Israel, particularly Galilee and Judea, were olives, grains (barley and wheat), and grapes. And in this parable we’re told the landowner is a part of the grape industry, that he owns a vineyard, which was typically used to makes wine.
Now, the owners of these crops typically had their own full time staff to take care of the business, but at certain times of the year they needed additional laborers, such as during harvest time, so the landowners would go into the marketplaces to hire temporary help, which is what we see happening here. And then they would negotiate a wage for that day’s labor with those in the marketplace.
Now, at this time in ancient Israel, one denarius was a respectable wage for one day’s labor. It would have been enough to feed that person’s family for at least a day. So after they agree on a denarius, the owner sends them into his vineyard.

When this takes place

And it’s essential that we notice when this takes place. We’re told that this happens “early in the morning.” The Jews had marked the beginning of their work day at about 6 a.m. and it ran until approximately 6 p.m.. Each hour of the day was referenced chronologically, which meant 6 a.m. was the first hour and that 6 p.m. was the last hour, or twelfth hour.
This is important because we read then in verse 3 that the owner returns again to the marketplace to find more laborers at about the third hour, we read,

3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went.

So, at around 9 a.m., the owner sends more labors who are waiting in the marketplace to his vineyard to work, and says, “whatever is right I will give you.” Then in verse 5 we read,

Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 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?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

So, the owner returns to the marketplace several other times, at noon, 3 p.m. and even as late as 5 o’clock (only an hour before the end of the day), and sends more laborers into his vineyard each time.

We’ve been here all day, and no one has hired us

Now, at this point, I want to highlight what I think is an early clue into the point of this parable. In verse 6, at about the eleventh hour (with only and hour left in the day), the landowner still finds others standing in the marketplace, and he says to them, “Why do you stand idle here all day?” (in other words, they’ve apparently been there all day) and they said to him, “Because no one has hired us”, (so apparently it’s not because they’re lazy and showed up late), so he sends them into his vineyard too. And you get the impression that the landowner is doing this out of compassion for those looking for work.
Now, we could speculate all day about his reasoning, maybe he hasn’t properly calculated the amount of laborers he needs, so he keeps going back for more, or maybe there aren’t enough laborers in the marketplace at first to satisfy the demand, so he’s constantly returning to look for more. But I don’t think either of these scenarios work, because at the end of verse 6 he asks them that very telling question, “Why have they been standing in the marketplace all day?” It’s as if the owner hired the help he needed at the start but went back repeatedly making sure that those who were left had an opportunity to work and get paid, regardless of how late in the day it was. Now, I think owner’s motivation will become clearer as we reach the end of the parable, but until then I want you to keep this in mind.

That’s not fair!

Let’s continue reading there in verse 8,

8 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.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius.

And it’s at this point in the parable that the story is intended to shock Jesus’ disciples - in fact, it’s intended to shock us. Because, at this point, what usually rises up within us is an objection. It’s an objection we’re all familiar with, and objection we’ll see in the verses that follow, and it’s probably a phrase that I hear most often from the lips of my children, but it’s also regularly present in my own thoughts and conversations with others, which is, “That’s not fair!” How often are our thoughts consumed with how unfair are circumstances are? If we’re honest it’s a lot.
But continue with me there in verse 10,

10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 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.’

The laborers who were hired at the beginning of the day were forced to watch, those hired only an hour ago, given an entire denarius for their work, so they immediately assume that since they’ve been working all day, through the scorching heat, they will assuredly receive even more. That is, if the owner is fair of course. However, this doesn’t happen, each of them also only received a denarius. And upon 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.’

Notice precisely what they say, “you have made them equal to us!” All of a sudden the landowner’s generosity is turned into injustice!
Now, imagine something for a minute with me. Imagine that the owner had paid those he hired in the morning first. Imagine that those hired in the morning hadn’t seen the generosity of the land owner to the others who had arrived later. If that had been the case they wouldn’t have grumbled, they wouldn’t complained, they wouldn’t have accused the master of not being fair, because they would have gotten exactly what they had agreed upon earlier that morning - a denarius for a day’s labor.

Grumbling against God’s generosity

What these men are doing is grumbling against the landowner’s generosity! Look at how the master of the house replies,

13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’

If it isn’t obvious already, this parable is about generosity, more specifically, God’s generosity toward sinners, and how, if Jesus’ disciples aren’t careful, they’ll find themselves begrudging God’s generosity, the very generosity of which they depend! All of Jesus’ disciples are fundamentally equal in God’s sight. There are no second class Christians and none of us deserve eternal life more than another, we’re all saved by grace, we’re all saved by God’s immeasurable generosity.

They don’t want to be made equal

However, Peter and the disciples can’t help but be consumed with these ideas of being the greatest in the kingdom, or deserving more status than another because of the sacrifices they’ve made. They don’t want to be made equal with others in the kingdom of heaven, they want an elevated status. They assume the kingdom of heaven is like that of an earthly kingdom, where superiority is desired and one’s value is directly related to one’s status, so they seek superiority and status within God’s kingdom, not realizing that what they’re asking is fundamentally contrary to how the kingdom of heaven operates. This is why Jesus bookends his parable by telling them, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Our dependence upon God

And while the disciples would have seen this as unfair generosity, what we’re intended to see is God’s immeasurable compassion toward helpless sinners. The incredible actions of this landowner is that he adds extra laborers throughout the day even after he’s already recruited all that he needs earlier that morning (6 a.m.). You see, the laborer’s at the market were completely dependent upon whether an employer would come to hire them that day or not. In many respects a slave had more financial security than a laborer at the market, for at least their meals were all but guaranteed. So not only is the landowner in this parable showing generosity to give these men work, who were at the market, but for him to give a full day’s wages to men who started work so late in the day, even as late as the last hour, is shockingly generous.

God is no one’s debtor

So as Christians we must never forget that God owes us nothing, God is no one’s debtor, therefore we have no right to anything. Our life and breath is entirely owing to the grace of God. And if we fail to understand that, we’ll forever begrudge God’s generosity toward others, and unless we become like little children we will never enter the kingdom of heaven. If we treat eternal life as though it’s somehow owed to us, then we’ll end up despising Jesus’ little ones, his own disciples. There are no second class citizens in the kingdom of heaven. For all of God’s people will enjoy the blessing of eternal life.

No superiority

Now, this doesn’t contradict what Jesus said back in chapter 19, verse 28, when he told them that “when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Jesus isn’t saying that their won’t be unique opportunities for service within the kingdom of heaven, but rather, that no matter what, everyone in the kingdom of heaven will receive eternal life. Yes, you’ll have the opportunity for leadership within the Kingdom, but you won’t be superior to anyone else, all will inherit eternal life, everyone will live under one roof. We’ll all live in our Father’s house, we’ll all be a part of that spiritual house, a part of Christ’s body, and adorned as his bride. One day we’ll all sit at the table, together, for the marriage supper of the Lamb at his return.
This parable is designed to level the disciple’s pride, to reorient how they think of the kingdom of heaven. It’s designed to remove all notions of deserving, and to emphasis the grace of God in the gift of eternal life. That the landowner’s payment is not one of deserving but of need, and the disciples are in as much need as any disciples that comes after them.

Closing

And I’ll close with this, a quote from John Calvin, as he so beautifully sums this text up,
“Christ meant … to exhort all men to be modest, not to give themselves the preference above others, but willingly to share with them a common prize. As the apostles were the first—fruits of the whole church, they appeared to possess some superiority; and Christ did not deny that they would sit as judges to govern the twelve tribes of Israel. But that they might not be carried away by ambition or vain confidence in themselves, it was necessary also to remind them that others, who would long afterwards be called, would be partakers of the same glory, because God is not limited to any person, but calls freely whomsoever He pleases, and bestows on those who are called whatever rewards He sees fit.” (Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke Matthew 20:1–16)

Prayer

Guard us against our pride, humble us Lord. Let us not think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. Help us to consider others greater than ourselves, to do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty conceit.
Help us not to begrudge your generosity toward others, let us not be blinded with envy or strife, help us to always remember that we do not deserve your grace, so that we might rightly see your immeasurable generosity in our salvation.
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