God's Kingdom

Steven W. Schenewerk

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Matthew 20:1-16

When our son was 3 yrs old his mom and I found ourselves in a dilemma. We would often bring Josh to church during the week and on weekdays he had the entire building to himself. He could play, run, talk, laugh, sing - and no one was there to complain.

Then came Sunday. People were here and there in all the places Josh had been playing most of the week. They expected Josh to be a perfect Pastor’s Kid - seen, not heard, quiet and calmly sitting like the adult he was supposed to be.

The problem: Josh was three. He didn’t recognize the difference between Thursday, Tuesday and Sunday. He knew that we dressed differently, and that people showed up on one day and not others.

Josh violated the unwritten rules many adults had about how to behave ‘in the house of God.’

We met with a preschool specialist who helped us recognize that a three year old really can’t be expected to know the rules of adults or the difference between a Sunday and a Tuesday.

So it is even now many years later. The unwritten rules of the world in which we live are often in direct conflict with the way in which God’s Kingdom operates.

Jesus IS the kingdom. Where He was present, rules were different. Listen to just these few verses from the Beatitudes and remind yourself of how different the principles of the Kingdom are from the ways this world operates:

Matthew 5:1–6 (HCSB)

When He saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. Then He began to teach them, saying: “The poor in spirit are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Those who mourn are blessed, for they will be comforted. The gentle are blessed, for they will inherit the earth. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed, for they will be filled.

Jesus demonstrated the Kingdom of God in various ways.

He shared stories, called parables, that illustrate the nature of God’s kingdom.

He also healed disease, raised people from the dead, stilled storms, calmed the seas all as reminders of how the Kingdom of God is intended to operate.

This parable in Matt 20 helps us understand how differently our world works from the ways in which God’s kingdom is intended to operate.

Right’s Of Ownership

The primary character in this parable is the landowner.

During harvest time additional laborers were often needed to finish the task.

As was true in most villages in that era there were people who needed extra income. They would gather in a central place in the village and landowners would come and hire day laborers.

In this case the landowner hired workers at the beginning of the day. They agreed to work for one denarius - the normal going rate for laborers.

The landowner then hired additional laborers throughout the day. The agreement made with these workers was

Matthew 20:4 HCSB

To those men he said, ‘You also go to my vineyard, and I’ll give you whatever is right.’ So off they went.

All that the landowner does is perfectly legitimate and correct.

The Hour of Reckoning

Finally the work day draws to an end - probably about twelve hours between sunup and sundown.

The landowner begins the process of paying all of the laborers - beginning with those hired last.

Those who worked all day watched. As it came time for them to receive their pay they anticipated that they would receive more than those who had only worked an hour or more.

After all, they must have been talking among themselves - it’s only fair that we who worked all day would be worth more!

As they received their agreed upon wages at least one of the workers began to grumble:

Matthew 20:12 HCSB

‘These last men put in one hour, and you made them equal to us who bore the burden of the day and the burning heat!’

Unwritten rules would suggest that these workers were correct. How could those who had worked an hour or just a few hours be equal to those who had worked all day - bearing the burden of the heat, working for an entire day.

Kingdom Principles

Matthew 20:13–15 HCSB

“He replied to one of them, ‘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 my business? Are you jealous because I’m generous?’

There are several kingdom principles we can see in the landowner’s response:

a). The Rights of Ownership

One of the remarkable and sustaining principles of our republic is the right of ownership.

We may grumble paying to see movies, to listen to music, to purchase books and magazines and so on.

What is at stake is simply this: To read book, to see a movie, to even hear a song requires that someone create the content. That individuals has every right to earn a living from their property.

The way most artists are paid is based on the number of people who see the movie, the number of people who will hear the music, the number of people who will read the book.

The landowner stresses this issue. Those who had worked all day had agreed at the beginning of the day that one denarius was a fair wage.

Now, at the end of the day the workers want to re-negotiate their contract.

The landowner says, Sorry. The agreement stands.

The right of the landowner may not appear to be fair or even equitable.

However the landowner is in the right. The workers should be grateful for the work, for the wage upon which they agreed.

b). The Freedom of the Landowner

Remember the agreement made with those hired during the day - Matthew 20:4

Matthew 20:4 HCSB

To those men he said, ‘You also go to my vineyard, and I’ll give you whatever is right.’ So off they went.

Those hired at the beginning of the day agreed to work for one denarius.

Those hired later in the day agreed to work form whatever the landowner determined was ‘right.’

c). Generosity of the Landowner

Since the landowner has the right to do as he chooses, his willingness to pay everyone the same wage is an illustration of his generosity.

The Rules of God’s Kingdom

At first glance we might want to side with those who worked all day. Isn’t it only fair that they should be rewarded for their labor?

Just previous to this account a young wealthy man chose to walk away from following Jesus because of his attachment to his wealth.

Peter, likely speaking for the entire group of disciples asked a question:

Matthew 19:27 (HCSB)

Then Peter responded to Him, “Look, we have left everything and followed You. So what will there be for us?”

1. God’s Kingdom Encompasses the Entire Universe

Let’s remember who created all that is. Certainly humans have been creative, but humans can only work with that which has been created.

Only God is capable of speaking matter into existence.

Wherever we turn, wherever we might go we are never out of the reach of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus has stilled storms on the sea. Jesus has spoken life into those who had died. Jesus spoke healing into the lives of some at a distance. Jesus as taken a few fish and a few loaves of bread and fed a multitude who were in a place where food was not to be found.

From the backside of the desert, in the belly of a great fish, on a desolate island used as a prison we people encountering the presence of God.

2. Where Jesus is, the kingdom of God is.

Jesus comes into the world announcing that in Him the Kingdom of God is now accessible.

The Pharisees and other religious leaders stumble at this.

Isn’t God’s Kingdom going to come as the One God has anointed rides a white horse, leading an army of angels?

Isn’t the Kingdom going to annihilate the Romans and establish Jerusalem as the center of the world?

And here comes this itinerant preacher - with no place to lay His head, followed by a horde of uneducated, simple-minded Jews having no real ‘education.’

Yet as we know, where Jesus is the kingdom is present.

Where two or three are gathered, the kingdom is present.

3. Looking for the Kingdom

Like Peter looking for some kind of reward, like the laborers expecting a greater rate of pay we often experience the presence of the kingdom without even being aware of it.

As the landowner generously granted even those who worked an hour the same wage as those who labored all day we see evidence of the principle of the kingdom.

When God revealed Himself to Moses and the people of Israel this is the language He used:

Exodus 34:6 (HCSB)

Then the Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed: Yahweh—Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin.

All that God does is an expression of who God is.

His nature and character determine His actions.

Just as the landowner says, God declares - I have the right to do as I wish. Who are you, who are we to question the generosity, the compassion, the grace of God and those to whom He grants it.

UNWRITTEN RULES?

Have you noticed how often we make express ourselves with unwritten rules?

How can they afford to drive a car like that?

When I was a teenager my dad was out of work. Our car wasn’t running. Dad borrowed his uncle’s car - an Oldsmobile 98 - classy, huge tank of a car.

Taking that care to the grocery store and using food stamps was a challenging experience. How dare we depend on government assistance and drive a nice car like that?

Why doesn’t person A know how to behave?

Several years ago we had several kids who attended activities here. They were a handful. They came alone - their parents/guardians sent them to church.

I often heard just how terrible their behavior was, how these kids needed to behave differently. I once was asked - would these kid behave that way at home? After all the reasoning went, adults at home were living just like we did.

So I visited the home. And yes, the kids behaved in their RV just like they did at school, at church, at the store, literally wherever they went!

Finally a few here kind of adopted those kids, caring for them on Sunday’s helping them to learn appropriate behavior.

God’s Grace is Always Free

Ephesians 2:8–10 HCSB

For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.

God’s Grace is His to dispose as He chooses

The apostle Paul reminds us of the depth of God’s grace as he reminds Timothy of Paul’s own background:

1 Timothy 1:12–13 HCSB

I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry— one who was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief.

Since wherever Jesus is the kingdom is real, since we gather on the promise of His presence, we can say without reservation:

GOD’S GRACE IS PRESENT HERE!

Do you find yourself in the need of grace?

It’s free.

God reigns fully and freely.

Will you acknowledge your need of grace?

You can’t earn God’s favor.

Jesus died on the cross, was raised on the third day and ascended to heaven so that God’s grace can be accessible to all-