Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
We have been walking through a series entitled “The Gospel in the Gospels”
In this series, we are asking the question, “How did Jesus present the Gospel in His ministry?”
We took the time to look at Jesus’ presentation of the Gospel to people He came across
Now we are looking at how Jesus presented the Bible in story form.
Our topic today is a very important and often misunderstood part of the Gospel.
We are looking at the story Jesus told about workers in a field.
The Gospel
A few critical elements we have established in looking at the Gospel in this series are:
We must acknowledge our sin
We must recognize that only Jesus is a savior and we need Him
We must surrender to Jesus as Lord
All of these are results of faith as we respond to Jesus
I look to Jesus as a savior, because I believe (faith) He died on the cross as a penalty for my sin
I surrender to Jesus because I have faith that He is God and He will guide me in the best path.
The Gospel calls for surrender and humility.
But a part of the Gospel that we have seen in play, but it hasn’t been emphasized is the word ‘grace’.
We can look at the Gospel transactionally
This means that we say, “Jesus you died for my sin, I am a sinner”
Then we say, “Jesus, you are the Lord of my life”
Now, I deserve and have earned Salvation by adhering these two things.
This is not the heart that Jesus calls us to in approaching the Gospel.
If we look at the Gospel as a transaction we have with God, there is no room or understanding of grace.
However, grace is one of the most important aspects of the Gospel.
In the story we are about to read, the elements we have discussed of the Gospel are present, but they are not the main point of this passage.
Pray
Main Topic
Jesus starts out this passage again by saying, “I am going to tell a story about the Kingdom of Heaven
The Kingdom parallels the Gospel
We went into this in detail last week.
The Gospel is the good news that we can be in the Kingdom of God
The Gospel is articulates the pathway to be identified in the Kingdom of God.
Parables
A parable is a fictitious story with a Spiritual meaning.
It is a way of communicating Spiritual truth in a way that people could visualize it and see it in action.
Now, before we dive into this passage I want to say a few things
This is not a parable about fair labor practices
If you are a boss at your job, this is not a model for how you need to operate your work site
This is a parable teaches us an important spiritual lesson
One thing I want to front-load our talk with today is this:
We are conditioned to think that any form of inequity is injustice.
Injustice is always wrong, so we should do away with all that we seem as unjust.
In doing so, we tend to try to fight the battle of equity so justice may prevail.
There is certainly a lot of good that can come from this discussion in our world.
But it is not a comprehensive law that we need to hold to.
This view fails to notice that sometimes inequity is a display of generosity.
Generosity is a good thing and that is what we see in this story.
The Parable
Has anyone ever been on the playground at school when they were picking teams for a game?
I developed into a pretty good athlete, but there were a few ugly years in the development that I was likely to trip my size 14 shoes over lines painted on the floor.
When picking teams, there was one thing you wanted to avoid.
You didn’t want to be picked last.
Being picked last meant that everyone saw you as the worst player there.
It was humiliating.
It was also an indicator that if you were going to play the game, you weren’t likely to see the ball in your hands at all.
You would likely be covered by the other worst player.
Both of you would be open all the time because neither of you knew how to play defense.
But even though you were open, you would never see the ball because…you were picked last.
When Jesus told this parable, he was talking to a reality that these people knew.
Much like last week, all of the people knew the planting process that the sower of the field would go through.
When Jesus told them the story, they all were familiar with the picture.
This story was also something that these guys were likely intimately familiar with.
Grapevines.
Background
There is some cultural understanding that we need before diving into this passage
During the harvest season, there would be numerous vineyards that would all produce their grapes around the same time.
The field owners would need to enlist help to harvest the grapes.
Simultaneously, there would be people who needed money and work.
The people who needed money and work would show up at the marketplace.
It was something of an informal unemployment pool.
The people needing word would show up and hire out the people they needed then they would employ them for the day.
If you didn’t know that background, you might think that the owner of the field went to the mall and started asking people if they wanted a job.
That would sound a bit weird.
But knowing this, it was a normal yearly custom at harvest season to go to the marketplace and get hired.
ILLUSTRATION
So here is a snapshot of what was happening in this story
The landowner looks at his grapevines and says, “It is time to harvest.
I need help.”
He knows where to go get help.
It is in the marketplace where everyone goes that wants to get hired for a job.
So he goes down there at 6:00 a.m. and hires some guys
They agree to work for one Denarius, which is loosely translated to a days wages
He returns at 9:00 a.m.
They agree to work for a fair amount
He returns at noon, then again at 3:00
They know the work day ends at 6:00, but the landowner goes down to the marketplace at 5:00 to get a few more workers.
The day ends at 6:00.
That is the framework for this story.
At face value so far, there is nothing wrong with this story.
There is a little bit I want to read behind the scenes though.
The 6:00 hires
Strong, young, highly productive.
If they weren’t hired by the landowner, they would have been hired by someone else
The 9:00 hires
Strong, and productive.
Maybe not as much as the 6:00 guys, but still able to put in a days work.
These guys had been passed over by all of the landowners looking for work.
The noon hires
These guys are still milling around the marketplace.
They know that the landowners all likely have their crews in place, but these guys are still there because sometimes a landowner comes back and wants to get a few more guys
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