Matthew 20.1-16

Matthew 20.1-16

The Labourers in the Vineyard

¹‘For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. ²After agreeing with the labourers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. ³When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the market-place; ⁴and he said to them, “You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.” So they went. ⁵When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. ⁶And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, “Why are you standing here idle all day?” ⁷They said to him, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You also go into the vineyard.” ⁸When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, “Call the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.” ⁹When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. ¹⁰Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. ¹¹And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, ¹²saying, “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.” ¹³But he replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? ¹⁴Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. ¹⁵Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” ¹⁶So the last will be first, and the first will be last.’

Another lovely parable causing readers to pause and think!

(I am indebted to de Dietrich for the first part of this reflection).

From the earliest times, people like Philo (the Jewish contemporary of Jesus) and Origen (one of the early Church fathers) warned us that we should not shy away from difficult passages of Scripture, for it is indeed these, that take us to new and wonderful depths. They also remind us to beware against taking them literally, for the end result would be folly.  This is one of those parables, which on the surface seems to applaud injustice. But if one understands the employer as God himself, it takes on a whole new dimension. Everything we receive from God, has nothing to do with what we have done to earn it, all we have is a result of God being merciful to us. So, we are accepted by God, not because of who we are and what we have done; we are accepted by God because of who Jesus is (God incarnate) and what he has done for us. This means that, even the sinner who repents at the eleventh hour will be as welcome as we are. Verse 15 holds the key to the passage where Jesus said: “¹⁵Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” ¹⁶So the last will be first, and the first will be last.’ As de Dietrich states: ‘… those who believe they enter it “by right” run the grave risk of being among the last.’

Matthew records Jesus as ending off his last discourse with a reference to the first and the last and, being focused on a Jewish audience, is the only one to include this parable. We can safely assume that he was directing what he was saying also specifically to the Pharisees, and their literalism and legalism, in repose to their criticism of him for socialising and even inviting tax collectors and sinners to be part of his group – in fact – to be part of the Kingdom of God.

It has nothing to do with economics and business practice!

The landowner went out early in the morning and hired labourers for the vineyard. The workers would have been thrilled to have work for the day. The parable continues that the landowner hired more labourers at 9 o’clock in the morning. He never promised them a full day’s pay but that he would ‘… pay them what is right …’ He went out again at noon and 3 o’clock and again at 5 o’clock. The working day would have ended at 6 o’clock. To these later workers he makes no mention of the rate of pay.

At the end of the working day, the owner sent his manager into the vineyard to pay them all, starting with those who had been hired last. To their surprise, they all received a full day’s wage. While they waited, those who had been hired thought that they were in for much, more – but they too received what they had agreed to. They complained to the landowner, the words of their complaint are important; notice in verse 12. ‘… and you have made them equal to us …’

The landowner explained that he had done no wrong; he had given them exactly what they had agreed to adding (in verse 15) ‘…¹⁵Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?’

The Pharisees and some of the Jews in Jesus’ day thought that there were especially favoured by God above others and that they held pride of place. What Jesus was teaching and doing therefore seemed scandalous to them. The second part of verse 15 includes ‘…Or are you envious because I am generous?’ The New English Bible translates this as ‘… Why be jealous because I am kind?’ Literally, the Greek translates ‘… is your eye evil?’ which is part of our vocabulary today as giving someone ‘the evil eye’  for ‘grudging envy and jealousy.’

We have already established that the landowner represents God and so this parable is all about the abundance of God’s grace. When God is gracious to us, we are humbled and should be deeply grateful, but it is also true that when we see God being gracious to others – and it seems that he is being more generous to them – then we give them ‘the evil eye’ because we think they are underserving.

We are God’s children by his grace; none of us could do anything to deserve this, or earn it, it is all a result of God’s free grace to us; all we have ever done, is receive the gift. Sometimes, being part of the kingdom means enduring scorching heat and burdens, but, as Jesus reminds us, his yoke is easy and his burden is light. We should rejoice when we see others being welcomed in. Meier suggests that

The real problem is that the grumblers harbour envy (literally, ‘an evil eye’ because the lord is generous towards those with no merit to stand on. His generosity is an expression of gracious freedom, not spiteful arbitrariness, while their complaints are an expression of their lovelessness.

Some of my students have asked me if I do not think I have missed out, having become a Christian when I was relatively young. They suggest that they want to go wild and enjoy all the pleasures of life while they can, and it would seem a pity to miss out.

My response is always the same; those who only find Christ later in their lives are the ones who have missed out, for life with Christ is rich and full and meaningful. To find forgiveness and fullness and meaning and purpose, is to find freedom – what Jesus intends for all. Following Jesus and his ways is indeed the way of freedom; following the ways of the world are the ways of bondage and meaninglessness. Like the workers hired later in the day, the landowner found them ‘… standing idle …’ with no purpose. The ways of the lord are not like our ways; we cannot even begin to understand his generosity and love. Meier adds: ‘… those who think they can calculate exactly how God must act are in for a surprise.’

The law of the lord is the way of freedom, and this is why, the longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119, with 176 verses celebrates the freedom that comes from following the Law of the Lord in which delight is found. Before Jesus, the Roman philosopher Cicero also discovered this truth in his statement: ‘… we are slaves of the law so that we might be free …’ Charles Wesley articulates this beautifully in his hymn with the words ‘… my chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose went forth and followed thee …’ The Apostle Paul had freedom as central to his teaching, building on the message of our Lord.

The kingdom of heaven is now and then; it is about richness of life now, and the earlier one comes into the kingdom, the greater the fulfilment and blessing will be. We should never be jealous of those who only come in late, but have pity on them for having missed out on so much and for so long.

Some useful illustrations from www.sermons.com

Generosity Is the Secret to Our Joy

“There is an old rabbinic parable about a farmer that had two sons. As soon as they were old enough to walk, he took them to the fields and he taught them everything that he knew about growing crops and raising animals. When he got too old to work, the two boys took over the chores of the farm and when the father died, they had found their working together so meaningful that they decided to keep their partnership. So each brother contributed what he could and during every harvest season, they would divide equally what they had corporately produced. Across the years the elder brother never married, stayed an old bachelor. The younger brother did marry and had eight wonderful children. Some years later when they were having a wonderful harvest, the old bachelor brother thought to himself one night, "My brother has ten mouths to feed. I only have one. He really needs more of his harvest than I do, but I know he is much too fair to renegotiate. I know what I'll do. In the dead of the night when he is already asleep, I'll take some of what I have put in my barn and I'll slip it over into his barn to help him feed his children.

At the very time he was thinking down that line, the younger brother was thinking to himself, "God has given me these wonderful children. My brother hasn't been so fortunate. He really needs more of this harvest for his old age than I do, but I know him. He's much too fair. He'll never renegotiate. I know what I'll do. In the dead of the night when he's asleep, I'll take some of what I've put in my barn and slip it over into his barn." And so one night when the moon was full, as you may have already anticipated, those two brothers came face to face, each on a mission of generosity. The old rabbi said that there wasn't a cloud in the sky, a gentle rain began to fall. You know what it was? God weeping for joy because two of his children had got the point. Two of his children had come to realize that generosity is the deepest characteristic of the holy and because we are made in God's image, our being generous is the secret to our joy as well. Life is not fair, thank God! It's not fair because it's rooted in grace.” From: John Claypool, Life Isn't Fair, Thank God!

Embrace the Sense of Community

“There’s a play by Timothy Thompson based on this parable in which he depicts two brothers vying for work. John is strong and capable; Philip is just as willing but has lost a hand in an accident. When the landowner comes, John is taken in the first wave of workers, and as he labours in the field he looks up the lane for some sign of Philip. Other workers are brought to the field, but Philip is not among them. John is grateful to have the work, but feels empty knowing that Philip is just as needful as he. Finally, the last group of workers arrive, and Philip is among them. John is relieved to know that Philip will get to work at least one hour. But, as the drama unfolds, and those who came last get paid a full days’ wages, John rejoices, knowing that Philip – his brother – will have the money necessary to feed his family. When it comes his turn to stand before the landowner and receive his pay, instead of complaining as the others, John throws out his hand and says with tears in his eyes, “Thank you, my lord, for what you’ve done for us today!”

God’s justice arises out of a sense of community in which we see the “eleventh hour” workers as our brothers and sisters whose needs are every bit as important as our own.” From Philip W. McLarty, The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

100 Points!

“A man dies and goes to heaven. Of course, St. Peter meets him at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter says, "Here's how it works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good things you've done, and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in." Okay, " the man says, "I was married to the same women for 50 years and never cheated on her, even in my heart." That's wonderful," says St. Peter, "that's worth three points." Three points?"

 He says. "Well, I attended church all my life and supported its ministry with my tithe and service." Terrific!" say's St. Peter. "That's certainly worth a point." "One point? Well I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans." Fantastic, that's good for two more points," he says. "Two points!"

The man cries. "At this rate the only way to get into heaven is by the grace of God!" St. Peter smiled. "There's your 100 points! Come on in!" Traditional