1-28-11
PARABLE OF THE
Mat 20:1-16 “For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.”
-Jesus
The labor that the laborers had done in the vineyard was not supposed to be to the glory of themselves. For if it were, then these who were in the vineyard first would have been rewarded more than those who came last. The laborer gets angry with the Goodman, his lord, but the lord rebukes him, saying “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?” That is a pretty strong rebuke from the Lord. The labor in the vineyard is not about the laborer but about the householder, their lord, the Goodman who does whatever he pleases. Just like God in heaven doing whatever He pleases. It is to his glory, so too with Christians, it is not about our labor we are doing for the Lord, as we should expect some great gift from God or something, it is about Him and His Kingdom, His glory!
There is NO partiality with God. God gave to the men who have “borne the burden and the heat of the day” and those who worked for a short time all the same pay. This may seem unfair and even contradictory to other stories in the Scripture that speak of getting rewards and being given according to how much you labored. But I think God puts this in here for a very special purpose, I think the Lord is evening out the Scripture putting this in here. To bring in some humility where there may be much focus on rewards etc. God makes it impossible for the flesh to boast.
This is also in complete opposition to how the world works here, the Kingdom is very contrary to our world we live in. Think about how it works at your job. Those who have been “laboring” or working there the longest get the biggest pay check. Those who have only been there for a short while get paid little, and as they progress, as they work over time the pay goes up. The people who have been there the longest also seem to have the greatest favor with the “householder” or boss. Well, this is not how God works J. With God there is no partiality. Someone who has just begun working for Him, and someone who has been working for Him for years are both precious in His eyes and neither is glorified above the other if they are both obeying and walking with Him.
God keeps us humble. Believers that have been walking with the Lord for years gain a new brother. They are able to receive him with meekness and humility knowing they are no better than he is. God even says that “the last shall be first and the first last.“ So knowing this in itself can keep us from being puffed up about the time we have spent laboring for the Kingdom. It is all about the Kingdom and love for the brethren.
I think of the thief on the cross next to Jesus, how Jesus said Today you will be with Me in paradise. This thief got saved! He repented, (he agreed with how wretched his sin was, how deserving of the cross he was and how undeserving Jesus was of such a death turning from his wicked thoughts that got him there to begin with), and he reproved the works of darkness even. But he didn’t have any time to labor for the Kingdom. But He got the only thing he could ever want, that anyone could ever want whether laboring for a short or long time, to be in paradise with Jesus. The penny was Jesus, in a sense, as well. We who are born again will all get the Penny, no more, no less, He is all we want, all we need. This creates a desire to labor all the more!
I find it interesting the householder agreed with the first laborers on how much they would make, a penny. The next laborers to come in though, at all hours, being added, did not even agree to a certain payment! They were thankful, glad to be hired! They didn’t care what the payment was, it was something! They knew they had nothing. I think these were desperate lost people, they were called and they just came. It reminds me of the people in the parable of the wedding feast in chapter 22. Since the original ones invited didn’t come, the servants went to the highways, and as many as they could find they were told to take with them to the wedding feast. Jesus came for the lost sheep, not the ones who have stipulations, expectations, and pride. These people were glad to have been called, since no other man had hired these laborers. They were desperate and humble, trusted the Goodman that he would give them what was right and received the same as those who were laboring before them.
Since this parable is likened to the Kingdom of heaven, it is interesting to note, the lord of the vineyard went out to find all who were idle, and put them to work. This ruins any false belief of what heaven will be like. We won’t be sitting there on a cloud with harps doing nothing all day. We will be at rest, with the Lord, yes, singing to Him probably all the time, yet He will give us labor, yet there it won’t be laboring. It won’t be strenuous, it won’t come with thorns and thistles from the fall. It will be beautiful, and He will give us lots to do, and we will love every ounce of it if it could be measured!
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