Sermon Devotional: The Parable of the Vineyard Workers

Sermon Title: The Parable of the Vineyard Workers

“Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on 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.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.” Matthew 20:10-16

“The kingdom of heaven is like…” (20:1). The parable of the vineyard workers begins like so many others—Jesus wants his disciples to understand his message of “kingdom come.” “A master of a house” (v. 1) has a vineyard that needs work. Five times throughout the day, the vineyard owner hires laborers and sends them into the vineyard promising to pay them “whatever is right” (v. 4). At the end of the day, the master instructs the vineyard manager to pay the laborers “beginning with the last” (v. 8) ones hired. Every laborer receives a denarius—the laborers who worked for one hour and the laborers who worked for twelve hours. Echoing the older brother in the parable of the prodigal, “Hmmm. . .That’s not fair,” grumbles the first vineyard workers.

So, what is the message about the kingdom that Jesus wants us to receive? Verse 15 leads us into two discoveries: Who is God revealed to be in the vineyard owner? and Who are we as revealed in the laborers? The goodness and generosity of God is revealed in verse 15a, and the hearts of the laborers are revealed in verse 15b.

The vineyard owner challenges the laborers’ protests of “unfair” by asking, “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?” (v. 15a). Who is God? God is sovereign, God is good, God is just, and God is generous in extending his love and care for his creation. God is free to do what he, in his divine wisdom, chooses. Human affairs will ultimately be ordered by what God calls good and right and just.

Who are we then? The first laborers see the owner’s generosity as an afront to what they believe they deserve. The laborers receive what was agreed upon (v. 2). But when the owner’s generosity goes to others, it is perceived not as generosity, but as injustice. They compare and they reason: “If the laborers who work one hour receive a denarius, then those who work twelve hours deserve twelve denarii.” When God is generous and good to others, we believe that God is not being generous and good to us. The vineyard owner replies, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you” (vv. 13-14). The vineyard owner asks, “do you begrudge my generosity?” (v. 15b). Jesus asks, “Will you let God be God? Will you submit to the divine wisdom of the Creator and lay aside your self-promotion and justice-seeking?”

In the parable of the prodigal, the older brother “was angry and refused to go in” to the celebration of the returned younger brother. “Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat. . . But when this son of yours came, . . . you killed the fattened calf for him!” (Lk 15:28-30). God’s generosity to another is perceived as injustice because self-concern and jealousy are at work when we compare ourselves to others leading to a begrudging, jealous and resentful heart.

Jesus begins this parable and so many others saying “the kingdom of heaven is like…” One of the defining realities of the kingdom of heaven is that in heaven there is no resistance to the rule and reign of God. Jesus is telling us plainly that what God desires for “kingdom come” is that there is no resistance to his rule and reign, to his divine prerogative, “on earth as it is in heaven” (Mt 6:10). Will we lay aside our foolishness and arrogance? God is God and we are not here to be his decision-makers. God will do what is good and right and just. May we be co-laborers with him to bring his “kingdom come.”

Consider—
╬    What we call “unfair” may be God’s generosity at work. Reflect on your life. When have you experienced what you deemed to be unfair? Did comparison to another’s blessing add to resentment in your heart?

╬   The first laborers grumbled against the vineyard owner’s generosity. Are you a grumbler? Ask the Lord to give you gratitude for what you have received.

╬    Abba Father, we worship you. Thank you for your generous and unfathomable love for your people. In Christ Jesus and through God the Spirit, enable us to co-labor with you as you bring your rule and reign from heaven to earth. Until Jesus returns. Amen.