That’s not Fair!
Matthew 20:1-16
Introduction-
This week at District Assembly was amazing! I linked the minister’s choir to my Facebook page because it was so good. Platform full of ministers and you could sense God’s anointing as they sang. I think of all the great pastor’s reports, great messages from our General Superintendent. I came away refreshed-and tired if that is possible.
Some people want more from God and some don’t. You will never experience more of God if you don’t put yourself in a position to know more of God.
This passage this morning is about the vineyard owner gathering workers for his field.
This passage doesn’t make sense to most people.
You’ll see that it doesn’t make good business sense, but it will teach you this morning about the grace of God in action.
Matthew 20:1-16
This parable is not a favorite because it really lets us know as a people how wrong our thinking can be.
The first impression of most when they read it is “That’s not fair”
(V1)- The kingdom of God is…. You know what comes next is how God’s kingdom functions.
It is how God treats His people.
The kingdom of God is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard.
He agreed to pay them each 1 denarius for the day. For an unskilled laborer, this was an acceptable wage. The Roman soldier was paid a denarius a day for his service to Rome.
This owner obviously owned a great deal of land and needed many workers.
The day for a Jewish worker started at 6am, this was the first hour. He went out and gathered those standing by the labor pool and told them to go to work. The third hour was 9 am and the owner again went out and gathered workers. The sixth hour was high noon and the ninth hour was 3 pm. Each of these times, he gathered workers, and at the 11th hour, 5 pm he gathered workers.
Can you picture the people being asked at 5pm? Yeah you, go to work.
We can see anybody called at 5pm to work was because of the owner’s compassion and not so much of what work can be done in an hour.
20:8- “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foremen, call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going to the first.”
Are you beginning to grasp this passage?
The vineyard owner is God, and the workers are you and I.
The vineyard owner goes out at 6 am- looks over the group of people. You, you, and you, go to work. (Probably the strong)
The vineyard owner comes back at 9am- looks the group over, take you, you , and you. (Average)
He again comes at high noon- the group is getting smaller, and probably less desirable.
3 o’clock in the afternoon- now most don’t think they have a chance of making money and supporting their family. He again picks them to go to work.
11th hour-5pm- one hour before quitting time, those left thought they would never be picked and probably were thinking how they could beg for the food to feed their family that night.
It’s time to pay them
Jesus, let’s not call him the vineyard owner anymore says to the foremen, start with the ones that were brought in on the 11th hour.
Law of Moses required payment at the end of the day.
Most think first come first serve. I am sure at this point they were confused- wait it gets better.
They get paid for a full day. I am sure they were surprised, and I am sure that the early workers were surprised.
I am sure that the 11th hour workers were grateful. They got what they did not deserve. The early workers began anticipating that if they got 1 denarius for 1 hour, how much more would they be getting! They were also paid one denarius and the grumbling begins!
“That is not fair”
Ever use those words?
Ever use those words to God because of something happening in your life?
(12) “These men who were hired last worked only one hour; they said, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.”
Remember something here-
The Jews thought they were the chosen ones.
They looked down on everyone else.
Jesus gospel was for the Jews first and then the Gentiles.
Jesus how can you bring in those dirty Gentiles?
How can you bring those people in and pay them the full wage and he was only here one hour and I have been here all day?
(13) Jesus words in red in most Bibles – “But he answered one of them, friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have a right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous? So the last will be first and the first will be last.”
The workers complained. Why?
They worked hard and they felt cheated that someone who didn’t work as hard was going to get the same pay.
Real problem- They were upset that God had made them equal to them.
Long time Christians have to be careful that we don’t get that attitude.
Thinking we have special privilege in the kingdom of God because of tenor and time of service.
Matthew 19, the chapter before this parable, Jesus said, “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”
I bet they understood that better after Jesus gave them this parable.
I want you to hear this verse again and then I want you to grasp 3 characteristics of God.
“Don’t I have a right to do what I want with my money?”
Paraphrased for today- Don’t I have a right to pour out blessings on whoever I want and whenever I want? Who are you to tell me anything?
I. God of comfort
This verse tells us that no matter when people enter the kingdom of God… as a youth, mid-life, or a deathbed experience, they are dear to God.
I do have to say that if you plan on a death bed experience, you may not have the time to do it.
It is also a sense of warning to Christians who have been a believer for a longtime not to think that we have a special place because we were Christians before someone else.
There will be rewards, the Bible tells us that, comfort comes knowing that we cannot earn our salvation, but that it is a gift from God.
Ephesians 2:8-9
”For it is by grace, you have been saved, through faith, and not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Grace defined is getting something that you did not deserve.
Grace is a word thrown out, but often not understood.
Phillip Yancey
Book “What’s so amazing about grace” points out that one of the problems is the nature of grace itself. Grace is scandalous. It is hard to accept, hard to believe, and hard to receive. Grace shocks us in what it offers. It is not truly from this world. It frightens us with what it does for sinners.”
Grace is getting something from God that we don’t deserve. Any of us!
It frightens us because of what God can do with that- he can show favor and love to someone who is bad by our standards and turn their lives around by his love.
It teaches us that God would do for others what we might never do for them. God shows comfort and love to those not so bad, and those others reject.
God gives grace to those who don’t deserve it, barely recognize it, and most times don’t appreciate it.
That is why God gets all the glory for it. Jesus did it at the cross.
In God’s grace
No one is too bad to be saved, or too good to be saved. Think about that!
No one is too bad that God can’t reach them.
No one is too good that they don’t need the grace of God.
II. God of Compassion
These verses show us the compassion of God.
He will make numerous attempts at reaching all who will respond.
He doesn’t only go for the strongest, smartest, popular, but has infinite compassion for all.
In this parable, we see a master perfectly aware that a denarius was only an acceptable wage. He knew that the ones working fewer hours would have worried wives and hungry children. Therefore he went beyond justice and gave them more than what was due them.
You learn really quick… that as you see God’s grace- (getting what you don’t deserve), you also see God’s mercy- (that is not getting what we all deserve.) That is the compassion of God.
God’s compassion should draw you close to God and you will want to respond.
Psalms 34:18-19
“The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in Spirit.”
Psalms 86:15-16
“But you O Lord are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”
Isaiah 55:6-7
“Seek the Lord while he may be found, call on him while he is near, let the wicked forsake his ways and the evil men his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.”
That truly is the compassion of God.
III. The God of generosity
Notice in this parable, all these men did not do the same work, but they did all receive the same pay.
God’s kingdom will be full of people that did what God called them to do and most will not be out front people so to speak.
Service to God is ranked by our obedience not the title men give to us.
Another lesson here is we cannot earn what God gives us, we do not deserve it.
What God gives us is given out of the goodness of God.
What God gives us is not pay, but a gift.
See how Christians should work for the joy of serving.
That is why the first shall be last and last shall be first.
Many in this world have earned their rewards.
Many poor by this world’s standard, will be great in the kingdom because they worked for the joy of serving.
Closing,
God’s grace is free, but it came at a cost to Christ. It a free gift we receive but isn’t what we deserve. It is about mercy and the generosity of God- not fairness!
Amen.
