Springs Of Life Bible Church - The Workers in the Vineyard

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		The Workers in the Vineyard

KINGDOM PARABLES OF JESUS

The Workers in the Vineyard
Matthew 20:1-16

INTRODUCTION
The parable of the Workers in the Vineyard is not a call for Kingdom children to do something, nor is it a lesson on labor relations and the economics of establishing a fair wage.

The emphasis of the parable is primarily on the employer, who has the sovereign right to show kindness to others as He sees fit without impugning His justice.

THE PARABLE
A landowner needed to harvest his grapes and went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard.

The landowner selected a number of workers out of the large group of men to work a full day (6 a.m. – 6 p.m.) in his vineyard for one day’s wages (a denarius).

Notice that the landowner had the right to select whoever He wished. He was under no obligation to select everyone or anyone in particular. It was His sovereign choice as the landowner.

About the third hour (9 a.m.) the landowner went back into town and chose some more workers to harvest grapes in his vineyard. He did not promise them a specific amount; only that he would pay them whatever was right.

Not only is it the landowner’s sovereign right to select the men he wants to work in his vineyard, but it is also his right to pay them as he sees fit.

Not knowing what they were going to get paid they could have rejected the landowner’s offer. But instead, they trusted that he would do what was right, and they went back with him to his vineyard.

The real emphasis of the parable is not so much that the landowner needed more workers throughout the day to complete the work, but on what he ended up paying them at the end of the day.

It was common practice according to the law to pay workers on a daily basis for work accomplished.
Deuteronomy 24:15 Pay the hired man his wages each day before sunset, because he is needy and counting on it. Otherwise, he may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

Only the workers hired at six in the morning were guaranteed one denarius for the day. Those employed at nine were told that he would pay them whatever was right. And those employed later in the day were not even told about wages. They came to the vineyard fully trusting that the owner would pay them something in the evening.

The workers hired at the break of dawn, however, who had endured the heat of the day, also received one denarius, the amount they were promised. Instead of being thankful that they had been selected to work in the landowner’s vineyard and that their daily need was met, they grumbled and complained because others who worked less got the same as they did.

They couldn’t rightfully charge the landowner with injustice, for they received what they were promised, which met their daily need.

The landowner was gracious to have selected them in the first place, and to have promised them one day’s wages. They failed to understand that it was the landowner’s right to select whom he wanted; to select and pay them what he wanted to pay them.

THE LESSONS OF THE PARABLE
By way of application, the first lesson of the parable is that God is no man’s debtor.

The principle in the world is usually that he who works the longest receives the most pay. But in the kingdom of God, the principles of merit and ability are set aside so that grace may prevail.

You can never put God in your debt by your actions. We can never place God under obligation to do something for us because we have done something for Him.

There is nothing you or I or anyone else can possibly do that will place God in a debt relationship to us. God owes us nothing except eternal punishment for our sins. So if we do not experience that punishment, that and everything we do experience is pure grace (undeserved favor). There is not one of us who deserves anything from God.

The second lesson of the parable is that God cares for people more than for things.

The landowner gave every worker he selected the same amount (one denarius) because He knew they needed it to supply for their families. The owner was not thinking of profit. He was thinking of people, and he was using his abundant means to help them.

Who are we like? Are we like God in our service, serving because we love Him, and not for what He will do for us?

Do we serve God out of love and gratitude, thankful for all that He gives us by grace? Or are we like the unhappy workers, who think God owes us for what we do for Him.

There is one last lesson to be learned. It comes from the final verse of the parable: So that last will be first, and the first will be last.

This does away with the idea that the longer we work for the Lord and the more we do for the Lord will somehow merit more rewards in heaven.

What Jesus is saying is that whether you are first or last you are on the same footing and that is grace.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

All true believers in Christ should work long and hard, not for reward, but out of love for our Master, the Lord Jesus Christ.

When we stand before our Lord we will not ask Him “What am I owed for all my service?” but rather, “What a joy and privilege it has been to serve such a loving and gracious Lord.”