The Great Sending, Chapter 12
“Why do you stand here idle all day?” They said to him, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You go into the vineyard too.”
~ Matthew 20:6-7
STUDY 12: The Laborers in the Vineyard
pp. 91-94
Matthew 20:1-16
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.
“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These 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.’
13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
by Reverand Dr. David Buegler
Toward the end of Matthew Chapter 19, Peter asks Jesus, “We have left everything and followed you. What then will we have? “(v. 27). A few verses later Jesus teaches them: “many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (v. 30). Just sixteen verses into chapter 20, Jesus will repeat: “so the last will be first, and the first last.”
What Jesus shares in between those verses is the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard. Most of the details of this parable are true-to-life, but there is something unreal about the generosity of the vineyard owner. A denarius was the usual daily wage, and it was common for a vineyard owner to hire extra help when the grapes were ready for harvest. It is not difficult to understand why the workers who labored all day were indignant when a denarius was given to those who had worked only one hour.
This, however, is a mission parable about the generous grace of God. There is danger in thinking this is a parable about compensation for work given. This parable helps us better
understand the mission of God. Not one of us is dealt with by our Father God according to reward based on merit. None of us gets what we deserve.
Have you ever thought about the promise given to the repentant thief on the cross who asked Jesus to remember him? The thief was given the promise of paradise in the final hours of his life, nailed to a cross.
That was a mission moment.
The reward for every missionary in the Church of Jesus Christ is to participate in the greatest rescue effort in the face of human history, the rescue from sin, death, and hell. There is a lot of rescue necessary before the midnight hour.
Some of us have been on the mission from the dawn of our life. Do you see people standing around at the third hour? How wonderful that the Lord helps us out by calling them. Oh, look! At the sixth and ninth hours, still others are standing around. Jesus asks, “Why are you standing around doing nothing?”
“No one has hired us,” they answer. So, they are sent also into the vineyard. HALLELUJAH!
Those of us who have been working all day are not doing such an amazing job that we have the harvest field covered. God be praised for more workers, no matter when in the day they come. Those of us who are working in the vineyard need help. We need all the help we can get.
Yet, this parable is not about us. It is about the overwhelming generosity of our God in His Son, Jesus Christ. This parable is about the many people standing around, doing nothing. It is about working while it is daylight, because once the midnight hour comes, it will be a lot harder to see what we are doing.
So, the last will be first, and the first will be last (Matthew 20:16). This parable is about the mission of God.
Questions to ponder with
yourself and others
- What is the danger of thinking this parable is about compensation for work completed? What is the danger with thinking you deserve something special if you are diligent worker in your congregation?
- How many people are out there unemployed from kingdom work Jesus asks, “Why are you standing around doing nothing?” Could it be your congregation is an “employment agency” for kingdom workers? Talk about some plans to improve the kingdom worker role in your congregation.
- Think about your congregation as part of God’s vineyard. What does it mean that your vines need to be pruned occasionally. What does it mean that your nourishment comes from the vine? What does it mean that the fruit you bear lasts into eternity? Study John 15 as you discuss these questions.
Prayer
Precious Vine of God’s vineyard, we are branches seeking to bear fruit. But we confess, unless we abide in You, we can bear no fruit. Help us to draw our nourishment from Your generous love. Prune us where it is necessary for our spiritual health. And graft unto Your holy Vine many more branches, that we all might be in mission while it is day, before the night comes. Finally, cause us to rejoice in thanks for Your overwhelming generosity of grace in Jesus Christ. The fruit that is grown in Your vineyard is eternal. Amen.