Compassion and Humility

 

Luke 14:1-24

The Parable of the Great Feast

Chinese used to have many siblings and all were required to return home from respective places afar, gathered at the table in the Chinese New Year eve, to have meal together. This is the ‘reunion dinner’, is an important event for Chinese. To partake at the table signifies solidarity and mutual acceptance among members of the same family. At this reunion moment, the parents are the happiest person. 

The world of Luke Gospel is very Asian. One of the motifs in Luke is ‘feasting or banquet’. Jesus is depicted having pleasure in eating with people from all walks of life, especially the poor, the unclean, the sinners, altogether are the marginalized group of the society. Jesus himself came from the vast majority of poor peasant and artisan society.

Luke actually uses feasting as a framework to illustrate the gospel of the kingdom of God. Today’s text is centered on such feasting context.

From v1, v3, we are told that, on one Sabbath, Jesus went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees. The Pharisees and Scribes were watching Jesus carefully. Judging from the conflicts between them happened in the preceding text, we know that this is a hostile situation with hypocritical hosts, set out to trap Jesus for breaking of the law.

Today, you as a witness of Christ, will you accept this kind of invitation? But Jesus anyhow attended the banquet because he took the act of eating with people as an opportunity to teach and testify the gospel of the kingdom of God.

Let’s see what did Jesus do and say:

God’s heart for the needy and the unclean

There in front of Jesus was a man suffering from dropsy (swollen limbs; dropsy is an abnormal accumulation of fluid in bodily tissues and cavities. And it is deemed unclean).

Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But they remained silent. So, taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away.

Then he asked, them, “If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?” and they had nothing to say.

Through this healing act and questioning, Jesus exposed the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the Scribes who took pride in strict observance of Sabbath and cleanliness law.

So, we see the tension rises between the pride and unbelief of the religious elites and God’s acceptance of the needy and the unclean. Against the backdrop of healing act, Jesus continued teaching people with feasting parable in the feast itself!

God will exalt everyone who humbles himself

Jesus then noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them: "Do not take the place of honor for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host may come and say to you, give this man your seat, then you would be humiliated and have to take the least important place. But you are to take the lowest place, so that the host will come to you and say, friend, move up higher. Then you are honored (vv.7—10).

Jesus’ word alluded to Proverb 25:6—7, “Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence, and don not claim a place among great men; It is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,” than for him to humiliate you before a noble man.”

Jesus words reflect the wisdom of everyday life but it also points further to the revelation of the kingdom of God that is: “God will humble everyone who exalts himself, and exalt everyone who humbles himself (v.11)."

Jesus said this to criticize the mentality of the Pharisees and Scribes who are proud of high position, who consider own self holy, who are self-righteous and lovers of self-importance, but the fact is they will be judged by God.

Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God

V13, Jesus then turned to the host, issued a command: “But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled people, the lame, the blind.”

Jesus said this is to critic prevalent cultural in which the host only invites people of similar or higher status, so as to build a mutual benefit network. On the other hand, the four kinds of people ought to be invited are of the lowest position in the society, being looked down and marginalized; especially the last three are considered sinners who are excluded from salvation.

Inviting these people or accepting them into a person’s own circle, will do no good because they cannot repay anything in kind. Besides, having this kind of people as guests would jeopardy the honor of the host. However, God will reward the host for doing so (v.14), and conversely, the Pharisees who do not accept these people will not be received by God at the resurrection of the righteous.

The above command of Jesus to the host is also applicable to all Christ’s followers. They are to share their wealth with the poor, taking care of the needy. Not just being the ethical instruction, the inclusion of the marginalized group also demonstrates the heart of the messianic feast in the kingdom of God as the Great Banquet in following text, vv.15—24 reveals.

The Pharisees and Scribes who initially were invited to the banquet, due to their pride and self-righteous, they rejected the gospel, thus would not receive the salvation. This scenario was even more apparent in the background 60-70’s AD when the gospel books were written. By then the mainstream Jewish society had utterly rejected the Jesus’ movement.

Then the servants of God like we all being the disciples of Christ, are to go out to invite the lowly, the marginalized, the humbled sinners into the feast. These people will be exalted by God, being able to eat in the feast which means receiving the salvation.

The feasting parable reveals to us God is so generous and compassionate. Human society perpetuates structures of injustice and exclusion, but God intervenes on the side of the oppressed. The disruptive effect of this intervention is presented as a reversal of the structures of society: those with power, status, riches and self-righteous are put down and those without them are exalted into his kingdom unconditionally.

This implies that we are saved and exalted solely by the grace of God, not by own merits. So, for this reason, we ought to be humble and love our neighbors, accepting everyone even they are of lower status, people that we don’t like and find discomfort to associate with. In so doing, we testify that a new community is born! This community is fed by the grace of God alone. This is the gospel of God’s kingdom, of God’s rule.

Early church context:

In the early church context, reaching out to people with gospel and baptizing them is not an issue, but as to unconditionally accept everyone into the community of faith, especially the unclean and the gentiles seemed not an easy thing.

We recall the event in Act 10 of which Peter struggled so much whether to visit the gentile, Cornelius’ home. Peter showed up at the Cornelius' house to preach the gospel of Christ, only 'because God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean," then Peter agreed to baptize them since they have already received the Holy Spirit as sign of God's accepting them into the family of God. Peter himself testified that, “While speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message."

On the other hand, Paul in Ephesians 2:13—18 says, we were formerly alienated from God and from fellow men due to our sin, but by the blood of Christ, the dividing wall of hostility has been broken down!

Now we are in Christ as one new person. We have been reconciled to God and we ought in turn to share peace with everyone through mutual acceptance. Ethnicity and all other differences must not be the barriers anymore to divide us.

Today church context:

Today many of our urbanized churches have grouped ourselves on certain common ground, for example: a unique community, race, spoken language and income bracket. Church going has become a life style of the middle class, so much so when a person from the grass root, not the middle affluent class, walks into the church, we do not know how to have fellowship with him. We feel uncomfortable to have him around so we tend to ignore him. The irony is that Jesus Christ spent most of his time, walking through the vicinity of Galilee Sea, ministering to the grass roots people.

This is the challenge to us, as the redeemed people of God, in living out the gospel of the kingdom of God, which requires the acceptance of people who are of the same circle, and also people who are beyond our own circle to partake in the Lord’s feast together. We need to constantly examine ourselves, are we here building a wall of segregation or constantly gathering as one at the Lord’s Table.

Conclusion

What is the identity marker as God’s people?

Not the profession, education level, income bracket, language spoken, skin color or academic credentials, nor religious taboos. The Gospel Books emphasis our identity marker is “people from diverse background, gather together as one people, feasting in the kingdom of God”!

We are all called from diverse background but one thing in common is that, we are here because of the grace of God. No one has anything to boast of and justify oneself.

Let us do as Jesus did and commanded, that is, walk into the community around us, crossing every boundary, to share our lives with people, extend our care, concern and acceptance to those whom the Lord also accepts.

Our Lord is indeed full of grace for everyone who humbles himself, who is willing to accept and love his neighbor. He will exalt us and provide for all our needs as we gather as one in his table. By this we can truly declare: “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God” (v15).

道成了肉身，住在我们中间

 

约翰福音1:1-34

『太初有道，道与神同在，道就是神。这道太初与神同在。万物是借着他造的，凡被造的，没有一样不是借着他造的。生命在他里头，这生命就是人的光。光照在黑暗里，黑暗却不接受光。』（约翰福音1:1-5）

『道成了肉身，住在我们中间。充充满满地有恩典，有真理。我们也见过他的荣光，正是父独生子的荣光。』（约翰福音1:14）

神的独生子，那太初的道，成了肉身，降世为人，带给我们神的恩典。这神的恩典之一就是神与我们同在，住在我们中间。

神与人同住，是那么的难吗？需要那么的迂回曲折吗？我必须从头说起了。

为何神创造人？在永恒里，三一真神是充满恩典的。神创造人因为他爱人，要跟人建立关系，并且赐福人，赐予人神丰盛的恩典。神很在乎我们与祂之间的关系，但人类始祖在伊甸园犯罪之后，神与人之间的关系就破坏了。罪使人与神隔绝，但神主动就近人，主动拣选人，与人立约，重新与人建立关系，赐福给人。

“住在我们中间”的“住”（希腊文σκηνόω），有“支搭帐幕而居”的意思；神住在我们中间，在我们中间支搭帐幕而居，使人想起西乃旷野中的神的帐幕—会幕。

神的救赎计划的第一步就是与亚伯拉罕立约。

神应许赐福亚伯拉罕和他的后裔，又应许万国要透过亚伯拉罕和他的后裔得福。然而，亚伯拉罕的后裔以色列人流落在埃及当奴隶，神的应许如何实现呢？

神记念祂与亚伯拉罕之间的约，就兴起摩西将以色列人从埃及为奴之家拯救出来，带领他们去到神的应许之地—迦南。

以色列人在出埃及的旅程中，来到西乃的旷野。在那里，神与以色列人立约，对他们说：“我向埃及人所行的事，你们都看见了，且看见我如鹰将你们背在翅膀上，带来归我。如今你们若实在听从我的话，遵守我的约，就要在万民中作属我的子民，因为全地都是我的。你们要归我作祭司的国度，为圣洁的国民。”（出一九：4-6）

神与以色列人立约，拣选以色列人为属祂的子民。祂借着摩西颁布十诫之后，随即指示摩西和以色列人为祂建造帐幕，祂要在那里“与以色列人相会”，并要“住在以色列人中间，作他们的神”（出二九：43-46）。

会幕立起之后，神就让以色列人开始学习献祭和敬拜祂，人可以把祭物带到会幕，在祂的面前向祂表达认罪，祈求和感谢等等。

在伊甸园，神与人没有间隔的相交，但人犯罪之后必须透过献祭牲畜才能够恢复与神的关系。这样神就住在子民中间，与他们相会。神要作他们的神，他们要作属神的子民。子民活在神的同在里就蒙福。这是神何等的恩典！

但作为属神的子民，以色列民除了献祭敬拜神，还必须顺服神，遵行神的诫命来维持归给神，作圣洁的国民的身份。

“我是把你们从埃及地领出来的耶和华，要作你们的神，所以你们要圣洁，因为我是圣洁的。”（利一一：45）会幕（以及后来圣殿）里的敬拜和事奉，很看重分别为圣；祭司和人民要借祭牲的血，洁除罪污，才能到神的面前来敬拜祂。

神要祂的子民学习专一事奉祂，过分别为圣的生活，因为祂是圣洁的。

拦阻人不能与神相交就是罪，罪的问题必须被解决，但纵观以色列人的历史，我们看见他们终究无法突破罪的捆绑。以色列人在迦南地生活的历史里，多数的时候是悖逆神，不遵守律法，并且敬拜偶像。结果他们死在旷野，或遭遇天灾人祸，甚至国破家亡，被掳到巴比伦。

旧约以色列民与神的关系只是局部的修复，罪的问题始终未被解决。为了要一次过解决罪的问题，完完全全修复神人关系，神就差遣他的独生子来救赎罪人。

约翰强调神的独生子就是永恒的道。这道logos成了肉身，住在世人中间，名叫耶稣。耶稣在世上与人同住三十三年，叫人从祂身上看见父神，认识父神。祂到世上来召唤罪人回转归向父神，呼召世人跟从祂，与祂同行，与祂同工，效法祂的榜样，去活出一个遵行神旨意的生活。

而更重要的是，神的儿子成为肉身，“特要借着死，败坏那掌死权的，就是魔鬼”（来二：14）。耶稣基督自己成了献祭给神，为罪人赎罪的祭牲。他的死和复活，败坏了罪恶和死亡的权势;祂的宝血有永远除罪的功效。所以基督的死与复活终极的解决了罪的问题。

今天我们所有信靠基督的人，因着基督的宝血已洁除我们一切的罪，就能够与神和好，得以坦然无惧的去到神的面前（来一○：19），与祂相交。

耶稣死了，埋葬了，三天之后复活，显现给门徒看，接着他升天回到神的宝座的右边。耶稣离开门徒之后，就差派保惠师圣灵来。这保惠师就是圣灵。圣灵要住在我们心中，与我们同在（约一四：16）。

圣灵的工作是重生我们，启示我们真理，并且帮助我们成圣，又给我们力量去服侍神和宣告福音。

今天我们的身体，竟成了神的殿，意思是神居住在我们里面（林前六：19），这是何等奇妙的福气！

若非神的大爱和怜悯，差祂的儿子为我们的罪作挽回祭（约壹四：10），有罪的人又怎可以到神面前去，甚至与神同居？圣子道成肉身，成就的救赎大功，又透过圣灵，叫所有信靠祂的人得着祂的圣洁生命，真正能与神同居。

我们所有接受耶稣基督为主，就真正能够领会和得着神“住在我们中间”的恩典。神“住在我们中间”，这份恩典是直到永永远远的，甚至延伸到世界末日后的新天新地的日子里。启示录这样的形容说：

“看哪！神的帐幕在人间。祂要与人同住，他们要作祂的子民；神要亲自与他们同在，作他们的神。神要擦去他们一切的眼泪；不再有死亡，也不再有悲哀，哭号，疼痛，因为以前的事都过去了。”（启二一：3-4）

“神的帐幕在人间”又可译为“神的帐幕与人同在”。西乃旷野的会幕，是暂时的；新天新地里神的帐幕，是永远的，是神和羔羊自己为殿（启二一：22），亲自与祂的子民同在（启二一：3）。

在新天新地里与主永远同住，再也不受死亡和罪恶的影响;不再有死亡，不再有悲哀，不再有眼泪，不再有痛苦。这是神子民的福分。当我们想到神为我们预备的这个福分，就能在患难的日子中坚持忍耐下去。

如论如何，今天罪恶和魔鬼的权势，仍然影响着我们身处的世代；苦难和压迫，软弱和失败，有时会叫我们灰心，感到好像神没有与我们同在。然而，我们当记紧，神的子民活在这个末世中是艰难的，但神与祂的子民同在也是不变的。

我们要怀着盼望，迎接主的再来;当基督第二次降临的时候，所有属祂的人，就要在大喜乐中与主永远同住了。

耶稣基督的降生，值得记念和感恩；耶稣基督第二次降临，更加是我们应当盼望和儆醒预备的。但愿每个属主的人，记得主基督要回来。他要住在我们中间；祂要作我们的神，我们要作祂的子民。

今天主基督是透过圣灵住我们里头。主耶稣说：“你们要常在我里面，我也常在你们里面。”（约一五：4）

请问，我们是否常在主里面，是否有主住在我们的生命中，以至人生的每一部分，都有主耶稣参与在其中，常被圣灵充满，结出果子荣耀父神？

结语

主耶稣快要再来（启二二：20），愿我们从今天开始，每个人都有一个与主同行，与主同住的人生，儆醒等候祂的再临。

有主与我们同在，生命路途遇见的风风雨雨，挫折又算得什么呢？

感谢赞美主！我们今天每时每刻都仰望主，依靠神的恩典，圣灵的力量同奔天路，一刻不回头。在基督里我们是有盼望的，靠着那上头来的力量，我们凡事都能做。阿们！

Crossing Our River Jordan

 

Joshua 3:5-17

Israel Crosses the Jordan

After the death of Moses, Joshua took over to be the leader of the Israelites. And this time, he was about to lead the Israelites to cross over the River of Jordan and enter the Promised Land.

Joshua Chapter 3 recorded a very wonderful act of the LORD when the Israelites crossed over the Jordan River that is, God parted the waters of Jordan and made the ground dried up so that the whole Israelites could walk on the dry ground, just as how the Israelites crossed through the Red Sea.

After the crossing, 4:22-24 recorded the words of Joshua to the Israelites:

“Tell them, Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground. For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan like what He had done to the Red Sea when He dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples on the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”

When the Bible said that the waters were parted, and the dry ground surfaced, it did carry a very important theological meaning. This indicates that the Almighty God overcame the power of darkness, symbolized by the parting of waters. Let us see the context of Genesis Chapter 1, where it describes:

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” （Genesis 1:1-2）

The whole universe was formless and void, but existed as the primordial waters – waters of evil, chaos and confusion. Then, the Spirit of the LORD hovering over the waters means God was confronting the evil forces—waters (v.2).

And God followed by saying, “Let there be a vault (expanse, canopy) between the waters to separate the water from water.”

So, God made the vault and separated the waters under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear. And it was so.” （Genesis 1:6,7,9）.

In the culture of Ancient Near East, the great waters represent the power and strength of evil and darkness, and hence, when Genesis was written in such a way, it also intended to tell us that, God has subdued the power of wickedness and devils at the time of His creation. He is sovereign over all gods and forces.

However, He didn’t destroy the waters of wickedness. He just parted it and allowed the dry ground to appear! We wait until Christ return, as mentioned in Revelation, the evil forces will then vanish forever.

In Revelation 21:1, “Then I saw A new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.”

In the Exodus story, when the Israelites faced the Red Sea, Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and throughout that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. And the waters were divided. The Israelites went through the Sea on dry ground, and they got rid of the pursuit of the Pharaoh’s army. (Exodus 14:21)

Exodus is God’s salvation for the Israelites out of slavery. God’s power superseded all powers of darkness, and He rescued and released His people from the power of darkness and slavery.

Therefore, after crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites praised God and said, “The Lord is my strength and my defense, he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is a warrior, the Lord is His name.” (Exodus 15:2-3)

The LORD – Jehovah is a warrior, and He overcomes the power of darkness, and delivers His people out of the darkness. His purpose was to bring them into the Land of Canaan, where he would dwell in their midst. He would be their God, and they would be his people. He would bless their lives dwelling in the promised land.

For God rescues us not merely out of the power of darkness and corruption, but into a life of abundance and victory, in His presence in the Promised Land.

Now, this time, under the leadership of Joshua, once again, God had parted the waters of Jordan, and the dry ground appeared. He author wants to tell us that Joshua is indeed the successor of Moses. And too, the Israelites no longer wandered in the wilderness, but they entered God’s abundance.

From the creation of the heavens and the earth, to the time the Israelites crossed the Rea Sea and Jordan River, we saw the manifestation of God’s power to deliver his people and receive abundant life.

God demonstrated His power not only in the ancient times, but He manifests His power in the Church and on us too this day. The Lord Jesus Christ came into the world, walked with man and died on the cross. His death on the cross overcame the power of devil, Satan, so as to rescue us from the darkness, and enables us to receive new life and enter into glory with Him.

But where is the role of water in Christ’s salvation? Baptism!

As we go through baptism which signifies new birth in Christ, we come out of water! Christ has delivered us out of the chaotic water!

We also note that during Jesus’ ministry on earth, he calmed the great storm. At that moment, Jesus’ disciples (some of them were fishermen) all thought that the storm would cost them lives. But Jesus got up and revealed God’s power. He rebuked the wind and the sea, and the water calmed down, and the disciples were saved (Luke 8:22-25).

Today, the Lord Jesus is with us in our lives and in the journey of our lives. He rescues us and leads us out from the darkness and into the light. He preserves us from the harm of pestilences and evil ones, and gives us health physically, mentally, and spiritually.

In our lives and ministry, and in all the things that we do, God wants to help us overcome all difficulties, just like how the Israelites were led through the Red Sea and the Jordan River. He helps us overcome all the hindrances and disruptions of the devil, i.e., Satan, and enables us to enter God’s abundance.

However, how then shall we experience God’s mighty salvation?

First, we must believe in God firmly, and trust that He is the God who can do wonders.

Before the Israelites entered the Canaan Land, there were only two spies who came back and reported, and said, “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.” (Joshua 2:24)

These two spies believed in God, and they trusted deeply that God had already handed their enemies into their hands. We need to have faith in order to see the wonderful acts of God. If we were to be like the other ten faithless spies (Numbers 13:25-33), and do not believe God to bring us into victory, we will never move forward, and we can only remain wherever we are in our lives (wandering in the wilderness), and will never see God’s deeds.

Let us allow God to do miracles in our lives for he is our warrior, parting the waters and letting the dry ground appear. Have faith in God. We will see him working miracles in our lives.

Second, we must have the same heart and same mind in our spirits, and we must have unity in our action.

Joshua told to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things.” Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So, they took it up and went ahead of them. (Joshua 3:2-6）

The hearts of the Israelites were united as one man, and they acted in one heart. The whole assembly consecrated themselves, and the priests carried the ark of covenant and walked before the people. The whole assembly moved together, and they saw the wonderful act of God. Joshua said,

“See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. This is how you will know that the living God is among you.” (Joshua 3:10）

“The ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth” represents God’s presence. The ark was in the tabernacle, and it represents God’s presence with us.

The Gospel of John recorded that, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (John 1:14), with the word “dwell” in its original text as “tabernacle”. There is an English translation that says that God “did tabernacle among us” （YLT）; When Jesus Christ was incarnated, and He “dwells” among us, and it indicates that the tabernacle and the ark are with us.

When the ark of the covenant was before the people, and when it stopped in the middle of the River, God’s presence was there, and miracle happened. The waters were parted. They trusted the Lord firmly with one heart, and they acted with the same mind and unity. Together, they witnessed God’s works.

Crossing over the River of Jordan was just a beginning. Subsequent to it would be their victory over their enemies.

Application

Today, River Jordan is before us now. What is your river Jordon today?

Let’s not be frightened by Jordan’s water. But instead, let’s go out together and step into the river by faith. It is not about the faith of the pastor alone or the church leadership, but the whole congregation must move ahead in one heart, one mind and with one action.

As we continue to faithfully participate in the church worship, in various ministries of the church and bringing in offering to God’s house, we will surely witness the miraculous works of God, and experience his bountiful grace individually and collectively as a church.

And too, you are to pray and seek God’s favor, then step out in faith into your own River Jordan. God will deliver you from all evil and dangers, carry you through to the Promised Land.

Conclusion

Our Lord is a true and living God, his presence is with us today, in the season of pandemic and post- pandemic. As we remain connected with him in His presence, we shall be blessed. He is the God who overcomes all evil forces, including the damaging forces of pandemic Covid-19. He will part the waters so that the dry ground could appear before us.

Our Lord had rescued us out from the darkness and into the light, and He shall continue to lead us on.  We not only have had crossed over the Red Sea, but the Lord will also help us pass through “our River Jordan” and enter the life of abundance.

God is with us. How He was with Moses and Joshua, He shall be with us today too. He shall enter with us into the post- Covid era, and He shall lead us to overcome many imperfections and difficulties in our lives, so that our lives will please Him more, and we shall become more abundant, revealing His glory.

May all brothers and sisters walk out in faith in every area, in church ministries, studies, work or traveling. I pray that God’s hands are with you, grant you mercy and grace to progress into the abundance of the Promised land, as you walk with the Lord faithfully.

God be with you all, and He shall make a way for you in the desert, before the Red Sea and before the river Jordan. Amen!

Grace Revolution

 

Matthew 20:1-16

Workers in the Vineyard

The preceding texts, 19:16-22 tells an account of Jesus encountering a rich young man. The young man asked Jesus what good deed ought he to do in order to receive eternal life. Jesus said to him: "Go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me.”

Hearing this, Peter responded to Jesus, “See, we have left everything and followed you, what we will get?”

Jesus then told the disciples of this parable, "workers in the vineyard", as an answer to Peter.

During Jesus’ time, many workers faced the problem of unemployment. Their lives had no basic security because there were no labour union nor social security to protect workers' welfare. During harvest time, the vineyard owners would use temporary workers to work the harvesting.

The "harvest time" in this parable metaphorically and theologically, signifies the expansion of God’s kingdom in end-times when lost souls are saved into the Kingdom and becoming disciples of Christ.

And, God the Father goes out personally (through the Son of God incarnated) to look for people to work in the vineyard, meaning “be saved and blessed” in God’s kingdom.

In Jesus’ time, workers normally worked from 6am and stopped at 6pm. They had to work 12 hours a day. The vineyard owner himself went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He promised to give a denarius to the workers. One denarius is equivalent to a day’s wage.

These workers are feeling so blessed to have found employment and happily start work from early morning at 6am. Their livelihood for the day was secured!

And then, this vineyard owner went out again about 9am and he saw other workers standing idle in the marketplace. He was very compassionate for he could not bear to see people hanging outside wanting to be employed but found no work. He hired this second batch of workers and now he promised to pay them “what is right”.

The vineyard owner continued to go out several times and too, saw workers standing there unemployed. He then also hired these subsequent batches of workers. He actually went out a total of five times in a day (early morning, 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 5pm) to hired workers to work in his vineyard (vv.1-6).

For the subsequent batches of workers, the vineyard owner promised to pay them ‘what is right’. Now these workers might not expect to get a full denarius, but they trusted the owner would pay them proportionately which was a fair approach.

And when evening came, the owner said to his foreman, “Call in the labourers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.” This practice complied with the Old Testament law which stipulated that the owner must not owe workers their wages overnight (Lev. 19:13; Deut 24: 14-15).

The twist of the story takes place as the late comers are paid first and not the first batch workers. Jesus is indeed a master story teller.

So those hired about the eleventh hour (5pm) came, each of them also received a denarius. Now when those hired the earliest came forward, they expected to receive more, but guess what? Each of them also received a denarius!

So, they were grumbling unceasingly at the vineyard owner, saying, “These who were hired last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and under scorching heat.”

The vineyard owner replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree to work for me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to these last workers as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me (God’s Sovereignty)? Or are you envious at my generosity (gracious)?” (Vv. 13-15)

Why did those who come to work later also get a denarius? And if you were among those who were first to work, would you also grumble for being treated unfairly? In modern day context, the employer could be charged in labour court for the offense of discrimination.

God's Grace is a Free Gift and Sufficient for Everyone

The vineyard metaphor used to picture Israel or the people of God. God the Father calls the workers into his Kingdom to receive salvation, serve and be blessed. By this, the grace of God is expounded before the question of fairness even got into picture.

Anyway, God is just and fair! He promised the first batch of workers a denarius, and he gave them a denarius. God is also gracious! For those who performed less than a day’s work, God also gave them a denarius which was beyond what they deserved. He has a right to do that for he is a sovereign God!

In Jesus’ context, the workers who came late to work represented those socially-marginalized people who were sinners, tax collectors, the sick and lame. If they only received a fraction of one denarius, the amount would be insufficient to cover the needs of their family for a day.

The secular logic is to ‘earn as you produce’, but this is not the God’s Kingdom logic. God wants to hire all, so that no person will be left idle hopelessly. God wants to bless everyone so that everyone will have enough. God's grace is sufficient for everyone; no one will be neglected!

Today, let’s ask ourselves: Am I among the ‘late starters, uncompetitive ones or the ones in desperate need or the wayward ones who have sinned against God terribly?

“Late comers and people who are lacking and hurt”, you do not have to worry, because God’s grace is sufficient for you to overcome your hardship, insufficiency, guilt and shame. In God’s kingdom, everyone would partake the abundance of God’s grace to the full satisfaction as the Psalmist says, “I shall not want”.

For this reason, all of God’s children must stop making excuses or being self-pity, for our own insufficiency. We are to turn to God who is our provider. We are to take up responsibility; start giving generously, leaving the comfort zone, upgrading ourselves, participating in the ministries. The reason is that God will give us enough grace to complete the mission. The last will be the first!

We also note that the first group of workers grumbled because they were "red eye; evil eye". This means they envied those who received better treatment/reward. They complaint, “This is not fair!”

Obviously, they did not share the same compassion of God. They did not love God for himself. They defied God’s authority.

As a matter of fact, they ought to be more thankful, as they got hired first, so they need not have to worry for the rest of the day. Without the grace of God in the first place, they would still be hanging around unemployed. Thus, they could not produce anything and of course, there would not be any question of reward.

If we see it this way, the earlier batch of workers had only gained something but lost nothing (this echoes the eldest son who stays with the father).

Come back to today’s context, if you are the one who do more or give more in God’s kingdom, you need not complain. For a dying person on bed would usually regret that he has not done enough for the kingdom of God.

God also does not want us to develop this attitude of comparing with others, and tell God what he should do to be just and fair. What is sin? Sin is not just breaking the rules as spelt out in the Scripture. Sin also means putting you in the place of God as Saviour, Lord, and Judge, seeking to displace the authority of the father in our own lives.

We are to just submit to God’s sovereign will and share his compassionate heart to the needy and unprivileged.

We are prone to seek "fairness" in light of what we earn or are worth. However, in this parable, Jesus shifts our focus from reward to God’s free grace and his sovereignty in our lives.

While Peter thought that his sacrifice was great and deserved more rewards (in Chapter 19), Jesus reminded Peter that reward was never earned. One can only be a recipient of the grace of God and God’s providence.

Without the sacrificial life- giving Christ, we all would continue to be in bondage to sin – remaining unemployed, and heading towards destruction. Christ first loved us. He sacrificed His life for the remission of our sins while we were yet sinners. We can do nothing to earn His grace.

Let’s simply obey God, serve God to hold on to God himself—in order to resemble him, love him, know him, and delight him. Let’s simply serve the Lord faithfully; and trust that God will take care of our needs.

We are sure of this, no matter what the needs were of these different batches of workers, that "one denarius" was the sufficient grace of God! Whether we are early or late, strong or weak, in abundance or in need, the grace of God – the ‘one denarius’ is sufficient for us.

Actually, we are all effectively the workers who come late to work, who do not deserve the one full day wage. We are all accepted, loved and saved by God, not because of our efforts but purely because of God’s own grace. God saves us not because we are lovable, but because He loves us in a radical way. It is by this radical grace of God that we are able to work in the vineyard of God.

If we truly grasp this truth, we would be moved by the Spirit to share God’s compassionate heart to bless those who are lacking. We would share the heart of God and willing identify with those under-privileged, those in need of food on the table and those looking for a roof over their heads.

Today, let’s find every opportunity to reach out to people for the salvation of their soul, and also help them in providing basic facilities to them so that their overall well-being is enhanced, and that a community of “shared abundance” can be established after God’s heart.

Apostle Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 12: 12-26:

“For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit…. For the body does not consist of one member but of many…. the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have not need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honourable we bestow the greater honour, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so comp0sed the body, giving greater honour to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together.”

Today many parts of the Western world implement generous social security to the people but not in Asia, why? Because the western civilisation for thousands of years, has been influenced and shaped by Jesus’ teaching. In that, the ideals of equality and shared abundance are taken seriously by the policy makers.

Finally, what happened to the workers who complained and whose eyes were evil? How would they respond to the reproach by the vineyard owner?  Jesus’ narrative stops there without answer. But the answer lies in how you and I today, respond to this parable.