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.