Matthew 20:1-16

Matthew 20:1-16

1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 “When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 “And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; 4 and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went. “Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. 6 “And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ 7 “They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’ 9 “When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. 10 “When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius.11 “When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’ 13 “But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 ‘Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. 15 ‘Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’ 16 “So the last shall be first, and the first last.”

Comparison is a dangerous game that we catch ourselves playing far too often.  When we compare ourselves to each other, many bad things can happen in our hearts.  Envy, pride, discouragement, and conflict are just a few of the sinful results of comparison.  Jesus has just had a discussion with a rich man who refused to follow Him because of his wealth.  This was followed by a discussion with his disciples about their rewards for having paid the price to follow Him.  We saw the present, kingdom and eternal rewards associated with following Christ.  It seems that Jesus wants to warn His disciples about the danger of comparing rewards.  They may have been thinking that since they were the first to follow Him, that they would get the greatest rewards.  Admittedly, there are multiple ways to interpret this teaching.  It could simply be referring to salvation.  It could be referring to the rewards of believers.  It could be Jesus speaking to the Jews about Gentiles receiving equal access through faith.  The context seems to favor one of the first two and I think I think that it is the second one, but whatever Jesus intended to teach there are some overriding principles that are helpful for us to learn.

GOD CALLS DIFFERENT PEOPLE AT DIFFERENT TIMES: The owner of the vineyard represents God.  He goes into the market place early in the morning to hire workers to work for the day at the customary price of one denarius.  It seems that all who were at the market place in the early morning were called.  He goes back at the third hour, which would be about 9 am. and find more workers who are still idol, waiting for work and invites them to go work but does not tell them what their reward will be.  He simply tells them it will be fair.  This same pattern continues at noon, 3 pm. and 5 pm.  These represent different people who were called at different times to follow Christ.  It seems to be in an answer to Peter’s question about the rewards of the disciples.  Certainly, the greatest reward associated with following Christ is eternal life.  All men, every where who accept the invitation to follow Christ will receive eternal life.  The disciples were the first He called.  The publicans and sinners were called later.  Some come to Christ as children, others on their death beds.  Jews were invited to follow in ancient history.  Some people groups are still waiting for their opportunity.  Not everyone has the same experience in their invitation to follow Christ.

GOD IS GRACIOUS AND GENEROUS WITH HIS REWARDS: When the end of the day arrived, the workers were paid in the reverse order that they had been hired and they were all paid the same amount.  Those who had been hired later in the day had not been told what they would receive, but they must have presumed it would be a percentage of at daily wage proportionate to the time they had worked.  When the person who had worked only one hour received a full day’s wage; he must have been ecstatic.  The generosity of the owner was all these workers would have considered.  It is vital for us to constantly remember the grace and generosity of the Lord.  The fact that we are invited to follow Christ at all is a demonstration of marvelous grace!  Any reward received is pure generosity.  Worshipful gratitude is the only proper response to the Lord when we consider the honor it is to follow Him.  When we complain it reveals pride and ingratitude welling up in our hearts.  Focus on God’s glorious grace and rejoice in His generosity.

GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES AND ABHORS JEALOUSY: God is always faithful to keep His promises.  He had told the first workers that were hired exactly what they would be paid, and that promise was kept.  The workers would have had no problem if they had been paid the exact amount that they were paid if all the other workers had been paid less.  In reality, their complaint was not that they were paid too little; it was simply that the others were paid too much.  The vineyard owner decided to be exceptionally generous with those who worked less, and this generosity caused the other workers to complain.  It is clear the complaint was born out of jealousy.  They thought that since the owner was so generous with others, that he would be generous with them as well.  Comparison usually leads to envy and envy leads to ingratitude.  Following Christ is its own reward.  It is a gracious gift to be able to follow the Lord.  We must never lose sight of that truth.  We must rejoice in the privilege of being adopted into the family of God, and rejoice over all who join us there for eternity.

APPLICATION: Rejoice in the wonderful gift of eternal life.  Don’t allow jealousy to rob us of the joy of our salvation and following Christ.  Don’t compare ourselves with others; rejoice in God’s grace in calling us to follow Him.