Seeds for 11/30/2023 - Matthew 19:30-20:16
Scripture: “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
“About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went.
“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 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?’
“‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
“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.’
“The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘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.’
“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Observation: Jesus brackets this parable with the last/first saying at beginning and end, a literary devise of the day, in order to make it clear that the purpose of the story is to teach us what He means by it.
So, what does He mean?
In this story, Jesus has the owner pay all workers the same amount, a day’s wages, regardless of when he added them to the workforce throughout the day. It’s what they all agreed to and he’s not underpaying the workers who started in the morning. Still, when they see him paying the later workers for a full day, they work up an expectation about what they themselves will receive.
Confession: This is one of my absolute favorite parables, and one I have an early memory of being captivated by.
Here’s the critical part:
I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?
This is the scandal of the Gospel. Receiving the generous grace of God is more than merely being moved by the mercy of God for myself and gratitude for His forgiveness. It is about recognizing God’s sovereign right to be generous as He sees fit and loving Him for His scandalous mercy.
If we are “first,” part of our conversion is to love that those who are “last” receive the same gracious pardon, the same redeeming power, the same restoring grace.
Envy at the generosity of God toward others means we’ve failed to be truly humbled by His generosity toward us. We still think we get to provide God with a performance review, evaluating His decision-making about His administration of grace. In other words, we don’t get it.
The hymn puts it starkly: “The vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.” Vilest offender who truly believes? Can we really mean that? Whether or not we do, apparently He does.
Last and first, first and last. Jesus blows those categories out of the water. If our hearts truly understand grace, if we have really come to love the God of scandalous mercy, then we’re not so concerned about guarding our spot in line. We’re more in a hurry to say, “No, no—After you!”
Application:
When are you tempted to give God a performance review based on your judgment?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, don’t just forgive me, transform my heart so that I love your forgiving grace offered to everyone. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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One of my favorites, also, Guy. Great commentary!