Get into the Field!
Matthew 20:1-16
April 13, 2007
NOTE: THE ME/WE/GOD/YOU/WE FORMAT USED IN MY MESSAGES IS BORROWED FROM ANDY STANLEY’S BOOK, "COMMUNICATING
FOR A CHANGE."
Me: I think it will come as a shock to absolutely no one here that I know next to nothing about agriculture.
Almost everything I know about farming came from watching Mr. Greenjeans on Captain Kangaroo.
My grandparents on my mother’s side were farmers, and their farm is still in that family.
But when they start talking about stuff, it’s like they’re speaking a different language altogether.
You know how in certain situations you find yourself having to pretend you’re actually interested in what the other person is saying?
When farmers start talking, I can’t even do that. I just get this blank look on my face that makes it plain to everyone else that I don’t have a clue what they’re talking about.
Scripture uses some farming analogies, and the passage we’re going to look at today is one of them.
Thankfully, it’s not really about farming, and so I think I can grasp what Jesus is talking about, and that is that working for the Kingdom brings reward.
But beyond that, it says to me that Jesus is continually looking for people to work for Him, and that means that He can use me, as hard as that is for me (and others) to believe sometimes.
We: One of the challenges that pastors face is convincing their people that God has work for them to do – work for His kingdom.
Work that God has commissioned His people to do that will impact others for eternity.
Maybe you’re here today, in whatever situation, and you’re wondering, “Does God have anything for me to do? Can He possibly use me?
The answer is yes! And not only does He have work for you, but He rewards that work. And He wants you to share in that reward.
God: Our passage for today is found in Matthew 20:1-16 (p. 697) –
1 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 "About the third hour (about 9:00 AM) 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 the sixth hour (noon) and the ninth hour (3:00 PM) and did the same thing. 6 About the eleventh hour (5:00 PM) 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 the eleventh hour 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 men 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, ’Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the man 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."
Let me give you just a little background to help give some context to what Jesus is describing here.
The normal workday in Jesus’ time was about 10 hours, not counting breaks. The pay in this parable was the normal wage for a foot soldier or day laborer. (EBC, p. 427)
And day-laborers were paid at the end of the day, not at the end of a two-week pay period like so many do today. This was required so that the poor wouldn’t go hungry, according to Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
It’s incredibly important to understand that the landowner wasn’t being unfair to the workers who had been working all day.
He paid what was agreed, and what was the standard for the day. He was being just in his payment to them.
But he was being gracious and generous to those who had worked less. That’s not wrong, unjust, or discriminatory. It’s gracious.
And think about it. If you were one of the last one’s hired, you would expect a smaller amount, right? But how would you react if you got a full day’s pay?
“Look, Bub! This is entirely unfair to the others. So you can just keep your denarius until those other guys get more pay!”
Nope – you’d be thankful for the generosity of the owner. At least you should be.
Commentators have different ideas and opinions as to what the main point of the parable is.
One says that “The message of the parable is that God’s loving mercy accepts the lowest member of society on an equal footing with the elite. Those who come to God—regardless of social strata, age, material wealth, or heritage, and no matter when in life they come—will all be accepted by him on an equal footing. Such generosity, such grace, ought to cause all believers great joy.” (LANTC)
Another says, “Jesus was teaching that the matter of rewards is under the sovereign control of God, the ‘Landowner’ in the parable. God is the One before whom all accounts will be settled. Many who have prominent places will someday find themselves demoted. And many who often find themselves at the end of the line will find themselves promoted to the head of the line: The last will be first, and the first will be last. In the final accounting, the Lord’s analysis will carry the greatest and only important weight.” (BKC)
And there are other ideas as well.
And I think that all of those ideas have merit, and maybe one of them is the one God intended. I don’t know.
Regardless of the opinions regarding the “point” of the parable, three things are plain:
1. The landowner, representing God (The kingdom of heaven is like…), is generous.
2. There will be a reversal of the worldly order of things (The last will be first, and the first will be last).
The tall will be short, and the full-haired will be bald…you get the idea…
And the thing I want to focus on for today…
3. There is always work to be done for the kingdom.
And what is the work of the Kingdom? To restore people’s relationship to God by faith in Christ?
Some things to understand about the work:
* The work is not finished until the “Landowner” returns.
* The work is a community effort.
It cannot be done by one person.
* The work is not just for “professionals” such as pastors and evangelists.
Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, “A landowner went out early in the morning to find trained and licensed grape-pickers who carried union cards.”
The landowner used the available workforce.
In the same way, Jesus isn’t waiting around to find “just the right people.”
If you are a believer in Jesus, you are the right people!”
And another thing: the vineyard you’re supposed to be working is right where you live and work.
It’s among your friends, family, co-workers, or wherever God has placed you.
And because of that, you’re the best person to be able to reach them for Christ.
* You will be justly rewarded for your work for the Kingdom.
1 Corinthians 15:58 –
58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
You: So what do I want you to take away from this parable of Jesus?
Get into the field!
Become involved in Kingdom work.
If you’re waiting for an invitation, here it is! You’re hired!
The Apprentice – Donald Trump’s hair. “You’re hired.”
So guess what I want to tell you today? You’re hired!
You’re hired no matter your age. You’re hired no matter your background. You’re hired no matter your limitations. You’re hired no matter hired no matter your social status. You’re hired no matter what your checkbook has in it – or doesn’t have in it.
You’re hired whether you’re young, old, or in between, whether you’ve got hair or not, or even if you like disco.
You’re hired!
“But wait just a moment, Brian. We hired you to do that stuff. That’s what pastors do, right?”
I am so glad you asked that!
Ephesians 4:11 (NLT) –
11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
You see, part of my job is to help YOU do the work of ministry, as the NIV puts it.
My main responsibility as a pastor isn’t to just make sure you have a church service to come to on Sundays or to a “chaplain” for the fellowship.
It’s to help you become people who get involved in that all-important work of restoring people’s relationship with God by faith in Christ and helping them live for Him.
Folks, there’s nothing more important than that, as far as our work on earth is concerned.
People out there are dying without Christ, and it’s up to all of us here to see how many of them we can help find forgiveness and eternal life.
Get into the field.
God has gifted every one of us for service in His field. He has given you talents, abilities, and spiritual gifts for the purpose of building His kingdom and building up the people in it.
If you want help in finding out just how He’s gifted you to work in His field, I would love to walk you through that, and to help you find ways to use those gifts.
And let me tell you something: when you really start working in the way God has wired you to work, not only do you get to see God do some awesome things through you, you’ll also see God do some awesome things IN you.
We: Let’s show the Aberdeen and Brown County area that we’re serious about following Jesus and His words about getting into the field.
Rick Warren says that if we’re not willing to reach out to those outside of Christ, then basically we’re telling them to go to hell.
And you know what’s really sad? Some of you are more upset that I said “go to hell” than you are about the fact that many will.
My prayer is that this church will be characterized by a love for God that drives us to help others find Him as we have.
Let’s pray.
