Matthew 20: 1 – 16
Expectancy
Matthew 19: 30, “30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour and did likewise. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’ 8 “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ 9 And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. 11 And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ 13 But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what is yours and go your way. 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 my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.”
A topic which I observe is not talked about is the subject ‘expectancy.’ I think you know the meaning for all of us have developed this way of viewing things which is the state of thinking or hoping that something, especially something pleasant, will happen or be the case
Experts have even developed a theory on how we humans react this way. They call it Expectancy theory (or expectancy theory of motivation). It proposes an individual will behave or act in a certain way because they are motivated to select a specific behavior over others due to what they expect the result of that selected behavior will be. The motivation of the behavior selection is determined by the desirability of the outcome.
Expectancy theory is about the mental processes regarding choice, or choosing. It explains the processes that an individual undergoes to make choices.
The expectancy theory of motivation explains the behavioral process of why individuals choose one behavioral option over the other. This theory explains that individuals can be motivated towards goals if they believe that there is a positive correlation between efforts and performance, the outcome of a favorable performance will result in a desirable reward, a reward from a performance will satisfy an important need, and/or the outcome satisfies their need enough to make the effort worthwhile. Expectancy.
Expectancy theory has three components: expectancy, instrumentality, and valence.
1. Expectancy: effort - performance
2. Instrumentality: performance - outcome
3. Valence: outcome - reward
Today we are going to see this emotion in action as our Precious Holy Lord and Savior Jesus Christ teaches His disciples the truth which matters
This Parable includes those who will serve as judges and overseers over the twelve tribes of Israel (19.28), and those who for His sake will forsake land and loved ones in His service (19.29). It includes all who are called to work as laborer’s in His vineyard (9.37-38). And here Jesus emphasizes the need for none to be foolhardy. While He will reward them, they should not be looking for rewards. They should be looking for God to deal graciously with His own. For the owner of the vineyard of Israel will pay all His workers equally, whatever their labors, as long as they have labored faithfully once called upon to do so. And that is because the reward is not of deserving but is of grace. Thus, none has any right to more than any other.
Matthew 19: 30, “30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
Our Lord Jesus’ point is that their walk in the Spirit (12.28; 3.11) must be maintained. For many who get in early, and develop quickly, but find the going hard, will finish up last, because their attitude is poor (last but not lost. This is not speaking of Judas). While many who start slowly and develop more gradually will end up first. For each of us progress must thus be continuous if we are to receive the fullest blessing, whether we commence at the first hour or the eleventh hour. This is what the ensuing parable is now all about as verse 16 makes clear.
But it is also about something else, and that is the pure goodness of the owner of the vineyard. It makes quite clear that he represents God. Only God would show such goodness in such a fashion. For His concern was not only to get the harvest in, or the work done, but also to give full satisfaction even to those who did not deserve it.
20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
What is the Kingdom of Heaven like? It is like a man who is a householder/estate owner and owns a vineyard. This estate owner goes out early in the morning to hire laborers into His vineyard. Thus, He is calling them to come under the Kingdom Rule of Heaven so that they might serve Him. Here we have the indication that all His disciples are now being recruited for His mission (9.37-38) and will continue to be so. They are to be sent out to bring in the harvest.
In those days those who had no strips of land, or insufficient strips of land, of their own, would hire themselves out to the wealthier landowners to earn a living. And this was done by standing in the market place or the great square around the gate of the city and waiting for the hirers to come along. This was necessary for them so that they could earn money to put food into their children’s’ mouths. And a denarius was a normal day pay for such workers. It was in fact all that larger families could do to survive on such a small amount. And workers like this were despised and looked down on. They were almost penniless and little better than slaves. They subsisted on whatever work they could get.
The words ‘Early in the morning’ would be at dawn, indicating the commencement of the new Day.
2 Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
In this case the estate owner agreed with the workers whom He hired from those who were standing there, a fair wage for a day’s work, one denarius. Then He sent them to work in His vineyard, no doubt under His manager (verse 8). The laborers were quite satisfied. He had offered them the usual rate for the job. That was important. God cheats or underrates no man.
3 And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So, they went.
Presumably the work was falling behind with the result that His manager informed Him that more workers were needed. But the purpose of the details is not to explain the estate owner’s reasons but to get over the idea of a gradually ongoing situation. So, He again goes out to look for laborer’s, this time at roughly 9.00 am. And in the marketplace, He finds that there are still many laborer’s who have not found work. So, He again selects out some workers. They would have been there from early morning, but no one had previously hired them (verse 7). To these He promises that He will pay ‘whatever is right’. To this they agree, for they know that they cannot expect a full denarius, and they are desperate to obtain work. And like the others they go to work in His vineyard. Note the deliberate emphasis on the fact that they are to trust the estate manager to do what is right.
5 Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour and did likewise.
Again, perhaps His manager twice warns Him that with the workforce that they have the work will not be finished by the evening. But whatever the reason He goes out around noon and then again around 3.00 pm. (15.00 hours). And again, He hires laborers on the same terms as the previous ones at 9.00 am, the terms of trust and obedience. His operations are to go on all through the day.
6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’
But still the workers prove insufficient and the call comes for more workers (compare 9.38). So, at around 5.0 pm (17.00 hours), at ‘the eleventh hour’, He goes out and He still find laborers whom no one has hired. And He asks them why no one has hired them. The purpose of the question is to demonstrate that they are not layouts but have genuinely been there all day waiting for work. By this time, they were aware that for that day at least, their children would go hungry.
It should be noted here that the assumption is that those who are not laboring for the estate owner are ‘idle’ (not working). It visualizes only one occupation that is worthwhile in this coming new age, that of serving the Lord of the vineyard.
7 They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’
So, they inform the landowner that the reason that they are still there, (having stood there be it noted through the heat of the day), is because no one has hired them. We can imagine how they were feeling, and even more their great delight when the landowner hires them at a time when they were past hope. Their pay for work at the end of the day might be small, but it will be better than nothing, and for that they are grateful. It may at least buy some stale barley bread for their families to feed on.
8 “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’
Then when evening comes the Estate Owner calls to His manager and tells him to line up the laborer’s so that they can receive their pay. Paying at the end of the day, on the same day, was a requirement of the Law (Leviticus 19.13). And He tells him to pay the last who were employed first. His gracious treatment continues to the end.
9 And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.
When the men who had been employed at the eleventh hour came forward they expected very little, and they must have been astounded when He paid them a denarius. This was not what they had anticipated at all. They had expected only a fraction of a denarius. But we are to gather that the estate owner was a good and righteous man and recognized that they had been without work through no fault of their own. And He also recognized that they would have families to feed. Thus, He had determined to pay them enough to feed their families. The generosity of heart is intended to indicate that he is like God (compare 5.45), and that He will meet sufficiently the needs of all His people (compare 6.30). We are left to imagine the overflowing gratitude and praise that would fill their hearts.
10 But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.
When the men who had worked all day saw his treatment of the others their eyes would glisten. Clearly, they would be paid much more than a denarius. And they came forward confidently to receive their due. But they too only received a denarius.
The intermediate workers are not mentioned in the final payout, and the assumption is that they too were paid a denarius. But their importance in the parable is in the indication that the estate owner continued to call on people to work in His vineyard all through the day and called on them to trust Him to deal rightly with them in the end.
We must remember that this is a parable. It is not saying that all who commence work at the very beginning will be dissatisfied at the end, or that none of the others will be dissatisfied. It is using extremes to bring out a lesson. We may in fact happily assume that some would in real life be content with their denarius.
11 And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’
The workers who had worked all day were furious and muttered among themselves, pointing out to each other that they had worked throughout the whole day, bearing the burden of the greater part of the work, and working even when the sun was hottest. And yet this mean-minded, ungrateful rich estate owner had only paid them the same as He had paid those who had only worked from 5.00 pm to nightfall. They ignored the fact that it was what had been agreed, and that these others had waited hopelessly in the sun all day with only despair in their hearts. They did not consider it fair. And our hearts are so hardened that we tend to agree with them, for we all like to think in terms of what we deserve, failing to recognize that if we too got what we deserved our case would be hopeless. But the question that will now be answered is, was their attitude, right? (Note that this is not a parable about wage negotiations and fair play. It is a parable about a gracious and good Estate Owner in His dealings with unfortunates and the fact that our attitude should be the same).
For us we need to understand that the workers hired earlier in the day were not anymore gifted than those who were hired at the beginning of the day. Just think how these men were saddened and stressed that they might not be able to feed their families that day. They were expecting to come home empty handed.
13 But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?
The estate owner, who was a good man, then gently took one of them aside, and calling him His ‘friend’, an act of graciousness, He pointed out that He had done him no wrong, for He had paid him exactly what he had agreed. Why then was he grumbling when he had received the amount agreed in their contract?
14 Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.
Then He pointed out that what He had done was what was in accordance with His own will, and that was to pay a living wage to everyone regardless of their misfortune at not finding work until late on (in fact a good Union principle). This stress on the owner’s ‘will’ is a further indication that he represents God Who does according to His own will, and we should ever be grateful for the fact that it is His will not to give us what we deserve, but to benefit even the least deserving.
15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’
Then He explained His purpose. His money was lawfully His, so that He could do with it what He would. And because He was a good man He had decided to pay the unfortunates who had not been able to find work until late, enough to feed their families. This was an act of His own goodness, not a matter of what was deserved. (He had not withheld part of their denarius with which to help others). For His purpose had been to ensure that none went without. Thus, He had performed His will, and He had done what was right, but He had also gone further. He had done what was more than right, He had done what was ‘good’ (compare 19.17). This clearly identifies him as representing God, and not just any benefactor.
‘Is your eye evil.’ This metaphor almost certainly has in mind Deuteronomy 15.9 where it represents the eye that is ungenerous towards the needy. It is a rebuke indicating that with all their claims to what was lawful their hearts were not set to obey the Law as promulgated in Deuteronomy 14.28-15.11, the Law of generosity to the poor. It also brings out the principle on which the Estate Owner was working, that of benefiting and providing for the poor and needy. The evil eye, ungenerous itself, was looking at One Who was truly good, and therefore it could not understand. But how glad we should be that God is like this. For few of us, even if we survive the burden and heat of the day, do it without some failure. How wonderful then it is to know that in the end we will still hear His ‘well done’.
16 So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.”
And thus the story tells us that because of God’s goodness and graciousness, and because our spirits can so easily become jealous and hardened, it is often the last who become first, while the first become last. This is a warning, not a threat. The sad thing in the parable is that it was the men who had worked hardest who came out worst, not because they were not paid, but because they were ungracious and mean-spirited and finished up dissatisfied.
It is interesting how often commentators at this point cite stories where a man who only worked a short time did as much in that short time as those who had worked all day. It emphasizes our sense of fair play. But that is almost to cancel out the point of the story. For the point of the story is not that we get what is due because of what we have accomplished, but that if we have done our best God is so gracious that we all get far more than we deserve, regardless of how much we have done. The point is that God is generous beyond deserving to those who seek to serve Him and that we should not be looking at what others get but wondering at His graciousness in giving us so much when we are the least deserving.
For the real emphasis of the story is not the workforce, nor on what they received, but is on how we should conceive the goodness and graciousness of God, and on the fact that we will all come out of His vineyard with far more than we deserve, because of how good and generous He is. It is that our rating does not depend on what we deserve, but on His goodness alone.
Thus, the idea that ‘the last will be first, and the first last’ warns against presumption when we are dealing with Someone Who is the very opposite of all our reasoning, because He does not think in terms of what we deserve, but in terms of love. None can set himself up above any other, and the Apostles least of all. If this was not intended to prevent the Apostles getting the wrong idea about their ‘thrones’ we do not know what else would have been. And shortly in our next study we shall learn how necessary it was.
