The First and the Last
Matthew 20:1-16
For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. “About the third hour 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 the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour 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 the eleventh hour 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 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.’ “But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man 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.”
Jesus told this parable to His disciples after He had spoken to the rich man who wanted to know what he had to do to earn eternal life. After Jesus told the man to sell everything he had and follow Him, the man left Jesus’ presence, choosing money over God. Peter then told Jesus that the Twelve had done already and asked what were they to get for their sacrifice. Jesus told them they, and indeed all people who followed and believes in Him would have eternal life in Heaven with God.
Jesus then told the parable of the laborers in the vineyard which is sometimes called the parable of the hours because the time in the parable is of some importance. In the parable the owner of a vineyard went out to hire people to work in his field. The landowner went out early in the morning and hired men to work for him, agreeing to a denarius for the day’s wage. Three hours later, called the third hour in the parable, the landowner went out again and hired more men, agreeing to pay whatever is right. He landowner went out again three and six hours after that, the sixth and ninth hour in the parable, and hired more men to work in his vineyard, agreeing to pay whatever is right. Two hours later, at the eleventh hour, the landowner went out again and hired man to work. At the end of the day, which would have been the twelfth hour, the landowner told his steward to pay each man a denarius and to pay those who were hired last first going to the last. The ones that were hired first and worked the full twelve hours were upset when they received the same amount of pay as those who worked only an hour, they expected more. The landowner rebuked those men by telling them he did not wrong them, they got the payment that was agreed upon. He asked the men if their eye was evil because he was so good? He said it was perfectly lawful for him to do what he wanted with his money.
The landowner in the parable is God and the workers are the believers who are called to faith. The denarius is eternal life and the vineyard is the earth. With this explanation in place we can easily understand what Jesus was telling us. God goes out searching for those to bring to faith. When He finds them, He sends these people to work for Him in the earth spreading the Word. God constantly goes out and brings people into faith and sends them out. At the end of the day, at the end of the world, the workers are paid, given reward of life eternal in the presence of God, and all are given the same life and the same heaven.
Notice that Jesus used the word hire for the parable. It is used to show that all believers must be actively engaged in labor in the kingdom of God. God expects all His people to work. God even had Adam, moments after he was created, working by naming all of the animals. We are not meant to sit around doing nothing, but we are each called to do certain jobs and each to their abilities. Many people are good with numbers, and usually end up serving their church in the various financial areas. Some people are great organizers and serve as leaders within the church. Some are called to be pastors to care for the spiritual wellbeing of people while others become doctors to care for the physical wellbeing of people.
Jesus worked throughout His life. We know at the age of twelve Jesus was in the Temple and the teacher and they were impressed with Jesus’ understand of Scriptures and the answers He gave. We don’t have information of what Jesus did before the twelve and we are missing information for the next eighteen years, but at the end of the story about Jesus at the Temple, we are told when He left with Joseph and Mary He was obedient to them. It is logical to assume He helped Joseph’s carpentry work, that’s what sons would do. Assuming that Joseph died before Jesus turned thirty, as is a common thought among Bible scholars, Jesus as the eldest son would have been the one expected to take the mantle of head of the household.
But at the age of thirty, things would have changed; Jesus began His earthly ministry at that time. From the time of His baptism, which is generally accepted as the beginning of His ministry until His ascension, Jesus continually worked. He taught, He healed, and He performed miracles. He traveled all over Judah and into Samaria. Just the work alone to unteach His disciples what they had been taught by the priests and elders and to teach them the correct meaning of the Scriptures would have been a job in itself.
The most important job He did was the work He came to earth to do. Jesus came to live a perfect life, something that we cannot do. Sin is a part of our make up; and sin is disobedience to God. We know we, and all people, are sinners; we need look no further than the Ten Commandments to understand this fact. We do not, at all times, put our trust and faith in God first in our lives. Many times we place our faith and our trust in our own hands and our own work. We don’t, at all times, love our neighbor as ourselves. Yes, we all sin against God, and all people have since the first two people, Adam and Eve. And it is because of our sinfulness, our disobedience to God, that robs us of our perfection, and we must be perfect to enter into heaven. Jesus took the sins of all people as His own, and suffered the holy and righteous punishment from the Father in our place; the punishment of death and hell. Those who hear God’s calling to faith and receive it, have their sins lifted from them, they are forgiven, and they receive the perfect life Jesus lived for them. God now sees the believer as perfect because perfection has been given to us, it has been reestablished in us. Heaven is now open to believers, all believers in all times.
At the end of the parable, those who were hired first expected more from the landowner because they bore the heat throughout the entire day. Most certainly there have been those who have received faith very shortly before they died. My former pastor was introduced to a man who was dying of cancer on a Thursday night. He spend a great deal of time with the man on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday explaining God, sin, heaven and hell, the whole thing, baptizing the gentleman, bringing the man to faith. This man died Sunday night, a believer; saved; heaven-bound. Now I certainly could say that this person does not deserve the same heaven as I; I am a believer and longer than he, I was an elder, or deacon, in my old church and help the pastor with many tasks and devoted many, many hours of time in service to that church. I am now a pastor at True Grace Gospel Ministries. Does that man deserve the same heaven I am going to?
But Mickey could say with me. He has been a pastor in two churches; in fact I was Mickey’s trainee. He certainly has been a pastor longer than I and has sacrificed more than I in the service of God. He could ask if I deserve the same heaven as he is going to.
But then, if we look back to the Bible, we will find the twelve Apostles worked under some pretty harsh conditions. Let’s face it, Mickey and my lives are not on the line for preaching the Gospel, we’re live for goodness sake. Those twelve men worked in conditions that I believe would have caused both Mickey and me to question serving as a preacher. Should Mickey and I be allowed to go to the same heaven as the twelve Apostles?
And yet, as hostile as the conditions were for the twelve Apostles, they did not have the situation that Job had to endure. With Job, the devil had God’s permission to do his worst to Job, not just once but twice! Talk about deserving hazardous duty pay! Shouldn’t there be a special place in heaven just for Job?
Truth be told, arguments could be made for someone to be more deserving of another to have a better place than another. As Christians we are all going to endure some hardships, some more than others. Some people are going to have the ability to volunteer more than others and God gives to all different abilities, and these abilities determine what we are able to contribute in our walk with God. Some will have an easier time of receiving faith than others. We should never wonder how those who have not done as much as we have get the same blessing of heaven we get; for there will always be another out there that will have done more than we have or served longer than we have. We need to ask ourselves; did we do all that work for God to gain a higher status in His eyes, or did we do it out of love for God? Did I become a pastor to be greater in the kingdom of heaven or did I simply follow the path God laid out for me? I am grateful God has given me the honor and privilege to preach the Gospel and I sincerely pray I am doing well for Him. I believe I am or else He would have given me my pink slip by now. Throughout my life I’ll do my best to remember, and others should as well, the end of the parable of the prodigal son, “It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.” It doesn’t matter if the only thing a person does is show up for the service on Sundays; and I spend so much time at church there is a cot with my name on it. It’s not going to matter if someone was a believer for only five seconds before they died and I’ve been a believer since I was five seconds old; they are believers and saved, just like I am. I should rejoice that I will see them in heaven and not worry about who has served longer or more. I’ll gratefully take my denarius pay at the end of the day, the same wage that everyone will get, and be joyful about who I’ll be seeing in Heaven.
The parable of the worker in the vineyard gives to us some very important lessons. The first is we have to work in God’s vineyard, God has some jobs for us and we are called to do them, even Jesus worked. The second is we are all going to the same heaven, we all worship the same God, we are all saved by the same God, and we are all going to the same heaven. God is very generous with His gifts of mercy and faith; generous enough that we need not do anything to receive it. We should feel blessed for what God has given to us and happy that He gives to all. We should rejoice with God about those who have been saved, regardless of who is the first and the last. Amen.
