The Lord Jesus would often take some unusual things and use those things to teach us a spiritual lesson. In this parable, He used WORK and WAGES to teach us a spiritual lesson.
Illus: When it comes to labor and management, I think about the man who applied for a job. It went something like this:
• Manager: "I'm sorry I can't hire you, but there isn't enough work to keep you busy."
• Applicant: "You'd be surprised how little it takes."
(PULPIT HELPS, Sept., 1990)
I also think about -
Illus: The newlyweds went off on a honeymoon. When they got back, the bride immediately called her mother.
"Well," said her mother, "How was the honeymoon?"
"Oh, mama," she replied, "the honeymoon was wonderful! So romantic..."
Suddenly she burst out crying. "But, mama, as soon as we returned, Sam started using the most horrible language - things I'd never heard before! I mean, all these awful 4-letter words! You've got to come get me and take me home... PLEASE MAMA!"
"Sarah, Sarah," her mother said, "calm down! Tell me, what could be so awful? WHAT 4-letter words?"
"Please don't make me tell you, mama," wept the daughter, "I'm so embarrassed; they're just too awful! COME GET ME, PLEASE !!!"
"Darling, baby, you must tell me what has you so upset... Tell your mother these horrible 4-letter words!"
Still sobbing, the bride said, "Oh, mama... words like: DUST, WASH, IRON, COOK......."
Mother said, "I'll pick you up in ten minutes!”
There are many lessons we can learn from work.
Illus: A farmer had several boys, and he worked them extremely hard around the farm. One day one of the neighbors pointed out that it wasn't necessary to work the boys that hard to raise a crop. The farmer quietly but firmly responded, "I'm not just raising a crop. I'm also raising boys."
In this parable, the Lord is trying to raise some spiritually mature Christians who will begin to think the way He does.
Let’s look at the-
I. THE EMPLOYEES
Look at verses 1-2, we read, “For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.”
Work in the days of the Lord was not like the work of ordinary people today.
For example, during this time, the hired laborers had to wait each day in the marketplace until someone hired them for a day's job. Of course, no work, no money, no food!
So the people then, like the people now, were very conscious of making money! So many times the discussion was about how much money each one was making.
But since many worked different hours, you would naturally assume they made different wages. But God does not do things the way we do them.
The Lord said, in Isaiah 55:8, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.”
We can see that in this parable.
Look at verses 3-7, speaking of the landowner, we read, “And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.”
• In Verse 1, we see that the Land owner went out early in the morning and hired laborers.
• In Verse 3, in the third hour (high noon), he went to the market place and hired more laborers and sent them into His vineyard.
• In verse 5, in the sixth hour (three O’clock) of the day, he went out and hired more laborers and sent them into his vineyard.
• In verse 6, in the eleventh hour (6 O’clock) of the day, he went out and hired more and sent them into his vineyard.
Four different times he hired laborers to work in his vineyard, and the Bible makes it clear that they all agreed to work for a certain amount of pay.
Now this is a good lesson for Christians to learn.
Illus: When you go to work for a BUSINESS, COMPANY OR A CORPORATION, and you agree to work for a certain amount, this is called an agreement. That is, you have their word that they will pay you that much, and they have your word that you will work for that much.
But here is the problem! It seems some folks do not know what an agreement is between two people. In the midst of the agreement, some decided the agreement they made with the landowner was no longer valid.
Listen, if you do not like the agreement, you never should have made it to start with.
But it is not Christ-like to enter an agreement, and once it is made, to then go behind the back of the other party and make them look bad.
The landowner talked with all four of these different people, and came to an agreement with each of them. They all agreed to work for a certain amount!
We have looked at THE EMPLOYEES, but now let’s look at-
II. THE EMPLOYER
The confusion came when some worked longer than others, but they all received the same wages.
This is a labor dispute between LABOR and MANAGEMENT. But let’s look more closely at this dispute, it is about:
• Employees complaining that they received the wage they’d agreed to work for
• The boss defending his right to pay more than is necessary if he so chooses
• Wanting to get the same wages, no matter how long you work
The employees are raising the argument, and this is not fair!
Illus: Perhaps at the Marketplace the next day, someone would say, “How many hours did you work, and how much did you make?” The person would tell them, and the person would say, “That’s not fair, I went to work at 7 O’clock in the morning, and you went to work at 6 O’clock in the afternoon, and you made as much as I made working all day!”
If they agreed to work for that amount of money, what the landowner pays others is none of their business.
The Lord is trying to teach them that things in the Kingdom of heaven do not work the way things work on your job. The Lord Jesus spent a lot of his time teaching that the Kingdom of Heaven does not work the way the world works, they are two very different things.
The ways of the Kingdom of God are generally just the opposite of the way we do things. In the previous chapter, He taught some of these things, such as:
• The last shall be first, and the first last
• Forgive as many times as it’s required
• Eat with the socially outcast
Do any of these sound like things the world suggests for those who want to get ahead? I can assure you, they do not teach that this is how you get ahead, at Yale or Harvard.
God is generous in opening the doors of his kingdom to all who will enter, both those who have labored a lifetime for Him and those who come at the last hour of their life.
Illus: Did you know that you can work for the Lord for fifty years on this earth, and a sinner, like the thief on the cross who accepted the Lord and died, will be able to enjoy the same heaven you and I who served the Lord for many years will enjoy?
Why: Because God deals with us:
• INDIVIDUALLY
• GRACIOUSLY
When it comes to salvation, WORKS do not count AT ALL!
DO OUR GOOD WORKS COUNT FOR ANYTHING THEN? Yes, we all enter heaven by the grace of God, but our works will determine our eternal rewards.
But just because we do something good, does not determine that God is going to reward us for it. Did you know:
• You can come to church every time the doors are open for fifty years, and not receive any eternal reward for your coming
• You can tithe every week, and not receive any rewards when you get to heaven
• You can pass out Gospel tracts on every street corner, and not receive any rewards for doing it
You see, our rewards will be determined by WHY WE DID THINGS, not WHAT WE DID!
Many Christians are going to be surprised on the Judgment day, when they see their works will not pass the test. This is why the Bible teaches us that every man’s works shall be tested.
Look at 1 Cor. 3:12-15, we read, “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”
Notice, the person will be saved, “So as by fire,” but his works that did not pass the test will be burned.
This is going to be a disappointing time for many folks who have labored for many years, but they labored for the wrong reasons.
You see, God gave the same reward to the man who worked one hour, as the man who started to work early that morning. Why? Because it is not the length of time you serve that determines your reward, but the faithfulness of your service.
Illus: There probably are going to be some preachers that have preached for fifty years, and on the judgment day, someone who only served the Lord a few short years will stand before them because they were 100% faithful to the Lord, whereas perhaps the preacher was only 90% faithful.
Now when it comes to eternal rewards, WORKS WILL COUNT! But they must be done with the right motive.
Because we keep trying to humanize God, to have Him do things the way we do things, we have a lot of problems from time to time.
WHAT CAUSES SOME OF THE PROBLEMS?
(1) WE MORTALS HAVE A HARD TIME MINDING OUR OWN BUSINESS
The problem came in this parable because some could not mind their own business.
This has always been a problem with mankind, it is not only a problem we have today, it is also a problem they had when Peter was here.
Look at John 21:14-22 “This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me. Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.”
Peter said to the Lord, “…And what shall this man do…” Jesus, in a very polite way, said, “That is none of your business!”
It is simply amazing how many people are always complaining about others, but yet they do not take care of the things in their own lives.
WE MORTALS HAVE A HARD TIME MINDING OUR OWN BUSINESS, and this causes some serious problems in the church today.
Another thing that causes problems in the church today is-
(2) WE MORTALS ARE JEALOUS OF EACH OTHER
In this parable, those who labored all day were jealous that those who had worked only a portion of the day were going to receive the same pay they received.
Illus: From John Maxwell's book, The Winning Attitude: Two cows were grazing in a pasture when they saw a milk truck pass. On the side of the truck were the words, "Pasteurized, homogenized, standardized, vitamin A added." One cow sighed and said to the other, "Makes you feel sort of inadequate, doesn't it?" (Ron Willoughby, Augusta, Georgia. Leadership, Vol. 17, no. 3.)
Mortals do not like feeling inadequate, they want to feel like they are superior. If anyone has more than they do, and seem to be getting ahead, they get bent out of shape fast.
Illus: Charles L. Allen in, The Miracle of Love, writes of a fisherman friend who told him that one never needs a top for his crab basket. If one of the crabs starts to climb up the sides of the basket, the other crabs will reach up and pull it back down. Some people are a lot like crabs.
Conclusion:
God’s way of working with people is to look at people the way He looks at people.
Illus: A stand up comedian said it best, he said, "The place you want to be, the place everybody wants to be, is not first, or fifth, or tenth, or last in line, but NEXT in line." The stand-up comedian actually went on, "And here's a great thing--you can let somebody go in line in front of you, or even cut in line in front of you, and still be NEXT." That's the spirit of this Gospel. (Joan Hunt Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Portland, Oregon )
What is it going to take to get people to understand this message?
There is so much work in the Lord’s Kingdom that needs to be done, and it is simply amazing how much can be done, if we do not care who receives the credit.
Let’s stop fussing about others, and concentrate on what we can do for the Lord.
I. THE EMPLOYEES
