Introduction
Frederick Bruner wrote, “Judgment will be a day of surprises.” Today we begin looking at four parables that relate to the day of judgment. Indeed, there are surprises in all of them. This is a simple story, but it also complex. This parable begins and ends with the saying of Jesus, “But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.” (MT 19:30 LSB)
Matthew 20:1-16, MSG
“God’s kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work.
3-5 “Later, about nine o’clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went.
5-6 “He did the same thing at noon, and again at three o’clock. At five o’clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, ‘Why are you standing around all day doing nothing?’
7 “They said, ‘Because no one hired us.’
“He told them to go to work in his vineyard.
8 “When the day’s work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, ‘Call the workers in and pay them their wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.’
9-12 “Those hired at five o’clock came up and were each given a dollar. When those who were hired first saw that, they assumed they would get far more. But they got the same, each of them one dollar. Taking the dollar, they groused angrily to the manager, ‘These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun.’
13-15 “He replied to the one speaking for the rest, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn’t we? So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?’
16 “Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first.”
Though we might have a lot of questions about this text, there are some good words for all of us to hear today.
1. This is a Good Word for the Strugglers.
The strugglers in the story are those who are hired late in day. They are willing to work, but no one to hire them. They may have families to feed, debts that they owe - and yet no one has hired them. In an amazing reversal, the Landowner pays them first - for all to see - this is a beautiful picture of amazing grace.
Jesus always was drawn to those who didn’t make the grade, they didn’t measure up to the world around, they failed to pass the respectability tests!
Matthew 11:19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ …”
Matthew 12:20 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out …
“My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it.” - Brennan Manning
2. This is a Good Word for the Secure.
The Secure are the laborers hired in the morning. They were hired first. They were the only ones with an offer of how much they would be paid. They were early and worked hard all day. They had no doubt that they had earned every penny. This is why they are so upset when the later hires received the same pay. Swindoll: “Their words suggest resentment, anger, and the feeling that they had been treated unfairly.”
Who is Jesus talking about here?
Is he talking about the apostles here? They spend time with Jesus and can often think highly of their own importance.
Is he talking about the Jewish Christians here? They have a long and rich heritage in following God and may resent the Gentiles coming in and being treated as equals. Is he talking about us here? Do we feel that we have given God many years of service and we have earned his love and respect? Do we resent it when someone younger or newer or less holy gets appreciation and we do not?
It’s a word to the Secure. It’s not an easy word. Taylor: “The parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard is a little like cod liver oil: You know Jesus is right, you know it must be good for you, but that does not make it any easier to swallow.”
It comes in the context of dealing with self-importance.
19:13-15 - Disciples tell children to go away, and Jesus tells them to come “for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
19:16-26 - A really good moral man asks Jesus about eternal life. He felt good about his deeds, but his heart was in the wrong place. Jesus told him to sell all he had - he went away sad.
19:27 Peter props himself up with, “We have left everything to follow You! What then will there be for us?” Jesus assures them that they will be rewarded - but then comes that statement: But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”
20:20-28 Then comes this parable … followed by James and John’s mother asking for them to have a special place in the kingdom!
Are we picking up a theme here? To the secure, strong, obedient, and moral we have a word: don’t let it go to your head. You’re still saved by grace!
Lightfoot: “Do to be so much concerned about what you are going to get. In the Kingdom of Heaven it is not a matter of punching the clock, so much work and so much reward. If that is your attitude, great as your work may be, it will be small in the sight of God. Men may regard you first, but God will regard you last.”
“For God is not unrighteous so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and continuing to minister to the saints.” -Hebrews 6:10
It’s a good word to the strugglers and the secure…
3. This is a Good Word for the Seekers About God
The God Who Seeks. Bruner: “That the landlord goes out himself (and does not send his servant instead), that he goes out so often, and that he goes out even at the eleventh hour - all these little features in the story teach the great love of God for human beings.” No matter who you are, you are sought after by a God who loves you.
The God Who Decides. Taylor: “God is not fair, but depending on where you are in line that can sound like powerful good news, because if God is not fair, then there is a chance we will get paid more than we are worth, that we will get more than we deserve, that we will make it through the doors even though we are last in line - not because of who we are but because of who God is.”
“The true Christian does not worry about reward. He leaves it up to God. He knows that to be with God in eternity is the greatest of all rewards.” - Dr. Neil Lightfood
Conclusion
There are really three conclusions for this lesson.
One, for the Strugglers who think they are just barely going to squeak in to acceptance on the day of judgment - take heart!
Two, for the Secure who think they’ve earned a pretty good spot in line by your goodness, it’s time to appreciate the grace given that is your only hope.
Three, for the Seekers, we have an awfully generous King.
He seeks after you today. He gives sufficiently to all. He has decided that he likes you and wants to live with you forever. No one in this parable is lost, but it’s a reminder of how we are saved.
Judgment day is a day of surprises - this parable surprises us - and it is a great reminder that we are only saved by the grace of God and could never earn it.
John Newton once said: “When I get to heaven, I shall see three wonders. The first will be to see many persons there whom I did not expect to see; the second will be to miss many whom I did expect to see; the greatest wonder of all will be to find myself there.” (Via Lightfoot)
“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” -Matthew 20:16
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Resources
Bruner, Frederick Dale. The Churchbook, Matthew 13-28. Eerdmans, 1990.
Hare, Douglas A. Interpretation, Matthew. John Knox Press, 1993.
Lightfoot, Neil R. Lessons from the Parables. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1965.
Swindoll, Charles R. Swindoll’s Living Insights: Matthew 16-28. Tydale, 2020.
Taylor, Barbara Brown. The Seeds of Heaven: Sermons on the Gospel of Matthew. Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.
