THE PARABLE OF THE WORKERS IN THE VINEYARD

Matthew 20:1-16

Key Verse 20:16

"So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

Today we would like to think about the parable of the workers in the vineyard with a sub-title, "The Way of the First." 

If you want to become first in anything, either in school studies, in sports game, or in business, you must follow certain rules. The same is true even in playing the game GO. Those who are considered a real pro in GO always go by the rules, not by emotions or natural instincts such as greed. 

The same is true with the life in the Lord. We are in Jesus' school of faith. We are called to follow Jesus. In following Jesus and serving him there is also the way of the first. By the time Jesus gave this parable to his disciples, especially to Simon Peter, Jesus already had declared that he would build his church on the rock foundation of Simon Peter’s faith. But this did not mean that his position as the top leader was secure. He would prove worthy of that trust only if he followed certain rules, even as Jesus was about to teach them. What then are the rules for disciples to follow? What is the way of the first? A lot can be said, but based on the passage for today we would like to think about three points: first, sacrifice; second, trust; and third, thankfulness.

Part I, Sacrifice (19:27)

It has been said that in order for us to fully participate in all the blessings God has in mind for his children, we as his children must learn to distinguish what is better from what is best. And what is better always works as the enemy of what is best. It is in this context that the concept of sacrifice comes in. With this said, the first point for the one who wants to become first and remain first in serving the Lord must first learn to sacrifice everything that is in the way of us attaining to God and his great blessing for his children. 

Last Friday I flew to Chicago to attend a meeting. During the flight I had an opportunity to talk with a lady who was in her early twenties. I was seated in the middle seat, and she was seated in the window seat, right next to me. Her mother is Korean, her father Polish. She is really beautiful, like a super model. Then I noticed that she struggled hard to stay slender and shapely. Twice the flight attendants came and offered drinks. She only ordered water, whereas I ordered a cup of coffee once and orange juice. She was reading a magazine called Shape. She also carried a small plastic bag where she had all kinds of little stuff for make up. Before landing she took it out, and went through a toilsome procedure of correcting her make up. And she looked gorgeous – at least cosmetically. But her outward beauty is not my point. My point is her struggle to stay fit or cosmetically pretty. In order to look beautiful it took her almost a half hour to do her make up. In her own way she is applying the rule that says, "No sacrifice, no gain." 

This is true in our spiritual race in the Lord. In Matthew 19 we see a young man desiring to be the first to grab eternal life in God's kingdom. But it turned out that he did not want to sacrifice anything. Because he was a man of great wealth, as Jesus challenged him to sell all he had, give it to the poor and follow Jesus, he went away sad. And he became a drop out. (Matthew 19:21-22)

But Simon Peter was different. When Jesus called him, he left everything and followed Jesus. But he had a hidden agenda. He was secretly holding onto the dream of becoming successful in this world. He wanted to fulfill this dream even by utilizing Jesus. Perhaps when he asked Jesus, "We left everything to follow you, what will there be for us," he had in mind a position of power such as the prime minister’s position in Jesus’ earthly messianic kingdom. This man-made dream hindered him from remaining first in serving the Lord. 

To believe in Jesus and be saved is one thing, and to follow Jesus all the way, even to the point of suffering martyrdom, is quite another. If we want to be first in God's kingdom daily we need to learn to sacrifice everything for Jesus and follow Jesus all the way. 

Many respect St. Augustine of Hippo as one of the prominent Christian leaders in history. But many do not know how much he had to struggle to give up his lustful desires. One day, based on Romans 13:11-14, he let go of his romantic desires. Then he began a monastery movement. He grew to be an influential Christian leader. 

Many people respect Abraham in Genesis 12 as a great man of God. But as we study the book of Genesis we quickly learn that Abraham did not rise to that prominent position in God's redemptive history for nothing. By faith he went even to the point of sacrificing his one and only son Isaac! Surely the way of the first begins and ends with learning to sacrifice what is better for what is best. 

Part II, Trust (1-2; 13-16)

Sacrifice can be characterized as an output, trust an input. We are all limited. Our time, energy, passion, love, is all limited. 

When you look around yourself, you will quickly notice that among those who are in Christ, some sacrifice a lot, some sacrifice little. Some sacrifice continuously, some only for a while and no more. After a Bible conference, such as the MSU conference, a lot of people get inspired. They then go back to their own mission fields and serve the ministry sacrificially. But soon their enthusiasm becomes thin, and their desire fizzles out. But some continue to serve the Lord as sacrificially as before. 

What makes the difference? Many things can be said, but in view of the flow of the parable, the issue of trust stands out to answer the question, for it is this trust in God that continuously motivates man to serve the Lord ever so sacrificially despite seemingly limiting circumstances. If your trust in God remains intact, your service in the Lord will remain intact. If your trust in God is questionable, it also becomes questionable whether or not you would stay in the service of the Lord. So by all means we must take care of our faith in the Lord.

In the passage, Jesus saw that Simon Peter had an issue of trust in the Lord. In Matthew 19:27, Peter said, "Lord, we left everything to follow you. What will there be for us?" On hearing this Jesus saw a red flag go up, so in order to help him remain faithful in serving the Lord, Jesus gave him this parable. 

Let us read Matthew 20:1-2. "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." Here the word "agreed" holds the key to understanding the problem of Simon Peter. In the parable the landowner went out and hired workers five times throughout the day. We can call them Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D, and Class E workers, with Class A workers being those who were hired early in the morning and Class E at the latest hour. In hiring the class B through E workers, we do not see the word "agreed". They just went in without asking for a contract. 

The word "agreed" indicates that upon being asked to work in the vineyard, the class A workers asked for a contract. In the contract they nailed down the wage (v. 13). So Class A workers were “contract” workers, whereas the rest not.  

What then is the difference between the contract workers and the non-contract workers? The difference is obvious. The former did not trust (or at least questioned ever so subtly) the integrity of the landowner whereas the latter trusted his integrity. 

Again it is this trust that helps a disciple to be a disciple from first to last. Once you lose trust, you are done as a disciple. Jesus saw that sooner or later the devil would work hard to destroy the disciples' faith in the Lord. Indeed, right after this parable Jesus began to teach them that he would soon have to suffer and die. Then what will happen to the disciples? What about their future life-security? Jesus lived poor. They also lived poor. Jesus did not give them a salary. But they still remained in Jesus, expecting that a huge bonus might be waiting for them down the road. But instead of a big bonus Jesus knew that rejections and persecutions were waiting for them. Jesus knew that even the terrible prospect of suffering martyrdom was waiting for them. The question then was, "Will they continue to stick around?" 

In order to help them out Jesus gave this parable by showing his disciples, especially Simon Peter, their problem, that is, lack of trust in the Lord. Thus at the outset of the parable, Jesus pointed out the problem of trust, and at the end he gave them the reason to trust in the Lord. With this in mind let us read Matthew 20:13-16. "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." At first glance it looks as if Jesus had a lot of messages to get across. But on careful examination, especially noticing the way Jesus organized the parable, Jesus had only one point in mind. What is the point? We find an answer to this question in what Jesus says at the end: "Are you envious because I am generous?" The word "generous" is the key. God is generous. He is a graceful God. He is never like many CEO's of this world. 

In this capitalistic society we go by the idea of give and take, or in some cases, take and take, but never give and give. It is not so with God. He is in the business of giving and giving. Some times he looks so stingy in giving. For example, after promising to make Abraham to be a great nation, he made him wait 25 long years. Then in Genesis 22, by the time Abraham started to enjoy his son Isaac, God asked him to sacrifice Isaac. Yet, Abraham did not doubt God's love. He did not lose trust in God. Believing that God would raise Isaac back to life, he willingly sacrificed Isaac. When you think about it, ultimately God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac in order to give him what is truly best, that is, absolute trust in God’s absolute goodness. Figuratively speaking, Isaac is like a million dollars sitting in your bank account whereas absolute trust is like receiving a blank approval to write checks on all the money that is in all the banks in the whole world. May the Lord bless us to live by this faith from first to last.

Part III, Thankfulness (1,3-6,8)

The third point for a fruitful servant to cherish is to remain thankful to God from first to last, especially for the privilege to serve the Lord.  In reading this parable, it is quite obvious that the Class A workers became quite unhappy because they were not as thankful as they should have been. 

The Bible says that God is good, and he is always good. In his goodness, he created a beautiful universe and everything in it. And the Scriptures indicate that the reason why God created the world is to bestow upon his creation his goodness without limit. 

However, as we know, since the fall of the first man Adam, we live in this fallen world. Yet, as the Scripture says, where sin abounded, God's grace (of his goodness) abounded even more. 

When you think about it, this is doubly true with those who are called to work in God's vineyard. But at that particular moment, Simon Peter was ignorant of this blessed status. In order to enlighten him, Jesus gave him this parable. This parable then has several features which reveal thanks topics we have as gospel workers. Let us think about them briefly.

First, the kingdom of heaven (1a)

Again, the lack of thanks comes from the lack of understanding. Ignorance is the mother of complaints – resulting in bitterness. 

According to Jesus' parable, one of the first thanks topics we have in him, and yet are not fully aware of, is found in v. 1. Look at v. 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." Here the word "heaven" refers to "God". This parable is about God's kingdom. This then indicates that gospel workers like Simon Peter are called to work for God's kingdom. 

When you think about it this is a huge thanks topic. In fact no thanks topic is greater than this thanks topic, for God's kingdom represents the grandest ideal of all ideals. God's kingdom refers to the place where God is the ruler. Characteristically, God's kingdom refers to the perfect paradise where the word “prosperity” means truly prosperous. We can easily understand this concept when we compare the Kingdom of God with the kingdom of men, or the kingdom of money, not in the world outside but in the world inside, not in any other person's inner world but right inside of you. Let me ask you a question: Who is running your life? If you are a Christian, lucky you. But is it true that it is Jesus Christ who rules your heart? Or is it someone else such as your pastor, your parents, your spouse, your friends, or even you? Or is it money or something else that dictates your life? And when were you happiest or unhappiest? One person I know has been in UBF for a long period of time. But a few days ago he was not as happy as he should have been. Then as he was doing daily bread based on Matthew 20:28, he realized that the reason for his unhappiness existed not outside, but inside: God revealed that he became his own boss. He tried to impose himself on others. In repentance he removed himself from the throne established in his heart. He decided to accept Jesus as the Lord and Savior and serve him, following his example. Then deep peace and joy ruled his heart. Suddenly, everyone around him looked beautiful and lovely. Let us remember that we are already in God's kingdom. Let us be thankful then that we are called to work for the kingdom of God which rests first inside of us then in the lives of many. And this should be an eternal thanks topic for all of us to remember.

Second, the landowner (1b)

In Jesus' parable, the landowner refers to God the Father who sent Jesus. This indicates that all workers (classes A to E) are very lucky in that they have the best employer possible. 

Particularly, the word "owner" indicates that God owns the entire universe and everything in it. In Exodus 19:5-6 the Lord expresses this same idea by saying, "[T]he whole earth is mine..." If you are working at one of the fortune 500 companies, you might feel safe. But when you think about it, no job is safe in this world – and these companies are good in laying off their employees. Remember what Donald Trump is good at saying? "You are fired." In fact, he is so famous for using these three words that he even wanted to apply for a trademark protection on them: "You are fired." But we cannot criticize these worldly CEO's, for they are all limited in everything, especially in their capabilities to support their employees. But it is not so with God the Father. We must be eternally thankful to be called his children and then his workers.

Third, the vineyard (1c)

The third thanks topic is found in the word "vineyard," which has to do with our work environment. There are many aspects of thankfulness for us to talk about, but for our own purposes, let us think about its environmental aspect. 

What is it like to work in a vineyard? The class A workers described it by saying, "...we have borne the burden of the work and heat of the day." They depicted it as if life in the vineyard is no different than life in a slave farm. But let us remember that it is their description, not Jesus'. What then is it like to work there? 

In view of the generality of the Scriptures, we can say that a vineyard is an Old Testament type for the church in the New Testament. When Jesus came in John 15, Jesus directly said, "I am the vine, you are the branches..." 

So the workers in the vineyard are those who are so blessed to be in the relationship with Jesus Christ, and through him God the Father. And by the working environment we mean the spiritual environment in terms of this blessed relationship. 

The key characteristic of this relationship is grace, especially the grace of sin-forgiveness. The work environment of this world is run by a merit system. But it is not so in God's vineyard. In God’s vineyard there is the element of forgiveness and the element of healing. At that particular moment when Jesus was speaking to Simon Peter, Peter had Jesus as his own boss. In Jesus he tasted all of Jesus’ great grace. He saw how Jesus healed. He saw how Jesus freely forgave people of their sins. 

Aside from this component of grace, there is a spiritual component which makes us even more thankful. In Hebraic thought, together with oil, such as olive oil, wine refers to the Spirit of God. It is this Spirit which makes man not only justified, but also sanctified, and then glorified. It is this Spirit which makes man truly alive. This work of spiritual transformation, transforming an otherwise wash water like person into a choice wine like man, a man who bears even the image of Jesus Christ, is found only in the environment called a vineyard. And we should be eternally thankful for this blessing.

Fourth, the people (3-6)

Let us then read Matthew 20:3-6. In this passage the expression, "standing [all day long] doing nothing" is repeated. This shows us another powerful thanks topic, especially for the class E workers. Characteristically, the people standing in the market place doing nothing refers to those who are spiritually dead, and therefore lost. They represent those who still live under God's curse. Let us make clear that the word "nothing" in "doing nothing" does not mean that they indeed do nothing. At least they do something like standing or talking or chatting or playing card games. What it means then is that they are not doing anything meaningful. They do not do what lasts forever. Jesus expressed the same concept when he said to the people thronging around him, "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life" (Jn 6:27). 

When I think about myself, I am eternally thankful for the calling as a worker in God’s vineyard, for I still remember the time I spent at the dormitory in my college years. In those days I did not know the Bible. I did not know Jesus either. Very naturally, I did not know the meaning and purpose of life. So all I did was kill the time, doing nothing but playing card games. And it was horrible to even remember those days. It is only by God's grace that I am what I am. From time to time however I develop the fantasy that if I dropped the duties as a minister of God's word and retire to some remote place, I would be happier. But I know it is only a fantasy. It is an open invitation to the life of total emptiness. So I pray that God would help me to be thankful all the time and work continually until all American colleges and 233 nations will have been pioneered. 

In conclusion, we briefly thought about the way of the first in three ways: first, a sacrificial spirit, second, absolute trust in the Lord, and third, the spirit of thanks all the time. When we keep these three components, we will remain fruitful to the Lord from first to last. 

One word: The Way of the First

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