“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
“About nine in the morning 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 noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon 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 five in the afternoon 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 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, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one 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.” (Matthew 20:1-16 NIV)
“God’s not fair.” How often do you hear that? Do you even say that yourself sometimes? “God’s not fair.” That seems to be a popular thought. When the wrong people succeed in life… “God’s not fair.” When nothing you do works out the way it should… “God’s not fair.” When you don’t get the recognition you deserve… “God’s not fair.” When sickness or tragedy or disaster strikes you or those you love… “God’s not fair.” How often do you hear that? Do you say that yourself?
Know what the Bible says? “Of course he’s not!” Does that surprise you? “Of course God’s not fair!” Here’s what I mean: What if God were to give us what we truly deserve? How would that go? Well, what do we deserve? Every time we sin, we deserve to be punished. The Bible actually says that just one sin deserves condemnation in hell. What if God were fair? What if God gave us today what we actually deserve? We’d be toast. Instead, God is gracious. Remember what grace is? Undeserved love. God’s not fair. He doesn’t give us what we deserve. He gives us grace.
As I say that, I need to clarify something. Of course, God is perfect. That means God is perfectly just and perfectly fair. But God’s fairness doesn’t match up with our sense of human fairness. God’s justice doesn’t match up with our sense of human justice. God’s kingdom is different than ours. You and I need to realize that God’s kingdom works in a totally different way than our kingdoms here on earth. That’s why Jesus told parables. To help us understand God’s kingdom.
So to teach us about fairness in God’s kingdom, Jesus said, “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.” A landowner needed workers. So he went out and hired some men for the day. He agreed to pay them each a denarius—a day’s wage. Note one thing: This was a huge blessing for those workers. In the ancient world, day laborers were in a bad position. There were no unions or strikes or welfare or benefits. Day laborers depended completely on the goodwill of landowners to have work and receive pay. For this landowner to give these workers a paying job—even if just for a day—was a huge blessing.
But the landowner wasn’t done. When you understand that getting a job for a day was a life-saver for workers, notice this landowner’s kindness. How many times does he go out looking for workers? Five times in one day! You can’t tell me that he actually needed more and more workers. What was he doing? Being generous. Being gracious. At 9 a.m.: “You don’t have a job today? Come over to my place.” At 12 p.m.: “You’re still sitting here? Come on over.” At 3 p.m.: “You haven’t earned anything today? Come work for me.” “I’ll pay you whatever is right.”
The generosity of this landowner is almost ridiculous. He even goes out one last time at the eleventh hour—5:00 p.m. The workday ended at 6:00 p.m. Who goes out and hires people for one hour? Just this guy! He found men still standing around. “Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?” “Because no one has hired us.” “You also go and work in my vineyard.” As you hear Jesus’ parable, the focus isn’t on the workers. It’s on the landowner. This man was busy all day finding people who were doing nothing and calling them to his vineyard.
Finally, at the twelfth hour—6:00 p.m.—the workday ended. It was pay time! This was going to be complicated. How would the landowner pay all these workers who came at all these different times? Well, “the workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius.” This was shocking! These men had worked one hour. For 1/12 of a day. What did the man give them? A denarius. Remember how much that was? A whole day’s wage! Can you picture the big smile on those men’s faces? Each worker received way more than he deserved.
Until, finally, the first workers came forward. They had seen all the smiles. They watched the generous wages the landowner gave to the others. They were the ones who had worked the hardest and longest of all. So what do you think they were thinking? “We’re getting even more! We’ve worked so much harder and longer. We deserve more!” They’re right, aren’t they? At least the way we think. If we were to work 10 hours longer than someone else, we better get paid more! Did they? No. He gave them each a denarius too. And they didn’t smile. They grumbled: “These who were hired last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.” “You’re not fair. We deserve more!”
No. The landowner answered, “I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one 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?” The master wasn’t being unfair to those first workers. He gave them exactly what they had agreed on. The only unfairness was his generosity. Didn’t he have the right to be as generous as he wanted? Here was the lesson: “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
What’s Jesus teaching us? Well, he’s teaching us about the kingdom of heaven, remember? Things in God’s kingdom work differently. Here’s the lesson: Does the kingdom of heaven depend on our works or God’s grace? God’s grace. Like what percent is God’s grace? 100%. It’s not about how much we accomplish on earth. It’s about the grace of God who called us to follow him. You could say it like this: Heaven is flat. In heaven, everyone is equal, regardless of when they came to faith. No one’s better, because all are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus.
Isn’t that awful? The truth is, this is one of the most troubling things about God: His generosity. His grace. What initially sounds good is one of the hardest things for us to accept. Think about it: If we’re saved by grace—undeserved love—you’re not better than anyone else. If we’re saved by grace, then you didn’t earn it by what you’ve done. If we’re saved by grace, then 100% of the credit goes to God. If we’re saved by grace, then it’s not by works. The Bible says, “If by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace” (Romans 11:6).
We don’t like that! I should rephrase that: Our sinful natures don’t like that. We grumble about grace. Don’t think so? What are the thoughts that slide into our minds? “I’ve been a Christian my whole life. I’m no newbie like that guy.” “I’m even a Lutheran, a WELS Lutheran! That better count for something!” “I try my best, not like those people.” “I’ve done my share, not like him!”
Do you ever think like that? Who do we sound like? Those grumbling workers. What sinful assumptions are behind all of that grumbling? “I deserve more good things from God than ______ does.” “God owes me for _______.” See the problem? I foolishly think that my works deserve merit from God, and I despise God’s grace whenever I look down on others.
Here’s a test. A test to see if we appreciate God’s grace. Can a murderer go to heaven? People often ask me that. Usually, they say, “A murderer can’t go to heaven, can he?” We’ve got to draw the line, right? Some people just don’t deserve it! What are we implying? We do! So what are we trusting in? Our goodness. Our work. But does the kingdom of heaven depend on our works or God’s grace? God’s grace. So can a murderer go to heaven? Of course. How? By repenting and trusting in God’s grace to us in Jesus. Just like everybody. Are you okay with that?
“But they don’t deserve it!” Of course they don’t! That’s the whole point! God gives us what we don’t deserve! If it seems like God’s not fair, it’s because he’s so gracious. Instead of treating us like our sins deserve, he sent Jesus. Instead of putting us on a cross, Jesus died for us. To take away our sins. All by grace. The way to heaven is the same for everybody: “Repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15). God treats every human being in exactly the same way. Instead of giving us what our sins desires, he showers us with undeserved grace through Jesus our Savior.
God’s not fair. He’s even better than fair: He’s gracious. Can you see that? Look again at that landowner. He goes out again and again. He finds people doing nothing, and he invites them to his house. He showers them with more blessings than they deserve. Isn’t that like God? Before we did anything, he found us. He called us through the gospel. He sent us out to do his work in the world. God’s not fair—not by how our world works. He’s so much better. He’s gracious.
Here’s what that means: In the kingdom of heaven, there are no comparisons. “The last will be first, and the first will be last.” I’m awful at this. I’m very competitive. By nature, what does a competitive person do? Compare. You too? Notice where those first workers go wrong. Their grumbling started when they took their eyes off the landowner and put them on their coworkers. What does that always lead to? Comparison. Ranking. Pride. Remember what we said about heaven? It’s flat. In the kingdom of heaven, there are no comparisons. Focus your eyes on Jesus.
Here’s what else this means: It’s not too late for you. Maybe you’re just learning about Jesus. Maybe you feel like one of those last workers to be hired. You haven’t been a Christian for long. You feel like maybe you’ve missed out. Maybe you can’t catch up. Maybe it’s too late for you to do enough. Know what Jesus says? It’s not too late for you. Even if it’s the eleventh hour, it’s not too late. Jesus is calling out to you today. Jesus loves you. Jesus wants to save you by grace.
Here’s a third thing: The more you appreciate God’s grace to you, the more you’ll celebrate God’s grace to others. You look around, and you never think, “Eww! She’s here?” Or, “What’s he doing here?” No way! You celebrate God’s grace to all of us sinners. You look around and think, “Yes, she’s back!” Or, “I’m so glad he’s here!” That’s what the angels do. Jesus once said, “There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). The angels aren’t jealous when another sinner is saved. What do they do? Celebrate!
I’ve heard it put like this: How do you think the Christians whom Paul killed reacted when Paul got to heaven? Can you imagine that? What if you’re in heaven, and the person who murdered you gets to heaven too? What would you do? I think I know: You’d celebrate! You’d say, “You made it! By grace. Just like me. Isn’t our God amazing?” The ground is level at the foot of the cross. Can you see that? What a blessing to have a generous God! God’s not fair. He’s gracious!
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