Aaron

Erhardt

minister & author

A Bible class teacher told her students about the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector in Luke 18. She explained how the Pharisee was acting self-righteously when he prayed, “God, thank you that I am not like the tax collector.” She then asked a little boy to close in prayer. He bowed his head and said, “God, thank you that I am not like the Pharisee.”

 

Who among us cannot relate with that little boy? The one who says he can’t just did. Though we may not intend to look down on others and act self-righteously, it just happens sometimes. This was even true of the apostles, and that very thing is what prompted the Lord’s most provocative parable. It is commonly called the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard.

 

Let’s look at the parable.

 

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last” (Matthew 20:1-16).

 

This parable is the conclusion of a discussion that began a chapter earlier. A rich young man came to Jesus in quest of eternal life, but he left sorrowful when Jesus told him to sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow Him (Matthew 19:16-22). Peter then drew a self-righteous contrast between the apostles and the man. He declared, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” (v. 27). Jesus responded by saying that they and all who sacrifice to follow Him would be greatly compensated. However, He quickly added, “But many who are first will be last, and the last first” (v. 30). This led to the parable.

 

Jesus did not want the apostles to be haughty. Nor did He want them to have an employee mentality. It is not so much for so much. They should focus on work, not wages; service, not seniority; production, not position; trusting in God’s goodness at the end of the day and not comparing themselves to other workers.

 

In the parable, the master of the house is God. The foreman is Christ. The laborers are the disciples. The vineyard is the church. A denarius was the ordinary pay for a day laborer. In Palestine, a man was hired at dawn and paid at sunset (Leviticus 19:13; Deuteronomy 24:15). Just as the physical vineyard is to be a place of work, the spiritual vineyard is to be a place of work.

 

Grace Granted

 

A master went out early in the morning and hired laborers to work in his vineyard. This would have been around 6 a.m. He hired more laborers at 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., and 5 p.m. Whereas the first group of laborers agreed to a set wage, the others were merely trusting the master to give them “whatever is right” (v. 4). About an hour after the last group entered the vineyard, the owner sent out his foreman to pay the men. Remarkably, he paid the last laborers first and gave them more than they anticipated — a denarius. When the early hires saw what the latecomers received, they expected to get even more. However, they too received a denarius. This made them quite upset.

 

Grace Ranted

 

The early hires were dirt covered, sweat drenched, energy depleted, hands throbbing, back aching, and denarius deserving — everything the latecomers were not. They had filled more baskets and logged more hours. Therefore, they grumbled to the master for making the latecomers equal to them. To which he replied,

 

“Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity” (vv. 13-15)?

 

Like the parable of the prodigal son, this story has those who get more than they deserve, those who think they deserve more than they get, and a jealous reaction. Few things seem more unequal than the equal treatment of unequals! However, no one received less than he initially expected, and some received more. The master had not made the early hires equal to the latecomers; he made the latecomers equal to the early hires. 

 

This is an example of God’s grace. The master did not give the latecomers what they deserved; he gave them what they needed. It was not based on merit, but mercy. Though they had not worked longer, harder, or better than the others, he treated them as equals. And so it is with us. We should all be thankful that God is a grace-giver rather than a ledger-keeper!

 

Conclusion

 

No one is too bad to be saved, but some are too good to be saved. That is because they have a self-righteous attitude. They look down on others, think too highly of themselves, and feel that God owes them something. Jesus did not want the apostles or us to develop that mindset. Our God is the Master of grace!

 

[Note: The latecomers are not a case of people purposely putting off obedience to the last moment. They had not been working because they had not been hired (v. 7). However, they accepted the offer as soon as it was presented].