Sermon Index
September 21, 2008
Matthew 20:1-16
At the time of Jesus, the work day began at 6 am and went to 6 pm, a long, 12 hour day. People who wanted jobs would go to the market place early in the morning with their tools and wait for someone who needed work done, perhaps carpentry, perhaps field work. In some places of the world you can still see this. There is a famous place here in Japan at the docks in Osaka. Someone who needs warehouse workers or construction site workers can go there and find a crew for the day. In todayfs parable, we see an example of this where a landowner needed extra men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to give them the standard daily wage of one denarius. Probably it was harvest time and the landowner was eager to get the grapes picked while they were at the peak of flavor and before bad weather came. So the landowner wanted as many workers as possible. He went back to the marketplace looking for more workers at the 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 11th hour of the work day: that is, 9 am, 12 noon, 3 pm, and again at 5 pm, only an hour before quitting time. He agreed to pay the first workers of the morning one denarius for a dayfs work, and he told the others he would pay them "whatever is right" (vs. 4). For those working only part of a day, only a part of a denarius might be the "right" wage, but the landowner was generous, perhaps because he was thankful for any effort to get in the harvest, or perhaps because he was kind enough to know that if the workers brought home less than a denarius then he and the children wouldnft have enough money to buy food that day. And so he gave everyone the standard wage of one denarius. The men who had labored hard since 6 am through the heat of the day for twelve hours thought they might get more, especially if someone who had worked only one hour got one denarius, then perhaps, they hoped, they would get as much as 12 denarii. And so when they got only one denarius, they grumbled. But the landowner told them not to be envious of his generosity. Jesusf final comment, "So the last will be first and the first will be last," I think means the equality of the first and the last. They both receive the same wage, which was a fair wage, and it is the wage that was promised from the beginning.
Through this parable, Jesus teaches us about the Kingdom of God.
1) The first point is that there is a warning to the disciples. The Twelve Disciples might think that they would be the greatest in the Kingdom of God because they were the first believers and they had worked the longest and the hardest to preach the Gospel. People today who have been Christian since youth, also might look down on people who come to the church when they are old, after a long lifetime of sinning. Should people who are baptized on their death beds be treated the same? Is it fair that they would get the same rewards in the Kingdom of Heaven? Or how about people who are never very active in the life of the congregation and who give very little time or support for the mission of the church? It would be like being hired to work in the vineyard and then sleeping most of the day in the cool shade of the barn. Is it fair? But the promised wage of one denarius is salvation. Would 1/2 denarius mean 1/2 salvation? But Christfs death and resurrection gives us full salvation. What could be greater than salvation? What reward could be more than eternal life? (2~‡‡.) This can give a lot of hope and comfort to people who realize that after a lifetime of sin they do not deserve the gift of salvation, but the promise of God is for all who believe, no matter when they do. But people who have been believers for many years since childhood know the lifetime of joy of always being with Christ. Sometimes a person dies young without having a chance to do much work in the Kingdom of God. But God gives the same welcome to all, to both the first and the last. And this reminds us very clearly that Salvation is not based on our work anyway, but only on the gracious gift of God.
2) When Jesus told this parable, it was heard by the Jews. They knew that they were the chosen people; they were the "first" to have the covenant and the promises of God. They were also the first to hear the Gospel from Jesus. In the early church, this almost became a big problem. Some of the Jewish Christians looked down on the Gentiles. Usually they hated and despised them and hoped for their destruction. They thought that if the Gentiles were to be allowed into the fellowship of the Church at all, then they must come in as inferiors. But when the first are last and the last first, then we realize the equality of all people before God, no matter what their race or sex or age or nationality is. It is something we modern Christians must remember too when we work with fellow Christians. Christ died for us all!
3) We see in this parable the compassion of God. Just as the landowner hired the workers, so God gives us work to do. Unemployed or under-employed people know the misery of not having any work. It is not only economic worry. It is also that life is boring, unfulfilled. Life seems wasted. In Genesis, God gives Adam the work of taking care of his creation. Man has a purpose to his existence, and this is shown in work. In the parable, the landowner generously pays all the workers. I think God is concerned that all workers be given a fair and decent wage for their work, because their work is a gift from God!
4) We see the grace and generosity of God. This parable shows very clearly that salvation is a gift from God, which we do not deserve. But he loves us and cares for us enough to give us what we need the most, which is, salvation in full measure. It is by his grace.
5) Finally, who does the most work in the vineyard of the Kingdom of God? Jesus sees us as we "bear the burden of the work and heat of the day." He sees that we are burdened with toil, pain, and worry. Jesus came to earth and worked with us. On top of all our suffering, we also had the burden of sin which oppressed us all the more. So Jesus took the burden of sin off from us and put it on himself. Then on the cross he died and our sin was removed and destroyed, it was forgiven. Jesus worked to free us from the power of sin and hell. He rose on the third day to begin a new day of work to protect and save us. He told his disciples that he would go away and prepare a place for us, and then bring us to heaven. Jesus is still working to prepare that place for us, it seems. We are waiting the final day, the final hour, when Jesus will come and give us our promised wage: which is, eternal life and full salvation
Amen.
Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church